Chapter 009: The Asura Legion

Du Fan had long planned ahead. Discovering that dungeon by accident had disrupted his initial plans. Yet this change turned out to be far better than he had anticipated. He had originally thought achieving the current results within a year would already be impressive, but he never expected to accomplish it in less than half a year.

The first harvest after the reforms in the Siluo Province was approaching, and Du Fan had already used his savings to purchase large quantities of medicine from across the country. Once the medicine arrived, they began to mobilize the army—100,000 at a time, with 150,000 more on constant march, while 100,000 remained to defend the city.

The 100,000 sent to the swamp would likely serve as the main force on the battlefield. Those defending the city and those on the march also had their chances—it would depend on their performance.

While on the march, they also learned how to save themselves. In battle, the ability to rescue oneself quickly increased their chances of survival. Since they were entering the swamp, many situations existed there that even Du Fan couldn’t foresee. What an excellent training ground!

Du Fan watched the men below. He didn’t want them to die there.

Although they were cavalry, Du Fan trained them by having them run for nine days, then ride for another full day despite being exhausted. Under such harsh training conditions, those who could endure two cycles were already considered successful. Though they saw it as punishment, it also served as a chance to rest. In reality, almost everyone received some form of training.

These 100,000 were naturally elite soldiers selected from 350,000 candidates.

And today, they were about to enter the swamp.

They were only informed of their entry the day before, and it was then that they learned some precautions for entering the swamp. Though time was tight, the Lanni Empire didn’t give them any extra time. By doing this, Du Fan was actually testing their ability to adapt under pressure. After all, they were entering the swamp together, albeit only in the outer areas, so they could support each other and avoid excessive casualties. Moreover, Du Fan had prepared medicine for them—so it wouldn’t be easy for them to die.

In such an abnormal environment, they had no one to rely on; everything depended on themselves. Their enemies were no longer familiar comrades but unknown beasts and harsh environments! They had to be cautious at all times. There were also larger beasts, and they had to constantly pay attention to the orders given by Du Fan!
The duration of this expedition was fifteen days, after which they could rest.
Only they knew what happened after they entered the swamp—some fell into mud pits, while others were bitten and poisoned by snakes and insects. They challenged their limits every moment, but hadn’t they always done so before?
It took them just three days to reach the interior of the swamp. Ordinary adventurers below level three would have to stop here. None of these soldiers were above level three.
They had only heard of the swamp but didn’t know what lay inside. Yet Du Fan’s order was to keep moving forward!
Even though their strength was below level three, even though they were still novices with varying degrees of injuries, they moved forward without hesitation when Du Fan gave the order! Du Fan’s orders were absolute! Even if they sensed danger ahead, they knew that after going through this, they would become his elite warriors! Wherever Du Fan’s sword pointed, they would charge! Du Fan would give them all the wealth and glory they desired!
Watching these people, Du Fan smiled—a genuine smile.
On the outskirts of the swamp, they would grow stronger. To eliminate those creatures that only advanced warriors could defeat, they needed perfect coordination. Who said one had to be strong to enter the swamp?
For level four beasts, if ten people couldn’t kill them, twenty would take turns until they were defeated. For level five beasts, if a hundred people couldn’t kill them, three hundred would take turns to wear them down! And here, it was only level five. In fifteen days, five died, with no minor injuries counted; thirty suffered serious injuries. Such combat records were a miracle in the swamp!
Finally, when they reached the entrance to the passage, Du Fan ordered them to retreat. By the time they emerged, they were no longer the same as they had been fifteen days ago.
In the swamp, they learned how to move quickly without making a sound! In the swamp, they learned to coordinate seamlessly and trust their comrades! In the swamp, they learned to help each other! In the swamp…

They no longer knew how much they had learned; each of them carried a faint murderous aura, even though almost none of them had ever killed anyone and had rarely seen their comrades die. That was because they didn’t need to! They rarely suffered serious injuries, let alone death!
They felt no sorrow for those who died—not because they had no hearts, but because they knew sorrow was a useless emotion. Seeing their comrades’ blood only made them fight harder!
After leaving the swamp, they set off immediately as usual. In that satellite city that had never been opened before, Du Fan opened its gates for them. Without making a sound, they entered the underground city as if they didn’t exist.
Although Du Fan no longer displayed the “miracles” of the underground city, it was now bustling with activity. There, they received the best care. They would have ten days off, during which they would engage in simple training in the square to ensure they didn’t forget their former strength. Otherwise, they could just rest.
While they rested, Du Fan didn’t stop. He took another 150,000 people to the swamp. There, they didn’t receive the same training as the first 100,000, but it wasn’t much worse. Still, they retreated before reaching the passage. The extremely dangerous swamp was cleared several times by Du Fan and his men.
Before those 150,000 people returned, Du Fan handed them over to an assistant sent by his father from the north. Since it was someone sent by his own father, they would surely be competent.
Du Fan himself quietly returned to the underground city. In just one hour, they ended their ten-day vacation. Under Du Fan’s leadership, they quietly left Doha City.
The underground city in Doha City remained hidden. Du Fan originally planned to use it to store troops. It wasn’t time to reveal the underground city yet. He would expose it once his army gained fame.
Moreover, Doha City served as a transportation city, and its military camps had long been emptied and converted into residential buildings. They could be relocated once the underground city was revealed.
Du Fan and his men dispersed and crossed the jungle to reach the nearest occupied area, outside the city of Boronlu Province.
Once they set their destination, Du Fan left them alone. No matter what difficulties they encountered, they would gather in the city of Luxiu as per Du Fan’s instructions.

At the scheduled time, once everyone had gathered, they rested in a dense forest. In the early hours of the night, Du Fan woke those around him, who in turn woke those behind them. Spreading out from Du Fan as the center, they moved outward silently. Not a sound was made throughout the process. It took them only ten minutes for everyone to wake up and get their equipment ready.

Du Fan led the way, bringing with him thirty level-8 warriors from the Divine Might Prison. They climbed onto the city walls and silently killed the people there before lowering ropes down. Seeing the ropes, those who had rushed to the foot of the city quietly climbed up the walls. They had practiced this thousands of times using their own walls; a wall over ten meters high was nothing but a matter of minutes for them.

Once on top of the walls, they transformed into beasts, leaping at their enemies and silencing them without a sound until all the people on the walls were eliminated. The silence was eerily profound.

The people from the Divine Might Prison exchanged glances in silence. Though they knew Du Fan was training his men, they had no idea he could train them to such a level! Even the holy knights of their church could not train to such a high standard!

Du Fan looked at them, fairly satisfied with the result. Who would have thought that what seemed like an army out of a nightmare just over two months ago was originally a ragtag group?

After dealing with the people on the walls, Du Fan left a group to continue bringing others up, while the rest rushed toward Langyan Port. They needed to seize it first to prevent them from calling for help!

There were only thirty thousand of them here, while the rest had already spread out in both directions. By dawn, they could take control of three cities!

In the early morning, they saw faint signals appearing in the distance from the other two cities—signals that could only be seen if one knew the direction. Du Fan smiled at the signals, while behind him lay city walls stained red with blood!

By now, some people had woken up. When they saw the blood-stained walls, the special “bell ringing” that woke people up sounded.

Du Fan left ten thousand men in each city, totaling thirty thousand across the three cities. The remaining seventy thousand rushed forward before the Lanxi Empire could react!

For defense, they naturally couldn’t rely on just one hundred thousand people. Those prisoners certainly couldn’t be killed either. Keeping the prisoners locked up and combining them with Du Fan’s army was just enough to defend the city.

It had been less than a year since the Lani Empire took over the lands of the Gavin Empire, so it was naturally impossible to subdue all those people. It was just that the commoners had no way to resist the army pressing down on them. They stationed most of their troops on the side facing the Gavin Empire, leaving few guards in the cities on the side facing the Lani Empire.

The Lani Empire was aware that Du Fan was training troops. But they thought he was merely using training as an excuse to amass power for himself.

Even if Du Fan had a hundred thousand troops, they would be a ragtag bunch. Yet with a hundred thousand men and the Lani Empire watching closely, Prince Fisher naturally wouldn’t dare do anything to Du Fan. Moreover, they believed that even if Du Fan decided to rise in rebellion, he would wait until after the harvest in the Siluo Province, when there would be enough food supplies.

But Du Fan didn’t do that. He started his advance nearly a month ahead of the harvest, and they still thought he was leading those people through the swamps!

Indeed, Du Fan had been in the swamps before, but after 150,000 men entered the swamp, 100,000 of them were immediately pulled out. These troops continued their training, making it seem as though Du Fan’s training hadn’t ended. In reality, his main force had already entered the dungeon to rest. Ten days later, they arrived at the gates of their cities! They captured three cities in one night, rescued the prisoners, and defended the cities. At the same time, the 50,000 men who had entered the swamp and the 100,000 troops undergoing training were all pulled out and rushed day and night toward the Boton Province!

Du Fan, with those 70,000 men, didn’t spare any prisoners like the Lani Empire did; instead, he slaughtered the cities he conquered!

After creating three entry points and advancing inward, capturing seven cities near the city of Luxiu, the Lani Empire finally realized that Du Fan was leading his troops to attack the cities!

At the same time, news of Du Fan’s reinforcements arriving also reached them.

But…

Du Fan himself was covered in blood as he walked through the streams of blood. Seven cities and half of the Boton Province were already in his hands. Such achievements… Hmph! Those old fools who had been pressing him on for months surely had nothing to say now!

Because Du Fan slaughtered everything in his path, the name “Asura Legion” became infamous—everyone feared it.