The devastation left behind after the war is always so shocking. The monkey tribe gathered their defeated soldiers and waited for reinforcements before returning to their original camp, only to find it littered with corpses.

The high temperature and the large number of insects, even though it's only been two days, wow! The scene was indescribable; many monkeys couldn't help but vomit.

The monkey leader looked extremely grim. He hadn't expected things to turn out this way, which was a huge blow to morale and forced him to take another break.

They buried the bodies, cut down trees, and built a more fortified camp to prevent further attacks.

To his utter dismay, news came from those who had gone to encircle them that progress was extremely slow, with traps lurking along the way. Because of the surprise attack, he had to order a cautious advance. Another day passed before the monkeys finally set up their formation outside the canyon. This time, they had learned from their mistake; they only deployed men on the left and right flanks to find weaknesses and attack the center. The slopes on the left and right were too high to support the center, serving only a protective purpose, which was something the wolf tribe was relieved about.

"Bang bang bang!" The monkey tribe's wooden drums sounded, and the monkeys, holding wooden shields, began to advance in orderly steps.

"Boom boom boom!" The dull sound of the cowhide war drums suppressed the drumming of the monkey tribe, making those who heard it feel their blood boil.

Knowing that Qin Mu and his group were few in number, the monkey tribe launched a massive attack from the start, with a vanguard of ten thousand men charging out before the rest lined up again. This was their usual tactic—to rely on numbers.

They were all used to using javelins, since the dense forest had no shortage of timber, and the whistling wind echoed across the battlefield.

The javelins fell, some embedding themselves in the ground, others piercing through wooden shields. In the battle of attack and defense, the defenders always held the advantage, as both the arrow towers and the palisades possessed considerable defensive capabilities.

The monkeys quickly reached the front of the canyon, but to their surprise, the first line of defense was a trench. The trench was two meters wide at the top and had water at the bottom, so they didn't know how deep it was. The monkeys in front stopped in their tracks.

Those in front stopped, but those behind, for some unknown reason, continued to advance, and then tragedy struck: those in front were pushed into the trench by their comrades.

After they rolled down into the trench, they quickly stood up and were pleasantly surprised to find that the water was not deep, only reaching their calves.

Joy is often followed by sorrow. Just as they stood up, others were pushed off, causing them to fall again. For a moment, it looked like a mass exodus from the canyon, with people falling one after another, causing a panic.

Despite the chaos, many monkeys managed to climb onto the other side, while others leaped across.

After crossing the trench, the second line of defense came into view. The fence, resembling a hedgehog, made them feel like they had nowhere to start. However, military orders were paramount, so they had no choice but to grit their teeth, brandish their weapons, and charge forward.

Qin Mu and his group certainly wouldn't just stand by and watch. The strong black apes behind them kept throwing javelins, while spears thrust out from the fence ahead. In the past few days, they'd cut down so many trees, mainly to fortify the camp and make javelins. The requirements weren't high anyway; just sharpening them would suffice.

There were simply too many monkeys. They attacked wave after wave without stopping. The canyon, which was over a hundred meters wide, was filled with defensive lines and trenches—almost entirely by the monkeys pushing their own people into the water. Some of the sturdy fences had also been cut open, and the gaps were getting bigger and bigger.

Seeing his own people crowding the canyon entrance and still advancing, the monkey leader's ashen face finally softened. He waved his command flag, and the fourth 10,000-strong force charged out.

Although the defenses were breached one after another, Qin Mu did not panic and retreated in an orderly manner.

Although the monkey tribe had breached the camp, they were not overjoyed, for the camp was riddled with barricades, leaving them little room to maneuver. Unless they were willing to physically break through the barricades again, they would be in trouble. The Tang soldiers continued to attack them from behind the fortifications.

As darkness fell, the monkey tribe's offensive ceased. The Tang Dynasty did not seize the opportunity to counterattack, but instead retreated in an orderly manner.

Countless torches lit up the sky. The monkey chieftain's face was grim, for another fence stood before them, and judging from the arrow towers behind it, it was clear they hadn't been hastily constructed. They didn't know how many more lines of defense lay beyond that, but they had no choice but to grit their teeth and continue the attack. After all, the Tang Dynasty was short-handed, and if they rested and regrouped, the next assault would incur even greater casualties.

The monkey tribe leader was sulking, mainly because the people surrounding them were slow to arrive and couldn't let the Tang army escape. This was why he had to keep attacking relentlessly; if the Tang army escaped, his position as leader would be over. After all, this was a coalition army, a coalition of many tribes.

The attack continued through the night, the deafening shouts of battle echoing across the heavens and earth. At midnight, they breached another defensive line, and the monkey chieftain finally smiled. Watching the torches disappear into the darkness, he stood atop the abandoned watchtower, pointed ahead, and roared, "Chase after them! Chase after them! I will clear the canyon before dawn!"

"Woo woo woo!" A series of howls and howls brought in a new batch of soldiers, and the monkeys followed along the canyon.

The monkeys didn't notice the peculiar, somewhat pungent smoke that filled the valley in the darkness. During the day, they would have noticed it, but at night, they couldn't see where the smoke was coming from. This was a battlefield, filled with firelight and smoke; the strange smell wasn't surprising. With so many torches, the resinous smell was already quite unpleasant.

"Ah!" one of the monkeys cried out and fell to the ground.

"Hehe." Someone laughed, thinking he had fallen while walking at night.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" One after another, people fell down.

"Not good!" The monkey clan leader realized something was wrong, but it was too late, because some of his elite troops were already falling.

"What's going on?" The commander grabbed one of his personal guards and asked anxiously.

"I...I...I feel weak all over and dizzy..." the guard replied weakly and listlessly.

The monkeys were all panicked; they had no idea what was going on.

“They’ve been poisoned,” said a monkey with feathers in his hair and a wooden staff in his hand.

"High Priest, do you have any way to cure the poison?" a group of monkey experts asked anxiously.

"There's no way to do it for now, and I don't have that many medicinal herbs," the high priest said, shaking his head.

"Then what should we do?" the monkey clan leader asked, his face pale.

"Don't panic. Their poison isn't very strong; they just lack combat power. Now we need to gather the elite troops who can fight. I have some medicine here that can temporarily suppress their poison and keep you in combat condition," the high priest said.

"Alright, High Priest, please administer the medicine quickly," the monkey chieftain said anxiously.

The high priest took out a handful of dark pills from his robes, crushed them, and placed them on a pile of torches.

As the monkeys anxiously remained on guard, dawn finally broke, and the monkeys, who had been grumbling all night, quieted down considerably. When the monkey leader patrolled the canyon, he discovered his tribesmen lying dead on the ground everywhere. The scouts he had sent returned, but the Tang people had vanished without a trace.

The monkey tribe leader did not consider pursuing them, because he was powerless to do so. He only had a little over ten thousand men who could maintain their fighting strength intact. He breathed a sigh of relief, glad that the Tang Dynasty did not take the opportunity to attack.

It wasn't that Qin Mu didn't want to take the opportunity to attack, but Han Chen had said that the poison smoke's power was limited; it wouldn't completely cripple the elite troops, and a counterattack would also result in losses for them. Therefore, they withdrew directly. Of course! Qin Mu hadn't expected the poison smoke to kill so many monkeys—a full 20,000. This was mainly due to the canyon's terrain, obstructed visibility at night, and high humidity. So, even though the poison smoke wasn't particularly potent, it still killed over 20,000 in half a night; the rest would need time to recover.

Perhaps this was an accident. The monkey tribe's accident was that they couldn't catch up. After all, if they had, the Tang soldiers, who had been fighting for a day and a half, really wouldn't have had much resistance.

After lunch, the group boarded the ship and set sail.

Fire and water are merciless, and Manchester was the unluckiest city. Having just begun to recover some life, and serving as a logistical base supporting the front lines, it was unexpected that it would be attacked again. Although their defenses were not lax, they were facing a seasoned night raider who delivered a one-stop service of killing and arson, turning Manchester into a wasteland once again.

The plan was completely ruined. They had originally intended to use this abandoned city to regroup, but two months later, the monkey tribe returned, having stockpiled food. This alerted them, making it difficult to advance again.

"Forget it, we've been out long enough, let's go back to the city," Qin Mu said dejectedly. His dejection stemmed from the feeling that he had overestimated his strength. He was unsure about the monkey tribe's rear, hadn't struck at their weak points, and didn't know how much of their power he could draw away. The situation in Lingnan was what worried him most.

"Don't worry, no one from home has come looking for us, which means there's not much of a problem," Sun Hu reassured them. This expedition couldn't be called a failure; the number of monkeys killed was impossible to count, but the spoils of gold, silver, and jewels were considerable, filling an entire ship. That was just the soldiers' haul; Qin Mu had a similar amount.

"I hope so. Blackie, do you want to go back to your original island, or choose another island to live on?" Qin Mu asked.

"Commander, can we go with you?" Hei Meng was taken aback when Qin Mu suddenly asked him this question. He paused for a moment and asked cautiously.

"Why? Don't you want to go home? Or is it just you who thinks this way?" Qin Mu didn't expect this answer and asked curiously.

“That’s what we all think. It’s better to live with you. The island tribe is gone. If you leave, even if we go back, we might be captured by the monkey tribe again,” Hei Meng said with a hint of sadness.

Unexpectedly, this tall, dark-skinned fellow was quite meticulous and well-informed about their situation. Qin Mu pondered for a moment and said, "Following us is certainly no problem. I haven't asked you yet, but how many of your chimpanzee tribe are there on that island?"

“There were many tribes on each island. We weren’t as warlike as the monkey tribe. We lived together on the same island and were very united. When there wasn’t enough fruit, we would sit in wooden boats and go to larger islands for help,” Blackie recalled.

"Can you persuade the other tribes to come with us?" Qin Mu asked. He had his eye on these tall, thick-skinned, and honest men. With training, they would be excellent soldiers. Although not as elite as the elite, they would still be very capable for ordinary soldiers. They were a force somewhere between elite and ordinary. Even if they were just doing odd jobs, these guys would be good laborers, and crucially, they were all proficient in swimming.

Hei Meng explained that their lives consisted of fruit trees and fishing—using sticks to poke at the fish and then diving into the water to catch them by hand. Aren't those who can catch fish by hand in the vast ocean the best sailors? Obedient and good swimmers. Women and children can also join the fishing village or the salt village; physical labor isn't too strenuous for them.

“No problem. As long as you give me some salt and grain, I guarantee many tribes will be willing to leave with me,” Hei Meng said, patting his chest.

“Okay, no problem. As long as you’re willing to come with us, you can have as much of these things as you want. When we get back to the Central Plains, I’ll have someone teach you how to farm, and you’ll live in big houses where you won’t have to worry about the sea breeze,” Qin Mu said happily.

"Can I continue fighting alongside you?" Hei Meng asked cautiously.

"Of course, I'll send you a set of iron armor when we get back and have someone teach you martial arts," Qin Mu said with satisfaction. It wasn't that he valued Hei Meng that much; in terms of strength, he was nothing under Qin Mu's command. The key was that it wasn't as convenient to order around the others. After all, they were all people of status, and someone like Xi Junmai, with high strength, was best sent out to train.

The fact that this originally kind guy had developed a liking for war made Qin Mu feel a pang of guilt for a moment, but he quickly put it out of his mind.

As the land disappeared from sight, Qin Mu thought to himself, "I will come back."

The fleet returned, heading towards Yazhou. After docking there, the Sun family's fleet, accompanied by Hei Meng, would persuade the Black Ape tribe to return and help transport them back. As for those unwilling to come, that was fine too; the Sun family would arrange a team there to buy fruit and process it into canned goods. This was Qin Mu's reward for their military expedition.

Sun Hu was delighted. Although the expedition had resulted in the loss of over three hundred men and the wounding of over five hundred, the gains were substantial. The large quantities of gold, silver, and jewels could compensate for the soldiers' losses. The long-term benefits to the family were self-evident. He had personally witnessed the quantity of fruit from Southeast Asia. This alone was more profitable than the family's current most lucrative business. The losses were entirely within their means.

Qin Mu wasn't worried that the Sun family's control of a large quantity of canned fruit would cause him trouble. After all, they were isolated overseas and still needed to sell to the Central Plains, and given the Central Plains' consumption capacity, it wouldn't impact the market.

"Rest assured, Governor, the Sun family's canned fruit will not be sold in large quantities to the Central Plains within the next ten years," Sun Hu excitedly assured him.

70