312: The situation is complicated

Long Yuan nodded and said, "Correct. I will set off first for this bandit suppression operation. You, along with General Zhu Zhiyong and Zhu Shuangquan, Military General of Fu Wang Manor, from Nanyue City, will lead the elite troops to follow behind. You must first hide at this location, the southern foothills of Tiger Tooth Mountain. Once I have eliminated the Beast Generals and Evil Generals in the mountains, I will send you a signal to join me in encircling the remaining middle and lower-level Evil Cultists and Beast Race! As long as we eliminate these primary elements, the Beast Tide will naturally fail to launch, and the Nanyue Base will be safe!"

"What?!"

"Elder Long, you want to go into the mountains alone to eliminate so many Beast Generals and Evil Generals?!" Captain Sima Cuo exclaimed in shock. The other three also looked at each other, unable to believe their ears. Even if Long Yuan's current strength was formidable, facing so many Beast Generals and Evil Generals alone still sounded unreliable. That was a top-tier force sufficient to launch a large-scale Beast Tide. If the opponents joined forces, even if Long Yuan truly possessed the strength of a Martial Commander, he might still meet a tragic end on the spot... "Rest assured, have you forgotten my other identity? I am a Mind Power Master. The role of a Mind Power Master is to clear the opponent's primary threats on the battlefield. As for those Beast Generals and Evil Generals, they are far from comparable to the true threats on the northern battlefield. They only dare to run wild here because the Great Ming's high-level combat power is currently concentrated in the north..." Long Yuan waved his hand.

"This... but Mind Power Masters on the battlefield always have top-tier combatants protecting them in the shadows! If you go alone and something unexpected happens with no one to help, wouldn't that be extremely dangerous? No, I must follow you into the mountains!" Captain Sima Cuo shouted.

"Exactly, the three of us will also accompany you into the mountains. How can we let you bear such a heavy burden alone?" Gu Fengyang added.

"It is only right!" Bai Song and Yu Feiyu, Chief Captain of the Southern Division also said firmly.

Long Yuan was somewhat surprised to hear the four of them speak like this; he hadn't expected them to take such a stance. It seemed these generals of the Xuanwu Guard were by no means comparable to trash like Zhu Zhiyong and Zhu Shuangquan, Military General of Fu Wang Manor, from the Prince Fus Mansion. He smiled and said, "No matter, I wouldn't venture into danger alone if I weren't confident! But just because you aren't going doesn't mean your task is light. In fact, there have been quite a few matters in the Nanyue Base recently that require your full support!"

"Oh? May I ask what important matters?" Captain Sima Cuo perked up. Since they couldn't get involved in the big mission, doing other things could still demonstrate the value of their team.

Long Yuan pointed to the location of the Shan Feng Forest on the map and said, "Recently, this place has become a hotspot. Due to the discovery of a gemstone mine, it has attracted the attention of two heretical cults, the Blood Wolf Hall and the Shadow Moon Hall. Therefore, high-end combatants from both sides have begun to enter the area. A conflict is only a matter of time! And..."

"And what else?" Captain Sima Cuo asked urgently.

“The Sword Saint of Fusang Country has also learned of this news and is likely to send people or participate personally. Currently, he has colluded with a certain faction in the imperial court, intending to occupy the Shan Feng Forest gemstone mine. This group will arrive a bit later than the first two, but likely not by much. Therefore, the situation in Shan Feng Forest is quite complex..."

"Then what can we do? Is this gemstone mine really that valuable?" Captain Sima Cuo asked.

"The value of the gemstone mine goes without saying, otherwise it wouldn't attract the greed of so many factions. However, they have all overlooked one point: the gemstone mine itself has a master. Its masters are the Wooden Vine Forests growing above the mine. These wood vines possess a certain level of sentience and powerful combat strength. With them there, all three factions will face strong resistance. Even if they win in the end, it will likely be a pyrrhic victory. Therefore, what we need to do is not participate directly, but observe in secret and wait for the opportunity to arrest any stragglers, preventing the aftermath of this dispute from affecting the surrounding bases and ordinary people!" Long Yuan said.

"I see..." Hearing this, the four of them couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they didn't have to get involved directly, otherwise the pressure would be immense. To think that matters in the Nanyue Base were so thorny that a random dispute could attract a figure like the Sword Saint of Fusang Country—how were they supposed to survive? With their strength, encountering the Sword Saint would probably be over in a single strike... Long Yuan continued: "The dispute in Shan Feng Forest is actually related to the two factions of the Feng Residence and the Drunken Flower Pavilion in Nanyue City. The Feng Residence is a hidden sub-branch of the Blood Wolf Hall, and its Branch Master is Feng Guang. The Drunken Flower Pavilion is ostensibly a place of pleasure, but it is actually a sub-branch of the Shadow Moon Hall, with a Branch Master named Xi Ying. Their first conflict ended with the Shadow Moon Hall's victory, but Feng Guang naturally won't accept defeat. He has suffered successive blows recently: first, his failure to capture drug test subjects in Fengyang City; second, his failure to capture drug test subjects in Nanming City; and third, being repelled by Xi Ying's poisons in Shan Feng Forest. Feng Guang lost many men because of this, including his manager Feng Lifeng and his eldest son Feng Qin. However, the Feng Residence has operated in the Nanyue Base for a long time, and its hidden strength cannot be underestimated. Most importantly, he has the strong support of the Blood Wolf Hall behind him, and Feng Guang himself is even a Rebirth Test Subject of the Blood Wolf Hall!"

"A Rebirth Test Subject?!" The four of them stared with wide eyes, not knowing what that was.

"A Rebirth Test Subject means that if he suddenly dies in the outside world, the Blood Wolf Hall might be able to resurrect him at their headquarters!" Long Yuan chuckled.

"What?!"

"That's even possible?!" The four were greatly shocked.

"As I just said, it's only a trial. Since it's a trial, there are naturally successes and failures. If it fails, then he is truly dead," Long Yuan explained.

"I see..."

"That's a relief, otherwise I would have thought the world was changing!" Gu Fengyang said with a sigh of relief.

"The world has indeed changed! Moreover, I can say with certainty that the Blood Wolf Hall does possess the technology to resurrect a person!" Long Yuan said with a smile.

"Heavens!!!" The four were beyond shocked and felt quite unwell. If the heretical cults really possessed such technology, wouldn't the cultists be endless? What would the Great Ming officials do then?

"Don't worry, only a few can enter the trial; they must be core members or elite elements of the cult. If anyone else dies, they're dead. However, it is precisely this kind of technology that greatly increases the attraction of heretical cults to certain people. Therefore, the road for our Xuanwu Guard to combat heretical cults is long and difficult..." Long Yuan said.

"That is indeed the case..." All four nodded in deep agreement.

They often led teams to encircle and suppress cultists, so they naturally understood the development of the Three Great Heretical Cults over the years very well. What made them feel most helpless was that no matter how many cultists they eliminated, the cults continued to grow, and their numbers kept increasing as if they could never be finished. There was certainly a reason for this, such as the cults being able to provide many good things that could enhance one's strength...