In the woods, Chen Chao narrowed his eyes, his gaze locked onto the large pot that was still billowing hot steam.
The fragrance of porridge drifted over, mingling with the sea breeze.
His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard.
“That's a fat sheep!” he whispered, unable to suppress the excitement in his voice. “Such a huge pot of porridge, with grains of rice practically piled into a mountain! That Divine Lady must have even more in her hands!”
The lieutenant crouched beside Chen Chao, staring at the camp with equally greedy eyes. “General, look. Those hemp sacks piled inside the tents—there are at least dozens of them. Eighty percent of them must be filled with grain. And look how white and thick the porridge they're cooking is. I'll bet all that grain is polished rice!”
“Hmph, I eat chaff and wild herbs every single day,” Chen Chao said, licking his lips. “Yet this smelly wench is actually using polished rice to brew porridge for those lowly refugees. What a waste of good food!”
“Exactly!” someone nearby chimed in.
“Let's just slaughter them and seize the grain!” Chen Chao was about to draw his blade and charge out when the lieutenant beside him grabbed his arm.
“General, don't be reckless. The other party is a grand illusionist, after all. It is always better to be safe than sorry.”
As the lieutenant spoke, he pulled a small bird from his robes. At a casual glance, it looked like an ordinary bird, but a closer inspection revealed it was made of wood.
The mechanical bird flew from his hand, silently circling the camp several times.
The men around him did not find this strange, as illusion arts were incredibly common in Wuling Prefecture.
Some illusionists made all kinds of bizarre props to make their illusions appear more realistic.
At first, people would find it miraculous, but after seeing it so often, the wonder of illusion arts naturally wore off.
In the camp, Zhu Jingzhe, who was helping distribute the porridge, seemed to sense something. He abruptly looked up, his sharp eyes catching the mechanical bird flying into the camp.
His pupils instantly shrank.
Once he snapped out of it, he abandoned the porridge distribution and turned to run toward Pei Du, who was in charge of managing the camp. “Young Master Pei, this is bad! Someone has their eyes on you and is planning something!”
Pei Du set down his porridge ladle, pulled Zhu Jingzhe into a corner, and asked in a low voice, “Don't panic. Tell me slowly.”
Zhu Jingzhe reached out, pointing straight up at the sky, his voice suddenly tightening. “Young Master Pei, look at that bird.”
Pei Du looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a palm-sized bird circling above the camp.
“That's not a real bird,” Zhu Jingzhe said, his expression uneasy. “It's a mechanical bird made by an illusionist. There's likely a lot of soul-enthralling powder hidden inside its belly. Once the mechanism is triggered, the powder will rain down from the sky. Anyone who breathes it in will immediately hallucinate, losing their ability to distinguish reality from illusion and becoming trapped in the illusion.”
He spoke incredibly fast, as if terrified he wouldn't finish in time.
“The Zhu family has been illusionists for generations; I am not lying to you. Although I don't know who sent this mechanical bird, its presence above our camp means they certainly harbor ill intent!”
As he finished, his gaze grew increasingly earnest.
“Young Master Pei, please believe me. I know you people of the Zhenbei Army are good. I would never harm you!”
“I believe you.” Pei Du patted him on the shoulder. “I will take precautions. You don't need to worry too much.”
Hearing this, Zhu Jingzhe felt a wave of relief.
Pei Du didn't hesitate any longer and looked at the soldiers behind him. “Shoot down that mechanical bird. Avoid hitting its belly.”
“Understood!”
The bowstring twanged, and the wings of the mechanical bird shattered in midair. It was an exceptionally precise shot.
Zhu Jingzhe stared in shock at how even a seemingly ordinary soldier could possess such flawless archery.
Was this even humanly possible?
How could someone be this powerful?
At this moment, he had absolutely no idea what kind of overachievers populated Zhenbei Prefecture. Those who could join the army—especially those chosen to accompany the Divine Lady on her journey south—were the absolute elite, one in ten thousand.
Pei Du walked over, bent down to pick up the wreckage, and examined it thoroughly from top to bottom.
The mechanical bird was crafted with extreme precision. Indeed, faint traces of leftover powder could be seen inside its belly.
But beyond that, he couldn't discern any further secrets.
“Little Zhu,” he called out, turning to wave at Zhu Jingzhe, who was standing there dazed. “Come take a look at this.”
“Oh, right!” Zhu Jingzhe jogged over, took the wingless mechanical bird, and inspected it closely under the firelight.
After a long moment.
He looked up, his face filled with shame.
“Young Master Pei, the illusionist who made this mechanical bird possesses skills far superior to mine. I cannot dismantle it.”
Pei Du lowered his eyes in thought for a moment.
Wuling City was currently under Chen Chao's control, so there was no doubt that he was the one targeting the Zhenbei Army.
A rabble like Chen Chao was nothing to fear, but the techniques of these illusionists were truly difficult to guard against.
He looked at the soldier who had just shot the arrow.
“Go find Generals Shen and Feng. Tell them that there may be trouble in the camp tonight, and they must return immediately.”
Zhu Jingzhe summoned his courage and took a step forward.
“Young Master Pei, let this older brother stay to protect you. I'll go deliver the message to General Shen and General Feng.”
Pei Du replied, “Little Zhu, none of us are familiar with illusion arts. You must remain in the camp.”
Zhu Jingzhe had no choice but to drop the matter.
...
On the other side, Chen Chao and his men, who were hiding in the woods, waited for a long time but saw no signs of the camp's inhabitants hallucinating.
The lieutenant was somewhat bewildered. “That shouldn't be possible. By all accounts, my mechanical bird should have already triggered its internal mechanism and scattered the soul-enthralling powder over the camp. How are they all fine?”
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.
Chen Chao, however, did not have the patience for such overthinking.
His eyes remained glued to the large pots on the open ground. Seeing the white porridge being ladled into the refugees' bamboo tubes felt like a dull knife carving into his heart, slice by slice.
Finally, he slapped his thigh and stood up abruptly, the flesh on his face trembling with rage. “Stop waiting! If we wait any longer, all that good porridge will be gulped down by those lowly peasants! What will my two thousand brothers drink then? The northwest wind?!”
The lieutenant urged, “General, that self-proclaimed Divine Lady who is a grand illusionist has yet to show her face. It's better to be cautious!”
“Lieutenant Zhu, in my opinion, you're just a coward. What kind of grand illusionist could possibly be in a dump like this?”
Another lieutenant sneered, mocking Lieutenant Zhu.
Then, he turned to flatter Chen Chao.
“General, I can see clearly. There are only a bunch of cooks, doctors, and dozens of soldiers in that camp. Not a single one of them can fight. I even saw quite a few women in there. Since when can women fight a war?”
“General, the sky is dark now. This is the perfect opportunity for us to strike. We can't let this chance slip away!”
Chen Chao was already salivating over the camp's food supply, and with this extra fuel added to his fire, his last shred of hesitation vanished.
He shoved aside Lieutenant Zhu, who was still trying to dissuade him, drew his blade, swung himself onto his horse, and pointed the tip of his sword toward the sky.
“Brothers, charge with me! Kill them all, and all that pure white grain will be ours!”
Seeing Chen Chao charge toward the camp with his men, Lieutenant Zhu could only grit his teeth and follow. He pulled out a flute and blew into it.
In the next second.
On the sea not far away, a massive dark shadow slowly rose from beneath the water, the waves it kicked up crashing violently against the reefs.
The monster opened its cavernous mouth, revealing rows of jagged fangs that looked exceptionally terrifying under the firelight.
The commoners in the camp shrieked in terror, shrinking back and grabbing their children as they scrambled into the tents.
The scene instantly fell into complete chaos.
Rate on N.U.
