Devouring Soul Emperor

Chapter 253: Chapter 253: The Elite Squad’s Mission

At first, Xia He had refused to become Chu Qingyun’s underling, thinking it was humiliating.

However, after the Great Xia Dragon Guard assessment, watching Chu Qingyun reveal his strength step by step, he was utterly convinced and wholeheartedly willing to be his subordinate.

Chu Qingyun was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Xia He to say something like that at a time like this.

Meanwhile, Xiao Feng and the other two just shook their heads with wry smiles.

The two of them had joined forces, so what else was there to say?

’Besides, for Chu Qingyun to make someone like Xia He—a man with a Tier Four Martial Soul—so willingly become his underling, his own strength must be anything but simple...’

"Haha, good! Then it’s settled. Chu Qingyun will be the captain of the Celestial Wind Army’s elite squad!"

Grand Commander Chu Yu announced with a smile. This outcome was, in fact, exactly what the Lord Military Commander had wanted.

After the captain was chosen, Grand Commander Chu Yu’s expression grew serious. "Next, I will tell you the specifics of this mission," he said. "Remember, this matter is of grave importance. Only those at the Grand Commander level are qualified to know about it, so you must not leak this information under any circumstances."

"First, you should know that this mission is related to the Martial Soul Hall."

When Grand Commander Chu Yu finished, he glanced at Chu Qingyun and the others, noticing that none of the five seemed surprised.

Secrets never stay secret for long. Some details about that incident had more or less leaked out.

Grand Commander Chu Yu nodded and continued, "For some unknown reason, over half a month ago, the Lianshan County branch of the Martial Soul Hall suddenly exposed eleven towns that were under their control."

"Naturally, this was something we, the Great Xia Dragon Guard, could not tolerate. Upon receiving the news, a number of Guard Generals and Grand Commanders took action and wiped out the Martial Soul Hall’s presence in five of those towns."

"However, that was immediately followed by the Martial Soul Hall’s bloody retaliation. They... massacred those five towns. Men, women, old, young—it didn’t matter. In five towns, nearly half a million people were slaughtered to the last soul!"

"Afterward, a secret war broke out between the Great Xia Dragon Guard and the Martial Soul Hall. Even the Lord Chief Managers, who are at the Martial King Realm, made their moves multiple times. Both sides even suffered the loss of experts at the Celestial Spirit Realm!"

"Then, the Martial Soul Hall had the audacity to send people to the County City to negotiate. They demanded that the Great Xia Dragon Guard only dispatch personnel below the Half-Step Martial Spirit level to liberate the six remaining towns. In exchange, the forces they leave behind will also be at the Martial Master Realm. They threatened that if we were to dispatch anyone at the Martial Spirit Realm, they would choose another town to slaughter."

"This is a brazen provocation from the Martial Soul Hall. A situation like this has not occurred in decades. The Lord Chief Managers have already reported this matter to the Imperial City and requested reinforcements."

"It was only after that last war that we discovered the Martial Soul Hall’s true strength. Whether at the Martial King Realm or the Celestial Spirit Realm, they are shockingly no weaker than our Great Xia Dragon Guard!"

"We have yet to receive word back from the Imperial City. However, we, the Great Xia Dragon Guard, cannot simply ignore the six remaining towns. This is a direct challenge from the Martial Soul Hall to us. Whether for the sake of our honor or for our duty to protect these lands, we must send people to reclaim those six towns!"

"And that is why your elite squad was formed, and why you have this special mission."

"Your mission is to kill every single Martial Master from the Martial Soul Hall in those six towns!"

"If we were to dispatch a large force to besiege them, it would, for one, likely cause massive civilian casualties. For another, it would make it difficult to control the flow of information and could easily incite unnecessary panic."

"That is the long and short of it. Do you have any questions?"

After Grand Commander Chu Yu finished speaking, the atmosphere grew heavy. The faces of Chu Qingyun and the others were all grim.

Five towns... half a million people!

Just imagining the horrific scene of half a million people being slaughtered—rivers of blood—was enough to make one’s skin crawl!

"Grand Commander, what exactly do you mean when you say the Martial Soul Hall ’rules’ those six towns? If they are merely garrisoned there, is it necessary for us to raise such a force against them?"

Huang Yinghao asked meekly.

But the moment the words left his mouth, Xiao Feng, Chen Yu, and even Chu Qingyun and Xia He all glared at him in unison, clearly disagreeing with his perspective.

In their eyes, this was a blatant provocation—an invasion!

All land under heaven belongs to the king. To garrison troops and occupy towns within the Great Xia kingdom was the ultimate provocation to the Great Xia Dragon Guard!

Upon hearing this question, however, Grand Commander Chu Yu’s expression became far more frightening.

He practically spat the words through gritted teeth, "That question is difficult to explain in just a few sentences, but you will understand once you see for yourselves! Those people from the Martial Soul Hall... every last one of them deserves to die!"

Seeing Grand Commander Chu Yu’s expression, Chu Qingyun’s heart stirred. He recalled something You Yun had once told him: the Martial Soul Hall was the common, mortal enemy of all human Martial Artists—an enemy with whom there could be no peace until one side was annihilated.

’Could the Martial Soul Hall be committing some kind of monstrous, inhuman atrocities in those six towns...?’

"Grand Commander, I have one more question," Xiao Feng spoke up. "If we’re only sending Martial Masters, what if the Martial Soul Hall goes back on its word and has members at the Martial Spirit Realm lying in ambush? Wouldn’t we be walking to our deaths?"

This was the question that was foremost on the minds of Chu Qingyun and the other four.

Grand Commander Chu Yu nodded in understanding. "You can rest easy on that point," he said. "While we did accept the Martial Soul Hall’s challenge, we never specified *when* we would attack the six towns. Nor did we say whether we would be sending an elite squad or dispatching a large army to surround them."

"To ensure your safety, we’ve spent the past period of time sending out five separate waves of Celestial Spirit Realm experts. They have thoroughly scouted the six towns and their surrounding areas—even running stakeouts. They have confirmed that there are no ambushers above the Martial Master Realm."

Hearing this, Chu Qingyun and the other four nodded, feeling considerably more relieved.

’Celestial Spirit Realm experts personally running surveillance, and five separate times at that... It should be safe.’

"Alright. If there are no further questions, we will reconvene here tomorrow morning. Remember to be here a bit early. The Lord Military Commander will be here as well."

"Also, everything I’ve told you must be kept strictly confidential. This isn’t just for your own safety; you are also responsible for your comrades in the other Five Armies."

"No one can be certain whether the Martial Soul Hall has moles within the County City, or even within the Great Xia Dragon Guard itself. The elite squads of all Six Armies will be striking simultaneously."

After giving them these final instructions, Grand Commander Chu Yu departed.

But Chu Qingyun and the other four remained where they were.

Chu Qingyun felt a little resigned about being inexplicably made the captain.

However, he also felt a faint sense of pressure. From Qian Sanpang in Qingshan City to the Zhao Family Ancestor in Flame City, Chu Qingyun had clashed with the Martial Soul Hall many times now.

He had experienced their bizarre and terrifying nature firsthand. ƒreewebɳovel.com

’The Martial Soul Hall has made such a public appearance this time, even provoking the Great Xia Dragon Guard into attacking the towns they’ve occupied. If someone told me there wasn’t a trap waiting, I would never believe it!’