Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 486 - 465 First Update

Chapter 486: Chapter 465 First Update

The patrol soldier from Cat Ear Cave had never encountered such a situation before, in the middle of the night, the camp was ablaze with fire, and without stopping to analyze the situation, he immediately dashed towards the Northern Border Barracks.

"Marquis, Marquis..." A soldier sprinted into the barracks, heedless of the fact that it was the dead of night and the Marquis of Zhenbei had gone to bed; a trusted aide had already brought in a lamp.

"Marquis..."

The Marquis of Zhenbei awoke with a start, sitting up and donning an overcoat before making his way to the main tent.

"Bring the man in—"

The patrol soldier immediately entered, knelt down, and reported.

"Marquis, something has happened at the camp by the checkpoint—"

The Marquis of Zhenbei immediately stood up from his seat.

"What has happened? Have the people from Ghoul Ravine attacked?"

The patrol soldier quickly recounted what he had seen, and as the several deputy generals and trusted aides who had arrived at the main tent heard the soldier’s report, they all furrowed their brows.

"Marquis, could it be that the sudden appearance of those two disciples from Ghoul Ravine is a trap?" a trusted aide promptly suggested. Right now, pondering over the matter was of no help; they needed to go and see for themselves.

The people in the main tent largely agreed with this conjecture since the appearance of those two disciples from Ghoul Ravine was very mysterious, and the Marquis of Zhenbei was almost certain. No wonder he had been told to mind his own business when he spoke the passphrase.

"Let’s go, let’s see for ourselves now—" The Marquis of Zhenbei quickly got dressed, took a small group of soldiers, and hurried toward the checkpoint barracks. At this point, the entire camp of the North Border Army had also entered a state of high alert, ready for immediate deployment.

It was over an hour’s journey from the Northern Border Barracks to Qiandao Temple’s camp, yet the Marquis of Zhenbei and his men, racing all the way, saw the entire campsite in less than an hour.

Three or four patrol soldiers were waiting at the crossroads, and upon seeing the Marquis of Zhenbei’s troops, they immediately stopped them.

"Marquis—"

"What’s the situation?" The Marquis of Zhenbei dismounted and approached for an inquiry, and the patrol soldier, aware of the delicate situation, promptly explained the current circumstances.

"Marquis, Qiandao Temple’s camp has been attacked by stealth. Although the enemy is unidentified, Qiandao Temple’s disciples have suffered heavy losses. According to my observations, the damage is nearly catastrophic, and furthermore..." the patrol soldier hesitated, unsure of how to describe the situation, "Marquis, it seems to be some extremely evil spellcraft. Qiandao Temple is no match for Ghoul Ravine in spells, and now all of Qiandao Temple’s disciples have been driven out of the tents, as if there’s something inside the tents..."

"Marquis, shall we send someone to inquire about the situation first?" a deputy general suggested from the side. Although they hadn’t reached Qiandao Temple’s encampment, everything felt eerily abnormal, yet the immediate area was silent, with no apparent strangeness.

The Marquis of Zhenbei pondered for a moment but then shook his head; it was best not to act rashly for now.

"Let’s observe the situation from afar first," the Marquis of Zhenbei said, dismounting from his horse. The group then made their way towards Qiandao Temple’s camp.

In the two hours that had passed, the eastern sky had already begun to brighten, but the fire at Qiandao Temple blazed even fiercer. The mages from Qiandao Temple hadn’t ventured back into the flames to extinguish the fire, and the creatures still hidden in the camp were now being driven by the fire towards the main gate.

Because the entire camp was surrounded, the creatures had no way to escape from the main gate.

As for whether there were any mages left in the camp besides those who had escaped, no one asked at the time since everyone understood all too well that even if there were any surviving mages, they were most likely assimilated by the creatures by now.

The monsters charging towards the main gate grew fewer and fewer. Master Ling Yi counted the number of creatures and thought the numbers should be about right.

But what caused the most headache was that the formation was on the verge of collapsing. With more and more "creatures" inside the formation, terrifying noises filled the entire camp, making the mages standing outside shudder.

"Brother—" The atmosphere among the mages outside the camp grew more and more quiet, even as countless creatures inside the formation ferociously slammed against it.

Only then did Master Ling Yi turn his head to look at the mages behind him. There were but a few disciples left from Qiandao Temple, and together with the mages from various districts and counties, they numbered just over twenty, a far cry from the original group of fifty or sixty.

Master Ling Yi had no time to ponder the many brothers and sisters who had died. He resolved that he would not let the remaining disciples die.

"Master Qin Liang, see if there are any mages among the brothers who are skilled in wind or fire spells," said Master Ling Yi.

Master Qin Liang immediately understood what he meant. The incident had happened so suddenly that many brothers hadn’t even had the time to put on their cotton garments. Some were even in only their single-layer clothing. They had forgotten the cold in their earlier panic, but not now, as many were shivering with cold.

Master Qin Liang quickly called several mages. A formation was promptly established, and all the brothers entered, sat down, and were insulated from the chilly air. The temperature inside the formation began to rise gradually.

But this was only a temporary solution. What Master Ling Yi considered at the moment was the plan that would follow. Fortunately, his master had instructed them before they had left that, if anything happened, they could seek help from the soldiers guarding the border. But...

Master Ling Yi’s fists clenched tightly. The halo that once shone so brilliantly upon him was now as pitiful as his current state. He had once thought of himself as the glorious second senior brother of Qiandao Temple, a hero who could save the world. He even dreamed that one day, he could be revered by all, just like his master.

"Marquis, that formation..." Even the distant soldiers, though standing far away, were petrified by the sinister, dark red aura emanating from the camp. Despite not knowing what had happened, they could vaguely guess that something major had occurred. Moreover, the standing of Qiandao Temple in Nanzheng State reminded everyone once again of the horrors of Ghoul Ravine.

At that moment, the Marquis of Zhenbei was pondering the same thing, especially since the formation seemed...

Suddenly, there was a loud clang from the formation, and a huge sound echoed as a gap was forced open. A monster, about two meters tall with a dark red body, had half emerged from the formation. The golden light immediately burned the creature as if it were on fire, melting one arm into black liquid, but it still recklessly continued to push through the formation, followed by other creatures.

"Brother—" Master Ling Yi, who was already standing at the gate with others, hoped that the creatures wouldn’t break through the formation. Clearly, the formation was in a precarious situation and might be breached at any time.

In the moment the creature broke through, Master Ling Yi lashed out with his whip. The creature immediately turned into a dark red smoke and was swallowed by the formation.

"Chang Yu, organize the brothers, groups of five, each group taking shifts of half an hour to guard the formation," Master Ling Yi shouted loudly. The startled Chang Yu immediately went to arrange it.