After the fairy disappeared

Chapter 2698 No Hidden Secrets
“It’s my turn.” Ling Jinbao rolled up his sleeves. “My wine vat is empty, I need to go restock.”

Immortal Mingke asked in surprise, "Aren't the monkeys on our plains very good at brewing wine? It's a rare delicacy in the human world."

The Nine Nether Emperor knew that their days of vacationing on the Earth Mother Plain were too tiring, so he specially allocated a team of craftsmen from Ju City to them, including winemaking, gardening, carpentry, civil engineering, medicine making, and pastry making, among other things.

Immortal Mingke and the others readily accepted, as towns had already sprung up on the Earth Mother Plain.

“Even the best things get boring if you eat and drink them every day.” Ling Jinbao cracked his neck a few times. “I’d like to get some strong liquor, the kind that’s potent and pungent.”

For two months while atop Mother Earth's back, he remained in darkness. Therefore, he spent much longer in town than Immortal Mingke this time, only appearing the following morning.

Seeing that he looked radiant and walked with a brisk pace, Qing Shudi was very curious: "What have you been doing in town that makes you so happy?"

Ling Jinbao chuckled twice, then took a cloth bag from his pocket and handed it to it:
"The dragon's blood grass and the medicine you requested."

Qing Shudi opened the cloth bag and took out two dried herbs, comparing them with the one the bird demon had brought back:

"That's right, it's the herb planted by the people of Liaotianyuan."

Immortal Mingke also came over and casually asked, "What do they eat and drink in the grotto?"

"What they eat, we don't know; but our bird demons found water collectors in the forest and on the bare rocky slopes, they mostly collect water from the rootless to drink."

Water that has no roots will not touch the ground, which is safe for people.

"That's one way," Immortal Mingke asked Ling Jinbao. "You've been gone a long time, have you made any new discoveries?"

“There are legitimate and illegitimate businesses in town. I’ve checked them all out and found they’re all ordinary people. I haven’t seen many with special cultivation levels.” Ling Jinbao smiled and took out a jar of wine, placing it on the table. “Two taverns have some good homemade rice wine. Would you like to try some?”

Immortal Mingke did not refuse, sat down, took out a large ceramic bowl, and poured himself a full bowl.

"Not bad, it has some flavor." It's not as good as Monkey Wine, but it's palatable and acceptable for a small town's brewery.

“I’ve traveled to many places, had several drinking sessions, and heard all sorts of trivial gossip. If it were all an act, not everyone could be so good at it. This town seems normal enough; it mainly relies on the trade of dragon blood grass and furs for its livelihood.” Ling Jinbao yawned. “The prey in the Dragon-Trapping Ridge, although its flesh and blood are inedible, has denser and more beautiful fur. Hunting in the ridge has only started in recent years, and there’s plenty of prey. They organize hunting groups to go into the ridge and often return with a full load.”

With a pillar industry in place, people will start looking for side businesses that can also make money, which makes sense for merchants and trucking companies.

"Furthermore, I randomly asked seven or eight people, and they said that the town has improved for two reasons: first, the official road was built here three years ago, and second, several powerful and wealthy families from Baling moved here to live. Where there are rich people, there is money, and the population has increased all at once."

The town, which started three years ago, shouldn't have any connection with Mother Earth.

"It seems that this town poses no threat to us." Immortal Mingke knew that Ling Jinbao was an old hand. If even he hadn't noticed the flaw, then perhaps Longhu West Town really was just an ordinary town that didn't require special attention.

Ling Jinbao thought for a moment: "Send some inconspicuous spies to the homes of those wealthy families in town to listen carefully. The economy of this town is built around them. If they don't hide any secrets in their daily lives, then this town can be considered safe."

Qing Shudi Jun immediately said, "I will send in several groups of insect demons. They are small and will not attract much attention."

Insect demons are excellent at being scouts and spies.

"There are two other things that are the focus of discussion among the people. One is the earthquake that came from the center of Kunlonghu, which was felt very strongly. This is an unprecedented situation, and the residents are a little worried. The other thing they talk about most often is the Battle of Shenba. People here are very afraid that the Shen army will attack, and recently some people have been moving away from the west of Kunlonghu."

"Oh, right, there's something else like that." Immortal Mingke also knew who was in charge of Shen Kingdom. "How far is the battlefield from here?"

As they were talking, several bird demons flew back and stood on the city wall, cawing a few times.

Qing Shudi translated: "The battlefield is 160 miles to the south, and an army is attacking the city."

Immortal Mingke was somewhat surprised: "Not far. No wonder the townspeople of Longhu West are worried. Who is the attacker, the Shen Kingdom's army?"

"The bird demons cannot recognize the colors of clothing." The Earth Mother's bird demons could not distinguish the armor and weapons of the armies of Shen and Baling.

How many men are in their army?

"I don't know about the ones inside the city, but the attacking force outside the city has about 100,000 troops," Qing Shudi Jun said in a deep voice. "Could they be heading this way? The Earth Mother really didn't choose a good time to return to Liaotian Plain this time."

A human town has appeared to the west, and there is a battlefield more than a hundred miles to the south.

But all of these existed before Mother Earth rose to the surface.

They are the latecomers, and they can't say anything yet. Baling and Shen went to war months ago, and only God knows how far the war will go.

Immortal Mingke nodded: "Let the bird demons go and scout closer. We will keep a close eye on the battlefield. An army of 100,000 is slow. We can make a decision once they get close."

"It's settled then." After finishing the sticky rice cake, Qing Shudi-kun walked back. "I'm going to test the dragon's blood grass."

￥￥￥￥￥

Bega reinforced the southern battlefield of Panlong Wasteland, and the many fierce generals of Panlong City also marched south. The two sides fought countless skirmishes, ambushes, and guerrilla battles, contributing many textbook examples of classic offense and defense.

Gao Huaiyuan adopted the most foolish and brutal method:
Charge! Fight with attrition, sacrifice lives, and out-logistics!

The geographical conditions south of Panlong Wasteland are not as favorable as those in the east, and there are too few passes. Therefore, even if the Panlong army goes all out, the battle line is still being pushed forward bit by bit into the southern part of the wasteland.

Every inch of progress is built upon bloodshed and loss of life.

No matter how resolute Panlong's resistance was, the flames of war still reached the land of Panlong.

Tongji Town, in the southern part of Panlong Wilderness.

This is a small town in the southern part of Panlong Kingdom. It originally had three thousand residents, but now it has been completely transformed into a military town. Panlong soldiers come and go, and countless military supplies are transported here and there every day.

This place has become General Tiger Wing's current base camp.

He was the overall commander of the entire wasteland operation, and orders were issued from here every quarter of an hour or two.

All generals had to obey his orders, and even those in Panlongcheng and Zhong Shengguang in the rear had to do their utmost to cooperate with his logistical arrangements.