Chapter 308: Extermination
“Join the Dao Soldiers Division—I’ll look after you!” Commander Yang thumped his chest with confidence.
“You? A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, spouting such big words?” Zhang Lan scoffed.
Commander Yang shot him a glare. “I may only be at Foundation Establishment, but some people aren’t even that.”
Zhang Lan ignored the jab and said seriously,
“Mo Hua was frail from birth and can’t train his body. Joining the Dao Soldiers and fighting in chaotic battles would be extremely dangerous for him.”
“Of course we wouldn’t make him do that.” Commander Yang replied. “In battle, the hardest part is knowing oneself and knowing the enemy. He knows concealment arts—he can use them to scout the enemy when advancing, or to protect himself when retreating.”
“And scouting isn’t dangerous?”
“Then let’s forget the scouting,” Commander Yang said decisively, taking a big step back. “He can just draw formations.”
Mo Hua couldn’t help asking, “Does the Dao Soldiers Division also lack formation masters?”
Commander Yang answered vaguely, “Not… that much of a shortage…”
Zhang Lan snorted. “Don’t listen to his nonsense. Where in the cultivation world isn’t there a shortage of formation masters? Even those demonic cultivators relied on their Third Master—their evil formation master—to build that Black Mountain Stronghold.”
“And especially not in the Dao Soldiers Division—a filthy, exhausting place where one’s life is constantly at risk. Formation masters are esteemed; they normally wouldn’t go there.”
Commander Yang’s face flushed, but he still argued,
“Precisely because of that, a formation master skilled in concealment and self-preservation is even more valuable on the battlefield.”
He looked solemnly at Mo Hua. “If you’re willing to join the Dao Soldiers Division, I can even request to make you a deputy commander.”
“When that happens, you’ll follow me. My Yang Clan has deep connections within the Dao Soldiers—under our protection, no one will dare to bully you!”
Mo Hua looked troubled.
It wasn’t that he disliked hardship or feared danger—joining the Dao Soldiers would mean leaving home behind, wandering far and wide year-round.
He still had to study formations under Mister Zhuang, and later, care for his parents.
Seeing Mo Hua’s furrowed brow and hesitation, Commander Yang quickly added,
“You’re still young—no need to decide now. Think it over. Even if you change your mind later, just come find me at the Dao Soldiers Division and mention the name Yang Jiyong.”
Yang Jiyong…
Mo Hua silently nodded, memorized the name, and said gratefully,
“Thank you, Commander Yang.”
Commander Yang smiled. “No need to be so formal. You call Zhang Lan ‘Uncle Zhang,’ so you can call me ‘Uncle Yang.’”
Mo Hua obliged. “Uncle Yang.”
Commander Yang nodded, grinning from ear to ear.
Zhang Lan sighed helplessly. “Yang Jiyong, after all these years, you’re still shameless as ever.”
Commander Yang snorted. “You’re no better.”
With the misty forest’s guide map and the topographic map of Black Mountain Stronghold ready, Commander Yang and Zhang Lan spent a day drafting the initial plan for extermination.
The next day, the various factions in Tōngxiān City gathered at the Dao Court Division to discuss the campaign.
Participants included Commander Yang of the Dao Soldiers Division, the Dao Court Division’s Senior Supervisor and Registrar Zhang Lan, as well as Elder Yu, Mo Shan, and Yu Chengyi of the Demon-Hunting Guild.
Mo Hua brought over a small stool and listened quietly from the side.
Commander Yang got straight to the point:
“The formation in the misty forest has shifted. It’s likely the demonic cultivators sensed something. If we act rashly, we might alert them, making it impossible to wipe them out in one strike.”
“The best approach is for the demon hunters to launch a feigned attack, luring the demonic cultivators out. Then the Dao Soldiers will encircle and annihilate them—end it in one battle, leaving none alive!”
“There are four Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators in Black Mountain Stronghold. They might not all be inside, but let’s assume the worst. Supervisor Zhou, Elder Yu, and I will each take on one. I’ll divide our elite Dao Soldiers into two strike teams, each equipped with the finest weapons and armor, to kill the remaining one.”
“Once one of their Foundation cultivators falls, we can fight many with few and seize the upper hand.”
“As for the rest of the demonic cultivators—their arts may be twisted and vicious, but on a battlefield of direct confrontation, they’re nothing to fear. The demon hunters just need to hold them for a while. Once the Dao Soldiers charge in, those demonic cultivators will collapse like a rabble of headless flies…”
He then unfolded the sand table. On it were models of the misty forest and the Black Mountain Stronghold’s terrain.
Commander Yang began detailing the operation—how to enter the mountains, where the demon hunters should advance, where the Dao Soldiers would ambush.
When to strike, how deep to push the feigned assault, when to retreat, where to regroup, and the timing of the full Dao Soldier charge… every stage was laid out.
Elder Yu and the others asked questions or offered suggestions. Commander Yang either clarified or adjusted the plan. After half a day of discussion, the strategy was finalized.
Mo Hua simply listened quietly.
He wasn’t familiar with such matters—Commander Yang, experienced in warfare, and Elder Yu, seasoned in demon hunting, were far more knowledgeable.
To understand the world is itself a form of learning.
Mo Hua listened earnestly, taking the opportunity to absorb as much as he could.
When the meeting ended and everyone dispersed, Mo Hua lingered and quietly asked Zhang Lan,
“Uncle Zhang, will there be any problems?”
Zhang Lan patted his shoulder. “There’s always risk in anything, but this battle’s risk is already very low.”
“Why?”
“Two reasons,” Zhang Lan explained. “First, the intelligence you overheard. Second, the Dao Court’s Dao Soldiers are stronger than you think.”
Mo Hua blinked. “Are they really that strong?”
“Of course,” Zhang Lan said. “The Dao Court unified the cultivation world because of the Dao Soldiers. Hundreds, even thousands of them march in formation—such warfare is nothing like the duels of ordinary cultivators.”
Mo Hua hadn’t seen such a battle before, but he nodded, feeling somewhat reassured.
Commander Yang acted swiftly. Once the plan was in place, troop deployment took only two days.
Before dawn, three hundred veteran Qi-Refining ninth-layer demon hunters and three hundred well-trained Dao Soldiers, led by Commander Yang, Elder Yu, and Supervisor Zhou, set out silently under cover of the dim light, heading deep into the mountains.
Mo Hua wanted to go too, but everyone firmly forbade it.
Not only his father Mo Shan, but also Supervisor Zhou, Zhang Lan, Elder Yu, Yu Chengyi, and even Commander Yang refused to let him come.
They could afford to get injured—but Mo Hua could not.
So he obediently stayed at the Dao Soldiers’ camp on Nameless Peak.
The camp was in the inner mountains, relatively safe. If the assault on Black Mountain Stronghold encountered any difficult formations, they could return to consult Mo Hua.
Several Dao Soldiers remained behind to guard both the camp and Mo Hua’s safety.
Mo Hua stayed awake all night, practicing formation patterns on the Dao Monument within his Sea of Consciousness.
At dawn, distant noises reached his ears.
Even from afar, faint shouts and killing cries echoed through the mountains—filled with chilling murderous intent. Even without using Divine-Sense, he could feel the surging waves of spiritual power.
Hundreds of Qi-Refining ninth-layer cultivators clashing, and Foundation Establishment experts fighting with full strength!
Mo Hua frowned in concern.
His father Mo Shan, and many uncles and friends, were out there in that deadly fight.
He wanted to go, but restrained himself.
Right now, he couldn’t help—and would only become a burden.
He could only force himself to keep drawing formations to stay calm.
The fierce battle at Black Mountain Stronghold lasted three full days. On the third day, news finally arrived.
The Dao Soldiers and demon hunters suffered minimal losses. Mo Shan, Elder Yu, Zhang Lan, and the others were all mostly uninjured.
And the Black Mountain Stronghold, which had stood in the deep mountains for centuries—was completely destroyed.
(End of Chapter)