The Art of Chaotic Divinity-Chapter 958: Tianmang Fortress

All the way South[1].

Ling Feng released Despicable Donkey and used his demonic cloud as a mount. In just five days, they had already entered the range of the Sky Demon Forest.

Once they passed through this forest, they would reach the main stronghold where the Southern Army was stationed—Tianmang Fortress.

Around sixty million garrison troops were stationed within Tianmang Fortress. Relying on natural barriers such as swamps, poisonous miasma, and mountain ravines, they confronted the Demon Race in a prolonged stalemate.

The entire fortress stretched over a hundred li, strictly guarding the border between the demon domain and the human race. It served as a shield for the civilian population behind it.

Naturally, between the fortress and the demon domain, there existed a buffer zone where both humans and demons were active year-round, each treating the other as prey.

Generally speaking, as long as neither side deployed king-tier experts or above, the fragile balance between humans and demons remained intact.

Previously, due to the restraint imposed by the Qiongqi Demon Emperor, the demon domain of the southern frontier had remained relatively quiet for several decades. But after the Qiongqi Demon Emperor died, the Silver Wolf Demon Emperor seized the territory that once belonged to Qiongqi. War soon followed.

The group spent another three days crossing the vast forest, until at last, a towering fortress loomed before them.

A hundred li outside the fortress, layers of checkpoints and tight martial law had already been established. Getting into the fortress was no simple task.

As Ling Feng's group approached a checkpoint, a patrol squad immediately came forward to intercept them. However, once Ling Feng presented a letter of recommendation from Tianwei Academy, the soldiers became visibly more respectful.

After all, anyone who could receive a recommendation from one of the four major academies to join the military was undoubtedly an elite student. Unlike regular soldiers, these elite recruits would not have to slog their way up from footsoldier. Even at their lowest starting point, they could begin as a centurion.

Ling Feng's official rank was already that of a general, but since he had not yet earned any military merit and was not part of any unit, he was, in effect, a general without troops.

Put plainly, he was a bare-title general, so he had complete freedom to join any of the Empire's five military regions as he pleased.

"So, you're an elite student from Tianwei Academy?"

The squad captain bowed respectfully. "Things have been a little tense around the fortress lately. Everyone's been on edge. Please don't take offense."

"No worries," Ling Feng replied with a faint smile. "You're just doing your duty. I've just arrived at the fortress. Could you tell me which general I should report to as a new recruit?"

"General?" The squad captain froze for a moment, then laughed. "New recruits don't get to meet any generals. Never mind. Give me your letter of recommendation, and I'll go find the vice-commander of our patrol camp. He'll arrange things for you."

"Much appreciated," Ling Feng nodded and handed over the letter casually. Back at Qingtian Fortress, a general had personally welcomed him. But here, they were getting blocked at the gate by a mere commander. Not even the chief commander, but a vice-commander!

Sure enough, while his reputation thrived in the North, almost no one in the South had heard of Ling Feng.

About fifteen minutes later, a burly man in black armor, with a broadsword hanging from his waist, strolled toward them with a few guards in tow.

A ghastly scar slashed across his face. Even without anger, his expression carried a natural authority. He had a rather imposing aura.

When the scar-faced vice-commander reached Ling Feng's group, his gaze swept over everyone. The moment he saw Mu Qianxue and the two other girls, his eyes lit up with barely hidden lust. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard.

Men in the military rarely got to see women this beautiful.

Though talent in martial arts knew no gender, truly powerful female martial practitioners were relatively rare. In the army, they were even scarcer. These soldiers rarely saw women at all, much less such stunning beauties.

"Ahem..."

The scar-faced vice-commander cleared his throat, holding the letter of recommendation in his hand as he grinned. "Kid, you're from Tianwei Academy, yeah?"

"That's right," Ling Feng responded calmly, returning a fist-and-palm salute.

"Hehe, not bad. You've got a recommendation from Tianwei Academy," the vice-commander chuckled. "So tell me, did any general in the camp receive word in advance that you were coming? I can pass along the message for you."

"Hmm..." Ling Feng furrowed his brow in thought, then shook his head. "I don't believe so."

"No?" The scar-faced man glanced at the others behind Ling Feng. "How about the rest of you?"

"They didn't either," Ling Feng replied with a frown. "Is that a problem, commander?"

"Not really. Just standard procedure."

The scar-faced commander gave a sly laugh, a glint flashing in his eyes. "A letter is one thing, but you still understand how things work, right?"

To him, no general coming to greet them meant these newcomers were ripe for the taking.

"Understand what?" Ling Feng asked, confused. "What procedure?"

"Of course I mean the fee for informing!"

The scar-faced man tapped the letter against his hand. "Think about it. Everyone's busy these days. We've had loads of rookies from Tianwei Academy, Zhenlong Academy, and Wenyuan Academy showing up here at Tianmang Fortress. You don't expect our men to do all this for free, do you?"

As he spoke, he rubbed his fingers together in front of Ling Feng and chuckled. "I, Zhao Dabiao, pride myself on being fair. There are six of you here. I'll charge this much per person. Fair enough, right?"

He held up five fingers.

Clearly a schemer, he didn't mention a specific number. He just waited to see how much he could squeeze based on their reactions.

Ling Feng raised an eyebrow and casually asked, "Five hundred elemental crystals per person?"

"Yes, that's right, five hundred elemental cryst—wait, what?"

Zhao Dabiao had started laughing but immediately froze, staring at Ling Feng in disbelief. "You... you said five... five hundred elemental crystals?"

"What? Too little, commander?" Ling Feng gave a slight smirk. "Is that not enough?"

Zhao Dabiao's eyelids twitched violently, and he nearly popped his eyes out of his skull.

Five hundred elemental crystals!

Good grief! My entire year's salary after conversion is barely one or two elemental crystals!

To put it in perspective, one elemental crystal was worth a thousand top-grade elemental stones, and his annual pay as a minor vice-commander only added up to about one or two thousand top-grade elemental stones.

He had hoped to squeeze out five hundred top-grade elemental stones per person, but Ling Feng straight-up offered elemental crystals, and five hundred each!

"That's right. Is something wrong, commander?" Ling Feng looked at him with interest, then casually tossed over a heavy pouch full of elemental crystals, as if throwing out trash. With a half-smile, he said, "Go ahead. Count them."

Ling Feng hadn't actually counted how many were in the pouch. It didn't matter. What mattered was that Zhao Dabiao was already stunned.

The man held the sack of elemental crystals in both hands, his body trembling slightly.

He might have been greedy, but he wasn't stupid.

Someone who could casually toss out a whole sack of elemental crystals like this, how could they possibly be ordinary?

Whatever forces or clan stood behind them... could probably scare him to death.

And these elemental crystals, how would he even dare to take them?

Tempting as they were, these crystals burned like fire in his hands!

1. A meme author made a reference to Jay Chou's All The Way North song. ☜

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