After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 433: Chapter 432: Blood Sausage, Pig’s Trotters, and a False Military Report

It was still a long way from the Xiji border to the Capital City.

Victory was the only option in the coming battles. The timeline was tight, the mission was crucial, and the dangers were immense.

However, no one present objected to this long-distance raid. General Nanke immediately said, ”If Elder Huyan were still alive, Xiji would be a tough nut to crack. But with him dead, Huyan Zhao is busy consolidating power, so Xiji must be in chaos right now. If we can get there in seven days, we’ll definitely catch them off guard. Heh, Xiji’s National Capital is even close to the Western Front, making it convenient for us to harvest. I remember Elder Huyan once wanted to move the capital eastward, but the ministers all objected, so he had to drop the idea.”

Zhong Shengguang planted a small flag on the Sand Table. ”General Nanke has finished covering the enemy’s disadvantages. Now, let’s talk about their advantages.”

Everyone pooled their wisdom, first discussing Xiji’s internal troop distribution and the traits of their generals. Next, they moved on to selecting raid routes and the sequence of attacks, followed by the defensive arrangements for Panlong City while the army was away...

Wen Daolun also provided a detailed analysis of Huyan Zhao—the future Monarch of Xiji—focusing on his personality and temperament. He was, after all, Panlong City’s true adversary in this campaign.

Finally, they even discussed the weather forecast for the Xiji Kingdom over the next few days.

When Hee Lingchuan heard the Red General speak of dispatching the army to Xiji, a shiver ran straight down his spine.

History was finally back on its familiar course!

He had heard in his previous life that Panlong City had attacked the small eastern kingdom of Xiji. But as for why or how the war was fought, future generations had no idea. All they knew was that the war had begun without any warning.

Now, he was about to witness it all firsthand.

After hearing his account, the members of the Broken Blade Squad were all eager for action. Aluo nodded in agreement. ”The Jinxi Corridor is too dangerous. We can’t entrust the lives and fortunes of over a million people to the enemy’s mercy. A path you carve out for yourself is always the most reassuring one to walk.”

Hee Lingchuan smiled. ”That’s the spirit. We’re just the advance team. I expect that before the main army mobilizes, Lord Zhong will make an announcement to the entire city, laying out all the stakes.”

”When the Huyan Family founded the Xiji Kingdom, they had several formidable generals and received aid from the Baling Kingdom, effectively blocking our path east. But their fortune has turned. Over the past decade or so, their veteran commanders have fallen one by one, and the new generation isn’t ready to shoulder the burden. Their national strength has waned. Now, with Elder Huyan dead, it’s a godsent opportunity. How could we possibly not seize it?”

Door Panel cut in. ”Ah, no need for all these grand principles! As long as Lord Zhong says we’re going to fight Xiji, the entire city will cheer and give its full support!”

Everyone laughed.

Hu Min suddenly turned to their new teammate. ”Old Yu, what’s your specialty?”

”Me?” Old Yu scratched his head, looking a bit shy. ”I don’t have any other special skills. I can just get close to beasts and Demons and communicate well with them.”

”A Beast Tamer?” Willow sounded surprised. ”You don’t see many of those.”

For that path of Cultivation, talent is more important than diligence. Without a natural affinity, it doesn’t matter how wide you smile; wild animals just won’t take to you.

Old Yu gave a light laugh. ”I’m usually stationed out on the plateau. The Red General recalled me for this mission. I’ll be in your care.”

...

「Several double-hours later.」

In the western mountains of Xiji, at Dragon Throat Pass.

As evening fell, the cooks in the Xiji Military Camp lit the stoves. The aroma of food drifted all the way up to the top of the pass’s walls.

The soldier on lookout duty swallowed hard and began to calculate how long until the guard change.

”I hear there’s wild boar today, from a massive three or four-hundred-jin pig. When is it our turn to go down and eat?”

Even though it was early summer, the nights in the mountains were still cool.

”Those two pricks taking over the shift will definitely stuff themselves before coming up. All the good meat will be gone by then.”

”Why don’t we just head down? Grab a few pieces of meat before they’re all gone.”

The sentry hesitated. ”Is that a good idea? What if we get caught...?”

”It’s already past the guard change! It’s those two pricks who are late!” the other said indignantly. ”If anyone’s getting punished, it should be them. Whoa, I see blood sausage! Which genius knew how to make blood sausage?”

The sound of gulping immediately grew louder.

The men on the wall couldn’t stand it any longer. They scrambled down to get their share of the meat.

The meat in the pot had just finished cooking. The ribs and loin cuts were, of course, sent to the officers’ tents. As for the rest, it all depended on who was on the cook’s good side.

Sure enough, no one noticed they had abandoned their posts.

Watching the best pieces of meat disappear from the pot, the three of them grew anxious.

Finally, it was their turn. ”Blood sausage! We want the blood sausage!”

”Forget blood sausage, I want a pig’s trotter!”

The cook serving the meat gave a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He ladled out the part of the blood sausage near the knot. The fellow who wanted a pig’s trotter got a piece of the spine instead.

The kind that was eight parts bone and two parts meat.

”Hey! There’s barely any meat on this.”

The cook glared at him. ”You’re lucky to get anything. Now scram, don’t hold up the line!”

The men walked away dejectedly, but their spirits lifted as soon as they sat down to gnaw on their portions.

It was so fragrant. They hadn’t eaten any meat in nearly half a month.

Besides, this was fresh meat—pork from a pig slaughtered just that afternoon!

”I heard the Monarch just passed away. Even the nobles in the Capital City have to abstain from meat for three days.”

”Really?” the man gnawing on the large bone mumbled. ”Then they’re not eating as well as us.”

”Are you brain-dead? You think the nobles eat worse than us grunts?” the third man sneered. ”I hear they have private kitchens. They get up in the middle of the night for specially prepared meals. All the pig’s trotters and blood sausage they could ever want!”

”Alright, alright, eat up. We need to get back up there,” said the first man, who was devouring his blood sausage. The portion was tiny; he finished it in a few bites and was licking his lips. ”We can’t let the next shift find out we ditched our post. I don’t want to get another five whacks from the board.”

They finished eating in a flash, licking their bowls clean. Just as they were about to grab their weapons and return to their post, they heard a sudden, earth-shaking BOOM from behind—

Everyone heard it. They turned around and were completely stunned.

Atop the Beacon Tower, flames had suddenly erupted!

And it was the most extreme signal: four beacons lit at once. This was the protocol for a major enemy invasion.

”Enemy attack! Enemy attack!” someone screamed himself hoarse. The entire camp instantly erupted into chaos, with whistles blowing and gongs clanging nonstop.

Many soldiers were still holding their rice bowls. Their first reaction wasn’t to drop them and grab their weapons, but to seize the chance to shovel in a few more mouthfuls.

Such fragrant wild boar—what a waste it would be not to eat it!

What kind of thousand-cursed enemy would attack right when everyone was finally eating meat?

The Garrison Commander, at least, abandoned the meat in his bowl. He strode out and bellowed, ”Sentries! Report!”

The sentries hadn’t sounded an alarm, so why was the Beacon Tower lit?

Countless gazes snapped toward the walls of the mountain pass.

But the walls were deserted. There wasn’t a soul in sight.

Those three sentries hadn’t made it back up yet, of course.

”What’s happening up there!” The Garrison Commander was startled. He assumed all three sentries had been eliminated. ’My opponent is a skilled one!’

He grew extremely tense. ”All troops, prepare for battle! Send another party up the wall! Now!”

Dragon Throat Ridge was the Xiji Kingdom’s first checkpoint in the west, directly facing pressure from Panlong City. Since the Xiji Kingdom was a new nation that had recently split off from the Xiluo Kingdom, its relations with Panlong City were far from friendly.

The reputation of the Panlong Army was a heavy weight on the soldiers garrisoned here, even though they had never actually attacked.

But the Garrison Commander instantly connected the Monarch’s recent death with an enemy invasion.

’Are they trying to strike while we’re vulnerable?’

Just then, a few soldiers shoved the three sentries forward. ”They’re not dead! They just snuck off their posts to eat!”

The three of them trembled in the flickering light of the Beacon Tower.

The Garrison Commander was furious.

The soldiers who had climbed the wall scanned the wilderness for a long time before leaning over and shouting, ”All clear! It was a false alarm!”

A false alarm?

The Garrison Commander was skeptical.

A sentry might make a false report, but how could a Beacon Tower ignite by itself?

Who would toss an ember in there?

The Garrison Commander had no choice but to order, ”Extinguish the beacon! Put it out!”

The soldiers scrambled to extinguish the fire.

The problem was that the Beacon Tower was specially designed. Even the fuel was a special mixture. Once lit, it would instantly become a raging inferno, making it exceptionally difficult to extinguish.

This design was intended to prevent an enemy from quickly dousing the flames and stopping the signal’s transmission.

The Garrison Commander had to summon a Mage to stop the howling mountain winds. Then he ordered the soldiers to haul bags of sand, which were stored behind the pass, up to the tower to smother the flames. Because all four hearths were lit, the blaze was particularly intense. Only after thirteen or fourteen trips did the fire finally begin to die down.

In the meantime, a sentry pointed east. ”The beacon at Dragon Ridge Pass is lit, too.”

The beacons were linked in a chain. Dragon Throat Ridge was the first link in the relay; as soon as its beacon was lit, every Beacon Tower to the east would light its own in response.

Four beacons were lit here, so the signal for four beacons would be passed eastward, without fail.

Past Dragon Ridge Pass, the terrain of Xiji was mostly plains. The signal would reach the Capital City after just a few more Beacon Towers.

The Garrison Commander’s heart went cold. He had no choice but to dispatch a rider to gallop to the National Capital and report the false alarm.

But of course, how could a galloping steed outpace a signal of fire and smoke? Especially over rugged mountain roads.

Barely half a double-hour later, news of a massive invasion from the west reached the Xiji Royal Palace. The still-uncrowned Crown Prince, Huyan Zhao, was jolted awake and hastily ordered the entire army to prepare for battle.

An aide said, ”We’ve heard no cannon fire.”

The protocol was one cannon shot for one beacon, four shots for four beacons. The garrison was required to fire cannons after lighting the beacons to prevent false alarms caused by accidental ignition and to avoid misleading their superiors.

But the Beacon Towers hadn’t been lit in years, so no one knew the exact situation at Dragon Throat Ridge. Nevertheless, the Royal Court made preparations through the night and dispatched riders to investigate the western front.

It wasn’t until that afternoon that the message from Dragon Throat Ridge finally arrived:

A false alarm.

Cause unknown, currently under investigation.

Huyan Zhao was livid.

He was already exhausted from keeping a day-long vigil for his father. Then he’d been jolted from his sleep at night and forced to remain on high alert until dawn!

Investigate! A thorough investigation!

Punish! Severe punishment!

The punishments for delayed or false reports from the Beacon Towers were already extremely severe.

In the end, the investigation at Dragon Throat Ridge turned up no cause, so they had to use the three unlucky sentries as scapegoats. All three were beheaded.

The Crown Prince had wanted to execute the Garrison Commander as well, but the ministers pleaded for leniency. The sentence was thus commuted to thirty strokes with the heavy plank and a demotion of one rank.

Those thirty strokes were not easy to endure. Although the punishment was carried out at Dragon Throat Pass, the Crown Prince sent a Palace Envoy to supervise, so the soldiers administering the beating dared not go easy on him. After taking the thirty strokes, the Garrison Commander felt as if half his soul had left his body. He was left bedridden to recuperate.