Chapter 1226: Night Raid on Cotton Village

He humbly asked, "What do you plan to do?"

"Send out bird scouts," the Ghost King had already decided. "First, we'll eliminate the reinforcements; then Jishi Village will be mine!"

Soon after, the army, totaling two thousand soldiers, was fully assembled. It comprised not only Bixia people but also those from the Gaopu Kingdom who had previously surrendered.

Commander Shi ordered all Gaopu people to step forward and sign a contract with the Ghost King, allowing Ghost King Xuanlu to commandeer their bodies for combat "when necessary." The Gaopu people naturally resisted; who would willingly surrender their life and death entirely to others? But under the watchful eyes of the crowd in the square, with sharp blades and long spears pointed at them, Commander Shi declared that non-compliance would result in immediate execution. The Gaopu people ultimately had no choice but to reluctantly comply.

Several illumination lamps in the square were still lit. The Bixia soldiers saw one phantom after another illuminated by a greenish glow—all were ghouls with green faces and fangs, their eyes fixed on people with greed and ill intent. Though they had no physical form, anyone who approached them felt a chilling sensation, their hands and feet turning icy cold. Consequently, the living soldiers and the ghost army naturally kept their distance, unwilling to get close.

Among the ghost army were also grotesque corpse puppets, which were physical entities. If anyone dared to glance at them twice, they would turn their heads and smile, looking like creatures straight out of a nightmare. If Fu Liushan had been there, he would have realized that each of these corpse puppets actually concealed one, or even two or three, evil spirits within their bodies. These spirits controlled the puppets' movements, much like He Lingchuan controlled his Golden-Armored Bronze Generals.

The moon had passed its zenith, and the night was deep and quiet. It must be said, Commander Shi's integration speed was impressive; the two thousand Bixia soldiers were ready in just two hours and moved towards Rolling Stone Valley under the cover of night.

The Bixia's bird demons flew back and forth, relaying messages, allowing this mixed army of humans and ghosts to evade the Situ family's patrols and quietly approach Mian Village.

Mian Village was surrounded by mountains on multiple sides, forming a "冂" shape, and its terrain was low-lying. The main road leading to the village involved a long, winding downhill slope. Therefore, it was indeed the perfect choice for Situ's hidden army. With the forest providing cover, human figures and lights in the village were not easily detected from outside. The bird demons had already completed two reconnaissance missions and reported no signs of living people, yet Ghost King Xuanlu was certain: "There are people in the village!"

Commander Shi asked, surprised, "How do you know?"

"The corpse puppets I sent out sensed the presence of a barrier, which is meant to conceal human presence. It's too crude, likely the work of some third-rate Celestial Master," Ghost King Xuanlu said blandly. "They've already entered the village. Although no lights are on, the doors of every house are closed. Also, after two corpse puppets went through windows, I lost contact with them." This meant they had been destroyed.

Commander Shi had seen the scout puppets he dispatched—small animal puppets like weasels, stoats, and flying squirrels. Apart from their glowing red eyes and withered fur, they were as agile as living creatures. Undoubtedly, Ghost King Xuanlu could use their vision to see through the entire Mian Village.

"There are only a few dozen houses here, including warehouses; it would be extraordinary if they could hide a thousand people," Commander Shi thought. But then he considered, if the enemy was clearly luring the Ghost King here, it made no sense to send so few people, did it?

"Behind Mian Village, there's a large subterranean cave system with an entrance on the mountainside," a red glint flashed in Ghost King Xuanlu's eyes. "In the past, the locals here specifically widened the caves for temporary refuge. Inside, three connected caverns of varying sizes can accommodate at least another thousand people. Your last attack on Mian Village was so swift that they didn't have time to hide in the back mountain caves." It continued, "These people know that this area is too close to Rolling Stone Valley, so the army absolutely cannot be exposed outside, or there's a risk of being detected. Therefore, if there's a garrison in Mian Village, it's highly likely there are people in these mountain caves too."

"I see," Commander Shi said, laughing. "As expected of a Ghost King, to know even such secrets. Right, the Ghost King seemed to have originated from this area in his lifetime. Their entering the caves is asking to be trapped. We'll split our forces into two: one group will take a detour to the back of the village to block that hidden cave first, and the other will charge into the village to catch them off guard."

Ghost King Xuanlu nodded, "For the first wave, fire attack is advisable." Immediately, the two sides divided their forces: Commander Shi went around to the back mountain to blockade the stone cave, while Ghost King Xuanlu prepared to attack Mian Village.

Guided by the Ghost King's avatar, Commander Shi soon discovered that the mixed forest behind the village was exceptionally dense, with trees so close together that a person could barely squeeze through, and even then, they'd get scratches on their head and face. However, a small path led directly to the back mountain. Although the grass on the ground was already ankle-high, trees couldn't grow that quickly. Following this path inward, they soon encountered a thick mountain wall. The solid rock of the mountain was pitch black in the night, casting layers of shadows. From this point onward, the Bixia people needed to be cautious. If there were people inside the cave, there would certainly be formations or guards outside.

Commander Shi gestured to the bird demons, and two owls flapped their wings and flew over, circling the stone wall for a careful inspection. As they approached, something seemed to move in the shadows on the rock face, shrinking inward. After circling, the two owls changed their angle and approached again. This time, however, they found nothing unusual; there was nothing inside the mountain crevice. Perhaps it was just a small nocturnal animal. The Ghost King's avatar pointed forward, indicating the cave entrance was ahead, and simultaneously released several corpse puppet scouts. These small creatures, once on the ground, scurried into the shadows of the trees.

Just a dozen breaths later, the Ghost King's avatar opened its eyes and said, "There are quite a few figures inside; they've dealt with my corpse puppets."

Commander Shi immediately waved to the rear, "Advance!" They were already at the cave entrance; there was no need for hesitation. The Bixia soldiers strode forward, and indeed, hidden behind the forest was a cave entrance, artificially narrowed with rammed earth to allow only four or five people to enter abreast. Perhaps the people of old intended to make this place easy to defend and difficult to attack. In front of the cave were three layers of hardened stakes, outer and inner, with sharp points facing outward. Anyone attempting to attack would first have to overcome this obstacle. The tips of the stakes were very new, as if freshly sharpened.

Behind the stakes, originally stood thirty to forty guards. Seeing the Bixia soldiers charge out, they immediately shouted and raised their crossbows to fire. Strangely, their equipment did not resemble that of the Situ family's army; Commander Shi had never seen that particular style before. But he had no time to ponder; now that they were here, they certainly had to seize the cave entrance with lightning speed. "Kill!"

The Bixia army received the order and charged forward, enduring the rain of arrows. However, the Ghost King Xuanlu's avatar stopped, turning its head to look ahead. "Something's wrong!" Commander Shi, who had been about to charge out, turned back in one step. "What is it?" "These are not living people!" "...?" Commander Shi wondered if the enemy could also command ghosts, besides Ghost King Xuanlu. "What do we do now?" Had they fallen into the enemy's trap? Should they retreat?

The Ghost King Xuanlu's avatar made an immediate decision: "No retreat, continue the attack. Send some people back to check the path we took." Commander Shi immediately pointed out four or five individuals, instructing them to withdraw from the mixed forest to investigate the situation.