Chapter 137: Northern River Pass Deputy General Another Position

Leaving Yuanchu Mountain in the early morning, they arrived in the vicinity of Beihe Pass by afternoon.

"That's Beihe Pass up ahead," Marquis Nanyun said, pointing into the distance.

Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue both looked closely.

Unlike the fortresses from humanity's past, those built to defend against the demon race were quite unique. Beihe Pass was divided into an inner and an outer fortress! The inner fortress was a circular stronghold, three li in diameter, with walls eighty zhang high and twenty zhang thick! It stood majestically, like a towering mountain. It was too difficult for mortals to build such a fortress; medium-sized strongholds were personally constructed by King-level Godfiends.

King-level Godfiends, with their ability to move mountains, brought countless rocks, cut them into neat, massive blocks, and painstakingly built this fortress.

The outer fortress was a larger circle surrounding the inner fortress, five li in diameter, with walls thirty zhang high.

"That's the world entrance," Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue saw it too.

Inside the majestic inner fortress was a world entrance, approximately two li long and half a li wide! Through that entrance, one could vaguely glimpse the scenery within the Demon Realm.

Liu Qiyue looked down and sent a telepathic message: "For the next three years, this will be our battlefield."

"Hmm," Meng Chuan nodded.

A large population resided in the area around Beihe Pass. Hundreds of thousands of people lived south of the pass. Firstly, this was because of the 'fish that got away' from Beihe Pass. Some small avian demons, if they managed to escape Beihe Pass, would pose a threat to surrounding villages. Therefore, there were no large fortified strongholds within dozens of li of the pass, and everyone had gathered near Beihe Pass! Human Godfiends primarily dealt with demon monarchs and couldn't possibly confront every single minor demon. For mortals, Beihe Pass was quite safe, certainly safer than ordinary strongholds. Secondly, to support the battlefield, a large number of mortals were required. For example, there were always around twenty thousand mortal soldiers stationed here! Additionally, thirty thousand logistics personnel, including over five thousand artisans, as well as medical staff, food transporters, and more.

With a large population, many transactions took place, and Beihe Pass naturally became prosperous.

Whoosh. The fiery red giant bird swooped down.

In an elegant pavilion of a pleasure house in Beihe Pass, a dashing man in red robes lay in the arms of a beautiful courtesan, drinking wine and gazing out the window.

"Hmm?" The man in red suddenly sat upright, looking intently at the fiery red giant bird in the distance. He immediately recognized Marquis Nanyun on its back, and also spotted the other five Godfiends. "Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue are here?" The man in red watched closely, then smiled and lay back in the courtesan's arms, resuming his enjoyment.

In the garden of one of Beihe Pass's mansions, a few plum blossoms had already bloomed. A woman sat cross-legged with two swords resting on her lap. As she breathed, black and white energies exhaled from her nostrils, merging into the two divine swords. Subsequently, sword energy returned from the two divine swords, which the woman then inhaled back into her body.

"Hmm?" The woman opened her eyes, her gaze sharp as a sword. She watched the fiery red giant bird swooping down from high above, her eyes settling on Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue. "Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue are here? Meng Chuan will fight alongside me in the future; can he be trusted?"

The arrival of the fiery red giant bird attracted the attention of many Godfiends within Beihe Pass.

Whoosh. The fiery red giant bird landed inside the General's Residence.

"Greetings, Martial Uncle." A thin man from the General's Residence came to greet them. His face crinkled with wrinkles when he smiled, making him appear quite old.

Meng Chuan, the other four Godfiend disciples, and Marquis Nanyun all disembarked. Marquis Nanyun smiled and said, "Meng Chuan, Liu Qiyue, let me introduce you two. This is Zhang Yunhu, the commander of Beihe Pass."

"Greetings, Senior Brother Zhang," Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue both bowed.

Zhang Yunhu, commander of Beihe Pass! He had fought battles his entire life, transitioning between many battlefields, and now served as a general for a medium-sized fortress! This demonstrated Yuanchu Mountain's trust in him; his distinguished service had even earned him the title of Earl. Among Beihe Pass's original ten Godfiends of the Great Solar realm, only Zhang Yunhu had been ennobled as an Earl, and his strength was also the most profound.

"Haha, I've been looking forward to you two arriving for a long time," Zhang Yunhu said, looking at Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue, his eyes shining with childlike excitement. "Two junior martial siblings with perfected transcendent-grade Godfiend bodies—I wouldn't have dared to imagine that the Mountain Lord and the others would send you here. My burden just got a lot lighter."

"Neither of us has battlefield experience, so we'll need Senior Brother's guidance," Meng Chuan said.

"Experience comes with time, but strength is real and tangible," Zhang Yunhu laughed heartily.

"They're here? They're here?" A loud voice rang out, and a plump man was seen jogging over, carrying a chubby child. He immediately bowed respectfully to Marquis Nanyun, saying, "Greetings, Martial Uncle."

Marquis Nanyun nodded slightly.

The plump man smiled warmly, looked at Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue, and chuckled, "My name is Fan Cheng. I've been down the mountain for over twenty years, but I've heard about an enviable couple from our Yuanchu Mountain, both with perfected transcendent-grade Godfiend bodies. I never imagined we'd be fighting side-by-side starting today; I'm truly delighted. Look, this is my son, Fan Shijin! He weighed ten jin at birth, and he's been eager to meet you two."

The chubby child's eyes sparkled with curiosity as he looked at Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue.

"Fan Shijin, what an interesting name," Liu Qiyue said. She gestured, summoning some sand and earth from nearby. The sand gradually melted and transformed in a flame, then solidified, becoming a sculpture shaped like the chubby child. "Your Martial Uncle didn't prepare a gift, so here's a little trinket for you first." She handed the small sculpture to the chubby child.

The chubby child happily took it, repeatedly exclaiming, "Thank you, Martial Uncle!"

Meng Chuan, meanwhile, felt a bit awkward; he hadn't prepared anything and lacked Liu Qiyue's knack for such things.

"Alright, you take your son to play for now; I still have important matters here," Zhang Yunhu said with a smile.

"Alright then, I'll invite you two to my place for a meal later; my wife's cooking is exceptionally delicious," the plump man said, smiling as he carried his son away.

"Certainly," Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue both replied.

Fan Cheng was one of Beihe Pass's vice-commanders! Those capable of serving as vice-commanders were considered masters among Godfiends of the Great Solar realm. In the future, they would also be Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue's comrades-in-arms.

"Junior Sister Liu, and the other junior martial siblings, please go and rest first," Zhang Yunhu said with a smile. "Junior Brother Meng, Martial Uncle, and I still have some important matters to discuss."

"Okay." Liu Qiyue and the other three nodded, and under the warm reception of a steward, went aside to rest.

Meng Chuan, however, felt a bit puzzled as he followed Zhang Yunhu and Marquis Nanyun into an adjacent hall. The three sat down separately. Marquis Nanyun said, "Meng Chuan, in addition to your role as vice-commander of Beihe Pass, you have another appointment."

"Another appointment?" Meng Chuan asked, puzzled.

"Yes," Marquis Nanyun nodded and took out a white square token from his robe. With a casual flick, the white jade token floated directly to Meng Chuan's side. After Meng Chuan took it, the front of the token bore the character '巡' (xún, meaning 'patrol'), while the back was a rather intricate map depicting the eighteen prefectures within a thousand li radius.

Marquis Nanyun said, "Your speed is far greater than ours, the Marquis-level Godfiends, comparable to that of a King-level Godfiend! Therefore, Yuanchu Mountain has also appointed you to the position of 'Inspector'. With Beihe Pass as your center, the eighteen prefectures within a thousand li radius are all within your patrol area! Should there be any distress call within the eighteen prefectures, your token will sense it. You must proceed to rescue them with the utmost speed."

"Normally, when we Marquis-level Godfiends encounter cities invaded by demons or fortresses being breached... even if we rush there diligently, most of the time we arrive too late."

"Your speed is much faster than that of Marquis-level Godfiends, making your rescue efforts swifter."

"It might take us less than half an hour, but you could arrive in the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. The faster you are, the less destruction the demon race can inflict, allowing more lives to be saved, and potentially even turning defeat into victory," Marquis Nanyun said.

"I understand." Meng Chuan took the token, but his thoughts drifted to Dongning Prefecture. If Dongning Prefecture had been invaded by demons and a powerful Godfiend had arrived in a very short time, far fewer people would have died there. But clearly... King-level Godfiends were too few in number; they were needed to guard vital areas and could not leave on their own initiative. There were only two or three King-level Godfiends who could move freely throughout various regions, making it impossible for them to support the vast Great Zhou Dynasty.

"Your strength is sufficient to handle normal demon invasions. You can play a significant role in countering threats below the Marquis level," Marquis Nanyun said. "For serving as an Inspector, you will receive one hundred thousand merit points annually. Successful support to various regions will earn you additional merit."