Chapter 211: Merit Secured, Stopping as the Situation Warrants (6k)

Starting in the twelfth lunar month, the Soul-Confusing Great Array on the Anping and Nanxiang Roads became a mere formality, no longer able to reduce Tonghuocheng's supply efficiency.

Multiple leaders at Jihuan Pass resolved to completely abandon the defense outside the pass; all armies hidden in the wild were recalled, and all small settlements were also abandoned.

Only a few armies remained hidden in underground cities or secret valley bases; such strongholds basically held only a few hundred combatants each, totaling perhaps twenty or thirty thousand when scattered together.

The Six Armies Alliance basically ignored these small fry and was too lazy to spend time searching for them.

Because they could not gather together, lacked heavy siege equipment, and did not even possess a single powerful warship, they could not amount to anything.

On this battlefield, the bravery of small units simply had no effect.

Even if ten thousand people gathered together, if they possessed not a single fifth-tier warship, three or five hundred Great Zhou soldiers could chase them away.

On low-to-mid tier battlefields, large divine weapons, siege tools, and flying warships could play a decisive role.

Like when Long Xiao and Zhao Xing encountered General Ming Yan's warship back then; if the enemy had not opened the barrier, they could only stare helplessly.

Killing Qian Shougang was the same; only because the enemy voluntarily left the warship, that aerial fortress, did they have an opportunity; otherwise, they could only watch Qian Shougang's men fly back to the Black Dragon Army's garrison.

The wilderness outside the pass is vast; once Jihuan Pass is captured, a large army can be dispatched later to slowly sift through it for merit.

Sixteen armies of different factions jointly defended Jihuan Pass; some were Fire Demon Clan members, some came from the Wang Ting of the Holy Spirit, and others belonged to the remaining tribes of Jin Yu's Wang Ting.

The great leader elected by the sixteen armies was named 'Ming Hun'; Molike was merely a small leader ranked near the end.

Under Ming Hun's command was also a 'military advisor' from the Xuantian Sect, titled 'Longyang Daoren'.

It was he who ordered the contraction of forces and a full focus on defense.

Two months ago, Ming Hun could still fight the Great Zhou's Six Armies Alliance to a standstill.

Even small leaders like Molike could harass Tonghuocheng in the rear.

Now, two months later, Ming Hun has fully switched to defense, sending out not a single warship or a single ghost, purely defending the city.

A gray-black barrier stretched into a line on the horizon.

Zhao Xing stood on the tower ship gazing into the distance, seeing that the sky ahead had completely darkened.

Upon closer inspection, one could even see many ghosts roaring upon that barrier.

"Jihuan Pass stretches over a hundred li; due to the excessive number of evil spirits, that realm is filled with Yin Qi."

Jihuan Pass did not have the defensive level of Huolong Pass, but it required specific tools and professions to conquer.

This was because its barrier was rooted in the Yin Realm, tearing open a rift in the Yin Realm that continuously released Yin Qi.

Normal siege equipment had reduced effectiveness against it, and other professions entering this area to fight were also weakened.

It formed a domain suitable only for Yin Realm professions like Priests and Soul-Controlling Sorcerers to perform.

"If originally there were only the Shenwei Army, Xuanjia Army, and Zhenhai Army alliance, this battle would be difficult to fight."

"However, with the addition of the Venerable Han You Army, Zhaoyuan Army, and Yuanhua Army, the situation is different," Zhao Xing thought silently.

Both the Zhaoyuan Army and Yuanhua Army had purely combat-oriented Priest battalions, while the Venerable Han You Army was even more focused on the Priest profession.

As for the Shenwei Army and Zhenhai Army, the number of combat Priest professionals was small; in a battalion of a thousand people, they were equipped with only ten to twenty Priests. There were few experts either; most were Ninth Rank, with Eighth and Seventh Ranks being rare, making it impossible to form a battalion independently.

The Xuanjia Army did have a Priest battalion configuration, but when Xia Jing selected personnel, he did not consider they would encounter people from the Holy Spirit Wang Ting.

"Now it is different."

While Zhao Xing waited for supplies to be unloaded, the Alliance Army also began attacking the pass.

The primary siege tool among them was named the 'Hunyuan Barrier-Breaking Cart'.

The name sounded imposing, but it was actually a 'Five Elements Trebuchet' installed on warships.

The warships carrying them were also called Hunyuan Warships or Five Elements Warships.

They were positioned thirty li in the air outside Jihuan Pass to launch.

The entire warship existed solely to serve this one barrier-breaking tool.

Among the materials Zhao Xing planted in Tonghuocheng, many were consumables required for the Hunyuan Barrier-Breaking Warships.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

On the left deck of the Hunyuan Warship, a burst of azure blue light rose; behind each trebuchet stood twenty Artificers.

When they fired, the realm surrounding the warship camp was dyed blue, and the power of the Water Element became incredibly dense.

The first volley consisted entirely of 【Jin Yan Trebuchets】.

Massive stones, eight meters in diameter and roughly spherical polyhedrons, whistled as they flew toward the city wards of Jihuan Pass.

Dragging a yellowish-brown tail, they crashed heavily onto the black barrier.

Immediately, a ten-li square area of the black barrier was eroded and dyed yellowish-brown.

The barrier of Jihuan Pass was named the 'Xuantian Yin Five Elements Great Array'; the largest factional power of the Holy Spirit Dynasty was the Xuantian Sect.

This formation was custom-built for the Holy Spirit Wang Ting, capable of borrowing the power of the Yin Realm for defense.

Spear versus shield, offense versus defense; overall, the spear was still stronger, though it depended on the situation.

Jihuan Pass had a vast area to defend, while the Six Armies Alliance concentrated their attack on a single spot.

On the current black barrier, a large patch of yellowish-brown appeared, as if a puddle of mud had been slapped onto it.

As soon as the first batch of Hunyuan Warships fired, the second batch followed without any gap to launch the second batch of 'massive stones'.

The second batch fired was the 【Li Fire Trebuchets】.

The fifth-tier materials Zhao Xing planted in the volcanoes south of Tonghuocheng included 'Lieguan Wood', 'Fengqi Wood', and 'Liehuo Bamboo'; all were Fire Element materials and consumables for manufacturing 'Li Fire Stones'.

Crimson red massive stones followed the yellowish-brown ones down immediately.

The yellowish-brown patch on the black barrier was instantly covered by flames.

The black color, originally recovering lost ground, suddenly saw its progress slow down.

The purpose of the dual Fire and Earth trebuchet barrage was not to break the black barrier's defense, but to solidify it and destroy the Yin Five Elements Barrier's self-repair.

Immediately, the third batch of massive stones was fired—the 【Zhongshui Trebuchets】.

Azure blue water spheres, rippling with a mesmerizing light, covered the flames that had just extinguished.

"Buzz~"

The entire barrier suddenly turned transparent.

At the Sacrificial Soul Pass, the solidified earth-yellow barrier instantly became brittle.

A vast amount of ink-black faded away, and the barrier shook, as if this single strike had consumed tremendous energy.

The fourth wave—【Geng Metal Catapults】

"Boom, boom, boom!"

The power of the Geng Metal projectiles was far greater; striking the pale blue ice crystals, they immediately punched numerous large holes in the barrier.

However, not long after, the black barrier repaired itself and erased all colors.

On the Great Zhou side, the warships began a new round of sequential bombardments using Earth, Fire, Water, and Metal.

"This kind of dull battle is purely a war of logistical attrition." Zhao Xing shook his head. "On a low-level battlefield, the Hunyuan Warship is merely a cut-down version, still lacking the most crucial Wood element."

Wood-element catapulting involves hurling vast quantities of Seventh-Rank seeds and seedlings over there.

Every single one selected was a meticulously hand-picked 'Variant Species'.

They can use the barrier as nourishment! Taking root directly on the defensive barrier!

They can drain the barrier's energy supply very quickly; recovering from that is not so simple.

"On a full-version Hunyuan Warship, Fifth-Rank and Fourth-Rank Military Agriculture Officials are stationed in command; for the preceding four elements' launches, corresponding Sorcerer Camps also exist."

"When reaching the Wood element, if the situation permits, the Pure Origin projection of the Military Agriculture Official will also cover the barrier, doubling the power."

However, full-level Hunyuan Warships, equipped with so many experts, usually appear only on high-level battlefields, such as when attacking Wang Cheng.

As for now?

Now, we can only wear down the Sacrificial Soul Pass.

This style of bombardment by the Hunyuan Warships places immense pressure on logistics, and the magical array of the Sacrificial Soul Pass also consumes a huge amount.

Now we just see who collapses first.

Even if just a single gap cannot be restored, the grand army can pierce the surface through that point, break through the pass, and enter to slaughter.

On the fifteenth day of the twelfth month, Zhao Xing once again led eight warships, transporting array-breaking supplies to the front of the Sacrificial Soul Pass.

At this time, the Sacrificial Soul Pass had already endured continuous, unceasing attacks for seven days.

Yet the Profound Heaven Yin Five Elements Great Array remained steadfast; every time a gap was broken, it was quickly patched up.

On the twenty-second day of the twelfth month, Zhao Xing arrived once more before the Sacrificial Soul Pass to transport supplies.

The planting direction of Tonghuocheng had already been fully adjusted, focusing mainly on growing siege-consumption materials.

At this moment, the barrier of the Sacrificial Soul Pass, counting from when 'Nether Souls' began full defense, had already held for fourteen days.

The recovery speed was slowing down more and more.

But Zhao Xing was also utterly exhausted; although Tonghuocheng had 100,000 people, the grand army's consumption was also incredibly staggering.

He not only had to transport supplies, but also manage the logistical operations of 100,000 people, and even personally go farming.

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month, Zhao Xing delivered the final batch of supplies to the front lines.

"This is the last batch; within a hundred li of Tonghuocheng, the land has been completely turned into wasteland by my planting."

"The 100,000 people must find a new location; building a city, deploying arrays, regulating the earth veins, and nurturing seedlings will take a month."

"If you still cannot take it, I have no other way."

Zhao Xing's tone carried a trace of fatigue.

"You've worked hard, Brother Zhao." Qi Yuanjun looked at Zhao Xing, a hint of admiration flowing in his eyes.

"Enough, enough." Nangong Ye said, "In one more day, the Sacrificial Soul Pass will surely fall!"

Yi Yue had nothing to say either.

Previously, he had been somewhat dissatisfied with Zhao Xing, but now he could not find a single flaw.

Zhao Xing could lead the Shenwei Army, Zhenhai Army, and Xuanjia Army—these makeshift logistical teams—to achieve this level; he truly had no words.

In Yi Yue's eyes, these were logistical teams of weak armies, yet Zhao Xing had stubbornly met their needs.

Originally, Yi Yue, Qi Yuanjun, and Nangong Ye had all prepared for this battle to last until the spring of the eighteenth year of the Jingxin Era.

Now, however, it was far earlier than expected.

The twenty-ninth day of the twelfth month.

"Boom!"

"Crash!"

Massive stones suddenly pierced through from the black barrier.

Soldiers patrolling and garrisoning on the city walls, those struck by the falling stones, were instantly smashed into meat paste.

Moreover, one strike covered a large area; the destructive force caused by the rolling momentum of the massive stones would also cause secondary injuries.

This time, the black barrier had a gap with a diameter of fully ten li, which simply could not be restored.

A dark mass of warships, following the gap, flew rapidly into the pass from outside.

"Enemy attack!"

"Enemy attack!"

"Quickly enter the city wall fortresses!"

"Run!"

The small commanders defending the city screamed miserably, yet in the haste, they could not mount any effective resistance.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom~"

Violent sounds erupted from the city walls.

The piercing, heavy sounds caused the defending soldiers' ears to bleed and their heads to buzz.

It felt as though an earthquake had struck the city walls.

The garrison on the walls instantly fell into chaos.

"Do not panic! All enter the rampart fortresses and reinforce the barrier!"

"No fleeing!"

A commander with a terrifying sword scar on his face roared, his voice drowning out the clamor.

Thus, he ordered the wall commanders to enter the fortresses while he himself flew along the wall to suppress the panic.

However, as soon as he turned around.

"Pfft~"

An arrow as thick as an arm pierced him through, even pinning his entire body into the city wall.

"Ah—"

"Fire, fire, fire!"

"My leg, save me!"

On the ramparts, the scene was already one of carnage.

In a military hall, Ming Hun suddenly woke with a start.

"Where did that noise come from?"

"Report, General! The enemy has crossed the southern section of the Jihun Pass, the barrier is broken, and many sections of the city wall have been smashed down!" a soldier reported frantically.

"What?!" Although he had expected it, when the moment truly arrived, Ming Hun still could not believe it.

"Prepare to meet the enemy immediately!"

"Go quickly and summon Elder Longyang." With a swish, Ming Hun left the room and arrived outside the warship.

As the Great Leader, his warship had always hovered within the black clouds.

"Leader." A moment later, Daoist Longyang appeared on the deck.

"Elder, the southern section of the city has been breached; can it still be defended?" Ming Hun asked.

"It cannot be defended." Daoist Longyang shook his head. "We can only fight and retreat while the effect of the Great Formation remains, and we must do so quickly. According to the original plan, we will retreat to defend Linggui City; if they pursue too deeply, there may still be a chance to counterattack."

…………

On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth month, the barrier of the southern section of the Jihun Pass, which had held for more than half a month, was broken and could not be fully repaired.

The Six Armies Alliance moved out swiftly and rapidly crossed the pass defenses.

Facing the elite troops of the Great Zhou, Ming Hun directly abandoned resistance and ordered a retreat.

Hearing this news, Zhao Xing let out a long breath.

"Finally, this pass has been broken."

He was already extremely exhausted by then; had his Life Soul not reached the sixth grade, he would have been unable to persist for so long.

However, he still did not sleep, but instead urgently sent messages to Chen Shijie, Long Xiao, and Xia Jing, advising them not to pursue too deeply.

After urging them repeatedly and receiving replies from the group, he finally lay down on the bed.

"A gentleman who stops when the trend turns may achieve great fortune and great profit."

"I hope Old Chen and the others will listen to my advice."

Zhao Xing rubbed his temples and began to enter deep sleep.

"Zhao Xing, Zhao Xing, wake up."

He did not know how long he had slept when Zhao Xing suddenly felt someone calling his name.

"Hmm?"

Zhao Xing opened his eyes and saw Chen Shijie's face.

"Old Chen, you have returned to Tonghuocheng?"

"Mm." Chen Shijie nodded.

"How long have I slept?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Five days." Chen Shijie said. "Han Bing said you slept for about five days."

"That long? What is the situation at the Jihun Pass?" Zhao Xing asked.

Chen Shijie poured a cup of water for Zhao Xing: "There is good news and bad news."

"Let's hear the bad news first." Zhao Xing said.

Chen Shijie said: "Our army's cooperation with the Phantom You Army, the Zhaoyuan Army, and the Yuanhua Army has ended, and there was some unpleasantness."

"Oh? Why is that?" Zhao Xing asked.

"After entering the pass, the Six Armies Alliance frantically hunted down sixteen foreign armies, including Ming Hun and Malike."

"At the beginning, it went very smoothly; Nangong Ye's Phantom You Army consisted mostly of priests, and he himself was a sixth-grade priest, though his official rank was seventh grade."

"We followed behind the Phantom You Army, advancing all the way for over eight hundred li."

"The Qiyuan Army, Nangong Ye, and Yi Yue still wanted to continue the pursuit, planning to launch a surprise attack on the eastern line of the Qinggang Mining District."

"Hmm?" Zhao Xing was startled. "Where did they get such confidence? We have only twelve or thirteen thousand people combined."

"The western Xian Pass defense line of the Fire Demon Tribe was broken by the main forces of the Black Dragon Army, the Zhaoyuan Army, the Danxia Army, the Phantom You Army, and the Yuanhua Army; they received orders from the main forces on the northern line."

"To punch through Linggui City and rendezvous with the several main forces on the northern line in the Fire Turtle Territory."

"To draw the attention of Jin Yu's Wang Ting from the eastern line."

"After all, having broken both the Huolong Pass and the Jihun Pass is enough to attract the attention of Jin Yu's Wang Ting."

"A feint?" Zhao Xing understood immediately; they were planning to raise a big banner.

Twelve or thirteen thousand people, publicly claiming a million-strong army; if the Six Armies Alliance reached Linggui Territory and showed signs of rendezvousing with the main forces on the northern line, it would be very convincing.

"Did the talks break down?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Correct," Chen Shijie said. "Our army disagreed to continue the pursuit. Without us providing logistics, they couldn't have chased this fast, so Yi Yue got into a huge argument with Liao Rulong, furiously rebuking us for delaying the opportunity to strike."

"Now, their three armies have already separated from our forces, moving toward the northeast line to wait for their own logistics units."

"What about the Xuanjia Army?" Zhao Xing asked. He was most concerned about Xia Jing; as for those three armies, he didn't care, but the Xuanjia Army was also in the northern theater.

"Xia Jing also received the order. He hasn't said anything yet, but I reckon he's thinking the same thing," Chen Shijie said.

After all, Xia Jing's relationship with the Divine Might Army was closer.

"I'll try to talk some sense into him in a bit. Any good news?" Zhao Xing asked.

"The good news is that I, Long Xiao, and Xia Jing have all broken one million in war merit," Chen Shijie said with a faint smile.

"Oh? The war merit mission has been settled?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Yes. You should be able to see the message on your Earth Mirror too."

Zhao Xing immediately pulled out his Earth Mirror to check.

A smile then spread across his face.

【Divine Might Army's Zhao Xing, you have completed the Soldier Realm war merit mission 'Stabilize Supply Lines at Jisoul Pass'】

【In view of your overall performance and the battle results achieved in the Eastern Theater this time, you have obtained a total of 525,400 war merit!】

"How much did you get?" Chen Shijie asked.

"Not much, just five hundred and twenty thousand," Zhao Xing said lightly.

Chen Shijie waved his hand: "Someone come, drag this fellow away and interrogate him harshly!"

Long Xiao walked in, surprised: "What crime did he commit?"

Chen Shijie snorted: "Showing off his merits before his superior!"

Long Xiao said with a trace of a smile: "What did he say?"

"I asked him how much war merit he got, and he actually said 'not much, just five hundred and twenty thousand.' Listen to that—does that sound like something a human would say? Shouldn't he be beaten?"

"Hahaha, he definitely should be beaten."

"This subordinate knows his fault. Lord Chen, please calm down." Zhao Xing also laughed and played along with Old Chen for a bit.

Jokes aside, Zhao Xing earning this much war merit was actually no surprise to Chen Shijie.

The 100,000-strong logistics force at Tonghuocheng had all been managed by Zhao Xing in perfect order, without a single hitch.

Resolving the Bewildering Grand Formation and breaking the Jisoul Pass barrier—Zhao Xing's contributions were indispensable. If Chen Shijie had done it himself, he definitely couldn't have managed it.

For one, he couldn't get past the Bewildering Grand Formation. After the Fire Dragon Pass was broken, this formation had already begun to be deployed, held in reserve without being triggered.

At the critical moment, it split the frontline troops from the logistics troops—a complete disaster. Giving forty thousand war merit to Zhao Xing personally was absolutely not excessive.

Later, breaking the Jisoul Pass barrier was entirely a contest among logistics. The military supplies needed by the six armies—put another person in charge, and they probably couldn't have met the demand in such a short time either.

Zhao Xing knows high-tier volcano arts and Primordial Instant—this is the key spell for cultivating fifth-tier plants, which can greatly shorten the time. With him as the breakthrough point, the remaining low-grade Military Agricultural Officers could be put to use. Ordinary Military Agricultural Officers simply couldn't do it.

Breaking the pass and supplying the front—dividing the merit overall, he was given 520,000 war merit.

"What's your thinking for the next step?" Chen Shijie asked. "You advised us not to advance rashly—do you have grounds for that?"

Zhao Xing told Chen Shijie, Long Xiao, and Xia Jing not to advance rashly. The two then advised Liao Rulong, who listened to the counsel; Xia Jing also listened, because the Qiyuan Army's subsequent plan didn't align with their original plan.

Now he just wanted to ask Zhao Xing's view on the next step.

"Rest and observe the situation," Zhao Xing said. "Let's see how things develop before deciding."

This answer was very vague and inevitably a bit disappointing.

But Zhao Xing couldn't exactly tell Chen Shijie and the others that the Jing Emperor was about to call a ceasefire.

How could a mere seventh-rank like him guess so accurately? Based on his divination skills alone?

So he could only use some clichéd reasons for now: "The Jin Yu Wang Ting is very determined to hold the Fire Demon Clan's territory, yet now they've suffered defeats on three fronts."

"Think about how embarrassing that is. They'll definitely pick one front to score a victory on, or else morale will collapse and their prestige will drop sharply."

This wasn't blind guessing. In his previous life, the Jin Yu Wang Ting really had done exactly that, but they chose to make an example of the Divine Thunder Army.

The result was that the young prince Yanda ran into Lü Yuanwei, a child of destiny. Not only was he utterly defeated, he nearly followed in his cousin's footsteps.

After this, the Jin Yu Wang Ting abandoned the Fire Demon Clan's territory, fully cementing the rise of Lü Yuanwei.

"You're saying the Jin Yu Wang Ting will make a move on the eastern front?"

"Mm, I think it's possible." Zhao Xing nodded. In reality, he was planning to wait until the second month of the eighteenth year of the Jingxin calendar.

In early February, the Jing Emperor would call a ceasefire; in March, rewards would be conferred.

This was the Jing Emperor's first plan to open up mid- and high-rank warfare.

Later, due to the Creation Disk and certain other reasons, he would waver and continue training troops. But from this point on, war merit wouldn't be so easy to rake in.

The deeper the fighting, the harsher the environment, and the longer the battle lines stretched. Military Agricultural Officers aren't omnipotent—some things simply can't be supplied. Certain mineral materials, for instance, still had to be transported from the Great Zhou.

During the February ceasefire, a small number of high-ranks would enter the fray. Charging ahead too fast at this time might get you casually killed by some high-rank powerhouse who doesn't play by the rules.

Even if you didn't run into a high-rank powerhouse, the Jing Emperor would still order a withdrawal of a certain distance to leave a buffer zone. Charging forward now would be pointless.

"In short, I suggest we rest for now. Haven't you and Long Xiao both hit a million war merit? Find Lu Tingzhi at the Transport Office and have him come over. You should swap your quota for a Yin God first," Zhao Xing said.