Chapter 2723: The Difficult Decision

If Panlongcheng is the heart of the entire Panlong Kingdom, then this place is its brain.

But today, almost everyone in Tongji Town has a grim face, because bad news came from the east:

Longkou Pass has fallen!

This natural stronghold was originally guarded by General Hong, but after Zhong Shengguang adopted He Lingchuan's new strategy, he sent General Hong to circle around to the Maohe Plain to conduct rear-area Mobile Corps Commander warfare, while Longkou Pass was entrusted to Xu Zhiyu and Geng Tao, the two generals, for defense.

Both of them have very rich experience in defending passes—one is strict in military discipline, the other is very resilient. Zhong Shengguang and He Lingchuan consulted for a long time before deciding on these two to take over General Hong's heavy responsibility.

But even they could not hold out for more than fifty days before Longkou Pass was breached by the Between Between Between Beijia army.

The Between Between Between Beijia army used every means at their disposal; in the later stages, they employed a relay attack tactic, with several legions taking turns assaulting the city without pause, causing many defenders of Longkou Pass to drop dead from exhaustion.

Both sides fought with all their strength, and Longkou Pass became a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. In the end, the pass's walls could not hold and collapsed.

This pass had been under assault for over a year; no matter how it was reinforced, the walls ultimately could not hold.

The scene of the breach was exceptionally tragic; Xu Zhiyu died in the line of duty.

Even though He Lingchuan had foreseen that Longkou Pass would eventually fall, when the news arrived, he still sighed with a heavy heart.

Hu Min had long been at odds with Xu Zhiyu; on this day, he substituted water for wine, his eyes red as he raised a toast toward the east, muttering for a long time, though no one knew what he was saying.

Longkou Pass is the eastern gateway to the Panlong Wasteland; once it falls, the Between Between Between Beijia army may not immediately march straight in, but the Panlong eastern rear will no longer have such an easily defensible yet hard-to-attack natural barrier.

Their invasion of the Panlong Wasteland is imminent; in He Lingchuan's estimate, even if Panlong resists with all its strength, it will last at most seven days.

After seven days, Panlong Kingdom will face a two-pronged attack from the Between Between Between Beijia army advancing from the east and south!

A more brutal, full-scale war will then begin.

The strategy was proposed by He Lingchuan; he had foreseen all of this. But when this moment truly arrived, he still felt a pressure as heavy as a great mountain.

He must help Panlong break through the impasse.

He must help Panlong survive, at any cost.

This stems not only from his personal deep affection for Panlong, but also because the Great Square Vessel and reality have become too deeply intertwined. As the holder of the Fate Divine Aspect, the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds senses in the dark that if the struggle in the Panlong world fails, the real world may very well face an apocalyptic disaster.

The ultimate confrontation between humanity and the heavenly demons actually began long ago in the Panlong world.

Panlong's victory or defeat carries immense significance.

Afterwards, He Lingchuan convened a military council and announced that Panlong's defensive perimeter would actively shrink to counter the new enemy entering the plain from the east.

This is an extraordinarily difficult but long-prepared strategy.

Once Longkou Pass falls, Panlong's eastern front will have no such natural barrier to rely on, and the Between Between Between Beijia army will also discover that General Hong is absent. Thus, Panlong must defend against the Between Between Between Beijia army invading from the east and south, while the Tiger Wing General will command the eastern and southern battlefields, and Zhong Shengguang will also coordinate material supply for the eastern and southern fronts.

Panlong's active contraction of its defensive perimeter means using limited forces to make thorough preparations.

But this means He Lingchuan must actively abandon the territory that Panlong soldiers had previously bled, sweated, and sacrificed to hold.

Reasonably, it can be understood.

Emotionally, it is hard to accept.

A few days later, the sky was filled with rosy clouds and mist.

Wen Daolun strode into the main tent, bringing the latest news from Between Between Between Beijia:

"Two major matters: first, Lingxu City and Tiangong have almost simultaneously issued statements saying that the 'Qianchang' formula given to Fu Shanlie by Panlong is fake. The enemy's clumsy trick will not work in Between Between Between Beijia; the relationship between Lingxu City and Tiangong—past, present, and future—will not change."

"Is that so?" He Lingchuan stood before the sand table without turning back, "If the formula is fake, how do you explain Fu Shanlie being hastily recalled from the front?"

"As the frontline commander who believed enemy lies, fell for enemy schemes, acted rashly and recklessly, and delayed military opportunities, he is unfit for important duties, hence his recall from the southern front of the Panlong Wasteland and replacement by another." Wen Daolun managed a smile at this, saying, "This is the original wording of the Demon Emperor's rebuke of Fu Shanlie."

He Lingchuan laughed loudly.

I wish to know Fu Shanlie's current psychological burden, even if the Demon Emperor is merely putting on an act.

Since Lingxu City has already declared the formula fake, the Demon Emperor cannot avoid blaming or punishing Fu Shanlie. It's just that He Lingchuan still feels somewhat uneasy in his heart, merely reassigning Fu Shanlie elsewhere. If He Lingchuan were sitting in that position, to make it convincing, he would at least have to give Fu Shanlie a few major crimes and punishments to taste.

"Then, has the Demon Emperor been to Mount Xushan?"

"No." Wen Daolun added, "According to our intelligence sources' observations, since the rumor of the 'Qianchang' formula leak spread to Lingxu City, the Demon Emperor has never once set foot on Mount Xushan."

According to Panlongcheng's observation, this formula should be genuine; otherwise, Tiangong's attitude should be more natural, and neither side should be so mutually wary. I just don't know how the Tiger Wing General obtained it. Could it really have been gathered from the Dream Realm of the God of Illusory Music?

"It fears. It fears that if it once goes to Mount Xushan, it will fall into the heavenly demon's ambush." He Lingchuan lifted the corner of his mouth, but the smile did not reach his eyes, "The Demon Emperor guards against Tiangong so strictly that their relationship cannot improve."

Once the Demon Emperor obtains the 'Qianchang' formula, he will surely be unable to resist the urge to dig into the heavenly demon's walls.

The heavenly demon also knows this urge is unstoppable. Since the problem cannot be resolved, why not eliminate the source by removing the person who creates the problem?

Therefore, even if both sides smile sweetly, the Demon Emperor only stays on his own territory/old nest, daring not to set foot on Mount Xushan no matter what.

The seeds of mutual suspicion were actually sown early in their relationship. This formula's appearance is merely a potent catalyst, merely pushing them further apart.

This Between Between Between Beijia Demon Emperor in the Panlong world is not the same as the one in the real world; they are father and son. He Lingchuan has always been striving to collect information about him.

The Between Between Between Beijia dynasty has had three emperors in total; this one is the second, also the longest-reigning, having ruled for over three hundred and eighty years. Were it not for the perpetual weakness of heavenly and earthly spiritual energy, he should have lived even longer. With the Panlong world's timeline now at this point, the second Demon Emperor should have already reigned for two hundred and twenty years, his foundation solid and his governance abilities quite outstanding, for if no accident occurs, he will continue to rule steadily for another one hundred fifty or sixty years.

Now He Lingchuan just wants to create some accident for him.

This Demon Emperor's personality differs from his real-world counterpart; he is violent and obstinate. It is said that in ancient times, most dragons had such dispositions.

During his reign, he has executed countless officials and nobles, and has even launched three external expansion campaigns.