Rāk?asa

  Suddenly, Deputy Zhang Xinhua brought up the topic of a large number of refugees fleeing to Huoshan. At first, Lin Xu listened attentively and nodded repeatedly, but he found himself becoming increasingly perplexed as the conversation went on.

  Lin Xu furrowed his brow, raised his hand to scratch his scalp, and made a gesture to interrupt Zhang Xin's lengthy narrative, interjecting:

  "Wait a minute, you're talking about Luocha? I've heard that the Underworld has been very peaceful in recent years. It seems like the last rebellion was an old affair from over a thousand years ago!"

  At this time, Bi Jiang smiled with a big mouth and said in a loud voice:

  "In response to the old master's words, there is no unusual movement on the side of the underworld. According to Mo Ye's observation, it is likely that those refugees mistakenly recognized them as such. If that group of Rakshas were to come to the mortal world and start killing indiscriminately, ordinary civilians would be powerless and wouldn't even have a chance to escape."

  It is well known that Rakshas are powerful demons on par with Asuras. It is said that male Rakshas have a terrifying appearance, while female Rakshas are beautiful goddess-like women. On average, the combat strength of the Raksha tribe far surpasses that of the Yin soldiers and ghostly troops in the underworld. If it weren't for the presence of powerful beings suppressing them in the underworld, these warlike demons would have already turned the world upside down. The appearance of such a powerful demon in the mortal realm is a disaster waiting to happen, not just for unarmed civilians, but even for fully armed human armies!

  Zhang Xin said indeed made sense, Lin Xu rubbed his chin and thought for a moment before saying:

  "Here, take this map."

  On the case map of the Great Qin Empire, Lin Xu called two deputy generals to watch together and said:

  "Where did those refugees come from? Point them all out to me."

  The Mountain God spoke, and the two deputy generals Zhang Xin and Wang Liang naturally did not dare to slack off. As they recalled, they pointed out on the map the hometowns of those refugees who had escaped from disaster.

  "Here... here... and here."

  Bending down to gaze at the coastal areas on the map, Lin Xu looked at one town and village after another that had been deliberately circled out. His eyebrows furrowed unintentionally. After a moment of contemplation, Lin Xu spoke up:

  "So according to you, is there trouble everywhere along the coast?"

  Upon hearing this, Deputy General Wang Liang bowed and said:

  "Reporting back to the master, among ordinary people, many are foolish men and women. Moreover, they have been frightened out of their wits, so it's hard to guarantee that there hasn't been some exaggeration in the retelling, but generally speaking, this is indeed what happened."

  Lin Xu's mouth curled up into a smile, his palm slapping heavily on the desk, saying in a firm and unquestionable tone:

  "Very well, I will personally meet these Rakshas."

  In the past three years, Lin Xu did not waste his time. It's not that he didn't want to relax a bit, but rather because when you're in the world of martial arts, your body is not your own.

  The various demon kings lurking in Mount Huo were affected by the rise of the Mountain God Temple. All the masters with a bit of vision were recruiting soldiers and buying horses, while those demon kings without vision would also follow suit unconsciously. The entire region's arms race had entered a state of white heat. Even the most useless demons were all packed up and ready to flee at any moment when the wind was not in their favor, lest they suffer the calamity of being dragged down with them. At present, the vast Mount Huo was like a haystack that had been dried for days under the scorching sun, just waiting for a spark to ignite a raging fire.

  Knowing this and being in such a precarious situation, if Lin Xu still dares to indulge in leisure activities, then his brain must have gone haywire.

  In any case, over the past three years, Lin Xu's formation of 10,000 dark troops under Huo Shan has been replenished. Although there is still room for improvement in terms of personnel quality and tactics, in this corner of Huo Shan, sheer numerical superiority is enough to intimidate most would-be usurpers from making rash moves.

  The Huo Mountain demon clan was powerful, and a single demon king couldn't match Lin Xu. When they joined forces, their power increased greatly, far surpassing the 10,000 dark soldiers of the Shan Shen Temple. Fortunately, those unruly guys were all self-centered and unwilling to submit to others, making it even harder for them to unite and take action than for Lin Xu to rapidly increase his strength. With this in mind, Lin Xu dared to venture out personally this time, without worrying about his own backyard catching fire.

  Having learned a painful lesson from the previous failure to command effectively, allowing the Tree Demon to escape, Lin Xu specially brought along his deputy general Zhang Xin. After tense preparations, the Mountain God's chariot, accompanied by 1,000 dark soldiers, set out on the journey eastward.

  For the army of ordinary people, long-distance marching is a harsh test. Although the yinbing don't need to stop and rest for meals, they must always be on guard against enemy attacks, which is not an easy task either. If it weren't for General Zhang Xian's wrist being quite experienced, constantly adapting to changes in the situation and adjusting the formation of the marching troops, Lin Xu's skills alone might not have been enough to handle these seemingly insignificant small matters.

  "Reporting to Mountain God, ahead is indeed Yue State."

  A scout from the vanguard knelt on one knee in front of the carriage, briefly reporting the results of the reconnaissance. After listening to this report, Lin Xu waved his hand, indicating that the scout retreat.

  If strictly following the heavenly rules and divine laws, a god like Lin Xu, who is a local deity, is not allowed to leave his territory privately.

  If one thinks it is necessary to do so, they must first submit a formal application to the Heavenly Court and wait for approval before taking action. If not, if the gods of day patrol and night patrol discover that someone has left their post without permission and report it, it will be a considerable trouble.

  Since the fairy conference three hundred years ago, the Heavenly Court has not sent any envoys to this world. The Earth Gods did not say anything, but in fact, everyone had already recognized the severe reality that this piece of land was abandoned by the Heavenly Court.

  The Yin Cao Difu and the Pian Jie Di Qi are not directly affiliated, and the Difu often needs the help of the Di Qi with many matters. For example, daily tasks such as transferring yin souls would be much more difficult without the assistance of the Di Qi. The relationship between the two is more like that of business counterparts, with the Difu having a passive attitude of "one less thing to do is better than one more". In short, no matter what Lin Xu wants to do, there won't be anyone jumping out to point fingers or interfere.

  The cost of gaining freedom of action was the loss of external aid, and it was even more impossible to get help from superiors. This gain and loss, for a time, was difficult to say clearly whether it was good or bad.

  The two generals, Zhang Xun and Lin Xu, discussed it for a moment. Then Lin Xu stood up and flew to the height of the treetops, gazing out at the long road ahead, saying:

  "You stay here and set up camp, Zhang Yi and I will return later. Remember to strictly guard the camp and do not make any rash moves."

  After finishing, Lin Xu entrusted Zhang Xin to arrange the defensive system of the entire camp according to the formation chart. Then, Zhang Xin followed behind Lin Xu, and the two flew towards the east coast in a master-servant manner.

  Today's weather is very bad, the sky is dark and gloomy, strong winds are blowing fiercely on the sea, with waves as high as a two-story building crashing against the shore rocks. A nearby village that had been evacuated was being mercilessly swallowed up by the raging waves.

  Seeing this scene, Lin Xu also felt that he had come at an inopportune time. He immediately turned his head and said to Zhang Xin:

  "What's this sea called?"

  It has to be said that the former mountain god's educational methods were extremely unsuccessful. Although he instilled a lot of knowledge in Lin Xu's mind, up until now, Lin Xu still found it very difficult to connect those headache-inducing dry materials with the real-life grass and trees.

  When Lin Xu asked, Bi took Zhang Xun's hands and said:

  "Reporting back to the great master, this is by the East Sea's shore."

  At the sound, Lin Xu flew a bit higher again, looking around at the terrain, and then raised his hand to point towards the distant outline of the city that was vaguely visible, asking:

  "Is that big city over there Yue Prefecture?"

  But unexpectedly, General Zhang heard the sound and shook his head repeatedly, saying:

  "Reporting back to the great master, turning left and crossing over the mountain will reveal Yue State. This city is Ming State."

  Upon hearing this, Lin Xu scratched his head. He had been studying hard all these years, but the situation in this world was too unfamiliar for an outsider like him. Just learning about the natural geography and terrain would take a long time, not to mention things like the names of cities and towns, which came with a lot of cultural background knowledge that couldn't be figured out overnight.

  Realizing he was still a bit of an idiot, Lin Xu didn't say much more and beckoned Zhang Xin to come over, saying:

  "Never mind, it's all the same anyway. What did those refugees in front say? Did they encounter the Russians in this area?"

  Just as Zhang Xinzhi was about to answer, his face suddenly changed greatly, and he stretched out his hand to point behind Lin Xu, saying excitedly:

  "Old man, it seems like there's a fire over there."

  At this time, Lin Xu turned back to look over and indeed saw in the distant sky several black smoke columns rolling up in the strong wind, as if a fierce dragon was shaking its body. Such a big wind couldn't disperse the smoke columns; it seemed that the fire on the ground was absolutely not small.

  Lin Xu didn't hesitate any longer, he reached out and grabbed Zhang Xin's arm, saying:

  "Hurry up and follow me."

  More than thirty low-profile, fifteen-meter-long warships charged onto the snow-white sandy beach. Immediately following were a group of warriors jumping out from the ship cabins, wearing heavy iron helmets and chainmail armor, holding a round shield in their left hands regardless of what weapons they used.

  After landing on the shore, these fully armed warriors wielded large axes with blades over half a meter wide, or long swords and guandao, letting out beast-like roars as they launched an attack on the coastal villages.

  Before Lin Xu and his entourage arrived with Zhang Xin, these invaders from the sea had already breached the nearest fishing village to the coast, and the thick smoke that attracted Lin Xu's attention was caused by the houses in this village being set on fire. However, it seems that this big fire should be an accident rather than a deliberate arson by the invading foreigners, because they have not yet achieved their goal of looting property, and now they start burning the village, which is purely troublesome for themselves.

  "These guys look familiar... damn it, Vikings! Can they also join in?"

  As Lin Xu gazed down at the battlefield where people were clamoring and flames were soaring, when he finally saw the true face of the plunderers, he suddenly felt his mind go blank, and couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise.

  Lin Xu had his own reasons for carefully distinguishing and determining the origins of these looters.

  The Viking's attire was not as dignified as in computer games, their armor and weapons were stained with dirt, rust, and blood. It would be more accurate to describe them as a group of pirates who had banded together for plunder rather than an army. This conclusion also fit their current behavior.

  Flaming red hair, blue and green eyes, tall and majestic stature, basically no one under 1.8 meters, the large axe in hand doesn't need to be unsheathed, just the intimidating weight can kill a few people. No wonder those ignorant villagers who fled their homes in terror called these Vikings Rakshas. Without a doubt, their ferocious appearance and murderous behavior are almost identical to the Rakshas described in Buddhist scriptures.