Chapter 158 The Prefect Mobilizes Troops to Annihilate the Xuanjia Army

At the hot spring residence, Lord You personally led nearly two hundred soldiers to search the mountains and forests for a long time, but still could not find any trace of Xiao Qidi and Duan Wu.

But he remained convinced that two people who had been poisoned with muscle relaxants and were carrying a child could not possibly escape his territory.

Moreover, with five thousand county soldiers surrounding them, not even a mouse could escape under the noses of so many elite troops, let alone three living people.

Night had fallen, making the search operation even more difficult.

Lord You had no choice but to increase manpower, sending out all the servants in the mansion, including the maids, to join the search.

Even though the number of people has reached more than 300, the mountain forest area is quite large, and it is still not enough.

Considering that the effects of the muscle-softening powder on Xiao Qidi and Duan Wu would gradually dissipate over time, and that the later they were found, the more difficult they would be to deal with, Lord You had no choice but to order a small portion of the 5,000 county soldiers to guard the pass, while the majority of the rest would work from the outside in, constantly narrowing the encirclement around the house, to cooperate with his search.

He refused to believe that by digging three feet into the ground without missing a single blade of grass, he couldn't find the person.

The search operation in the dark forest was in full swing.

Outside the mountains, Ning Jinli had already arrived with 1,500 Xuanjia soldiers.

"Change clothes, dismount, and proceed on foot," Ning Jinli ordered.

The armor worn by the Xuanjia Army appears to be the same style as that of the Da Xuan Army, but it is made by Ning Jinli's factory using modern technology and materials. It is more robust than the most defensive heavy armor of this era, but its weight is only equivalent to that of light armor.

In large-scale battles, it can provide excellent protection.

However, being made of metal, it does affect the convenience to some extent, and there will be friction and collision noises when moving around.

In that case, it wouldn't be particularly suitable.

The group immediately removed their armor, revealing the black bulletproof combat suits they wore underneath. They then selected crossbows and short knives, which were more suitable for mountain warfare, from their weapon pouches and put on night vision goggles.

In the blink of an eye, this group of heavy cavalrymen, who could usually charge into battle on the vast battlefield with their long swords and spears, became special forces soldiers capable of launching surprise attacks in the mountains and forests at night.

The soldiers were all ready to go. Ning Jinli instructed, "The terrain here is easy to defend but difficult to attack. There are also several hidden sentries ahead. Our operation will definitely be detected. Let's concentrate and break through one of the passes quickly. Our only target is the governor of Longyuan County. We must capture him alive."

After giving their instructions, the 1,500 Xuanjia soldiers quickly launched a surprise attack.

About half an incense stick's time later—

"My lord! My lord, something terrible has happened!" Someone cried out in alarm as they rushed to Lord You's side through the mountains.

Lord You was already furious because he hadn't found Xiao Qidi yet, so he kicked the man over, yelling, "What are you shouting about? What's wrong with me?"

"No, no..." the man said, panting heavily as he lay on the ground, "The sentries have discovered...discovered the situation! There are about a thousand people who have broken through!"

Lord You asked, "What kind of person?"

"Those people all seemed to be dressed in black. It was hard to see clearly from the sentry's side, but it was clear that they were well-trained and not a rabble."

"Oh? I see. It must be Duan Wu's men who have come to the rescue. Hahahaha."

"Why are you laughing, sir?"

The person who came to report was very nervous, but Lord You was actually laughing, which puzzled him greatly.

Lord You looked relaxed. "Firstly, their sending troops proves that the person I want to kill hasn't escaped yet, which is a good thing. Secondly, I have five thousand elite soldiers here, while they only have a mere thousand or so. I also have a significant positional advantage, which is also a good thing. Finally, those thousand or so people will definitely not be able to break through this pass; it's purely a case of throwing eggs against rocks, utterly overestimating their own strength. With both good news and a spectacle to be had, how could I not laugh?"

Upon hearing Lord You's words, the person who came to report felt relieved and quickly offered a few words of flattery.

Lord You waved his hand, "Go ahead, and report back to me when you have any news. If I didn't have something urgent to do right now, I would really like to go and see for myself the embarrassing scene of those overconfident soldiers getting thwarted and blocked."

"Yes, sir!" The other person scurried away.

In the mountains and forests, the torchlight flickered, and figures moved about.

Lord You remained calm, strolling leisurely with his hands behind his back, waiting for his men to find Xiao Qidi and Duan Wu. As for anyone trying to force their way in, he really didn't care.

On the other side, the Xuanjia Army ignored the sentries along the way and arrived at the pass they needed to break through at top speed.

A dozen meters ahead, towering cliffs rise, with only a narrow gap in the middle, just wide enough for two or three people to pass side by side. Lanterns hang beside the gap, faintly illuminating a winding stone path leading into it.

No wonder Lord You was so confident.

With proper defenses, even a thousand people, let alone tens of thousands, would find it difficult to break through such a narrow pass.

"Oh ho? Lord You's scouts were right after all, so many people have indeed come!" A mocking voice suddenly rang out from above the pass.

Ning Jinli looked up and followed the sound.

On both sides of the pass, defensive fortifications resembling city walls and towers were built, blending seamlessly with the cliffs and standing several meters above the ground, making them extremely well hidden under the cover of night.

If the other person hadn't spoken, Ning Jinli wouldn't have noticed so quickly.

A group of armored soldiers were looking down at them, their faces full of mockery.

The person speaking was likely the commander of these soldiers.

Ning Jinli thought about it. In this era, the prefect had local military power, so it was not surprising that the prefect of Longyuan transferred the prefectural troops for his own use.

But in the end, the local generals and soldiers also belonged to the Great Xuan Army.

Ning Jinli did not want the Da Xuan army to kill each other, so she looked up and said, "We are soldiers under General Duan of Xitun Pass. We are here on the orders of our sovereign to capture the governor of Longyuan who has committed heinous crimes. We hope that you soldiers will not act as accomplices to the wicked and will just let us in."

"Wow, that's strange, the leader is actually a woman?" A murmur of discussion immediately arose at the pass.

"How bad is the situation at Xitun Pass? Are there no men left? They actually found a woman to lead the troops?"

"Hahaha!"

"..."

The opposing general said slowly, "Lord You has already told us that General Duan is a traitor who murdered the emperor. Because Lord You saw through his scheme, he wanted to kill Lord You to silence him. You, a mere woman, dare to try to deceive us? How utterly ridiculous! It is you who should be the ones aiding and abetting evil!"

Ning Jinli wanted to try again, so she patiently and sincerely said, "You have all been deceived by the prefect! What he did was outrageous. Now His Majesty knows everything and wants to arrest him! As local soldiers of Longyuan County, haven't you heard a single word about the prefect of Longyuan County being an incompetent official all these years?"

After these words were spoken, the laughter from the pass gradually subsided.

A complex expression flashed across the face of the opposing general.

The other soldiers also frowned slightly.

They had indeed heard some rumors, but they were just unsubstantiated gossips. Having lived in the camp for a long time, they didn't know much about the situation among the common people.

Furthermore, as local soldiers of Longyuan County, they were obligated to obey the orders of the local prefect, as it was their duty.

As for those random and unfounded rumors, don't take them seriously.

"Enough with the nonsense!" the general on the pass roared. "You traitorous rebels dare to spread alarmist rumors and sow discord here! I think you're really tired of living!"

"Fire arrows! Kill them!"

The general gave the order.

Splash—

The soldiers on the pass quickly grabbed their longbows.

Whoosh whoosh!

The sound of arrows piercing the air was incessant.

Several Xuanjia soldiers quickly stepped forward and formed a human wall in front of Ning Jinli.

Ning Jinli wasn't wearing protective combat gear, so she could only crouch down and hide temporarily behind the Xuanjia Army soldiers.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of bronze arrows rained down, striking the Xuanjia Army soldiers before bouncing off to the ground without causing them any harm.

"Sigh, communication failed, there's no other way," Ning Jinli sighed, and ordered into the walkie-talkie, "You guys get to work!"

Several soldiers from the Xuanjia Army immediately rushed out, quickly ran around to the bottom of the pass from both sides, placed a few makeshift explosive charges at the base of the wall, and then swiftly ran back.

"Fairy, it's all set up!" a voice came from the walkie-talkie.

“Okay, detonate,” Ning Jinli said.

Above the pass, the county soldiers were still firing arrows indiscriminately.

Suddenly, a loud bang was heard.

Flames soared into the sky below the pass, and the surrounding earth shook violently!

Before the county soldiers could react, the fortifications at the pass collapsed in the blink of an eye.

The opening, which was originally only wide enough for two or three people to pass side by side, was enlarged several times by the explosion.

When the commotion subsided, only the wails of the county soldiers remained amidst the billowing smoke.

Ning Jinli's expression was solemn. Even though the explosives used this time were used with great restraint to avoid casualties, they still had enormous destructive power.

"Send a team to check," Ning Jinli ordered into the walkie-talkie. "If there are any injuries that are extremely serious and life-threatening, take them away for treatment. Tie up the rest and leave them aside until we catch the prefect."

Meanwhile, Lord You and his men in the mountains all heard the sudden tremor.

Lord You frowned and subconsciously looked in the direction from which the commotion came.

However, since it was late at night and we were in the mountains, we couldn't see anything.

"Don't just stand there! Even if the sky falls, you have to keep searching for me!" Lord You roared at the stunned crowd, then assigned several guards to check what was going on outside the forest.

Before long, the soldiers who had been sent out returned in a panic, scrambling back to safety.

"Sir! A pass has collapsed!"

"The entire level has collapsed!"

"From a high vantage point, we saw... we saw Duan Wu's soldiers all rushing in... and heading this way!"

Lord You was shocked upon hearing this news.

"Nonsense!" He grabbed a soldier by the collar. "How could a perfectly good pass collapse? It's not made of tofu!"

The guards were almost in tears. "Sir...we saw it with our own eyes, we would never lie to you! I...I don't know how it collapsed, it just...it just collapsed!"

Lord You's pupils trembled, and he gritted his teeth as he asked, "Where are the guards at that checkpoint?"

The soldier shook his head, trembling, "I don't know... It's a complete mess over there. We didn't dare go inside the pass to see, so we rushed back to report to you..."

Lord You's face was tense, his expression filled with surprise and uncertainty.

Although it sounds absurd, he did indeed hear a vibration just now.

The guards probably wouldn't dare to lie to him.

After a moment's thought, he decisively said, "Issue my order to dispatch two thousand county soldiers to encircle and annihilate Duan Wu's rebel army! Leave not a single one alive!"

The five thousand men he transferred from the garrison were all elite soldiers from the county.

Both their equipment and combat capabilities are superior to those of ordinary soldiers.

Given that Xitun Pass was such a barren and desolate place, it was obvious that there couldn't possibly be any powerful equipment or weapons there.

Therefore, he concluded that sending two thousand men would be enough to wipe out the thousand or so soldiers at Xitun Pass.

——

After Ning Jinli led the Xuanjia Army through the checkpoint, they quickly arrived near the mountains and forests.

According to Xiao Qidi, seeing the mountains and forests means entering the core area of ​​the hot spring residence.

Ning Jinli quickly noticed that some torchlight was shining through the gaps in the trees and forest, and it didn't seem to be too far away.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Lord You will continue searching for Xiao Qidi's whereabouts.

"Spread out into small teams of ten and surround the area with the firelight," Ning Jinli relayed over the walkie-talkie. "If you encounter any of the guards or servants of the Prefect of Longyuan who resist, kill them without mercy."

These people are different from the county soldiers. They all know the situation of their county governor, and killing them one by one would not be innocent.

After conveying the order, Ning Jinli circulated her inner strength to increase her speed and took the lead in rushing into the mountains and forests.

More than a thousand Xuanjia soldiers immediately formed ranks and, like a black torrent, quickly entered the area.

In the mountains and forests, the servants who were a little further away from the search area suddenly felt a chill down their spines.

"Did you... hear any strange noises?"

A servant whispered to the other two people who were in the same team as him.

The other two also had a strange premonition, and looked around while holding their torches.

However, he could only see groups of servants in the distance, and did not notice anything amiss.

The servant continued, "A group of people just encountered a tiger. Luckily, they all had torches, and there were other groups nearby... They spotted it in time and scared the tiger away. We... we seem to be a bit far from the others. Could... could that tiger be secretly watching us?"

His words made the other two shudder, their hair standing on end.

"Let's go a bit further in, don't stray too far from the other teams."

"That's right, that's right. We've searched this area eight hundred times, and we haven't even found a single human hair. There's no need to keep searching back and forth, anyway, the adults can't see us..."

After a quick discussion, the three of them took off running towards the crowd.

In their panic, one of them tripped over his own feet and stumbled, dropping the torch.

When he looked up, he could only see the blurry backs of his two companions as they walked away.

The torch fell two zhang away, flickering intermittently, plunging the surroundings into darkness...