Chapter 422: Military Advisor

Zhang Hei initially wanted to refuse, but his eyes were fixed on the Nether Black Soil, unable to look away for a moment.Guan Hong continued to stroke his beard.Liu Er, meanwhile, was staring at the Primordial Yellow Motherstone. He cleared his throat and said, "Young Friend Ning, you are very thoughtful. To be honest, I'm struggling with not having a suitable weapon as I'm about to head into battle. This piece of Primordial Yellow Motherstone is at the Nascent Soul level and is perfect as the main material for a weapon."Ning Zhuo laughed heartily and directly placed the Primordial Yellow Motherstone into Liu Er's hand: "General Liu, I've heard that the Imperial Grandmaster Jin Li of both nations was dispatched to the Azure Forest Immortal City half a month ago.""This humble material, given to General Liu for serving the nation, is truly being put to good use.""This young man from the Ning family knows how to speak!" Liu Er was greatly pleased inwardly. He nodded slightly, a look of deep appreciation in his eyes as he looked at Ning Zhuo.After accepting the treasure, he immediately promised: "Good, Young Friend Ning Zhuo has contributed this treasure. When we form our army, there will definitely be a place for you."Ning Zhuo was overjoyed. He quickly cupped his hands and expressed that joining the ranks of the three generals was a great honor for a junior and that he could use this to avenge his family. The three generals were all Ning Zhuo's benefactors.Since they were benefactors, he requested the other two generals to accept this reciprocal gift.Zhang Hei was much more straightforward than Guan Hong. He directly accepted the Nether Black Soil and patted Ning Zhuo's shoulder forcefully: "Good kid, Zhang owes you one. Let's drink together in the future!"Guan Hong narrowed his eyes and accepted the Blood Fiend Demonic Stone. He nodded at Ning Zhuo, also inwardly acknowledging this junior Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Ning family.Ning Zhuo said: "Today, the Three Oaths of the Pear Garden. For this junior to witness such an elegant event is truly a blessing of three lifetimes.""The three generals working together is a blessing for the nation.""Let's add to today's joy. How about we go directly to Master Jin Li to order our weapons?"Liu Er nodded: "That's fine."Thus, the three Golden Core cultivators took Ning Zhuo and quickly headed to the Artifact Forging Workshop.Jin Li saw the three treasures, examined them carefully, and his eyes gleamed: "Excellent materials. Among Nascent Soul level materials, their quality is superb, truly top-tier."Such a high evaluation made Liu, Guan, and Zhang look at Ning again."The three of you are all Golden Cores. Since you wish to join the army, according to the task assigned to me by the court, I am to forge one magical artifact for each of you free of charge."Jin Li's tone was quite casual.This was because his cultivation was higher than Liu, Guan, and Zhang, reaching the Nascent Soul level.Liu Er was well prepared and handed over a blueprint for a "Primordial Yellow Sword".Zhang Hei fumbled around in his storage belt for a moment and also took out a blueprint, which was for a Black Snake Spear.However, Guan Hong did not have such a plan.So Jin Li gave him a weapon catalog to choose from.Guan Hong flipped through it and selected the Blood Dragon Saber.Jin Li then carefully inquired about the three men's usage habits and personally measured their palms, height, and other dimensions.During the conversation, Jin Li specifically asked: "The quality of your three treasures is astonishing. Can you tell me their source?"Liu, Guan, and Zhang did not conceal anything and put Ning forward.Ning Zhuo had been unable to interject before. Jin Li was not only a Nascent Soul cultivator but also the Grandmaster of the Two Dynasty. He naturally carried an air of arrogance.Now that he learned Ning Zhuo had produced three Nascent Soul level treasures and given them away directly, he couldn't help but look at him with new eyes."The Ning family of Fire Persimmon Immortal City in South Bean Nation?" After Ning reported his family, Jin Li firmly remembered the Ning family as a force.In his opinion, a family that could provide a young Foundation Establishment cultivator traveling outside with such resources must be powerful and have a deep foundation.Jin Li spoke to Ning Zhuo with a pleasant expression: "Young Friend Ning, if you still have treasures of such quality, feel free to sell them to me.""I am the Grandmaster of the Two Nations. I will not treat you unfairly.""It is not impossible to buy your treasures at a price 20% higher than the market price."Ning Zhuo smiled: "To gain Master Jin's appreciation is a blessing of three lifetimes for this junior. I will keep Master's words in mind. If I intend to sell treasures in the future, Master's place will definitely be the first choice!"Hearing this, Jin Li laughed heartily: "Young Friend, judging by your words, you must still have treasures. Why not take them out and let me have a look?"Ning Zhuo then took out several treasures.Zhang Hei was very surprised to see them.Guan Hong narrowed his eyes.Liu Er's heart grew more and more regretful: "This Ning kid is actually so wealthy! He is only a Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet he possesses so many Nascent Soul treasures. I have never seen anything like it in my life."He also thought: "The Ning family must be a large clan. As a young master of the Ning family, Ning Zhuo must have a high status. When traveling outside and carrying such heavy treasures, he must have a powerful guardian or life-saving trump cards.""Since he has Nascent Soul level treasures, it is very likely that his protective means are also at the Nascent Soul level."Thinking of this, Liu Er wished he could hit his own head.What was he thinking at the time?The Pear Garden Oath only had three people, which was too perfect.How good it would have been to include Ning Zhuo!Liu Er thought to himself: "If Ning Zhuo were the fourth brother, how could I have only obtained one piece of Primordial Yellow Motherstone?"Jin Li looked at these treasures, his eyes gleaming. He tried to soften his tone and put on a smile: "Young Friend Ning, let's make a deal. Can you sell all of these to me?"As a Grandmaster, Jin Li naturally had a strong desire for high-quality treasures.Currently, he was shouldering a heavy responsibility, having been dispatched to Azure Forest Immortal City by the court to forge high-level weapons and magical artifacts. Therefore, he was even more eager for these high-end and high-quality treasures, and the demand was large.Ning Zhuo thought for a moment, then only selected three items from the lot and bowed to Grandmaster Jin Li. He stated that the Nascent Soul level treasures he carried this time were not for his own use but were being taken to another major force for trade."However, trading in Azure Forest Immortal City, especially trading with Master Jin, is an honor for my Ning family, and even more so for this junior!""However, I must keep some behind so that when this junior reaches his destination in the future, he will have some goods for trade, which will make it easier to report back to the family."Ning Zhuo's excuse came out naturally and smoothly.Liu, Guan, Zhang, and the others heard this and nodded secretly, feeling that it was reasonable.Jin Li was even more certain that Ning Zhuo had a powerful trump card to protect himself, or that a guardian was secretly following him.Although he didn't buy everything, which made Jin Li a little regretful, having something was better than having nothing.Such an unexpected surprise also made him feel genuinely happy.In his joy, he said to Ning: "Young Friend, although we have only just met, we seem to get along well. Why not go to my private vault and choose a weapon?"Jin Li wanted to establish a good relationship.His goal was simple: he wanted to do more and longer-term business with Ning Zhuo and even the Ning family.Ning Zhuo quickly cupped his hands and expressed his gratitude.This was also an unexpected surprise for him.Jin Li waved his hand, and the wall recessed and moved aside, revealing a hidden door.Ning Zhuo entered the hidden door and saw several shelves.Good heavens.On these shelves, various weapons were displayed. Axes, halberds, hooks, spears, sabers, forks, swords, and halberds were all there, a dazzling array, almost everything imaginable.Ning, however, was somewhat indifferent to these."Although I have diligently cultivated close combat skills in the Ten Thousand Medicine Sect, I have only practiced fist and foot techniques to make up for my shortcomings, and I haven't learned how to use weapons, let alone long weapons.""Furthermore, the battlefield is unpredictable, and I don't want to rashly engage in close combat. It is safest to cast spells from a distance and engage in ranged combat."Thus, Ning Zhuo's selection range was suddenly reduced to the extreme, from several hundred items to only three.The first item was a drum. The drumhead was not made of ordinary leather but of a thin layer of dark silver metal, engraved with multiple lightning runes, called the Golden Thunder Drum.The second item was a circular ring, constantly emitting a layer of dazzling golden light, named the Sharp Blade Ring.The third item was a half-man-high iron fan, with a fan surface made of leather, named the Iron Thorn Fan.After carefully examining the three weapons, Ning Zhuo was not very satisfied with any of them.The Golden Thunder Drum appeared to be a magical artifact but was actually a weapon used for smashing. When it struck a target, it would activate the runes on the drumhead and release a strong current.The Sharp Blade Ring and Iron Thorn Fan were both handheld. The former was used for cutting and was a strangely shaped dagger. The latter was similar to a medium weapon like a staff. When it struck a target, it would form iron thorns that would penetrate deeper into the enemy's body.Ning Zhuo did not want to get involved in close combat on the battlefield.Before that, he would try his best to retreat, widen the distance, and avoid getting into such a predicament.Although Ning Zhuo had not specially cultivated military tactics, thanks to the foundation laid during his time in the Ning family school and the broad vision gained from extensive reading, he knew that there was a significant difference between battlefield combat and individual duels.One of the most significant differences was cooperation.On the battlefield, cooperation was paramount. Once there was cooperation, it meant that individual cultivators should leverage their strengths and avoid their weaknesses."My current strengths in combat are my Five Elements realm and Five Elements spells.""Long-range attacks and ranged combat are my primary fighting style.""As for close combat, I need to rely on my comrades to block for me and avoid it as much as possible."This was one of the reasons why Ning Zhuo chose Liu Er, Guan Hong, and Zhang Hei. These three Golden Core cultivators all had obvious achievements in physical combat.Clearly, the three of them were skilled in close combat.Ning Zhuo took the iron fan and left the vault.At their parting, Jin Li specifically gave Ning Zhuo a token and instructed: "Young Friend Ning Zhuo, if you have any treasures to sell, just use this token to clear the way, and you can see me directly."Ning Zhuo showed great joy, quickly thanked him, and carefully put away the token.Liu, Guan, and Zhang all showed more or less envy.Anyone could see that the artifact-level iron fan was far less valuable than a small token. This was because the token, to some extent, represented a connection with the Nascent Soul level Grandmaster Jin Li.Seeing Ning put away the token, Liu, Guan, and Zhang all realized that they could no longer treat Ning as an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.Putting aside everything else, just having this connection, if their weapons needed repair in the future, being able to contact Jin Li through Ning Zhuo again and ask him to take action would be the best possible outcome.Liu Er took Guan Hong and Zhang Hei to the City Lord's Mansion and successfully obtained three General's Seals for the Ranger General.The City Lord's Mansion arranged their camp location in the west of the city and provided hundreds of high-grade spirit stones, ordinary lumber, tents, and other supplies.These supplies were, of course, extremely limited, only symbolic.To set up camp and build a decent camp, they had to pay for it themselves.Liu Er sighed: "Next, we need to recruit soldiers from outside. This camp must be decent, otherwise, it will be too simple and will be despised by the majority of cultivators. At the very least, it must be better than the Red Flower Camp."Guan Hong was silent, he was only slightly richer than Liu Er. By the normal standards of Golden Core cultivators, he could be said to be dirt poor.Zhang Hei said: "I have considerable family wealth."Ning Zhuo also said: "This junior can also contribute a sum to do my part."With the resources from the two of them, Liu Er was then able to purchase basic supplies to set up camp.He first chose a hillside as the camp location.A higher terrain was good for observation, setting up reconnaissance arrays, avoiding low-lying wetlands, and thus to some extent, avoiding dampness and the spread of disease.There was a small river on the back of the hillside. A natural water source could save a lot of daily expenses.Although this was the rear, Liu Er was meticulous and still set up three arrays.The first was the Heavenly Light Reflection Array, placed on the outermost layer, used for reconnaissance and monitoring the surroundings.The second was the Iron Wall Copper Barrier Array. Once activated, it could quickly raise iron walls and copper barriers, greatly increasing the defense of the entire wooden camp.The third was the Seven Stars Chain Array, which could connect all the cultivators within the camp. On one hand, it could be used for communication, which was very convenient. On the other hand, it could also be used in conjunction with many enhancement spells to evenly distribute the power of the spells among all personnel in the camp.After setting up the triple array, they began to build the camp.The camp was roughly circular. In the center were the tents of the three generals. Around them were the guard camps, which were currently empty. Whether it was Liu Er, Guan Hong, or Zhang Hei, they all joined the army alone.Outside the guard camps were the tents for ordinary soldiers. Usually, they would be divided by兵种. Currently, these were also empty.After the camp was set up, they arranged wooden fences, chevaux de frise, and other obstacles.According to Liu Er's plan, he also had to dig a moat. However, doing it himself would be embarrassing. In any case, it was the rear and relatively safe. Therefore, the matter of digging the moat was arranged for later, to be done by the soldiers after they were recruited.After the camp was mostly built, Zhang Hei and Ning Zhuo began to work hard, posting notices in Azure Forest Immortal City, promoting and recruiting extensively.The response was very enthusiastic."Did you hear? The recruitment conditions for the Three Generals' Camp are that all spoils of war belong to the individual cultivators.""Yeah, yeah! This way, our gains from conquering the Thousand Peaks Forest and scouring along the way will be unimaginable.""Even the Barbarian Demon Camp doesn't have such good conditions!""But the three commanders are only Golden Core level, not Nascent Soul...""Compare it with the Red Flower Camp.""Hmm, thinking about it that way, the Three Generals' Camp is indeed a good place to go!"A large number of cultivators flocked to the Three Generals' Camp.The originally empty camp gradually had people in it.A few days later, most of the camp was filled.Seeing that the time was right, Liu Er convened all the personnel and formally confirmed various subordinate relationships and positions.He appointed himself as the Grand General, Guan Hong as the Second General, Zhang Hei as the Third General, and Ning Zhuo as the Military Advisor and Libationer.Liu, Guan, and Zhang were understandable, as they were at the Golden Core level after all.But Ning Zhuo was only at the Foundation Establishment level. How could he become the Military Advisor and Libationer? This position, on the surface, was only second to the three generals, but in terms of actual authority, it was subtly on par with the Second and Third Generals.Some people were not convinced.On the spot, many people shouted loudly, questioning this appointment.Liu Er's face darkened, and he was about to speak.Ning Zhuo smiled and stood up.Wood Element: Descending Tree Realm!Within a few breaths, towering trees grew out, and the vines and branches were like dragons and pythons, occupying the entire review field.Countless cultivators were knocked off their feet.Wood Element: Fatal Flower Bloom.The next moment, flower buds grew on the vines and roots.These flower buds grew larger with the wind after one breath. In the second breath, they bloomed.The petals were extremely sharp, like countless blades, fluttering in the air.Occasionally, they brushed against a cultivator's body, immediately drawing bloodlines.Many cultivators hurriedly dodged, some raising their defenses, appearing quite flustered.Ning Zhuo stood on the review platform with an expressionless face and his hands behind his back: "Now, who else objects?"He spoke softly, and under the effect of the spell, the rain of flowers clearly echoed throughout the entire field, reverberating in everyone's ears.For a moment, the chaotic noise of the people quieted down.Liu, Guan, and Zhang's expressions changed, and they looked Ning Zhuo up and down.Liu Er gradually revealed a smile.Guan Hong stroked his beard, his movements becoming gentle.Zhang Hei looked up and burst into loud laughter.In the forest, many Foundation Establishment cultivators used various methods, some hiding in tree trunks, others standing on branches, looking back at Ning Zhuo with faces full of apprehension, no longer raising any objections.Ning Zhuo.Three Generals' Camp, Military Advisor and Libationer!