Top-tier Unruly Master-Chapter 1736 - 1773: Fierce Battle

Captain Gao had already devised a strategy for bribery in his mind. He knew that he secretly released those merchants and accepted their Spirit Stones; someone must have seen it and would talk behind his back. However, he wasn’t too worried. After all, he was a captain himself, holding some position within the army.

As for those soldiers who liked to cause trouble for him, he wasn’t concerned at all. He knew that even if those soldiers were dissatisfied with him, they wouldn’t dare to target him, or he would definitely make them regret it. His only concern was the two other captains. After all, these two captains were of the same rank as him and were the biggest foes in the army.

Initially, Captain Gao didn’t have anything to worry about. As long as those merchants traveled far, there would be no evidence against him. However, Captain Gao did not expect that those merchants would return, and that the two soldiers he sent to follow them hadn’t come back yet, which surprised him.

Captain Gao felt a slight concern, but he really didn’t regard those merchants highly. Although their cultivation was merely in the Nascent Soul Stage, which was decent in the Cultivation World, it was somewhat unimpressive within his army.

Moreover, when he learned that those merchants had returned, he had anticipated this scene involving the two captains, so he directly ordered the soldiers to kill the merchants, ensuring no one could testify about his bribery.

Furthermore, Captain Gao suddenly had a thought about the military resources, which the deputy general would definitely care about. His mood transitioned from initial concern to pride. It was originally a troubling disadvantage, but his words turned it into a potential opportunity to earn rewards.

Sometimes, Captain Gao admired his own cleverness, wondering how he managed to come up with such good ideas. At that moment, he was hoping for soldiers to return with good news, but as time passed, the sound of battle persisted outside, yet no soldier came in to report.

This made Captain Gao worry a bit. He was puzzled that only a few merchants with Nascent Soul Stage cultivation were involved, yet he had sent two squads of soldiers, and they still hadn’t finished them off—truly unbelievable. What concerned him the most was the worsening expression of the deputy general. Captain Gao understood that the deputy general’s frustration mirrored his own. How were those few merchants still holding out?

Captain Gao was even more shocked than the deputy general. He knew capturing those merchants alive was challenging but not impossible, given that he had dispatched two squads of soldiers. It was unexpected that they hadn’t managed to subdue them yet. What worried Captain Gao the most was that his orders were not to capture the merchants alive but to kill them outright.

This should have been much easier than capturing them, but there was still no news, which seemed inconceivable. Looking at the increasingly serious expression of the deputy general, the atmosphere in the tent grew more tense, making Captain Gao more worried.

As he was feeling anxious, he suddenly heard the hurried footsteps of soldiers outside, which made Captain Gao feel a wave of delight. He thought inwardly, these soldiers are truly useless, taking so long to finish off the merchants, really slow. But as he was thinking this, he noticed that the battle sounds outside persisted, which made him more confused...

Soon, a soldier hurried into the tent and reported solemnly:

"Reporting to the deputy general and Captain Gao, the two squads of soldiers outside have suffered heavy casualties and seem unable to handle the merchants."

The soldier’s words hit the tent like a stone causing waves, making everyone inside feel incredulous. They couldn’t believe that merely a few merchants had managed to stymie an entire squad of soldiers—unbelievable!

The most surprised at this moment should be Captain Gao. He knew that the two squads of soldiers had a total of thirty to forty men, yet they still couldn’t kill those merchants—truly unbelievable. Although the cultivation of ordinary soldiers wasn’t outstanding, ranging from Early Nascent Soul Stage to Middle, it was still quite good in the Cultivation World. Moreover, he had an impression of those merchants, and they were merely cultivators at the Nascent Soul Stage. How could the two squads not finish them off?

Captain Gao was extremely shocked, though he wasn’t the only one surprised at the moment. The deputy general’s brows were furrowed as well, showing displeasure. Despite being concerned about the military resources, he hadn’t anticipated the merchants to be so tough, already causing severe casualties to two squads of soldiers.

This made the deputy general utterly furious. He understood that this campaign against the Great Ocean Sect was vitally important, but now just a few merchants had led to his army losing two squads—unacceptable. The deputy general turned directly to the soldier reporting:

"How many people on the opposing side, and what are their cultivations?"

"Reporting, general. There are four of them, and they seem to be at the Early Nascent Soul Stage, but exceptionally powerful. We have already lost many brothers."

The soldier replied respectfully.

Upon hearing the soldier’s words, the deputy general was even more shocked. He thought the merchant team consisted of several dozen people, but to his surprise, there were only four, and their cultivation was merely at the Early Nascent Soul Stage. It was inconceivable; not even two squads could manage to secure them.

Simply unbelievable. The deputy general’s eyes flashed a hint of light; he seemed to begin to consider the merchants seriously, realizing they might not be that simple. Watching the deputy’s expression, Captain Gao inwardly sensed trouble, clearly seeing the deputy was not pleased with the situation, prompting him to immediately say:

"General, rest assured, I’m about to send some men to definitely capture those merchant travelers!"

The Deputy General heard Gao Jian’s words, feeling a bit hesitant at that moment. He always had a sense that those merchant travelers were not that simple. Yet, their cultivation was merely at the Early Nascent Soul Stage, which was really not a threat. After all, for the Deputy General whose cultivation was at the Nascent Soul Mid Stage, dealing with such cultivators would be extremely easy.

Ultimately, the Deputy General lightly nodded to Gao Jian and said:

"Don’t let things get out of hand, capture them as soon as possible. If it doesn’t work, you can directly kill them!"

"Yes!"

Hearing the Deputy General’s words, Gao Jian couldn’t help but feel a bit proud. Obviously, the Deputy General had spoken, saying they could directly kill those merchant travelers, which was undoubtedly a good thing for Gao Jian. Then Gao Jian immediately left the tent, summoned two more squads of soldiers, numbering over fifty, and headed out of the camp.

As Gao Jian walked, he became increasingly shocked, wondering why those few merchant travelers, being merely at the Early Nascent Soul Stage, could not be captured even by two small squads of soldiers. Did the opponents have some special magical treasures? While pondering this, Gao Jian also became more cautious.

After all, on the battlefield, swords and blades are blind, and casualties are common. Gao Jian certainly didn’t want to risk his life there.

Soon, Gao Jian led the two squads of soldiers to the entrance of the camp. Seeing the ground covered in the corpses of soldiers, Gao Jian couldn’t help but feel greatly shocked. He really didn’t anticipate that the two squads of soldiers would be completely annihilated, which was truly incredible!

The most astonishing part was that the opponents were only four people. This was truly unbelievable!

...

At this moment, Ding Fan and the three Spirit Severing Elders were handling the situation very well, hiding their cultivation while continually battling those soldiers. Ding Fan controlled his strength excellently, not directly killing the soldiers with a single sword strike. Otherwise, Ding Fan and the others’ strength would be indirectly exposed.

Ding Fan continually managed his strength, giving the soldiers a mistaken impression. When the soldiers often thought that Ding Fan and the others were on the verge of defeat, Ding Fan and the others would, in fact, directly slaughter those soldiers. But at this time, not many soldiers had come out so far, and they had only killed less than a hundred people.

Ding Fan knew that this camp had nearly two thousand soldiers altogether—that wasn’t even five percent. This clearly wasn’t the effect Ding Fan wanted to see, so he said to the elders beside him:

"Let’s keep performing; let’s aim to kill five hundred people before speaking further!"

"Alright..."

The three elders immediately responded.

Soon, Ding Fan witnessed Gao Jian leading two more squads of soldiers out, and his eyes couldn’t help but brighten. Immediately, he headed straight towards Gao Jian. Although Ding Fan didn’t know the other’s name, he instantly recognized the other as a minor leader. After all, battle techniques teach that capturing the leader first defeats the troops, so Ding Fan had to target this leader first.

However, Ding Fan knew well that he absolutely couldn’t kill this minor leader right away, because Ding Fan was still relying on him to draw out more soldiers...

At this moment, Gao Jian saw Ding Fan rushing towards him, face full of disdain and scorn. The opponent seemed to be merely at the Early Nascent Soul Stage and dared to come charging in recklessly. This was just what Gao Jian wanted; he had already been extremely angry with them. He had previously been magnanimous, letting them go, but these clueless guys dared to return—this was utterly detestable,

Therefore, Gao Jian at this moment had a strong intention to kill Ding Fan. Immediately, he brandished a longsword and faced Ding Fan head-on. The soldiers witnessing this scene couldn’t help but feel invigorated and then charged towards Ding Fan and the others. After all, they were all cultivators at the Nascent Soul Stage, even those with the weakest cultivation appeared no different from Ding Fan and the others. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Hence these soldiers at the moment were not afraid of Ding Fan and the others at all. Instead, they were filled with fighting spirit. Soon, Ding Fan and the others were engaged in combat with the crowd, and Ding Fan began to maneuver around Gao Jian. The clumsy swordsmanship of the opponent left Ding Fan quite helpless. He really couldn’t understand how such a worthless cultivator had become an officer, but Ding Fan had no reason to concern himself with these issues...