87: Chapter 87 Conquest

Facing the anger of the two brothers, Ye Xuan and Ye Yi.

Scarface quickly put on a fawning smile again: "It's a misunderstanding! Brothers, there was a major enemy before us at the time; I had no other choice!"

While he kept making excuses, his hand quietly reached for a cloth bag at his waist, swiftly pulling out an all-red Signal Flare and forcefully yanking the fuse.

With a sharp "shoo" sound.

The Signal Flare shot straight into the night sky, exploding into a burst of blinding white light that illuminated half the horizon.

Ye Xuan sneered; this Scarface was truly cunning. Although they had already escaped the vicinity of Heitu Village.

But this place was still within the Yan Army's sphere of influence. This Signal Flare was clearly a call for help; Yan reinforcements wouldn't take long to arrive.

Once reinforcements arrived, if they tried to move against Scarface, it would cause trouble, and they might even be framed for the crime of "harming government troops."

Ye Xuan sheathed his sword and glanced at him coldly without saying a word.

He also reached out to stop Ye Yi.

Seeing the brothers back down, Scarface smiled triumphantly. It seemed these two were nothing special after all; they faltered after just a little intimidation.

Before long.

The reinforcements arrived. Seeing that the dispatched soldiers were unharmed, they escorted them back.

Upon returning to the military camp, Scarface directly claimed all the credit for burning the supplies for himself.

When Wang Sheng saw the Ye brothers return safely, a flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes.

He nonchalantly stepped forward, patted the Ye brothers' shoulders, offered a few words of praise, and then sent them off to rest.

With the Jin State's supplies burned, their morale plummeted. Wang Sheng wanted to press the advantage and immediately ordered his soldiers to launch a counterattack.

Under the guise of being "elites," the Ye brothers were frequently assigned by Wang Sheng to the most dangerous front lines to face the enemy generals and soldiers head-on; these were extremely perilous orders.

A single moment of carelessness would result in death on the battlefield.

Yet Wang Sheng played his part perfectly on the surface, appearing to be very considerate of them. This led others in the army to believe they were lucky to be so highly valued by the general.

After the fighting had continued for several months.

Ye Xuan and Ye Yi were covered in blood and filth. In a secluded spot, Ye Xuan used a Talismanic Incantation to send a message to Ye Jing. To avoid worrying their old father, Ye Xuan didn't mention how he and Ye Yi were being suppressed by the generals.

"Brother! That damned Wang Sheng! He clearly wants us dead! I really can't take it anymore!"

At this moment, Ye Yi's resentful voice rang out as he slammed his broken blade onto the ground.

Days of high-intensity combat had left new wounds layered over old ones. Every movement brought a piercing pain, yet none of it compared to the frustration and anger in his heart.

Lately, they had been pushed into suicidal battles time and again, escaping death each time only through their extraordinary perseverance and coordination.

But Wang Sheng's covert suppression only grew worse; their supplies dwindled, and their assigned missions became increasingly treacherous.

If they weren't Cultivators and Ye Xuan hadn't been able to anticipate the flow of battle to find a sliver of hope, they would have long since become lonely ghosts on the battlefield.

Some of the soldiers who had set out with them had already gained official ranks, yet they remained mere foot soldiers. It was truly stifling.

Ye Xuan put away the communication Talismanic Incantation. After a moment of silence, he raised his hand and patted Ye Yi's shoulder, feeling the coarse texture through his tattered clothes.

"I know."

Ye Xuan's voice was soft but carried an unquestionable steadiness, a cold glint swirling in the depths of his eyes.

"Being frustrated is useless, and so is being angry. Wang Sheng wants us to die on the battlefield, so we must survive."

Ye Yi's knuckles turned white. His agitation calmed slightly, but he remained uneasy: "Big brother, what should we do? If this continues, we'll fall into his hands sooner or later."

"Wait." Ye Xuan spat out two words, pulled a small piece of dry rations from his robe, broke it in half, and handed one piece to Ye Yi.

"Now isn't the time for a fallout. The war between the Yan State and the Jin State hasn't settled yet. Wang Sheng needs elites like us to risk our lives for him—that is our bargaining chip!"

Ye Yi took a bite of the dry rations. The coarse grain scraped against his mouth, but it was far less bitter than the feelings in his heart.

Not long after, the Emperor of the Yan State issued an imperial decree to capture the Jin State's vital stronghold—Jinshi Pass.

Jinshi Pass was the primary route from the Jin State to the Yan State. Capturing it would play a decisive role in determining whether the Yan State's war effort would be defensive or offensive.

Therefore, the Jin State had stationed a heavy garrison at this crucial location. Previous Yan State attacks had all ended in failure with heavy casualties.

Wang Sheng immediately held a meeting. He once again intentionally assigned the main task of attacking Heishi Pass to Ye Xuan and Ye Yi, providing them with only three thousand troops.

Meanwhile, other generals led heavy forces to pin down the surrounding enemy troops, under the pretext of "letting the elite forces exert their maximum impact."

When the news arrived, Ye Yi trembled with rage: "Three thousand men! He clearly wants us to go to our deaths! Jinshi Pass has over ten thousand defenders and solid fortifications. This is simply an impossible task!"

Ye Xuan, however, was exceptionally calm. He looked at Jinshi Pass on the military map and noticed Chen Mingyuan and the female Cultivator Yun Yue appearing in the nearby army.

With Cultivators assisting in the struggle for Jinshi Pass, it was very likely that Cultivators would appear on the enemy side as well.

Perhaps even that never-before-seen Immortal Master Crazy Blade would join the battle.

However, these two Cultivators would only act when facing other Cultivators; anything else was of no concern to them.

After accepting the mission, Ye Xuan did not set out with the soldiers immediately.

He first carefully surveyed the terrain of Heishi Pass and discovered steep cliffs on both sides, with only a narrow mountain path for passage. The Jin State army relied on this unique terrain to stubbornly hold the pass.

But Ye Xuan also found a weakness. There was a dried-up riverbed behind Heishi Pass. Although the entrance was hidden and overgrown with thorns, if they could bypass the pass through this riverbed, they could form a pincer attack on the Jin State army.

However, this riverbed was filled with traps set by the Jin State army to prevent enemy sneak attacks.

"Brother, are we really going to bypass them through that riverbed?" Ye Yi looked at the riverbed marked on the map, a hint of hesitation in his eyes. "It's full of traps. If we trigger them, we might not even make it to the rear of the pass."

"That's right, we'll go through there."

Ye Xuan nodded, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. "The most dangerous places are often the safest."

"The Jin State army certainly won't expect us to dare to Breakthrough from this dead end."

Subsequently, Ye Xuan selected five hundred agile soldiers skilled in climbing to follow him around the rear via the riverbed. The remaining two thousand five hundred soldiers were led by Ye Yi to create a diversion on the main mountain path and draw the Jin State army's attention.

On the night before departure, Ye Xuan gave a Talismanic Incantation to Ye Yi: "As soon as you see the smoke signal rise, immediately order the attack. We will strike from both sides!"

Ye Yi nodded heavily: "Big brother! You must be careful!"

Before dawn the next day, Ye Yi followed the plan and launched an attack on the main mountain path. Guo Zhengning followed beside Ye Yi; he was now a Lieutenant.

But he still looked after the Ye brothers. He had given the command to Ye Yi because he was just a Martial arts hall master and truly didn't know how to fight a war.

On the battlefield, the thunderous sound of drums filled the air and battle cries rose from all sides. The Jin State army immediately retaliated, putting all their effort into resisting Ye Yi's assault.