CHAPTER 516: CHAPTER 82: SCARED OUT OF THEIR WITS

After releasing three Snake Eye Hawks, Jin Nuo ordered men to station at the camp, and together with several military officers, took out the Fengdan County terrain map that had been kept earlier in the Military Department.

"A map from thirty years ago?" Jin Nuo’s piercing eyes widened, nearly exasperated to the point of a stomach spasm.

This expedition to the Southern Border, to say the least, was quite suffocating. Not to mention the slow-moving Cloud Sailing they used earlier, this almost moldy map was also a huge disappointment.

"Lord Jin Nuo, this is already the latest version of the Fengdan County terrain map. As you know, ever since Minister Kulu of the Imperial Eagle Department went missing, the department has been leaderless. For a godforsaken place like Fengdan County, creating a terrain map every twenty years is already quite considered," the officers beside him hurriedly explained.

Jin Nuo gave one of them a fierce knock on the head, which elicited a painful cry.

"Godforsaken? Open your dog eyes and look, in a godforsaken place they managed to construct such a city wall," Jin Nuo’s eyes narrowed. It had been two hours since they set up camp, twilight had faded, and the crescent moon hung like a hook.

On the dark plain, the city wall, constructed of some unknown stone, was frosted and moonlit under the moonlight, emitting a waxen luster.

From a distance, it looked like a python dancing over the plain.

It connected to the east with Xuan Beast Ridge and bordered Fengdan County in the west, forming a natural barrier between Fengdan County and Xuan Beast Ridge.

Jin Nuo, with his keen eyesight, would bet that even the flourishing Wo Hua Imperial City, which gathered the nation’s finest craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry, would not be able to construct such a wall in a short period.

Fortunately, on this military expedition, he came prepared with the excellent reconnaissance Xuan Beast Snake Eye Hawks.

This breed of eagle, by nature, has a talent for mimicry. During the day, their feathers turn blue and white, blending perfectly with the clear skies.

At night, their plumage would spontaneously turn black, and their eagle eyes would function like radar—even at an altitude of three thousand meters, they could accurately catch burrowing rodents in the fields.

Its hearing is as sensitive as a snake’s; the slightest rustle of wind or grass would prompt it to immediately evade.

The Snake Eye Hawk is also well-known in the Empire as a reconnaissance Dark Bird, much adored by the Imperial reconnaissance soldiers and breeders.

To avoid being detected by the city defense forces in Fengdan County, a breeder with the army commanded three Snake Eye Hawks to circle high in the sky for a moment, then gradually descended, intending to cross over the city wall before exploring inside the county.

"Lord Jin Nuo, the Snake Eye Hawks are about to cross over that peculiar city wall," the breeder said, intently watching the Snake Eye Hawks, which were gliding down like hang-gliders.

Just then, the lowest flying Snake Eye Hawk, just as it was about to clear the wall, executed a bizarre dive, twitched, and crashed into the wall.

Blood bloomed like a spontaneously opening rose, its petals shedding intermittently under the moonlight.

Then, the second Snake Eye Hawk let out a piercing scream and fell to the ground.

"Not good, quickly call back the Snake Eye Hawks," witnessing such a scene, Jin Nuo’s heart sank, and he immediately ordered the breeder to recall the Snake Eye Hawks.

The third Snake Eye Hawk stumbled back, barely returning to the camp, and before it could land on the breeder’s shoulder, it fell to the ground with a "thud."

The breeder rushed forward and carefully checked from wing to skull, yet there was not a single trace of injury on the Snake Eye Hawks.

Jin Nuo remained silent, stepping forward. He grasped the wings of the Snake-eyed Eagle with both hands, and with a fierce tear, the eagle was split in half.

Groping inside the eagle’s chest, Jin Nuo extracted the eagle gallbladder, shattered from fear and small as a fingertip.

"Scared to death," Jin Nuo said as he crushed the gallbladder into a pulp.

"Lord Jin Nuo, could it be that the people of Fengdan County have set up a special Dark Array near the city wall?" The Breeder was both heartbroken and furious.

"To think you are a breeder of the Empire. Dark Beasts are not like Dark Practitioners, especially the birds. There is only one situation that would cause a bird to fall from the sky on its own. Well done, Fengdan County, with such an impressive Dark Beast’s pressure," Jin Nuo himself was not sure why the Snake-eyed Eagle had such an unusual reaction.

However, since he experienced the incident at the Sky Dragon Palace last time, he was nearly certain in his heart.

The pressure from the Dark Beast, similar to the Sky Dragon Palace, suggests that the wall might be made of special materials, possibly mixed with the blood and bones of High-level Dark Beasts, which is why the Snake-eyed Eagle’s gall was shattered upon nearing the wall.

"Dark Beast’s pressure? Lord Jin Nuo, what shall we do then?" The soldiers had come from afar, crossed the Xuan Beast Ridge, thinking they would have a good fight with the County Guard Army, but now, they couldn’t even enter the territory of Fengdan County.

Undoubtedly, this was a disadvantage to Regiment Seventeen of the Imperial Army.

As an outstanding Imperial Dragon Knight, Jin Nuo did not panic at this time.

"No need to panic. The enemy wants us to fall into disarray. Even so, we must remain calm. Someone relay my order: no open fires or cooking tonight. Every soldier should collect enough beef and alcohol from the supply wagons. Rest well tonight; tomorrow at dusk, we will launch the second round of attacks."

Jin Nuo clearly understood that morale comes first. With the help of alcohol and meat, after resting for a day and night, by the evening of the next day, the soldiers would be fully spirited and energetic.

The men from the Northern Country shouted, "Lord Jin Nuo, let our Empire’s iron cavalry flatten Fengdan County to the ground."

Seeing the soldiers regaining their strength, Jin Nuo had also made preparations: "Transmit my command, choose twenty Charging Soldiers, call upon twenty Imperial Fierce Rhinoceroses, and cover them with Martial Helmets for a charge against Fengdan County’s city walls."

Upon hearing this, the soldiers’ morale soared.

Martial Helmets indeed. To think that Lord Jin Nuo would bring out twenty sets of them at once.

The Martial Helmet is a type of Battle Helmet that can only be used by Middle-level Empire officers. It is not just incredibly defensive; it is also engraved with a Dark Array that can shield against including the pressure from Dark Beasts.

The Fierce Rhinoceros is a fierce Dark Beast the size of a pony, with tough skin that swords and guns can’t penetrate, and a horn on its forehead, sharp like a crescent, capable of instantly splitting a hundred-pound boulder.

With the Martial Helmets, any pressure is as good as non-existent.

And with the Fierce Rhinoceroses, it’s only a matter of time before the walls are breached.

Twenty Charging Soldiers were quickly selected.

Twenty fierce-looking Fierce Rhinoceroses lined up, and at the command of the Charging Soldiers, charged like a "tratatata" bulldozer, with overwhelming momentum towards the Dragon Bone Great Wall.

All of this was witnessed by a Giant Winged Mosquito King buzzing and squeaking as it flew beside the Dragon Bone Great Wall, and the details were meticulously conveyed to Yue Jinghua.