Chapter 2138 - 2123: Beacons of War and Wolfish Smoke

Chapter 2138: Chapter 2123: Beacons of War and Wolfish Smoke

In the blink of an eye, autumn passed and winter arrived.

The half-human tall, lush green grass was harvested by the stationed army before it could wither and was turned into fodder.

Perhaps it’s the years of warfare and the nourishment from blood, but the vegetation in the Human-Demon Battlefield is unusually lush.

However, the region of the Human-Demon Battlefield has distinct seasons, and once winter arrives, the cold winds howl. Forget normal activities; even the patrol range of the patrol team shrinks.

Even with Spiritual Power protecting the body, flying swiftly in the high sky can still make a person shiver from the cold.

Especially with the arrival of heavy snow, the cold wind turns drops of water into ice.

Generally, come winter, whether it’s the Demon Clan or the Human Demons, they become a bit lazier and more restrained.

The lush Human-Demon Battlefield turns into an endless expanse in winter, making surprise attacks rather difficult.

Day by day passed, and on January 12th, Year 746 of Jianwu according to the Great Zhou Calendar, a heavy snowfall covered most of the Human-Demon Battlefield.

Especially parts of the front-line Northern War Zone and Central Battle Zone, which even caused snow disasters, sealing mountains with snow.

However, to both sides of the Human-Demon Battlefield, this is nothing out of the ordinary; such harsh weather appears every January and lasts for ten days to a half month.

Only this year’s snowflakes drift longer than those of previous years.

The entire world was wrapped in silver; large snowflakes floated down from the sky, adding a sense of mystery to the world.

In a Beacon Fire Tower in the Southern War Zone, soldiers were gathered around the stove, dispelling the unexplained cold from their bodies.

In this persistently harsh cold weather, no soldier is foolish enough to continuously warm themselves with Spiritual Power — it is a life-saving asset at crucial moments.

Therefore, traditional stoves remain the most comfortable and reassuring way to stay warm.

"Captain, when’s the next shift change?" a soldier grumbled with his head shrunk, "This Beacon Fire Tower leaks wind from all four sides, I feel like even taking a piss would freeze my little brother solid!"

"Tch, that thing in your pants is thinner than a toothpick. Even if it’s not frozen, it’s not like it’s useful or anything."

The tease from another soldier led all the soldiers in the Beacon Fire Tower to burst into laughter, the firelight reflecting on their youthful faces.

"A bunch of cowards, missing women, huh?"

The captain pointed at the soldiers, laughing and cursing, "Soon, in half a month, once this damn snow disaster’s over, we’ll get to head back to the base for rest. Then, as long as you’re willing to spend some Flower Spirit Stones, there are plenty of Water Spirits in the Dock Castle!"

After speaking, the captain’s expression turned serious, pointing to another team of soldiers, "It’s patrol time, your turn to head out."

The tapped soldier’s face turned bitter, "Captain, at this time, unless the Demon Clan is crazy, they’d never launch a surprise attack...."

Reluctantly complaining, the soldier got up under the captain’s intense gaze, "Come on, brothers, let’s patrol...."

Halfway through his words, the soldier’s steps suddenly halted, his eyes widened sharply, and the bright blade with a chilling wind cleaved through, sending at least ten heads flying into the air.

Blood spurted three feet high from the neck cavities, immediately filling the air with a blood mist.

The previously relaxed captain, at the instant the gleam of the blade flashed, reacted like a startled rabbit, slapping toward the Jade Talisman hanging on his waist.

It was an Alarm Talisman Message.

Once shattered, the Warning Talisman Light could be seen for a thousand miles around, and it would fly to the nearest stronghold for reporting warnings.

But this time, the action he had trained and practiced thousands of times did not succeed.

The bright curved blade slashed upward from the void, severing both an arm and a head simultaneously.

When the severed hand hit the ground, the fingers instinctively pressed toward the earth.

"Shadow Demon, Dark Palace Shadow...." The captain’s newly escaped Innate Divine Soul had only uttered a whisper before it was sucked in by the Shadow Demon’s deep inhale, swallowed whole.

"Delicious!"

"The Divine Soul of the Human Clan is indeed the most delicious thing...." the Shadow Demon leader exclaimed, his eyes seeming to brighten further.

Almost instantly, at least ten shadows emerged from the snowflakes, each with a blood-stained curved blade and a satisfied expression.

"Is everything cleaned up?" The Shadow Demon leader’s cold voice asked.

"A hundred people, not a single one left!"

"Let’s head to the next Beacon Fire Tower!" With a wave of the Shadow Demon leader’s hand, the Shadow Demons, who had just completed a perfect raid, vanished into the shadows.

Half an hour later, a mixed group of demon slave soldiers rushed into this Beacon Fire Tower, immediately feasting on the soldiers’ corpses.

During their devouring, the aura of many demon slave soldiers began to rise rapidly.

The same scene repeated across various Beacon Fire Towers in the Southern War Zone. It wasn’t until over a hundred towers were wiped out that a captain managed to send an alarm before dying.

The piercing Warning Talisman Light echoed throughout the entire Southern War Zone.

And just half an hour prior, similar events unfolded in the Northern War Zone.

In Ye Zhen’s Blood River Fortress’s defense area, forming a V-shaped valley, the ten irregularly placed Beacon Fire Towers on the mountaintops around the valley were the most critical warning points for anyone trying to attack the Blood River Fortress or any surrounding fortresses.

In the bone-chilling cold, the stationed troops of these Beacon Fire Towers also huddled inside.

Even with strict orders from Ye Zhen, they could only follow orders and regulations for patrolling, shrinking their necks in the cold despite trying to be brave.

Nonetheless, these ten Beacon Fire Towers differed from others in one notable detail.

Near these ten towers, a few extremely tall cedar trees grew sporadically.

The tall cedars, with their touch of dark green, stood like green sentinels amidst the world, offering an inexplicable sense of security.

In the air, subtle ripple-like wave patterns seemed to lightly brush past the foremost cedar.

Whether it was the wind passing or those ripple-like waves causing the snow to fall from the cedars, no one seemed to mind passing shadows of ripples.

But on the wall above the alarm bell of a Beacon Fire Tower a thousand meters away from this cedar, a vine grew to a foot long in the blink of an eye and then violently recoiled against the bell.

The piercing sound of the alarm bell abruptly halted the Shadow Demon squad, causing them to stop raising their ripple shadows in the air.

"Damn, who compromised our position?"

"We haven’t even made a move, so how did the other side ring the alarm bell? Could there be an expert among them?"

"As per the Marshal’s order, if our position is exposed, immediately execute plan B, encircle and annihilate!" An eerie voice exchanged in the empty air.

The next moment, the void erupted with fierce ripples, surging toward a thousand-meter distant Beacon Fire Tower.

And also, in that moment, a straight wolf smoke trail shot up from the Beacon Fire Tower, unusually conspicuous against the snowy sky.

A Soldier-grade Flying Boat burst out from the Beacon Fire Tower with a piercing whine, instantly pushed to its limit by the soldiers, heading towards the nearest stronghold.

Inside the Soldier-grade Flying Boat, half the soldiers, each holding Wind-Fire Crossbows, fixated intensely on the back, their Divine Senses sweeping through like sieves.

According to the Grand Marshal’s order, once the alarm bell rings, regardless of why, once rung, ignite the wolf smoke and retreat towards the nearest stronghold.

Witnessing the Spirit Boat speeding away, the Shadow Demon team that had just reached the Beacon Fire Tower became dumbfounded.

The Shadow Demon captain slowly revealed his form from the shadows, his face somber, noticing that the soldiers’ reaction and retreat speed seemed unusually swift.

Almost simultaneously, searing Talisman Light blazed continually in the high sky, and one straight wolf smoke after another, like an invading demon army, cast shadows over the entire Northern War Zone.

The dull yet potent sound of war drums began to resonate, leaving the Shadow Demon squads invading the Northern War Zone baffled.

This scenario isn’t right!