Twilight's Threshold Chapter 827: Breaking Laws, the Madman of Golden Juice General - Novel Cool

Chapter 827: Breaking Laws, the Madman of Golden Juice General

Chapter 827: Breaking Laws, the Madman of Golden Juice General

Before dawn, the cooks under Zhao Zhu had already started building stoves and preparing meals. After finishing their breakfast, they once again donned their armor and launched an attack on Cloudy County.

This time, not only did they receive the five hundred Flame Crow Army troops that were transferred, but Zhao Zhu also borrowed three thousand soldiers from the Right Flank General Zhou Liang. Combined, they now had five thousand troops under their command. Raising their large flag, they formed a formidable dark mass and marched towards Cloudy County.

The defending troops in Cloudy County numbered only a little over a thousand, and even with the addition of forcibly conscripted civilians, they barely reached three thousand. Facing five thousand fully armed Grain Guard Army soldiers, the disparity was evident.

However, the defenders had just won a battle the day before, and their morale was high. Surprisingly, they didn't retreat into the city but instead brought out their troops and set up a battle formation in the open space outside the city walls. They beat their drums and waved their flags, waiting for Zhao Zhu's forces to attack.

When the two armies met, they exchanged arrows, stabilizing their formations. Fifty zhang apart, a company officer from the opposing side charged out and began taunting.

The officer's words were filled with insults and demands for surrender.

Zhao Zhu ignored him and shouted, "Who doesn't know the reputation of the Grain Guard Army? Why waste time talking nonsense with you?"

As he spoke, he drew his steel fork and charged forward. His arm had been injured the day before, but as the Year-Guarding General, he had almost fully recovered overnight. Now, filled with pent-up anger, he wielded the steel fork with even greater ferocity, aiming blow after blow at the officer's chest.

After a few exchanges, the officer became intimidated and retreated, dragging his long spear as he fled.

The deputy commander behind him saw his commander's escape and immediately led his troops to rescue him. But Zhao Zhu was no longer the inexperienced greenhorn he once was. Seeing the commander's feigned retreat, he knew there was a trick.

Without even pursuing, he waved his hand, and the troops under his command surged forward, rushing towards the enemy. In an instant, the area in front of the Cloudy County city walls became a battlefield of intense slaughter.

Facing the fierce assault of the Grain Guard Army, the defending troops were no match and quickly crumbled. Just as the Grain Guard Army was about to launch a final charge, the defending troops of Cloudy County repeated their previous strategy. A group of soldiers who had been hiding in the army emerged, each pulling back their cloaks to reveal large green-skinned gourds strapped to their backs. They shouldered the gourds, aiming them at the Grain Guard Army.

This time, there were even more of them, a full five hundred Gourd Army soldiers, covering the entire battlefield.

During the night, Cloudy County had received reinforcements, and now five hundred Gourd Army soldiers were on the battlefield.

"Hoo!"

As the Gourd Army soldiers chanted a curse, they removed the stoppers from their gourds, and a gust of yin wind blew out.

The wind carried the howls of vengeful spirits, chilling to the bone and capable of freezing a person's bones and blowing away their soul.

The soldiers at the forefront, who were in the midst of the heaviest killing intent, were suddenly blown in the face by the gourds and became dazed. Normally, at this critical moment of battle, even ghosts and spirits would dare not interfere.

But these gourds were different. The mouths of the gourds had been sawed short, and one could vaguely see a lump of white, sticky flesh inside, without any facial features but with a mouth that puffed out its cheeks to blow air after the stopper was removed.

The first breath blew out, clearing people's minds, making them suddenly aware that they were on a battlefield, surrounded by swords and spears.

The second breath made people timid and panicked, their limbs feeling frozen.

The third breath intensified their fear, causing their souls to flee the battlefield while their bodies remained in place.

At this point, it was difficult even to stand still, let alone fight. They could only allow the enemy to advance and slaughter them.

"Damn it, the Gourd Army are not good people!"

They had suffered a similar attack during the siege the day before, but in the chaos, they couldn't see clearly. This time, Zhao Zhu was closer and observed more carefully, and he couldn't help but curse, "Back when I followed Brother Pockmark in Qing Shi Town, we fought a group of demons called the Altar Sect."

"Those demons raised altar maidens, and they were similar to these gourd-carrying fellows."

"But the Altar Sect was never a decent bunch; they were pure scoundrels. When practicing their art, they knew to hide and stay low."

"But the Gourd Army openly practices this evil art and uses it in battle?"

"..."

The military advisor Iron Mouth, who was observing nearby, whispered, "This is precisely what sets the Divine Bestowed King apart from the Bright King. The name Divine Bestowed King sounds like a person with deep blessings, the most pleasant-sounding."

"But he himself has a quirky and vicious temperament. He doesn't care about so-called compassion and kindness because he has been blessed by ghosts and spirits since birth and has never suffered any losses. He only cares about effectiveness."

"The Gourd Army is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many more demons skilled in evil arts under the Divine Bestowed King!"

"..."

"They're even more ruthless than the Guan Prefecture Hungry Ghost Army."

Zhao Zhu spat on the ground in anger and said, "The Hungry Ghost Army was indeed cruel in their actions, but they truly had nothing to eat. These people, in Quzhou, have had good weather and abundant grain these past few years, even more prosperous than Ming Prefecture. Yet, they still practice this evil art!"

"Fortunately, I figured it out last night. I also need to train a specialized army to deal with them."

"..."

Just as he was thinking, the flags in the army changed, and the leading Grain Guard Army troops also split into two flanks.

From within the ranks, a group of soldiers wearing leather armor and carrying iron frames on their backs emerged. Facing the rows of green-skinned gourds, they also shouted.

Each soldier raised their left palm high and grabbed a sharp curved blade with their right hand. In perfect unison, they slashed their left palms, which were already covered in crisscrossing scars. Fresh blood splattered, and they smeared it on their chests.

"Hula la la..."

As the blood formed a talisman on his chest and a ball of fire appeared in his throat, a fire-engulfed crow flew out of his mouth, flapping its wings.

It flew through the air, heading towards the green-skinned gourd from which a yin wind was blowing. The yin wind, instead of extinguishing the fire, only fanned it stronger.

The fire didn't burn cloth or leather, but when it touched human flesh, it burrowed inside.

The Gourd Army, upon seeing this, was startled and frantically beat their gourds harder, causing the wind to become more violent and intense, aiming to blow the fire crows back.

In theory, the Gourd Army had some control over the Fire Crow Army, and if they could blow the fire back, it would be a two-way loss.

However, the Grain Guard Army also had experts in manipulating wind. At the back of the army formation, standing alongside Zhao Zhu, was the military advisor Iron Mouth, who, upon seeing the fire crows battling the yin wind, ordered his men to bring his Big Wind Flag.

Standing beneath the flag, he drew his sword and cast a spell, pointing towards the flag, and immediately, a raging gale emerged from behind it, blowing across the entire battlefield.

The fire crows, empowered by the wind, became even more ferocious, swirling like waves towards the front.

The Gourd Army was instantly engulfed by the raging fire, screaming in agony. The flames spread directly into the rear army formation, scattering the soldiers carrying the gourds.

"This battle is won!"

The nearby military advisor, Iron Mouth, seeing the situation, rolled up his Big Wind Flag and applauded, "This Fire Crow Army is indeed on the right path."

Zhao Zhu, looking at the fireballs in the enemy formation and the acrid smell of charred flesh filling his nose, exclaimed, "This fire is so toxic and evil, and you say it's the right path?"

"What do you consider the right path?"

The military advisor, Iron Mouth, replied, "Nowadays, with demons in the sky and ghosts underground, the laws of the world are tainted with evil. Even the Wandering Ghost Sect uses such sinister methods as Yin Thunder. How can we expect other Dao Sects to be any different?"

"So, whether a path is right or wrong depends on one standard: whether it seeks self-improvement or harms others."

"All paths that seek self-improvement are the right path."

"The Fire Crow Army's method of refining soldiers is to nurture a fire crow inside their stomachs. When needed, they use their essence blood to summon it outside their bodies and command the fire crows to attack enemies."

"The Gourd Army is ruthless to others, but the Fire Crow Army is ruthless to themselves."

"By nurturing the fire crows in their stomachs, they severely damage their bodies. Those who can join the Fire Crow Army are all Yang Origin Bodies. Anyone who wants to marry and have children must leave the army and pass on their fire crows to others."

"They can only eat vegetarian food, like vegetables and tofu, but they also need three raw eggs daily to supplement their bodies."

"Even so, after each battle, their essence blood is severely depleted."

"However, it's understandable why they demand three times the military salary for each Fire Crow Army soldier. If we could recruit this Fire Crow Army under our command, even if we had to pay ten times the salary, there would still be countless people in the world vying for the opportunity!"

"..."

As they spoke, the outcome on the battlefield became clear. The Gourd Army's defense was broken, and a sea of fire engulfed them.

As the fire weakened, the army was about to seize the opportunity to advance, but unexpectedly, the Gourd Army soldiers, trapped in the fire crows, seeing no escape, roared simultaneously and smashed their gourds on the ground.

If one smash didn't break it, they smashed it twice, and the sound of 'dong dong' echoed. No one knew how many gourds there were, but soon several large holes appeared, and something inside crawled out.

Evil qi filled the battlefield, and black fog rose, accompanied by countless shrill and miserable screams.

The advancing Grain Guard Army soldiers also felt a sudden panic. To their surprise, white, ancient-looking figures emerged from the gourds, exuding an intense evil aura. The surrounding temperature dropped sharply, and even the burning fires turned green.

The flying fire crows in the air slowed down, as if enveloped by the yin wind. The Fire Crow Army soldiers, who had summoned the fire crows, began to tremble and quickly recalled the fire crows into their stomachs.

"Not good."

Even the military advisor, Iron Mouth, was astonished by the enemy's cruelty.

Seeing their imminent defeat, they still smashed the gourds, risking their lives to create chaos and help the rear army retreat into the city.

The gourds, once broken, couldn't sustain the creatures inside, but before they dissipated, they released a surge of evil qi.

Normally, such sinister things couldn't cause trouble in the army because the large number of soldiers made the army's morale heavy.

But now, with a significant number of these creatures, it was enough to trigger a major disturbance.

The officials of Cloudy County, seeing this, ordered a retreat. The leading Grain Guard Army soldiers slowed down, affecting the formation behind them, which became slightly disorganized.

Some soldiers were clearly affected, their faces turning ashen and their behavior strange. Among them, a few slowly turned around and raised their swords and spears against their comrades.

This unexpected turn of events even caught the military advisor, Iron Mouth, off guard. But Zhao Zhu, standing nearby, was both shocked and furious, "This is too sinister!"

"Fortunately, I was prepared!"

"..."

Saying so, he waved his flag, and behind him, a group of company officers, each carrying two earthen jars tied with grass ropes around their necks, charged towards the center of the battlefield where the evil spirits were causing chaos, without carrying any weapons.

Rushing forward, he shouted, "Take that!"

He raised the earthen jar in his hand and smashed it into the crowd without discrimination.

Several loud cracks echoed as the jar shattered, filling the air with a putrid stench. An unexpected scene unfolded before their eyes.

The jar contained yellow and white substances, and as it smashed onto the ground, the burning flames were extinguished. The gourd-like objects wriggling on the ground emitted pitiful cries as they slowly dissolved.

Even the Grain Guard Army soldiers who had been affected by the evil qi were splattered with the substance, feeling nauseous and wanting to vomit. However, the evil qi on their faces also dissipated.

"What the...?"

The military advisor, Iron Mouth, was stunned by the scene.

"Don't you know this stuff can dispel evil spirits?"

Zhao Zhu, seeing the effect, was also shocked. He said to Iron Mouth, "Yesterday, you mentioned that the enemy army was incredibly powerful. I've been thinking about how to defeat them."

"The elders in our camp said that strange things are afraid of filth. So, I ordered my personal soldiers to collect their filth from the army last night and have been waiting for the right moment."

"It actually..."

The more he spoke, the more excited he became, his mouth stretching to his ears, "It's so effective?"

"There's plenty of this stuff in the army!"

"The only problem is wasting earthen jars. I've used up all the jars in the army, so the brothers won't have pickled vegetables to eat for the next few days..."

As he spoke, he shouted and charged forward with a steel fork in hand.

Passing by the arena, he hesitated slightly, reined in his horse, and stirred the filth on the ground with his fork before raising it again.

Shouting loudly, he charged forward with vigor and determination. The soldiers behind him followed suit, their battle cries shaking the heavens. The Miyun County troops, who were about to retreat back into the city, were caught off guard by the sudden charge of the Grain Guard Army.

Hearing the deafening battle cries behind them, the Miyun County troops' legs turned to jelly, and they fled in panic. In an instant, they were caught up by the pursuing soldiers, who slashed and killed them all the way to the city gate.

With the fall of Miyun City, another great victory was about to be credited to Zhao Zhu.

"How is this possible?"

The military advisor, Iron Mouth, witnessing this overwhelming victory, was also stunned. He looked at Zhao Zhu with newfound respect, "Other armies have generals like Gourd General, Stupa General, and Headwrap General..."

"Does that mean our Grain Guard Army will have a Golden Juice General?"

"...?"

"This young general is quite interesting, isn't he?"

Among the Fire Crow Army, who had also distinguished themselves in this battle, was a round-faced man dressed like a wealthy young master. He covered his nose and mouth and led his troops to retreat from the filthy area. As he watched Zhao Zhu leading his troops into the city, he muttered to himself,

"I heard this young general is also from the Grain Guard Army and Ming State. He has learned the New Year Gate skills and is brave and fearless. Despite being injured yesterday, he still dares to charge at the forefront today. He's not just reckless; he's also clever..."

"With such talent, his future is limitless once the Bright King rules the world. I've been looking for a capable person to entrust my brothers to. Perhaps I should entrust the Fire Crow Army to him?"

"...?"

He had such thoughts, and he wanted to test Zhao Zhu. However, when they broke through Miyun City that day, during the grand celebration within the city, he quietly mentioned this idea to Zhao Zhu, who directly refused, shaking his head.

"No!"

"Why don't you give the Fire Crow Army to Brother Zhou Liang?"

"I've decided. I don't want to refine your Fire Crow Army. If I'm going to train an army, I want one that can defeat all kinds of strange and powerful enemies!"

"...?"

"What?"

The round-faced young master was surprised, "My Fire Crow Army is so powerful, and it's being rejected?"

With the vanguard commander Zhao Zhu's victory in capturing Miyun City, the Grain Guard Army's strategy to attack Quzhou took a significant step forward. Good news poured in from all directions as the army advanced rapidly. Within a few days, they had already entered Quzhou's territory.

Among the advancing troops, the most valiant was a female general under the command of the central army's general, Shen Hongzhi. Starting from a small commander, she had achieved consecutive victories.

Facing the valiant and fierce generals under the Divine Bestowed King, she unleashed various ingenious tactics, conquering several cities. As a result, the central army, led by Shen Hongzhi, became the fastest-advancing force.

Especially during the assault on Jujube Ridge, she faced the Divine Bestowed King's two-thousand-strong garrison, led by one of his Seven Great Generals, a renowned fierce general who was said to be skilled in altar rituals and killing without hesitation. Shen Hongzhi was cautious, even considering asking a courtesan for assistance.

However, the general on the ridge, after carefully observing the sweet potato burn, broke into a cold sweat and cried out in fear, "Oh no!"

"That boundless evil demoness, the first demon on the wanted posters with a hundred gold taels reward..."

"...She's here again!"

(End of Chapter)

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