Transmigration begins with archery training

"Assemble quickly!"

"What are you all dawdling about for!"

"Military orders are absolute! Are you out of your minds?!"

Urged on by the messenger, all three hundred garrison soldiers arrived within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Chen Sanshi was naturally among them.

The leaders were Xiong Baihu and Liu Baihu, but Xiang Tingchun was nowhere to be seen.

"set off!"

At a single command, the entire army launched an attack.

"That was quite sudden."

This was the first time Chen Sanshi had ever carried out a mission that truly involved face-to-face confrontation with the enemy: "Where is Commander Wang?"

"He's not in now."

Liu Baihu walked over and said, "Early this morning, Lord Qianhu, under the guise of hosting a banquet, gathered the masters of the four major martial arts schools at the Babao Restaurant, and then had Wang Baihu and Luo Baihu lead two hundred men to accompany them. They haven't returned yet."

A banquet?

This is likely a way to keep the martial arts school under house arrest, preventing them from interfering with the operation.

It seems that they have truly found the hiding place of the Witch God Cult today, and Xiang Tingchun is determined to obtain the immortal treasure.

"It seems there's no time for me to improve my strength."

"Let's adapt to the situation!"

As I said before, Chen Sanshi wouldn't take too much risk for the treasure.

Xiang Tingchun personally participated in a battle that had reached the level of a martial artist who had refined internal organs; he couldn't get involved even if he wanted to.

Waiting for the opportunity.

If he has the chance, he'll give it a try; if not, then forget it.

"Why did Commander Qian arrest people if he's not going to do it? Why is he putting the martial arts school under house arrest? Is it related to making them bleed?"

Liu Baihu and Xiong Baihu also felt that something was wrong.

But the specific reasons were not mentioned by those above, nor were they asked.

Some things are better known the more you know.

"Three stones".

Liu Baihu patted him on the shoulder: "When we get there, you don't need to rush forward. Just lead your men and stay at the back to block the road."

"Fatty Wang is really good to you."

Xiong Baihu, carrying his battle axe, said, "For this matter, he even surprisingly agreed to invite the two of us to Chunmanlou later."

"Thank you, two centurions."

Chen Sanshi withdrew and went to find his men.

"Ha ha!"

Zhu Tong seemed somewhat excited.

He had broken through to the Blood Refinement stage a few days ago and was just worried about not having a chance to use his skills: "Let me kill some barbarians too!"

Xu Wencai was visibly trembling. The spear he used for forming the battle formation was practically a crutch in his hands. He stammered, "My lord, I've heard that the Witch God Cult kills people without blinking an eye. I don't know a single martial art!"

"Useless trash, you'd better run away now."

Zhu Tong continued to hurl insults at him as always: "You cowardly bastard!"

"I, Xu, am not afraid of death!"

Holding his spear, Xu Wencai shouted, "I'm just afraid of dying... and no one knowing if I die!"

"Tch!" Zhu Tong ignored him.

The soldier Wang Li remained relatively calm: "Sir, what should we do later?"

"I will follow the instructions of Commander Bai."

Chen Sanshi looked at his men and said, "Don't be afraid. It's just an encirclement and suppression. The real experts will be dealt with by Commander Xiang. At most, we'll just block the roads. Besides, I knew this day would come sooner or later from the day I joined the army."

"My lord is right."

Wang Li chimed in, "Rather than being at a loss when we actually go to the battlefield in the future, we might as well take this opportunity to get some experience."

A group of people joined the team.

Three hundred people marched in a grand procession toward Poyang County.

But their destination was not the county town.

Five miles outside the south gate of Poyang County, there is a temple called Jinzhong Temple. The followers of the witch god had been hiding there for some time, until yesterday when a centurion who went to worship Buddha noticed something amiss and reported it to the commander.

……

Outside the south gate, there is a small hill.

At the foot of the mountain stands a two-zhang-high blue stone stele, engraved with the three large characters "Jinzhong Temple".

Beside the stone tablet, a winding staircase rises step by step, with devout pilgrims queuing up to reach the vermilion temple halfway up the mountain. Despite the large number of people, it is exceptionally quiet, with only the occasional sound of a bell and the wisps of incense smoke rising from the building, which is nestled among ancient pines and cypresses.

Outside the temple, there is a teahouse where worshippers can rest.

Dressed in casual clothes, Xiang Tingchun sat on a long bench, sipping his tea slowly.

Beside him sat two centurions, also in plain clothes.

One is surnamed Feng, and the other is surnamed Zhao.

Commander Feng lowered his head and reported softly, "Sir, the garrison soldiers will arrive within half an incense stick's time and surround Jinzhong Temple. However... shouldn't we evacuate the civilians?"

"evacuation?"

Xiang Tingchun remained expressionless, toying with his teacup: "Isn't evacuating them the same as sending a message to the cultists?"

"But……"

Feng Baihu said with a pained expression, "There are more than twenty people from the Witch God Cult. They are sure to cause quite a commotion later. If we don't evacuate them, there will probably be a lot of innocent casualties."

Xiang Tingchun's voice was icy: "What does it matter if a few commoners die?"

"Lord Commander...you..."

For a moment, the two centurions, Feng and Zhao, were at a loss for words.

"If you want to do something, you always have to pay a price, don't you?"

Xiang Tingchun gently put down his teacup and said in a deep voice, "The success of one general is built on the bones of ten thousand soldiers. This has always been the way of the world."

“But they are commoners,” Feng Baihu said, mustering his courage. “I think we should still…”

"okay."

Xiang Tingchun interrupted, "Feng Yong and Zhao Kang, listen to my command!"

"You two will lead an elite squad and follow me, disguised as pilgrims, to infiltrate the temple. At the same time, make sure Liu Jinkui and Xiong Qiu'an block every path down the mountain. If even one of them escapes, you'll be sorry!"

"Yes!"

Feng and Zhao dared not say anything more and flew away to deliver the order.

……

After the three hundred garrison soldiers left the city, they dispersed under the command of their respective centurions and surrounded the small hill where Jinzhong Temple was located from all sides. The whole process was swift and quiet.

Chen Sanshi and Fang Zongqi, along with fifty others, were assigned to the flank of the downhill road, lying in ambush in the jungle on both sides, responsible for catching any who managed to escape.

Commander Fang issued the order at a volume just loud enough for everyone to hear clearly:

"Spearmen are responsible for blocking the road, archers should find open areas of view, and shield-wielders should cover the spearmen. Anyone who gets close should be killed immediately!"

"For every head of a cultist, a soldier will be rewarded with a bowl of blood-nourishing soup, and a regular soldier with three taels of silver! Those of higher cultivation levels will be treated differently!"

"When someone on the mountain fires a sentry arrow, it means the battle has begun!"

"The commander has ordered that not a single living person shall be allowed to escape!"

Once everything was set up, nearly fifty people took their places.

"Big... lord!"

Xu Wencai's red hat was askew, and he could barely hold his spear: "I really don't know martial arts!"

"Brother Zhu."

Chen Sanshi said, "If a fight really breaks out later, keep an eye on him."

"Brother Chen, you should just let this old rascal have his way!"

Zhu Tong held a spear in his hand and carried a long iron hammer on his back, which was the weapon that came with the martial arts technique he had chosen. However, he also held a standard long spear in his hand.

Before becoming military officers, soldiers also need to integrate into the battle formation on the battlefield and cannot disrupt the formation. Only military officers can command and move freely as needed.

"Get over here!"

Zhu Tong pulled Xu Wencai to his side like a chicken being plucked.

Everyone fell silent, and a tense atmosphere filled the woods.

Many of them had never actually fought a real battle, so how could they not be nervous? Fortunately, there were enough people, so they weren't too afraid.

"Chirp—"

After an unknown amount of time, a sharp cry rang out, breaking the silence.