68: Chapter 68 Fortress Assembles, Clan Falls Silent

The Zhenhai Fortress stood upon a cluster of black reefs.

Viewed from afar, it did not look like a city, but rather a giant axe plunged into the sea.

The axe blade faced outward.

The back of the axe was densely packed with formation towers, arrow towers, docking platforms, and military camps.

When Lu Changyuan arrived, the waters of the Outer Sea were no longer calm.

Half the sea surface was blackened, while the other half was suffused with red.

The black was from waves tainted by the Abyss Demon's aura.

The red was the lingering fire from the burning front-line buoys.

Further in the distance, huge shadows would occasionally roll beneath the sea, kicking up a mist that reeked of fishy rot.

The Sword Ray Cavalry did not enter the port directly.

Lu Changyuan had Lu Hu hold their speed, circling a semi-arc along the outer perimeter of the fortress.

Fifty Purple Lightning Seahorses spread their ray wings in unison, their electric light forming a line across the sea surface.

They did not roar, nor did they intentionally show off.

They simply swept across the sea in formation, the sound of their armor plates, talismans, lances, and mounts' breathing all perfectly synchronized.

Many Cultivators in the camps on the shore stopped what they were doing.

Some who had initially intended to mock the overly grand display of this cavalry from a new Outer Sea island withdrew their smiles after watching them for half a lap.

Not every individual cavalryman was strong.

But as the unit moved, that sense of uniformity pressing down upon the crests of the waves already bore the prototype of a Second-Stage military formation.

Lu Hu sat at the very front, his back straight.

For the first time, he did not show his ferocious aura on his face.

Because Lu Changyuan had told him beforehand:

"Upon reaching the Zhenhai Fortress, first let people see that we can follow orders."

"There are many soldiers who can bite."

"Only soldiers who can bite in the same spot are valuable."

In front of the docking platform, a Zhenhai Army officer came up to meet them.

Seeing the conscription order and the Blue Moon Island seal that Lu Changyuan handed over, his expression softened slightly.

Upon seeing the fifty Sword Ray Cavalry, a glimmer of light appeared in his eyes.

"Blue Moon Island's Lu Changyuan?"

"Precisely."

"Your camp is on the Dingzi East Reef."

The officer tossed over a temporary camp plaque.

"All branches of the Lu Clan in the Outer Sea are over there. The military government has not yet officially appointed generals, so you are not permitted to sortie without authorization, cause trouble outside the camp, or privately sell military supplies."

Lu Changyuan took the camp plaque.

"Understood."

The officer paused, then lowered his voice: "You didn't arrive slowly."

Lu Changyuan glanced at him.

The officer said nothing more.

But the sentence itself was enough.

Not slow meant that others had been slow.

In wartime conscription, being a step slow could result in being noted in the records.

The camp at Dingzi East Reef was chaotic.

It was not chaotic due to a lack of rules.

It was chaotic because there were too many people, and their intentions were too mixed.

The Lu Clan's Outer Sea branches, collateral lineages, in-laws, and vassal merchant groups were all squeezed onto several reef platforms in temporarily assembled teams.

Some had brought warships, while others had brought only a dozen guards.

Some had gleaming armor, while others lacked even enough Evil-warding Talismans and purification powder.

As soon as Lu Changyuan's unit entered the camp, it drew many gazes.

When the fifty Sword Ray Cavalry stopped in formation, the originally noisy camp gate fell briefly silent.

Soon, someone walked over from the direction of the main tent.

The man appeared to be in his fifties, with salt-and-pepper hair and beard, wearing a dark green dharma robe with the Lu Clan emblem hanging at his waist.

Behind him followed seven or eight young Cultivators, their gazes sweeping from Lu Changyuan to the Sword Ray Cavalry, and finally landing on Lu Hu's face.

"You are Blue Moon Island's Lu Changyuan?"

The tone was not unpleasant.

But there was no closeness of an Elder meeting a junior.

Lu Changyuan cupped his hands.

"Greetings, Clan Uncle. May I ask how to address you?"

The man said indifferently: "Lu Dingshan. From the Qingqi branch of the Outer Sea."

Someone beside him added:

"Clan Uncle Dingshan is in the Late Foundation Establishment Stage and has guarded shipping routes in the Outer Sea for twenty years."

This was high praise.

Lu Changyuan nodded.

"Greetings, Clan Uncle Dingshan."

Lu Dingshan did not ask him to sit.

He first looked at the camp plaque, then at the Blue Moon Island seal.

"You arrived quite quickly."

"The military order arrived within three days, and Blue Moon Island is not that far away."

Lu Dingshan chuckled.

"I heard you bought quite a lot of anti-demon supplies at the Xingyan Grand Market?"

As soon as this was said, the gazes of the surrounding Lu Clan Cultivators changed.

Anti-demon supplies were exactly what the front line lacked most right now.

Whoever had them in their hands would be targeted.

Lu Hu's fingers landed on his lance.

Lu Changyuan did not turn around.

"I bought some."

"Since we are of the same clan and have arrived at the battlefield, they should be centrally allocated."

Lu Dingshan said: "You are just a newly developed small island, how much can you defend? It would be better to take them out first and convert them into clan military merit. You are young and do not understand the grand accounts of wartime; the clan will manage them for you, lest they be swallowed up by the Zhenhai Army."

The words were spoken with decorum.

Yet those around him showed a look of waiting to watch a show.

A newly developed small island.

A young lord.

Leading a unit of cavalry that looked very valuable.

And possessing a batch of scarce supplies.

When such a person arrives at a clansmen's camp, they are the easiest to suppress.

Lu Changyuan did not answer immediately.

He took out a thin account book.

"The supplies brought along with the army by Blue Moon Island have already been registered according to military orders."

"The three-day provisions for fifty cavalrymen, including talismans, powders, arrowheads, and feed for the mounts, are all in the register."

"If Clan Uncle wishes to centrally allocate them, that is fine."

Lu Dingshan's eyes flickered.

Lu Changyuan handed the account book over.

"Please give me a transfer order from the Zhenhai Army, Clan Uncle."

"Specify the quantity to be transferred, the destination, the recipient, the conversion of military merit, and liability for loss."

"If it is to be transferred by the Lu Clan first, please also have Clan Uncle stamp it with the Qingqi branch's wartime seal."

The surroundings grew quieter.

Lu Dingshan did not take the account book.

Lu Changyuan's tone remained steady.

"There are still island defense supplies in the Blue Moon Island warehouse. If Clan Uncle wishes to transfer from the main warehouse, follow these rules as well."

"When the military order arrives, Blue Moon Island will give."

"When a private request arrives, Blue Moon Island will not give."

A young Cultivator behind Lu Dingshan's face sank.

"Are you guarding against your own clansmen?"

Lu Hu finally looked up.

"Aren't you?"

The young Cultivator was choked for words.

Lu Dingshan raised his hand to stop him.

He looked at Lu Changyuan again, his gaze a bit colder than before.

"No wonder Elder Qingyao values you."

Lu Changyuan did not try to build a connection based on this statement.

"Clan Uncle is too kind."

Lu Dingshan's smile faded further.

"The camp rules are to first enter the main tent for discussion. Your men will be temporarily under the command of the clan camp."

Lu Hu stepped forward half a step.

Fifty Sword Ray Cavalry raised their lances simultaneously.

No lance tips were unsheathed.

There was only a soft sound of armor plates.

The sound was so uniform that it made one's teeth ache.

The few young Cultivators behind Lu Dingshan subconsciously stepped back half a step.

Lu Changyuan then turned around.

"Lu Hu."

"Here."

"Set up camp."

"Yes."

Lu Hu waved the formation command, and the fifty cavalrymen dispersed.

They did not occupy others' camp grounds, but set up their defensive line on a damp, cold reef platform on the outermost edge of the Dingzi East Reef.

Within ten breaths, lances were racked, mounts were crouched, outer perimeters were guarded, and inner rings were stripped of armor, all according to the Blue Moon Island training manual.

Shi Jian, with the account soldiers, numbered the camp plaques, supply crates, and medical bags one by one, even labeling the crevices of the reef where they stood.

Those who had originally wanted to watch the show gradually fell silent.

Loose Cultivator teams look at equipment.

Veterans look at rules.

This cavalry unit might not be able to break through the Demon Tide.

But they would definitely not scatter upon the first charge.

Lu Dingshan stood where he was, his expression finally no longer composed.

"You are certainly willing to train your troops."

Lu Changyuan said: "Blue Moon Island has few people, so we can only train everyone to be useful."

Lu Dingshan was silent for a moment.

He waved away the few people behind him.

When the surroundings were slightly clearer, he lowered his voice and said: "Did you think I was coveting that batch of supplies just now?"

Lu Changyuan did not answer.

Lu Dingshan snorted coldly.

"The list for the front-line sub-camps has already been released."

"The Lu Clan's contingent has been assigned to the Vanguard Slaughter Camp."

Lu Hu's eyes changed.

Lu Dingshan looked at Lu Changyuan.

"The Zhenhai Army requires us to provide 1,200 combat-ready Cultivators, thirty fast ships, and ten elite teams capable of breaking through sea beast swarms within three days."

"The Sword Ray Cavalry you brought is exactly what they want most on their list."

The wind blew in from outside the reef platform.

The noise in the camp seemed to suddenly grow distant.

Lu Dingshan said word by word: "Fifth Young Master, it is useless for you to refuse my transfer."

"It is not I who truly wants to take your cavalry to fill the gap in the vanguard."

"It is the Zhenhai General's Mansion."