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Chapter 694: The Village in the Grasslands
Chapter 694: The Village in the Grasslands
After the development of Beifeng City entered a stable period, Lu Haireng had basically handed over his affairs to others, once again becoming a qualified hands-off manager.
It was under these circumstances that Lu Haireng was able to quickly detach himself from Beifeng City upon receiving news from Zhao Er.
Even though Lu Haireng's departure was swift, he still couldn't immediately head towards Yanhuang Mountain Fort.
Lu Haireng had some matters to attend to, as he was the backbone of Beifeng City, making all major decisions. Although the city's development had entered a stable phase, Lu Haireng still needed to handle some transitional matters before leaving.
After completing the handover, it was already the next day when they set off.
When Lu Haireng, accompanied by Dian Wei, Chen Yi, and Zhang Liao, arrived at Yanhuang Mountain Fort, the unconscious members of the Black Wind Legion gradually regained consciousness, and Lu Haireng obtained firsthand information from them.
These dozens of Black Wind Legion members were mostly from the Fire Battalion, handpicked by Lu Haireng himself, specifically tasked with ensuring Li Xiong's safety during his travels across the grasslands.
Their previous mission, three months ago, was to protect Li Xiong as he surveyed and confirmed several locations suitable for constructing the Beyond City, as identified by Lu Haireng.
Before their departure, Lu Haireng personally bid them farewell, and he was familiar with these men.
Upon seeing these men, Lu Haireng was somewhat surprised. In his memory, they were robust and energetic, but now, he noticed that almost everyone had lost a significant amount of weight, and their vitality seemed to have diminished considerably.
This wasn't a simple case of over-exhaustion; it was as if their bodies had been drained of their essence.
Lu Haireng also observed that their strength had decreased to varying degrees, with the least affected losing five or six points, and some even losing over ten points. Strangely, their talents had also diminished.
Strength regression was unheard of, let alone a direct reduction in talent.
Upon seeing their condition, Lu Haireng immediately knew something was amiss.
Initially, Lu Haireng thought they had been attacked by the Xianbei or Wuhuan tribes, but it turned out otherwise.
The Black Wind Legion members confirmed that they hadn't encountered attacks from the Wuhuan or Xianbei tribes. Instead, while protecting Li Xiong as he scouted a particular area, they encountered an unexpected situation.
The area they were scouting was the place known as Wind Spirit Valley.
Wind Spirit Valley was located nearly eight hundred li away from Lu Haireng's mountain fort, a sizable basin. It was one of the areas Lu Haireng had designated for the construction of the Beyond City.
Although relatively distant from Lu Haireng's fort, according to Li Xiong's intelligence, the area was highly suitable in terms of water sources and terrain, making it one of the most ideal locations among the dozen or so sites they had identified for city-building.
This was why Li Xiong and his group had ventured there.
When Li Xiong and his party first arrived, their initial impression of Wind Spirit Valley was excellent, with its picturesque scenery, lush grass, and a meandering stream. Despite being in the grasslands, it was an ideal location for establishing a city. Even more remarkable was the absence of Xianbei or Wuhuan tribes nearby.
Upon seeing this, Li Xiong almost broke into a wide grin.
However, after Li Xiong led the Black Wind Legion into Wind Spirit Valley, they initially encountered no obstacles, allowing them to reach the valley's depths. Unexpectedly, they found a forest at the heart of the valley.
The existence of a forest in the grasslands was already a miracle, but what was even more astonishing was that every tree in this forest was enormous, each with a diameter requiring two or three people to encircle it. This peculiar sight piqued Li Xiong's curiosity, leading to a fateful decision.
Li Xiong led the Black Wind Legion members into the forest, but as soon as they entered, a thick fog enveloped them, disorienting them, and trapping them inside.
Eventually, the entire Black Wind Legion dispersed, and after two to three days, only this group of members managed to escape.
Upon their return, they felt their bodies weaken, as if their strength was being drained from them. Everyone was shocked by this situation and hurried back at full speed.
Originally, there were seventy to eighty people in their group, but only twenty to thirty returned to the Black Wind Legion camp.
Lu HaiKong's expression darkened upon hearing their description.
"Oh no, Zhao Er is in danger!"
Lu HaiKong's brows furrowed, and he swiftly sprang into action.
Over an hour later, Lu HaiKong directly led five hundred members of the Black Wind Legion out of the ranch, heading straight for the Wind Spirit Valley.
The Black Wind Legion's warhorses were all top-notch among ordinary steeds, not mythical beasts, but as the best ordinary steeds in this semi-mythical world, they could easily travel a thousand miles in a day.
Before Lu HaiKong could reach the ranch, Zhao Er and his group had already set off for a whole day. With Lu HaiKong's delay, by the time he departed, Zhao Er's group had already reached the outskirts of the Wind Spirit Valley.
Zhao Er had only brought a simple map, and it was a miracle that he could find the Wind Spirit Valley so smoothly in just one day.
But this miracle wasn't a good one. For Zhao Er's group, who hadn't fully grasped the situation, coming to the Wind Spirit Valley might not be a good thing.
Regardless, good or bad, Zhao Er's group had already arrived.
After reaching the Wind Spirit Valley, Zhao Er's group took a short break and headed into the valley.
Fortunately, the Wind Spirit Valley was vast, almost the size of an entire county. Without a guide, Zhao Er's group couldn't quickly find the grove after entering the valley.
More interestingly, upon entering the Wind Spirit Valley, Zhao Er's group chose a slightly different direction from Li Xiong's group, causing them to head towards a place quite far from the eerie grove, cleverly avoiding it.
In a 6-9-1-book-1-wrong version!
This mistake might be fortunate for Zhao Er's group, as they didn't have to face the eerie grove.
Even luckier, these guys stumbled upon a tribe in the Wind Spirit Valley.
It was a rather eerie tribe, and the reason it was eerie was that everything about this tribe felt out of place.
Despite being in the grasslands, they didn't live in tents but in houses made of earth blocks, and they had even used earth blocks and wooden stakes to enclose the entire tribe, which wasn't that large.
This wasn't a tribe but a village!
What surprised Zhao Er was that his scouts saw many horses belonging to the Black Wind Legion outside the village, and even some people wearing the Legion's armor. Zhao Er immediately flew into a rage and led the Black Wind Legion to attack the village!
Zhao Er's arrival was noticed when they were still several miles away from the village. Despite facing Zhao Er's fierce and intimidating army, the villagers showed no fear. This small village quickly organized hundreds of young men to stand guard at the village gates.
Zhao Er was taken aback by this, not because he admired their courage but because their behavior seemed familiar.
Yes, before joining Lu HaiKong's command, when his village faced mountain bandits, horse thieves, or even the Xianbei people, wasn't this the same situation?
A strong sense of deja vu overwhelmed Zhao Er, making him suspect that these people might be Han Chinese.
With this suspicion, Zhao Er waved his hand, ordering the Legion to halt in front of the village. He rode forward alone, facing the hundreds of young men and shouting, "Send someone out to talk!"
Zhao Er's words caused a commotion among the young men. After a while, a young man who looked no older than twenty, clad in black armor and holding a long spear, stepped forward. His eyes burned with intensity as he stared at Zhao Er.
Upon seeing the young man's attire, Zhao Er's eyes flashed with insight.
Of course, he recognized it instantly. It was the standard uniform of the Black Wind Legion. But how could this equipment be on this young man?
Zhao Er didn't hold back his curiosity and directly asked, "Who are you? Where did you get this equipment?"
"I'll tell you if you defeat me!" the young man replied, brandishing his long spear and charging at Zhao Er.
Zhao Er's eyes narrowed with disdain. As a seasoned veteran, he wouldn't take this reckless young man seriously.
Seeing the young man's foolish charge, Zhao Er gripped his long spear, ready to teach him a lesson. Suddenly, a surge of violent energy erupted...
(End of Chapter)
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