Start with a red name

It has only been a day and a few hours since Geng Xuan parted ways with Song Mingzhu and the others.

Geng Xuan led his troops on a long march, conquering the entire "Yellow Reed Island" and transforming the "Black Wind Army" into a new force.

Song Mingzhu and the others were not idle either.

At that time, Song Mingzhu and his group's primary task was to move tens of thousands of people, horses, and a huge amount of other supplies further into the depths of Xuanqing Sea.

At that time, although the fleet had dozens of ships, most of them were old, mainly sailed and secondarily rowed, making it difficult to increase speed and carrying capacity.

There is one fast-moving, heavy-load vehicle or ship.

While Song Mingzhu and his men made full use of all the ships at their disposal, they moved the troops and supplies gathered on a small island about ten miles from the shore to another sand island more than twenty miles to the south, in order to further increase the distance between them and the north shore.

Although there seems to be little difference between being ten miles from the north bank and being thirty miles from the north bank.

However, the sense of security in terms of psychology is completely different.

The mere thought of the endless stream of Xuanyou Iron Cavalry gathering on the north bank, all within the other's line of sight, sends a suffocating sense of oppression weighing heavily on many people's hearts.

By moving the distance to a deeper part of the sea, more than 30 miles from the north shore, they could at least prevent the other side from spotting their presence immediately.

Those steel torrents composed of densely packed Xuanyou Iron Cavalry were even less likely to pose a real threat to them.

Moreover, the further south they went, the closer they got to Geng Xuan, which made the "Black Wind Army" instinctively feel safer.

The only vehicle and boat were staffed with nearly two thousand elite soldiers.

They immediately set off into deeper waters.

They have only one mission.

Build a boat.

Get more ships.

Although there are a great many ships in the Xuanqing Sea, none of them are unclaimed.

To get the ships, you first have to win over the people who control them.

The identities of these "people" are also varied.

Their strength varies, and their numbers vary.

However, no matter what kind of people these "people" were, they were like eggs under a hammer in front of the two thousand elite "Black Wind Army".

As the operation began, a vehicle carrying two thousand elite "Black Wind Army" soldiers was plunged into solidified butter like a red-hot iron.

The number of ships under the "Black Wind Army" began to grow like a snowball.

The largest number of sailing and rowing boats were sent to the rear in batches to increase the overall transportation capacity of the "Black Wind Army's" logistics.

If any new vehicles or ships are captured, they will be deployed with the elite "Black Wind Army" and head towards another sea area.

Two ships became three, three became four...

When Geng Xuan and Song Mingzhu reunited, the number of vehicles and boats in the group had increased from one to eighteen.

However, only ten of them were dispersed, creating an even bigger "storm" in the surrounding waters.

The other eight ships (all large ships of 1,000 liang), along with more than two hundred sailing and rowing boats (generally between 100 and 500 liang), were all sent to the rear for logistical transport.

It wasn't that Song Mingzhu and the others didn't want to make use of all the vehicles and boats; they were simply forced to do so by the circumstances.

The research showed that every hammer blow had to be delivered with a "one-hit kill" effect.

Each vehicle or ship must be equipped with no fewer than one thousand soldiers.

—If we have a more accurate grasp of the population and strength of each sand island in the surrounding sea area, we can naturally have more precise control over the troop strength for each attack.

Sandy islands like "Meicun Island" can be easily conquered by sending 300 troops.

However, in reality, Song Mingzhu and others simply could not achieve such precise control.

It's not just a problem with information and intelligence; they simply can't spare the energy for that.

In this situation, the only option is to use a more "foolproof" approach, opting for the higher option rather than the lower one.

The arrangement of sending a thousand elites to each vehicle and ship was the most appropriate after weighing all factors.

Thus, with ten vehicles and ships taking away 10,000 troops, only about 15,000 troops were left to handle logistics and transportation.

They are responsible not only for the rapid and safe transfer of all personnel and supplies.

They were also responsible for guarding the ever-growing number of prisoners.

—In the process of capturing more ships, battles are inevitable.

By winning the battle swiftly and demonstrating their overwhelming strength, they greatly intimidated their opponents. Apart from a small number who were killed in battle and an even smaller number who escaped, the vast majority were captured alive.

These groups of prisoners were continuously sent to the rear and placed under their guard.

The others, lacking the insight to see into people's hearts, dared not let their guard down in the face of this growing group of prisoners.

For this reason, more and more troops are being "absorbed" around them and dare not be redeployed.

These are all normal changes, and although they are somewhat tricky, they are within everyone's expectations.

What weighed heavily on everyone's hearts was something else entirely.

"Last night, the fleet loaded the last batch of people and supplies and prepared to set sail for deeper waters."

Then we saw faint lights appearing on the shore, rapidly converging on the area where we were gathered. "Song Mingzhu said in a deep voice.

"The Xuanyou Iron Cavalry?" Geng Xuan said softly.

"Yes." Song Mingzhu nodded in response and continued:
"We dared not make a sound, immediately extinguished all the lights, and headed south."

They also arranged for a lookout with excellent eyesight to climb up the mast and observe the situation.

Although it wasn't very clear, the increasingly dense line of fire indicated that before they sailed into the depths of the sea and could no longer see clearly, the number of cavalry gathered on the north shore was no less than five thousand.

...It's reasonable to guess that at least six thousand cavalry arrived at that time!

Geng Xuan nodded slightly, understanding the origin of this judgment.

The time when those cavalrymen arrived on the north shore was not much different from the time when the messenger arrived at "Huangwei Island".

From this, we can infer that when the messengers assigned to "Huangwei Island" left Chizhu Plain, another group of messengers also left Chizhu Plain at the same time and headed towards "Jiliu Cave".

According to Geng Xuan's speculation, the Xuanyou Iron Cavalry of "Jiliudong" had already merged with the Xuanyou Iron Cavalry of "Jinyeya" and "Baihetan".

Once these three forces merge, they will have six thousand iron cavalry.

Upon receiving Dong Guan's latest orders, these cavalrymen would immediately head west of "Wild Wolf Gorge" to the last place where they lost contact.

With their capabilities, they could quickly find a place where tens of thousands of people would gather to board the ship.

Six thousand cavalrymen—that's the most conservative estimate.

Given the formidable nature of the "Black Wind Army," Geng Xuan felt it was quite possible that Dong Guan would also send his elite cavalry to accompany him.

For someone as seasoned in the military as Dong Guan, once he had clearly identified the "Black Wind Army" as his greatest threat and most dangerous enemy, he would never resort to tactics like "piecemeal attacks."

Use as much force as you have.

They gave it their all. "Did they spot you back then?" Geng Xuan asked.

Song Mingzhu shook his head: "Judging from their reaction, they probably didn't notice us at the time."

Separated by ten miles of water, and with the immediate control of the ship's lights, the evacuation was timely.

At the time, after discovering the last traces they left on the shore, the normal line of thinking should have been that they had made arrangements in advance and had long since disappeared into the depths of the Xuanqing Sea.

They didn't realize at first that they were trapped by the number of boats and were still struggling desperately not far away.

"...However, even if they didn't realize it at the time."

Now, we should have a roughly accurate location.

Song Mingzhu said in a deep voice:

"Our high-profile operation could not possibly be kept secret from everyone."

The elite troops who were dispatched to collect ships were kept in the dark as much as possible to prevent leaks and spread.

However, with each of these operations, it's impossible for not a single person to slip through the net.

...Around noon, members of the logistics team closest to the north shore spotted the dark blue sand eagle circling and peering in the sky.

The activity of sand eagles in the Xuanqinghai Sea is seasonal.

At this time of year, it's impossible for any wild animals to roam freely above them, except for those that are artificially controlled.

"Just recently, two vehicles and ships stopped their operations and quickly returned because they also discovered that the Xuanqing Sea Sand Sculpture was appearing above them, monitoring their every move."

To avoid falling into a trap set by the enemy, they dared not continue.

"Just now, we were still hesitating about whether to call back the other eight vehicles and ships as well."

After listening to Song Mingzhu's account, Geng Xuan nodded slightly, gaining a clearer understanding of the situation.

The "solution" immediately came to mind.

The first step is to completely disable the opponent's eye in the sky.

This is a thorny problem for Song Mingzhu and others.

But for Geng Xuan, this was far too simple.

He first used the "Flying Eagle Technique" of the Grandmaster realm to carefully sense it.

Fourteen contracts linked him together with fourteen "Mysterious Azure Sea Sand Sculptures".

Among them, three were the furthest away and were left on "Huangwei Island" by him, where they were controlled by Tie Lang, Xiang Jinxiu and others to provide them with high-altitude reconnaissance.

The other eleven were scattered around the sky, some near and some far.

The furthest distance was no more than ten miles from him.

In the past two days, the number of Xuanqinghai sand sculptures in his possession has increased considerably.

He had only three when he set off north from Yuanzhou.

Later, the one that followed the iron cavalry to "Yanlai Peak" became the first victim, forcibly captured by the three large birds in his hands and forced into a contract by him.

Then, through forced capture and "family enticement," the other large birds that accompanied the team to various bandit gathering places all became his spoils.

This operation was not fully completed until he parted ways with Song Mingzhu and others and headed south to "Huangwei Island".

At that time, the number of Xuanqinghai sand sculptures in his possession had increased to eleven.

Not long after, he captured and contracted the only three Xuanqinghai sand eagles on Huangwei Island.

On this trip north, Geng Xuan did not take them all with him. He left three for Tie Lang and the others to use, and only took the remaining eleven with him.

After sensing the location of eleven nearby Xuanqing Sea Sand Eagles using the "Flying Eagle Technique," Geng Xuan transmitted commands to them.

—Conduct a thorough search of the surrounding airspace, especially the airspace to the north, which is of paramount importance.

If any other traces of Xuanqinghai sand sculpture activity are found, the old method applies: send them all to me.

As soon as the order was given, the eleven large birds that had been playing freely in the surrounding waters immediately set off northward like a fighter jet squadron that had been summoned.

The moment those eleven Azure Sea Sand Eagles took to the skies, the outcome of this battle for "air supremacy" was already sealed.

Immediately afterwards, Geng Xuan dealt with another matter.

The prisoners, numbering as many as 4,260, who had already undergone at least one round, and sometimes several, of the "persuasion process," were being digested and absorbed.

Turn burdens into advantages.

Accurately identifying who is trustworthy and usable, and who is untrustworthy and unusable, is not as exaggerated or eye-catching as "treatment" or "blessings of good fortune."

However, its effect is no less than these two, and it is a "pillar-level" ability in the "Black Wind Army".

To be honest, of these three "pillar-level" abilities, only "healing" can be temporarily absent; the other two are indispensable.

Ultimately, of the 4260 prisoners, about 10% were "eliminated," while the remaining 90%, or 3795 to be exact, became members of the "Black Wind Army."

By the time Geng Xuan finished recruiting these new recruits, Ruan Ruizhe, Hu Yuan, and four thousand other elites who had returned north from Huangwei Island had already joined forces with Song Mingzhu and his men.

Along with them arrived a full hundred vehicles and boats.

After dealing with these matters, Geng Xuan did not linger. He took 10,000 carefully selected soldiers and 20 carts and ships and immediately set off south.

Of the 10,000 troops he took with him, 3795 were newly recruited.

The other six thousand or so people were not all elites, but were distributed proportionally according to the number of people at different cultivation levels.

The team was led by Zhang Kai, Guo Nan, and others.

The elite troops that Hu Yuan brought back, who had experienced the "Battle of Huangweidao", were left for Song Mingzhu and others to use.

After he handled the matter, Song Mingzhu and his men's forces appeared to have decreased by more than two thousand.

However, due to the clearing out of prisoners and the increase in elite troops, their actual combat strength has increased rather than decreased.

Geng Xuan did not deal with the Xuanyou Iron Cavalry, which had already reached the northern shore of Xuanqing Sea and even discovered the whereabouts of Song Mingzhu and others.

He simply captured all three of the opponent's remaining Xuanqinghai Sand Sculptures, formed a contract with them, and sent six Xuanqinghai Sand Sculptures to appear in the air above the opponent, openly conducting reconnaissance.

This silent deterrence directly caused the enemy's cavalry force, numbering between eight and ten thousand, which had been assembled near the north bank, to retreat towards "Wild Wolf Gorge".

—The size and number of the Iron Cavalry were also obtained through reconnaissance by the Xuanqinghai Sand Sculpture.

Geng Xuan also considered whether he should spend more time "playing" with this Xuanyou Iron Cavalry.

After a simple weighing of the options, Geng Xuan knew that he hadn't spent enough time to "play" a good game.

Putting everything else aside, the six thousand iron cavalry that came from "Rapid Current Cave" were absolutely alert.

With the limited strength he has, it will be difficult for him to get a decisive opportunity in the short term.

And if you spend too much time here, it's not worth it at all.

From a strategic perspective, the objectives to the south are more than ten times more important. (End of Chapter)