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Chapter 91 The Strange Murder
"what!"

A bloodcurdling scream ripped through the darkness of the night. The sheer terror and agony in that sound jolted all the sleeping soldiers awake.

Chen Guangrui rushed out of the tent immediately, following closely behind his personal guards, and swiftly pounced on the source of the screams at the outermost edge of the camp.

The flickering torchlight mercilessly illuminated the horrific scene before them.

Beside the campfire at the edge of the camp, a soldier on duty lay in a pool of blood. His upper body had been almost torn apart by some immense force, his abdomen empty, fragments of his internal organs mixed with thick blood and mud, staining a large area of ​​the ground beneath him and emitting a nauseating, rusty stench.

The soldier's face was frozen in terror and despair, his eyes wide and pupils dilated. Beside him, the once tall and strong warhorse lay a headless corpse on the ground.

The campfire flickered, its light dancing on the mangled corpses, adding to the eerie and sinister atmosphere, causing the arriving generals to instinctively gasp.

Li Jing also arrived, his face grim as he surveyed the scene.

"Did you see what it was?" Li Jing's voice was low and suppressed.

"No...no!"

Several soldiers nearby, still shaken, answered tremblingly, "We only...we only heard him scream once, and when we rushed over, it was already...that's it! We didn't even see a shadow!"

"Bastard!"

One of the lieutenants cursed angrily, clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

The elite soldiers who gathered around upon hearing the news showed no shock or disbelief, only burning anger at the tragic deaths of their comrades.

They gripped their weapons tightly, their eyes like nails fixed on the surrounding darkness, searching for unseen enemies. For these battle-hardened veterans, bloodshed was not frightening; what was frightening was someone taking lives right under their noses.

Chen Guangrui silently walked to Li Jing's side. This was the first time he had formally made a suggestion since entering the Black Wind Mountain area.

His expression was grave, and his voice, though not loud, was clear enough for Li Jing to hear: "General, such methods..."

“It’s a demon,” Li Jing answered with certainty.

Chen Guangrui considered it for a moment,
"Black Wind Mountain is not far ahead, and there are likely even more ferocious monsters lurking there. Now that the army has reached this point, should we consider temporarily avoiding a direct confrontation and taking another route?"

Upon hearing this, Li Jing turned his head, glanced at Chen Guangrui with his usual authoritative air, waved his hand, and said loudly,
"Sir Chen, you are overthinking it! A few evil spirits are nothing to worry about. Warfare is based on deception. The Turkic barbarians are used to using such despicable tricks as pretending to be gods and ghosts. My men are all battle-hardened and fierce warriors, full of vigor and might. Even demons and monsters would have to retreat in their presence. How could we be afraid and not move forward?"

His words were resolute, brimming with confidence in his men: "Keep moving! Be on high alert! I'm just looking for trouble!"

He rejected Chen Guangrui's proposal with a firm and unquestionable attitude.

Upon hearing this, Chen Guangrui had no choice but to shut up. It wasn't something anyone else had advised him to do.

The next day, the troops continued to break camp, but the atmosphere was noticeably more tense than the day before.

Chen Guangrui keenly noticed that Li Jing had adjusted the deployment. The mobile sentry posts, which were originally scattered on the perimeter, were doubled in strength, and groups of three were increased to groups of five, allowing for closer coordination and communication. The frequency of patrols increased significantly, the number of scouts doubled, and they ventured deeper into the mountains and forests on both sides of the road, focusing on searching for possible hideouts or unusual activity.

The marching order of the troops was also adjusted, with elite swordsmen and shieldmen positioned on the outer perimeter, and powerful archers and crossbowmen arrayed in the center. Throughout the army, especially during nighttime encampments, all soldiers were kept at rest, armed and ready for battle, and were not allowed to remove their armor; their weapons were always at hand.

When Li Jing saw Chen Guangrui during his inspection, he deliberately stopped, pointed at the imposing military formation, and his face showed an unwavering determination to win.
"See that? Commander Chen, your defenses are impregnable! If that beast dares to come again, I'll make sure it can't leave. I'll make it taste the pain of being pierced by a thousand arrows!"

Chen Guangrui looked at the pride in Li Jing's eyes, nodded slightly, and said nothing more.

However, the night was deep.

The chilling screams shattered the silence once more. And this time, there were several in succession. They came from a location closer to the inner part of the camp!

"Quick!" Chen Guangrui and Li Jing rushed over with their men almost simultaneously.

Five mangled corpses lay in contorted positions on the patrol path.

The manner of their deaths was exactly the same as last night: their bellies were ripped open, their internal organs were gnawed out, and blood was everywhere.

The difference this time was that all five were killed simultaneously. Most of their weapons were still hanging at their waists or held in their hands, and one of them had even only half-drawn his waist knife. There were almost no signs of a struggle at the scene, as if all five had been instantly killed by the same monster or a group of monsters in a very short time.

Limbs and severed arms were scattered everywhere, with the fingers of one severed arm still tightly gripping the soil, showing the futile struggle before death. Under the blazing firelight, the deceased's expression was frozen in extreme pain and disbelief.

This time, the soldiers' anger was still burning fiercely, but beneath the blaze, a barely concealed fear began to quietly grow. Some pursed their lips, their faces pale; some subconsciously moved closer to their comrades, gripping the fire in their hands even tighter; others scanned the boundless darkness with gleaming eyes, their Adam's apples bobbing silently as they swallowed nervously.

The unknown, swift, and brutal methods of killing brought psychological shock that began to spread a small crack deep within the hearts of the soldiers.

Chen Guangrui frowned, about to speak to Li Jing again, "General, this scoundrel..."

"Enough!" Li Jing abruptly waved his hand, rudely interrupting him. His face was ashen, and his eyes, like those of a hawk, scanned the dark jungle, as if trying to drag out the enemy hiding in the shadows. "I understand. Search the mountain! Dig three feet into the ground if you must find it!"

He ordered a search that lasted all night, and personally led a team, sending his elite guards through the woods.

However, the dense forest and rugged rocks meant that the all-night search only startled a few owls; they found not a single trace of the monster.

As dawn broke, the exhausted search party returned. Li Jing, his face ashen, seemed to have regained some confidence, and addressed his generals,

"It seems this scoundrel is ultimately afraid of the might of our army, only daring to ambush lone foes! Last night, intimidated by our power, it dared not show itself again! Issue the order: from today onward, all marches and patrols shall be conducted in teams of ten! Gather together and watch out for each other! If anything unusual is discovered, immediately sound the alarm, and everyone must immediately retreat to the center. I don't believe it would dare to confront ten of my elite troops head-on!"

The order seemed to bring a sliver of security. However, this meager sense of security was as fragile as thin ice.

At midday, the sun was shining brightly. A ten-person team, who had just left the main road and entered a relatively sparse woodland for patrol, hadn't gone far.

"woo"

A low, sharp blast of a horn, as if its throat had been abruptly cut, came from the edge of the woods, followed by a deathly silence.

"not good!"

The generals, who had been on high alert in the camp, suddenly changed their expressions and roared as they rallied their soldiers to rush toward the source of the sound.

The scene before them sent chills down the spines of even these battle-hardened veterans!
In a clearing in the woods, ten heads, still bearing expressions of astonishment, were neatly arranged in a row.

Beneath each head lay a small pool of thick blood. Their mutilated, fragmented limbs lay scattered like carelessly discarded trash within a radius of a dozen paces. The heavy stench of blood permeated the air, and the sticky blood plasma on the ground almost soaked through the soil, reflecting the blinding sunlight.

Ten strong soldiers' bodies, along with their weapons and armor, were torn apart and trampled by an unseen, terrifying force in such a short time. The only thing that remained intact was a row of heads with ferocious expressions that had been deliberately left intact.

A sharp-eyed soldier was even horrified to discover that one of the heads had a fresh, bloody, suspicious tooth mark on its jaw, which was definitely not from a knife or gun!
Time seemed to freeze at that moment. A suffocating silence filled the camp. Even the fiercest soldiers were pale-faced, their hands gripping their weapons trembling slightly.

Many people instinctively held their breath, their eyes scanning every shadowy patch around them with trepidation, as if worried that the man-eating demon would pounce on them at any moment.

Seeing this shocking scene, Chen Guangrui knew the time was ripe to persuade him. He walked to Li Jing, whose face was ashen and whose knuckles were cracking from clenching his fists, and said in an unprecedentedly solemn tone,

"General, this beast is far more ferocious than any other, and has become a major threat. Continuing to sacrifice him pointlessly will likely demoralize the army and prevent us from rejoining the main force on time. Black Wind Mountain is just around the corner, perhaps..."

Li Jing suddenly turned around, interrupting Chen Guangrui.

At this moment, although his spine was still straight, a trace of weariness and struggle could not be concealed in the depths of his eyes.

He took a deep breath, the air he inhaled seeming to carry a heavy, pungent smell of blood, and then slowly exhaled. He finally spoke.
"Guangrui... I understand your worries. But..."

He paused with difficulty, his gaze fixed on the direction the army was heading, the agreed-upon battlefield, which also seemed like a road of no return stained with blood.

"The army has arrived here, and is only a few days' journey from the main force. If we turn back now out of fear of evil spirits, not only will our efforts be in vain, but we may also become completely separated from the main force! The supply route will also be disrupted, and if we miss the main Turkic force, the consequences will be unimaginable."

He wiped his face hard, as if trying to erase the weariness and the unseen fear.

"The only option now is to grit our teeth and keep going, speed up the march, and try to join forces with the main force as soon as possible. Once we reach the main camp, we can then make further plans."

For the first time, his words revealed immense pressure.

He knew that the losses were heavy and the morale of the troops was low, but he also understood that for a lone army that had penetrated deep into enemy territory and was on a major strategic mission, the way back was stained with blood and the detour was full of thorns. Only by moving forward could there be a glimmer of hope.

Chen Guangrui remained silent. Li Jing's concerns stemmed from realistic and harsh military considerations.

He knew that words of persuasion were futile at this point.

But the "little monster" Yuan Shoucheng described as weaker than him remained an ever-present, unseen shadow.

The precise and efficient brutal hunting made Chen Guangrui feel a bit of a problem; if he couldn't find it, all his skills would be hard to use.

He had been preparing, but just as Yuan Shoucheng had said, Li Jing's army was right beside him, and he couldn't stray too far from the camp. But now, he hadn't even seen a glimpse of the little monster, and the camp was already in a state of panic. The best course of action was to remain in the camp and wait for the monster to come to him.

Just as the entire military camp was shrouded in immense fear and oppression, with everyone feeling insecure, Li Jing mobilized the remaining elite forces, rearranged the defenses, and prepared for a final, desperate sprint.

A golden light and a silver light, like two shooting stars, fell rapidly from the sky without warning. With a "bang," they landed directly in front of Chen Guangrui, accompanied by a muffled sound and a cloud of dust.

Amidst the swirling dust, the figures of two small children came into view.

It was none other than the Golden Furnace Boy and the Silver Furnace Boy!
(End of this chapter)