177: Chapter 177 A Thousand Golden Vanguards

Lin Feng led four thousand Golden Armored Spearmans; two thousand were his original troops, and two thousand were newly brought back from the alternate dimension.

By the time they finished assembling at the inner city square, dusk had deepened, but the dark gold luster of the soldiers' armor remained grim and cold under the lamplight.

Lin Tian wasted no words on pleasantries and directly instructed Lin Feng, who sat upright like a javelin atop his Dragon-Blood Steed:

"Fifty li to the south, there is a Minotaur scout team of one thousand."

"Take your men and search from the sky using the Dragon-Blood Steeds. Once found, bring the leading officer back to me alive; I have questions."

"Leave no others alive. Annihilate them all."

"Understood!"

Lin Feng cupped his fists, his voice resolute.

A flash of gold-red Battle Intent flickered in his eyes. He turned to face the four thousand standing dragon cavalry, drew his crimson gold coiling dragon spear, and pointed it directly at the southern night sky:

"Golden Armored units, take flight! Target: South! Find those Minotaurs and crush them!"

"Roar!"

The four thousand Golden Armored Spearmans responded in unison, mounting their Dragon-Blood Steeds in one synchronized motion.

In the next second, countless massive dragon wings snapped open, whipping up a gale. Their heavy bodies rose from the ground like a sudden metal dark cloud, quickly blending into the deepening twilight.

They flew rapidly toward the south. The low whistle of dragon wings piercing the air gradually faded into the distance.

After sending Lin Feng off, the last traces of sleepiness in Lin Tian's mind vanished completely.

With his hands behind his back, he paced a few steps across the square in front of the Lords Mansion, ultimately deciding not to return to his room.

With matters weighing on his heart, he wouldn't be able to rest well anyway.

"Forget it, I'll just walk around and wait for news."

He murmured to himself, casually stepping down the stairs to wander aimlessly through the inner city as the lights began to flicker on.

Crimson Flame followed quietly behind him, the flames on its four hooves receding into a gentle halo.

He walked past the orderly Barracks, where the faint sounds of soldiers chatting and laughing during their post-dinner rest drifted out.

He passed the brightly lit planned industrial zone, where the clanging of blacksmiths and the sound of wood processing were constant.

Looking toward the outer city, the campfires of the newly settled refugees dotted the landscape like stars, with wisps of cooking smoke rising—a chaotic yet vibrant atmosphere of daily life.

Watching all this, Lin Tian's mood gradually calmed, and a trace of a smile even touched the corners of his mouth.

This was his territory, the foundation he had built with his own hands.

Lin Feng and the others had dragon horses that could fly; finding a Minotaur unit marching on the ground shouldn't take much effort.

What he needed to do now was wait patiently.

And meanwhile... enjoy this brief moment of personal peace before the storm.

Meanwhile, under the southern night sky.

Lin Feng led the four thousand dragon cavalry like a dark cloud of death flying low to the ground.

As soon as they flew out of the territory's range, he split his forces without hesitation.

"Squads one through five, fall out!"

He barked in a deep voice.

Five hundred Golden Armored Spearmans spurred their dragon horses in response, slightly detaching from the main formation.

"The five of you, spread out in a fan shape and search the area fifty li ahead and to the left and right! Report any Minotaur sightings immediately, and do not alert the enemy!"

"The rest of you, follow me and continue at full speed toward the location described by the refugees!"

"Yes!"

The five hundred-man teams shot out like arrows from a bow, quickly scattering into the hazy night and undulating terrain until they vanished.

Lin Feng, leading the main force of three thousand five hundred riders, maintained a relatively tight formation and pounced toward the general vicinity fifty li to the south with the keenness of a falcon.

The Dragon-Blood Steeds had excellent endurance, and their flight speed far exceeded that of a ground march.

About an hour later, when the night had completely shrouded the land and the starlight had become clear.

A rhythmic, faint whinny of a dragon horse came from the southwest.

Soon, a Golden Armored Spearman from the southwest search squad flew out of the darkness on his dragon horse.

He landed precisely in front of Lin Feng, saluted with a hand over his chest, and reported quickly in a low voice:

"Reporting to the Commander! Target discovered approximately thirty-five li to the southwest! A Minotaur unit of a thousand is taking a brief rest at the edge of a leeward valley; they have campfires lit."

"Judging by their armor and weapons, they are exceptionally well-equipped and highly disciplined—definitely elites. I have left four companions to monitor their movements from a hidden high altitude. If they move, we will track them from a distance!"

As he spoke, he pointed in a direction and said to Lin Feng, "Commander, follow me."

"Good!"

A sharp light exploded in Lin Feng's eyes as he took the energy stone and instantly locked onto the coordinates.

"Send orders: all search squads converge on the target location, but do not expose yourselves! The main force will follow me to close in stealthily! Get ready, the hunt begins!"

At the same time, at the edge of that leeward valley to the south.

The Minotaur Thousand-Man Commander, Captain Luoyi, was leaning against a cold rock, carefully wiping his double-edged battle axe—which was nearly as tall as he was—with a piece of flannel, its edge shimmering with a cold light.

He stood nearly four meters tall, with muscles like cast iron and dark red skin that seemed to flow with lava under the firelight.

On the pair of massive curved horns atop his head were dark gold metal rings symbolizing his military rank.

His aura was heavy and violent, having remarkably reached Platinum 2-Star!

He had been ordered to lead this thousand-man elite force, composed entirely of Gold-tier Minotaur warriors.

They had detached early from the main army gathering in the rear to rush to the border at top speed and verify the vague but kingdom-shaking emergency report sent by Chief Barbarian War of the Split-Hoof Tribe: "The Purple Moon Dynasty's army is pressing upon the borders."

"Purple Moon Dynasty..."

Captain Luoyi stopped wiping his weapon, a hint of doubt and deep confusion flashing in his large, bell-like bovine eyes as he muttered in a low voice:

"Are those eastern humans insane? Our two nations have been at peace for years. They haven't even finished cleaning up the 'Outer Pollution' and those sudden 'Lords' in their own territories, yet they have the leisure to tweak the Kingdom's whiskers?"

His orders were:

Advance at full speed, contact Chief after arriving at the Split-Hoof Tribe, obtain first-hand intelligence, and assess the true strength and intentions of the so-called "Purple Moon Vanguard" to provide accurate data for the main legion led by General Wang Gelu.

Moving a massive army and arranging logistics took time; this scouting force was the Kingdom's eyes and dagger.

"That fellow Chief, though crude, isn't someone who speaks without reason. Since he sent the highest-level distress signal..."

Captain Luoyi looked up toward the heavy darkness of the north, the general direction of the Split-Hoof Tribe.

"I hope we're still in time. All troops, heed my command! Rest is over, extinguish the fires, and continue our march! We must reach the outskirts of the Split-Hoof Tribe in one hour!"

"Yes!"

The surrounding Minotaur warriors growled in response, quickly standing up to bury the fires with sand and efficiently organizing their gear. The formation soon became grim and orderly once more.

However, Captain Luoyi and these thousand Kingdom elites did not know that they were not the reinforcing vanguard.

Instead, they had fallen into a death net woven of steel and dragon wings that had already been spread wide.

The hunters were already in position, and cold killing intent was quietly descending from the seemingly peaceful night sky above their heads.