Chapter Thirteen: Eliminating Bandits

  Fang Ming raised his head and saw that the trees were densely packed, with occasional white light spots shining through the tree crowns, bringing brightness to the dim forest.

  It was already the second day, Fang Ming set out early, ordering He Dong and Zheng Kuan to stay behind and guard, bringing all the troops and horses into Qing Shan to suppress the bandits.

  Although waiting a few more days, Xie Jin's insider would send a message, but by then it would definitely be when the large troops are out of the mountains and wreaking havoc. Fang Ming didn't want any unexpected events to attract attention from the county or prefecture, this matter should be resolved as soon as possible.

  At this moment, looking back, Xie Jin and Wang Liu Lang were closely following, with thirty soldiers behind them, led by Wu Chang, the whole group was quiet and silent.

  If it were a human army, marching through the forest would be **troublesome**, with difficulties such as logistics, disease, and terrain that are hard to overcome, making it difficult to eradicate mountain bandits. Fortunately, all the soldiers and generals were yin souls, crossing mountains and ridges with ease, and Fang Ming supplemented their consumption at any time, so they could still hold on, marching extremely fast, and soon broke into the depths of Qing Shan.

  Fang Ming looked around and saw that the scenery was very good, with clear streams running through the bottom, occasionally small animals would run by, stirring up a patch of gray shadow. This world has many deep mountains and wild ghosts, few hunters venture in, so animals thrive and plants are lush.

  He turned around and asked Xie Jin: "Take a look, is the direction correct? This time we must succeed in one move!"

  Xie Jin responded in a low voice, floated up his body, rose to the top of the tree, carefully checked, and came down to report: "Report to Master, I used to be a hunter before, familiar with the mountains and forests. The general direction here is consistent with the information obtained last time. As long as Peng Chun doesn't make a big transfer, it's correct."

  Fang Ming nodded and ordered them to continue on their way. He kept his divine sense open, which was also consuming his spiritual energy, hiding everyone so they wouldn't be discovered by other malevolent spirits and leak information. This journey had been a bit exhausting for him as well.

  Fortunately, Xie Jin's news was correct, and after crossing a few more mountains, Fang Ming made a discovery.

  Only a large mountain pass, gray and black air lingering, black air condensing without dispersing, faintly visible, blood light rushing to the sky. With a sense of certainty, he said: "Xie Jin, Wang Liu Lang, the enemy is right in front of us at the mountain pass, you follow me to take a look, the rest of the soldiers, stay where you are and pay attention to concealment."

  Three men moved forward, arriving at the mountain pass, and suddenly felt a surge of yin energy rushing towards them. Wang Liu Lang and Xie Jin, as yin soldiers, still had some yin soul characteristics, and immediately felt their spirits lifted. Fang Ming chuckled and said, "It seems that Peng Chun has found a good place! You all follow me in, remember not to make a sound."

  The divine power of concealment is just a minor way, and it's Fang Ming who figured it out by himself, with defects. When used, if the body doesn't move and no sound is made, the effect is best. Otherwise, it may be discovered, and can only serve as an initial reconnaissance cover, once the two armies clash, the military energy will collide, and it won't be of much use.

  Deep in the mountains, a fissure was found, and upon entering, a barren land devoid of even an inch of grass appeared. This place had an eerie atmosphere, with an abundance of yin energy that ghosts delighted in. In the center of this desolate land, a massive group of ghosts congregated, their gray forms densely packed, numbering over a thousand, comprising men and women, young and old, some sitting, others standing, their voices a cacophony. The perimeter was patrolled by robust men, their leader wielding a weapon, his eyes gleaming with ferocity. Occasionally, a ghost would attempt to flee, only to be caught and brutally beaten. The more unfortunate ones were stabbed with a knife, their gray energy dispersing in all directions, their form and spirit annihilated.

  Fang Ming concentrated his mind and looked carefully, only to see that in the center of the crowd, like an island in a lake, a space was cleared out, with more than 50 big men gathered together, thick smoke billowing, and on the ground were several desiccated corpses, dressed as hunters, apparently unlucky hunters from another village.

  The first was a tall, dark-clad man with a straight nose and square mouth, his chest open, but with a hint of red in the blackness on top. Knowing this must be Peng Chun, he quietly instructed Wang Liu-lang and Xie Jin to take note of his appearance, and after they too had finished observing, the group withdrew.

  Back at the garrison, Fang Ming asked: "How was it? Have you taken a look around the camp and got a feel for things?"

  Xie Jin and Wang Liu Lang exchanged a glance, somewhat shrinking back, but still Wang Liu Lang gritted his teeth, took a step forward, knelt down and said: "Reporting to the master, Peng Chun's troops are located right in the middle of the flowing souls. No matter which direction we pass through, we will be discovered. Once the other side drives these flowing souls to surround us, it will be big trouble!"

  Fang Ming nodded calmly and asked, "Then what do you think we should do?"

  Wang Liulang's face tightened, and he said in a low voice: "I suggest that we first secretly eliminate a patrol team, then take advantage of the opportunity to kill our way out, drive away the vengeful spirits and attack Peng Chun's troops. This will surely greatly consume their strength. With the vengeful spirits as cover, we can launch another attack and achieve a great victory!"

  Fang Ming sneered and said, "So you're suggesting I learn from Peng Chun's ways? What difference would there be between me and that fierce ghost then?"

  Wang Liulang broke out in a cold sweat and repeatedly kowtowed, but still said: "Your Excellency is considering the welfare of the 10,000 people of Anchang County, disregarding danger, and deeply entering the perilous situation. Peng Chun, on the other hand, is a bandit who gathers evil followers, seeking to wreak havoc in one place. How can they be mentioned in the same breath? Your Excellency absolutely must not speak like this."

  Fang Ming nodded slightly, his complexion looking much better, but still said: "Alas, such actions, how can this deity bear it?"

  At this time, Xie Jin made a courtesy and said: "Master, we can also not drive away the wandering souls, but directly kill them. However, if we do so, I'm afraid it will be difficult to succeed, and if Peng Chun escapes, the consequences will be even more severe. Master, you must investigate this matter thoroughly. As long as we can kill Peng Chun, we can also pacify the wandering souls and settle them down properly. If not, they will eventually be driven away by Peng Chun and attack the village again, with an even worse outcome!"

  "Alas!", Fang Ming let out a long sigh and said: "Then, you all handle it as you see fit."

  Looked up at the sky and said, "Let's rest for another two hours, until noon. We'll make our move then!" The ghosts in this world love coolness and often hide during the day and come out at night. At noon, the yang energy is strongest, and the ghosts are most sluggish, making it a good opportunity.

  "Your Excellency, the time has come." Two hours later, Wang Liu Lang reported in a low voice.

  "Alright, let's move out, the whole army will be cautious and must not make a sound!" Fang Ming gave the order, and the thirty or so people slowly closed in on the Rift Valley under the cover of divine power.

  Fang Ming observed carefully for a while, then ordered Xie Jin to make the first move. Xie Jin followed the order, leading several brothers, biting their knives, and quietly sneaking forward. They suddenly launched an attack from behind the patrol, covering its mouth with one hand and stabbing it in the chest with the other. The patrol instantly turned into a wisp of smoke and ceased to exist.

  Fang Ming's face twitched as he watched, while Xie Jin's hands moved with a practiced ease, as if he had done this kind of thing many times before.

  Taking advantage of the noise made by over a thousand restless spirits, Xie Jin and his group smoothly took care of five patrolling men, opening up an entrance. Fang Ming saw that the timing was right and gave the order: "Kill! Charge forward, drive away the vengeful spirits, and attack towards the center!"

  More than thirty men-at-arms thundered in response, shouting in unison: "Kill!"

  The entire Soul Reaper camp suddenly fell silent, and over thirty armored warriors formed a torrent, charging forward to kill.

  Suddenly, a wandering soul appeared in front of them and was beheaded with one slash, turning into a wisp of smoke. The entire camp was shocked, with cries of alarm rising to the sky, howls, wails, curses, and pleas for mercy filling the air. Xie Jin knew his lord's intention and shouted: "Drive them away, charge towards the center!" He changed his slashing motion to a sweeping one, driving the wandering souls towards the center.

  Almost at the same time, the shout to kill had just sounded, and Peng Chun realized that he was looking at the vengeful spirits being driven towards him, and involuntarily cursed: "You bastards!" At this point, it was still possible to retreat. However, as a fierce bandit, he hadn't even seen the enemy yet and was already being chased away, feeling extremely unwilling. Moreover, thinking about it, without these vengeful spirits, even if they defeated the enemy afterwards and rounded up, how many would there be? What about the leader's big plan?

  Just as he hesitated, the vengeful spirits surged forward, and his subordinates were also dragged down, unable to escape. Peng Chun was furious, drew his sword and chopped down the vengeful spirits rushing towards him, shouting: "Brothers, gather around me!"

  At that moment, his trusted men rushed to the front to protect him. Peng Chun finally had time to observe the battlefield and saw that it was in complete chaos. The enemy was thoroughly routed, trampling each other, and a large group of them were being forced towards him by a group of armored soldiers. In an instant, they would arrive. Peng Chun's heart sank as he knew his brothers outside couldn't be relied on. He let out a loud roar: "Brothers in the middle, follow me to kill the enemy! Let's fight it out with them!"

  He leapt forward, his presence intimidating, with a faint aura of dark energy emanating from his body, transforming into armor that protected him entirely. His long knife sliced through the air, unstoppable, clearing a path and gathering over a dozen bandits for an impending final battle.

  Xie Jin led the team to the middle, and both sides started fighting. Fang Ming looked closely and saw that his own soldiers were mostly military recruits, who came and went with a few moves, opening and closing, extremely practical, and many of them exchanged wounds with their opponents, relying on their leather armor to protect themselves as they killed the enemy.

  Xie Jin also knew the art of war, avoiding the enemy's sharp edge, dividing his troops, entangling Peng Chun and engaging in a fierce battle with him. He specialized in dealing with small groups of enemies, splitting them up and surrounding them, defeating each one separately. Many bandits were seen being hacked to pieces by chaotic knives, extremely tragic.

  But Xie Jin still underestimated the ferocity of the fierce ghost, and saw Peng Chun let out a loud roar, his long knife emitting a black glow, cutting through the armor, killing three soldiers in a row, breaking through the encirclement, and pouncing on Xie Jin. Xie Jin was not afraid either, and the two fought fiercely together.

  Fang Ming followed behind Jia Shi, with Wang Liu Lang guarding his side. He didn't plan to take action, knowing that although his subordinates had armor and knives, they were still insufficiently trained in military law and lacked combat experience. Now was the perfect opportunity to make up for it. Later, he could use them as seeds, taking them as the framework to expand the army.

  Actually, Fang Ming didn't want to lead the team personally this time. Unfortunately, he didn't know Peng Chun's exact location and needed him to check again. Moreover, nearly half of the new army had joined yesterday, and Wang Liu Lang was afraid that they couldn't be suppressed.

  This is the majority of his subordinates, if he enters the mountain alone, something goes wrong, or he is overthrown, or directly rebels, Fang Ming will cry without a place to cry. Although he has a hidden hand that can make the dark soldiers and generals disappear into thin air, in the end, it's all his own strength that's lost, what's the point of that?

  Now he just guarded Peng Chun and a dozen of armed thugs with the intention of being prepared for any situation, while the rest were left to Wang Liu Lang and Xie Jin to deal with.

  At this time, Wang Liu Lang stepped forward and asked: "Sir?"

  Fang Ming simply nodded.

  "Wang Liu Lang suddenly shouted: 'Use bows and arrows!'"

  Several soldiers around him immediately took out the bows and arrows on their backs, bent their bows, and shot them with a "poof" sound. The bandits surrounding Peng Chun were hit by arrows one after another. They were not Peng Chun, but had armor to protect their bodies. In an instant, they were killed and turned into black smoke. Xie Jin's pressure was greatly reduced.

  Xie Jinwu's martial arts skills were superior to Peng Chun's, but unfortunately, he was not as strong and didn't have armor, so he didn't dare to engage in a fierce battle with Peng Chun. Instead, he used his agile movements to entangle with Peng Chun. Now that Peng Chun's subordinates had been killed, Xie Jinwu's subordinates immediately gained the upper hand and formed a small triangular formation to attack, three knives simultaneously stabbing out, like an expert instantly striking three times. This was indeed authentic military array skills, it seemed Xie Jinwu had received some true transmission.

  But just as Peng Chun swung his sword, he blocked two of them, but the third one didn't block, chopping at the gap in the waist armor, his face suddenly turned red, and a mouthful of blood spurted out, fresh blood flying into the air, turning into thick black gas, condensing without dispersing. The protective armor was in disarray, with a hint of collapse.

  Xie Jin saw the opportunity and pounced again, his long knife flashing by. Peng Chun's head flew off, falling to the ground, still struggling, saying: "......such a fast knife!" His eyes closed, and his head gradually turned into black smoke.

  P.S: I made the cover myself, today's recommendation has increased, thank you all book friends