A few days later, when Zhou Yan entered the territory again, he had already received the news that the crystal ore veins had been completely excavated.
"Finally, it's done," Zhou Yan sighed. This excavation had taken a lot of time, and the fundamental reason was the lack of miners.
Since the excavation was complete, Zhou Yan certainly wouldn't stay here any longer.
Zhou Yan then requested leave from the head tutor, and the request was naturally granted.
Zhou Yan immediately summoned all the soldiers back to the territory, then took out another coordinate stone, which was the coordinate stone leading to the Soul Continent.
"Lord, the entire army has been arranged. We can depart at any time," Bai Qi said to Zhou Yan.
Recently, Bai Qi had been specially transferred back to the territory to enter the [Cultivation Chamber] for training. After a few days of cultivation, his strength and realm had obviously improved.
When there was no war, top generals like them naturally did not need to be on the front lines; matters could be handled by their subordinates.
However, Zhou Yan's trip to the Soul Continent this time was not for mining or hunting monsters, but for trading. Therefore, he did not need to bring too many people, and certainly not too many, as too many people couldn't even enter that place.
Thus, no soldiers accompanied him on this trip; all were powerhouses of general rank and above.
Bai Qi naturally had to go, but the entire territory still needed another person capable of commanding the entire army. This person was naturally Chen Qingzhi.
Therefore, Zhou Yan appointed Chen Qingzhi as the deputy marshal of the territory. During their absence, the military power of the territory would be under Chen Qingzhi's unified command, with Zhang Liang as the strategist.
Zhou Yan had also carefully considered who to bring on this trip to the Soul Continent. Gao Shun was definitely not to be moved; he was to continue training the [Guanghan Fairy] troops.
However, Diao Chan, Zhen Mi, Cai Yan, Zhao Min, Xiao Zhao, and Zhou Zhiruo could all accompany Zhou Yan to the Soul Continent. Their strength was also formidable, ranking among the best in the territory.
As for Da Qiao, Xiao Qiao, Sun Shangxiang, Nie Xiaoqian, Yin Lihua, and Wei Zifou, they would remain in the territory; they also had their own matters to attend to.
Regarding other generals, Zhou Yan had also left over a dozen generals behind, while the rest would accompany him.
Li Guang, Xie Xuan, Liu Laozhi, Bai Qi, Li Xin, Meng Ao, Meng Wu, Meng Tian, Meng Yi, Zhao Yun, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Hong, Cao Ren, Yan Chixia, Wu Song, Xiao Siyue, Dian Wei, Zhang Xiu, Wen Pin, Hou Junji, Yang Zaixing, Wang Junhuan, Qin Qiong, Long Shan of the Dragon Clan, Hu Li, Hu Ling, the beastman Geli Lu, Zhang Wuji, Wei Yixiao, Yin Tianzheng, Xie Xun, Fan Yao, Yang Xiao, and Dai Qisi were all arranged by Zhou Yan to be dispatched.
As for Zhang Sanfeng and his disciples, Zhou Yan had left them in the territory.
Before leaving the territory, Zhou Yan first arranged all matters. He said to Xiao He, Fang Xuanling, Zhang Liang, Xun Yu, and Zhang Zhao, "The affairs of the territory are all entrusted to you."
"Zhang Liang, especially you. When you arrive there, you must ensure the defense of the territory. Although I believe no one can infiltrate the territory with its current strength, we still need to maintain necessary defenses," Zhou Yan said to Zhang Liang.
Zhang Liang cupped his hands and replied, "Lord, rest assured. All matters of the territory can be left to me. Zhang Liang will certainly protect everything in the territory."
The territory was so powerful that if anyone could actually infiltrate it, Zhang Liang could only assume that their strength was too great for them to resist.
The territory had over 300,000 people, with soldiers alone numbering over 200,000. Unless the enemy could eliminate all these top-tier soldiers, there was little they could do.
"Lord, rest assured. We will handle all matters, big and small, in the territory," Xiao He also said to Zhou Yan.
Nodding, with them arranging everything in the territory, Zhou Yan indeed didn't need to worry too much; everything would be handled by them.
Opening the coordinate stone, and then using the Lord's Heart, he teleported the entire territory to the location of the coordinate stone.
After the territory was teleported to a new location, Zhou Yan did not immediately take action. He confirmed that there were no monsters before saying, "Generals, heed my command and follow me."
"Yes!"
A total of one hundred top-tier generals, with the lowest quality being R-grade. If this lineup were to be revealed, it would absolutely shock everyone in the Lord's world.
Others might consider themselves lucky to have one RRR-grade hero, but Zhou Yan had a large group of them. This was the difference between a cheater and an ordinary person.
What's more, this cheater was very low-key and careful, showing no intention of exposing himself, which made him even more terrifying.
Zhou Yan, riding his warhorse, took out a map. This map was one he had previously...
Including Zhou Yan, a total of one hundred people were heading towards a town belonging to the Soul Alliance.
The name of that faction was the Soul Alliance. The entire Soul Continent was firmly controlled by this faction, which possessed over a thousand cities.
The Soul Alliance's controlled territory only allowed a maximum of one hundred people from a single faction to enter; more were not permitted. This was why Zhou Yan had only brought one hundred people.
Zhou Yan deployed over a dozen intelligent reconnaissance drones, gathering information on the surrounding dozens of kilometers. In the territory, Yin Lihua and others would transmit all the information to him.
After a long while, Yin Lihua sent a message.
"Lord, dozens of kilometers away, we have spotted other territories. They should all be lords heading to the Soul Alliance for business. Those territories are all in a defensive posture, and there is no one outside their territories."
Yin Lihua conveyed the information gathered by the drones to Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan acknowledged and said, "As long as they don't attack us, we have no need to attack them. Our purpose this time is to trade items. Find a path that avoids those territories, and by the way, explore how far the nearest city of the Soul Alliance is from here."
This arrangement was also to avoid conflict and prevent them from activating their defensive towers to attack them.
"Alright, please wait a moment. The reconnaissance drones have not yet reached the Soul Alliance's location. I will first arrange a path for you," Yin Lihua quickly replied.
Zhou Yan followed the path indicated by Yin Lihua and continued to move forward.
The hundred of them all had mounts, so their speed was not slow.
Zhou Yan also had a pet. Unfortunately, his pet, Qiong Qi, had consumed too many rare heavenly treasures for nourishment and was still evolving in the pet space. It would likely not be able to help him for a while.
Otherwise, why would he still be riding his old warhorse? He would have been flying in the sky on Qiong Qi long ago.
Zhou Yan himself could also fly, so he didn't particularly need Qiong Qi. After all, Qiong Qi was still too weak; even if it appeared, it wouldn't be able to help him much.