Chapter 434: Repeated Again and Again

The watchtowers must be strictly guarded! After much thought, he decided to ask a sorcerer to install a barrier. Dragon's Throat Pass itself was protected by a rune array, which was usually inactive. With several sorcerers regularly stationed in the army, wouldn't this task be easy? However, paying for a barrier on the beacon tower couldn't wait for the general to report it—even if reported, approval would take at least ten days to half a month. So, he had no choice but to pay out of his own pocket for the time being.

The second night passed without incident. Every minute the barrier was active consumed energy. Even the most economical defensive barrier would consume at least half a mystical crystal for ten hours of continuous operation each day. That meant a whole crystal in two days! He had been sent to guard Dragon's Throat Pass in the mountains precisely because he lacked money and connections; everyone knew guarding the pass was demanding yet poorly paid. After just two days of this, he couldn't afford it anymore.

He also sought assistance from his superiors, but his immediate boss chewed him out. "Mystical crystals are precious strategic resources! You want to use them against an invisible threat?" The most crucial point was that such a defense had no end; would he defend for a day or two, ten days or half a month, or even a year or two? Spending thousands of silver without any tangible result – if his superior dared to approve it, his superior's superior might just suspect him of embezzlement.

Consequently, the barrier couldn't be maintained much longer. On the third night, the beacon tower was lit again, this time with three beacon hearths. Yet, there was no fighting on the western front; the mountains and forests were perfectly quiet. Looking up, the beacons at Dragon's Ridge Pass quickly followed suit. The general's vision swam, and he felt like howling at the sky:

"Brother on that high platform, couldn't you have waited?" This time, however, the soldiers guarding the beacon tower finally caught the real culprits: wild monkeys from the mountain.

The general was furious: "How absurd! How could monkeys light the beacons for no reason?" Naturally, the soldiers were speechless, no one daring to utter a sound. Only later in the night did a trusted subordinate quietly inform the general that there were many wild monkeys in the mountains. A few days prior, they had tried to steal the soldiers' rations, and several of them had been burned to death by the soldiers, their meat subsequently shared and eaten. It was possible the monkey troop held a grudge, thus explaining their actions.

"This is intolerable!" The general immediately dispatched men to the mountain to catch the monkeys. However, the mountains were the monkeys' home ground; the soldiers were nowhere near as agile. Despite their strenuous efforts, they only managed to catch three or four. As a result, the monkey troop grew even more enraged, directly throwing stones at the pass and the camps, causing some guards to get their faces bloody. Worst of all, the capital had another false alarm that night, infuriating the Crown Prince, who replaced the general without a word.

That same night, in Coiling Dragon City. The Lean Man was just about to leave his home when he suddenly heard gongs outside and someone shouting, "Street—Intersection—Proclamation!"

The large-scale pre-war mobilization announcement in Coiling Dragon City had finally begun. Crowds gathered, all listening to the street orator's hoarse voice interpreting the announcement.

First, the valiant and righteous monarch of Xiluo had issued an evacuation order, instructing the people of Yuan living in the Coiling Dragon Wasteland to return east to their homeland immediately. Second, the Jinxian Corridor was controlled by the Baling people, and its terrain was difficult, making passage for civilians unfavorable. Coiling Dragon City had decided to open an alternative route via Nantong Pass and Changhe River to return to Great Yuan. Third, Coiling Dragon City declared full war on the Western Ji Kingdom: "Western Ji has harassed our borders, killed our people, and intercepted our trade goods. This is intolerable. Those who block our path home shall die!"

When the orator recited the announcement for the first time, it stirred up a commotion. Through the door, the Lean Man could hear the sounds of running, exclamations, and neighbors opening their doors. "We're going to fight Western Ji! We're going to fight Western Ji!" countless people cheered. The clamor of voices was deafening, rising in waves.

In his memory, no street proclamation had ever evoked such a powerful reaction. By the time the orator reached the sixth recitation, the crowd outside the door had swelled, with more and more residents joining him in chanting, culminating in a sky-piercing declaration: "Those who block our path home shall die!"

Thus, emotions ran high. The Lean Man stood at his doorway, watching the surging crowd. His little nephew stood beside him, fists clenched, also shouting in a childlike voice, "Those who block our path home shall die!"

The Lean Man chuckled, tapping his nephew's forehead: "Life and death, what do you know about it?" The little nephew tilted his head, his eyes bright: "Of course I understand! We're going to fight, and then we can go home!" The Lean Man took a deep breath: "Yes! We'll defeat Western Ji and carve out a path home from their land!"

Like all the cheerers, his heart was filled with longing and heroic spirit. Just as the Broken Blade team had predicted, there was no need for further war mobilization or morale boosting; a single announcement was enough to send the city's soldiers and civilians into a peak of fervent belligerence. If anyone were to gaze upon Coiling Dragon City from a distance at that moment, they would discern a massive, indistinct dragon-shaped phantom hovering above the city, appearing like a play of light or drifting clouds. In reality, it was the physical manifestation of both surging fortune and abundant primal energy. Only now did the name 'Coiling Dragon' truly fit.

With the fate of his predecessor unknown, the newly appointed general of Dragon's Throat Pass was filled with trepidation. He first inspected the beacon tower, then observed the monkeys on the mountain peaks making faces at him, and decided to poison them.

They mixed poison into food and threw it to the monkeys; indeed, about a dozen died. However, the remaining monkeys grew even more enraged, and even monkeys from other peaks joined them, urinating and throwing stones down from above. They also chose the dead of night to create noise, disturbing the soldiers' sleep, and even resorted to old tricks, repeatedly attempting to throw burning branches into the beacon tower. Fortunately, the sentries maintained strict vigilance, preventing the monkeys from succeeding again. As a result, everyone was on edge, sleeping poorly at night and lacking energy during the day. If casualties weren't counted, the monkeys still had the upper hand in this human-monkey war, for it's easier to be a thief every day than to guard against one every day.

Furthermore, the Crown Prince had declared that if the beacons were mistakenly lit again, all soldiers at the pass would be beheaded. Leaders only issue commands, saying what's not allowed and what's mandatory; subordinates must comply even if it seems impossible, as the higher-ups only demand results.

So, what was to be done? This general, pushed to the brink, made a decision that would haunt generations — to put a cover on the beacon towers!

The specific method involved acquiring large tarpaulins from merchants, sewing them together, and covering the beacon hearths with them. Then, they would apply a layer of mud plaster and a thick layer of sand on top. Of course, they conducted tests on flat ground, and the general even personally threw a few torches onto it. Excellent, it didn't ignite. There was ample time for them to leisurely extinguish any torches. Most importantly, it saved money – a hundred times, a hundred times more economical than activating a barrier!

By the rules, this was certainly unacceptable, but with the threat of execution looming, who cared about usual regulations? This was a case of 'threat from above, countermeasure from below.' In any case, they had to pass the immediate test from their superiors first.

So, the large canvas cover was placed over the beacon tower. A palace envoy sent by the King to supervise suddenly arrived and was furious to see what they had done: "How can this be? Take it down, take it down!"

The general pleaded with him to stay and watch for half the night. True to his word, the monkeys arrived in groups at midnight to set fires. The burning branches, thrown onto the sand cover, fizzled out and wouldn't ignite.

The monkeys shrieked in frustration, while the soldiers below burst into laughter, finally getting their revenge.

"If enemies come from outside the pass, we'll still have time to remove the cover," the general pleaded with the palace envoy. "Otherwise, if we remove this cover now and the beacons are lit again, our lives will be forfeit." The palace envoy nodded repeatedly: "What you say makes a lot of sense. Remove the cover."

"Eunuch!"

"The King ordered me to supervise the beacon tower, and I must ensure everything here is normal!" the palace envoy snorted. "With this cover blocking the beacon hearth, do you dare say it's normal? If I let you pass this, and the King blames me later, I won't be able to escape responsibility. Enough talk, take it down at once."

The general tried every argument, but to no avail. He could only order his men to remove the sand cover, silently cursing the 'dead eunuch' a hundred times over.

Unbeknownst to anyone, someone was hidden in the night on the mountain peak, observing everything. Then, they handed a large handful of dates to the approaching monkey troop.

The dates were large and sweet, and the monkeys ate them with delighted grins. This person was Old Yu, a temporary new member of He Lingchuan's team. He gestured and made 'hmm' sounds, incredibly able to communicate with the monkeys.

Even if the guards below heard, they would only assume it was monkeys chattering.

Another two days passed. Dragon's Throat Pass was peaceful; the monkeys, having suffered setbacks, seemed to have given up. The palace envoy's supervision concluded, and he hurried back to report. The moment he left, the general of Dragon's Throat Pass breathed a sigh of relief and quickly told his subordinates, "Cover the beacon hearths!"

"My Lord? Didn't the eunuch forbid it?"

"His mission is over, and he can return to the palace, but we still have to guard this place. If something goes wrong again, it won't concern him, but we'll lose our heads," the general sneered. "If it were you, what would you choose?" So everyone worked together to cover the beacon hearths. Everyone knew that the new king's enthronement ceremony was the day after tomorrow, and at such a critical moment, nothing else could go wrong.

South Gate of Coiling Dragon City. Large numbers of people were gathering, countless torches illuminating the area as if it were day. Zhong Shengguang stepped forward, drew his sword with a clang, pointing it skyward, and began an impassioned speech.

Undoubtedly, Zhong Shengguang possessed far greater charisma and appeal than General Nanke. His motivational speech was interrupted several times by cheers from the crowd below. The entire assembly was fervent. As the crowd listened, they felt their blood boil, eager to charge out and slay eight hundred enemies.

"Spiritual rain, come quickly!" A light drizzle began to fall from the sky. Sun Huping had also displayed this skill when mobilizing the soldiers of Blackwater City to the desert, but the range of the rain had not been so wide. Over thirty thousand soldiers from Coiling Dragon City, marching forth today, each received the spiritual rain's blessing, feeling their bodies lighter, strength greater, breathing freer, and morale significantly boosted. This was General Hong utilizing Coiling Dragon City's primal energy to bestow blessings equally upon all soldiers.

"In half a month, you will feast on whole roasted lamb and drink Fengquan wine in the capital of Western Ji, celebrating our great victory!" Zhong Shengguang's voice resonated through the entire assembly. "Now, march!"

Fengquan wine was a specialty of Western Ji; its price in Coiling Dragon City was not low, making it unaffordable for everyone.

With a unified shout, the soldiers collectively turned and marched out through the city gate. The surrounding civilians cheered, throwing flowers to the soldiers.