Chapter 64: Arriving at the Frontlines
The next day, before dawn had even broken, an urgent bell ringing suddenly echoed across the large vessel. Wei Yuan awoke from his meditation, leaped to his feet, and raced toward the battle preparation hall immediately. The urgent bell ringing signalled an emergency assembly, and everyone was required to report to the hall within thirty breaths.
The atmosphere in the battle preparation hall was quite tense. It was also packed full of supplies. On the left side of the hall lay mountains of boxes, and the right side lay stacks of standard-issue armaments.
The Trueman guarding the vessel, Trueman Liu, usually wore Daoist robes. But today, he had put on a set of armor. His demeanor had changed from refined and genuineness to murderous as well. Once everyone had arrived, he waved his hand and summoned a gigantic, incredibly detailed map behind him. It displayed nine counties and over a hundred scattered villages.
“Our ship is responsible for defending the western sector of Baining Commandery, which encompasses five hundred thousand households and five thousand border troops. These are the defense zones you’ve been assigned to. Memorize them well.”
A dense amount of information appeared on the map, and Wei Yuan quickly found his defense zone. It encompassed three villages that formed a triangle on the map. Border villages were usually protected by walls, so they counted as fortified villages. Wei Yuan also memorized everyone else’s defense zones, and vice versa. Everyone who finished tempering their spirit basically possessed a near eidetic memory.
“It is time for you to collect your supplies. To your left are military provisions—each person may carry three boxes. To your right are the armaments. You may pick whatever you need. Now then, this old Daoist is going to make a personal remark. If you’re not from an aristocratic family, it would be in your best interest to swap out your robes for armor. Save for the absolute finest robes, most are not as useful as a plain set of armor on the battlefield. Besides, what’s the point of dressing up on the battlefield—do you want to paint a target on your backs?”
After grabbing his military provisions and armaments, Wei Yuan returned to his room and put on his armor. An hour later, when the bell rang again, he went down to the hold below the deck. Several small flying boats were parked in the hold. The rest of the clearings were filled with young cultivators wearing armor and carrying backpacks. Several armored cultivators were barking orders and shoving the young cultivators into the smaller boats. It was incredibly noisy.
Wei Yuan looked back and saw Zhang Sheng standing in the shadow outside the exit, watching him in silence. He gave him a strong wave before carrying the three bound military provisions on his back and walking toward his flying boat.
An armored Daoist with a brawny stature kept yelling, “Faster! Don’t dilly-dally! The Liao barbarians aren’t going to wait until you’ve arrived to take action!”