Protect Our Patriarch

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...

Unlike personal cultivation manuals, the War Manual is a special type of manual that only evolves and grows through one victory after another, gaining a large amount of war energy.

Every manual's spirit artifact harbors the ambition of becoming an Immortal Scripture, and Junwu is no exception.

Since its establishment, the Seventh Corps had never fought such an exhilarating battle, and every soldier, captain, and commander was in a state of extreme excitement.

Corps Commander Yan Hongtian and Deputy Commander Liao Yingjun were naturally on the verge of exploding with excitement, but as leaders, they knew there were many follow-up matters to handle. They forced themselves to calm down and began directing the troops to conduct casualty statistics, collect spoils, and tally and manage prisoners.

In less than an hour, the preliminary statistics of the battle were out.

Liao Yingjun excitedly reported to Wang Yingxuan, "Boss Yingxuan, in this battle, we only lost 119 brothers, with 213 seriously injured and over 500 lightly injured. We annihilated the Blood Eagle Lord's troops, killed 854 demons, captured 1,350 demons of various ranks, and the rest have scattered."

"Lost 119?" Wang Yingxuan's excitement was immediately dampened, and a heavy feeling weighed on her heart.

Liao Yingjun's smile also froze, and he quickly forced a laugh, saying, "Boss Yingxuan, in war, there's no such thing as no casualties. In normal confrontations, our casualty ratio with the demons is often two to one. This is already an unprecedented glorious victory for us." "I understand." Wang Yingxuan's expression softened slightly, "Our human soldiers are still too weak."

"There's no way around it." Liao Yingjun said helplessly, "Most of our soldiers have only low-grade A or B bloodlines, and reaching the early Lingtai Realm is already commendable. Further cultivation requires a massive resource investment with poor efficiency."

This is the result even with the Seventh Corps primarily using soldiers from the Immortal Dynasty. If it were an empire like Great Gan, most of their soldiers would be in the Qi Refining Realm, and their casualty ratio against the demons would typically be dozens to one.

"Miss Yingxuan~" Junwu reminded, "You've gained a lot of war energy this time. You can allocate some of it to the soldiers through the manual, which can slightly and gradually enhance their bloodlines, strengthen their bodies, accelerate their cultivation progress, and even heal injuries."

"Of course, this change is gradual and not immediate. After all, even though there's a lot of war energy this time, it's negligible when distributed among everyone."

"It can be done this way?" Wang Yingxuan's eyes lit up immediately.

"Of course, I am the War Manual, after all, and I follow the path of war." Junwu's tone was filled with pride, "If I couldn't enhance the potential and abilities of soldiers, how could I be called the War Manual? Not only can we allocate war energy, but we can also 'reward based on merit' according to the soldiers' performance in battle."

"I've already compiled all the data on the soldiers' and officers' performances."

"Good, very good." Wang Yingxuan waved her hand, "Reserve thirty percent of the war energy, and distribute the remaining seventy percent based on merit, giving more to the wounded to help them recover faster."

"Seventy percent? Isn't that a bit too much? You should also keep some to strengthen yourself." Junwu advised.

"No need, my bloodline is already very high, and consuming all the war energy might not improve it much. The benefit ratio is too limited." Wang Yingxuan said firmly, "Only when the army as a whole is strong can we reduce casualties and achieve more victories."

"As you wish, Miss Yingxuan." Junwu immediately followed Wang Yingxuan's orders and distributed the war energy gathered on her.

In an instant.

The seemingly intangible and formless war energy transformed into wisps, drifting towards each soldier, officer, and commander under her command, even the corps commander and deputy commander, with everyone receiving a share, distributed differently based on merit.

Although the war energy seemed scarce, the soldiers felt a warm current surging within them, as if soaking in a hot spring in the middle of winter, with every pore opening up.

A few soldiers who were already on the verge of breaking through from low-grade A bloodlines experienced a breakthrough in their bloodlines after the war energy's baptism, barely reaching mid-grade D bloodlines, gaining some potential to advance to the Celestial Realm.

This made them overjoyed, tears of gratitude streaming down their faces as they repeatedly thanked Wang Yingxuan.

They had already accumulated enough merit to exchange for blood refining pills, but to advance further, they needed to exchange for Xisui Dan, which was extremely difficult for most Lingtai Realm soldiers to accumulate, and even with enough merit, they had to wait in line.

Of course, advancing to the Celestial Realm with mid-grade D bloodlines was still extremely challenging, requiring an astronomical amount of resources, but there was at least a glimmer of hope, wasn't there?

"Boss Yingxuan, Boss Yingxuan!"

After enjoying the great benefits brought by the War Manual, the soldiers of the Seventh Corps roared with enthusiasm, like fervent believers.

"Alright, alright." Wang Yingxuan gestured for them to calm down, "Get back to work, quickly clean up the battlefield and take a short rest, we still have the next battle to prepare for."

The brothers working next became even more enthusiastic and diligent.

The battlefield was cleaned up, yielding a lot of spoils. Many demon armors and weapons could be exchanged for military merit, and they also captured dozens of blood eagles, as well as a luxurious flying chariot and two seventh-rank blood eagles belonging to the Blood Eagle Lord, thanks to the efforts of the Lingxu puppet Dinghu Ancestor, who captured the seventh-rank blood eagles after slaying the Blood Eagle Lord.

These were specialties of the Blood Eagle Territory, and domesticated blood eagles were highly valued among the demons, especially the seventh-rank ones, which often fetched astronomical prices.

This wave of spoils naturally made the Seventh Corps profit greatly.

The only headache was the over a thousand demon prisoners. Yan Hongtian quietly pulled Wang Yingxuan aside and whispered, "Boss, taking this batch of prisoners with us for the next operation is quite troublesome, isn't it?"

"How are prisoners usually handled in the Seventh Corps?" Wang Yingxuan asked with a frown.

Yan Hongtian showed an embarrassed smile, "Not just the Seventh Corps, even the Eastern Line Defense Area rarely captures so many living demon prisoners at once. Generally, they're used to exchange for our captured clansmen or sent to do hard labor like mining."

"Exchanging them is quite worthwhile, as the demon lords are willing to trade human prisoners for strong demon prisoners."

"But this time, taking so many prisoners with us is inconvenient, and releasing them is a bit unsatisfying. Why not quietly execute them all and save the trouble?"

When he mentioned executing them all, Yan Hongtian showed a look of great reluctance.

If this batch of prisoners could be brought back, they could exchange for a lot of military merit, as all defense areas needed demon prisoners to exchange for human prisoners, making them highly sought after.

"Miss Yingxuan." Junwu suggested, "If you can't handle the prisoners, why not try incorporating them?"

"Incorporate them?" Wang Yingxuan's eyes brightened slightly, then she asked Yan Hongtian, "Hongtian, are there any cases of incorporating demon soldiers?"

Yan Hongtian's expression changed immediately, and he quickly advised, "Boss Yingxuan, don't play with fire. These demons are fierce and unruly, and in their bones, they worship various demon gods. They will never truly submit to us humans. Even if they reluctantly submit out of fear for their lives, they will rebel at critical moments. There have been many such cases in history, and no one has tried it for thousands of years."

"Moreover, demons have a deep-seated hatred for us humans, and many comrades have died at their hands. Incorporating demon soldiers will cause controversy and resentment."

"Junwu, what do you think?" Wang Yingxuan was still somewhat tempted.

"Incorporating demon soldiers is indeed not easy, but with me, Junwu, it's not impossible." Junwu said with slight excitement, "The greatest feature of our War Manual is serving war. With one victory after another, we can easily gather a military spirit, and the rational distribution of war energy will greatly increase soldiers' loyalty."

"As long as you treat the demon soldiers reasonably and not just as tools, I believe that under the influence of the military spirit, demon soldiers will also develop strong beliefs."

"In that case, I'll try incorporating demon soldiers." Wang Yingxuan said eagerly, "When I was a child, I loved listening to my grandfather's stories about the fictional Three Kingdoms, where heroes incorporated foreign tribes for their use."

"And my grandfather also said that we should have a long-term vision. If we can truly incorporate demon soldiers, wouldn't it benefit the entire war against demons?"

Yan Hongtian quickly advised, "Boss Yingxuan, think it over carefully. If something goes wrong, it will be hard to handle."

"My mind is made up." Wang Yingxuan said solemnly, "If anything happens, I, Wang Yingxuan, will bear the consequences alone." Wang Yingxuan grew up in Wang Shouzhe's courtyard, and naturally, she was subtly influenced by Wang Shouzhe's thinking.

For enemies, some should be struck, some divided, and some drawn in!

Seeing Wang Yingxuan's determination, Yan Hongtian dared not advise further. Instead, he said solemnly, "Boss Yingxuan, what are you saying? As long as it's a decision you truly make, I, Yan Hongtian, will firmly obey, even if there are no conditions, I will create conditions to obey."

"Hongtian, I knew I didn't misjudge you." Wang Yingxuan patted his shoulder, feeling quite moved inside.

"Boss, considering my loyalty, can you give me a Divine Spirit Artifact?" Yan Hongtian began to show his true colors with a hopeful look.

"Don't you already have Flying Swallow?" Wang Yingxuan glanced at him.

"Boss, if you give me one, I can return 'Flying Swallow.' She's too hard to please." Yan Hongtian said with a face full of distress, "She's so arrogant, people might think she's an Immortal Artifact."

"..." Divine Spirit Spear Flying Swallow.

...

Meanwhile.

In the Nether Fiend Demon God's domain.

Red Iron Demon King Fortress.

This Demon King Fortress has a very long history. If traced back, it can even be traced to the previous generation of the Nether Fiend Demon God.

The owner of this Demon King Fortress has changed many times, and in this generation, the Red Iron Demon King has become a mainstay under the Nether Fiend Demon God, commanding tens of thousands of soldiers, with combat power ranking mid-level among many Demon Kings.

Even this Red Iron Demon King Fortress has been expanded several times, and its scale and grandeur are far beyond the Demon King Fortresses in remote and barren places like the Blood Demon King Fortress.

It was built against the massive Yiku Mountain Range, extending from the foot of the mountain to almost halfway up. Every evening, under the glow of the blood moon, the entire Demon King Fortress seemed to be coated in a layer of blood, with towering spires, making it spectacular.

However.

Today, this ancient Demon King Fortress has met its nightmare.

Under the afterglow of the blood moon, this once impregnable fortress was covered in mottled marks from attacks, with parts of the walls on the verge of collapse.

Inside and outside the walls, countless severed limbs lay scattered, with crimson blood half-dried, still emitting a strong bloody smell, looking particularly tragic.

Clearly, a fierce battle had just taken place here.

On the battlefield filled with the remnants of war, squads of human soldiers in black and red armor were shuttling back and forth, picking up arrows fallen on the battlefield, searching for spoils from corpses, and casually finishing off any demon soldiers still breathing.

At the massive gate of the Red Iron Demon King Fortress, one transport cart after another, powered by giant demon oxen, was coming out of the city, loaded with goods.

Behind the transport carts, long chains of demons were bound. These demons mostly looked ugly, wore tattered clothes, and had empty, numb eyes, like walking corpses.

These were the captured low and mid-level demons.

The high-ranking, powerful demon generals and demon lords had naturally been slaughtered during the battle, leaving behind these weaker low and mid-level demons. They were numerous, and even within the demon hierarchy, they were at the lowest level, doing hard labor like mining and serving others, at most being small leaders.

At this moment, under the watchful eyes of human soldiers, they dared not make any moves, silently being driven forward.

This once-thriving Demon King Fortress had now completely fallen. And those who conquered it were evidently the army in black and red armor.

Just as the soldiers were busy cleaning up the battlefield and looting spoils.

Suddenly.

A deep, thunderous dragon roar echoed from the sky.

Amidst the dragon's roar, a massive black demon dragon emerged from the gray-black clouds, then gracefully descended from the sky with a flick of its long tail.

Clearly, it had been in the sky all along, its form concealed by the pervasive gray-black demonic energy.

The demon dragon had a pair of ferocious dragon horns, its scales as hard as obsidian, with dense demonic energy swirling around it, enhancing its formidable and violent aura.

Upon closer inspection, two figures stood atop the demon dragon's head.

The leader was a young man with exceptionally handsome features, his facial lines sharp and angular, with a high nose bridge and deep-set eyes, exuding a sense of depth and determination that left a strong impression at first sight.

He wore a pure black battle armor, making his figure appear tall and imposing, with a strong aura of killing intent emanating from him, rivaling the black demon dragon beneath him.

Behind him stood an old man in dark robes.

This old man was thin and frail, with an aged face, wearing a dark robe that seemed to be made of thick ink, exuding an unsettling aura that made one's heart uneasy.

These two were none other than Little Demon Lord Chao Qianjue and the Lingxu Realm Demon Lord Gong Litu, who often accompanied him.

Seeing this scene, the soldiers outside the Demon King Fortress immediately showed expressions of awe.

"Commander of the Fifth Corps of the Asura Legion, Su Huaichang, greets the Young Master and the Demon Lord."

Among the soldiers, a middle-aged man in heavy armor flashed into the air, greeting the two with respect before the demon dragon had fully descended.

This middle-aged man had a firm face and a cold, hard demeanor, with a strong aura of blood and killing intent that was intimidating.

Compared to ordinary corps commanders, although he was also in the Divine Realm, it was evident that he was not barely at the early stage of the Divine Realm, but likely at the mid or even late stage.

"Hahaha~ Excellent! Truly worthy of being the ace secretly cultivated by the Ancestor, the corps under the Asura Legion are indeed formidable. This Young Master is pleasantly surprised~" Little Demon Lord's handsome face bore a confident smile, "This battle was beautifully executed, not in vain for this Young Master to painstakingly create opportunities by maneuvering the corps, allowing you to secretly cross the blockade and sneak here."

The Asura Legion was a secret ace legion secretly cultivated by the Chao Clan. Although its total number was not large, its strength was exceptionally formidable.

Any corps under its command had combat power far exceeding ordinary corps, making them elite among elites, aces among aces, never easily deployed.

This time, it was due to the chaos caused by the death of the Nether Fiend Young Master, an opportunity too good to miss, that the Demon Lord allocated one of its corps to the Little Demon Lord.

The Little Demon Lord did not hesitate, immediately leading this corps and two of his own corps into the heart of the Nether Fiend Demon God's domain, taking advantage of the demons' rear defenses being lax to launch surprise attacks on Demon King Fortresses.

The strategy proved very successful.

The usually impregnable Red Iron Demon King Fortress, due to its lax defenses, was easily taken down by just three corps, achieving a brilliant victory.

"Your Highness flatters us. It's all thanks to the Demon Lord and Young Master's astute strategies, seizing the opportunity of the Red Iron Demon King Fortress's lax defenses, allowing the soldiers to perform so well." The middle-aged general Su Huaichang humbly replied, then reported, "The soldiers found a large amount of red iron ore in the city, conservatively estimated to fill a hundred ox carts."

By ox carts, he naturally referred to the giant ox carts currently transporting goods out of the Demon King Fortress, each capable of carrying a large amount of supplies.

Upon hearing this, Gong Litu's thin face showed a smile, "Congratulations, Young Master. Red iron is a primary material for many demonic artifacts. Acquiring such a large amount of red iron ore is a great boon for our True Demon Hall."

Red iron is a type of demon iron rich in demonic energy, a primary material for crafting many types of demonic artifacts, similar in nature to black iron but with greater toughness.

This demon iron ore, though not high-grade, is in constant demand, a strategic resource always in short supply. Transporting such a large batch of red iron ore back would surely delight the trial equipment makers.

"This Young Master specifically targeted this Red Iron Demon King Fortress for these red iron ores. This fortress rose to prominence because of them." The Little Demon Lord also smiled, though with some regret in his tone, "It's a pity our time is too short; otherwise, we could occupy the red iron mines and extract more."

"Young Master need not regret. While red iron ore is important, its grade isn't high, and the Red Iron Demon King's treasury holds even more valuable items." Gong Litu said with a smile.

"The Demon Lord is right." Su Huaichang nodded, continuing his report, "Our men have looted many precious demonic herbs, materials, and even demonic artifacts from the treasury, all treasures hoarded by the Red Iron Demon King. However, the number of demon crystals is not as high as expected."

"No matter. Just these are already a tremendous achievement. You've all worked hard." The Little Demon Lord, having regained his composure, no longer dwelled on it.

He looked at Su Huaichang and said, "There are several more Demon King Fortresses to conquer, and time is limited. Have your soldiers quickly organize the items and hand them over to my corps for transport. Let's hurry to the next Demon King Fortress."

"Yes, Young Master."

Su Huaichang agreed and immediately went to work.

Soon, all the spoils were organized, and one giant ox cart after another began leaving the Demon King Fortress, heading towards Demon No. 2 Fortress.

The Little Demon Lord, meanwhile, led the temporarily assigned Fifth Corps of the Asura Legion towards the next Demon King Fortress.

Standing on the demon dragon's back, the Little Demon Lord looked at the soldiers below, flowing like a black and red torrent, then at the vast sky filled with demonic energy and the giant blood moon, feeling a surge of heroism.

Life should be like this, commanding mountains and rivers, with enemies vanishing with a wave of the hand.

This opportunity was simply once in a lifetime. Once he seized the chance to conquer the remaining Demon King Fortresses and brought back all the treasures and prisoners, he would truly rise again.

The great victory at Suiyun back then only captured three Demon King Fortresses. This time, he aimed to capture four, five, or even more!

As long as the achievements were glorious and shocking enough, with such great merit, he could surely overshadow Suiyun and regain support.

By then, he could return in glory with military achievements, and as for the Wang Clan, the Yin Snake Demon Concubine, and all those who had hurt or betrayed him, he would make them pay!

He heard that the Wang Clan's head, who took in Ji Yue'er, was very formidable, praised in rumors as if a Holy Emperor reborn. This time, he intended to meet him properly!

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