C17 (1/2)

If a random person with Fire Phoenix Empire were to ask him what a Demonic Beast was, most of the answers would be the same.

”It's much bigger than the dogs we have at home!”

”I heard that he's very fierce, and wants to eat people?”

”I've never seen it before, but no matter how fierce it is, it's still a beast!”

To ordinary people with Fire Phoenix Empire, the word ”Demonic Beast” was simply too unfamiliar. It was just a rumored living being. After all, those beasts lived in the depths of the Wulian Mountain Range, which was too far away from their daily lives.

However, in this Northern Winter, Demonic Beast that was always unknown to the world had appeared in a way that no human could predict, horizontally in front of the world.

It was not only Chen Peng, but also all the people who had lived in this border area for dozens of years. No one had ever seen a Demonic Beast like this before.

There were rows of huge wolves with sharp blades on their foreheads, and groups of tigers dressed in heavy armor. Each of them was in the shape of an animal, but their formation was completely different from that of an army. They roared with restraint, advanced quietly, and commanded in a unified manner.

Under Chen Peng's request and pleas, a few squads of soldiers were sent out. In the instant of contact, the Demonic Beast s showed their side of a ”beast”, their wild ripping and fierce pouncing made any soldier other than Fire Phoenix Man-at-arms not have the ability to retaliate, and even if it was a Fire Phoenix Man-at-arms, they had to use their greatest control to ensure that their mounts did not fear the wild beasts in front of them.

However, even if Fire Phoenix Man-at-arms could fight against the Demonic Beast army in front of them, with regards to food, how many would actually send out their Red Camp? There were more than ten food convoys of various sizes in the town, and about one to two thousand people were being escorted. Other than Captain Liu's team of about ten riding Fire Phoenix Man-at-arms, the rest of them were basically people's militia. They were counting on these fellows, who couldn't even stand in the queue, to repel the thousands of giant beasts outside the city? Even people with some common sense wouldn't dare to think about it.

And so, just like that, the large amount of military rations that the five provinces of north of the empire and Commander Shi Keren had painstakingly transferred over was blocked by the small Penglai Town of thousands of well-trained Demonic Beast.

Chen Peng and Captain Liu had organized a few attacks, but the results were too bad. In terms of individual abilities, the difference in strength between the people's militia and the Demonic Beast had already surpassed the difference in strength between the people's militia and the heavy infantry of Mo Qiu. If five people's militia soldiers could put down one heavy infantry, then one Demonic Beast could scare off ten people's militia soldiers with a single shout. The battle of Red Camp was very difficult as well. With much difficulty, they managed to rely on their fast horses and heavy armor to break through the first layer of defense, and there were even layers of Demonic Beast soldiers waiting behind them. Captain Liu only had a dozen men under his command, and they could not withstand the opponent's charge at all. He did not dare to charge in again, so he could only sigh and ride his horse back to the city.

They had thought about contacting the defending troops of Phoenix City Pass and asking for reinforcements from the depths of the empire. They didn't know if it was a coincidence or an advance arrangement, but not long after the pigeons flew towards Phoenix City Pass, they were torn to shreds by a few falcons swooping down from the sky. Only a few feathers were left behind. There was even less of a need to think about the Empire's hinterland. The main military officers of the five northern provinces had all arrived at the Phoenix City Pass long ago, and if the other provinces wanted to mobilize their troops, then that order wasn't something that a small county governor and leader of the Red Camp could issue. Right now, the only thing worth celebrating was that the Demonic Beast soldiers did not attack the city. They were only guarding three to four miles away from Pang Lai County, firmly blocking the only path to Phoenix City Pass.

In front of their sharp claws and fangs, the leather armour and cloth clothing did not have any form of resistance. The five well-trained Border Army warriors were not even able to last one round against the sneak attacks of the Demonic Beast.

It was only until one day, when a soldier had accidentally worn a chain mail, that he luckily escaped death. He risked his life to ride his horse back to Phoenix City Pass, and reported this matter to Kong Sheng and the officials of Phoenix City Pass.

When Kong Sheng heard this news, he was first shocked, and then he started to worry. This made him frown, if the road was blocked, the food wouldn't get through, what should he do now? To lead troops to attack the Demonic Beast Army from behind? Facing thousands of Demonic Beast, not even ten to twenty thousand troops were enough to deal with them, but how many of his own subordinates would he have? Taking these ten to twenty thousand, this Phoenix City Pass was basically an empty city. What if the opposing Moqiu Army seized the opportunity to make a move? At that time, if they did not kill all the Demonic Beast and lost their Phoenix City Pass, that would become a huge joke.

He called a meeting of all the officers above the commander level to hear everyone's thoughts. They were all of one mind, and there was only one word to describe the meeting: ”Wait.”

To use the words of a straightforward guy like Zhao Handong, it was ”Wait, I can even help the empire defend the Phoenix City Pass”. Without waiting, this group of brothers might not even be able to survive, and they will definitely lose their Phoenix City Pass as well. ”

Kong Sheng nodded in agreement. Then, amidst the wails of the various officers, he ordered them to change the two meals they had for porridge every day.