12: Chapter 12 Azure-Scaled Water Ape, Pre-Battle Military Discussion

The night raid before dawn was small in scale.

About seventy or eighty first-tier Water Apes approached the camp stealthily in the dark, attempting to break through the defenses from the trench on the east side.

But the Dao soldiers were prepared; the five men in the front of the Xuanwu Killing Formation guarded the east side, unleashing Talismans and Magical Artifacts, cleanly repelling this probing attack, killing over twenty Water Apes without a single casualty on their side.

After the Water Apes retreated, a brief, stifled cheer erupted in the camp, only to be suppressed by a low shout from Lu Hu.

"Don't be happy too soon; this was just a probe."

The Mortals calmed down again, but their eyes held a trace of fear that was no longer pure, mixed with something that only comes after experiencing real combat.

Lu Changyuan stood on the high ground of the camp, looking at the scattered corpses of the Water Apes outside the eastern trench, fell silent for a moment, then turned and walked toward the Central Army's large tent.

"Gather everyone; we are having a meeting."

The Central Army's large tent was a temporarily erected structure that could barely accommodate a dozen people.

Lu Changyuan sat in the main seat, Lu Hu and Leng Feng stood on either side, several Dao soldier squad leaders stood in the back, and the managing old servant huddled in the corner clutching a ledger.

Lu Changyuan spread the simple map Leng Feng had drawn last night on the table and spoke: "Tell me your thoughts."

Lu Hu spoke first, his tone steady: "I believe we should proceed steadily. The number of Water Apes is huge, and they have a second-tier Great Yao Beast in command. A direct frontal assault would result in unpredictable casualties. It would be better to establish perfect defensive fortifications around the camp first, using defense as offense, to exhaust the Water Apes' vital strength. Once their morale is low, we can seek an opportunity to counterattack."

He paused and added: "This method is safe, but it will take a long time, estimated to be about a month."

Lu Changyuan nodded without expressing his stance and turned to Leng Feng: "And you?"

Leng Feng was silent for a moment, then spoke in a direct tone: "I request to fight, to infiltrate the heartland alone and directly assassinate the Ape King. Once the leader is dead, the group will be leaderless, and the tribe will naturally scatter."

Lu Hu frowned: "That is too risky. If you are discovered—"

"I am confident," Leng Feng said calmly, "Last night, I already figured out the patrol routes of the Water Ape scouts; there is a three-hour window I can exploit."

Both pairs of eyes turned to Lu Changyuan, waiting for his decision.

Lu Changyuan looked at the map on the table without speaking immediately.

His finger tapped lightly on the map, moving from the location of the camp to the high ground in the heartland, then to the location marked as the source of the extreme cold Qi directly below the high ground.

Proceeding steadily would take too long; a month of time—the camp's resource consumption was one problem, but more importantly, he did not have a month to waste.

A solo assassination carried too high a risk; Leng Feng's Sword Bone had just undergone Awakening, his cultivation was still at the Perfection stage of Qi, and if he encountered the second-tier Ape King, the outcome would be unpredictable.

Neither plan was the optimal solution.

He raised his head, looked at Lu Hu and Leng Feng, and said in a calm tone: "Both of you, rejected."

Both were stunned.

"How can one allow others to sleep soundly beside one's own bed," Lu Changyuan stood up, his finger pressed on the location of the Water Ape tribe on the map, his voice calm and clear, "This island is the foundation of my Lu Family, not something to be slowly consumed by Yao Beasts. I don't want a repulsion; I want total annihilation."

Lu Hu and Leng Feng looked at each other.

"Total annihilation of five hundred Water Apes," Lu Hu said, weighing his words, "With our current troop strength, fifty Dao soldiers, even if we form the Xuanwu Killing Formation, it is difficult to achieve zero casualties when facing such a number of Yao Beasts—"

"Who said we are only using Dao soldiers?" Lu Changyuan interrupted him, his eyes sweeping past the tent to the Mortals busy in the camp, "We have three thousand people."

The tent fell silent for a moment.

Lu Hu's brow furrowed even deeper: "Mortals? They might not even be able to handle a first-tier Water Ape—"

"In one-on-one combat, naturally not," Lu Changyuan sat back down, his tone calm, "But three thousand people, if they have sufficient motivation, can do more than you imagine."

He drew a few lines on the map, dividing the entire battlefield into several zones, then raised his head and looked at Lu Hu and Leng Feng: "The Dao soldiers are responsible for the frontal advance, forming the Xuanwu Killing Formation to attract the attention of the Water Apes' main force. Leng Feng, you are not going to assassinate; you are going to do something more important."

Leng Feng's eyes flickered: "What is it?"

"The Ape King," Lu Changyuan said calmly, "Wait until I point out its fatal weakness, then you act."

Leng Feng stared at him for a moment, then nodded without asking further.

He was already accustomed to the way this Young Lord spoke—always stating only the conclusion without explaining the process, but the conclusion was always correct.

"There is one more thing," Lu Changyuan said finally, "Before the formal battle begins, I need to talk to the three thousand Mortals first."

Lu Hu did not understand: "Talk about what?"

"Talk about why they should fight for their lives."

Outside the tent, the sky had completely brightened.

The morning light pierced through the mist, enveloping the camp in a hazy white light. The Mortals gathered in twos and threes, whispering to each other, their eyes holding the lingering fear from the night raid, as well as confusion and anxiety about the future.

They did not know what would happen next.

They only knew that there were Yao Beasts on this island, and those green pupils from last night were only a few dozen yards away from them.

Lu Changyuan walked out of the large tent and stood on the high platform in the center of the camp, overlooking the dense crowd below.

Three thousand people looked up at him.

He was silent for a moment, then spoke, his voice calm yet clearly reaching every corner of the camp: "You all saw what happened last night."

No one responded, but everyone was listening.

"On this island, there is a Yao Beast tribe composed of five hundred Water Apes," he continued, his tone direct without any embellishment, "They are entrenched in the heartland of the island, which is the most important location on the entire island. I want to take that place and build our home."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping across the crowd.

"I need you all to fight this battle together."

In the crowd, some began to whisper, some showed fear, and some subconsciously took half a step back.

Lu Changyuan did not wait for their reaction and continued: "I know what you are thinking. You are Mortals, without cultivation, without Magical Artifacts; why should you fight against Yao Beasts?"

He paused, his voice calm but carrying a power that could not be ignored: "But I tell you, in this battle, you are not the main force; you are the support. The Dao soldiers will hold the front, and you will provide follow-up attacks, transport supplies, and guard the flanks."

"However," his tone changed slightly, "Everyone who participates in the battle will have their military merits recorded."

The whispering in the crowd stopped.

Everyone was waiting for him to continue.

Lu Changyuan looked at the bewildered or expectant eyes below and slowly spoke, stating the plan he had already thought of last night, word by word.

"For one head cut off, the slave status will be rescinded, and ten mu of fertile land will be granted."

"For three heads cut off, the basic cultivation technique 《Thick Earth Manual》 and one Qi-refining pill will be granted, and from then on, you will step onto the path of cultivation."

"For ten heads cut off, one foundation establishment pill will be granted, and you will be entered into my Lu Family register, with your descendants enjoying the cultivation Legacy forever."

In the camp, it became completely quiet.

That silence was a brief aphasia after being suppressed by a huge shock.

Three thousand Mortals, most of them had never thought in their lives that the two words 'cultivation' would have anything to do with them. Cultivation was the business of nobles, a path that only those born with Spiritual Roots and good backgrounds could take. People like them were born as serfs and would die as serfs, at most changing a master or a piece of land, but the two words 'slave status' would follow them from birth to death and be passed on to their descendants.

But now, this young Young Lord wearing a cyan dharma robe stood on the high platform and told them in a tone so calm it was almost casual—

Cut off three heads, and you can step onto the path of cultivation.

Some began to tremble because something that had been suppressed for too long found an outlet at this moment.

A Mortal man in his thirties stood in the middle of the crowd, his hands gripping the iron axe at his waist, his eye sockets slowly turning red, his lips trembling as if he wanted to say something but could not say a word.

The young man next to him was already crying, an uncontrollable venting after the long-suppressed desire suddenly found an outlet.

Lu Changyuan stood on the high platform, looking at these people below, his expression calm.

He waited for a moment, then continued, his voice steady: "I keep my word, with the Heavenly Dao as my witness. For everyone who participates in the battle and earns merit, every promise will be fulfilled, without missing a single point, without changing a single word."

As his voice fell, there was an extremely faint tremor of Dao rhyme between heaven and earth; it was the echo of the Heavenly Dao oath, invisible and intangible, yet everyone present felt it.

The silence lasted for a moment, then a roar erupted from the crowd, quickly connecting into a wave that shook the camp.

The Dao soldiers stood on the periphery, watching this scene, a trace of shock in their eyes.

Lu Hu stood behind Lu Changyuan, looking at the seething crowd below, and after a long silence, he whispered: "Young Lord, this move of yours..."

"As long as it works," Lu Changyuan interrupted him calmly, turning to walk down the high platform, "Pass the order, rest today, battle tomorrow."

The crowd under the high platform did not disperse immediately.

Many stood on the spot as if they had not yet recovered from those few sentences just now. Some looked down at the wooden plaque on their necks symbolizing slave status, as if thinking for the first time that this thing might actually have a day to be burned. Others gripped the iron spears in their hands, breathing heavily, eyes shining, as if they had already seen the ten mu of fertile land and that Qi-refining pill that could lead one into the Dao.

The managing old servant was soon called to Lu Changyuan's side, and a new rule was temporarily added.

"From now on, all Mortals will be organized into squads of ten," Lu Changyuan said in a calm tone, "Each squad will have a temporary squad leader responsible for recording heads, recording casualties, and recording the transport of supplies. Who killed, who carried, who retreated in the face of battle, all must be recorded clearly."

The managing old servant agreed repeatedly, his hands trembling while holding the ledger. He knew clearly in his heart that this was establishing the first set of military merit rules that could truly fall upon the heads of the people.

Soon, shouts rang out in the camp. The three thousand Mortals, originally loosely gathered, were slowly broken up, organized, and lined up. Some argued with red faces to become squad leaders, while others, fearing they would not be able to record merit tomorrow, took the initiative to run to the blacksmith shop to help transport wooden shields and short spears. Several young men who had been scared to the point of weak legs the night before were now surrounding an old hunter, learning how to dodge ape claws and how to stab the throat from the side, and although their movements were clumsy, they practiced with extra ruthlessness.

Shi Jian was among them.

He repeatedly pushed and pulled the firewood axe with a chipped edge on the whetstone until the blade shone with a cold light again. Someone next to him asked in a low voice if he was afraid. He did not look up, just replied in a muffled voice: "Afraid. But even if I'm afraid, I have to go. The Young Lord has laid out the path; if I don't walk it, that is true death."

This sentence spread somehow.

By evening, the atmosphere in the camp was completely different from the day. The fear was still there, but that fear was no longer just shrinking by the fire and trembling, but had been pressed inch by inch into the palms gripping the weapons.