Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 582: Chapter 582. Uneasy Nights

A deep frown carved sharp lines onto Won Feimao’s forehead. Five hundred Human Realm soldiers might be a small fighting force within their army, but their loss before battle would cast a heavy shadow over the troops. Furthermore, they had no clear way of preventing another ambush.

”What about the Mystic Stage Soldiers?” He asked.

”Only three Beginning Mystic Stage soldiers died from the incident,” Xuang Feng answered. ”But twenty-two are still in critical condition. We can’t tell yet if they will make it. Intermediate Mystic Stage soldiers fare better. They seem to be recovering without needing any extra treatment, but they won’t be able to fight using their full strength in the next few days. As for Peak Mystic Stage soldiers, they should need only a full day’s rest to fully recover.”

”If Xuang Chao cannot identify the spy or spies, what can we do to prevent this from happening?” Won Feimao asked.

”I am currently stationing trusted soldiers to watch over the meals, their cooking, and deliveries, until their consumption. I have multiple soldiers watching one zone, so they can cover every angle. It should be impossible for the spy to slip past their combined attention.”

”Mm...,” Won Feimao didn’t make any remark, because he had no better solution.

*

While nothing happened during breakfast and lunch, things became chaotic again as the next night approached.

The tents that sheltered the supply grains went up into choking smoke and orange flames. While soldiers scrambled through the haze to salvage what they could, an explosive sound came from elsewhere in the camp. The sound tore through the night, from a tent that stored the elemental balls, the precious ammunition for the Yuanxu Cannons.

Arriving at the scene, Xuang Feng found soldiers sprawled lifeless. Deep claw marks raking their bodies. As for the tent, he needed only one look to discern that a talisman caused the explosion.

Most of the elemental balls inside that tent were destroyed. Thankfully, many soldiers came after the first explosion, so the other nearby tents that also housed elemental balls were spared.

”A spirit beast...?” Won Feimao asked. Xuang Feng was back in his tent, reporting on the recent incidents.

”The wounds on the murdered guards suggested so,” Xuang Feng answered. ”They are not caused by a weapon. The wounds have the distinct mark of a spirit beast’s claw.”

”Are you sure they are not caused by a metal claw weapon?” Won Feimao sounded skeptical. ”Those weapons are not exactly rare. It is more plausible than the spirit beast explanation. If we had a spirit beast roaming around our camp, wouldn’t someone have already spotted it? Furthermore, I’ve never heard about a spirit beast using a talisman. You did say the cause of the explosion was a talisman, didn’t you?”

”There are accounts of Mythical-grade spirit beasts possessing the ability to look and speak like a human,” Xuang Feng said.

”But not using a talisman, right?” Won Feimao asked.

”No,” Xuang Feng replied. ”But just because it hasn’t been recorded doesn’t mean such a spirit beast doesn’t exist. If one can talk like a human, it should have the intelligence to be taught how to use a talisman.”

”Now you are just reaching,” Won Feimao said.

”I’m just trying to make sense of all this...,” Xuang Feng said.

”Hmph! This is truly frustrating. I can’t believe the Echos Army goes down the path of using such an underhanded tactic against us while they turtle behind our town’s wall. Maybe we should just storm the town and teach them a lesson!”

”No, don’t,” Xuang Feng said. ”I’m afraid this might be what the enemy wants us to do. According to our Faxien Radars’ detection at the border, their number is similar to ours, or possibly even more. They might also have prepared traps inside the town. Even if we can disable the barrier that protects Surly Gate Town, our chance of defeating them is not certain. The best course of action is to follow our original plan and wait for the Northern Army to arrive.”

”Tch! This whole war business is getting on my nerves. Why did you have to go pick a fight with them?”

Xuang Feng sighed. He was tired of explaining the reason. He wasn’t in the mood to do it again.

While the two leaders were depressed, a soldier rushed into the tent.

”Generals! The Faxien Radars detect movements. The sentries at the perimeter reported they sighted the black fog again.”

”What? Bring me to the place!” Xuang Feng commanded. He and the reporting soldier rushed out of the commander’s tent.

On the way, Xuang Feng asked the soldier, ”How many units did the Faxien Radars detect?”

”Estimation is around three hundred units. Their movements seem to be in conjunction with where the black fog was seen.”

”Well, at least we know the black fog is not immune to our Faxien Radars,” Xuang Feng remarked.

When Xuang Feng arrived at the site, many soldiers were already crowding the place. Although the alarm had not been sounded, many had heard about the fog’s appearance. They came and were prepared to defend the place if the enemy emerged from the fog.

”General,” One of the soldiers called when he saw Xuang Feng. ”Should I activate the barrier?”

Xuang Feng looked ahead. It was as reported. The darkness ahead was pitch-black, while they could still see the silhouettes of something on the other side.

”Has it approached?” Xuang Feng asked back instead of answering the soldier’s question.

”Not yet,” the soldier answered. ”It just hovers around. It is not always there, though. It sort of circles our perimeter from way over there.”

”It is probably looking for a weak spot,” another soldier suggested.

”We have shot some arrows into the fog. We didn’t hear any sound of them hitting anything.”

”Should we use the Yuanxu Cannons and shoot into it?”

Many soldiers expressed agreement over the suggestion. They turned to Xuang Feng with expectant faces.

”No,” Xuang Feng doused their excitement. ”The enemy had destroyed some of our ammunition reserve. Firing into the fog, where there is no guarantee of us hitting anything, will just waste more ammunition. This might even be the enemy’s ploy all along.”

”So, what should we do?” A soldier asked.

”... Keep watching the black fog,” Xuang Feng answered. ”Stay at the ready. Have the battle puppets all stationed around our camp’s perimeter. If the fog comes too close, activate the barrier and shoot arrows into it.”

*

The barrier ended up getting activated three times throughout the night.

During the first activation, the alarm also sounded. Everyone became alert and went to the barrier, ready for battle. However, no enemies were sighted. The black fog simply hovered outside the barrier without any sign of the enemies.

The soldiers fired arrows and other ranged attacks into the fog, but as before, they didn’t hear any sound of their attacks hitting anything.

The tech specialist who monitored the Faxien Radars informed that the radars still detected movements, but whatever was making those movements stayed away from the barrier. The monitoring station was at the center of the camp, so the information sent to the sentries at the perimeter wasn’t real-time. By the time the information arrived, it was possible that the things inside the fog had moved close to the barrier. Hence, the sentries remained alert whenever the fog approached.

By the second and third times when that happened, the sentries only erected the barrier without sounding the alarm. Plenty of soldiers, however, remained at the ready despite the battle puppets being stationed there. They followed the black fog that continued to roam outside the perimeter.

They didn’t suffer many casualties during this third night, but it was no less stressful. The burning and explosion cost them valuable supplies. The roaming black fog put them constantly on edge. No one could rest properly. The morale was down. Everyone kept asking when they would begin the assault and get this over with.

Due to the tensions, some soldiers became careless. The enemy spy managed to poison the water supply in the Western zone of the camp. More than a hundred people died before they identified that it was the water. The water was dumped, and the security was doubled.

Later that night, the black fog came again. The situation was a repeat of the third night. Everyone had wised up by then. Even if they watched the fog, they still had soldiers whose attention was focused on their critical sites, so the spy couldn’t strike again.

However, a different misfortune struck on this fourth night. Several tents were found where the soldiers sleeping inside had been slaughtered. Their throats were slit open while they were asleep. Everyone knew this was again the deed of the enemy spy.

Suspicion abounded. Since they didn’t find any strangers during the head count on the second night, the spy must be one of them. Yet, they didn’t know who. Everyone was suspicious of everybody. The gloomy atmosphere of the camp worsened.

There were even rumors that some soldiers discussed leaving if nothing was done soon. Xuang Feng and Won Feimao were at a loss about how to deal with the situation. They just hoped the Northern Army would arrive in two more days as scheduled.

They never guessed, though, that Echos’ army had a different plan. In the morning of the fifth day, the gate of Surly Gate Town opened.