Chapter 122: Miracle

After securing all the supplies and arranging the deployment of over seven thousand soldiers, an entire day had passed.

Only then did Du Long summon the commanding general, Xu Yin, into the council hall. He pointed to the towering figure standing there and introduced, “General Xu Yin, this is Iron Bull. He is the prized disciple of Elder Ou Yezi. Unfortunately, he lacks a passion for forging, but he has a zeal for military service! I entrust him to you, General—I hope you can train him well.”

“Middle-tier Qi Sea strength! Not bad,” Xu Yin remarked candidly as he appraised the burly Iron Bull.

“General Xu Yin!” Iron Bull immediately bowed respectfully.

“Hm, very good. From now on, you’ll stay by my side,” Xu Yin nodded with a smile.

“As you command,” Iron Bull responded with a proper salute.

“Junior General!” Xu Yin then turned to Du Long. “Is there anything else you require of me?”

Du Long smiled. “Yes. The day after tomorrow at dawn, you will lead four thousand of our finest troops to depart with me. As for the remaining three thousand, besides continuing to fell trees to build defensive palisades, arrange for patrols within a ten-li radius to ensure no outsiders approach the restricted area.”

“May I ask where these four thousand are to be sent? Will they travel light, or bring sufficient logistics?” Xu Yin asked with a hint of uncertainty.

“Where exactly they will go is not for now to say. You will know in due time. Our mission is to establish two important training bases. Ideally, bring enough provisions and camp supplies for six months for the four thousand men,” Du Long replied with a smile.

“Two training bases?” Xu Yin nodded promptly. “Understood. If there is nothing else, I will prepare immediately.”

“Good! Go now,” Du Long said.

“Junior General Xu Yin takes his leave!” Xu Yin turned and addressed Iron Bull, “Come with me.”

“Yes!” Iron Bull respectfully answered and followed Xu Yin away.

As Du Long watched the two leave the council hall with a smile, the voice of the spirit guardian maiden sounded timely: “Du Long! Since we left Fengli Commandery until now, two or three human squads have been trailing at a distance. They are currently not far from the camp. I suggest you dispatch Little Fierce to eliminate these suspicious human teams.”

Du Long pondered for a moment, then nodded at Little Fierce, who had been lying nearby. The creature had heard the maiden’s words and, acknowledging Du Long’s signal, rose and left the hall immediately.

Soon, a scene flashed through Du Long’s mind: the great lion stealthily leaving the camp, then, guided by the spirit guardian maiden, charging lightning-fast toward the two or three human squads around them.

In no time, the lion had effortlessly eliminated all the dozen or so humans from the three squads. Though these men had remained cautious, never did they expect to escape the valiant cavalry only to fall victim to a suddenly appearing great lion.

With a top-secret mission looming the day after tomorrow, Du Long could not tolerate any risk of information leakage. Their demise was a just consequence of their ill fortune in trying to spy on him.

That night, Du Long instructed Princess Fire Phoenix and Xia Qinglian to remain at the camp to continue their training. He then mounted Little Fierce and vanished into the depths of the Beast Forest. After about two or three hours, he returned swiftly on Little Fierce’s back, but no one knew what he had been doing.

After a day of intense preparation, Du Long finally led four thousand troops once more, heading toward the direction of the Beast Swamp. Since the three human squads had been dealt with two days prior, no human force detected their march this time.

Leading a large force moved far slower than riding Little Fierce at full speed. After an entire day, they arrived at the outskirts of the Beast Swamp, a hundred or two li away.

Staring at the boundless swamp before them, Xu Yin was astonished. “Junior General! You don’t mean to establish a training base inside the Beast Swamp, do you?”

“Exactly! I intend to establish a base deep within the swamp. No human dares to trespass there; it’s perfect for a secret training base,” Du Long replied with a sly smile.

“My goodness! Inside the Beast Swamp? Junior General, are you sure you’re not mistaken?” Xu Yin could hardly believe his ears.

“Heh! No mistake. I am precisely setting up a secret base within the swamp. General Xu Yin, any questions?” Du Long answered with a playful grin.

“Utter madness! Junior General, don’t you know how perilous the Beast Swamp is? Do you intend to send four thousand soldiers to their deaths? The swamp spans an immense area, home to countless ferocious beasts. Many are powerful and live in packs. Any one of those packs could annihilate us with ease!” Xu Yin’s anger flared at Du Long’s words.

“Calm yourself, General Xu Yin,” Du Long chuckled. “I’m no fool. Of course, I know the dangers of the Beast Swamp. That’s why we’ve made thorough preparations for this.”

“Thorough preparations?” Xu Yin still looked incredulous.

“Watch!” Du Long, having built the suspense enough, pointed to a densely grass-covered area within the swamp and called loudly, “Ben Long, Ben Lei! Show yourselves!”

A deep bellowing sounded—

From two to three meter tall tufts of reeds, two enormous armored water rhinos rose abruptly. Behind them, over a thousand adult armored water rhinos stood up in unison, and before the astonished eyes of the thousands of human soldiers, they charged forward together.

The thunderous pounding of a thousand armored beasts trampling reeds was a breathtaking spectacle. Many of the human soldiers trembled in fear; some shouted and fled immediately—the new recruits were clearly not seasoned enough to withstand such terror.

“Protect Junior General and the Princess!” Xu Yin’s loyalty to the Du clan instantly shone through.

He and his capable officers had seen combat and bloodshed before, so they did not falter at the terrifying scene. With a command, they quickly formed a defensive formation encircling Du Long and his companions.

“Junior General! Take Princess Fire Phoenix and flee! We’ll cover the rear!” Xu Yin urged urgently.

Du Long ignored the command, watching the scattered fleeing recruits with a hint of disappointment despite understanding their fear.

“Flee? Why flee? Sigh,” Du Long sighed. “General Xu Yin, rest assured, these armored water rhinos are our own. They will not harm a single one of us.”

“Junior General! Don’t speak nonsense! Take the Princess and escape at once!” Xu Yin was still anxious and refused to believe Du Long. He failed to notice that the armored water rhino herd had stopped about forty or fifty meters away, gathering quietly in a circle on a clearing.

“Ben Long, Ben Lei! Come here alone,” Du Long called to the two armored water rhino kings.

Amidst the stunned gazes of Xu Yin and the soldiers sworn to protect Du Long, the two enormous rhino kings obediently approached, while the others stood quietly.

When the two gigantic rhino kings stood just a few meters away, the soldiers could feel the terrifying breath exhaled from their nostrils.

“General Xu Yin, do you believe me now?” Du Long asked teasingly, smiling at the tense General who stood nearby.

“This... this... Junior General! What on earth is going on?” Xu Yin felt as if he were in a dream, unable to fathom the bizarre scene before him.

“Didn’t I tell you? These armored water rhinos are our own. The six great armored water rhino herds in the swamp—thousands of armored rhinos—are now my subordinates!” Du Long smiled.

“This... this can’t be...” Xu Yin’s voice wavered, though he still struggled to accept the reality.

“Sigh! Just watch!” Du Long sighed lightly, then kicked off from Little Fierce’s back and swiftly leapt onto Ben Long, the larger of the two rhino kings. Though a fourth-tier powerhouse, Ben Long obediently allowed Du Long to mount his back.

Grinning broadly atop Ben Long, Du Long looked at the astonished crowd and declared loudly, “Well? Any doubts now?”

At that moment, all the remaining soldiers of the Cavalry Corps who had stayed in place finally exhaled in relief. They stared in wonder at the scene, an event that would be remembered as a miracle—an enigma never fully understood by the Cavalry Corps even after countless years.

“All right! Enough gawking! Round up your men! Today’s performance has been a disappointment to your lord!” Du Long waved his hand in jest.

Xu Yin’s face reddened as he began organizing his troops to retrieve those who had fled. They hadn’t gotten far—after running for a while and hearing no battle cries, they had stopped, confusedly looking back.

Realizing no battle was forthcoming and summoned by their commander, one by one, they returned, faces full of bewilderment.