Chapter 1508

In the Panlong Desert of later ages, these things were everywhere—even Sun Fuping and Nian Songyu summoned them when they went to the Panlong ruins, and He Lingchuan did the same to pull desert barges. Only these three fellows were truly massive, on par with the Earth Dragon King, and there was only one such creature in the Panlong Desert of later ages.

But upon closer inspection, there were still differences—the bodies of these giants were covered in Zhou Mi's scale armor, and when burrowing, they spun upward like a drill.

Moreover, this thing was not a living creature but a mechanical puppet beast!

Standing nearby, Xin Yi glanced at it and said: "Not an earth dragon—this is a Xuanjia Worm, a colossal war machine left over from the ancient era! It was deployed when Lingxu City attacked Yuan State, possessing innate earth-escape and mountain-boring abilities!"

He Lingchuan hurriedly consulted this know-it-all: "Any other talents?"

"Isn't this enough?" the battlefield was noisy, and Xin Yi's voice rose, "War machines rarely have complex functions!"

To achieve such size and still function normally is already difficult enough!

This is the Xuanjia Worm lent by Lu Wushuang to Bai Mojí.

True earth-dragon-type monsters are highly dependent on their environment and cannot leave their native regions. Besides, it's hard for armies to haul such massive beasts on the march, so mechanical puppet beasts have the advantage. Like the Golden Armor Divine Generals, it can normally shrink to under six feet tall for easy transport.

When enlarged, it can bore holes over a zhang wide in both ground and earth. Bai Mojí specially placed them beneath another section of the riverbank so they could drill up from below into the enemy rear, digging out passage after passage.

The Béijiā army then passed through the Xuanjia Worm's tunnels, emerging behind the forces of Yuheng City!

In one move, the Yuheng City army found itself attacked from front and rear.

Furthermore, the Xuanjia Worms were digging holes everywhere on the bank, and the rain-soaked ground was already soft, so collapses sprang up quickly, making it hard for the Yuheng army to maintain formation!

The Béijiā army finally had the air of "leaving nothing behind."

Seeing this, He Lingchuan decisively ordered the full army to retreat, falling back to the nearest auxiliary city!

Those three Xuanjia Worms were truly a stroke of genius—after over twenty days of fighting, the sudden appearance of these three monsters caught the Yuheng army completely off guard. Now the enemy's assault was too fierce, their morale high, and he saw no need to sacrifice his own men to plug the gap.

Since the war began, both sides had tried every tactic, and Bai Mojí, leading the Béijiā army, finally broke through the enemy's riverbank defenses after twenty-seven days of fierce assault!

Seeing this, the Béijiā army cheered.

This victory was truly hard-won.

Bai Mojí exhaled in relief, yet his face showed no joy. The cost of each Xuanjia Worm was several times that of a Golden Armor Divine General, and each required three large pieces of pale-red xuan crystal to operate… for the time it takes to finish a cup of tea. This price made even Bai Mojí feel his heart leap.

Such a costly, energy-guzzling war puppet that could only dig tunnels, shake the earth, and eat people—with no other abilities—had terrible cost-effectiveness.

Of course, whether it's useful depends on the application. This device is professionally suited for surprise attacks on cities.

Alas, such a treasure should have been saved as a killer strike for sneaking up on Yuheng City—bringing it out early was truly a pity.

The Yuheng City army was indeed quite troublesome.

He Lingchuan hastily led his troops north to Bei Fu City—this was the second line of defense against the Béijiā army. Bai Mojí, having finally seized the riverbank, immediately ordered the camp to be set up and troops stationed, so that if the Béijiā army could take root here, they could seize grain from the heart of the Mao River Plain.

With grain, the Béijiā army would relieve its urgent need and could then carry out its plan with composure.

Naturally, Bai Mojí, as commander-in-chief, clearly understood the necessity of striking while the iron was hot—the Béijiā army tightly pursued the Yuheng army's tail and charged toward Bei Fu City.

Of course, two advisors urged him not to pursue a desperate enemy, but he ignored them, for this opportunity was truly rare.

After a month of hard fighting, was this not the very opportunity they'd been waiting for? Sure enough, the Yuheng army encountered several Xuanjia Worm ambushes during their retreat, their formation broke, their speed slowed, and they failed to reach the city on schedule.

At this time, another detachment sent by Bai Mojí also arrived, flanking from the side and blocking the path between them and Bei Fu City.

There was no time to retreat into the city.

With blocking forces ahead and pursuers behind, He Lingchuan issued his second order:

Abandon Bei Fu City—full army, retreat to Nan Fu City! Ordinary troops, with poor up-down communication, would likely fall into chaos under his sudden north-south shifts. But his force, though a mix of Yuheng City and Ximo soldiers, were troops he had trained, unusually familiar with his command style, so these several major turns caused no confusion—on the contrary, everyone ran even faster.

This time, the Béijiā army finally gave up pursuit, turned, and absorbed Bei Fu City.

This place was called "Fu City"—in truth, it was just a large military camp with walls and high gates, housing only troops, no civilians, so it was now empty and deserted.

Such a minor gain, Bai Mojí would have previously paid it no mind—but now, not only were the soldiers elated and inspired, even he himself let out a long breath, feeling that tonight, after the battle ended, he could finally sleep soundly.

Hard-won indeed.

Capturing this Fu City meant taking root in the enemy's territory, after which there was hope of completing the Emperor's task! Late that night, both sides were busy reorganizing their troops.

The Béijiā army had captured Fu City and could now move their camp in—originally, they had only just begun construction—leaving only a minimal force on the riverbank to guard supply transport, so from inside to out, the entire route was lit with lights.

The Yuheng City army mostly retreated into Nan Fu City, urgently restoring strength and treating the wounded, while cooks even began lighting fires to cook meals.

The commanders stood on the city walls, gazing at the lights within and outside Bei Fu City, the moving troops, all feeling resentful in their hearts.

Wendao Lun then spoke gently to the crowd: "We held the Béijiā army fast on the riverbank for twenty-seven straight days—this achievement, if told, who would believe it? Already remarkable!"

The Yuheng City army had been formed for less than three and a half years; He Lingchuan's newly trained Ximo and Hu Ying armies had taken shape in less than a year. To face the Béijiā army with this force and still hold them for over twenty days straight made Wendao Lun deeply admiring.

Xin Yi also nodded from the side: "They will eventually come ashore."

Objectively speaking, no matter how capable the Yuheng City army, it could never permanently keep the Béijiā army off the east bank.

This is unrealistic.

The gatekeeper said in a deep voice: "The past is past—once they gain a foothold on the Mao River Plain, they will bring endless calamity."

Wendao Lun comforted the crowd: "The rush to harvest on the Mao River Plain is nearly over—even if they could let loose and plunder, they couldn't take much."

This is the significance of Yuheng City's stubborn resistance—buying time for the autumn harvest on the plain.

He continued: "Afterward, we will implement clearing and fortification—this way, before next spring and summer, the Béijiā army will be unable to secure sufficient grain."

(End of Chapter)