Chapter 47: The Guardian Corps

In Fireheart Town, the Guardian Corps consisted of 100,000 members, divided into 100 squads. The leaders of these 100 squads all reached the Divine Weapon stage, with each commanding 1,000 guardian soldiers. Every one of these 100,000 guardians was equipped with a divine weapon. Naturally, the strength of the Guardian Corps was far greater than that of Tianfeng Fort. However, Town Chief Qu Wantian, aware of Tianfeng Fort’s rapid growth, was concerned that its strength might one day surpass that of Fireheart Town’s Guardian Corps.

Although even if Tianfeng Fort grew strong enough to surpass the Guardian Corps, it would likely not attack them, as it would face retaliation from the Guardian Corps of Lifei City. Yet as a town chief, Qu Wantian could not tolerate having a force within his jurisdiction surpass the Guardian Corps—it would bring shame to him and make him a laughingstock among the other town chiefs of Lifei City.

Thus, Qu Wantian resolved to eliminate Tianfeng Fort.

At that moment, the 100 squad leaders of Fireheart Town had been summoned by Town Chief Qu Wantian. They all stopped practicing and gathered at his residence. The 100 of them sat on the ground, while Qu Wantian sat alone on a chair, looking at them with a satisfied smile.

“Gentlemen, the Baizhai Mountains have always been a source of trouble for Fireheart Town. Recently, I’ve learned that changes have taken place there—Tianfeng Fort has unified the Baizhai Mountains. Its influence is growing, posing an increasing threat to Fireheart Town and undermining the authority of our Guardian Corps. Therefore, I have decided that starting today, our Guardian Corps shall go to the Baizhai Mountains to eliminate Tianfeng Fort,” Qu Wantian said calmly.

Upon hearing this, the squad leaders understood why the town chief had summoned them. They realized that Tianfeng Fort had become powerful enough to threaten Fireheart Town, which was why Qu Wantian was determined to destroy it.

“Town Chief, what is Tianfeng Fort’s strength?” asked one of the leaders, still somewhat puzzled.

The fact that Tianfeng Fort could make Qu Wantian nervous meant it was extremely powerful. This leader wanted to know its current strength. The other leaders also stared at Qu Wantian, waiting for an answer.

Qu Wantian smiled faintly and, without hiding anything, replied, “Tianfeng Fort currently has 20,000 members, including 10 leaders at the Divine Weapon stage. These alone are not enough to threaten Fireheart Town. But what’s more concerning is that among these 20,000 members, 4,000 possess divine weapons—this is a huge source of danger.”

Mythical weapons are also rare resources in the divine realm, and most cultivators there do not possess even one. Upon hearing this, the hundred captains were shocked and immediately understood Qu Wantian’s concerns. If Tianfeng Fort could obtain four thousand mythical weapons, it meant it had the capability to acquire another four thousand, which would have a profound impact. The villagers near the Hundred Forts Mountain Area might be tempted by Tianfeng Fort’s advantages, thus rapidly strengthening its power. Once Tianfeng Fort’s membership reached one hundred thousand—equal to the number of guards in Huoxin Town—it would become extremely difficult for Huoxin Town to eliminate them. “In that case, Tianfeng Fort must be destroyed,” they said. “Right, it poses too great a threat; it must be eliminated.” “Town leader, issue the order now! Our guard team will head to the Hundred Forts Mountain Area immediately.” … In moments, the hundred captains, filled with rage, expressed their determination. They were well aware that once Tianfeng Fort was destroyed, those four thousand mythical weapons would belong to their guard team, allowing each captain to claim a dozen or so—enormous wealth. Therefore, driven either by the honor of Huoxin Town’s guard team or their own self-interest, they all wanted to attack Tianfeng Fort. Qu Wantian laughed heartily and stood up immediately. “With all of you united, this mission will surely succeed. I hereby declare that after destroying Tianfeng Fort, those four thousand mythical weapons will belong to whoever captures them.” Having received this assurance, the hundred captains laughed recklessly. Soon after, Huoxin Town’s guard team left the town and rushed toward the Hundred Forts Mountain Area. ※※※ Inside Tianfeng Fort, tension reigned. Tianfeng Fort had already learned of Huoxin Town’s guard team’s movements. The ten fort lords gathered around Qu Yi, looking at him anxiously. They weren’t worried about the hundred thousand guards, but the hundred captains at the Mythical Weapon level posed a deadly threat. “Fort King, Huoxin Town’s guard team is coming. What should we do? Should we resist?” asked the chief fort lord, Zhu Chen, with a worried expression. The other nine fort lords also stared intently at Qu Yi. After a moment of silence, Qu Yi smiled and said, “What’s there to fear? Huoxin Town’s guard team is coming to seek their own destruction. Why should we be afraid of them? Those hundred captains are here for our mythical weapons—they’ll die for them just the same.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the ten chieftains suddenly understood Qu Yi’s plan—to use the method of explosive artifacts to deal with those hundred captains. With the experience of the ten chieftains, twenty artifacts were enough to kill an ordinary Divine Weapon stage cultivator. Even for a more powerful one, at most forty artifacts would suffice to kill them. Thus, even if all four thousand artifacts of Tianfeng Fort were detonated, it would still be possible to kill those hundred captains. Realizing this, the ten chieftains felt at ease and were also impressed by Qu Yi’s courage to confront the Fireheart Town’s guard team. The Fireheart Town’s guard team was the regular army of the Fire Departure Divine Realm; killing their members would be tantamount to provoking the authority of the Fire Departure Divine Realm, leading to retaliation from even more powerful regular troops. Their superiors would naturally be the guard team of Lifei City. The guard team of Lifei City was led by cultivators at the Divine General stage, who could easily destroy Tianfeng Fort. Therefore, when the ten chieftains saw that Qu Yi wasn’t afraid of facing retaliation from Lifei City’s guard team after destroying Fireheart Town’s guard team, they couldn’t help but admire his bravery. “Fort King, it’s very difficult to kill all hundred captains of Fireheart Town’s guard team without four thousand artifacts,” Zhu Chen said with a smile, sending a subtle signal to Qu Yi, meaning he should produce another four thousand artifacts. The other nine chieftains, of course, understood Zhu Chen’s intention and all laughed. Qu Yi pursed his lips and sighed, “Sigh, I’ve been tricked by you. As the Fort King, I have to work hard for you all every day. Alright, I’ll bring out four thousand artifacts.” Qu Yi had never expected Fireheart Town’s guard team to attack Tianfeng Fort, and with the sudden change in circumstances, he had to change his plan again. Since the ten thousand artifacts in Bai Shou Village weren’t urgent, he could easily spare four thousand artifacts. However, this sudden change meant he would lose four thousand artifacts, a rather high cost. Yet, Qu Yi was willing to pay this price, as having his own force was the most important thing. The ten chieftains burst into laughter. Immediately afterward, Qu Yi took out four thousand artifacts in front of everyone and distributed them evenly among the ten chieftains.

“You ten, four hundred each—now you surely have enough confidence to deal with those hundred captains. I will lead twenty thousand members of Tianfeng Fort to confront those hundred thousand guards from Huoxin Town. We’ll attack from two sides, and this time we must deal a heavy blow to Huoxin Town’s guard force,” Qu Yi said calmly, his eyes flashing with intensity.

“Yes, Fort King,” the ten chiefs replied loudly, their eyes shining as they saw the divine artifacts before them. With these artifacts, they had the confidence to deal with the hundred captains, and naturally, they all began to laugh.

Qu Yi nodded, then turned to Qing Yiyi and said with a smile, “Fifth Chief, you need to come with me to the Beast Mountain Range. Let’s set off now.”

Qing Yiyi was momentarily stunned, unsure what new scheme Qu Yi had in mind by dragging her to the Beast Mountain Range again. However, under the curious gazes of the other nine chiefs, she quickly replied, “Okay, Fort King.”

Qu Yi immediately flew out of Tianfeng Fort, summoned the Wild Green Goose, and mounted its back. Qing Yiyi also called her Golden-Crowned Thunder Eagle and rode on it as well, following behind Qu Yi.

But they didn’t fly far before stopping at a mountain peak.

“Alright, no need to waste time. Enter my Dimension Ball,” Qu Yi said immediately. Without waiting for Qing Yiyi’s response, he sent her inside the Dimension Ball.

Soon after, Qu Yi took out the Boundless Star Map and traveled to a valley in the Beast Mountain Range—the very valley where the Fire Rock Toads gathered.

Qing Yiyi emerged.

“Wow, it’s so hot here,” she exclaimed as soon as she stepped out.

This was the habitat of the Fire Rock Toads. The surrounding mountains were made of fire-rock-like stones, so naturally, it was extremely hot.

“Enough complaining. Now come with me and catch these Fire Rock Toads,” Qu Yi said excitedly.

Hearing this, Qing Yiyi immediately sensed her surroundings and found that there were indeed a large number of Fire Rock Toads here. She understood Qu Yi’s purpose—to catch them to deal with Huoxin Town’s guard force.

“Okay, there are at least one hundred and fifty thousand Fire Rock Toads here. If we catch just one hundred thousand, it will cause severe damage to Huoxin Town’s guard force,” Qing Yiyi also became excited, her innate desire for killing fully awakened.

Qu Yi chuckled, then took out the divine artifact, Razorwood, and headed down to a mountain foot.

Qu Yi waved the Sharp Silk Wood, sending thousands of strands of green hair into the rocks, which were quickly shattered into pieces, expanding the stone caves instantly. As Qu Yi moved forward, a huge cave appeared, extending deep into the mountain.

Before long, Qu Yi entered the mountain alone and arrived at the gathering place of the Fire Rock Toads.

Inside this cave, there were over ten thousand Fire Rock Toads.

Quack, quack, quack…

Those ten thousand Fire Rock Toads seemed to still remember Qu Yi’s brutality. Seeing him return and even dig a huge cave into their nest, they began to cry out in fear.

Qu Yi chuckled and waved the Sharp Silk Wood again, using its strands to pierce through the bodies of the Fire Rock Toads one by one.

After just a dozen rounds, he had created many blood holes in the bodies of the ten thousand Fire Rock Toads, leaving them limp on the ground, unable to resist anymore.

“Qu Yi, you’re so powerful,” Qing Yiyi said, following behind him and feeling somewhat impressed.

Qing Yiyi admired Qu Yi because he kept waving the Sharp Silk Wood without showing any sign of his spiritual energy weakening, which was truly astonishing. She couldn’t possibly imagine that Qu Yi’s body could directly absorb the primordial energy of the five elements in space to replenish his spiritual energy, so there would be no risk of it running out.

“Enough guessing. Now throw these Fire Rock Toads into the storage ring. I’ll go to other peaks to look for more,” Qu Yi said with a smile as he handed the storage ring to Qing Yiyi.

The storage ring was a divine artifact used in the Divine Realm to store items.

Qing Yiyi responded with an “Oh,” immediately took the ring, and began putting the Fire Rock Toads on the ground into it.

Meanwhile, Qu Yi had already reached another peak. Waving the Sharp Silk Wood once more, he created another large cave that extended deep into the mountain, leading him to another nest of Fire Rock Toads.

…

Qu Yi was responsible for attacking the Fire Rock Toads, while Qing Yiyi was in charge of collecting them. In little time, they had gathered one hundred thousand Fire Rock Toads before stopping.

Naturally, they left the Beast Mountain Range quickly and returned to Tianfeng Fort, ready to confront the defense team of Huoxin Town.