.The Chu army began to retreat. This hide-out was no longer a viable location for their operations. The intervention of the new squad from the eastern side has thrown their defenses into disarray.
The top of the mountain was formally captured. " We will be setting our base within the mountain top."
"Today's fight is over. The injured are requested to report to the medics. I want you all to be prepared within a day for our next attack."
" The ones who have suffered light injuries, or are in a stable condition are requested to recover their Qi. You will be standing guard around the whole perimeter."
" To reward you all for your hard work, a special meal will be prepared by our chefs. Eat your fill today. We are going to face some gruesome days ahead of us."
The soldier's morale was on the peak due to the victories under Long Tao's command. The surprise managed to cheer them up even more.
.........��...…
Within Long Tao's tent-
Su Menqi rushed into the tent after confirming it belonged to LonG tao. Seeing his figure, She instantly rushed to his arms without even a warning.
Long Tao didn't know how to respond. All he could do was play along. He wrapped his arms around her in return.
" I am happy to see you, unharmed. Why didn't you ask for my help during your mission within the forest regions? Am I not useful anymore." Her voice was filled with sorrow and concern.
It managed to strike a chord in Long Tao's heart. It was the same feeling when he saw Long Mengchen crying in his arms. " It would be embarrassing if people get to see this side of general Su. You need to maintain your composure."
Su Menqi hit Long Tao in his chest for teasing her. A smile appeared on her face.
" What is your next plan?" She was eager to assist Long Tao in his venture.
" My work is temporarily completed. The commanders will be assuming the responsibility of their squads from tonight. We shall begin the assault on the Chu army day-after-tomorrow."
.........….
" Wouldn't we lose the element of surprise in that case. One night is more than enough for soldiers to recover from their injuries. We should rush in as fast as we can."
" Ths is the territory of the Unrivalled general. What do you expect by rushing in blindly? Although he had lost the battle in the mountains, We just gained a foothold in their territory. We need time to settle down."
Su Menqi held Long tao's hands. Her eyes were filled with eagerness, and her face had a tinge of red.
"Promise me; you won't leave me behind during your next mission." Long Tao was helpless in this situation. He wanted to disrupt the flow. He needed time to process his feeling for her.
.........
" I see that the love-birds managed to unite." Di Tao entered the camp.
Su Menqi instantly separated herself from Long Tao. Her face was bright red. Long Tao thanked Di Tao for his intervention.
............
The Crimson Lord world-
"It's amusing to see you develop a feeling for a woman. You are bad at expressing them." Long Tao didn't respond to his provocations.
" I have managed to absorb enough soul energy for my break-through into the Soul grandmaster realm." The Keeper was encouraged to hear it. Soul cultivation was the slowest and most difficult of all three modes. Long Tao managed to maintain the right balance in speed.
" You should break-through. It would help you advance grade in alchemy in formations." Long Tao nodded and started the preparation for his break-through.
" I did manage to open up another two acupoints. It s time we start researching in this area."
" What do you want to research on?"
" When I opened up all my meridians, I got the ability to feel all the acupoints in my body. So identifying the location is not going to be a problem anymore."
" The problem lies in the fact that I can't even get a response from most of them by using the normal Hell Qi."
" What are you suggesting?"
" I tried feeling the aura released b these acupoints. I identified some of them. They were elemental energies like fire, water, etc."
" I theorize that the specific aura itself can open these acupoints. We need something like the concnetarte3d thunder ball from earlier."
The Keeper was surprised to hear it. It was a new domain, even for him. The Crimson lords have not dedicated much of their efforts towards body cultivation. So the records didn't mention any details regarding.
.........…
" We need to an extremely potent source of elemental energy for that." Long Tao agreed.
" I do have an idea which might help you.". Long Eagerly waited for the Keeper to continue.
" I felt the presence of multiple Qi stone mines nearby. Some of them are in pristine condition. We need to help the artifact absorb and repair itself."
" How will that help the cause?"
The Keeper gave a harsh look to Long Tao. " Did you forget about the core cultivation art of the Crimson Lord world?"
Long Tao speculated in that, and his eyes sparkled with light. The Crimson lord concentrated on elemental Qi cultivation.
" Mending the artifact would result in enhancement of the Qi inside. We can use that Qi to create dense balls of energy."
" How far is the location from here?"
" One is right below the mountains."
" Leave immediately. I will take care of any commotion created in the meantime. After absorbing the whole mine, choose one of the avatars and go to other sites, and continue the process. You don't need to leave Qi stones for me. Absorb to the greatest extent possible."
The artifact left Long tao's body and drilled into the mountain core.
............…..
The mountain range-
The commander gave the necessary orders to the soldiers and retired to their respective tents. The guards were always on duty, guarding against any possible threat appearing within the night.
The next day:
Long Tao called a meeting of the commanders. " Where is commander Jiang and commander Situ." Long Tao ordered an immediate investigation into the matter. He had a bad feeling about this scenario.
Sometime later, a soldier came running into the main tent. " What is the matter?'
" Both the commanders are found dead within their tents. The squads guarding in and around the tents are also missing.". The whole meeting was struck by lightning on hearing this. Two commanders were found dead.
" Did you find any clues regarding the murderer."
" He left a letter addressed to you, sir.". The guard handed Long tao a letter.
.,.........
" Vice-general Long Tao, I hope you remember this old friend of yours from our previous meeting at one of the mines in the Chu country."
Long Tao's back was drenched in a cold sweat. IF he is taking action on behalf of Chu country, the whole army was in significant trouble.
" You have managed to land quite a devious blow on the whole Cu country. It is a return gift for you. I hope you would try and save your subordinates from me."
" I have a proposal for you. Let's meet and sort our past differences. Just you and me, alone in one of the neutral areas nearby."
"Your beloved friend, Blood general.". The letter ended with a map with the location marked
