Chapter 1975

And among the enemy troops there were still many large demons with sturdy builds and ferocious faces.

Fan Shuang heard booming thuds in the government office, each one making people's hearts jump; it was two fire oxen crashing into the city gate, utterly ignoring the rain of arrows from the battlements.

Guo Bai Yu naturally knew this was the Dragon God Army's territory; he lacked sufficient troops and had no certainty of victory, so how could he dare to attack?

Miancheng was merely a small place, but the last time it was breached by the Black Armor Army breaking through the gate, and after being rebuilt, the new gate was extremely sturdy; recently they had desperately reinforced it, so these two fierce charges by the fire oxen failed to knock it down.

Just as the fire ox prepared for its next impact, the city wall emitted a faint glow, and suddenly two large heads protruded from the wall, biting down on the fire ox's forehead!

Everyone jumped in fright; in the firelight they saw these two monsters had pig snouts and crocodile mouths, but with wider muzzles, full of fangs, and the two forepaws protruding from the wall were like eagle claws, gripping with great strength.

The two fire oxen were caught off guard and struggled in vain; in the end one had its neck bone bitten through, the other its throat torn open, and they died spraying blood.

These two monsters were not living beings, yet they were so ferocious.

The opposing commander also had experience; at a glance he recognized them: "City Guardian Beasts!"

And they were exquisitely crafted guardian mechanism beasts with tremendous power.

After biting the fire oxen to death, the monsters vanished into the wall the next second, leaving the wall unchanged as before.

Thereafter the enemy attacked the city with much more restraint, no longer recklessly hurling themselves at the wall as before, after all this wall surface was like a deep pool—no one knew where the monsters would emerge from.

This battle had lasted several hours, and the enemy withdrew their troops at dawn.

The shouting outside the gate finally ceased; the people of Miancheng let out a long breath, Fan Shuang's legs went weak, and her back was already soaked through.

This, this is real warfare?

He stepped out of the official residence and saw the streets filled with joy, everyone running to and fro shouting, all crying "We won! We won!"

The initial victory greatly boosted the confidence of the Miancheng people.

Coincidentally, Tushan Fang came rushing over from the opposite side in a hurry; Fan Shuang went to meet him and smiled: "You repelled Guo Bai Yu—truly impressive!"

"What are you thinking?" Tushan Fang showed no smile at all: "This was merely a probing attack; the war for Miancheng has only just begun."

Fan Shuang could no longer laugh: "Where are you going?"

"To arrange patrols in the rear." Tushan Fang patted his shoulder and whispered, "As a friend, I give you this advice: quickly stockpile grain, clean water, and medicine, and do you have weapons?"

"I do." The Fan family, having fled from Yaodi, always carried weapons with them.

"Good, carry them on your person."

￥￥￥￥￥

Yaodi, outskirts of Shuicheng, Youhu Cottage.

Bai Tan received Qingyang's message and rushed to the cottage; on the way his right eye kept twitching, and he knew something was wrong—indeed!

Upon hearing Qingyang's demand, Bai Tan grew so angry he slammed the table and stood up:

"What, you want me to mobilize troops now?! A few days ago, I hadn't even finished telling the Palace Master..."

After defeating Chen Chuhua, all of Yaodi came under Bai Tan's rule, and he had finally realized his long-held ambition, truly achieving supremacy under the gods and rule over a nation. But Chen Chuhua left behind political and military legacies that Bai Tan had not yet sorted out, and the force of over ten thousand troops still could not be commanded as easily as moving one's arm.

Moreover, the Yaodi people still resisted him greatly, and he also needed time to properly digest all of this.

Who would have thought that upon seeing him, Qingyang would get straight to the point, declaring that the Heavenly God's next plan had already been formulated and required Bai Tan's cooperation in mobilizing troops to attack the Dragon God's territory?

Couldn't it be delayed by another month?

"Is this truly the Heavenly God's command?"

Bai Tan doubted: could this not be Qingyang's own scheme, using the false Heavenly God's name to order him? Originally, Miao Zhantian communicated through the temple envoy to converse with the Yaowang. After Miao Zhantian's fall, many temples were abandoned, and the divine realm has yet to decide which deity will succeed as the patron god of Yaodi, so communication with Yaodi can only temporarily proceed through the Heavenly Palace's Dharma Protector—that is, Qingyang.

Qingyang ignored his doubt: "Not beyond the Heavenly God's expectation—"

Heh, actually it's not beyond her expectation: "The false Dragon God's full-scale war has stalled into a quagmire, rebel forces surge again and again, leaving Haoxiao overwhelmed. The gods believe the time to act has ripened, and delay is inadvisable."

"But my military, civil administration, Ducheng, and local integration are fundamentally not yet complete; forced mobilization would only..." A few days ago he had still been assassinated in Shuicheng! Right outside the Bai family gate.

This was his third assassination attempt within three months.

The Yaodi people gave him the title "Slaughter Half-City," showing how deep their hatred runs. Yaodi differs from other regions in Shanjin: those small states and powers rise and fall overnight, destroyed and done; the common folk feel no loyalty, since whoever climbs the throne won't enslave them anyway?

But Yaodi's national fortune spans nearly two hundred years; even if it has decayed in later times, the Yaodi people's sense of superiority and identity remains strong, and for Bai Tan, who personally buried their nation, they hate him to the bone.

Thus, Bai Tan's difficulty in sorting out internal affairs is great.

Now, disturbances everywhere rely on military suppression and heavenly god deterrence. If it weren't for the Nine Abyssal Grand Emperor causing trouble in Shanjin, he could slowly organize Yaodi and eventually succeed; but once he dispatches troops abroad, the rebel forces in various regions might well rebound immediately.

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This is called, instability in the rear.

The Nine Abyssal Grand Emperor fundamentally does not need to face such problems! Between them, what comparability is there?

Before his words finished, Qingyang interrupted him: "You want to annex Chen Chuhua, we helped you destroy Chen Chuhua, and the Heavenly God has never favored mortals in this way. But since then several months have passed, and Yaodi's existing forces, you have still failed to fully integrate them—truly too slow!"

The Yaodi people's efficiency truly disappoints her.

"How big was the former Yaodi? You see Haoxiao's seized territory—it's already more than ten times the former Yaodi. How could he have no trouble commanding troops?"

This question left Bai Tan with his mouth full of coptis, unable to speak his bitterness.

Haoxiao brandishes the banner of the reincarnated Dragon God, his subordinates truly regard him as a deity to revere, their loyalty needs no further mention; the officials and commoners of former Yaodi, to this day, still match wits and courage with him.

Moreover, although the Dragon God Army has wins and losses in various regions, the situation is stalemated, but Haoxiao's personally commanded Black Armor Army is unstoppable, so far always achieving "point at whom to kill, invincible in battle."

Thus, the Black Armor Army and Dragon God Army's faith in their lord is indeed very strong.

The existence of faith can conceal many contradictions.

This point is precisely the weakness of the Yaodi army.

Qingyang saw his displeasure and softened her tone: "I know you worry, but preparations for war will never have an end; no war will wait until you are fully ready before beginning."

Bai Tan drew a deep breath: "Then what exactly is the plan?"

"The Alliance." Qingyang rested her chin on her hand, "Boss Situ He's inaction has caused dissatisfaction within the Alliance to peak. Already three factions have sworn allegiance to the Heavenly God, preparing to topple Boss Situ He and seize control of the Alliance."

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