Refining the Mountains and Rivers

The wind howls, and the water is freezing. The warriors with this one-way ticket…wanted to go home!

My name is Hundred Saint, and I am a member of the West Desolate Royal Family. Because my uncle is trusted by His Majesty, he was given the title of Lord Chengtian.

It was a rather good title.

Basically, even if he did not do anything, he could still be a rich and wealthy man who lived idly and happily for the rest of his life.

But a man's worth was no greater than the worth of his ambitions.

Therefore, I obeyed the orders of my uncle Lord Chengtian and followed General Jinwu into the West Border Army camp.

Originally, I thought that I would be able to make some contributions here, rise in the ranks, and obtain a bright future for myself.

But things are unpredictable.

General Jinwu was ostracized in the West Border Army, and was exiled to guard the mine. As his confidante, I had to follow him and head there too.

The heavens were so ruthless, and I cried tears of sorrow in my heart.

I turn back with every step I take and see that the camp is getting farther and farther away. There is only the whistling of the wind in my ears.

My future is bleak!

……

In the West Army Border camp.

At this moment, there were many eyes looking at the two figures who had left.

That's right, there were only two of them.

Because, with the Marshal's order, the general who was responsible for taking care of the camp's everyday needs had disappeared without a trace for fear of being implicated.

The twelve imperial guards did not hesitate to stay out of the matter. Due to their identities, the West Border Army could only acquiesce.

Only Hundred Saint had been Qin Yu's confidante since the beginning, so it was hard for him to escape from this situation. Of course, there were still people in-charge of 'escorting' them to prevent any accidents from happening on the way.

The person in charge of escorting them was a young general with a face covered with scars and coldness. With a cold demeanor, he did not hide his arrogance in the slightest.

It was indeed the soldier who was stationed by the marshal tent.

……

"Marshal, General Jinwu is special after all. His Majesty might not be pleased with such an arrangement," one of the military counselors looked worried.

Wu Tongtian's expression was indifferent. "His Majesty has never liked me anyway. As long as the barbarians are still around, my position will be stable."

Although he had got to this position by his own merits, the Ye Family had also made huge contributions in helping him.

Of course, in return, he also ensured the power and authority of the Later Ye Family in the military.

Over the years, the Royal Family had tried to intervene in military matters, and all these attempts had failed. It was largely because of him.

This was no secret.

The military counselor laughed bitterly, "Even if that's the case, it's still too obvious if you do it like this."

Wu Tongtian put down his tea cup and said, "If His Majesty is not satisfied with my actions, he can go and find the Later Ye Family. After all, I'm just going with the flow."

His eyes flashed as the thoughts turned in his head.

Jiang Chengzi… this veteran was closely related with Lord Chengtian. It was unexpected that he acted out this time.

Ye Sangdu and the rest were indeed resourceful.

This was the only logical explanation.

……

"Congratulations, general, for successfully exiling General Jinwu to the mine. It's the end for him!"

All his subordinates rejoiced loudly.

The corners of Ye Sangdu's mouth were slightly upturned, revealing a little self-satisfaction.

Of course, he believed that all this was the result of his own planning. Jiang Chengzi had played along so nicely, and Ye Sangdu told himself that he should give him some benefits in the future.

As for the possible consequences for his actions… hmph, that Desolate King who sat in the Imperial Palace would soon be in trouble. He would not have the energy to punish Ye Sangdu.

Furthermore, he was part of the dignified Later Ye Family, one of the two cornerstones of the military. They could not easily be touched.

Even the Royal Family had to show them some respect.

This was the balance obtained after countless instances of friction and compromise between the military and the Royal Family over the long years.

After entering the mine, Ning Qin's path to a bright future was cut off. After a period of time, he would be gradually forgotten. Then, Ye Sangdu would be able to make a move.

Ye Sangdu knew what his cousin meant. Ning Qin must die!

……

Jiang Chengzi looked solemn as he stood at the entrance of the tent and looked far into the distance, with a calm expression on his face.

"General, I don't understand this situation."

A colonel spoke from behind him.

Jiang Chengzi waved his hand and said, "I have my own reasons. Say no more."

"Yes, sir." The colonel laughed bitterly and continued, "But soon, I will have to pass a letter to the capital city. How should we explain it to Lord Chengtian?"

His nephew was sent to the mine by his own general. Although it was incidental, it was the case after all.

How could Lord Chengtian not be angry?

Jiang Chengzi assured the colonel, "I will write the letter, you don't have to worry about it. You are dismissed."

"Yes, sir."

The colonel turned to leave, his face full of puzzlement.

Because of some things that happened in the past, Ye Sangdu indeed had something that he could use against Jiang Chengzi.

However, this was not enough to make General Jiang Chengzi, who had always been calm and measured, suddenly make such an abnormal move.

There must be some other reason.

The sound of footsteps faded away and when it was finally silent, Jiang Chengzi breathed in and slowly exhaled.

He shook his head, his mouth showing a faint, bitter smile.

To be honest, he too did not know why Ning Qin had made such a request. He even brought up Lord Chengtian and the Desolate King in their conversations; Jiang Chengzi had no choice but to agree.

But one thing was for sure.

It was Ning Qin who wanted to go to the mine, which meant that in the West Border Army camp, everyone was wrong about him.

The future was not going to be what they expected, it would definitely be unpredictable… But what exactly was Ning Qin planning to do?

……

Without a word, the young general with scars on his face led the soldiers who had the same cold temperament as him, clearly unwilling to be thousands of miles away from the camp.

As a result, the morale in the team was extremely low, and it was hard to even breathe.

In the carriage, Hundred Saint's face was pale. He was barely maintaining his composure as he said, "General, you have a solution, right? You must have!"

Qin Yu glanced at him.

Hundred Saint was about to cry. "Brother Ning Qin, my dear general, please stop sitting there and doing nothing. The mine is not a place that we can go to, we absolutely cannot go there. If we do, both of us will be done for."

Qin Yu merely said, "The marshal has already given the order. Other than disobeying the order, we don't have a choice."

After a pause, he continued, "You know the consequences of disobeying an order too. Come to think of it, there are many people in the camp waiting for us to do something like that."

Hundred Saint trembled, understanding what Qin Yu meant.

Disobeying the marshal's order was disrespectful and rebellious. If this happened, only a warrant would be required to summon a troop of soldiers to chop them into meat sauce.

Hundred Saint had no doubts about the terrifying power of the imperial military.

His eyes widened and he looked lifeless, "Then…then we will just…accept our fate like this…"

I want to go home!

Qin Yu closed his eyes. He could understand the despair in Hundred Saint's heart.

The mine…

He suddenly thought about the information he received about this place.

It was not really accurate to say that it was a mine. Strictly speaking, it was just a large and vast area that also happened to be a source of precious metals.

The metals could be used to forge all kinds of military gear and tools to continuously meet the demand since there was always a war going on. It was a key storage place for these military materials as well.

According to common logic, being stationed in such a heavily-supplied place here was a good thing. One could resell the items here privately, and everyone would be trying to bribe one to get access to the items here as well.

After all, military supplies were high in demand, and the quality of these items was good!

There were other reasons why the mine had become such a taboo place that everyone in the West Border Army avoided it.

Long ago, this mineral-rich region was ruled by barbarians. After a huge war, its possession was taken over by the West Desolate's imperial military.

As for the details of that war, Qin Yu had already looked it up using his status of a 'military counselor'. It was no exaggeration to say that it was a 'minced meat battlefield'. Both the West Desolate and the West Barbarians lost at least a few million soldiers here.

It could be said that in this huge mining area, every inch of soil and every piece of ore was stained with blood. There were two peak-level Rulers and a great barbarian shaman who perished here.

The reason why the mine was a taboo place was related to this. Before the death of the great barbarian shaman, she cast a Barbarian Curse with the help of the millions of casualties.

This place was not auspicious at all, and it was also shrouded in barbarian aura. Any human cultivator who stepped into this place would be eroded by this aura.

The consequence for these human cultivators was that they would start showing 'barbaric' signs.

Their blood would no longer be pure, becoming half-human and half-barbarian, an alien that both sides rejected. Other than the first batch of people who had fought for the rights to enter the mine, once the news of the Barbarian Curse broke out, this place became like a 'plague' that everyone avoided.

To abandon it…of course they were reluctant to do so. The West Desolate suffered heavy casualties and used large amounts of resources to get ahold of this mine. It was so they could use it to forge military supplies and reduce the consumption of imperial resources.

Mining must be carried out, and there must be soldiers guarding this place. However, those that suffered from the Barbarian Curse could only stay here forever without a possibility of leaving.

After all, the military had a reputation to uphold as well. Something this scandalous must not be leaked out.

Violating military rules, making big mistakes, losing battles…all kinds of military cultivators had been exiled to this place to guard and to mine for minerals and metals that the empire needed.

And this was the 'problem' that Qin Yu was going to resolve.

It was also the reason why Hundred Saint was in despair.

Once they stepped into the mine, they would be eroded by the Barbarian Curse…the future was no longer bright!

But honestly, would this be a problem for Qin Yu?

He was the new Barbarian King, so there was no need to worry about the Barbarian Curse at all.

This place was the 'taboo' that everyone in the West Border Army avoided. For Qin Yu, however, it was an opportunity to turn the tables.

This was an important location for the military - it was responsible for half of the military's supplies. As long as this place landed in his possession, he would gain a firm foothold in the military.

……

"The West Desolate sent a troop of soldiers to the mine!"

A team of barbarians hid in the ground. In the dark, the violence that was surging in their eyes could be seen.

"The black barbarian shaman's plan has not yet begun. We have to stop them to avoid any accidents," a barbarian growled.

His words rapidly received the approval of everyone.

"Kill them!" The barbarians roared as they came out from underground.

The earth quickly shook, and with a loud rumble, the barbarian warriors in heavy armor rushed out from afar.

"Kill!" Roaring, they rushed forth like a torrent.

……

In the carriage, Qin Yu opened his eyes and frowned slightly, looking slightly helpless. He thought that he would be able to enter the mine area smoothly, but an accident was about to occur.

Outside the carriage, angry roars could already be heard. The elites from the West Desolate military could sense that something was wrong.

"Defend against the enemies!"

The scar-faced general pulled out his long sword and yelled a battle cry as he stared at the far horizon where the barbarians were rushing towards them.

Time to fight!

The most powerful troops in the Barbarian Clan were able to fight off ten enemies at once.

The marshal was right. The barbarians' goal was indeed to gain possession of the mine.

Xiu -

Signal flares shot up into the sky.

However, to prevent any sudden ambushes, the West Border Army camp did not have any Teleportation Portals.

Even if they saw the flares, it would take some time for reinforcements to arrive, and they might not be able to hold out against the strongest barbarian warriors.

While the thoughts turned in Qin Yu's mind, the barbarian cavalry had already arrived!

"Kill!"