Chapter 7: Conscription (Part 2)

The city guards began preparing to retreat. Most of them were professionals who were well aware of the terror posed by high-level professionals—especially those who had reached the rank of Grand Sage, as one such person could annihilate their entire force. With three such high-level professionals ahead, no one wanted or dared to step forward into certain death.

The city guards still had time to form up in neat ranks, ready to set off. As for the ordinary people who had been captured, they were all released. They understood that taking these ordinary people with them might anger those three experts.

Guo Shier suddenly flew to the front of the group and said calmly, “Wait!” Then he turned and flew away.

The entire cavalry unit stopped in its place; no one dared to move or disobey orders, leaving Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan stunned.

Guo Shier returned to the back of the camp and put away his Talisman House—something he couldn’t bear to discard, as it was essential for traveling in the wild. After putting it away, he didn’t rush off but went to find Chen Yuxian and said, “You can’t go to Dong City anymore. Shall we head back now?”

Chen Yuxian smiled bitterly and said, “Thank you, sir. If not for you, we would be doomed this time.”

Guo Shier waved his hand. “No need to thank me. I simply hate such tactics.”

Chen Yuxian replied, “We’ll turn back right away. We won’t go to Dong City anymore. Those city guards belong to Dong City. Going there… would be throwing ourselves into danger.”

Guo Shier asked curiously, “Haven’t you received any conscription orders before?”

Chen Yuxian shook his head. “There are rumors, but this is the first time in my life I’ve seen a conscription order, and it’s so cruel—disobey, and die. I’ve never seen anything like it… It’s terrifying.”

Guo Shier nodded and said, “Well, I’ll be leaving then. Wish you good luck.” Without saying more, he rose into the air and flew toward the city guards.

Chen Yuxian bowed respectfully at Guo Shier’s retreating figure, muttering, “Thank you, sir! Thank you!”

Guo Shier arrived in front of the city guards and asked, “Who’s the leader? Come out!”

Although a few of the angry professionals among the city guards were furious, no one dared to step forward to confront him. After a moment, a rider emerged from the group. He wore black-red talisman armor, a battle helmet on his head, and carried a talisman spear. He said, “I am the leader of Dong City’s city guards, a mid-level Talisman Martial Sage named Guo Chong. What can I do for you, sir?”

Guo Shier was taken aback; he didn’t expect there to be people with the Guo surname here as well. He said, “Alright, give me three magic horses. We’ll follow you to Dong City.”
The entire city guard army was in an uproar. These guys actually wanted to travel with the city guards and head to Dong City—what did they plan to do?
Guo Chong was completely confused. He knew the young man across from him was extremely powerful. Were they planning to attack Dong City? But he quickly dismissed this idea—if they wanted to attack Dong City, they wouldn’t spare their own city guards. Being a smart man himself, he shouted, “Prepare horses for these three lords!”
Guo Shier nodded and said, “Very good.”
Luo Zhan stepped forward, took the reins, and led the horse forward. Guo Shier mounted it swiftly and said, “Please lead the way.” Eagle Demon also jumped onto the horse’s back.
Guo Chong was uneasy inside but remained calm on the surface. He said, “Please!” Then he spurred his horse and shouted, “Set off!”
The city guard army rushed forward along the main road.
Guo Shier felt as if he were back in the military camp of his past life, leading a large group of cavalry with the loud pounding of hooves. Guo Shier and the others were sandwiched among the troops, with lower-ranked professionals occasionally glancing at them out of curiosity. Guo Chong didn’t dare neglect these three and rode up to Guo Shier, asking, “May I know your honorable name?”
Guo Shier replied, “A wandering professional, a senior magic spell grand master—Guo Shier.” He didn’t hide his name but didn’t mention his affiliation with the Gu Mi Luo family, as he always considered himself a disciple of the Northern Magic Sect or the Chenxiao Sect, refusing to admit he was from the Gu Mi Luo family.
Eagle Demon also introduced himself, “A wandering professional, a senior magic-wielding grand master—Eagle Demon.”
Guo Chong trembled slightly when Guo Shier introduced himself and was even more shaken upon hearing Eagle Demon’s introduction—both were top-tier professionals. Then Luo Zhan spoke up, “A wandering professional, a junior magic-wielding grand master—Luo Zhan.” Guo Chong inwardly groaned—how had his team ended up with these three experts? No wonder the two senior priests from the Youxian family had fled; there was no way they could win.
Guo Chong became even more humble. There was nothing he could do—the strength of these three was too great. He asked, “Did these three lords come from the outer continents?” He knew more than Chen Yuxian, after all, he was also a senior professional.
Guo Shier nodded and said, “We’ve only been here for a short time when we saw that ridiculous recruitment order you issued.”
Guo Chong smiled bitterly and said, “We have no choice but to obey orders.”
Eagle Demon said, “This isn’t your first stop, is it? The people you captured earlier have already been sent back, right?”

Guo Chong didn’t dare hide anything and said, “This is the last stop. A total of 20,000 city guards have set out, with over 10,000 being cavalry. Our group is the last to arrive.”
Guo Shier couldn’t help but exclaim, “Damn those families!”
No one dared respond. With a grim expression, Guo Chong kept urging the cavalry to hurry.
Guo Shier and Eagle Demon exchanged smiles. Eagle Demon whispered, “Shier, what do you plan to do? Go to Dong City and kill the professionals from the Youxian family?”
Guo Shier shook his head and said, “I can’t worry about so much. We can only focus on what’s right in front of us. This world… is just like that.”
Eagle Demon said, “Hmm. I guess the professionals from the Youxian family in the Feng Continent are at most high-level Grand Sage Masters. There won’t be any stronger ones. If there are altar experts, we still won’t be able to handle them.”
Guo Shier said confidently, “It’s almost here. We’ll soon reach that stage!” Ever since he was captured by the altar experts from the Guxi Long family, he had longed to build his own altar. Now, at last, he saw a glimmer of hope.
Eagle Demon smiled and said, “Although we were captured this time and can’t find our way home for now, it’s still worth it.”
Luo Zhan also smiled and said, “Of course. I never expected there to be so many opportunities here.”
Guo Shier turned and asked, “Guo Chong, how many days does it take to reach Dong City?”
Guo Chong replied, “My lord, if we ride at full speed, it will take about 20 days.”
Guo Shier nodded and said, “Then let’s hurry.” The speed was slow, but it was still tolerable. In about 20 days, he would have enough time to sit on his horse and study the inheritance.
…
Eighteen days passed. Guo Shier looked at the distant city and asked, “Is that Dong City?”
Guo Chong smiled bitterly and said, “Yes, that’s Dong City—the largest city in a radius of ten thousand miles.” He had suffered greatly during this journey, hardly resting at all. Under Guo Shier’s command, they had been on the move almost constantly. Only when they saw Dong City in the distance did he feel relieved. But he still didn’t know how to explain things when they returned.
Guo Shier said, “Good, let’s enter the city.” He flew off his horse directly, taking Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan with him and leaving behind the city guard troops.
Watching the three leave, Guo Chong exhaled deeply, feeling slightly lighter. He led the city guards toward the barracks, thinking to himself that he was lucky. If Guo Shier had asked him to accompany them into the city, he really wouldn’t have dared to refuse—it would have been awkward.
Guo Shier and the other two hovered above the city.

It is an ancient city, with houses built of wood and stone. Guo Shier had visited many continents and cities, and the houses there were more or less similar, somewhat akin to those in his memories from his past life. Most of the houses in this city were two or three stories tall; there were no high-rise buildings. The streets were very wide, with few pedestrians, but many horses and camels were in sight.

Eagle Demon said doubtfully, “Shier, I always feel this place isn’t a high-level continent. It seems more like a low-level one…”

Guo Shier replied, “It’s hard to say. It probably isn’t a high-level spellcraft continent, as there are few advanced professionals here. It seems to be a vassal continent of some high-level faction.”

The three of them hovered in the air, standing out sharply. Soon, two beams of light appeared, and two advanced professionals flew over. Eagle Demon couldn’t help but laugh, “Hehe, the Youxian family… Xianming and Xianliang. They actually dare to come here.”

Guo Shier said, “They have to come. I guess they’re the professionals in charge of this city.”

When Xianming and Xianliang saw that it was Guo Shier and the other two, they were filled with frustration. They hadn’t expected these three to follow them. Xianming gritted his teeth and stepped forward, asking, “What do you want?”

Xianliang added, “Don’t think just because you’re advanced grand masters, you can do whatever you want!”

Guo Shier was amused by him and said, “Oh, if I’m not an advanced grand master, then it’s your turn to do whatever you want?”

Xianming said, “You’re just passing through Feng Continent. You probably aren’t targeting our Youxian family. If only…” He paused. Seeing that Guo Shier remained silent, he continued, “If only… we don’t have to be enemies!”

Xianliang said, “We don’t want to provoke you, but our Youxian family…” Before he could finish, Xianming gently pulled at his sleeve, and Xianliang immediately stopped talking. Threats were meaningless at this point and would only anger the other side.

Guo Shier was stunned. He hadn’t expected them to show such weakness. But then he thought it made sense—two of the three of them were advanced grand masters, and the third was a junior grand master, far stronger than Xianming and Xianliang. It was clear that these two were the strongest warriors in Dong City, with no one more powerful than them. If a fight broke out, they would have to abandon Dong City, which would be very disadvantageous for them.

Eagle Demon said, “This is your fault. What kind of ridiculous recruitment order is this, targeting us…”

Before Eagle Demon could finish, Xianming hurriedly said, “That’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!” He thought to himself, If they had known those three terrifying guys were in that caravan, who would have dared to issue such a recruitment order?

Xianliang said, “On behalf of the Youxian family… I offer my sincere apologies.”
The two’s attempt to downplay the situation left Guo Shieru at a loss for words. He wasn’t particularly assertive and tended to yield rather than confront, so once the other party showed weakness, he couldn’t stay angry.
Guo Shieru waved his hand and said, “If that’s the case, let it be.”
Xianming and Xianliang were delighted to find Guo Shieru so easy to talk to. When they saw that it was Guo Shieru and two others, they had already given up hope, but after a few gentle words, the other party dropped the matter. They exchanged a glance, and Xianming said, “Sir, we’ve arrived in Dong City…”
Yingmo asked, “How is it?”