Three more days passed, and the great army officially set off.
With the sound of the crisp bugle horn, the massive Martial Army departed from Pei Prefecture City.
The common people stood solemnly on both sides of the official road, watching the army march out.
In the Dayu Dynasty, each prefecture had roughly twenty to thirty thousand Martial Army soldiers. The shortage in Yu Prefecture was compensated by the Martial Armies from Tianxuan and Qingluan.
The three nations each dispatched six Origin Realm Martial Artists, eighteen in total, who were distributed across the Dayu prefectures, two per prefecture.
The two Origin Realm Martial Artists assigned to Pei Prefecture came from Tianxuan and Qingluan, respectively.
Si Yiwu clasped his hands in salute to the two Origin Realm Martial Artists: "Esteemed sirs, the responsibility now falls upon you."
"It is our duty, Commander Si need not be so polite."
"The three nations have formed an alliance; we rise and fall together. We fight not only for Dayu, but also for our own nations!"
Si Yiwu nodded and watched the two fly ahead to their designated locations first.
He remained behind to march with the main army.
Li Xuanxiao sat on his horse with a helpless expression. He had initially assumed that all the Martial Army soldiers would fly to the battlefield.
But the harsh reality was that in a force of twenty thousand, there were only about twenty Mystic Realm level cultivators, a few thousand Xuan Realm level ones, and the vast majority were Extreme Realm level.
Furthermore, most of the Xuan Realm Martial Artists primarily cultivated one Xuan Realm Cultivation Technique and one Martial Art of either the Xuan Realm or Extreme Realm level.
Apart from the Martial Artists of the Demon Slaying Division, almost no one bothered to practice flying Martial Arts.
The Extreme Realm level was even more disappointing; they mostly focused on one Extreme Realm Cultivation Technique, and a considerable portion of their Martial Arts were still Strength Realm techniques...
It was quite awkward.
Li Xuanxiao touched his forehead. Having a cheat ability truly limited his imagination; he had assumed everyone was as monstrously talented as himself.
Being able to cultivate the complete set of Cultivation Techniques and Martial Arts corresponding to one's current Realm.
"Dayu truly is just a small nation..."
Only now did he truly grasp the actual cultivation status of most Martial Artists here.
Li Xuanxiao felt both fortunate and helpless.
This situation meant the bulk of the Martial Army needed to rely on horses and carriages to travel step by step to their destination.
Sigh, there wasn't even some kind of mass transit Magical Artifact.
Li Xuanxiao moved closer to Si Yiwu: "Commander, may I act independently?"
Si Yiwu glanced at him: "What? You think it's too slow?"
Li Xuanxiao sighed lightly: "My rank as Vice General is just a title anyway. As you know, I prefer fighting alone."
Si Yiwu pondered for a moment: "How about this: I will assign two Mystic Realm Martial Artists and one hundred Xuan Realm Martial Artists who have cultivated flying techniques to accompany you."
"You will go ahead to the location of the supply convoy first, help establish the camp, and set up defensive fortifications."
"After completing this task, I will then permit you to act alone."
Li Xuanxiao initially wanted to refuse, but upon seeing Si Yiwu's unyielding gaze, he finally nodded in agreement.
As long as he could fly, it was still much faster than riding a horse.
Soon, a contingent of about a hundred Martial Artists was separated and followed behind Li Xuanxiao.
After Si Yiwu explained the situation to them, almost all the Xuan Realm Martial Artists showed expressions of pleasant surprise.
Li Xuanxiao was currently the spiritual leader of the young Martial Artists in Pei Prefecture; being able to accompany him was a great honor!
The two Mystic Realm Martial Artists also felt relieved; they too disliked marching so slowly all the time.
Once the group division was complete, Li Xuanxiao immediately dismounted and took out the map in his hand.
The location of the supply convoy was a valley named Minjiang Valley.
After confirming the general direction, Li Xuanxiao waved his hand grandly and took his subordinates to fly directly toward Minjiang Valley from where they stood!
...
Outside the territory of the Dayu Dynasty, in Minjiang Valley.
As the saying goes, the army marches on its stomach; provisions must precede the troops.
The logistics supply convoy had departed a month before the main army set out and had arrived here a week ago.
Outside the Dayu Dynasty's borders was the territory of the demons, where rampaging demons could be seen everywhere.
Along the way, the supply convoy had already encountered more than ten waves of demons, ranging from Extreme Realm to Xuan Realm level.
Fortunately, among the accompanying Martial Artists were two Mystic Realm level experts, which prevented any major losses.
However, although these scattered demon stragglers were no match for the Mystic Realm Martial Artists in a direct fight, their advantage lay in sheer numbers; they were inexhaustible.
Under constant harassment, the supply convoy's progress was inevitably and severely delayed.
Often, a newly built camp would be ambushed a few days later, resulting in heavy damage.
The members were constantly annoyed.
And the two Mystic Realm Martial Artists could not possibly exterminate all the nearby demons.
They were caught in a dilemma.
The Commander's order was that by the time the main army arrived at the front lines, the rear camp must be set up, and the defensive fortifications must have a preliminary structure.
But at the current pace, it seemed very difficult to complete.
Huang Yu, the captain of the supply convoy, was extremely worried.
Military orders were like mountains, especially now when war could break out at any moment.
If he failed to complete the mission, let alone his position, his life might be forfeit!
While he was frowning deeply, he noticed a cluster of black dots appearing in his line of sight.
"What is that..."
The two Mystic Realm Martial Artists also noticed the anomaly.
Staring at the black dots that were rapidly growing larger in their vision, they were first vigilant and serious, but soon their brows relaxed: "It's our people!"
Li Xuanxiao flew at the lowest possible speed; even so, nearly half of his accompanying group could not keep up with his pace.
Seeing the group of people finally appearing below, Li Xuanxiao breathed a sigh of relief; they had finally arrived!
He swooped down and landed among the crowd.
Huang Yu and the two Mystic Realm Martial Artists immediately stepped forward: "May we ask which prefecture's Martial Army unit this esteemed sir belongs to?"
Li Xuanxiao clasped his hands in salute: "Pei Prefecture, Li Xuanxiao. Under the Commander's orders, I have come to assist the supply convoy in setting up the camp and constructing defensive fortifications."
The lists of main generals for each prefecture's Martial Army had long been distributed to all relevant departments, and the supply convoy was no exception.
"So it is Vice General Li from Pei Prefecture!"
Huang Yu's face lit up with pleasant surprise. Li Xuanxiao's name might not have been thunderous, but he was certainly well-known.
Since he was a Martial Artist who passed the Eight Halls Rotation Battle, Li Xuanxiao was quite the topic of conversation in the Royal City for a period.
Hearing that he had come specifically to help their supply convoy, Huang Yu was overjoyed.
It was truly like getting a pillow when one was sleepy!
He was about to exchange further pleasantries, but Li Xuanxiao interrupted him: "No need for formalities. With a great enemy approaching, there is no time to waste. Tell us what needs to be done!"
Hearing this, Huang Yu did not stand on ceremony and immediately began assigning tasks.
Half of the one hundred Xuan Realm Martial Artists were dispatched to set up the camp, and the other half were sent to build defensive fortifications.
The two newly arrived Mystic Realm Martial Artists began patrolling the surroundings, clearing out any demons loitering nearby.
With more manpower, many tasks became much more convenient.
Watching the construction speed visibly increase, Huang Yu was finally happy.
Li Xuanxiao was also pleased. When he flew over earlier, he noticed that the vicinity was crawling with demons—it was practically a treasure trove.
Although most were Extreme Realm and Xuan Realm level demons, accumulating them would still bring a considerable bounty!
With a great enemy looming, any small increase in strength counted.
Improving one stage in a Origin Realm Cultivation Technique or Martial Art required too much Demon value Points, so he wouldn't think about that for now.
But the Mystic Realm level Starfall Chasing Shadow Blade was still only at the Perfection Realm, with room for improvement.
Moreover, as an area-of-effect Martial Art, facing demons everywhere was truly like an old lady entering a quilt—it made him laugh out loud.
"As long as the number of demons slain is sufficient, achieving the next stage for this Martial Art is not a dream!"