Chapter 669: Chapter 199: Ten Miles of Burning Forest_2
In terms of value, the Thousand Vine Talisman Corridor is undoubtedly higher, containing countless talismans. But precisely because of this, the difficulty of attacking it is dozens of times harder than the Ten Mile Burning Forest.
“In my view, this battle isn’t just about the gains, but also about safety!”
“After all, we are the first army to set out to conquer a stronghold, and the risks are hard to estimate.”
“It’s not only about our current situation but also considering Zhao Xi’s side, we need a victory, not a defeat.”
Ning Zhuo’s words prompted the Three Generals to finally choose the Ten Mile Burning Forest.
The Three Generals Camp, as a new prominent entity, has garnered a lot of attention, with many people feeling secretly envious and resentful.
Many are hoping for their failure, to have a rightful reason to suppress them. Further, they aim to implicate Zhao Xi, to push the newly established supervisor out of power!
So, this initial battle is extremely crucial; it must be won, it must succeed!
Dusk was approaching, and the Ten Mile Burning Forest was ablaze with flames.
The ridges of the mountain turned into the spinal bones of a red dragon, with molten gold-like fire light flowing between the rugged ravines.
The peaks and valleys seemed like open furnaces, with spurting orange-yellow flames licking the sky, scorching the clouds into rolling caramel-colored silk.
Upon closer inspection, the continuously burning trees were all in a glazed form, resembling billions of fiery crystalline pillars.
The entire forest was charred, engulfed in swirling flames that danced bizarrely on the cracked rock walls.
Bang.
From time to time, a tree within the burning forest would reach its combustion limit and suddenly explode, making a muffled sound.
At that moment, the flames burst, forming a ten-zhang tall fire tongue that shot straight into the sky, disappearing in an instant.
Waves of heat assaulted their faces, and the firelight reflected on the faces of all the soldiers of the Three Generals Camp.
Everyone was stunned and speechless.
“This is the Ten Mile Burning Forest,” Liu Er sighed.
Guan Hong stroked his beard, “Magnificent.”
Zhang Hei said, “A great place!”
Ning Zhuo reminded, “To avoid unexpected complications, we should reorganize immediately and prepare to attack.”
Liu Er readily agreed and immediately ordered the whole army to rest.
The soldiers were clear in their roles; some were on alert at the periphery, while others were eating and drinking inside, sitting on the ground to relieve fatigue, cleaning weapons, and nourishing their spirits.
This scene fell into the eyes of Luo Chen and others.
Luo Chen, a Nascent Soul Level cultivator, and the forest chief of the Ten Mile Burning Forest, frowned, “The Three Generals Camp may be a newly formed army, but after several battles, they no longer have the immaturity of a new army.”
One of his Golden Core subordinates, Fairy Flame Stream, sighed, “Who could have expected that Liangzhu Country would suddenly dispatch a force directly aimed at us.”
“What should we do?”
“In the urgency of the moment, I can only gather some portable treasures and leave.”
Luo Chen looked at another of his Golden Core subordinates, “The Fire Crown Divine Pine can’t be moved, and the Vermilion Bird Incense Furnace is the heart of the array, so we can only take the Fire Seed from the heart of the wood.”
“Yan Jin, have you found it?”
The old man Yan Jin shook his head and transmitted through Divine Sense, “Master, the Fire Seed has always been roaming in the Ten Mile Burning Forest. In a short time, unless luck is exceptionally good, it would be necessary to activate the main array and search inch by inch.”
Fairy Flame Stream’s face turned grim, “Master, have you sent a rescue letter?”
Luo Chen nodded and then shook his head, “Given the current situation, reinforcements are hard to come by.”
Fairy Flame Stream looked at Yan Jin, “If the three of us retreat directly, we won’t be able to explain to the Dragon King Temple and other forces!”
“But if we can protect the Fire Seed from being snatched away by the enemy as a legitimate reason for leaving, we might have better days ahead.”
“So we must find the Fire Seed!”
Yan Jin nodded, gritting his teeth with a solemn expression, “I will do my utmost.”
Luo Chen reassured, “Relax a bit.”
“The layers of defenses in the Ten Mile Burning Forest are enough to hold off the enemy army for at least ten days or half a month.”
“And the highest cultivation level of the Three Generals Camp leaders is just Golden Core.”
“Of course, the sooner we find the Fire Seed, the sooner we leave, the safer we’ll be.”
At this time, Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Ning also discussed the Fire Seed.
“The Thousand Peak Forest is full of Giant Tree Mountain and has no fire veins. The Ten Mile Burning Forest is an artifact refining ground created with massive investment by the Dragon King Temple and other forces nearby.”
“Because it was spearheaded by the Ginseng Whisker Dragon King, it utilizes human fire, that is, the Fire Seed in the heart of the wood. This fire is one of the Samadhi, very precious.”
“If we acquire it, we can combine it with the Stone Fire and the Skyfire to forge the Samadhi True Fire in the future!”
“While the Fire Seed is good, for us, it might be too late.”
“Not necessarily. According to the structure of the Ten Mile Burning Forest, the Fire Seed must be left in the raging flames, following the power of human hearts and the path of incense and gods.”
“So, to find a small Fire Seed in the vast sea of flames is not easy! But there’s still hope.”
After their discussion, the four felt even more determined.
Although Ning Zhuo had once obtained the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Fire Spirit, there is an essential difference between the Fire Spirit and the Fire Seed.
He lacked a Fire Seed that he could use for artifact refining and alchemy, which would also greatly benefit his creation of mechanical artifacts in the future.
The Three Generals saw that the soldiers had finished resting and immediately reorganized to directly attack the Ten Mile Burning Forest.
The Defensive Magic Array of the Burning Forest had long been activated, with flames soaring to the sky, melting gold and forging iron effortlessly.
In the past, the Three Generals Camp could only gaze at the fire and lament. But now, the situation was different, with ample financial resources and Zhao Xi as their backing, the soldiers were well-equipped.
They all took elixir pills and posted Frost Talismans.
The entire army of over six hundred soldiers (including many remnant soldiers) was quickly covered in frost armor, turning into a white mass.
“Advance!” Liu Er organized a Triangle Arrow Formation, leading the army into the sea of fire.
The endless fire tongues wrapped around the soldiers, but they could only lick the frost, not endangering lives in the short term.
Squeak, squeak, squeak…
After advancing a mile, swarms of rats poured in from all directions.
Fire Fleece Rats!
Ning Zhuo was very familiar with these demon beasts, as large numbers of Fire Fleece Rats lived on Fire Persimmon Mountain.
The Fire Fleece Rats from Fire Persimmon Mountain were usually big, able to swim in magma and prey on birds. However, those in the Ten Mile Burning Forest were smaller but more numerous.
This was the first time Ning Zhuo had seen such a large swarm of rats.
The densely packed, overlapping rats surged toward the Three Generals Camp like a tide.
All the soldiers were already on high alert.
Out of caution, Liu Er raised his Xuanhuang Sword, activating the military art of defending the land to bless the entire army with protection.
Guan Hong was better at dealing with individual strong foes, while Zhang Hei’s military arts were more suited to the current situation.
Military Art – The Mighty Army!
The military power of the Three Generals Camp suddenly consumed four-tenths, turning into countless Black Water soldiers.
The soldiers were silent, holding the same Black Water weapons, and counter-charged the rat swarm.
Ning Zhuo’s eyes moved slightly, keenly noticing that this time the Black Water soldiers were not uniformly holding spears but a variety of common weapons such as axes, hooks, spears, knives, and swords.
Ning Zhuo thought, “It seems that after multiple battles, Zhang Hei has gained many insights into the way of the military.”
The Black Water soldiers were like a dark ocean, colliding directly with the crimson rat swarm.
The soldiers stood as still as reefs.
The rat swarm’s losses grew more significant.
Although the Black Water soldiers also suffered casualties, they were obviously more resilient than the rat swarm. Each Black Water soldier could kill at least a hundred Fire Fleece Rats before perishing.
Fairy Flame Stream hid behind the scenes, manipulating the rat swarm with the large array in the Burning Forest.
Seeing signs of being pushed back by the Black Water soldiers, she decisively took measures and dispatched other demon beasts.
Countless Scarlet Refined Floating Tails, mixed in the flames like dazzling stars, shined with black and red hues, enveloping the Black Water soldiers.
Under the dual onslaught of the rat swarm and the Scarlet Refined Floating Tails, the fatigue of the Black Water soldiers became apparent, and their casualties increased rapidly.
The battle line was gradually pushed forward. Zhang Hei took a deep breath and executed the Mighty Army military art again.
The just restored military power was once again dramatically consumed, converting into a new force and reinforced the battle line.
The effect was immediate, and the battle line was quickly driven back!
Seeing this, Fairy Flame Stream withdrew her forces.