Daqin Zhentiansi

Chapter 1133 The Equipment of the Heavenly Palace Army Ten Thousand Years Ago

A young man asked, "Weren't you guys always this good at fighting?"

Tuoba Shi chuckled: "What a load of crap."

He pointed to the knife in his hand: "Three months ago, I was using this kind of knife, made of iron, without any battle markings, and it would chip after a few cuts."

He then pointed to the brightly armored soldiers on the distant training ground.

“Look at the armor they’re wearing. The battle markings on it were all carved on in the last three months. Three months ago, we were wearing tattered leather armor, and some of us didn’t even have armor.”

"So how did you change?"

Tuoba Shi was silent for a moment, then said, "Senior Zhang has arrived."

"Just one person?"

"Just one person."

The young people looked at each other in bewilderment.

Tuoba Shi raised the knife, examined the curve of the blade against the sunlight, then put it down and said, "One person is enough."

Yan Qing was also listening.

He sat on the outskirts of the crowd, holding his bone knife in his hand, listening and sharpening it at the same time.

What Tuoba Shi said reminded him of that afternoon three days ago.

He stood on the cliff edge, thinking he was going to die.

Then, he saw the white frost battle banner pierce out of the demonic energy, saw three thousand soldiers descend from the sky, and saw the hundred-foot-tall war beast crush the demonic beast horde.

At that moment, he had only one thought in his mind.

I want to be one of them.

He is now.

But he knew he was still far from perfect.

He sharpened the knife a couple more times, then held it up to examine it.

The blade gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

He nodded in satisfaction, tucked the knife back into his waistband, stood up, and walked toward the training ground.

Evening training is about to begin.

That night, Shi Yan's secret message arrived again.

The handwriting was more illegible this time than before, but there was much more content.

Shi Yan said the second batch of reinforcements had departed from the General's Mansion and was expected to arrive in three days.

Before that, all forces should hold their ground and await reinforcements, and refrain from making any rash moves.

At the end of the message, Shi Yan added a special note: "If your unit has the fighting strength, you may try to break out. If you are not strong enough, just hold your ground. Do not risk coming to the aid of Beigu."

After Zhang Yuan finished looking at it, he handed the animal hide to Yan He.

He walked to the stone wall at the edge of the camp and looked up to the north.

On the horizon towards the North Valley entrance, purplish-black demonic energy surged endlessly, and the figures of countless demonic beasts could be vaguely seen writhing within it.

There were at least 100,000 magical beasts surrounding the area, along with that golden-eyed, black-armored knight riding on the back of a giant bull.

Shi Yan was right not to let him go.

Charging into the North Valley Pass now would indeed be suicide.

But he didn't want to just wait around.

Just then, Amu ran in from outside the camp.

He had just led his men to inspect the defense line on the northern ridge, and when he returned, he had something extra in his hand.

A piece of iron the size of a palm, covered in rust, with edges rotten beyond recognition, but the engraved patterns on it were still faintly visible.

Those were fragments of the Heavenly Palace's standard armor.

"Where was it found?" Zhang Yuan asked, taking the piece of iron.

"Behind the ridge to the north, there's a crack covered by demonic energy. We hadn't noticed it before, but today the demonic energy is a little thinner, and the entrance to the crack has become visible," Amu said. "There are quite a few of these iron pieces scattered near the entrance. It's too dark inside the crack to see clearly, but you can smell a strong rusty odor."

Zhang Yuan turned the iron sheet over. On the back of the iron sheet was a line of blurry inscription, most of which had been corroded, leaving only the last character.

"Yue".

The inscription was carved using the style of the Heavenly Palace inscription. His fingers slowly traced the inscription, then he raised his head and looked towards the northern mountain ridge.

"This is the equipment of the Heavenly Palace army from millions of years ago."

He turned to Tuoba Shan: "There may be more than just these iron pieces inside the crack. An ancient army once camped here, and if that's the case, there should be their remains inside."

Tuoba Shan's eyes lit up: "Then we—"

"We'll talk about it tomorrow." Zhang Yuan gripped the iron sheet in his hand. "Tonight, have the scouts investigate the area around the crack. Don't alert anyone before dawn."

Han Zheng, who was listening nearby, also came over.

He said in a low voice, "The elders of our Gale Camp have passed down some stories. They say that during the great battle of Tianyuan City a million years ago, a group of elite troops from the Heavenly Palace went missing near Canglang Plain. They were carrying many things with them, including weapons, armor, and battle formation diagrams. Later, they were lost to history."

Yan He nodded: "There are similar legends in Liuyun Village. However, the versions are different. It is said that the army was ambushed by the Demon Realm and trapped in a cave. Before they died, they sealed all their equipment deep inside the cave."

Zhang Yuan gripped the iron sheet in his hand, turned around, and walked into the central command tent.

Several people from inside the tent followed them in.

Yan He, Han Zheng, Meng Yuan, Tuoba Shan, Tuoba Tie, and the chieftains of several smaller clans.

The group sat around the map of light and shadow.

Zhang Yuan placed the iron sheet in the center of the map.

"It will take at least three more days for the second batch of reinforcements to arrive. We can't go to Beigukou for now; going there would be suicide. But we can't just wait around either."

"There may be relics left by an ancient army in this crack, such as weapons, armor, battle formations, and even complete standard equipment."

"If we can retrieve these items, it will greatly help improve our combat strength. With stronger equipment, our chances of winning will be much greater, whether we are defending or breaking through."

Yan He thought for a moment and nodded, "I agree. Before the monsters launch their all-out attack, let's take a capable team in to scout ahead. Take as much as we can, and finish this quickly."

Zhang Yuan nodded: "The left battalion will remain to guard the camp, the right battalion will be responsible for perimeter security, and the scouts of the central battalion will continue to monitor the movements of the magical beasts in the direction of the North Valley Entrance."

"I will personally lead a small team of a hundred men in. Tuoba Shan, Amu, and several hunting team leaders will accompany us. We will depart at dawn tomorrow, when the demonic energy is relatively thin and the visibility is clearest."

No one objected.

Night was falling.

The northern ridge was dark and gloomy in the night, like a giant beast lying on the ground.

Most of the campfires in the camp had gone out, with only a few torches still burning at night watch.

Zhang Yuan stood at the edge of the camp, still clutching the piece of iron in his hand.

The inscription on the iron sheet gleamed with a dark, rusty hue under the moonlight. The character "Yue" reminded him of something.

Millions of years ago, many people stood atop the city walls of Tianyuan.

Some people's names were engraved on armor, while others' names were completely erased.

But their belongings are still buried beneath this wasteland.

He looked up at the faint outline of the mountain ridge to the north.

A mountain breeze blew in from that direction, carrying a very faint smell of rust.

Faint sounds came from the camp behind him.

Some people are sharpening knives, some are checking bowstrings, and some are talking in hushed tones.

The sounds blended together, very soft, yet very dense.

The crack was deeper than I had imagined.

The team of one hundred people lined up and walked along the narrow passage.

The ground beneath my feet was soft humus soil, making no sound when I stepped on it.

The rock walls on both sides were covered with damp moss, and when the torchlight shone on them, faint engravings could be seen beneath the moss.

The marks were deep, as if they had been carved into the rock with a sharp tool.

Some are already blurry, but others are still recognizable in shape.

Knives, swords, spears, shields, and some unfamiliar runes.

Yan Qing reached out and touched the carvings on the rock wall, feeling a cool sensation on her fingertips.

The lines were so deep that his fingertips could sink into them.

"Uncle Yan, what are these?" (End of Chapter)