Chapter 539: Jinyang’s Decision, Cai Qiuning’s Horror |
Year 13 of Great Xia, First day of the first lunar month
In the final moments before dawn, Cai Qiuhu finally led his battered troops to the outskirts of Jinyang City. However, looking at the sturdy city wall assembled from twenty-meter-tall massive iron pillars about a li away to the north, the faces of him and the other Caiqiu higher-ups all showed difficulty.
The sturdy wall itself was secondary; the key was the countless armored soldiers standing atop it, all vigilantly watching the south. It was clear they had received the news long ago and knew they were coming.
A somewhat disheveled figure swiftly approached from the direction of the city wall. Upon drawing near, he immediately bowed and clasped his hands toward Cai Qiuhu, reporting, "Reporting to the Little Fang Bo, we have just conducted a close reconnaissance of the city wall. There are still over ten thousand defenders inside the city. Great Xia has also left six Sun Manifestation Level experts. We were discovered as soon as we got close. Although we couldn't see too much, a conservative estimate puts the number of Digging Realm cultivators inside the city at over fifty thousand."
As soon as the army entered the Yinhe Valley area, Cai Qiuhu had sent Sun Manifestation Level scouts to probe the actual situation in Jinyang City. This scout looked somewhat disheveled, clearly indicating he had been discovered by Great Xia's Sun Manifestation Level experts during the reconnaissance and had already clashed with them.
Cai Qiuhu's already unpleasant expression instantly turned even gloomier.
"Ten thousand defenders are nothing to fear. If all eight of us attack together, with fifty thousand troops plus so many Sun Manifestation Level experts, half an hour is enough to breach the city!"
Previously, during the camp explosion incident when leaving Hanzhao, although Qin Feng and Shangguan Yang had personally come forward to pacify the troops, more than half still fled in the end. Cai Qiu Hong's claim of fifty thousand troops was actually an exaggeration. The combined soldiers from the two towns below now numbered at most a little over forty-five thousand.
Although it was a siege, forty-five thousand against ten thousand, plus they had eight Tribulation Body Realm experts and over a hundred Sun Manifestation Level experts on their side, breaching the city shouldn't be too difficult.
Sunlight pills!
He had almost forgotten about that.
Cai Qiuhu's expression darkened. Although this was his first time in the Southern Foothills region, he knew quite a bit about Great Xia's situation, and he happened to know about these sunlight pills.
Pills that allowed Digging Realm cultivators to appear during the day weren't considered particularly precious items in Mo'ao Chuan, but in the Southern Foothills region, it was different.
Especially right now, they were enough to make them apprehensive about this city.
"What can sunlight pills do? It's just fifty thousand Digging Realm cultivators. Are the armies of your two towns all useless trash? Such a small..."
"Eldest Brother!"
Seeing the expressions of Qin Feng and Shangguan Yang growing increasingly unpleasant, Cai Qiuhu directly interrupted his eldest brother Cai Qiuyang, then continued, "Even if we could breach it, it wouldn't work. Great Xia's three armies are only twenty-some kilometers away from us. They'll arrive in at most half an hour. Half an hour—are you confident you can breach Jinyang in that time?"
Upon hearing this question, everyone immediately fell silent.
"Unless the Fang Bo takes action!"
Finally, Zhu Huorong spoke up.
But Cai Qiuhu directly shook his head. "I'm afraid even if the Fang Bo takes action, it won't work. Would Xia Hong just watch us breach the city? If he brings out those fourteen Beast Emperor-Level Puppets, we still won't be able to handle them. If we truly get entangled here, I'm afraid not a single one of the fifty thousand troops will survive..."
Hearing this, Zhu Huorong wanted to refute, but after looking around, he ultimately didn't speak.
Top-tier combat power certainly has the ability to sway a battlefield, but that's only when the other side doesn't have it and you do. Since both sides have it, then there's no talk of swaying the battlefield.
Master Cai Qianshan's strength is, of course, formidable, but Xia Hong's fourteen Beast Emperor-Level Puppets are no weaklings either. The key point is that they are puppets unafraid of death and pain. In a prolonged fight, if they can't be dealt with, the ones to suffer in the end would inevitably be them.
The recent experience of the great defeat at the Pass was enough proof that Caiqiu's intention to use Tribulation Body Realm experts and numerous Sun Manifestation Level experts to sway the battlefield was unachievable.
Furthermore, with the battle having reached this point, since Cai Qianshan has appeared, how could Xia Hong not keep a deathly close watch on them?
The armies have been about twenty-some kilometers apart all the way from the Pass. They were watching Xia Hong, and Xia Hong was naturally watching them too.
Although Master Cai Qianshan hadn't shown himself since the great defeat at the Pass, Zhu Huorong was certain he was nearby, constantly on guard against Xia Hong.
"Fourteen Beast Emperor-Level Puppets. Even if Great Xia doesn't send a single soldier, just these puppets suddenly erupting in violence would be enough to give the fifty thousand troops a hard time. Relying on the allied forces of the two towns, a frontal assault is simply unwinnable. We should retreat first! Retreat near the Bone-Erosion Path and wait for our town's reinforcements to arrive before fighting Great Xia!"
After pondering for a moment, Zhu Huorong offered his opinion.
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the others, while unpleasant, understood in their hearts that this was the best choice at the moment, so no one spoke.
Retreating near the Bone-Erosion Path wasn't just about avoiding the Xia troops' sharp edge; it was about first securing the southern exit of the Bone-Erosion Path.
The Caiqiu army marching south had to pass through the Bone-Erosion Path. If they didn't first secure the exit, with that exit's width of less than fifty meters, if it were blocked by the Xia troops, no matter how formidable the Caiqiu army was, they probably wouldn't be able to get out.
"Retreating, retreating near the Bone-Erosion Path, will that be enough to block the Xia troops?"
However, Cai Qiuhu directly countered with a question, essentially dismissing his senior brother Zhu Huorong's suggestion.
Hearing this, Zhu Huorong and the others all looked at him with slight confusion.
Cai Qiuhu shook his head. "Our town's main army won't arrive until the day after tomorrow. Even if the fifty thousand troops retreat near the Bone-Erosion Path, they will soon be caught up by the Xia troops. Then we'll still have to engage the Xia troops outside the Bone-Erosion Path."
The Bone-Erosion Path was essentially a naturally formed, narrow passage connecting the Southern Foothills and Mo'ao Chuan regions. It was located within the mountain mass of Mo'ao Mountain, that very mountain mass being the culprit blocking Mo'ao Chuan from the Southern Foothills.
If they were to engage in a decisive battle near the Bone-Erosion Path, once they lost, the soldiers would have no choice but to flee into the Bone-Erosion Path. With a width of less than fifty meters, how could fifty thousand troops cram inside?
In other words, if they fought a decisive battle against the Xia troops near the Bone-Erosion Path and lost, it would be a catastrophe from which there was no return. Not a single one of these fifty thousand troops from the two towns would be left.
Moreover, due to terrain limitations, once the situation got out of control, if Xia Hong deployed all his puppets, even they, these Sun Manifestation Level experts and even Tribulation Body Realm cultivators, might risk losing their lives.
"Qiuhu, then what do you mean?"
Hearing the impatience in his eldest brother Cai Qiuyang's voice, Cai Qiuhu stopped beating around the bush and said gravely, "Two methods. First, force the siege. If we can successfully breach Jinyang within half an hour, given this city's sturdiness, holding off the Xia troops for two days wouldn't be too difficult.
Second, directly retreat into the interior of the Bone-Erosion Path, preserve our strength, wait for our main army to arrive, then combine forces from both sides to break through the Bone-Erosion Path."
After stating the two methods, Cai Qiuhu's expression turned even grimmer.
Neither of these paths looked good.
The former: breaching the city in half an hour seemed highly unlikely. Once delayed until the Xia troops arrived, the fifty thousand would be completely annihilated. At that point, their Caiqiu group would have no choice but to retreat through the Bone-Erosion Path.
The latter: if the fifty thousand retreated into the interior of the Bone-Erosion Path, the Xia troops would immediately seal the Bone-Erosion Path tight. Trying to break through then would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Cai Qiuyang, Zhu Huorong, and the other six Tribulation Body Realm experts, upon hearing this, lowered their heads in thought for a moment, and their expressions also turned ugly.
If Cai Qiuhu could think of it, they naturally could too.
"The Bone-Erosion Path is so narrow. If our Caiqiu main army can't break through it, adding their fifty thousand, could they break through then? Let's besiege the city! Take a gamble. If we can breach Jinyang, we'll defend with all our might. Blocking the Xia troops for two days shouldn't be a big problem. If the Xia troops split their forces to seal the Bone-Erosion Path exit, we can just sally out from the city to attack their rear, assisting our feudatory's main army's southward advance."
The usually taciturn Third Brother Cai Qiu Hong finally spoke up.
"That's the only way. The Xia troops will be here in half an hour!"
Cai Qiuhu directly made the decision. After exchanging a few glances with his two elder brothers, a strange glint flashing in his eyes, he directly turned his head and addressed Qin Feng and Shangguan Yang, "You two, order the siege! We will all take action. As long as Xia Hong doesn't appear, breaching the city in half an hour shouldn't be a problem."
Was it possible Xia Hong wouldn't appear? This Caiqiu group was clearly treating the allied fifty thousand troops as expendable resources, using them to wear down the Xia troops, paving the way for the subsequent southward advance of the Caiqiu main army.
Shameless!
At this moment, Qin Feng wished he could roar the word "shameless" out loud. After all, he had been a Lord Leader for decades. How could the strange glint that flashed in the eyes of the Cai Qiuhu brothers during their silent exchange escape him?
Breaching the city in half an hour was pure fantasy.
Retreating into the Bone-Erosion Path, preserving these fifty thousand troops, waiting for the Caiqiu main army to advance south, then combining forces to deal with Great Xia—that was clearly the better choice.
But this Cai Qiuhu group obviously didn't take the allied fifty thousand troops from the two towns seriously, ready to sacrifice them at a moment's notice.
And they actually wanted him and Shangguan Yang to order the siege?
Rage continuously surged in Qin Feng's heart. He also felt immensely grateful for his previous action of hinting to his two sons to lead the camp explosion and desertion.
If Wuchuan's forty-some thousand had truly followed Caiqiu here, in the end, probably not a single one would have been preserved.
He didn't answer Cai Qiuhu immediately. Instead, he looked at Shangguan Yang not far away and noticed a trace of suppressed anger rising on his old acquaintance's face. He instantly realized this old friend was also reaching his limit.
"My lord, this is fifty thousand troops! Wouldn't it be better to preserve them first? They would surely be of great assistance to your esteemed feudatory's main army. Why must they be lost here?"
Shangguan Yang finally couldn't hold back. Even so, he only offered a gentle persuasion, hoping Cai Qiuhu would change his mind.
Seeing this, Qin Feng immediately nodded in agreement, "Lord Shangguan is right. My lord, the fact that these fifty thousand soldiers below didn't leave even after the camp explosion shows their loyalty. As long as they are preserved, when your esteemed feudatory later engages the Xia troops, these men will surely be a powerful asset. There's absolutely no need for them to be lost here."
Upon hearing their words, Cai Qiuhu's expression darkened slightly.
"Just after the camp explosion, both of you lords said you would obey my Caiqiu's every word henceforth without a second thought. How much time has passed since then that you're already going back on your word? Order the siege. I don't want to say it a second time!"
As soon as Cai Qiuhu's slightly threatening words left his mouth, Cai Qiuyang, Zhu Huorong, and the others immediately took a step forward, moving close to Qin Feng and Shangguan Yang's sides.
Qin Feng's expression changed slightly. He hurriedly clasped his hands and said, "Qin will go give the order to the troops below immediately. Honorable sirs, please wait a moment!"
"Shangguan Yang will go issue the order now!"
Shangguan Yang also lost his nerve and immediately clasped his hands and nodded.
The two dared not delay in the slightest and directly flew toward the army below.
Of course, Zhu Huorong and Cai Qiuyang, one for each, followed closely by their sides without leaving an inch.
Just as the four left, a figure swiftly sped over from the rear.
"Pfft..."
That person's speed was extremely fast, but his aura was extremely chaotic. While still a hundred meters away, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. As he drew near, his figure staggered, almost falling to the ground.
"Second Brother!"
Seeing the newcomer, the expressions of brothers Cai Qiuhu and Cai Qiu Hong changed drastically in shock. They rushed forward to support him.
The newcomer was none other than their Second Brother Cai Qiuning, who had voluntarily offered to go kill Qin He, Qin Shan, and Shangguan Long during the recent camp explosion.
Cai Qiuning's clothes were in tatters, with two terrifying slash marks on his chest. The worst was his forehead, where a large piece of flesh had been sliced off, revealing stark white bone, and even a crack could be seen.
For a Tribulation Body Realm expert, such injuries were also extremely shocking.
"Second Brother, how did it get this bad? Could it be you were ambushed by Great Xia's Beast Emperor puppets?"
Cai Qiuning didn't answer Cai Qiuhu's question. Instead, he first closed his eyes to adjust his breathing. After calming down, he opened his eyes, his pupils filled with fear and shock.
"The surroundings are full of Great Xia's scouts. As soon as the deserting soldiers from the camp explosion fled, they were immediately taken in by the Xia troops. I followed Zhu Qing's blood-guiding insects all the way to the vicinity of Qin He and Qin Shan. Just as I was about to make my move to kill the two, unexpectedly, that Xia Hong suddenly appeared!"
At this point, Cai Qiuning paused, then continued, "He didn't bring any puppets; he came alone. I originally thought, since he was being so overconfident by not bringing puppets, I'd try to see if I could kill him directly. But the result..."
Gulp!
Cai Qiuning swallowed, a look of horror gradually rising in his pupils, his voice trembling as he said, "That Xia Hong, clearly only has Sun Manifestation Level cultivation, not even having broken through to the late stage. Yet his strength actually reaches 260 Jun. How is that possible, how is that possible..."
He kept muttering "how is that possible, how is that possible," looking utterly devastated, clearly having suffered a tremendous shock to his psyche.
Of course, it wasn't just him. Upon hearing his description, Cai Qiu Hong and the other three Tribulation Body Realm experts present also had expressions of complete stupefaction.
Even Cai Qiuhu, who had personally witnessed Xia Hong take action and briefly clashed with him before, had his face instantly freeze.
He remembered clearly: last night beneath the walls of Pass City, when Xia Hong killed Cai Shiqi in front of his father and Fang Bo Cai Qianshan, he, furious beyond measure, directly attacked, only to be blocked by Xia Hong.
At that time, he had unleashed his full strength, a full 245 Jun. Although it was neutralized by Xia Hong, he could sense at the time that Xia Hong's strength was at most just over 200 Jun.
He hadn't witnessed Xia Hong fighting at full strength, so he had always assumed Xia Hong was at the peak of the Sun Manifestation Level. Logically, having such strength at the Sun Manifestation Level, even if at the peak, would be extremely heaven-defying.
And now, his Second Brother Cai Qiuning was saying that Xia Hong hadn't even broken through to the late stage of the Sun Manifestation Level.
Mid-stage Sun Manifestation, with strength exceeding 260 Jun.
This... how is that possible... how is that possible?
For a moment, Cai Qiuhu was also thrown into disarray. He kept repeating this sentence in his mind, even wondering if perhaps Second Brother Cai Qiuning, having been defeated by Xia Hong and his mind in disarray, had misjudged.
"Attack the city!"
While the Cai Qiuhu group in the sky was in disarray, down below, the two Lord Leaders Qin Feng and Shangguan Yang, under the coercion of the Cai and Zhu Tribulation Body Realm experts, also issued the order to attack the city to the allied fifty thousand troops of the two towns.
"Charge!"
"Brothers, capture Jinyang, and the Xia troops won't dare kill our families!"
"Breach Jinyang, then wait for our main army to advance south, and the threat to our towns will naturally be resolved!"
...
The two town lords did have some brainwashing skills after all.
They actually managed to rouse the morale of the fifty thousand allied troops. Fifty thousand men simultaneously charged toward the south gate of Jinyang City. Blood energy soared into the sky above, and a vast expanse of armor covered the ground below, constantly reflecting blinding cold light under the illumination of the daytime cold light.
Though a remnant force, for a moment, their momentum was indeed enough to make one lose their senses.