Top-tier Unruly Master-Chapter 1733 - 1770: Military Secrets
"What are you trying to do?! We’ve already surrounded this place, there are people everywhere!"
At that moment, the muscular soldier was incredibly anxious, yet spoke with a hint of defiance.
By now, he knew very well that the people before him were not ordinary, nor were they merely travelers. They were concealing their cultivation, which was far superior to theirs. The muscular soldier was fully aware that they were absolutely not their match.
Earlier, he and the soldier beside him had casually attacked the two elders, but the elders effortlessly shattered their longswords and injured them with a few waves of energy, revealing their formidable strength. Witnesses around didn’t flinch and seemed to treat it as a normal occurrence.
Even if the muscular soldier was somewhat simple-minded, he knew these people were formidable adversaries, definitely not ones that he and the soldier could handle alone.
Therefore, besides trying to scare the opponents, he seemed to have no other options.
Their numbers significantly outmatched the two soldiers, and their cultivation levels were unfathomably deep, making them impossible to defeat.
Moreover, they had ventured quite a distance away from the camp, making it impossible for the others to know of anything happening here.
The other soldier clutched his chest, which was still in pain from being struck by the energy waves earlier. Seeing themselves surrounded, he felt a bit panicked. They were not lazy soldiers, but battle-hardened warriors, familiar with encounters with powerful figures, and deeply aware of the insignificance of life and death on the battlefield.
Facing such peril, he knew these were not kind fellows, that killing them would not be hesitated upon, and could be done easily. How could he not feel anxious or frightened?
For soldiers at the Late Nascent Soul stage, they were elite troops handpicked from the city to undertake this mission, aware of its perilous nature. Seeing Ding Fan and his group, they sensed some connection to their mission.
They were unclear of the full details of the mission, but knew they would face powerful cultivators, making it a tough battle!
"Don’t worry, buddy. I just want to ask you a few questions. If you answer them truthfully, I might consider sparing your lives."
Ding Fan then released some of his real cultivation aura, revealing his overwhelming Divine Vigor, which slowly emanated from his body. The two soldiers trembled inside, realizing their initial assessment was correct—his cultivation was indeed beyond ordinary, possibly reaching the Transcendence stage.
For a soldier at the Late Nascent Soul stage, the Transcendence stage was a distant realm, rarely encountered, akin to the general’s cultivation.
Yet the aura released by Ding Fan felt even more terrifying than the Great General’s presence, exerting immense pressure on them.
"I’m the weakest here; just like you thought, since you’ve fallen into our hands, your fate is under our control. But we don’t kill indiscriminately. Just answer a few questions."
Ding Fan looked at them, speaking with some amusement.
"Go ahead."
The muscular soldier took a deep breath, struggling to maintain composure as he replied.
"Why is your army here?" Ding Fan asked directly.
"We’re simply following orders. As for why we’re here, we don’t know—we’re just soldiers." The muscular man frowned slightly in response. Uneasiness filled his mind, unsure how to answer such a question, feeling an ominous premonition...
"Good."
The muscular soldier was slightly surprised, seeing the word "Good" emerge from Ding Fan’s mouth, indicating his answer wasn’t deemed unsatisfactory.
After his reply, his fellow soldier, filled with some anxiety, nodded, agreeing with the response.
Ding Fan observed their honesty and felt relieved. Though they didn’t know the answer to his first question, their cooperative demeanor negated the need for coercion, simplifying things greatly.
"Now tell me, what task were you assigned?"
Ding Fan continued to inquire.
The black-faced muscular soldier was the first to reply:
"I’m a soldier from the deputy general’s guard squad, tasked with continuously protecting his safety."
Ding Fan, seeing the truthfulness in his demeanor, nodded before shifting his gaze to the other soldier.
The other soldier, noting Ding Fan’s stare, hesitated but ultimately responded candidly:
"I’m part of the vanguard troops. Our mission is secretive, requiring us to infiltrate within three kilometers of Great Ocean Sect and reunite with the main force, scouting the path for them."
Ding Fan’s eyes lit up at the mention of Great Ocean Sect, affirming his suspicion of a link between these soldiers’ presence beneath the sect’s mountain and the sect itself.
Now, Long Ren and others paid attention, realizing these soldiers were connected to the elder brother’s sect, making their expressions turn solemn. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
Ding Fan then continued to ask the soldier:
"What do you plan to do to the Great Ocean Sect? Why are you gathering near it?"
Ding Fan’s pacing was urgent, pressing for answers on the topic he cared about most.
Upon hearing Ding Fan’s question, the soldier’s face tightened. Revealing such confidential military information would bring death upon his return to the army. Struggling inside, he understood that if he didn’t answer truthfully, he might not survive the encounter.
Faced with Ding Fan’s question again, he, feeling helpless, could only say:
"I don’t know, but I suspect the army might launch an attack on the Great Ocean Sect. But that’s just my speculation."
"No way, I’ve heard from the deputy general that the troops only intend to retrieve something from the Great Ocean Sect, not to invade it."
At this moment, the muscular soldier continued to speak.
Ding Fan looked at the two of them, and since they didn’t seem to be lying, he asked:
"What is it?"
The muscular soldier and the other soldier heard Ding Fan’s words and couldn’t help but shake their heads. They didn’t know what it was; as mere soldiers, such details were not within their scope of knowledge.
Seeing their expressions, Ding Fan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He knew that these two soldiers probably only knew this much, but it was already significant to him. At least it was clear that they had intentions against the Great Ocean Sect.
Ding Fan then asked:
"Where are you from? How many troops are there in total?"
The muscular soldier answered directly:
"We are from Tufan Country, and the total number of soldiers sent is about over five thousand."
Upon hearing the number of over five thousand, Long Ren and the others couldn’t help but look graver. Clearly, a force of over five thousand was not a small number. If they were truly planning to attack the Great Ocean Sect, such a scale would strain its defenses, even if it managed to withstand.
Clearly, this wasn’t good news for the Great Ocean Sect.
Ding Fan’s expression also turned serious. He naturally understood what over five thousand soldiers meant for the Great Ocean Sect. He believed that with the current strength of the Great Ocean Sect, dealing with a force of that size wouldn’t be impossible, though it would be challenging. Most importantly, doing so would completely expose the location of the Great Ocean Sect.
Ding Fan knew that it wasn’t time for the Great Ocean Sect to reveal itself, especially since their first formidable enemy, the Wild Wolf Gang, would not let them off easily.
Ding Fan continued with his questions:
"Since you’re the vanguard, you must know the current position of your main forces, as well as how many small units like yours there are."
The soldier, hearing Ding Fan’s question, shook his head vigorously, stammering as he said:
"I really don’t know. These matters are known only to the deputy general. I’m just a regular soldier!"
"Yeah, we’re just ordinary soldiers; such matters are completely confidential!"
The muscular soldier chimed in.
Seeing this exchange, Long Ren made up his mind and said to Ding Fan:
"Big brother, I think we should directly charge into their camp and get to the bottom of this!"
Upon hearing Long Ren’s words, Ding Fan pondered for a moment before nodding and saying:
"That’s our only option, but we must act quickly. Time is tight. By the way, when are you scheduled to regroup?"
As Ding Fan spoke, he again turned his question to the soldier.
Seeing the tense expressions of Long Ren and Ding Fan, the soldier knew they had some connection to the Great Ocean Sect and nervously replied:
"In three days; at dawn tomorrow, the troops will set out."
After hearing the soldier’s words, Ding Fan looked up at the sky. It was already getting dark, which meant they still had about one night. This was good news for Ding Fan, as time seemed sufficient.
However, for Ding Fan and his companions, charging into the camp was by no means a simple task. Ding Fan knew they must ensure no soldier escaped to warn other small units or the main force, because if that happened, it would be a serious issue for Ding Fan.
That would surely alert their enemies greatly.
The two soldiers, seeing the grave expressions on Ding Fan and the others’ faces, grew uneasy. The muscular soldier pleaded with Ding Fan:
"That’s all we know. We won’t say anything after we return. We hope you’ll let us go..."
"Yes, yes... we won’t say anything..."
The other soldier quickly added.
Ding Fan snapped back to reality, looking at them calmly, and said:
"You’ve heard what we said earlier. Do you still plan to go back?"
The two soldiers, hearing Ding Fan’s words, were stunned for a moment and then stammered:
"No, no, we won’t go back. We’ll leave right away."
"Yes, yes, we’ll leave immediately. We won’t inquire about anything that’s happened here..."
The other soldier echoed.
They knew well that they had overheard the conversation between the two parties just now. At this point, for these two soldiers, staying alive mattered more than where they went...
