Chapter 78: The Mysterious Mount Baiweng

“Yah—!”
Wang Zhenglin spurred his horse, shouting loudly, urging his mount to dash headlong toward the city gates.
“Go!”
Buzz~ buzz~
Pei Qingfeng followed closely with two transport vehicles, their formation triangular: Wang Zhenglin at the tip, the transport vehicles flanking him. They soon left Yanshun City behind.
Late April, the season when life revives. As far as the eye could see, the vast plains were carpeted with tender green grass shoots peeking from tangled undergrowth. The breeze stirred the shrubs and tree trunks sprouting fresh branches, creating rippling waves of green, rustling gently.
Looking up, the distant white-capped mountains undulated, layer upon layer, connecting like the spine of a great dragon.
The tallest peak, shaped like an inverted triangle, resembled the beard of an old man.
Snow capped the summit in bitter cold, while flowers bloomed in profusion below.
Were it not for the lurking threat of demon ghosts, the recruits might have been lost in the rare beauty of the landscape, unable to extricate themselves.
This was not their first venture beyond the city walls.
Du Huaishan and his companions quickly regained their composure.
“Chirp, chirp, chirp…”
Suddenly, two black crows screeched as they launched from the treetops on the eastern side of the woods, gliding westward.
“Something approaching from the east!”
A soldier on the adjacent transport, holding a copper binocular, shouted.
The next moment—
Thud, thud, thud.
Heavy sounds rushed toward them. Du Huaishan lifted his binoculars, hanging from his chest, and saw within the woods a demon ghost with the head of a pig and the body of a dog. It was enormous—at least six meters long and four or five meters tall—with black fur and bristling quills. Its eyes blazed red, fixed on the speeding convoy with a twisted expression.
“Disaster level: eighteen!”
“Deputy Wang, it’s coming! Estimated twenty seconds until collision!”
The veteran’s expertise was evident. With just a glance, he reported the position, the demon’s size, and the estimated encounter time, clear and concise—a stark contrast to the recruits’ inexperience.
“Avoid it! Old Tang, Little Qi!”
“Roger!”
The two veterans, one elderly and one robust, responded to Wang Zhenglin’s command, hauling out two light machine guns resembling Madsons from the vehicle. The barrels were as thick as three fingers, vented, with huge curved magazines protruding forward.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
They thrust the muzzles through the side rails and unleashed a hail of fire at the black pig demon ghost.
“These two are seasoned hands!”
Wu Ming squinted, watching the precise trajectory—the light machine guns’ recoil far surpassed the flower pattern guns or cavalry rifles, so it was no small feat to control them so well.
Bullets struck the grass, dust rising like waves, sweeping over the demon’s body.
The light machine guns’ destructive power was far greater than the flower pattern guns; in an instant, filthy blood splattered, and the demon’s joints buckled under the barrage, toppling with a heavy thud.
“It’s only natural. A regular infantry platoon should have three rifle squads and two machine gun squads. Gunners trained in artillery and machine gun tactics are obviously more adept with hot weapons than us.”
Du Huaishan spoke as he scanned elsewhere through his binoculars.
“Accelerate!”
With the pig demon downed, Wang Zhenglin seized the opportunity.
From the lead vehicle, the engine roared, black tires tearing across the grass as the convoy sped through the narrow path between two woods.
“Careful!”
Du Huaishan suddenly shouted.
Just as Wang Zhenglin and Pei Qingfeng were about to burst from the forest, a sharp, massive object hurtled down with a whistle, striking the ground between them.

Yah—!
Wang Zhenglin quickly swung his horse aside; a huge orange-red “spike,” like a drill, slammed into the earth between them!
Bang!
The sharp spike sent soil flying.
Looking up, they saw a nearly six-meter-tall, scarlet bird with an impossibly long neck!
The two transport vehicles swerved sharply. Wang Zhenglin and Pei Qingfeng instantly shifted to their demon transformation states.
“Move, quickly!”
With those words, one drew his saber, the other his longsword, grappling hooks shooting to latch onto the scarlet bird’s body. Sword in hand, they slashed in a crescent arc.
A few recruits stared wide-eyed, hearts pounding frantically.
Only now did they realize a demon ghost was closing in—and that the giant bird demon had nearly killed their deputy platoon leaders!
“Huaishan, should we go help?”
Guo Tingyu, eyes reddening at the sight of the demon, was eager to earn merit.
Du Huaishan shook his head. “If we go now, we’ll all end up dead here…”
But not going didn’t mean not helping.
In fact, as Wang Zhenglin charged forward, the veterans in the adjacent transport had already grabbed their cavalry rifles and machine guns, showering the demon’s legs with bullets.
The recruits likewise readied their rifles.
Fifty or sixty muzzles formed a dense web of fire, locking down the scarlet necked bird demon’s thick legs; in a single breath, it was blasted off balance.
No matter its monstrous healing ability, it couldn’t match the speed of bullets.
Splash.
A flash of blue—Wang Zhenglin once again employed the water sphere technique he’d used against Xu Yuan the previous night, hurling a massive ball of water at the bird’s head, enveloping it completely.
The pressure from the water greatly reduced its neck’s flexibility, preventing it from striking instantly.
“Die!”
Pei Qingfeng seized the chance, grappling to the bird’s chest, his knife in hand, arching his back into a great bow, and plunged the blade deep.
Boom!
A burst of red demon light erupted. The scarlet necked bird demon, without a moment’s struggle, collapsed like a puppet whose soul had been snatched.
“Retreat!”
Wang Zhenglin sounded a long whistle, using his grappling cord to roll to the ground, then vaulted onto his horse and quickly caught up from behind.
“It’s over already?”
Li Anqi and the others looked at each other in disbelief—when they’d killed a demon ghost, it had nearly cost them their lives.
But the veterans dispatched theirs in no time at all!
“Two copper stars earned, but why aren’t they digging out the demon’s heart? Its value is equal to slaying a demon ghost!”
Guo Tingyu was agitated, gripping the transport rail, eager to rush out.
Du Huaishan quickly pressed him back. “Tingyu, don’t! The pig demon is about to catch up…”
At his words, Guo Tingyu looked back at the massive shadow in pursuit, instantly sobering, cold sweat breaking out—he’d almost let greed cloud his judgment!
Had Du Huaishan not reminded him, he might really have charged ahead, heedless of danger.
“Keep accelerating! Get out of the Yanshun City perimeter!”
Back on his horse, Wang Zhenglin dismissed his demon power, galloping eastward toward the snowy mountains, as if the demon heart meant nothing.
More precisely—
He understood the dire circumstances; even after killing the necked bird demon, there was no chance to extract its heart.
Under the gaze of demon ghosts—

Lingering even a second longer could cost the lives of innocent soldiers.
Next, the team encountered a giant golden fox demon ghost with horns on its back, but the veterans were unfazed, expertly delaying its advance and using their mounts and vehicles to widen the gap.
Du Huaishan remembered the unit’s designation:
571st Regiment, Penetration Company!
They specialized in exploiting gaps or weak points in enemy deployments, penetrating deep without support, and thus possessed formidable independent combat ability.
No wonder they’d become the reconnaissance platoon.
“Up ahead is Bai Tun. Once we pass through Bai Tun, we’ll finally be beyond Yanshun City’s reach…”
Wu Ming had visited Yanshun City and the Baiweng Mountain area with his father years ago; many key locations and terrain features remained vivid in his memory, thanks to Du Huaishan’s review on the military train.
As Wu Ming spoke, a mental map of Baiweng Mountain surfaced, matching each landmark.
Yanshun City had four satellite towns, one in each cardinal direction—Bai Tun was the easternmost.
Crossing it meant formally entering the Baiweng Mountain region.
Boom! Boom!
Before they reached Bai City, they heard explosions.
Looking toward the commotion, they saw two demon ghosts approaching Bai Tun’s walls; the garrison patrols, forced into action, launched bombardments.
It turned out the thugs from the refugee camp had been right—
The satellite towns, invisible yet crucial, bore much of the burden for the main city and the military merchants.
It made sense.
Compared to the main city, the satellite towns’ walls were lower and thinner, yet their populations were hardly less. Faced with such a tempting “feast,” the demon ghosts naturally ignored small fry like them.
Skirting Bai Tun City,
The road ahead was much smoother. Over an hour passed without a single demon ghost in sight.
It seemed the rumors were true—
The Baiweng Mountain region, sparsely populated, attracted few demon ghosts.
This finally gave everyone a chance to catch their breath.
Xu Yuan leaned against the rail, took a sip from her flask, and gazed at the giant white mountain nearby. But as she swallowed—
Rumble!
“Did you hear that?”
“I did!”
“What was that noise? Was something exploding? Or a landslide?”
…
If they hadn’t heard it themselves, they could hardly believe such a thunderous sound could echo from Baiweng Mountain.
The mountain was vast—
Yet the exact source of the sound was impossible to pinpoint.
Humans always fear the unknown; Tan Hai was no exception.
He stared at the snowy peaks, murmuring anxiously,
“Huaishan, what on earth was that? Could it be… some world-shattering demon ghost hiding in Baiweng Mountain?”