CHAPTER 481: CHAPTER 377: TROOPS OF THE 9TH MOUNTAIN (REQUESTING MONTHLY TICKET)

At the same time, a thousand miles away, the northern country’s scenery stretched for miles, snow swirling in the vast expanse of heaven and earth, where a heroic city stood majestically.

"Li"

A sharp eagle screech echoed through the howling wind and snow.

Amidst the heaven and earth, a sliver of silver tore through the winds and snow, as a pair of sharp eagle eyes scanned the vast wilderness below. With a sweep of its mighty silver wings, the wind surged forward, bringing the city and the fluttering flags atop its walls ever closer into view.

"Who goes there?"

A shout came from the city walls, followed by a figure clad in green armor leaping up, his tiger-like eyes shining with heroic light, staring at the newcomer.

The silver light stopped, revealing a giant silver falcon, nearly sixteen feet in size, its feathers shimmering with a cold glimmer. Upon it stood a lone figure in black armor, with only one arm. That solitary hand raised a black token, and a clear voice announced:

"The Ninth Mountain Right Road Guard Army General, Zuo Zhi, carrying military orders."

The North City Garrison Captain saw the flag officer’s token, his tiger eyes swept over it without hesitation and turned back to issue the command, "Let him pass!"

With those words, a faint white light arose on the city walls.

Zuo Zhi cupped his fist toward the other in salute, then swiftly rode the Sky Shrieking Falcon, transforming into a streak of silver light that shot straight into Jingguan City.

Inside the city, the scenery flew past underneath the falcon’s wings, like fleeting glimpses of floating lights. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a sprawling mountain range appeared before him, dotted with solemn black pavilions and towers amongst the ice and snow.

"Li"

The silver eagle swooped downward, bypassing the tallest peak, flying instead toward another mountain to the side. Soon, earth-shaking hoofbeats and shouts could be heard from there.

The eagle eyes glanced down through the wind and snow, revealing a vast training ground below. Thousands of armored cavalrymen galloped back and forth, practicing techniques of cutting and slashing, while bare-chested soldiers sparred and fought with each other amidst the icy snow.

Just on this field alone, there were over ten thousand men, their hot blood surging to the sky!

However, within this field of vision, there was another scene occurring!

Outside the vast training ground, a group of armored soldiers was blockaded outside the camp. Some were glaring angrily, some had eyes filled with shadowy glimmers, and others looked confused, as if a dispute had arisen.

"How dare you! Which Divine Might Army road do you belong to? Look carefully, I am from the Left Road Third Guard Camp, what gives you the guts to block us from entering the camp?"

A young colonel, clad in green armor and a finely crafted green jade belt, white-faced, with handsome, meticulously groomed features raised a token, exuding an aura of arrogance.

"Captain Tong, we have no grudges against each other in the past or present. There must be a reason. I, Mei, return from visiting relatives, only to be obstructed and humiliated by your troops at the gate. How will I lead my troops in the future? If there’s no explanation, I will personally request General Yun to adjudicate, for my Mei Family can speak with General Yun." Another young colonel dressed in green armor spoke, with dark eyes flickering ominously.

"You are just a colonel, equal in rank to us, why put on airs?"

"......."

Voices from those being blocked rose one after another, nearly all clad in green armor, numbering over a dozen. Especially the few at the forefront, whose armor, though worn, was spotless, adorned with extra embellishments, making them appear exquisite and noble, lacking the might that comes from being battled-hardened on the field.

These six or seven individuals mostly hailed from some noble families in Jingguan City and had recently joined the Ninth Mountain Army.

Opposite them, a soldier also clad in green armor, with a thick brow, a dark face, and a centipede-shaped scar across his brow, gazed coldly, with a hint of fierceness in his eyes.

Behind him, two rows of soldiers in black armor stood with blades in hand.

He slowly spoke,

"Military camps are heavily guarded, no loud noises allowed, or shall Captain Tong teach you all?"

With these words, the scar across his brow stretched, and the murderous aura from having climbed out of a sea of corpses and blood silenced the clamorous voices of those people.

"You....." The few leading voices felt like they were being watched by a beast, their aura seized, their throats constricting, and dared not to say much in the end.

At this moment, Captain Tong’s gaze swept across these people, expressionless:

"From now on, you no longer belong to the Ninth Mountain!"

"Men, strip them of their armor!"

"Yes!" The two rows of black-armored soldiers immediately responded, advancing from both sides of the captain to the front of these individuals.

The noble descendants at the front, upon hearing that the captain was expelling them from the Ninth Mountain and intending to publicly strip their armor, were instantly furious.

"How dare you!"

"Whose order do you follow?"

"Tong Shan, don’t think that just because you are an elder of the Ninth Mountain, you can act as you please. We are not within your purview as a colonel. Get out!"

The noble descendants shouted angrily, their aura thrumming as they repelled the approaching black-armored soldiers, glaring at the captain Tong with ill will.

Behind the noble kids, a few were panicked, not knowing what to do.

Yet, the scarred Captain Tong furrowed his brow, his centipede-like scar crinkling with a sinister edge, his joints popping with firecracker sounds, growing in stature, exuding the fierce aura of a Profound Body Peak, "Care to make a move?"

"Sizzle"

"Sizzle"

"Sizzle"

The armored soldiers also suddenly drew their swords, causing the expressions of others to change dramatically, looking extremely unpleasant.

The commotion at the military camp gate quickly attracted the attention of some people training on the drill ground, causing some unrest.

"What’s happening outside?"

"Mr. Liu, isn’t that Mei Ziqi? We haven’t seen him for days, why is he being stopped outside, confronting the veterans?"

"And Brother Wentao!"

The speaker was a noble offspring who had enlisted at the same time, looking outside with a somewhat strange expression.

The person being asked was a young man wearing green armor, with a slightly sinister look in his eyes. His name was Liu Qingshu, holding the position of Right Route Divine Might Military Officer of the Ninth Mountain. More noteworthy was that his father, Liu Tianming, currently the Family Head of the Liu Family, was one of the first of the seven noble surnames in Jinguan City to pledge allegiance to Chen Yuan.

"Brother, why pretend to be ignorant? Didn’t your family notify you a few days ago, asking you to find a reason to avoid trouble?" Liu Qingshu took over the conversation, glancing at the asker with a meaningful tone, then looked at those outside, speaking with a hint of coldness,

"Once you’ve entered this gate, don’t think of wavering. Being a fence-sitter won’t end well!"

After Liu Qingshu finished speaking, the noble who asked the question gave an awkward smile without saying anything.

Just then, a sound of something cutting through the air came from inside the Ninth Mountain Camp, followed by a loud crash landing between the two tense groups at the camp’s gate.

"General!" The person revealed their figure, clad in red armor. The imposing Captain Tong retracted his presence and saluted Yun Tiansheng.

"General Yun is here, perfect. I don’t know what this means, why are our armors being stripped? We joined the army in response to the Colonel’s call, not to suffer such humiliation!"

The young captain with meticulously groomed eyebrows and a green jade belt flicked his sleeves in indignation, appearing to have suffered a great injustice.

Yun Tiansheng, however, paid no heed to this person, turning instead to address Captain Tong, his eyelids lowering slightly, "In the future, when leading troops, you must pay attention to method. You could have led them aside to give orders, presented the order. If they disobeyed, just have them arrested. Causing a scene at the camp gate sets a bad precedent."

"The General’s reprimand is valid!"

Upon hearing this, the nobles who wanted to argue were momentarily speechless, then saw Yun Tiansheng turn his face slightly, looking at them indifferently, speaking softly:

"Don’t make me waste more words as the Piaoqi General, take off your armor, and return to whence you came!"

"Don’t force us to ruin the harmony, after all, you’ve worn this armor. Otherwise, it might not be as simple as just removing the armor."

"I don’t understand, what wrong have we done?"

"I want to see our Generals, Liu Piaoqi and Lu Piaoqi!" Several nobles, upon hearing Yun Tiansheng’s warning, changed expressions and gritted their teeth.

"This is a directive personally issued by your Piaoqi General!" Yun Tiansheng’s face turned cold, "As for what you did wrong?"

"Mei Ziqi, you claimed your grandmother was sick and returned to visit her, but as far as I know, your grandmother is in good health, and you still frequented brothels, drinking with others. Do you remember what you said during those times?"

"And you, Guo Wentao, claimed a few days ago that your cultivation had gone awry, making you unsuitable to remain as the Reserve Military Officer of the Ninth Mountain and resigned to return home. Now that you’re to be stripped of your armor, you seem quite aggrieved?"

"And you lot," Yun Tiansheng glanced at the dozen or so behind the nobles, "Coming from humble origins is not shameful. Yet you entered this mountain not to seek merit but to speculate and fraternize with these people, intending to defect. Hmph, I, as Piaoqi, allow it."

Yun Tiansheng’s expression was emotionless as he concluded,

"Go!"

"Strip them of their armor!"

As Yun Tiansheng spoke, the Black Armor soldiers moved swiftly forward, reaching to remove these people’s armor in public. The most outspoken nobles, called out by Yun Tiansheng, obviously felt guilty, with some clenching their teeth and their faces flushed with discomfort but ultimately remained silent.

"Thud"

Amid these individuals, someone fell to one knee, with a slightly panic-stricken expression, "I beg General Yun to give another chance, a few days ago they said the Court dispatched a new Demon Suppression Envoy, that the Ninth Mountain would be suppressed or even disbanded, I was muddleheaded, influenced by rumors, joining the Ninth Mountain was my parents’ expectation, I hope...."

Upon hearing that this fellow exposed the unspoken thoughts, others’ expressions changed, and the few nobles turned fiercely, glaring at this man, their eyes filled with fierce light, scolding to interrupt, "Shut up!"

A few days ago, news of the Court dispatching a new Demon Suppression Envoy, soon to arrive in Shu, stirred all of Jinguan City into an uproar. Rumors spread like wildfire that the Ninth Mountain Colonel, who stood like the midday sun in Jinguan City, just like Tianxiong Pass, would be stripped of his power and suppressed. The streets, teahouses, and taverns buzzed with the news, after all, two tigers cannot share one mountain.

Those feeling oppressed by the Ninth Mountain, harboring discontent, naturally began to harbor thoughts but dared not act openly, while some families who had pledged loyalty by sending their offspring to enlist in the Ninth Mountain now sought to avoid risk, to extricate themselves from this quagmire, thus directing these offspring to find excuses to leave the Ninth Mountain.

But who would have thought, a significant piece of news arrived from Tianxiong Pass just yesterday afternoon, causing a sensation in Jinguan City.

The news of the Tianxiong Pass battle silenced all the insidious rumors in Jinguan City instantly, and people hurriedly sought to make amends.

This scene was merely an episode in the whole matter’s unfolding process!

The armored soldiers swiftly stripped these people of their armor; some were red-faced, while others appeared as if mourning the dead.

Yun Tiansheng looked on coldly.

The departure of these individuals had no impact on the soaring Ninth Mountain, if anything, it purged these troublemakers.

Currently, the troops recruited from various prefectures had begun to arrive gradually, and the Ninth Mountain Army had unknowingly grown to tens of thousands. The new recruits were training on the Ninth Mountain drill grounds, while the others were stationed at General Mountain for cultivation.

The Ninth Mountain now thrived with abundant forces!

"Li"

An eagle’s cry sounded.

Yun Tiansheng suddenly raised his head.