Chapter 71.3: White Tiger Duke's Mansion
“Greetings
to the lord Duke.” Wang Yan lead the inner courtyard disciples and
outer courtyard disciples behind them in bowing to the White Tiger Duke.
The Duke wasn’t just the marshal; he also stood at the apex of nobility
on the entire continent. Naturally, they’re manners couldn’t be
lacking.
The White Tiger Duke shook hands with Wang Yan, then said, “Everyone, please step inside. Let this Marshal act as a host now.”
Wang
Yan smiled, then replied in a neither servile nor overbearing manner,
“There’s no need for Lord Duke to be so polite. We’ve come this time to
carry out our mission. It’ll be enough if Lord Duke can just give us
some clues to help us out. We know that you have a multitude of problems
to deal with every day, so we won’t bother you too much.”
The
White Tiger Duke didn’t attempt to remain, he simply nodded slightly.
“Since that’s the case, Elder Du, you’re in charge of taking care of
these distinguished guests. If any of you wish to join the army once
you’ve graduated, the Central Legion of my Star Luo Empire’s Western
Army will always have its gates’ open to you. You might not get paid
very well here. However, this is the best choice for men who want to
accomplish something in life.”
Ma Xiaotao suddenly spoke up, “Lord Duke, are you looking down on us women?”
The
White Tiger Duke was slightly stunned. He couldn’t help but reveal a
trace of astonishment on his face when saw Ma Xiaotao; from his point of
view, the young and beautiful woman in front of him held a wild aura.
Furthermore, she clearly wasn’t weak.
“It’s not that I’m looking
down on you, but because there are many inconveniences for women within
the barracks. However, your cultivation is another cup of tea. If you’re
willing to follow this marshal after graduating, I’d be honored to
accept you.”
Ma Xiaotao revealed a brilliant smile, then remained silent; she looked very pleased.
Wang
Yan was somewhat helpless. Even though he was the leader of the group
in name, he was still inferior to Ma Xiaotao when it came to
cultivation. Naturally, he couldn’t restrict a brilliant student like
her. He apologetically said, “Lord Duke, we won’t bother you anymore
then.”
“Alright then. I hope that I’ll have the chance to meet all
of you again.” Once he’d said this, the White Tiger Duke turned towards
the leather tent and entered it.
Huo Yuhao felt like a heavy
weight had been lifted from his shoulders when he saw the White Tiger
Duke disappear into the leather tent. He’d never felt this nervous
before—not even during his fight against Wu Feng when he was much
weaker. Currently, he felt like he was about to collapse.
Du Leisi
led them to another tent, where he allowed them to rest after he’d
arranged for some food to be brought to them. Afterwards, he went to
gather the information that they needed. Before he left, he glanced at
Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao with a somewhat doubtful look in his
eyes.
Wang Yan said, “We’ll rest for six hours after we finish
eating, then head into the Ming Dou Mountain Range. I’m confident that
we’ll have the information we need by then.”
Everyone was somewhat
exhausted after yesterday’s journey. Their current task was to ensure
that their bodies were in peak condition before they set out for a fight
in the mountains.
Xu Sanshi couldn’t help but ask, “Teacher Wang,
since the White Tiger Bodyguards beneath the White Tiger Duke are so
strong, why hasn’t the Duke simply sent them to eliminate the bandits?”
“He
has,” Dai Yueheng replied for Wang Yan, “however, if he sends too many
people, they’ll catch wind of it and run away. Contrarily, if he sends
too few people, it won’t be of much use. The bandits from the Hand of
Death are both rather strong and extremely crafty. They might even have a
few spies planted within the army. Father has sent several people in
the past to eliminate them, yet they’ve all returned without any success
and a large number of losses. The area in which the bandits have
stationed themselves is an extremely sensitive part of the border, thus
the Central Legion can only endure silently, in order to prevent a
needless war. As students of Shrek Academy, we’re different; we aren’t
restricted by any countries. As such, we must make sure to thoroughly
wipe them out this time.”
Once they’d finished eating, everyone
immediately began meditating and recuperating. This was already a
familiar task to the inner courtyard disciples, while Bei Bei, Xu
Sanshi, He Caitou, and Jiang Nannan were relatively older, thus they
were able to take everything in somewhat quicker. However, Huo Yuhao’s
trio were merely twelve years old. This task was truly a bit too early
for them. From another standpoint, they were just kids.
However,
this matter had been decided by Elder Xuan, and nobody present could
change that. Wang Yan clearly understood that Elder Xuan hadn’t done
this in order to allow the preperatory team to directly participate in
the massacre. Rather, he wanted them to experience what a mission was
like first-hand, and hasten the growth of their mental maturity. No
matter how good the academy’s tests and live-combat training was, it was
still incomparable to the improvements gained from a real battle in a
situation like this. In reality, the main combatants in this mission
would be the seven from the inner courtyard.
Elder Xuan didn’t
enter their barracks, as he wasn’t willing to concern himself with
government officials. With his strength and status, he alone could
represent Shrek Academy. However, an old man like him would never lose
track of his students. Furthermore, he was confident that he could carry
these young people through a battle if need be.
After six hours
of meditation, everyone’s exhaustion had been swept away. Noon had
already passed, and after they’d eaten the lunch that Du Leisi’s men had
left for them, Du Leisi himself brought over the information that the
Central Legion had gathered over for them.
According to the
information he’d gathered, the Hand of Death mainly carried out its
activities in and around the central region of the Ming Dou Mountain
Range. When they had a designated target, they’d rush down the mountain
and plunder them at the greatest possible speed. The entire bandit group
numbered around three hundred in total, all of whom were young men in
the prime of their lives. Of them, about a tenth of their entire group
were soul masters. Unexpectedly, nobody knew who the leader of their
leader was; the only thing they knew was that he was at the very least a
Soul King. Nobody knew exactly how strong he was.
The reason why
there was so little information about them was because the Hand of Death
never left any survivors; their methods were extremely brutal.
The
most recent piece of information was from roughly half a month ago:
They’d fled into the Ming Dou Mountain Range after looting a group of
merchants. This report also included the general direction in which
they’d fled.
The army only had this much information because there
was a possibility of a quarrel if they were to enter the domain of the
Sun Moon Empire. As such, the Western Army couldn’t help them out at
all, to the extent that they couldn’t even bring the flying-type soul
tools they’d been lent into the mountains.
However, time was of
the essence; they still had to participate in the Continental Advanced
Academy Soul Duelling Tournament. Hence, they immediately set off once
they’d obtained a map. They first flew to the entrance to the mountains
under the guidance of the White Tiger bodyguards, then descended and
handed back their flying-type soul tools. After that, they immediately
entered the Ming Dou Mountain Range and began to utilize the map
provided by the army to navigate the mountains.
“Maintain your
formation. Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, and I will remain in front.
Control-type and auxiliary-type soul masters will remain ten meters
behind us. Huo Yuhao, come over here. Follow me, and make sure to keep
your Spiritual Detection up. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, you two keep up the
rear. Let’s set off!”
The person who’d sent out their commands was
their leader, Ma Xiaotao. Huo Yuhao felt very depressed when he was
expropriated by her. Thus, he could only follow her orders and release
his Spiritual Detection Sharing.
His omni-purpose skill once again
helped enormously. In complicated terrain such as a mountainous forest,
the three-dimensional image provided by his Spiritual Detection was an
enormous benefit. Even though Huo Yuhao could only extend it ten meters
from him, these ten meters were still enough to allow everyone to enjoy
its benefits.
With Ma Xiaotao’s trio leading the way, they
travelled forwards at an extremely rapid pace. The effectiveness of Chen
Zifeng’s Soulchasing Sword was extremely evident; as he hold his sword
in front of them, the brambles in front of them were all cut apart
rather quickly. Combined with Dai Yueheng and Ma Xiaotao’s strengths,
they were easily able to cut a smooth path through the foliage in front
of them. They’d already penetrated deep into the Ming Dou Mountain Range
by the time that the sky had begun to dim.
When Wang Yan saw that the sky was beginning to dim, he reminded Ma Xiaotao, “Let’s let everyone take a rest and eat something.”
Ma
Xiaotao nodded. “Everyone, let’s rest where we are for now. Don’t light
a fire, so that we don’t alert them inadvertently. I’m afraid that
we’ll have to continue our search throughout the night.”
The
students sat in a circle to rest, but Teacher Wang Yan soundlessly left.
Ma Xiaotao didn’t pay any attention to the fact that he’d left.
Instead, she turned towards Dai Yueheng, who was next to her, and said,
“Dai Yueheng, your father’s rather handsome.”
“When my father was
young, he was the number one noble of our Star Luo Empire,” Dai Yueheng
indifferently replied, “it wasn’t because of his looks, but because of
his ability. He didn’t enter our Shrek Academy to study, but rather
followed his father onto the battlefield at the age of thirteen. He
began as an ordinary soldier, then was able to accumulate enough merits
to be promoted to a squadron leader, then a team leader, then a mid-team
leader, then a large-team leader, then a battalion commander, then a
regimental commander… all the way up until he managed to become a Legion
Commander at the mere age of twenty-three. At that time, nobody knew
where he’d come from. After a large battle, my father achieved
outstanding merits, and was called to the imperial capital to hold a
post. When he accepted a reward from His Majesty, His Majesty recognised
him due to the similarities in his appearance and my grandfather’s.
Overjoyed, His Majesty entrusted the Western Army’s Central Legion to
him. Furthermore, he even stated that ‘with Dai Hao, the empire will
have no worries for a hundred years’ in front of all of the ministers.”
Ma Xiaotao’s eyes lit up. “If you put it that way, is your father still a hero?”
Dai
Yueheng revealed a trace of pride in his eyes. “My grandfather said
that father’s talent is comparable to that of our ancestor’s, the leader
of the first generation of Shrek’s Seven Monsters. Father is now
forty-three years old, and he’s commanded the army for twenty years
already. How could the number of battles he’s participated in be limited
to just a thousand? You know how strong the Sun Moon Empire is, but my
Star Luo Empire’s western border has always been invulnerable to attack.
That’s all due to the presence of my father! If we were to say that
only one person could be called a hero in my Star Luo Empire, then that
title definitely deserves to go to my father!”
Ma Xiaotao’s eyes immediately brightened even more. “Then how many wives does your father have?”
Dai
Yueheng was stunned, and his gaze immediately turned somewhat strange.
“Only my mother. In our generation, there’s only my brother Huabin and
I. My father’s extremely self-disciplined in the field of women. He’s
always said ‘if a man can’t control his lust towards women, he won’t
have any large accomplishments’. Why do you ask?”
Ma Xiaotao stared at him, “Can’t I admire him? A man like your father is definitely a true man. You should learn from him.”
A
light flickered through Dai Yueheng’s eyes. “Once we’ve finished this
task, I’ll have completed thirty Guardian missions. Once I’ve graduated
from the academy, I’ll enter the army. However, I won’t stay in the
Western Army; I’ll head to the North, even though there are fewer wars
there. I want to follow the same path as my father: I want to carve out
my own path, solely relying on myself.”