Chapter 129: The Zhen Family Attacks

…

When Lei Qing spoke like that, Xianyu Bao and the commanders of all the units became excited all at once. It was as if they had already seen that Gold-rank One-Horned Tiger becoming the spoil of the Black Flag Army.

It was indeed so. The Gold-rank One-Horned Tiger always acted alone, just as the saying went: “One mountain cannot hold two tigers.” Everyone admitted that Gold-rank Demonic Beasts were powerful. If they were fought head-on, out of a squad of three hundred people, not many would survive to return.

But humans are humans, and Demonic Beasts are Demonic Beasts. Otherwise, why did humans occupy the Pan-Continent now? Before an army, although the Gold-rank Demonic Tiger was formidable, with proper planning and smooth execution, it could be handled without losing a single soldier. Killing Demonic Beasts did not really require frontal assaults.

“Zhou Han, as a scout, you must be very familiar with various traps, right?” Lei Qing said in a good mood: “What good strategy do you have for this Gold-rank One-Horned Tiger?”

“Beast-type Demonic Beasts have extremely powerful combat strength. If we fight them head-on, none of us stand a chance. But in reality, they are quite manageable.” Zhou Han said calmly: “As for how to set up traps, I think it is safer to first scout the nearby terrain and landscape, and then make detailed calculations.”

“Good, Brother Zhou Han. I will trouble you this time.” The thought of soon obtaining a Thunder Element Gold-rank Crystal Core made Lei Qing extremely happy. The previous one had been extorted. It had directly broken Lei Qing’s cultivation from Bronze Peak straight to Early-stage Silver. This one might not guarantee a breakthrough to Mid-stage Silver for his cultivation, but it could at least greatly save Lei Qing’s own cultivation time.

However, such things were extremely precious strategic resources. They were hard to come by. Even the Li Chamber of Commerce would find it unrealistic to obtain several more. If they wanted to buy one, tens of thousands of gold coins would not be enough.

To become a true expert, bitter cultivation and constantly tempering oneself were indeed very important, but cultivation resources were also indispensable.

In fact, with Xiahou Huan’s strength, he could probably fight that Gold-rank One-Horned Tiger alone. However, he did not act because he wanted to let Lei Qing have it.

Wanting to give it voluntarily and killing it first and then giving it to Lei Qing were completely two different concepts. Moreover, letting Lei Qing kill it himself could also increase his command capabilities.

Zhou Han took the order and left, promising to provide a detailed killing plan within ten days. Lei Qing naturally instructed his subordinates to practice well, especially regarding military orders, which needed extra attention recently.

Having a large number of people sometimes had such advantages. If Lei Qing relied on his current strength alone, even if he knew there was such a treasure, he would be powerless to obtain it.

Lei Qing continued to be busy with his various matters. This was mentioned briefly for now.

…

Just in a remote small valley in the Huer Prairie, only a thousand li away from Yehe Town, there was a hidden cave. It would be difficult for others to discover it.

However, at this moment, a strange wind swept by, and the figure of a man with a gloomy face and sharp claws on his wrists slowly appeared. He sniffed lightly, a sneer appearing at the corner of his mouth. He knocked twice on a rock and said in a deep voice: “Brother Helian, how long do you plan to hide this time? You are the famous Vulture, not a groundhog.”

“Hmph.” A cold snort came from under the rock, and with a bang, the rock was blasted away. A man with disheveled hair and a tall, sturdy frame flew out. His unshaven beard was long and covered his cheeks, but his eyes were full of resentment. He stared coldly at the double-clawed man: “Zong Wuji, you are indeed lingering like a ghost. No matter where I hide, you can always find me.”

This double-clawed man was none other than the Poison Eagle Zong Wuji, whose hand had once been chopped off by Lei Qing.

“Helian Bo, last time if I hadn’t saved you, you might have already become disabled due to severe injuries.” Zong Wuji said with a sinister laugh: “What? Just because of a little setback, you don’t plan to take revenge anymore?”

“Revenge? In terms of single combat, my strength is comparable to that of that surnamed Lei.” Helian Bo’s eyes burned with flames of hatred: “In terms of troops, he has hundreds of subordinates under his command, including many elite iron-armored cavalry. My troops and horses were all wiped out. What do you want me to use to take revenge? Zong Wuji, you don’t think that the two of us joining forces can kill that kid, do you? Could it be that you can go back to Ten Thousand Eagles Stream to call for reinforcements?”

“Helian Bo, you used to claim to be resourceful and wise.” Zong Wuji looked fiercely at his severed hand. Having no other choice, he had made a exquisite claw for his wrist. He sneered repeatedly: “You know what kind of people my junior brothers in Ten Thousand Eagles Stream are? Seeing that I was disabled, they would mostly play the trick of kicking a man when he is down. The only thing we can do now is to kill Lei Qing, seize his Spatial Ring and a large amount of wealth. Then, we can pull together our own group of people and develop well.”

“Zong Wuji, are you sure your intelligence is completely correct? Is the Li Chamber of Commerce really paying money to ransom someone? This doesn’t fit their style?” Helian Bo said with much suspicion.

“This intelligence is absolutely true, obtained from the higher-ups of the Li Clan.” Zong Wuji said viciously: “I couldn’t even dare to return to Ten Thousand Eagles Stream because I failed this mission. If I can’t kill Lei Qing, I will only be a lonely wandering ghost for the rest of my life. Helian Bo, as long as you find the Blood Wolf King, borrow a thousand Wolf Soldiers from him, and add the some Horse Bandits I have gathered recently, we will have a force of fifteen hundred troops and horses. We will be enough to flatten Yehe Town. At that time, we give a small part to the Blood Wolf King, and the rest will be ours.”

“Fine, I will believe you this time. Let’s go together to find my greedy Uncle Yuwen.” Helian Bo was also eager for revenge and knew that Zong Wuji would not lie about such things. Otherwise, when there was no loot left, the Blood Wolf King would not let Zong Wuji off.

“That’s right. With the help of the Blood Wolf King’s Wolf Army, that surnamed Lei kid is dead this time.” Zong Wuji smiled hideously: “Lei Qing, ah Lei Qing, you dared to chop off my hand. I, Poison Eagle Zong Wuji, will not let you die so comfortably. Jie jie jie… I will make you…”

…

“What?”

In Lei Qing’s dilapidated general’s study, he said with a slightly angry expression: “Are you saying that those merchants selling breeding sheep and horses refuse to sell to us?”

Mr. Hao, who was in charge of this matter, said with a grim expression: “Originally, I had a good negotiation with them, and the price was almost settled. As soon as the cattle and sheep we wanted arrived, they would pay immediately. But suddenly, those few merchants changed overnight. I asked around privately, and they said it seemed that the Zhen Family Ranch was targeting us, forbidding any business dealing in cattle and horses from interacting with us. They explicitly stated that we were not allowed to do business with the Young General. Young General, have you offended anyone from the Zhen Family Ranch?”

“The Zhen Family Ranch?” Lei Qing frowned and thought bitterly for a while: “I can confirm that I don’t know half of the people surnamed Zhen. I can’t remember when I offended them.”

“It is also possible that you offended them unintentionally without knowing.” Mr. Hao said with half-closed eyes: “The Zhen Family Ranch is a powerful force. Their war horse business is spread across the Pan-Continent. Even the Tianlan Empire has a long-term war horse supply contract with the Zhen Family Ranch. It can be said that the Zhen Family’s influence is very large. Especially those who do livestock business often have to live by the Zhen Family’s mood. Once the Zhen Family targets us, it will be difficult for us to find cooperation partners.”

“Sir, what if we form a caravan and collect lambs and calves ourselves?” Lei Qing also frowned, thinking hard.

“Difficult. It will take time and effort, and we may not be able to collect many.” Mr. Hao shook his head slowly: “Even if we collected so many, what about selling them? As long as the Zhen Family still targets us, those merchants will not dare to accept our cattle and sheep. We will lose a lot of money. At present, there is only one path left.”

“Teach me, Sir.” Lei Qing had already spent a considerable amount of financial and material resources to build a ranch and recruit herdsmen. If the plan was to be suspended, not only would he suffer great financial losses, but his reputation would also be severely damaged. If he wanted to do anything else later, no one would believe him.

“Go to the Zhen Family Ranch to see how exactly you offended them? If there is a chance to resolve the resentment, we can continue this business.” Mr. Hao sighed: “If we cannot resolve it, we can only think of other ways. But before going, the Young General must inquire about some intelligence from the Iron Cavalry Regiment, regarding the preferences, temperament, etc., of some core members of the Zhen Family. This battle will be very difficult. Knowing yourself and knowing your enemy allows you to win every battle.”

“Thank you, Sir, for the reminder.” Lei Qing immediately wrote a letter, handed it to his Personal Guard, and went to Tieling without stopping to gather intelligence. Watching the Personal Guard run away, Lei Qing also sighed that doing things was really not easy. In the future, there was a lot he needed to do, such as this intelligence system, which also had to be established.

Of course, he could use the Iron Cavalry Regiment for now, but ultimately, he had to slowly learn to be independent.

After Mr. Hao left, Lei Qing continued to think hard. How had he offended the Zhen Family Ranch? Could it be that the Li Clan was making secret moves?

After thinking for a long time, Lei Qing could basically confirm that this matter was probably one of the sequelae of kidnapping Li Baobao. By kidnapping Li Baobao, he had obtained such a rich amount of resources, which saved him a lot of development time. But the sequelae would surely manifest slowly.

The Zhen Family’s action this time was probably just the beginning.

Although it was very tricky, Lei Qing still had to do it. Many things, once started, did not allow him to retreat even a little. Even if there were mountains of swords and seas of fire ahead, he had to find a way to step over them and wade through them.

In the end, it was still because his own fists were not hard enough.

If he held an army of one hundred thousand in his hands, no one in the world would dare to give him a hard time.

…