Chapter 231

Does Does Da Xia?

Not only Hou Ming, Hou Bing, and Hou Ying, but also the four severely injured Cold-Resistant-level experts including Lin Ye, everyone in the Zhaoyang camp, and even the vast majority of the Hive people, all wore expressions of confusion upon hearing this unfamiliar camp name.

Only Chen Yingba, Wu Tianxing, and a very small number of Hive people had their expressions change.

"It is a giant camp to the southeast of the Hive. Their leader, Xia Hong, defeated He Yuanhun and occupied the territory that originally belonged to Jingxian. Their overall strength is unknown, but that Xia Hong's strength is extremely formidable. He once easily defeated Chen Yingyuan. If it weren't for Chen Yingba and me being present at the time, Xia Hong likely could have killed him..."

Wu Tianxing quickly walked behind Hou Ming and whispered in a low voice.

And after Wu finished, Lin Ye immediately added: "When this Yu Wentao ambushed me in the tunnel last night, his strength was around five mane!"

Hearing the words of Wu Tianxing and Lin Ye, Hou Ming looked around at the three people beside him; his already solemn face suddenly became even uglier.

"That iron arrow just now was able to knock Hou Ying down, which means the strength of that middle-aged man on the left is at least above two mane; the person on the right has a status equivalent to his, so their strength is likely about the same. Plus this Yu Wentao, who has the strength of five mane..."

Hou Ming calculated silently in his heart, and his mood instantly became incomparably heavy.

Among the five Cold-Resistant-level experts on the Zhaoyang side, only he, Lin Ye, and Wu Tianxing possessed battle-body aptitude. He was at the late Cold-Resistant stage with eight mane of strength; Lin Ye and Wu Tianxing were both at the late Cold-Resistant stage with six mane of strength; the remaining two, Hou Ying and Hou Bing, were both ordinary Cold-Resistant-level experts. Although they had mid-stage cultivation, their strength was only two mane each.

The problem was that Lin Ye had been ambushed and severely injured; if a fight broke out, he could provide no help at all. Moreover, the four of them, along with everyone from Zhaoyang, had been maneuvering against the Hive people in the tunnels for two days and two nights, and their condition was very poor.

Looking at the situation of the thousand-plus people on the other side, and the posture of Yu Wentao and his two companions, it was obvious they had been waiting in comfort for a long time. And heaven knows if these three were the only ones Does Does Da Xia had sent.

If a fight were to break out, they would undoubtedly lose!

Previously, when they rushed out of Tunnel 1, there were over eight hundred people. The recent slaughter had cost them another hundred or so. Now, only six hundred remained, and these six hundred were currently caught between the Hive and Does Does Da Xia forces.

Once a fight started, would Chen Yingba in the back just watch like a fool?

No matter how one looked at it, Zhaoyang was doomed to lose this time.

"The Hive is likely impossible to take down now. If it weren't for being dragged out for two full days by Chen Yingba, how could it have turned into this? Damn it, damn it..."

As this thought flashed through Hou Ming's mind, he subconsciously looked back at Chen Yingba. It was this look back that made his expression freeze, and his eyes gradually began to brighten.

Chen Yingba was currently staring at Yu Wentao and the group from Does Does Da Xia, with not a hint of joy on his face; instead, like them, he looked very grim.

"There's still a chance!"

Observing Chen Yingba's expression, Hou Ming's mind instantly became active, and he subconsciously wanted to turn around and shout to Chen Yingba behind him.

But Yu Wentao seemed to have sensed his intention and spoke first.

"My Does Does Da Xia and the Hive have been good neighbors for a long time and should naturally look out for each other. Upon learning that the Hive was in trouble, our leader specially ordered us to lead men to provide support. As far as I know, Zhaoyang and the Hive both belong to the Longyou Alliance. To act with treachery and lead men to attack an ally—such conduct is truly despicable!"

Suddenly being pointed at and scolded, the five Cold-Resistant-level experts including Hou Ming all showed a trace of anger on their faces. But soon, when they realized the purpose of Yu Wentao's words, their expressions all changed simultaneously.

A righteous cause!

These four words instantly popped into Hou Ming's mind, and his gaze toward Yu Wentao became extremely vigilant.

Does Does Da Xia was an external force. Daring to interfere in the internal affairs of the Pingxi Plains at will—according to the rules of the Longyou Alliance, the punishment would be a reprimand from Longshan at best, and at worst, they would be attacked by all the camps in Longyou collectively.

As people from Zhaoyang, the four of them certainly knew that the Alliance was already on the verge of collapse; after all, they were the ones who had initiated the challenge.

But Longshan, after all, had not yet fallen.

The banner of the Alliance could still be used to bluff people for the time being.

Since Yu Wentao took the initiative to say this, it meant that Does Does Da Xia's grasp of the actual situation in Longyou was not yet very deep.

"Commander Chen, colluding with external forces to cause chaos in the Pingxi Plains is no small crime. Let alone Longshan knowing, once other camps under Longyou find out, the Hive's guilt will be immense..."

"You're quite good at pinning labels on people. What about Zhaoyang leading men to destroy my Hive—what do you have to say about that? Why don't you and Does Does Da Xia have a fight here? As long as you can drive them back, we'll wipe the slate clean regarding the events of the past two days. How about that?"

Before Hou Ming could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Chen Yingba.

Hearing Chen Yingba's ridicule and realizing he had been foolish, his face instantly flushed red, and he remained speechless for a long time.

While Hou Ming was speechless, Chen Yingba, standing in front of the main area building, looked at the Does Does Da Xia and Zhaoyang forces and also fell into a dilemma.

He could also understand the meaning behind Yu Wentao's words.

All that talk about good neighborliness and mutual support was bullshit. If others didn't know the relationship between the Hive and Does Does Da Xia, could he himself not understand it?

Lin Ye being ambushed, plus the abnormality in the number of Zhaoyang casualties, were enough to show that while Zhaoyang was attacking, Does Does Da Xia's forces had already mixed into the tunnels long ago. It was just that he didn't know what method they had used to stay hidden so well that he hadn't discovered them.

Zhaoyang wasn't anything good, and Does Does Da Xia was even worse. But both forces had already rushed into the main area, and driving them out was already impossible.

The Hive's only chance of survival right now was to pin its hopes on the two sides starting a fight.

The problem was, would the two sides be that stupid?

"You are smart, but I am not stupid. If you don't fight, then nobody fight. Dragging it out is fine too. It would be best to drag it out until the Big Brother returns; perhaps there will still be a turning point!"

Chen Yingba whispered in his heart. Seeing that Does Does Da Xia and Zhaoyang in front showed no unusual movement, he directly gave orders to the people around him, signaling them all to tighten their defenses and wait and see what happened.

And just at this moment, Yu Wentao continued to speak.

"Commander Chen, Zhaoyang took the initiative to invade and killed so many people from the Hive, and Hou Hu is also ambitious. If we don't completely keep these people here today, the Hive will surely suffer in the future. What are you still waiting for?"

Chen Yingba had already made up his mind to just stay in a stalemate, so naturally, he wouldn't listen to Yu Wentao's nonsense. After a cold laugh, he continued to stand where he was without moving.

Hou Ming and the Zhaoyang group, who were surrounded in the middle, had been nervous for a moment, but seeing that Chen Yingba had no reaction, they immediately let out a fierce sigh of relief.

But what they didn't notice was that several Hive people had suddenly approached behind Chen Yingba. Judging by their attire, they were clearly from the elite layer.

"Lu Sheng, what are you five doing coming over here? Why aren't you going to the front to stand guard!"

Seeing the people arrive, Chen Yingba immediately scolded in a deep voice.

Lu Sheng was an old hand of the Hive. Chen Yingba was quite familiar with him and the members of his hunting squad. The news that Jingxian had been occupied by Does Does Da Xia was brought back by them.

He had just given the order to stand guard, yet Lu Sheng brought four people to his side; naturally, he didn't have a good expression.

Thinking that over the past two days, these five, including Lu Sheng, had followed him to kill many Zhaoyang people in the tunnels, his expression warmed up slightly.

However, his scolding earlier didn't seem to have any effect.

Lu Sheng walked all the way to a position less than five meters away from him before stopping. Even more bizarrely, the other four who followed him were actually still walking forward, and they were dispersing toward his left and right sides.

Why did this look a bit like they were... surrounding him?

A trace of vigilance rose on Chen Yingba's face. He first glanced at Lu Sheng, then looked around at the four people on his left and right, and his expression suddenly froze.

He actually couldn't see through the strength of Lu Sheng and the four people beside him.

How could this be!

The movement of Qi-muscle in the Earth-Digging Realm could not be hidden at all in front of Cold-Resistant-level experts. With just one glance, one could see the size of their base strength.

There were two situations where a Cold-Resistant-level expert couldn't see through someone's strength: one was that a person of the same realm had deliberately restrained their Qi-muscle movement; the other was that their strength was not much different from one's own, or even stronger.

Chen Yingba realized this, his expression changed abruptly, and he spoke in shock:

"You are not..."

"Commander Chen, don't panic!"

Lu Sheng smiled and raised his head, reaching out to interrupt Chen Yingba's words. Then, a smile appeared on his face, and he respectfully cupped his hands toward him, saying:

"Does Does Da Xia Minister Xia Chuan, greetings, Commander Chen..."

Lu Sheng laughed loudly and fiddled with his face for a moment, actually tearing off a vermilion mask.

At the same time, the four people on his left and right also tore off a layer of masks just like Xia Chuan, cupping their hands and laughing loudly as they spoke: "Does Does Da Xia Luo Yuan, greetings, Commander Chen!"

"Does Does Da Xia Yuan Cheng, greetings, Commander Chen."

"Does Does Da Xia Zhao Long."

"Does Does Da Xia Hong Tian, greetings, Commander Chen."

While the four laughed and saluted, they all drew the weapons in their hands.

Luo Yuan had a barrier blade; Yuan Cheng had a double-edged giant axe; Zhao Long had a horizontal blade; and the last one, Hong Tian, had a long sword.

Chen Yingba's expression froze instantly. Just as he was about to speak, Xia Chuan, who was in front of him, raised his hand slightly. The inch-long black dagger he had been holding in his right hand actually turned into a 1.3-meter black broadsword right before his eyes.

"Commander Chen wouldn't think that by relying on the few people in your Hive, you could hold off those 1,500 people from Zhaoyang for two days, would you?"

Chen Yingba's position was at the very back of the Hive's three thousand guards. Plus, the five people including Xia Chuan hadn't made any noise, their voices were very low, and it was a time of high alert, so only a very small number of people noticed this.

Just now, Xia Chuan had come over wearing Lu Sheng's face in front of everyone, so even the very few who noticed thought it was just Chen Yingba giving some instructions to Lu Sheng's group of five. They didn't take it to heart and turned their heads back to stare at the Zhaoyang and Does Does Da Xia forces by the iron gate.

!

Only Luo Ming and Li Baihe, who were mixed in among the Hive crowd, inadvertently glanced over with their peripheral vision, then turned back and looked at each other calmly. Judging by the shock in their eyes, they clearly knew what was happening over there.

Gulp...

Luo Ming swallowed a mouthful of saliva. The shock in his eyes was almost impossible to hide. Fearing that others would discover it, he lowered his head directly.

"It actually really succeeded. This Xia Chuan is simply too terrifying. His mind is meticulous to this degree. How old is he..."

The calendar of Longyou and Does Does Da Xia differed by only ten days.

On the 15th of the fourth month of the second year of Does Does Da Xia, when the letter was delivered to Yue Feng, Luo Ming actually hadn't thought too much about it. Even if Does Does Da Xia's strength was much stronger than he had anticipated, it wouldn't be strong enough to swallow the Hive at will. After all, this would involve the Longyou Alliance, and the Hive's own strength was not weak either.

He was mostly thinking about securing a future for his son, Luo Cheng, so that his son could get better development in Does Does Da Xia.

But he never expected that on the fifth day after he sent the letter out—

which was the 20th of the fourth month of the second year of Does Does Da Xia—

Lu Sheng, who was already dead, actually returned to the Hive with four other people!

On the night the letter was sent, Lu Sheng had his head cut off by Yue Feng himself, and his four subordinates were one dead and three severely injured. Luo Ming had witnessed all of that with his own eyes. At the time, seeing Lu Sheng return, he thought it was some kind of monster at work and was scared out of his wits.

Later, when Lu Sheng personally came to his door, he realized it was Xia Chuan, and among the four people following Xia Chuan, there were actually his old subordinates Luo Yuan and Zhao Long.

Luo Yuan and Zhao Long had actually both broken through to the Cold-Resistant level!

Not to mention Luo Ming's excitement and joy at the time, Xia Chuan's subsequent layer-by-layer deployment was the reason for his shock at this moment.

After mixing into the Hive on the 20th of the fourth month, Xia Chuan figured out the tunnel situation and immediately sent Luo Yuan and Zhao Long to control the mining area behind Tunnel 19, then ordered Yuan Cheng and Hong Tian to control an exit at the southernmost end of the Hive.

In the three days that followed, the people Does Does Da Xia gathered in the Border Valley poured into the Hive's underground through that exit, one after another, and headed straight for the mining area. They actually managed to mix in completely without the main area noticing at all.

Originally, according to Xia Chuan's plan, they were to take the main area entrance with thunderous means and then control the entire Hive camp in one fell swoop. But no one expected that on the 23rd of the fourth month, the Zhaoyang camp would attack ahead of schedule.

Xia Chuan reacted extremely quickly and immediately realized that this was an excellent opportunity to weaken both the Hive and Zhaoyang camps, and it would allow Does Does Da Xia to take the Hive at the lowest cost and in the fastest time.

"The layout of the Hive's station dictates that as long as an external force invades, they will inevitably change the tunnel numbering and then release wolf smoke to smoke people out. Others will definitely have to mask their faces to resist. This is our best opportunity!"

Xia Chuan's guesses about the Hive's actions were also spot on.

Chen Yingba released the wolf smoke, and both the Zhaoyang and Hive forces began to mask their faces with wet cloths. This just happened to make it convenient for Does Does Da Xia to fish in troubled waters.

"It really worked. Now it just depends on how to communicate with Chen Yingba!"

Luo Ming looked back, watching the six people still communicating at the very back, and a trace of anticipation rose in his heart.

If Does Does Da Xia could really take the Hive in one fell swoop, he and Li Baihe would definitely be credited with a great achievement. Rewards would certainly be indispensable, and along with that, their status after returning to Does Does Da Xia should also be guaranteed!

"Brothers, Zhaoyang has killed so many of us. Now that we have brothers from Does Does Da Xia to help, what are we waiting for? Kill!"

Suddenly, Chen Yingba behind him spoke.

His opening statement instantly ignited the already tense atmosphere.

"That's right, with so many people helping, what are we afraid of?"

"They killed so many of us, make Zhaoyang's dog bastards pay in blood!"

"Brothers, kill!"

"Pincer attack from front and back, brothers, charge with me..."

………………

The hatred that had accumulated in the hearts of the Hive group over the past two days completely erupted with this order from Chen Yingba.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

A dense rain of arrows was fired from the Hive side, and the surging crowd of people then charged up. The overwhelming roars and howls instantly filled the entire main area space.

"Fire!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

What was fatal was that the thousand-plus people on the Does Does Da Xia side, under Yu Wentao's order, also released their long-taut bowstrings.

The two waves of arrow rain instantly engulfed the Zhaoyang group.

Puchi... puchi...

Two rounds of arrow rain washed over the ground. Zhaoyang, which only had eight hundred people left, lost another quarter in an instant. Seeing that the arrow rain in the rear hadn't stopped, Hou Ming was instantly furious, roaring as he charged toward the interior of the main area.

"Charge inside, fight them to the death!"

"Kill Chen Yingba first and occupy the Hive."

Wu Tianxing, Hou Bing, Hou Ying, and the injured Lin Ye followed closely behind. The remaining survivors of Zhaoyang, realizing this was their last chance to live, all charged toward the Hive people inside the main area.

The Does Does Da Xia forces, whether in strength, attire, or spirit, were clearly much stronger than the Hive side.

Charging inside was their only choice!

"Continue firing arrows, don't charge until I give the order."

Yu Wentao, in front of the iron gate, saw the choice of the Zhaoyang forces, a cold light rising in his eyes. He spoke in a low voice to the few people beside him, and orders were immediately passed down one by one.

The thousand-plus people of Does Does Da Xia all remained motionless, continuing to draw their bows and fire at the Zhaoyang group that was charging.

………………

"Commander Chen is indeed a smart man. Don't worry, once we wipe out this Zhaoyang group, my Does Does Da Xia guarantees that we will absolutely not infringe upon the Hive in the slightest. We will just wait for Commander Chen to return from Longshan, and then our two sides will immediately sign a contract. From now on, we will be friendly neighbors and look out for each other!"

At the very back of the Hive, Xia Chuan ignored Chen Yingba's gloomy expression and proposed with a smiling face. The four people including Luo Yuan who were surrounding Chen Yingba also all showed knowing smiles.

It was just that the bright smiles on the five people's faces and Chen Yingba's gloomy expression formed a sharp contrast.

No matter how one looked at it, it felt bizarre.

(End of chapter)