Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 603: Chapter 603. The Phantom Brigade

On a rocky desert, a company of Echos soldiers stood ready. The sight of them caused a group of Khode refugees to change direction.

These refugees were survivors from a nearby village, which had now been reduced to ruins. Echos’ soldiers laid waste to the place by burning everything after raiding all the valuables. The villagers had been worried they would be taken prisoners or forced to become slaves, but the enemy let them go. Aside from killing a few cultivators who tried to resist, the soldiers didn’t do anything to harm them.

Still, they were not eager to push their luck. So, they changed course when they saw the Echos soldiers blocking the direction they were heading. After some discussion, they decided to head for Steam Water City.

The Echos company, which comprised around two hundred troops, watched the refugees moving away.

”Captain Xian Ba. Looks like they are now heading in the right direction,” One of the soldiers said.

”Good,” Xian Ba, who led the company, uttered. ”Let’s resume our patrol. These refugees likely hid after we burned their village. There might be others like them, who come out of hiding when they think we are gone. We cannot let anyone escape.”

”But why are we doing this anyway?” One of his subordinates asked. ”We have been playing shepherd to guide these refugees to Steam Water City for more than four months. Why haven’t we attacked that city?”

”We are soldiers. We do what our commander asks. General Amon does not tolerate disobedience,” Xian Ba chided his subordinate.

”I’m not being disobedient. I’m just asking a question,” the soldier defended himself.

”Your question shows your doubt, which leads to distrust and dissatisfaction. That will end in disobedience. Do as you are told!”

”Ye–Yes, Sir!” The soldier stammered.

They were about to resume their patrol when they heard an urgent call.

”Enemy sighted! The enemy is coming from the Northeast!”

Xian Ba turned to the one who shouted. An Echos Soldier was riding toward them. The soldier was one of the scouts who followed his company while patrolling the surroundings.

Xian Ba looked behind the incoming scout. A dust cloud was seen as a group of armored riders headed toward them. He estimated the incoming force to be around one hundred strong.

”Captain, what should we do?” His subordinate asked.

”Battle formation!” Xian Ba shouted. ”We outnumber them! Khode Soldiers generally have lower cultivation than we do. We don’t need to fear a force smaller than us. This must be a splinter from another settlement’s troops, who decided to do something. We will teach them what a folly that is.”

The two hundred soldiers under his command got ready. After rearranging themselves into a wedge formation, Xian Ba gave the command to engage the approaching enemy. ”Chaarggeee...!!!”

Khode’s troops didn’t slow down despite seeing a force larger than them charging over. The Mystic Stage cultivators on both sides took to the sky once the two forces neared one another. Captain Xian Ba was among these cultivators.

The two forces collided. Various arts were exchanged.

Echos’ soldiers were fervent. They had more numbers than the enemy. From the first clash, it was apparent that their average cultivation was higher. There was no chance they would lose. They expected nothing but a one-sided beating from this confrontation.

However, after some time, they surprisingly found that their number decreased at a faster rate than the enemy.

Xian Ba, who was battling the enemy in the air, was puzzled by this development. In theory, there was no way they would lose. Yet, he couldn’t refute the reality. His soldiers, who outnumbered the enemy at the start of the clash, were now around equal to the enemy’s number. Many of his subordinates were lying dead on the ground.

While he was observing the battle on the ground, something caught his attention. One of his troops suddenly jerked forward as if getting hit in the back, but there was no one behind him.

While he was still confused, he heard a pained cry from a Mystic Stage soldier next to him. He turned and saw blood spurt from the soldier’s back. A long, bloody gash was in his back.

A horrific realization came to his mind. He disengaged from the enemy he was battling. At that moment, he felt a strong wind from behind. He quickly altered the direction of his movement. Just then, he felt a stinging pain in his left arm. A slash wound had appeared in his upper arm.

He reacted by unleashing an arcane art that assailed everything around him. He didn’t know if his art hit his invisible attacker, but it should at least keep the attacker away.

He took this chance to bellow an order, ”The enemy has invisible members! Everyone, retreat! Disengage and flee!!”

By now, most of his subordinates had also noticed that something was wrong. They didn’t need further encouragement. They broke away from the fight and fled in all directions.

This was something drilled by Amon. In a situation where a tactical retreat was ordered, they were to retreat while maintaining formation. But when a flee order was given, they were to escape without the need to worry about their comrades.

Without understanding their opponents, Xian Ba judged that the latter was a better option. It was disgraceful, but it should reduce their casualties and help keep more soldiers alive.

He was about to leave as well when he heard a voice from the direction he was flying to.

”Others may flee, but you, as the leader, may not!”

Jets of steam shot out seemingly from nothingness. Xian Ba then felt a strong impact on his right shoulder. The impact threw him to the ground. Before he could get up, he felt another strong impact on his back. A loud cracking sound was heard as his backbone broke.

Before he could scream from the pain, his head slammed into the ground. It was squashed by an invisible force and turned into flattened mash.

Khode soldiers continued to chase after the fleeing soldiers. From the way some fleeing Echos’ soldiers fell without anyone touching them, the invisible enemy also chased them.

Next to Xian Ba’s corpse, a man with mechanical armor and a right arm covered by an oversized metal gauntlet appeared out of thin air. In his hand was a talisman, which he had just removed from his forehead. The talisman turned into dust.

Nearby Khode Soldiers greeted him with a salute, ”Lieutenant General Zue Du!”

”Tell everyone not to chase the enemy too far. We will proceed to hit their other companies,” Zue Du ordered. ”We will hit as many as possible before our main force arrives.”

”Understood!” The soldiers responded.

*

The force led by Zue Du was not the only one attacking Echos’ forces scattered in the surrounding areas. Multiple Khode’s companies moved around the land, seeking out Echos’ troops, and engaged them when they found one. Each of these companies had invisible soldiers accompanying them. These invisible soldiers were the Phantom Brigade, led by Zue Du.

They were once a feared division. Each of its members was a competent combatant who was also a talisman master. They were armed with an ample supply of invisible talismans. Unlike the one Amon used, theirs were proper invisible talismans, which could fool the sense of Mystic Stage cultivators. Only Spirit Stage cultivators could detect them when they used the talismans.

In a few days, many Echos’ companies were hit and forced to retreat to the main army, which was stationed outside Steam Water City.

---------------

In the field command center overseeing Steam Water City, Amon was studying Khode’s map with Xin Wuming. Thanks to his contact from the Vagrant Sect and the Charger Guild, he had already received the news about the Grand Militia, which was on its way here.

He pointed at the map. ”This will be where we engage them,” he said.

Xin Wuming looked at the spot. ”Brother, that area is ahead of Steam Water City. If this city decides to come out and cooperate with the Grand Militia, we will be pinned from opposite sides.”

”That can’t be helped. If we let them get past Steam Water City, we can no longer keep this city confined. The population can leave or receive supplies from other settlements. Our efforts of these past few months will be wasted. We can’t afford that. Furthermore, aside from returning to Surly Gate Town, the terrain in this spot is the best to face a large enemy force if we can utilize it properly.”

”Really?” Xin Wuming asked.

Before Amon could explain further, Xu Bao came and reported, ”General, our forces situated at the Northern part are attacked. Most have fled back here.”

”Most? Were they assailed by a large force? I estimated the enemy still requires at least four days before they arrive at our forward line of troops.”

”The forces that attacked our troops number fewer. From the accounts of the soldiers who had arrived, they lost because the enemy possessed many invisible troops within their ranks.”