Chapter 541: The Delightful Xia Yuyao, The Walled City, and the Forbidden Airspace |
"Expendable resources?"
Upon hearing Cai Qianshan's words, Xia Hong's expression barely changed. He simply gazed at him quietly for a moment, then suddenly let out two soft chuckles.
"Yao'er, Sheng'er, in the three years Father was away, you must have come into contact with many things in Xia City. Do you know about the matters of Mo'ao Chuan?"
Not to mention Cai Qianshan and his group, even Li Xuanling hadn't expected that at this critical juncture, Xia Hong would ask the two children such a question.
As for Xia Yuyao and Xia Yusheng, it went without saying. Although they had been by Xia Hong's side since leaving Beishuo City, they had only played the role of observers the entire time, staying close to their mother Li Xuanling and focusing solely on watching.
Of course, even just watching was enough to excite two children under ten to the extreme.
From the moment the Xia troops breached Beishuo City, sealing off Wuchuan, besieging Yangju, cleverly capturing Donggu City, to last night at the foot of Pass City, where they skillfully used tunnels to shatter the allied forces' surprise attack plan—the entire process highlighted the might of the Xia army.
If the Xia army's unstoppable momentum on the battlefield merely refreshed the two children's previous understanding of the Xia forces, then the overwhelming power displayed by their father Xia Hong truly gave them an immense shock.
Although the siblings had grown up in Xia City and heard countless stories about their father Xia Hong from others, they had never witnessed it with their own eyes. Moreover, compared to other Xia people, their relationship with Xia Hong was too close, so they held some skepticism toward these tales.
That's right, Xia Yuyao and Xia Yusheng had long known about Mo'ao Chuan.
Mo'ao Chuan wasn't some incredible secret within the Southern Foothills territory, after all, people from Caiqiu and Chencang had come to operate openly. However, information about the Four Feudatories' territories, including the Fang Bos and the Tribulation Body Realm, was relatively less public.
Great Xia had only established contact with Ji Hong last year and then dispatched Jiang Xinfan to infiltrate Chencang, thereby obtaining a large amount of specific intelligence about the Four Feudatories.
Naturally, others found it difficult to acquire such intelligence, but for the siblings Xia Yuyao and Xia Yusheng, it wasn't so hard.
They had long learned the details of the Four Feudatories from their Second Uncle Xia Chuan and many of Great Xia's core high-ranking officials. They also knew that their father Xia Hong's three-year absence served two purposes: first, to seek the cultivation path beyond the Sun Manifestation Level, and second, to gather intelligence on the Four Feudatories, allowing Great Xia to prepare in advance.
"Father, Sheng'er knows. Mo'ao Chuan is our northern neighbor. There are four major feudal towns there: Chencang, Caiqiu, Hecang, and Wei Bo."
Under the gaze of everyone present, Xia Yusheng was actually a bit nervous, but he mustered his courage and was the first to answer his father.
Xia Yuyao was different. Although she didn't speak, her gaze boldly fell upon Cai Qianshan, then swept over the six Tribulation Body Realm experts behind him, including Cai Qiuhu. She gave Xia Hong a slight nod, indicating she knew about Mo'ao Chuan.
"Since the capture of Beishuo, I have brought you along the entire way. You two have basically seen all the people from Caiqiu. Tell Father, what are your thoughts on these foreign feudal strongmen?"
No one expected Xia Hong to ask such a question.
Cai Qianshan's expression darkened slightly. He could roughly discern Xia Hong's intention—to use the mouths of the two children to diminish Caiqiu's face.
However, he did not interrupt. Instead, his gaze turned cold as he stared at Xia Yuyao and Xia Yusheng, the threat in his eyes exceptionally obvious.
If Cai Qianshan could sense it, naturally Cai Qiuhu and the others could as well. They inwardly sneered a few times, focusing their gazes entirely on the two children.
Their aptitude was indeed astonishing, but they were still two wet-behind-the-ears brats. In front of so many strong individuals, what would they dare to say?
"They are not good people!"
Xia Yusheng's answer was exceptionally concise. Under the scrutiny of numerous gazes, though his heart was tense to the extreme, he was unwilling to diminish his father's dignity. It was clear he was summoning his courage to give this answer.
Barely passable!
Hearing his younger son's answer, Xia Hong internally gave a four-character evaluation. Then, he shifted his gaze to his eldest daughter Xia Yuyao, his eyes carrying a hint of expectation.
His eldest daughter was famously precocious. Since childhood, it was evident. She hadn't answered the first time, probably already guessing his intentions in her heart. She should provide a better answer now.
Sure enough, Xia Yuyao not only showed no nervousness, but even a trace of an innocent smile appeared on her face. She spoke crisply to Xia Hong: "Father, I think these people from Mo'ao Chuan, though possessing strength, disregard human lives for personal gain—this is strength without virtue; knowing full well that the Abominations are watching from the shadows, they still forcefully engage our Great Xia in battle—this is short-sighted ignorance; though they themselves possess strength, they hide behind others, using the allied forces of the two towns to contend with our Great Xia. On the surface, they seem to be depleting the strength of our Xia army, but in reality, they are diminishing the prestige of the feudal towns and boosting the morale of our Xia army. Chasing petty gains while losing their spirit—this is foolish and pathetic..."
As Xia Yuyao spoke, Xia Hong's eyes shone with brilliance. Even Li Xuanling standing beside her showed a few subtle shifts in expression.
In contrast to Xia Hong and his wife were naturally Cai Qianshan and his group.
The more they listened, the uglier their expressions became. Cai Qianshan, after all, was a Fang Bo and could maintain his composure, keeping his expression steady. However, Cai Qiuhu and the others grew angrier with each word, their faces visibly reddening.
Generally, people do not get angry over a few words, especially experts like Cai Qiuhu and the other five at the Tribulation Body Realm. The reason for their intense anger was clearly because Xia Yuyao's words had struck a raw nerve.
When words provoke anger, it's most likely because they hit the mark.
Xia Yuyao's words were undoubtedly the best summary of Caiqiu's actions in coming south to reinforce the towns of Jinshan and Wuchuan.
Crucially, she even knew about the Abominations in the Blood Mire Plains. Clearly, before the battle, she had done her homework thoroughly in Xia City.
Xia Yuyao's words were not finished.
"Foolish and pathetic, short-sighted and ignorant, strong yet lacking virtue. Yao'er's view of these foreign feudal strongmen is that in the future, they will either die at the hands of the Abominations or fall by Father's hand. That so-called Four Feudatories of Mo'ao Chuan will eventually become part of Great Xia's territory..."
"Shut up!"
"How dare you!"
"Little girl, you have quite the nerve!"
"With just a wet-behind-the-ears brat like you, how dare you..."
………………
Cai Qiuhu and the others finally couldn't hold back, angrily cutting off Xia Yuyao's words. Their auras surged abruptly, as if they all wanted to make a move.
Of course, they still had some face to save. Being two to three hundred years old, attacking a little girl under ten would make them lose all respect if word got out.
"Hmph!"
Xia Hong naturally wouldn't indulge these people. Although he understood Cai Qiuhu and the others had no intention of attacking, he still snorted coldly and immediately waved his sleeve, releasing all thirteen Beast Emperor-Level Puppets.
"This Lord Leader's daughter is not yet ten years old this year. Even she can see the true nature of your Caiqiu. Furthermore, if you can't even tolerate the words of a little girl under ten, how can you have the nerve to call yourselves Tribulation Body Realm experts? Are you even worthy of coming to stir up trouble in our Southern Foothills territory?
The Fang Bo of Chencang, Chu Longteng, has yet to show himself. He wants your Caiqiu to charge at the forefront. I originally thought that being on par with Chencang, Caiqiu would at least have a few smart people. Who would have thought you're all a bunch of fools? This Lord Leader thought that after last night's crushing defeat at the Pass and the allied camp explosion, you should have come to recognize reality by now. Yet, you remain stubbornly obstinate..."
Xia Hong's voice grew increasingly low and heavy, mainly because he noticed with his peripheral vision the situation in Jinyang City below. The over one hundred Sun Manifestation Level experts from Caiqiu did have some skill after all. They had already led their troops to breach the city gates, and a small group of allied soldiers had followed them into the city.
Although Yuwen Tao had assured him that Lin Kai was personally stationed in Jinyang City and it couldn't be breached by this remnant force, the sounds of fighting coming from within the city still made him somewhat uncomfortable. After all, wherever there is combat, there will inevitably be casualties.
"Fang Bo Cai, Caiqiu has already lost, at least at this stage. Accept reality! From this moment on, take all your people from Caiqiu and withdraw from the Southern Foothills territory. Great Xia will let bygones be bygones regarding all previous matters. Whether there will be war or peace between our two sides in the future..."
"Which eye of Lord Leader Xia sees that we have lost? Your Jinyang City has been breached. The situation has reversed; the over one hundred thousand troops you have arriving later are already useless!"
Xia Hong directly ignored Cai Qiuhu's bluster. His gaze burned as he stared at Cai Qianshan, waiting only for this foremost figure of Caiqiu to give his reply.
Although Cai Qiuhu possessed Tribulation Body Realm cultivation, in a one-on-one situation, he was not Xia Hong's match. Adding the Beast Emperor-Level Puppets made it even less of a contest.
Therefore, among the Caiqiu group, only Cai Qianshan was qualified to converse with him.
Cai Qiuhu naturally understood the meaning behind Xia Hong's disregard. His face flushed red with rage, the demeanor of the Little Fang Bo he had maintained until now completely vanished as he angrily shouted:
"Xia Hong, you..."
"Silence!"
Cai Qianshan, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke.
He waved his hand, motioning for the advancing Cai Qiuhu to step back. He glanced back at the over one hundred thousand Xia troops rapidly approaching from behind, then looked at Xia Hong with a smile: "Lord Leader Xia, you should know that for this Fang Bo, victory or defeat in this battle at Jinyang is acceptable. Just because of your baseless threats, should this Fang Bo withdraw his people? What do you take my Caiqiu for?"
Huuuu...
Xia Hong let out a long sigh, his eyes turning completely cold.
Cai Qianshan's meaning was clear: regardless of what backup plans the Xia army had, the ones dying in this battle were not Caiqiu's people. He was determined to continue fighting.
Even if not aiming to deplete the Xia army's strength, he could at least cause trouble for Great Xia!
"Since that's the case, there's nothing more to say."
After Xia Hong's eyes turned completely icy, he wasted no more words. He directly shouted down below: "Qin Feng, Shangguan Yang, I give you one last chance to choose. As long as you order the soldiers to lay down their weapons, surrender, and withdraw from the city gates, this Lord Leader promises not to treat them as enemy troops. After the unification of the Southern Foothills, they, like others, can directly obtain the status of Xia people."
After his words fell, there was no response whatsoever.
Xia Hong showed no surprise. Since they were hedging their bets, naturally they couldn't stubbornly cling to one side. Furthermore, Qin Feng and Shangguan Yang most likely no longer had any room for choice at this moment. After all, behind Cai Qianshan, there were only six Tribulation Body Realm experts. The other two were clearly tasked with keeping an eye on the two of them.
"Army, surround the city! Prepare to annihilate this final wave of rebels and unify the Southern Foothills!"
The three route armies from the rear had already arrived long ago.
Yuwen Tao's Right Route Army left not a single person at the Pass; nearly forty thousand troops had all arrived. Yuan Cheng's Rear Route Army totaled fifty thousand. Luo Yuan's Central Route Army originally had forty thousand, but along the way, they were joined by the ten thousand troops brought by Li Yangtian from Longgu City, making it fifty thousand.
The three route armies combined amounted to one hundred and forty thousand.
These were not just one hundred and forty thousand ordinary people, but one hundred and forty thousand genuine Warmth Realm experts, all clad in armor, armed with weapons, their morale soaring to the heavens.
At Xia Hong's command, the three commanders-in-chief immediately divided their forces into four routes, completely surrounding Jinyang City. Yuan Cheng, responsible for the southern side, directly led a portion of the elite from the Rear Route Army and was the first to charge at the enemy forces outside the southern gate.
That's right, even though the southern gate had been breached, the allied forces had not all entered the city yet. A full half of them remained outside the gates.
Yuan Cheng's charge with his troops was like a hungry wolf entering a sheepfold. That half of the allied soldiers not only couldn't resist, they didn't even have the will to fight back. Each one frantically rushed toward the city gate, as if entering the city was their only hope for survival.
The southern city gate was only about twenty meters wide, accommodating at most several dozen soldiers at once. Yet, there were a full twenty thousand allied troops outside. With so many surging toward the gate simultaneously, the crowding was unimaginable.
"Let me in, let me in! The Xia army is killing us!"
"Only by entering the city can we survive! Hurry inside!"
"Quick, let me in! Let me in!"
………………
Roars, wails, and screams instantly filled the entire southern gate area. The allied soldiers chaotically crowded together. Before Yuan Cheng and his troops even arrived to attack, they had already trampled countless of their own to death or injury.
Even more critically, those crammed in the gate area showed no sign of advancing. It seemed they were completely stuck there.
This phenomenon usually occurs under only two circumstances: either the gate area is completely jammed, allowing neither advance nor retreat; or the interior of the southern gate is too crowded, lacking sufficient space to accommodate more people, so those outside simply cannot get in.
It was just unclear which situation it was at the moment!
However, soon, everyone had their answer.
Several beams of intense light suddenly shot into the sky from within the city. A Sun Manifestation Level expert from Caiqiu abruptly rushed out from the southern gate, his face full of panic and terror.
"This Jinyang is a city within a city! The outer southern gate is a small gate. After breaking through the southern gate, inside is a barbican! Behind the barbican is the real city gate! The Xia army just used something to block it! We were deceived! Run, run! We haven't actually breached the city at all..."
Barbican?
What is a barbican?
The soldiers hearing these two words for the first time were instantly dumbfounded.
The Caiqiu group was the same.
In fact, even that Caiqiu person who uttered the words "barbican" only learned it was called that after hearing the Xia army mention it inside the city.
"Qiuyang, lead the people to retr..."
"Retreat? Thinking of retreating now? Too late..."
As soon as Cai Qianshan spoke, he was cut off by Xia Hong's menacing voice.
"All troops, heed the order! Lock down the airspace above Jinyang! Keep all of Caiqiu's Sun Manifestation Level experts inside the city!"
"Your subordinates obey!"
At Xia Hong's command, the armies that had just surrounded the other three sides of Jinyang, along with Yuan Cheng's forces charging toward the southern gate, immediately roared in response.
They each took out an earthen-yellow pill and swallowed it. Immediately, a heavy, thick aura erupted from the bodies of every single soldier.
Hummmmm...