The bandit army crawled eastward through the Jade Plains. The elite troop of calvary went off first and disappeared over the horizon. The rest followed in a slow-moving wave. Most of the fighters were at the front followed by carts and heavy wagons laden with supplies. The prisoners were last, surrounded by a thin perimeter of several hundred of the weakest bandits.

The bulk of the army was made up of those at the lower stage of the Spiritual Strengthening Realm. And most of these were simple people at the first to third levels. Like Jade Hill Town, most in Abundance Town practiced lower stage cultivation arts and could not afford anything else. Those at the fourth and fifth levels were less common. They were probably born to wealthier families that could afford some cultivation resources. They were put in charge of small squads of five or ten.

Those at the middle stage were much fewer in number and were the elites. In the whole army, there were less than fifty. They were the leaders with real responsibility. They kept the fighters organized, maintained the baggage train, and relayed orders.

As for upper-stage experts, the bandits had only eleven. They were the elders that ruled over the whole clan. Tang was also an elder but his spiritual aura was still lacking.

Gray could tell because of his eyes. While spiritual sense at this realm was limited to short distances, his eyes were not. As long as he could see them, he could see the fluctuations of spiritual energy within their bodies. He could not discern much else besides the intensity and guess their level but it was still a very useful and sneaky ability.

The massive procession of people and animals rolled across the hills and shredded the tall grass, leaving a wide trail of dirt behind. Thousands of individual steps kicked up a greenish-yellow cloud of dust that could be seen from afar.

There was no subtlety to this war. This was one borne of brute force and confidence. The bandit elders were confident. Tang Duanmu was confident. Even the weakest fighters barely at the 1st Level of the Spiritual Strengthening Realm were confident.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Gray asked Krish who was in front of him.

The old miner, tied to the same rope line as him, was teetering side to side. His steps were short and staggered as if he was about to fall.

"This is crazy... this is crazy..." Krish mumbled.

"Hey! Krish!" Gray said, louder this time, "Are you okay?"

"The bandits have gone crazy. We're all going to die!" The old miner cried forlornly.

He collapsed and refused to move, clutching his face. Others saw this and their spirits broke as well.

"Holy King help us!"

"Mama!"

Their fearful utterances were carried by the wind and promptly spread to all of the prisoners. Some collapsed and refused to walk like Krish. Others wailed to the sky, berating their misfortune. A few tried to make a run for it even though their rope mates didn't agree. The combined voice of a thousand prisoners could not be suppressed and caused the army to grind to a halt.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"Shut up!"

"Get up and walk!"

"Stand up or else!"

The guards rushed through the ranks of prisoners, whipping and beating anyone they saw misbehaving.

"Stand up!" Huzhi shouted, "We must stay strong! Krish, think of your sons, you must stay strong for them!"

Gray picked the listless Krish off the ground and whacked him across the head.

"Old fart!" Gray hissed, "Don't go senile on me! This is an order from your foreman!"

"I... I'm sorry." Krish muttered and then slapped his own face, "I'm sorry."

His sons in front of him also offered words of encouragement and he recovered. Similar scenes took place around them. Order was eventually restored through force and persuasion though their pace afterward was noticeably slower. Even the bandit's strong morale from the beginning of the day was dampened.

The army marched east for the entire day and only stopped as the sun was about to set. The bandits made camp, with tents and firepits springing up across the plains. The prisoners were given nothing but cold bread and the grass beneath their feet to sleep on. Tang's recent threats kept their overseers in line and they were given twice as much food compared to before.

"What do you think, Gray?" Huzhi asked softly.

"What do you mean?" Gray answered, munching energetically on his piece of bread.

"What do you think will happen? Will the lord be able to save us?"

The usually bombastic miner was quiet and subdued. He was brave today in front of others but in front of Gray, his foreman, he showed how he truly felt. It wasn't far from Krish.

Gray straightened his back and looked around. They were in the middle of nowhere, with tallgrass and bandits all around. Now was not the time to try anything crazy. He wasn't too worried himself but he was different from the other prisoners.

The plains were their home. Jade Hill Town was their home. And this great army of bandits meant there was a chance of losing everything. There was no way he could feel the same as them but he understood their plight.

Gray eventually replied, "I don't know... but since they are attacking Jade Hill Town, we will also be brought close to town. Maybe there will be a chance for us then. The lord will think of something. If not the lord, then the Patel family will!"

"Really?"

"Harsh is strong. Alisha is strong!" He paused that thought of Anand Patel and the fearsome power hidden beneath his sickly appearance. "There's also Anand! The Patel family is strong!"

He wasn't able to provide anything except empty promises but to his surprise; Huzhi, Krish, and others within earshot were all hanging onto his every word. They gravitated to his confident demeanor. They believed him. He was their foreman, and despite only taking that mantle for a few days, they looked up to the strong, they looked up to him.

He wasn't sure if he could bear such a responsibility. This was the first time in his life he had to worry about others, care for their life or death. He never worried about Old Li or Xueling. They were each strong and capable in their own way. The people around him might as well be helpless babies in the face of so many bandits, especially that squad of elders.

He didn't know what to do. Up to this point, the bandits had not killed any of the prisoners arbitrarily. It was unclear how long that would last, how much time he still had to pretend to be a prisoner. The longer he stayed, the riskier it was. Nobody liked spies and if he was caught, it certainly would not be good.

Gray slapped Krish on the back, "Listen up dirt worms! Regardless of how bad it gets, we have a thousand of us here."

"That's right!" Huzhi said and slammed his fist into the ground. "A thousand miners tougher than bison hide. We're miners, we're the strongest and there's strength in numbers."

There were murmurs of agreement from all around him.

Even Krish was revived, "Foreman! We won't forget your words!"