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The first month wasn't bad. They had been making steady progress and had not met with any difficulties. Their average distance each day was about a few tens of miles. Food had been in abundance and demonic beasts had stayed away from the entourage due to their strength. Of course, some were curious and wished to investigate the reason behind a mass movement such as this. It wasn't often that so many Xiantian Realm masters traveled together in one place. It was like a mini army was marching to war. The sounds of horses moving in resonance could be heard from over a kilometer away. The people in villages far away would hear this stomping and instantly be frightened. Only when the army passed by would the villages calm down. They still remained on guard and with vigilance however. Feng Yun had doubts about keeping such a large force of seventy Xiantian Realm masters as an entourage for the escorted people. A large force like this would be easily found by bandits or a sleeping Tyrant or Truth Realm beast that had been woken by the sounds. There were many dangers associated with taking so much people. It would only ward off people or beasts lower than their level. But if there were to be an entire organized horde of Xiantian Realm beasts, then it was hard to say what the outcome would be.

Hordes were not common along the border of the Xu Dynasty and the Tian Ming Empire. There usually was only hordes when a bunch of Xiantian Realm beasts had the same goal and needed help to achieve it. Xiantian Realm beasts possessed extraordinary intelligence and could be very powerful opponents. The higher the stage of a Xiantian Realm beast, the more intelligence it possessed. They were not too far from having the level of a human's inteligence. The other circumstance in which a horde might appear is if there is a Tyrant or Truth Realm beast nearby. Those types of powerful beasts could have the power and authority to lead and command a horde. If such a situation happened, it was highly likely that the entourage would be slaughtered. After all, who could stand up to a beast of that power among their entourage. Beasts of the Tyrant or Truth Realm had an extremely powerful intelligence. It could be said to rival a human's intelligence and were quite formidable. It was incredibly hard to kill one. Even if you were much stronger than it, it will always have methods to escape the terrible situation. Beasts have lived among the wilderness all their lives. Naturally, they would have tons more combat experience than a human who has lived with their mother's protection.

Feng Yun had not said anything however and chose to remain quiet. He could not affect anything even if he did indeed say anything. During the nights that most of the cultivators would sleep, he would be out training and honing his already developed skills. He did not want to cultivate else it would come to fast, and he would have an unstable base foundation when making breakthroughs in the future. By training his skills alone, he would still be able to contend with opponents several levels higher than him. Train his skills more rather than cultivate as much! That was his training regimen. One night, as he was walking through the camp that the mercenaries set up, he happened to pass the tent of Chief Dong Fuzhen. He appeared to be having a conversation with the other four commanders. Feng Yun found what they were talking about to be interesting and decided to eavesdrop on their talk.

"Tomorrow, we will be passing through the area of Cui Fu. It's generally a peaceful area but rumor has it that there has been a local bandit group assaulting the villages. I wouldn't even have considered this a threat before, but it seems that their numbers have gotten large and their ranks are made up of multiple Xiantian Realm masters. We will have to be careful not to come into contact with them." Dong Fuzhen's voice seemed tinged with worry.

"Then we will have to set up a strong perimeter around the elder and girl's carriage and tell our soldiers to be especially vigilant. If we are aware of the danger, perhaps the casualties will be less." One commander's voice sounded out.

"Hmm, we cannot avoid a direct confrontation if they are still in these lands. After all, our size is quite big. It's hard to miss an army of our size. The bandits will probably realize that we are protecting something important and try to investigate. With their numbers, they'll probably consider trying to attack us." Another commander said.

"Well we do have an advantage. From what I know, these bandits are a newly formed group and although their numbers are comparable to ours, they still lack organization in their troops. We could use this to our advantage if we come into contact with them." An intelligent comment came from another commander.

Chief Dong Fuzhen was silent as he took in all these comments and thought hard about the matter of procedure. He made a decision after a minute.

"Alright then, since these bandits are new, we still have an advantage. We will continue forward and not worry too much. Just tell the battalions under your command to be extra careful and keep a tight perimeter around Elder Zhou and the young miss."

With that, the meeting was closed. The commanders got up to leave and proceeded to leave the tent. Feng Yun realized that he was still around the tent and stealthily left the vicinity. As he moved back to his camp, he thought about the information he had received. Bandits around Cui Fu? The fact that they posed the slightest worry to the Chief was enough. As long as there was a margin for error, there would be some sort of trouble. Feng Yun returned to camp and found Xia Qing still awake, clearly bored. He warned her about the bandits in Cui Fu and told her to be especially vigilant. She nodded her head and understood. The others would be briefed by Dong Fuzhen tomorrow so there was no need to tell them. If he told them, they would get suspicious and ask how he knew that. They were loyal members of the Death Singer Mercenaries so they wouldn't like it if a new member snooped around and eavesdropped around their chief;Even if he had a lot of talent and power within the group. Feng Yun chose to just keep watch and train through the night instead of sleeping. Sleeping was a luxury that he didn't really need. he was used to not sleeping since his days as an assassin and the stronger you got in cultivation, the less you would need to sleep.

The next morning, the entourage left early due to the danger of the bandits. The commanders didn't tell them too much. Just that they had to remain especially vigilant this morning. The other members of Battalion 5 and the other battalions were confused but they obeyed orders and kept special watch. They formed a tight perimeter around the carriage such that about five layers of mercenaries surrounded it. The girl and Elder Zhou came out of the carriage, slightly curious about the new development. The girl looked around and said,

"Dong Fuzhen, what is the reason for this change in formation? Weren't we sticking to a certain formation a while ago?" The girl spoke in a very disrespectful tone, and without any honorifics. It was obvious that even to elders, she would not put respect towards. Dong Fuzhen turned to face the girl, his eyes twitching slightly. Evidently, he was struggling to contain his rage. No one had been this disrespectful to him in many years! He hesitated a bit before saying,

"Haha, Young Miss, there's been a slight change in the situation. Nothing too serious, we just need to remain in this formation until we're out of Cui Fu." Dong Fuzhen tried to assure her.

"Hmm, is that so? Well, do your job correctly. If there is any harm to me or Grandpa, then my father will come over here himself and destroy you all." The girl narrowed her eyes. She could tell that Dong Fuzhen wasn't telling everything to her. Dong Fuzhen shuddered a bit upon hearing the word 'father'. He most likely knew the identity of this 'father' and was scared out of his wits.

"Rest assured, it won't come to that. Now, you best get back into the carriage, we must haste to get over---" Dong Fuzhen was cut off by the sounds of horns. They were the type of coned horns that soldiers used in wars to signify the marching of troops. The battalions all looked towards the source of the sound, attempting to figure out what it was. Over the horizon about a mile or two in front of them, a hill sloped upwards facing them. However, the dark lines of figures could be seen moving upwards along the slope of the hill. They were moving at an abnormal pace and seemed to have cavalry on their side. Most of them were bald with sharp spears and leather vests for protection. Their teeth were gleaming white as they cackled in the wind. They were surprisingly good riders as their horses were synced into five formations of horsemen. Behind the cavalry was another set of men, this time infantry. They had helmets on their heads and metal chest plates for armor. Their faces showed the same ecstasy as the cavalry, one filled with greed and happiness. As if they found a very suitable target for them to hunt. They were very imposing and dominated the green fields that they trampled on in dust and smoke. Two people in their ranks carried flagpoles made of ivory and contained the symbol of a bull's head on them. Dong Fuzhen was looking at the army with a grim look.

"Their total numbers rank up to about eighty men. Thirty cavalry and fifty infantry. They overpower us with numbers, but we still have horses. We are all on horseback so killing them off won't be as hard." He quickly made a judgement.

"Hold on, bandits?! They've never been this organized before. To not tell us of this danger beforehand, you have been irresponsible in your duty of protecting us," The girl impudently said. She still would not stop talking despite the situation before them.

"SHUT UP GIRL! I don't care what status you have. We are in a state of emergency here. If you want to cry, then go fuck yourself. I could turn my troops back right now. You're not in a position to do anything! Get back into the carriage now!" Chief Dong Fuzhen had clearly become enraged out of his mind and completely disregarded her status at this point. They were in a state of mortal danger and she was quibbling about duty? He became furious and shouted at the girl. The girl at this moment was red-faced and had an expression that of indignation. However, she didn't say anything and went back into the carriage. The men around the chief smiled and nodded in approval. They had all hoped that girl would get a verbal thrashing and she did. Feng Yun even cracked a smile at the expression the girl had on her face after being shouted at. However, his expression became serious in an instant, as did the others. This was because the soldiers were getting much closer to their current position. The chief smiled grimly and said,

"Alright, people get into position! Protect the carriage at all costs!"

The men moved into their correct spots and formed a tight formation. It seemed even impenetrable for an outsider looking at it. The bandits approaching them slowed their pace until they were only a few meters away from them. On man on horseback came out from the crowd and smiled with his large, grueling teeth.

"Haha, what a large and scary force you have here. To have this much people, you must be escorting something valuable! I would like you to hand it over, else, we may have to resort to...violent means." The man was clearly the leader. Chief Dong Fuzhen only smiled and said,

"I'm afraid we cannot do that! We have been given a strict mission and we are to abide by it. If you wish to take our things, you'll have to get past us." Although he was a bit disturbed by the large force that the bandits presented, he still put on a fierce gaze towards them. He would never give up, even in the face of mortal danger! The bandit leader frowned a bit, and then said,

"Is that so? Well, too bad. I was going to leave you guys alive if you gave it to us, but it seems that isn't an option now. No hard feelings but, DIE!!!"