Chapter 296

The second year of Does Da Xia, the first day of the seventh month.

Directly west of Wu Shuang, Peng Bo, travel-worn and weary, galloped from the western snowfield. After looking around for a moment, he quickly ran toward the high point of a small snow hill.

"Reporting to the Commander, the three thousand Longyou soldiers have traveled nearly seven kilometers in one hour."

On the snow hill, Xia Chuan, dressed in white, turned his head immediately upon hearing this, his face full of shock as he said: "Seven kilometers in one hour, so fast?"

The Yun Jiao Army, with only a thousand people, could only travel five kilometers in an hour under normal conditions on the snowfield; the Longyou Army had three thousand people, so their marching speed should theoretically be much slower. Unexpectedly, it was actually forty percent faster than the Yun Jiao Army.

"The time since their army was established is ultimately longer than ours. Big Brother is right; the overall quality of these three thousand Longyou soldiers is likely much higher than the Yun Jiao Army..."

After Xia Chuan pondered for a moment, the expression on his face became much more solemn.

However, Peng Bo continued to speak at this time. He picked up a branch from the ground, drew a rough route map on the snow, and said to Xia Chuan:

"Commander, based on the Frost-Resistant-level outposts I set up along the way from Longshan, I have roughly inferred their marching route. The total distance should be twenty-five kilometers. Counting the time it took for me to return, it is expected that they will arrive here in just over two hours."

Looking at the route map on the ground, Xia Chuan's eyes suddenly lit up.

As expected of the old leader of Yanglu, compared to Lin Kai, who was sent out in the first wave to scout the movements of the Longshan army, the intelligence brought back by Peng Bo was clearly more valuable.

"The enemy has set up many scouts along the way; I roughly estimate at least thirty or forty people. Adding those accompanying the army, Longshan has likely brought ninety percent of their Frost-Resistant-level fighters this time. It seems they want to decide the outcome in one battle at Wu Shuang!"

Upon hearing this, Xia Chuan said in a deep voice: "A lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit, let alone Longyou, which has just lost two armies at our hands. Longshan is the attacking side; if they don't bring out everything they have, how could it be so easy to break through Wu Shuang?"

"Li Ying Xuan Ling is not stupid. Compared to Does Da Xia, Longshan's greatest advantage is these three thousand Longyou soldiers and the large number of Frost-Resistant-level fighters. She will definitely make good use of this point."

Peng Bo nodded first, then laughed in a low voice: "It's a pity that Longshan is destined to return empty-handed tonight. Li Ying Xuan Ling probably never imagined that Wu Shuang, which has so many Frost-Resistant-level fighters guarding the perimeter, actually has not a single person inside!"

Upon hearing this, a smile rose on Xia Chuan's face as well. He turned his head to look at the Wu Shuang giant stone station to the east, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

"Longshan has become smarter, knowing to send people to scout the situation at the station in advance. It's a pity Li Ying Xuan Ling didn't go all out. Sending just these few people, they can't even break into the outer perimeter. From so far away, they can at most judge that no one has left the station; they can't see anything about the situation inside."

Peng Bo smiled and continued: "Wu Shuang has two Xia straight roads, one in the northeast connecting to Hanqiong and one in the southeast connecting to Beehive. Both straight roads are buried under the snow, and the tunnel entrances are about two kilometers from the station. We chose to guard at a distance of three kilometers; Longshan probably can't figure out why."

Since daytime, Xia Chuan had been guarding the west side with ten people including Peng Bo. Although he only sensed one Frost-Resistant-level fighter approaching midway, he could conclude that after suffering two major losses at Changbai Gully and Ningyuan Hill, Longshan definitely didn't just send this one Frost-Resistant-level fighter.

Although the visibility of the snowfield is decent, it is at most one li at night.

Even if Longshan sent people to all four directions, their observation range would at most be a circle of two to three kilometers around the outskirts of Wu Shuang, and they wouldn't even be able to see the straight road entrances.

Relying on this information gap, there were too many things they could do.

"Ten minutes ago, when Zhao Long arrived with 1000 people from Hanqiong, Chen Yingyuan in the north led people to shrink the warning line. If Longshan had scouts in that direction, they must have noticed. It's just that I don't know..."

As Xia Chuan was pondering, a figure suddenly swept in from the north.

The person who arrived was Xu Ning. Carrying a longbow and holding a Mo Dao, he walked to Xia Chuan's side with an excited face, bowed, and said: "Reporting to the Commander, just as the leader expected, when Zhao Long's army arrived, we deliberately shrank the warning line. The Longshan scout couldn't help but approach immediately. After discovering Zhao Long's army, that person even touched nearby to try to observe the cultivation of the soldiers. After being discovered by us, he didn't entangle and fled directly. Chen Yingyuan recognized that person as Li Tiancheng's eldest son, Li Xuanping."

"Good!"

Hearing Xu Ning's words, Xia Chuan's expression became extremely excited.

"Hahaha..."

Xu Ning couldn't help but laugh out loud, saying: "Originally, the leader's plan was to let Zhao Long make some noise to attract the attention of Longshan scouts. Who would have thought that Li Xuanping would jump out himself and even know to go and scout the cultivation of that group of people? He must have already returned to the Longshan army to report to Li Ying Xuan Ling."

"Not just the north, we have movement on the east side too!"

As Xu Ning's voice fell, Yu Wentao's voice came from the south side of the snow hill.

Yu Wentao walked up carrying a broadsword, his face full of smiles. He bowed to Xia Chuan and said: "Commander, good news, the scout on the east side has also been lured out by us."

"Oh?"

Xia Chuan's eyes lit up immediately, and he turned to look at Yu Wentao.

"It's a woman. I just organized the last group of people at the station, preparing to leave Wu Shuang via the southeast Xia straight road to Beehive. Remembering what the leader said, there must be a large number of Longshan scouts around Wu Shuang, I had a temporary idea to let that group pretend to walk toward the Wu Shuang station, and then deliberately shrank the warning circle. That Longshan female scout really took the bait and immediately approached to observe the situation."

"What happened afterward?"

"I led Hong Guang, Hong Tian, and six others to take action, pretending to fight to the death to keep them, but that woman didn't entangle and fled directly. She seemed very proud when she fled."

"Hahahaha..."

Hearing that the female scout was very proud when she fled, Xia Chuan couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"That is to say, the scouts in the north and east directions both think that we have mobilized a large number of people from other places to Wu Shuang. After Li Ying Xuan Ling finds out, she will definitely think that we are going to have a decisive battle with her at Wu Shuang. The three thousand Longyou soldiers are probably in high spirits right now."

Yu Wentao, Peng Bo, and Xu Ning couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this.

………………

East of Songyuan, about ten kilometers away.

The mighty three thousand Longyou soldiers were continuing to march east.

Li Ying Xuan Ling led more than ten Frost-Resistant-level fighters, following on the flank of the army.

People kept running back and forth from the front of the army, reporting something to Li Ying Xuan Ling, and after reporting, they immediately ran forward again. They were clearly Frost-Resistant-level fighters acting as temporary scouts for the army.

"Leader, is there no need to be so careful? Does Da Xia only has that Yun Jiao Army. They lost at least twenty percent in the battle last night, and at most only eight hundred are left. Even if they replenish, if they ambush us halfway, it's a dead end, right?"

Longshan archer Yang Fengping, seeing the Frost-Resistant-level fighters who were usually high and mighty in Longshan now acting as scouts running back and forth, had a strange expression and couldn't help but speak to Li Ying Xuan Ling.

Although others didn't speak, their expressions clearly agreed.

What Longshan dispatched tonight was not a new army, nor was it the Blood Guard Army, but the real three thousand elite Longyou soldiers.

They really didn't believe that Xia Hong had the guts to ambush them halfway, or rather, they were hoping in their hearts that Does Da Xia had this guts.

In their view, Li Ying Xuan Ling's behavior was indeed a bit of an overreaction.

However, Li Ying Xuan Ling clearly did not agree with everyone's view.

"Caution is the parent of safety. Does Da Xia's strength is not weak, and that Xia Hong is not simple either. Before the Yun Jiao Army appeared, did you know Does Da Xia had an army? You have to learn from your mistakes, otherwise, wouldn't the defeats at Changbai Gully and Ningyuan Hill be in vain?"

Hearing these words, everyone's expressions paused slightly, and they all closed their mouths.

Li Ying Xuan Ling's brows sank slightly. After looking around at everyone, she didn't say anything more.

She said this to make these people more vigilant, or to cultivate their alertness, but in all honesty, in her heart, she actually thought much the same as everyone else.

If Xia Hong really dared to set an ambush halfway, that would be great!

The two battles of the Yun Jiao Army last night were indeed fought beautifully, but judging from the statements of the new army soldiers and Blood Guard soldiers who fled back, the overall strength of the Yun Jiao Army was actually not very strong, and even a small portion of the soldiers had not yet reached the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm.

The great victories at Changbai Gully and Ningyuan Hill were essentially won by surprise.

Of course, the choice of the ambush site and the reasonable use of the Yun Jiao Army's three arms—Mo Dao, Heng Dao, and scouts—on the battlefield were also two reasons, but that was not the key to victory.

The three thousand Longyou soldiers she was leading now not only had cultivation levels above the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm, but the vast majority were personally brought out by her father, Li Tianhua. They were all veteran soldiers who had been through many battles, each one obeying orders and prohibiting actions, familiar with battle formations and tactics, and absolutely incomparable to the Yun Jiao Army.

If Does Da Xia really dared to set an ambush halfway, it would definitely be a dead end!

It's just a pity that Li Ying Xuan Ling knew very well that Xia Hong was not that stupid.

"Wu Shuang, Hanqiong, and Beehive are all in Does Da Xia's hands. Wu Shuang bears the brunt and is also the most critical location. The first step to driving Does Da Xia out of Longyou is to take Wu Shuang. It's just that I don't know if Xia Hong will accept this battle at Wu Shuang!"

Wu Shuang is located in the center of the entire Longyou. From here, the distance to any camp in Longyou is the shortest, and its strategic significance is extremely important.

Li Ying Xuan Ling remembered very clearly that when she led the army to station between Bai Yuan and Wu Shuang, Does Da Xia had sent a special envoy named Qiu Peng to express the intention of co-governing Wu Shuang with Longshan.

From this incident, it could be seen that Does Da Xia knew the importance of Wu Shuang.

"Theoretically, Does Da Xia is reluctant to give up Wu Shuang, but if they only rely on those eight hundred Yun Jiao soldiers, they definitely won't be able to hold it. So either they retreat, or they continue to mobilize people from Xia City. The only thing to guard against right now is whether Does Da Xia has other armies that can be mobilized. If they really do, then this great battle won't be so easy..."

Li Ying Xuan Ling's brows tightened slightly. While pondering, she suddenly noticed something and looked up toward the front.

A white figure was galloping from the eastern snowfield toward the army. Those with good eyesight in the front immediately recognized the identity of the person.

"It's Xuanping!"

"There must be news about Wu Shuang."

Seeing Li Xuanping's hurried posture, everyone immediately had a guess, and even Li Ying Xuan Ling instantly perked up, waiting for him.

Although Li Xuanping was hurried, there was a clear smile on his face. He walked to Li Ying Xuan Ling, didn't drag his feet, and bowed directly: "Reporting to the leader, Does Da Xia has mobilized all one thousand garrison troops from Hanqiong to Wu Shuang."

"One thousand garrison troops from Hanqiong?"

Li Ying Xuan Ling's expression froze, and she immediately asked in a deep voice: "Are you sure it's the garrison troops from Hanqiong? Look clearly, are they all just ordinary Earth-Digging Realm cultivation?"

Over the past two months, Li Ying Xuan Ling had long ago sent people to scout the situation of Wu Shuang, Hanqiong, and Beehive clearly. It was no secret that Does Da Xia left one thousand garrison troops in Hanqiong.

Li Ying Xuan Ling remembered very clearly that the scouts reported at the time that the one thousand garrison troops in Hanqiong were all of ordinary Earth-Digging Realm cultivation.

Theoretically, one thousand Earth-Digging Realm soldiers mobilized to Wu Shuang wouldn't be of much use, and Xia Hong must know this too, which is why she was suspicious of this news, suspecting that Li Xuanping had misread it or had been deceived.

"Absolutely certain. I even risked approaching to observe. They are all ordinary Earth-Digging Realm, and their armor and weapons are only of the Ten-Forged level..."

Li Xuanping paused here and sneered: "That Xia Hong must have no one else to use, and had no choice but to mobilize these one thousand people from Hanqiong, vainly attempting to hold Wu Shuang to the death and resist the edge of my Longshan army."

One thousand ordinary Earth-Digging Realm soldiers, what use could they be?

Li Ying Xuan Ling's brows were tightly knit, and her face was still somewhat puzzled.

"The station has two thousand Earth-Digging Realm soldiers, plus these one thousand from Hanqiong, Wu Shuang now has at most three thousand Earth-Digging Realm soldiers. Plus those one thousand Yun Jiao soldiers, Xia Hong doesn't think that relying on these four thousand people, he can block three thousand Longyou soldiers, right?"

As soon as Li Xuandu spoke, everyone immediately sneered and teased.

"Four thousand blocking three thousand, does he think Longyou soldiers are also ordinary Earth-Digging Realm?"

"Daydreaming."

"Unless that Yun Jiao Army is all Frost-Resistant-level."

………………

The Earth-Digging Realm limit soldiers who have begun to use beast blood to reshape their skin-membranes are completely different concepts from ordinary Earth-Digging Realm soldiers who only have hunting qualifications.

To put it directly, it is the difference between a basic strength of over thirty thousand jin and over ten thousand jin. If you count factors like skin-membrane strength, weapons, armor, etc., the gap will only be larger.

Longyou has a common understanding, which is that for an army composed of ordinary Earth-Digging Realm soldiers to clash with a regular army on the battlefield, if the number is not ten times greater, don't even think about it.

3000 Earth-Digging Realm soldiers, plus 1000 Yun Jiao soldiers, four thousand people guarding against three thousand Longyou soldiers.

If Xia Hong really has this intention, then Does Da Xia will definitely be defeated tonight.

Other Frost-Resistant-level fighters knew this, and Li Ying Xuan Ling naturally knew it even better. It's just that she thought a little more than others; she always felt that Xia Hong shouldn't be that stupid.

Just as she was deep in thought, someone suddenly pointed to the east side and shouted:

"Xuanqiu is back too."

Another scout returned.

Li Ying Xuan Ling perked up again, looking at her cousin Li Xuanqiu who was galloping from afar.

Li Xuanqiu was the same, without any nonsense, and spoke directly upon arrival:

"Reporting to the leader, nearly a thousand Earth-Digging Realm soldiers have arrived at Wu Shuang. Judging by the direction, they should have come from Beehive. Xuan Dong and I discovered a secret tunnel under the snow in the southeast of Wu Shuang, which should connect to Beehive. It is expected that they won't just come in one batch; a large number of people should continue to come from that secret tunnel later."

A large number of Earth-Digging Realm soldiers from Beehive have also come to Wu Shuang!

Hearing this news, everyone's faces immediately showed smiles.

Even Li Ying Xuan Ling completely let go of the suspicion she had just now.

"Xia Hong, you really intend to gather all the Earth-Digging Realm soldiers Does Da Xia has in Longyou and hold Wu Shuang to the death. Good, good, good, that's fine."

"Leader, that secret tunnel of Does Da Xia is very long, and it's a bit difficult to destroy it completely. However, as long as there are a few more people, it can still be destroyed with some time. Why don't I take a few people to destroy that secret tunnel and stop Does Da Xia's reinforcements from continuing to gather at Wu Shuang?"

Li Xuanqiu proposed, and everyone's expressions were somewhat moved.

It was Li Ying Xuan Ling who, after pondering for a moment, shook her head:

"No need. The secret tunnel can be destroyed at any time, just not now."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions were somewhat puzzled.

"That's right!"

Li Xuandu was the first to react, his eyes lighting up slightly. Seeing that everyone was still puzzled, he immediately explained: "Only with reinforcements coming does Does Da Xia dare to continue staying in Wu Shuang. If we destroy the tunnel and the reinforcements can't come in the short term, Does Da Xia won't defend Wu Shuang, and then we'll be the ones in trouble. Understand now?"

Hearing this, everyone suddenly realized and nodded one after another.

"Li Xuanping, Li Xuanqiu, you two go and keep an eye around Wu Shuang. If there is any situation, come back and report. No matter how many people Does Da Xia sends, don't interfere, just watch them go in."

"Understood, leader!"

Li Xuanping and Li Xuanqiu bowed and immediately turned to dash toward the east side.

Li Ying Xuan Ling turned to look at the east side, her voice full of killing intent.

"Notify the army to speed up. There are only 9 kilometers left. Try to arrive in just over an hour. Tonight, we will let Does Da Xia know who really calls the shots in the Longyou land."

"Yes!"

The group of Frost-Resistant-level fighters answered in unison, their faces full of killing intent. They then dispersed to various parts of the army and began to urge them sternly.

(End of chapter)