Blood River Fortress, located in the northern war zone of the Human Demon Battlefield.
The surrounding mountains are rugged and the earth veins are magnificent, forming a massive slow-moving V-shape with its mountain trends on both sides.
Blood River Fortress sits at the lowest point of this V-shape.
There is a large river traversing these surrounding mountains.
Initially, this river was called Crying Dragon River, as its waters rush through the mountain valleys with vague sounds akin to crying, and its river veins are long, hence named Crying Dragon River.
However, ten thousand years ago, a grand battle took place here, with forces from both human and demon sides exceeding ten million, yet less than half survived to leave.
Since then, the once-clear waters of Crying Dragon River gained a tinge of blood, especially at night when sunlight fades, resembling a Blood River.
Gradually, it became known as Blood River.
Since the grand battle ten thousand years ago, the original Crying Dragon River Fortress capable of housing fifty thousand troops was upgraded and expanded into Blood River Fortress, accommodating three hundred thousand soldiers, persisting to this day.
The entire defense area of Blood River Fortress spans a north-south line of four hundred thousand li, a depth of one hundred thousand li east-west, with four small military fortresses, sixteen military strongholds, and over a hundred beacon fire towers below.
These four small military fortresses require a minimum of ten thousand troops each, each military stronghold requires at least a thousand troops, and each beacon fire tower is equipped with two squads totaling a hundred soldiers.
In other words, just the subordinate military structures require the allocation of nearly seventy thousand soldiers.
Based on an army composition of one hundred twenty thousand, Ye Zhen’s forces stationed at the fortress only amount to fifty thousand, which is quite tight.
Even with Ye Zhen’s current army of two hundred twenty thousand, excluding two thousand reserve troops, after dispatching seventy thousand, only one hundred thirty thousand army remain at Blood River Fortress.
If an incident occurs, the military strength would also be quite strained.
The three hundred thousand soldier limit at Blood River Fortress is not without reason.
However, the troop composition of a fortress is not solely made up of these.
There are also sin slaves!
Great Zhou occupies immense territory, with countless people convicted of various crimes every year and enslaved as sin slaves.
The Law of Great Zhou is rather strict in some respects, even leading to instances where all citizens of an enfeoffed nation are enslaved as sin slaves.
For some lineage-death sentences, besides the main line, all collateral line relatives are exiled to the Human Demon Battlefield as sin slaves.
Those condemned as sin slaves are distributed to different locations in various war zones based on circumstances.
For example, women of suitable age become camp prostitutes, while those with good looks and luck may be protected by mid to high-level officers, serving them individually for as long as luck permits.
As for males, those with some cultivation are enlisted into the frontline daredevil teams, essentially cannon fodder.
A glimmer of hope exists: the opportunity to kill a demon allows one to break free from the sin slave identity.
Decapitating one demon clan earns standard military weaponry, a third level earns departure from daredevil teams to join regular army-like death camps.
At the ninth level, one can fully cleanse their sins, break free from the sin slave identity, opt to continue serving in the Border Army, or return to their original Great Zhou residency as ordinary citizens.
The quantity of sin slaves allocated varies with the military unit level.
After holding the Military Seal of Defense from the Human Demon Battlefield Commander’s Mansion and traveling day and night for one and a half months with the army, Ye Zhen’s unit finally reached Blood River Fortress.
The army stationed at Blood River Fortress at this moment is under a Marquis Bai Shuang of second rank, whose title is significantly higher than Ye Zhen’s.
During the inspection and handover of military orders among key officers under both chiefs, Ye Zhen had a brief conversation with this Marquis Bai Shuang.
This Marquis Bai Shuang has been stationed at the Human Demon Battlefield for almost eleven years, eagerly awaiting Ye Zhen’s arrival for relief today.
However, beneath the joyful expression of anticipation, there remained a deep tone of exhaustion.
"Our Blood River Fortress, though not the most critical location, and due to its depth, it is not a primary attack target of the demon clan, yet small-scale harassment persists continuously.
When I came, I brought an army of three hundred sixty thousand, but now, only two hundred thirty thousand will return with me, precisely thirteen thousand brothers... Cheers!"
Marquis Bai Shuang silently raised the two cups in front of him, first sprinkled a circle with one cup, then drained the other in one gulp, a silent tear traced down his eye, flowing along the ridges of the scar in his eye corner.
This scene left Ye Zhen quite moved.
The army of Marquis Bai Shuang may lack significant achievements, but this silent perseverance and sacrifice are most worthy of admiration.
"Cheers!"
Ye Zhen also sprinkled a cup on the ground as an offering before downing another cup.
"Especially those beacon fire towers and military strongholds, must dispatch more soldiers and be extra cautious. In fact, considering the geographical position of Blood River Fortress, the fortress itself and military fortifications face little danger.
The real danger lies in military strongholds and beacon fire towers with relatively few stationed troops." Marquis Bai Shuang casually told Ye Zhen.
"Military strongholds and beacon fire towers?" Ye Zhen questioned, "Demon clan only attacks beacon fire towers and military strongholds, does such small-scale harassment and assault have any effect?"
"Basically none!"
"Then why do they want to do this?"
Marquis White Frost’s expression was somewhat sorrowful, "Food, instinct, military accomplishments, wealth, slaves, or simply for the sake of slaughter!"
These words made Ye Zhen’s expression suddenly tighten.
Gradually, the nature of the Demon Clan suddenly seemed to be unlocked, exploding in Ye Zhen’s heart.
Over the years, the Demon Clan that Ye Zhen encountered were mostly nobles or royals within the Demon Clan. During battles with them, Ye Zhen subconsciously treated them as if they were the Human Clan.
It wasn’t until Marquis White Frost’s words that Ye Zhen recalled the true nature of the Demon Clan, and the real memories seen while wandering with Princess Changle in the Demon Clan’s territory.
To the Demon Clan, all humans are just food, just wealth, just military accomplishments.
The lower-ranked the demons, the more apparent their preferences.
They treat humans as food.
According to the Demon Clan’s sayings, human flesh and blood is the most delicious food in the world, containing the most spirit nature. The stronger the cultivation of humans, the more delicious, the more spirit nature it contains.
Besides cultivation, eating humans can rapidly enhance their cultivation, even transforming their intelligence.
This aspect is different from the Demon Race.
The Demon Race eats humans, but eating ordinary humans is useless; only by eating the flesh and blood of powerful humans can they enhance their cultivation.
However, the Demon Clan is different. Even if humans have low cultivation, which can’t help much in enhancing cultivation, it can still enlighten their spirit wisdom.
This alone determines the value of humans to the Demon Clan.
And that’s why there are endless attacks and wars from the Demon Clan.
Some historians from the Great Zhou Dynasty even remarked that the initial war of invasion by the Demon Clan, when they invaded as outsiders during the great changes of heaven and earth, was essentially just a battle for food.
"Moreover, actually, there are some beacon towers where you don’t have to station troops at all. This way, you can avoid significant casualties.
A half of the brothers who died under my command were those stationed at beacon towers.
If I had dared to do this earlier, the casualties could have been reduced by at least one third." Marquis White Frost gave Ye Zhen another suggestion.
"Thank you!" Ye Zhen nodded noncommittally.
"Alright, the handover here is complete as well. I will now lead the army to withdraw. Eleven years! It’s time for me to rest!"
With a bow of the hand, Marquis White Frost stood up. With a command, the 160,000-strong army stationed at Blood River Fortress gradually exited the city, while Ye Zhen’s Heavenly Wave Army of North Sea entered the city in succession to take over the city defense.
However, the handover wasn’t that simple.
There were also surrounding military forts, military strongholds, and beacon towers that required separate handovers one by one.
This handover lasted a full half month before it was completely finished.
Ye Zhen’s Heavenly Wave Army of North Sea has completely taken over the entire Blood River Fortress defense line, officially beginning the joint defense of the Human Demon Battlefield.
Marquis White Frost’s suggestion sounds good, but completely giving up the warning of the beacon towers, Ye Zhen dared not.
It wasn’t that Ye Zhen’s guts weren’t big enough, but at this moment, there were simply too many people watching Ye Zhen.
If Ye Zhen dared to make a mistake, someone would immediately come to make trouble.
Giving up warning of some beacon towers might be an internal affair for others, but for Ye Zhen, it could lead to big trouble.
For now, Ye Zhen still has another major matter to attend to.
Convict Slaves!
The management of convict slaves throughout Blood River Fortress.
"Lord, our army has received a total of 48,000 convict slaves in Blood River Fortress, including over 8,000 cooks, laborers, and camp prostitutes, 34,000 in the convict slave camp, and 6,000 strong combatants in the death camp.
Previously, these convict slaves were scattered across Blood River Fortress and four major military forts. Now, according to your command, they have all been gathered in Blood River Fortress, just waiting for your orders." Liuu Feng reported.
With a flick of the body, Ye Zhen appeared with Liuu Feng above the parade ground where 48,000 convict slaves had been assembled.
"Firstly, from today onwards, no convict slaves shall serve as cooks. All cooks must be undertaken by sons of the Heavenly Wave Army of North Sea. The original convict slave cooks shall all serve as hard laborers." Ye Zhen issued his first order.
With a wave of his hand, Liuu Feng immediately deployed teams of military law soldiers from the Heavenly Wave Army of North Sea to forcibly remove the convict slaves from the cook positions and direct them to the hard labor group.
Standing high in the sky, Ye Zhen looked at the convict slaves’ forehead marks, the convict slave brand, which was the Sin Slave Mark, forged secretly by the Ancestor God Temple, containing numerous extremely vicious restrictions.
Once branded, even on the Innate Divine Soul, the same convict slave mark would appear, and if they were to escape, the Ancestor God Temple had secret techniques to track them, and could even invoke a secret technique that would cause their instant death within one realm!
However, no matter how powerful this convict slave mark was, it was dead, while people were alive!
With a cold shout, Ye Zhen boldly ordered, "Send down the command, all convict slaves are to be marked again with the convict slave mark of the Barbarian Spirit Hall!"
As soon as these words were stated, the over forty thousand convict slaves who had been quietly waiting immediately erupted!

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