Start with a red name

Geng Xuan's persuasion was quite effective.

The four of them began to waver further.

However, perhaps because Dong Guan's influence still lingered, they dared not make a complete decision.

Perhaps it is the pride of the strong that makes them unwilling to appear too cheap.

They did not immediately agree to join the "Black Wind Army," a force that would inevitably be at odds with Dong Guan.

They also proactively stated that none of them currently hold positions within the "Black Wind Army" and have any intention of leading troops to fight against their former employer.

Their official status within the "Black Wind Army" remains that of "prisoners of war".

After several unsuccessful attempts to persuade them, Geng Xuan reluctantly agreed to their demands.

What they didn't know was that this was actually what Geng Xuan was happy to see.

The "Black Wind Army" system is now gradually becoming more mature and complete.

If Liu Mu and the others really agree to join without hesitation, how to settle them is a problem that even Geng Xuan finds somewhat thorny.

Whether in terms of their cultivation level or their professional knowledge related to the military.

Following the "Black Wind Army's" past practices, they allowed them to catch up and surpass others.

Just as with the addition of Song Mingzhu, Tie Lang, and others, it was natural to squeeze out Cao Ao, Tao Bin, and other core elders from the first batch of positions.

Whether it was Song Mingzhu and others or Cao Ao and others, they might have had some personal grievances, but they didn't feel that there was anything wrong with such an arrangement.

But now, Geng Xuan instinctively felt that continuing this practice was inappropriate.

He needs the expertise of professionals like Liu Mu.

Commanding a large army of tens of thousands of troops is only one aspect.

It also includes knowledge about all aspects related to the military.

From marching arrangements and camp selection to the arrangement of scouts and sentries, and the transportation of supplies and provisions.

There was also the planning and preparation before the war.

During the war, the coordination and cooperation of various teams, the implementation of the plan, the exchange of information, and even the specifics of how to advance, how to charge, and when to stop were all crucial.

How to efficiently pursue and kill the enemy after the war without being baited by them, and where is the ceasefire line...?

It can be said that the Black Wind Army urgently needs knowledge in all aspects related to large-scale army battles.

Having experienced leading an ever-growing army on a forced march of thousands of miles, Geng Xuan felt this particularly deeply.

Although they managed to barely achieve their target in the end.

But this is because of the "unconventional" person who constantly helps him.

Even so, tens of thousands of Azure Horses died from exhaustion.

Geng Xuan himself was very clear that this kind of manpower deployment, which was like draining the pond to catch all the fish, was simply unsustainable.

Not only him, but others who rose to high positions in the "Black Wind Army" and led hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of soldiers on the brink of life and death also had a profound understanding of this.

Now is the time when the entire makeshift "Black Wind Army" is most thirsty for professional knowledge.

If they could receive guidance from Liu Mu and others at this time, they wouldn't need to share everything without reservation or possess any unique skills. Simply filling in and solidifying their basic common sense would be enough to allow the "Black Wind Army" to take a completely new step.

Initially, Geng Xuan wanted to give them the title of "Observer".

They were allowed to observe various parts of the "Black Wind Army" and comment on their observations, the more scathing and venomous the better.

If there are any suggestions for improvement, that would be even better.

However, the four still felt that the title of "Observer" was a bit too blatant.

“We are just prisoners, and can only be prisoners,” Liu Mu insisted.

Ultimately, under his insistence, Geng Xuan, who was eager to find talented people, "yielded".

However, he also pointed out that since they were "prisoners of war," they should act like "prisoners of war."

It is clearly inappropriate to let them walk around within the "Black Wind Army" like this.

"I will have to temporarily seal your cultivation levels, and I will arrange for someone to accompany you throughout the process."

...The four of you will also be resettled separately. I hope you understand.

...You don't need to worry about this at all. We will arrange for you to get together once a day at dinner, and you can chat freely.

Is that alright now?

Although it feels a bit harsh, it's not the attitude one should have towards talented people.

After hesitating for a moment, Liu Mu and the other three agreed to the condition.

In this way, the four prisoners, ostensibly captured, actually became the technical advisors of the "Black Wind Army".

Under their guidance, the "Black Wind Army" will take a big step towards professionalization.

The four men, including Liu Mu, who were essentially prisoners, felt that they had already achieved a very good result.

As for not having obtained any real power or authority within the "Black Wind Army," none of the four of them took it to heart.

Having witnessed the entire Battle of Huangwei Island, they were confident that they had gained a very deep understanding of the Black Wind Army's capabilities.

Having a broader perspective and understanding of war, and being from an outsider's point of view, they even felt that their understanding of the "Black Wind Army" was clearer than that of those directly involved.

Their guidance will certainly make the "Black Wind Army" stronger and more professional, but the more so, the stronger their desire for these people will become.

Being too eager is not a good business.

Let them know their capabilities first. In the future, the real power and positions that belong to them will be handed over by the "Black Wind Army" without them having to fight for them.

However, this thought only lasted for half a day.

Around noon, their resolve began to waver.

……

The discussion with Liu Mu and the other three was settled.

With their cooperation, Geng Xuan sealed their cultivation.

After finishing all that, Geng Xuan didn't have a moment to rest.

First came Tie Lang and Tao Bin, who had already roughly surveyed the battlefield.

"There are 20,000 Xuanyou riders and 10,000 servants on the island. They are all cultivators. Once a war breaks out, they will be deployed to the front line to fight whenever needed."

"In addition, there are 5,000 conscripts, who are mostly ordinary adult men conscripted from various settlements."

Their main duties included various menial tasks in the military, such as cooking, washing clothes, daily cleaning, building camps, and cleaning chamber pots and latrines.

"After the surprise landing operation began, only about 20,000 Xuanyou riders and 10,000 servants responded to the battle and became our enemies."

Of those laborers, except for a very few who were mistakenly killed because they panicked and ran away, the rest who stayed in their quarters survived.

They all chose to surrender immediately.

"Our main force, the 20,000 Xuanyou riders, inflicted the greatest casualties on us, and they also paid the greatest price."

Apart from Liu Mu and the other three who were personally persuaded to surrender by you, over 90% of the remaining combatants at the Marrow Refinement level and above were killed.

At this point, Tie Lang paused, looked at Geng Xuan, and emphasized:

"More than half of them were shot by you personally, and most of them were combatants at or above the mid-stage of the Marrow Refinement realm."

"By the time the Xuanyou riders fought to the last man realized that they had no choice but to surrender, more than half of them had already perished."

Ultimately, only slightly more than 8,100 of the 20,000 Xuanyou cavalry chose to surrender.

The remaining 12,000 men mostly perished in direct combat.

A small number of them, however, were too badly injured and were finished off during the cleanup of the battlefield.

Of the 12,000 men's achievements, more than 40% were created by the "Black Wind Army" at the very beginning of their landing on the island, taking advantage of the element of surprise and achieving overwhelming success.

Furthermore, most of the toughest and most difficult problems were solved by Geng Xuan, who was secretly in control.

The remaining victories were achieved by the entire "Black Wind Army" after a whole night of exhaustion, mental and physical exertion, and at a great cost.

"The ten thousand auxiliary troops initially displayed a fighting style that was even more aggressive and fearless than that of the regular riders."

On the one hand, the duty of the vassal army is to step forward and die for their "master" when danger strikes.

According to military law, if a rider dies, regardless of the cause, any servant who is still alive must be executed.

In serious cases, it can also implicate the community and family members behind the perpetrator.

Therefore, they dared not fight without risking their lives.

Moreover, according to military law, this is also a shortcut for servitude to become official riders.

"...But as the war continued, the fall of 'Huangwei Island' became inevitable."

They were also the first to give up resistance and surrender.

Of the 10,000 servants, more than 5,700 surrendered.

"After these auxiliary troops completely defected and surrendered, the riders who were still resisting gradually lost their resolve, and one after another, they surrendered."

At this point, Iron Wolf sighed softly, "Their determination to resist was even more resolute than we had anticipated... The Xuan You cavalry and their auxiliary troops totaled 30,000 men, of whom less than 14,000 surrendered, and more than 16,000 died on the battlefield."

More accurately, it is 16,119 people.

Geng Xuan thought to himself.

These people were all "elites" from the Xuanyou and You states, and their red-name concentration was even higher than that of the sand bandits.

In particular, those who were personally killed by Geng Xuan brought him no less than sixty points of good fortune.

These 72-plus people brought Geng Xuan a total of 5355 points of good fortune.

This alone has broken the record for the highest single-event lucky draw revenue.

These people brought him a total of 14,506 points of bad luck.

The per capita contribution has dropped to less than one percent.

Logically speaking, these people's lives should be far more precious than those of the bandits.

The backlash he might suffer after their deaths would be far greater than that of the bandits.

However, the reality is that per capita figures have been slowly declining.

Geng Xuan also had a guess about this.

"Dark luck is ultimately bestowed by 'people'."

However, my current actions have objectively led to a large-scale and continuous decline in the total population of the Xuan You and Er Zhou states, especially the total number of cultivators.

"With less water in total, the waves they can create will naturally decrease."

In addition, Geng Xuan discovered another difference.

When he targeted the Sanssouci Palace organization, the amount of black luck reached a certain level and then dropped directly to zero.

This doesn't mean that those who continue to kill will not suffer the backlash of bad luck.

Instead, these dark influences will first affect the "Palace of No Worries" organization.

If this pattern holds true, Black Luck should have reached its limit long ago due to his killings of the Xuan You Iron Cavalry.

But this is not the case.

Although the average contribution of black market activities per person is declining, it has always existed.

Geng Xuan realized the fundamental differences between the two.

Wuyou Palace is just one of many forces in Yuanzhou, and it has voluntarily given up its attempt to take root in deeper areas.

The power centered around Dong Guan is like a great tree, its roots deeply embedded in the very fabric of the Xuan You and You states.

With decades of dedicated work, he is now the undisputed Lord of the Mysterious Netherworld.

Before he falls, all the damage inflicted on him can be distributed throughout the entire Xuanyou Continent, to be shared by everyone there.

At the same time, if he needs to draw power, his "roots" can ensure that he draws power from every person and every force in the Xuan You two states.

As these thoughts raced through Geng Xuan's mind, Tie Lang continued:

"For this, our army also paid an extremely heavy price."

Most of those enemies were neither wearing armor nor accompanied by Xuanyou horses, and the island was in a state of utter chaos.

Even the toughest bones were removed by Geng Xuan.

Even so, among the elite Black Wind Army, nearly 5,500 men still perished. (5486 killed in action)
Of the 13,000 members who landed on the island this time, the lowest cultivation level was Blood Refining Realm. There were nearly 7,000 people, and more than 3,000 died in battle.

The number of people in the Bone Refining Realm was nearly five thousand, and the number of those who died in battle was nearly two thousand.

In addition, there were a total of 800 combatants in the early stage of Marrow Refinement, of whom 214 died in battle.

There were 190 people in the mid-stage of the Marrow Refinement realm, and 43 of them died in battle.

At the late stage of Marrow Refinement, the Black Wind Army consisted of only 110 people. This night raid involved 70 people, and 18 of them died in battle.

At the peak of the Marrow Refinement stage, the Black Wind Army consisted of 25 people. This night raid involved 18 people, and five of them died in battle.

Many of the twenty-odd casualties, who were at the peak or late stage of Marrow Refinement, did not survive until Geng Xuan finished dealing with Liu Mu and the others and rushed to their aid with his bow.

They were then killed by other cultivators on the island who were also at the late stage of Marrow Refinement or the peak of Marrow Refinement, and whose foundations were far more solid than theirs.

After Geng Xuan shot down these targets, the lives of his group of late-stage and peak-stage Marrow Refinement cultivators were basically guaranteed.

However, in the subsequent battles, he was still surrounded and killed by multiple enemies of lower realms.

The deaths of these 5486 Black Wind Army soldiers brought Geng Xuan 170,066 points of good fortune and 5514 points of bad fortune.

In this single battle, Hongyun earned nearly 900,000.

Geng Xuan was certain that this was not the end.

In the subsequent "recruitment and transformation" process, a large number of people will inevitably be eliminated.

Just like Liu Mu and others, being defeated and taken prisoner is one thing.

Actively joining the "Black Wind Army" and pointing guns directly at his former employer is another matter entirely.

Geng Xuan had no leniency or patience towards these people, unlike Liu Mu and his companions.

After giving a brief overview of the situation, Tie Lang looked at Tao Bin beside him.

Tao Bin, who was in charge of the "First Aid Battalion," had a bitter expression on his face.

Unlike other independent organizations that also operate independently, emergency medical teams are not permanent.

Each "first responder" is also assigned to a different combat team.

Only after the war ends will the "first responders" scattered in various teams be organized to participate in first aid work or undergo relevant training.

Tao Bin cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Geng Xuan and said:

"Commander, our emergency medical battalion originally had 600 men assigned to the 'Iron Cavalry Battalion,' and another 1,200 men assigned to the 'First Battalion.'"

They all participated in the night raid on the island, and now, of the 1,800 men, more than 400 have died.

There are only a little over 1,300 people now.

Geng Xuan looked at him and asked, "Are there too few people? You can't handle the workload?"

Tao Bin's breath hitched, and he quickly shook his head, saying:

"In this battle, there were more than two thousand people who were seriously injured or disabled, but we were still able to manage."

However, first aid requires a lot of experience and skill, and every opportunity to practice is very rare.

Of the more than 400 paramedics who died in this incident, half had two or even three or more emergency rescue experiences.

I think it's a huge waste to let them perish on the battlefield like this.

Geng Xuan looked at him and asked, "Do you want to separate the 'First Aid Battalion' and prevent them from fighting on the front lines?"

Having his thoughts directly exposed put Tao Bin under considerable pressure.

But under Geng Xuan's gaze, he still nodded slightly and said, "Yes."

"If they just stay in the rear as first responders and no longer fight on the front lines, they will receive far fewer blessings. Are you sure they really want that?" Geng Xuan asked rhetorically.

Tao Bin opened his mouth, but didn't know how to answer.

There are certainly people who value their lives and are afraid of death, and their absolute number is not small.

However, there will only be more ambitious cultivators who covet more "good fortune and blessings" and want to use them to reach higher realms, gain greater power, and more authority.

Those who prefer tranquility and comfort will make a biased choice when faced with the initial hurdle of "whether to become a cultivator".

In other words, the vast majority of those who choose to become cultivators and persist on this path are inherently more inclined towards the latter.

The path of cultivation in this world is the path of striving for power and fighting; it has not yet developed to the point of "cultivating oneself and nourishing one's nature."

Choosing to become a bandit in the Xuanyou and You states reveals this inner inclination even more clearly.

These are all people who are naturally restless.

They all have a restless heart deep down.

Geng Xuan thought for a moment and said, "However, what you said makes some sense. A first aider with rich experience is also very rare."

"...In this way, I can separate the 'first aid camp' into an independent entity."

But now all the 'first responders' have become 'prospective first responders'.

Only after passing an assessment and confirming that a person has extensive first aid experience can they be officially recognized as a 'first aider'.

Only 'official first responders' can stay in the rear and no longer participate in frontline combat.

Those 'trainee first responders,' before passing the assessment, should participate in combat and emergency rescue as required; their contributions should be accounted for accordingly.

"Whether or not those formal 'first responders' go to the front line depends on their personal attitude."

If they want to advance to the front lines and earn more credit, even though there's a risk of death, that shouldn't hinder their path to advancement.

"You can discuss the specifics of the assessment in detail."

Upon hearing Geng Xuan's arrangements, Tao Bin was filled with excitement and quickly accepted the order. (End of Chapter)