Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 581: Chapter 581. Poison Ambush

”Six days? I still have to stay in this dump for six more freakin’ days?” Won Feimao said with displeasure.

Xuang Feng had the urge to tell Won Feimao that six days was only the estimated time it took for the reinforcements to arrive. After that, they still had to spend the time in the assault to reoccupy Surly Gate Town. The assault would require many more days, depending on the enemy’s resistance. Xuang Feng decided against voicing his thoughts. He knew Won Feimao was simply venting his frustration.

Instead, he said, ”It can’t be helped. The speed at which the enemy occupied Surly Gate Town was beyond our prediction.”

”How did they do it anyway?” Xuang Chao asked. ”Although Surly Gate Town didn’t have many soldiers, our defensive barrier is top-notch. How could Echos’ army breach it in less than a day?”

”Considering the time the Faxien Radars at the border detected their incursion, I estimate they breached the town in just a few hours. I am also puzzled by how they achieved this feat.”

”Tch! Who cares how they did it?” Won Feimao said. ”All we need to do is crush them. Once the Northern Army arrives, we will use our secret code to deactivate Surly Gate Town’s barrier. We will then cooperate with the Northern Army and employ a pincer maneuver to eliminate those invaders. Hmph! Do they think they can act as they wish in our territory? We will show them the difference between an advanced country and a backwater one.”

”Do not underestimate the Echos Military,” Xuang Feng advised. ”During our occupation of their city, they somehow figured out our strategy of using the Mental Regulator and disabled that device, forcing us to retreat from that country.”

”They also breached the barrier we placed to protect that city,” Xuang Chao added. ”Come to think of it, they probably used the same method to breach the barrier here.”

”It is quite likely so,” Xuang Feng agreed.

”Why the fuck are we discussing something that had happened?” Won Feimao said. ”We should be focusing on our current predicament! We can’t have this camp’s protective barrier active every night. The number of aer stones required to power that barrier is tremendous.”

”But without the protective barrier, we might get jumped by the enemy again,” Xuang Chao argued. ”The enemy can produce a black fog that disrupts Martial Sense. Our sentries are blind if they ambush us again using that fog.”

”I’ve done a quick reading after seeing that fog. I suspect it is a fog produced by a special spirit beast called Yao Bird,” Xuang Feng said.

”It disrupts our senses, but does it also block our Faxien Radars?” Won Feimao asked.

”I don’t know,” Xuang Feng shook his head. ”Khode is lacking in terms of spirit beasts and spirit plants. I doubt we can find anyone in this country who knows about this Yao Bird and understands how its black fog works. The information I found in my books is also very limited.”

”Nevertheless, we can’t afford to keep the barrier up all night. Plant the Faxien Radars around camp. Hopefully, the radars can detect enemies even through that fog.”

”We need to move back our camps if we want to plant the radars,” Xuang Feng said. ”Our camp is currently at the edge of their Yuanxu Cannons’ firing range. If we send people to plan the Faxien Radars, they would be sitting ducks for the enemy’s cannons.”

”Fuck! Now we must also worry about them using our weapons against us?” Won Feimao complained. ”Once the sun rises, move our camp back to accommodate planting the Faxien Radars. Damn Echos scums! I will make them pay once the Northern Army arrives.”

*

The next day, the order was carried out. Khode’s army moved around a hundred meters back. Under the gaze of Echos’ army from the town’s wall, they planted the Faxien Radars all over their camp’s perimeter.

Another day proceeded peacefully as both forces stared at each other from afar. It was only in the evening that another commotion erupted in Khode’s camp.

Even though the Faxien Radars had already been planted, no one knew if it was going to be effective against Yao Bird’s black fog. Hence, Xuang Feng ordered the army to triple the sentries watching the perimeter. One sentry was told to be on standby next to the barrier rod at all times. If anything suspicious occurred, the sentry was to activate the barrier rod immediately.

”Hey, Lai Guan, you must watch the perimeter again tonight? I thought you were already on guard last night,” one of the soldiers asked during a group dinner.

”It can’t be helped. After yesterday’s incursion, the general increases the number of sentries,” another soldier answered. ”I doubt he will get much sleep any time soon.”

”It is as he said,” Lai Guan said. ”I was given the chance to rest during the day, so I am fine with this arrangement.”

”Luckily, it is not me. I was never able to sleep during the day. I will be miserable if I were given the order.”

”You must enter the Martial Realm first if you expect to be chosen as a sentry. You won’t be anything with your low-level cultivation.”

”Screw you! You have the same cultivation level as me!”

The group laughed at the exchange.

”Regardless of cultivation level, I think it is important for us as soldiers to be able to sleep whenever it is needed,” Lai Guan said. ”I am done. I will excuse myself first.”

Lai Guan walked away with his empty plate.

”Do you think Lai Guan is being strange today?” A soldier asked.

”Strange how?” His friend asked back.

”He seems quieter than usual.”

”Really? I don’t truly converse with him much, but it’s probably because of the ambush yesterday. I heard he was stationed at the spot where the ambush occurred.”

”I guess so. Even though we are soldiers, we have never been involved in combat against the army of another country. I guess this first-time experience is traumatic for him.”

”Speak for yourself. I was with General Xuang Feng’s army during the campaign into Echos. This is not my first time clashing against a foreign power.”

”Why do you sound so proud about it? The last time I checked, our army returned with tail between its legs. Probably all you did was hide at the back line. That’s how you managed to return alive.”

”Fuck you! Are you looking for a fight?”

An older soldier stopped their quarrel. ”Cool it. We are comrades. Save your aggression for the enemies.”

”Tell him! This bugger is suddenly looking for a fight. Perhaps he is... he is...”

The soldier stopped mid-sentence as if he had something stuck in his throat.

”Hey, man. Are you okay?” His friend asked.

The soldier couldn’t answer. He grabbed his throat like he had difficulty breathing. Suddenly, he opened his mouth, and a large amount of black blood spewed out.

”Holy...!!” Everyone jumped back in surprise.

The soldier who vomited black blood dropped to the ground. He started convulsing as more black blood oozed from his eyes, nose, and ears.

”What the fuck...”

”Pill master! Call the pill master...!!!”

”How...? Why did he... gackhh...!!”

Another soldier suffered the same fate as the one on the ground. He vomited black blood and joined the first soldier. He was not the only one. Many others joined soon. Before long, the entire group that had dinner together fell to the ground that was filled with black blood.

The same thing occurred at several other spots. Everyone soon learned the victims were those who had dinner together. Those who hadn’t eaten cancelled their meal schedule. The cooked food was all confiscated and inspected by the pill masters.

*

”What the fuck is it this time?” Won Feimao cursed after receiving the report from Xuang Feng.

”Some of the meals for our soldiers have been poisoned,” Xuang Feng answered. ”We don’t know how the enemy did it, but our pill masters found a very potent poison inside those meals.”

”Are you saying we have an enemy spy hiding among our ranks? How is that possible?”

Xuang Feng shook his head. ”I now have Xuang Chao assemble everyone and have the captains perform headcounts on each platoon. These captains are accompanied by buttle puppets that possess the complete registry of military personnel. If we have someone who didn’t belong in our army, we should discover them soon...”

”You don’t sound confident,” Won Feimao said.

Xuang Feng didn’t respond. He himself couldn’t explain why. He just had a bad feeling about this entire ordeal.

”How many men did we lose?” Won Feimao asked a different question.

”The poisoning happened only in one part of our camp. Most likely, there is only one or two spies. The poison is, however, very potent. Our pill masters have never encountered a poison like this. All the Human Realm soldiers who ingested this poison lost their lives without exception. Only Mystic Stage Soldiers survived. My people are still tallying the victims, but we estimate we lost more than five hundred Human Realm Soldiers.”