85: Chapter 85 Burning Grain

"What is that?!"

The Black-robed Man was both shocked and enraged; he was currently forming Hand Seals and had no time to worry about the White Eagle's attack.

But the White Eagle was relentless, extending its sharp talons to claw at the Black-robed Man.

Under this interference, the Black-robed Man, who had barely been able to suppress Chen Mingyuan and the female cultivator, suddenly lost his balance, and even the attacks from those three Flying Wheels weakened considerably.

"Damn it!"

The Black-robed Man cursed loudly. Seeing a rare opportunity, Chen Mingyuan and the female cultivator hurriedly brandished their swords to knock away the Flying Wheels before lunging toward him.

As the two swords swept toward him, the Black-robed Man realized he was powerless to resist. He glared hatefully at the White Eagle, which had long since fled, and tried to escape forward.

"Where do you think you're going!" Chen Mingyuan swung his longsword, and the Sword Light transformed into streaks of Sword Shadows that struck at the Black-robed Man.

In an instant, amidst the flurry of blades, the Black-robed Man failed to defend himself in time. His body was directly pierced by the Sword Light, leaving him riddled with bloody holes as he fell from mid-air with a miserable scream.

When the Jin State enemy troops saw that the Immortal Master leading them was dead, they lost all will to resist and fled in a total rout.

Chen Mingyuan and the female cultivator naturally gave chase, showing no mercy as their swords cut down more than half of the enemy forces.

The battle had become completely one-sided.

Seeing that the Black-robed Man was dead, Ye Xuan and Ye Yi both breathed a sigh of relief and then followed the army to fight their way through.

It wasn't until a glimmer of dawn finally broke through the dark sky that the slaughter ceased. The ground was covered in corpses, staining the earth a deep blood-red.

Chen Mingyuan hovered in mid-air on his sword, scanning the surroundings warily, seemingly trying to determine if the person who released the White Eagle was still there.

"Senior Brother, what's wrong?" the female cultivator stepped forward and asked.

Chen Mingyuan withdrew his sword, and a gentle expression immediately appeared on his face. "Junior Sister Yun Yue, are you alright?"

This female cultivator was the only daughter of Chen Mingyuan's master, named Yun Yue. Chen Mingyuan had been fond of her for a long time, but this Junior Sister did not like him.

Yun Yue said calmly, "I am fine. However, Senior Brother, that White Eagle appeared strangely. It didn't look like an ordinary hawk; I suspect it was someone's doing."

"No matter what it was, at least it wasn't an enemy." Chen Mingyuan didn't care about that beast, which showed no signs of Spiritual Qi, and instead spoke to Yun Yue with anticipation.

"Junior Sister, now that the battle is over, why don't we go to the city to rest for a while?"

Yun Yue glanced at the soldiers moving the corpses below, her beautiful eyes filled with doubt, but she couldn't discern anything from those commoners.

Thus, she flew forward on her sword.

Chen Mingyuan quickly caught up, and the two of them left the battlefield one after the other, riding their swords.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield below, as Ye Xuan and Ye Yi were moving corpses, the Scarface soldier suddenly ran over.

He shouted to them, "Ye Xuan! Ye Yi! The General has urgent business! Come to the camp at once!"

Hearing Scarface say this, the two of them had no choice but to follow.

When they arrived at the camp, Wang Sheng was standing with a serious expression, his eyes fixed on several soldiers below who were almost covered in blood.

Seeing those soldiers covered in blood and being supported by others in an extremely weak state, Ye Xuan couldn't help but feel his heart tighten.

Seeing that the Ye brothers had arrived, Wang Sheng said, "Tell me, what happened?"

Fear was visible in the eyes of the blood-stained soldiers. One of them said, "Reporting to the General! We were ordered to scout the Jin State's grain transport! We were inadvertently detected, and then..."

At this point, the soldier didn't dare say more; it was simply that they had been discovered while scouting and nearly died there.

Wang Sheng's face grew increasingly grim, and he then cursed angrily, "Useless! A bunch of useless fools! Did you find any useful information about the Jin State's grain deployment or troop strength?"

The soldier trembled all over and hurriedly kowtowed, saying, "General, have mercy! Although we didn't figure out the detailed deployment, we did find a key point. The Jin State's grain isn't hidden in ordinary tents, but was moved into Heitu Village, thirty li from here!"

"And those guarding the grain aren't ordinary soldiers; every one of them possesses high-level martial arts. Several of our brothers were wounded by them!"

Ye Xuan was somewhat surprised. Heitu Village was easy to defend but hard to attack, and it was inhabited by bandits who committed evil deeds, making life miserable for the nearby commoners.

However, the imperial court was currently busy with the war and had no time to deal with them. Now that the Jin State had hidden their grain there, it was quite an unexpected move.

Wang Sheng pondered for a moment and then asked, "Ye Xuan, Ye Yi, what do you think?"

Suddenly being called upon by the General, all the soldiers looked at these two ordinary troops. Among the scouting soldiers, someone's eyes widened involuntarily.

Ye Xuan didn't understand why Wang Sheng had suddenly called on them, but he still stepped forward and said, "General, my knowledge is shallow; I wouldn't dare to speak presumptuously on military matters."

Wang Sheng laughed loudly. "No need for such formality. Just say whatever thoughts you have!"

Seeing that the General held him in such high regard, Ye Xuan felt a bit nervous. He then said, "General, I believe that if the Jin State truly collaborated with the bandits, the grain guards will surely be even more vigilant. Since this scouting mission failed, any subsequent attempts will be as difficult as reaching the heavens."

Wang Sheng looked at the Ye brothers and then said, "Exactly. That's why I want to take them by surprise and burn their grain!"

As soon as Wang Sheng finished speaking, the camp fell into an instant silence.

Burning the grain? That was a move to seek victory amidst danger.

Seeing that Wang Sheng had suddenly assigned such a dangerous task, Ye Xuan fell silent for a moment before stepping forward. "General, while this plan could tie down the enemy, the risk is immense, and the terrain of Heitu Village is complex."

"The bandits there will certainly be familiar with the environment, and there are Jin State experts stationed there. If we go blindly, I'm afraid it will be difficult to return safely!"

Wang Sheng gave a faint smile. "That is precisely why I came to find you. You just need to quietly infiltrate the village, and after succeeding, you withdraw."

At this point, he narrowed his eyes, revealing a hint of danger. "I've observed that you two possess extraordinary skills and were fearless on the battlefield. This heavy responsibility can only fall to you!"

These words shocked everyone present.

No one expected that the General would actually entrust such an important mission to two unknown, ordinary soldiers.

Seeing that he had put it that way, Ye Xuan couldn't refuse. He cupped his fists and said, "Since the General trusts us, I wouldn't dare to disobey. I just don't know how many men the General plans to send with us?"

"Too many people will only get in the way." Wang Sheng shook his head. "I will pick ten of the most skilled soldiers for you, along with Fire Oil and Hidden Weapons. You will depart tonight! If you fail the mission, you will be dealt with by Military Law!"

Hearing this, Ye Xuan and Ye Yi could only respond in unison, "We understand!"

As Ye Xuan stood up, he saw a familiar face among the soldiers who had been sent out to scout. It was Guo Zhengning!

In front of Wang Sheng, Ye Xuan couldn't acknowledge him.

Guo Zhengning met his gaze briefly, his eyes full of worry, and he shook his head slightly.

Ye Xuan's heart skipped a beat: Could it be that this mission is extremely dangerous?

That evening, Ye Xuan and Ye Yi took the ten soldiers, disguised themselves as mountain hunters, and quietly left the camp.

Heitu Village was thirty li away, and the mountain paths were rugged. They traveled swiftly and arrived at the forest outside Heitu Village in about an hour.