168: Chapter 168: Life and Death on the Logistics Front

The sound of wheels grinding over gravel was dull and monotonous, like the heavy breathing of some giant beast.

The morning mist had not yet dispersed when a convoy, stretching as far as the eye could see, slowly departed from the gates of the Qingheng Sect. There were no rousing war drums, no citizens seeing them off, only dozens of massive flatbed carts pulled by Spirit Beasts, and mountains of supply crates stacked upon them—these were the Spirit Rice, Bigu Pills, and basic Formation Plates urgently needed in the North.

This was the first expedition of the Poor Peak Alliance.

The group was a mix of various robes: the grey robes of Hengchuan Peak, the pale pink of Luoxia Peak, the cyan of Danxia Peak... Although their clothing colors differed, everyone's expression at this moment was the same—tense, even carrying a hint of cowering.

For many Poor Peak Disciples, this might be the first time they truly stepped out of the Sect to execute a mission. They were accustomed to farming, Alchemy, or doing odd jobs within the Sect, facing at most one or two rampaging Spirit Beasts.

And the path this convoy took was through a dangerous area known as the "Ghost Wailing Forest."

"Everyone, perk up!"

An old deacon from Hengchuan Peak, responsible for overall coordination, rode a fast horse back and forth along the sides of the formation. "Keep your protective talismans tight! Don't let your hands leave your sword hilts! This is not a drill!"

In Shen Xingzhou's field of vision, the System's "Real-time Monitoring" interface had already expanded. The coordinates of each team were flickering on a grid map composed of green dots. But he could see that the green dots representing the newly joined Disciples were trembling slightly—a physiological reaction to tachycardia.

[Real-time Monitoring: Convoy Defensive Array]

Core Defense Circle: Hengchuan Peak veterans (Stable, Combat Power B-)

Peripheral Defense Circle: Poor Peak Alliance new members (Extremely unstable, Combat Power C~D)

Risk Assessment: Low morale. Once attacked, the peripheral defense circle has an 80% probability of instant collapse.

Just as the System had warned, the attack came without warning and with extreme cunning.

When the convoy reached the middle section of the Ghost Wailing Forest, the previously dead-silent woods on both sides suddenly came to life. They were not world-shaking great demons, but swarms of low-level demonic creatures, like starving wolves. They had clearly smelled the scent of the supplies, or more accurately, the scent of fear on these weak Cultivators.

"Ah—!"

Accompanied by a piercing scream, the front of the convoy instantly exploded into chaos.

Several leopard-sized demonic creatures pounced down from the canopy, crashing directly into the formation of a team of Luoxia Peak Disciples. Those young girls, who usually only dared to vent their anger at their Alchemy furnaces, had never seen such a formation before? Their protective light flickered once before being shattered, and they were knocked to the ground, blood splattering everywhere.

"Ghost... Ghost! Don't come over!"

"Run! Run quickly!"

The formation, which had been barely maintained, was like a punctured paper lantern in that instant, collapsing completely. The new Disciples screamed, not swinging their swords at the demonic creatures, but instinctively crawling under the carts or fleeing into the woods behind them.

This flight was like toppling the first domino. A huge gap instantly appeared in the entire outer defensive line, and more demonic creatures poured in through the gap, heading straight for the center of the convoy.

"System Alert! System Alert!"

Harsh red light flashed frantically before Shen Xingzhou's eyes.

[Formation Collapse Warning]

Current Status: Rout

Predicted Deaths: 23 (and the number is rising rapidly)

Estimated Supply Loss: 85%

If he let them keep running like this, it wouldn't just be a mission failure; it would be a massacre.

Just then, a cold sword light, like a thunderbolt, slashed open the chaotic battlefield.

Senior Sister Xie Handeng moved.

She did not stand at a high vantage point to command but rushed directly into the gap where the demonic creatures were densest and where the new Disciples were fleeing most severely. Her sword was still wrapped in rags, but the moment it was swung, the rags were shattered by Spiritual Qi, revealing the mottled blood grooves on the blade.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

There were no fancy sword moves, only the fastest, most ruthless slashes.

Three demonic creatures that had just pounced up didn't even have time to scream before they were cut in half at the waist. Scalding demonic blood gushed out, yet not a single drop touched the hem of her clothes.

Senior Sister Xie Handeng stood in a pool of blood piled with corpses, the tip of the sword in her hand pointing diagonally at the ground, a drop of fresh blood slowly dripping down the blade.

"Running?"

Her voice was not loud, even somewhat hoarse, yet it clearly drilled into the ears of every fleeing Disciple.

"If anyone dares to run one more step, even if you don't die at the hands of the demonic creatures, you will die by my sword."

She turned around, her eyes, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, staring fixedly at several Luoxia Peak Disciples who had already run dozens of meters away.

"Come back. Or, I will personally go and behead you to enforce military law."

At that moment, the hideousness of the demonic creatures seemed incomparable to the terror of the woman before them.

The feet of those few Disciples seemed to have taken root, frozen in place, and then, trembling, they retreated step by step.

[System Record: Command Intervention]

Subject: Senior Sister Xie Handeng

Method: Killing to establish authority / Shock therapy

Effect Assessment:

Command suppression effect: Excellent

In extreme environments, discipline execution: +30%

Note: Fear is sometimes more effective than courage in keeping soldiers alive.

Meanwhile, on the high ground in the rear, Shen Xingzhou was not idle. His fingers slid rapidly across the System interface, as if playing a game of life and death.

The team distribution map on the System interface was undergoing drastic reorganization.

"Senior Sister Xie Handeng has stabilized the line, but the loopholes remain," Shen Xingzhou looked at the screen. "Must fill the experience vacuum."

He recited the command in his heart, and the System immediately synchronized the new configuration plan to each team leader.

"Group One, Hengchuan Peak veterans, go fill the left flank gap!"

"Group Two, Group Three, pull all new Disciples toward the center of the formation! Surround them with veterans!"

"Don't let them be meat shields; let them be 'protected cargo'!"

This was not to cater to emotions; this was cold combat damage calculation.

If the new Disciples acted as meat shields on the sides, they would surely die. But by sandwiching them in the middle and having the experienced Hengchuan Peak Disciples hold the line on the periphery, although it would cause the death risk for the veterans to soar, it could preserve the formation of the entire team to the greatest extent.

[System Prompt: Battlefield Deployment Complete]

Tactical Adjustment: Turtle Shell Defensive Array / Core Protection Strategy

Risk Assessment:

Core members (Hengchuan Peak veterans) death risk: +15% (They are facing the sharpest blades).

Medium to long term: New recruit overall survival rate: +12% (If they survive, they are the seeds of the future).

Shen Xingzhou Judgment: Confirm execution.

As the order was given, the previously chaotic battlefield began to show order.

Those Hengchuan Peak veterans, their faces covered in blood and their eyes fierce, without any nonsense, silently moved up from the flanks, building a wall of flesh and blood with their bodies. They were nailed to the defensive line like nails, and no matter how the demonic creatures bit, they did not retreat a single step.

And the new Disciples surrounded in the middle, looking at those backs that were more battered than them, bleeding profusely yet still standing, finally gripped the swords in their hands with trembling fingers.

"Kill—!"

"Can't let them die in vain!"

Someone shouted, and that fear was replaced by anger and shame.

The battle lasted for two full hours.

When the last demonic creature fell into the pool of blood, the Ghost Wailing Forest finally returned to silence.

The air was filled with a nauseating smell of blood and the burnt stench of demonic creatures.

The convoy was devastated; two Spirit Beasts were dead, and several flatbed carts had been overturned. But those core carts carrying Spirit Rice and key Formation Plates remained intact.

Post-battle tally.

No one cheered. The survivors slumped on the ground, gasping for air, as if trying to spit out the waste air from their lungs.

"Casualty statistics."

Wen Xi walked over with an abacus, bloodstains on her clothes, but her eyes remained calm.

"Twelve seriously injured, over thirty lightly injured."

"Deaths... three."

Hearing the number "three," Shen Xingzhou closed his eyes slightly.

These three people were all veterans of Hengchuan Peak. They died on the flank defensive line, trading their own lives for the survival of those hundred-plus recruits.

This was cruel, but this was the ledger.

If it had followed the situation of the recruits running around on their own, today's death list would likely have exceeded twenty. And in the rules of debt liquidation, for every additional death, the Sect's debt would increase exponentially.

On the books, this was a "bitter victory."

But in the System's model, this was a "loss mitigation."

Those Poor Peak Disciples, who had originally been scared to the point of weak legs, were now clutching the supply crates in their arms, their eyes somewhat dazed. They looked at the corpses being lifted not far away, and for the first time, they realized—

The so-called logistics mission was not just moving bricks.

This was also a line of life and death. And those "Bankruptcy Peak" Senior Brothers they once looked down upon had just pulled them back from this line.

Shen Xingzhou stood by the spirit vehicle, watching the settlement text jumping on the System interface.

[Escort Mission Settlement: Completed]

Material Integrity Rate: 92%

Mission Evaluation: B (Considering the ambush, the rating has been adjusted)

Combat Loss Ratio: Conforms to the System's "Optimal Loss Mitigation" model

Just as Shen Xingzhou was about to close the interface, a line of extremely tiny, yet eerily red flashing text suddenly appeared at the very bottom of the settlement column.

[Special Detection]

Note: One Disciple was supposed to die in this mission.

Status: Alive (Abnormal)

Name: [Redacted]

Shen Xingzhou's pupils constricted sharply.

The System never lies, nor does it misjudge. Since it determined "was supposed to die," it meant that in the chaos just now, a fatal attack had definitely landed on that person.

But he was still alive now.

Who saved him? Or rather... was there something that shouldn't exist that blocked that strike for him?

That redacted name was like an unsolved mystery, floating quietly in the red background, waiting to be uncovered.