Zhu Jingzhe was too far away to see the true form of the dark shadow on the sea, but he could clearly hear the sound of the flute.
It was clearly the secret technique of the Zhu family, never shared with outsiders.
He had once witnessed his grandfather use this flute melody to control wild beasts in the mountains and create bizarre illusions. There was absolutely no way he could have misheard it!
Before he could figure out what was going on, a gruff voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Kill them! Leave no one alive!”
Chen Chao brandished his long blade and charged at the very front on horseback. The two thousand soldiers behind him surged out of the woods like a tide, their blades reflecting the torches in a bright, almost blinding glare.
The Wuling commoners in the camp scattered in all directions. Their terrified cries mingled with the thundering hooves, piercing the quiet night.
Pei Du's face instantly darkened. A cold, sharp light flashed in his eyes as he reached back to grip the hilt of the sword at his waist.
The moment his long sword left its scabbard, the cold gleam reflected the bonfire, drawing a chilling arc in the night sky.
“Don't panic.”
He turned his head and swept his gaze over the soldiers behind him, speaking with rapid but clear precision. “Xiao Wang, take a squad to escort the commoners and physicians into the tents. The rest, follow me to face the enemy!”
Chen Chao's horse was the first to charge into the camp.
He raised his blade, hacking down mercilessly toward Physician Liu, who was helping an elderly woman into a tent.
Just as the blade was about to fall, Physician Liu shielded the elderly woman with her left hand, pulling her aside. With a flick of her right wrist, she somehow produced a silver needle and precisely stabbed the tip into the side of the neck of Chen Chao's mount.
The warhorse let out a long shriek, its front legs suddenly giving way, throwing Chen Chao to the ground, where he rolled in the dirt.
Chen Chao was dazed for a second. Cursing as he scrambled up, he was immediately met with a fist the size of a sandbag.
A tall, thin soldier from the cooking camp had somehow closed the distance right in front of him, smashing a fist directly into his face. Several bloody teeth flew far into the distance, mingled with saliva.
“Physician Liu, take them inside the tents to take cover first. Leave this to our cooking camp.”
She knew that physicians had their professional ethics and could not kill. Otherwise, Physician Liu's needle would not have stabbed the horse's neck, but rather the throat of this bandit leading the night raid on the Zhenbei Army camp.
Physician Liu nodded to the tall, thin soldier and helped the elderly woman toward the tents.
Chen Chao shook his head on the ground.
Then, he reached up, wiped the blood from his mouth, and looked up at the woman who had knocked his teeth out with a single punch, his face filled with disbelief.
“You... you're a cook from the cooking camp? And a woman? How are you this strong?!”
The moment he finished speaking, he took a heavy kick to the stomach. His entire body went airborne, crashing violently into the chaotic mess of his own retreating soldiers behind him, knocking over four or five men.
The tall, thin soldier clearly had no intention of letting Chen Chao off. She rushed to his side with incredible speed and slammed another fist into his ugly face. “Cooking is just my hobby! Don't look down on women, and don't you dare look down on the Zhenbei Army!”
The Body Tempering Technique bestowed by the Divine Lady made the natural physical strength gap between men and women practically zero.
As for the cooking camp of the Zhenbei Army, it wasn't a place one could enter just by knowing how to cook.
Of the ten thousand people who accompanied the Divine Lady south this time, who among them hadn't relied on their own strength to defeat comrade after comrade to earn their spot? They were assigned to the cooking camp only because they knew how to cook and happened to enjoy it, not because they were too weak to do anything else.
“Are these people cooks or gods of death?!” The lieutenant who had egged Chen Chao into the night raid shrieked as two soldiers grabbed him by the arms, lifted him like a chick, and tossed him out of the camp. His head slammed against a reef, nearly knocking him unconscious.
The two thousand troops, faced with less than two hundred Zhenbei Army soldiers led by Pei Du, were beaten so badly they couldn't even fight back.
Meanwhile, Chen Chao, who had spent most of his life swaggering arrogantly in Wuling Prefecture, was now being beaten to a pulp by the tall, thin soldier. He screamed in pain, unable to even crawl off the ground, enduring a completely one-sided thrashing.
“Lieutenant Zhu! Where is your illusion art?!” Chen Chao clutched his face, which was swollen like a pig's head, and barked over his shoulder as he lay sprawled on the ground. “Hurry up and use your illusions to teach them a lesson!”
Having witnessed Chen Chao's troops routed in their very first clash, Lieutenant Zhu had already developed thoughts of retreating, which was why he hadn't made a move.
Chen Chao also realized that Lieutenant Zhu wanted to save his own skin. Gnashing his teeth in hatred, he roared, “Zhu Huairen! If you dare to run today, don't blame me for exposing all the dirty deeds you've done and ruining your reputation forever!”
This blatant threat made Zhu Huairen freeze instantly, his hand tightening around the short flute.
Back then, in order to inherit the Zhu family legacy, he had murdered his father and colluded with foreign bandits. Every single one of his dirty deeds would not withstand scrutiny.
If Chen Chao really exposed him, Zhu Huairen would have no place left to stand in Wuling Prefecture. No one would ever dare employ someone so disloyal and unfilial.
“Zhu Huairen!” Chen Chao roared again. “Did you hear me?!”
Zhu Huairen gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot.
He raised the short flute to his lips and blew once more.
The sea beast that had been lying motionless on the water suddenly stirred again, its eight tentacles slamming frantically against the reefs.
Rocks shattered and flew in all directions as seawater surged inland.
“The sea beast is coming ashore!”
Just as a soldier shouted to warn the others, a tentacle swept across. Unable to dodge in time, he was sent flying by the blow.
Seeing this, the commoners inside the tents trembled all over, their faces turning as pale as paper.
Pei Du immediately made a decisive call. “Shield-bearers, step forward and form a wall! We cannot let the sea beast come ashore and harm the commoners!”
“Yes, sir!”
Seven or eight soldiers quickly raised their shields.
The suckers of the sea beast's tentacles slammed against the shield wall with a dull, heavy thud, forcing the defensive line down.
Yet, it refused to break.
“Use fire arrows,” Pei Du commanded calmly, ordering the archers to counterattack while the sea beast was busy battering the shield wall.
Countless arrows pierced the night sky like shooting stars, raining down on the sea beast as it thrashed its eight tentacles on the shore.
Yet, the sea beast remained completely unharmed.
“It can't be killed?” Pei Du narrowed his eyes, his gaze passing over the massive body of the sea beast to land on Zhu Huairen, who was blowing the flute.
He instructed the soldiers beside him, “Go. Take a squad to flank them and capture the one playing the flute.”
Just as the soldiers were about to move, Zhu Jingzhe called out to stop them.
“No!”
His forehead was covered in sweat, his face pale.
“Young Master Pei, if an ordinary person comes within ten paces of an illusionist, they will fall under his spell!”
Pei Du frowned slightly and asked Zhu Jingzhe, “Do you know how to break these illusions?”
“Let me go capture the illusionist playing the flute.” Zhu Jingzhe clenched his hands into fists. “I have studied illusion arts since childhood. His soul-enthralling powders won't work on me!”
Pei Du looked at Zhu Jingzhe, who was even younger than his own niece, a trace of worry flashing in his eyes. “Are you certain you can do it?”
Zhu Jingzhe lowered his head. “I...”
“Little brother, I will go with you. I was once an illusionist as well, so I should be able to help a bit.” A disheveled, unkempt man walked out of the tent.
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