e-booksonline Chapter 19 Harvesting the Heavenly Dou Army!
Chapter 19 Harvesting the Heavenly Dou Army!
Before the blood of the Dark Demon Leopard had even dried, Mingfei's spiritual power had already detected a new prey.
It wasn't a corpse, it was a living person.
It came from the southeast, about three miles away.
It wasn't just one person, but a group of people, at least thirty, maybe more.
Their soul power fluctuations were very weak; most of them were just ordinary soldiers, with a few soul masters mixed in occasionally, but their levels were not high, at most the second ring.
They moved slowly, stopping and starting, as if dragging heavy steps. The faint sounds of metal clanging and low voices could be heard in the air, broken and intermittent by the night wind.
Ming Fei squatted down, placed his palms on the ground, and extended his mental energy forward with all his might.
My perception is clearer now.
An army of the Heavenly Dou Empire, consisting of approximately forty people.
Their armor was stained with dried blood; some were missing arms, some were lame, and some were being supported by their companions.
Everyone was breathing heavily and walking slowly, like a group of wandering souls who had just crawled out of hell.
Just off the battlefield.
Ming Fei's lips curled up slightly.
The bloody aura emanating from these people was genuine; they had killed people, and most likely had just done so recently.
On the border between Tiandou and Xingluo, no army has clean hands.
They fought back and forth for over a century, and every survivor had their hands stained with the blood of the opposing empire.
According to Mingfei's definition, this is not considered innocent.
Moreover, what he needed was not to judge these people's good and evil, but their death and corpses.
Rather than let them die at the hands of others in the next battle, it's better for them to die at his hands, becoming nourishment for the underworld and his subordinates.
Moreover, these people are all veterans.
Veterans who have returned from the battlefield have rich combat experience, strong psychological qualities, and a much lower fear of death than ordinary people.
If they could be transformed into undead, retaining their combat experience and consciousness from their previous lives, they would be a far more elite force than ordinary undead soldiers.
With forty veteran undead, plus his existing undead army, his strength more than doubled.
Mingfei stood up and scanned the underworld with his consciousness.
The dead are waiting in the underworld.
Ghost Tiger lay on a rock licking its paws, Dark Serpent coiled up asleep in the gray mist, three human spirits were scattered in various places, and seventeen hundred-year-old soul beasts wandered on the scorched earth.
The battle to kill the Dark Demon Leopards had barely depleted their strength; the white marks on the Dark Nether Python's scales had disappeared, and the wound on Ghost Tiger's chest had mostly healed.
All available.
"There's life again," Mingfei said in a low voice, his voice reaching the senses of every undead through the connection to the underworld.
Ghost Tiger's ears perked up, and its eerie green eyes gleamed in the darkness.
The Dark Serpent raised its head from its coiled body, its black tongue flicking in and out rapidly.
The three human spirits simultaneously stopped what they were doing and turned towards Mingfei's direction.
There was no hesitation, no fatigue, and no negative emotions that only living people have in their minds.
There is only one instruction—obey.
Ming Fei focused his mental energy on the location of the Heavenly Dou army and planned the best interception route in his mind.
They are moving northwest, presumably to withdraw to a border outpost or camp.
Mingfei is currently positioned due north of them. If he were to approach them directly from the north, they would meet about a mile ahead.
The area was an open meadow, with no trees or shrubs, only knee-high weeds and a few scattered stones.
Not an ideal ambush location.
But the Darkwing doesn't need an ideal ambush location.
He has an army of undead, an overwhelming numerical advantage, a fearless charging style, and ghost tigers and dark pythons that can hide in the darkness.
The open terrain was actually more suitable for his undead army to encircle and prevent anyone from escaping.
Mingfei began to move.
He didn't run, but walked briskly, his steps light and steady, trying not to make any unnecessary noise.
The spirits emerged from the underworld and followed him silently.
Ghost Tiger was twenty meters to his left, Dark Python was thirty meters to his right, and three human undead were scattered behind them. The hundred-year-old soul beasts formed a loose arc, like a slowly unfolding net.
Mingfei covered the distance of one li in less than ten minutes.
He crouched down in a patch of knee-high grass, unleashing his full mental power to pinpoint the location of the Heavenly Dou army.
They were in a worse state than he had anticipated.
Leading the way was a tall man wearing tattered plate armor, his left arm slinged across his chest with a strip of cloth, and a scar on his face that ran from his forehead to his chin.
His soul power fluctuations were the strongest, around the third ring, so he should be an officer in this team.
Following him were dozens of soldiers, most of whom were wounded.
Some people walked with limps, some used spears as crutches, and some were supported by their companions. Everyone's face was filled with exhaustion and numbness.
They had just retreated from the battlefield; they must have fought a patrol from the Star Luo Empire.
Mingfei could smell the blood on his armor—fresh, still-dry human blood.
At the very back of the procession were several flatbed carts, on which lay more than a dozen seriously wounded men, some still groaning, others already motionless.
The cart was pulled by several thin horses, and the wheels left deep ruts in the mud.
Forty people.
Mingfei silently counted them in his mind.
There were forty living people, including one three-ring Soul Master, three two-ring Soul Masters, about seven or eight one-ring Soul Masters, and the rest were ordinary soldiers without Soul Power.
Their combat strength isn't particularly high, but they've just come from the battlefield, so they're on edge and highly vigilant, making them not so easy to ambush.
Moreover, they had weapons, armor, and coordination.
If they launch a direct assault, Mingfei's undead army might win, but they could pay a heavy price—not the casualties of undead soldiers, but the time lost.
If the battle drags on too long and makes too much noise, it may attract reinforcements from other patrols or outposts nearby.
Mingfei needs to finish this quickly.
He quickly devised a simple tactic in his mind.
Ghost Tiger and Dark Serpent flanked them from both sides, cutting off their retreat.
Three human undead and a hundred-year-old soul beast launched an attack from the front, creating chaos.
Once they were completely trapped, he would strike and harvest them one by one.
As for the forty soldiers, they should be spared if possible.
The effect of a living person being taken into the underworld and transformed into a spirit is better than that of a dead person.
Because the remnant soul is still intact in the body, the transformation process is smoother, and the remaining fragments of consciousness are more complete.
Ideally, they should all be captured alive.
Mingfei gave orders to Ghost Tiger and Dark Python.
The Ghost Tiger circled around to the rear of the group from the left, while the Dark Python circled around to the rear of the group from the right. Their task was to block the retreat and prevent anyone from escaping the encirclement.
Three human undead and seventeen hundred-year-old soul beasts gathered at the front of the group, awaiting his signal.
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