Chapter 303: Persistent, Gnawing Mouse Breaks the Wall

2nd Year of Great Xia, July 4th

Bang... bang... bang…………

In the main area of the Hive underground, a section of the wall to the west of the main gate had started to undergo violent deformation. The stones on the wall had long since fallen off, and the exposed iron wall bulged inward, with a thickness of at least three or four meters. The violent collision sound outside was still continuing, making the entire main area tremble incessantly.

Below the position of the wall being hit, over a thousand Great Xia Earth-Digging Realm cultivators were working together to pull iron chains to erect a pillar-shaped giant iron stake.

That pillar-shaped iron stake alone had a diameter of over three meters and was about twenty meters high. Judging from the fact that so many people below had to use iron chains to erect it, it was clear that its weight was extremely astonishing.

Among the group below, the leaders were over a dozen Cold-Resistant level personnel, including Yuan Cheng, Zhao Long, and Qiu Peng. Seeing them standing at the front, after erecting the iron stake, they immediately directed the crowd to move forward until the top of the iron stake was aligned with the bulging position being hit, and then they spoke slowly:

"Everyone, put in some effort, push it up, one, two, three... Heave!"

Over a dozen Cold-Resistant level personnel, plus over a thousand Earth-Digging Realm cultivators, exerted force together, and the iron stake leaned directly against the bulging position of the wall being hit.

Bang…………

The huge collision from the outside struck again. The crowd supporting the iron stake below immediately retreated a few steps, but because the end of the iron stake was already resting on the ground, most of the collision force was offset. Aside from retreating, the crowd had no other damage.

Bang... bang... bang…………

After that bulge was propped up, the collision sound immediately changed. It was clear that after the giant iron stake unloaded the force, the force borne by the iron wall was greatly reduced, the sound was not as fierce as before, and the vibration in the main area space also became smaller.

Bang... bang...

The people outside clearly also noticed something, and after hitting a few times, they stopped directly.

"Hahahahaha, it stopped again. This Li Ying Xuan Ling is truly persistent. It's already the second half of the night, and she's already tried seven times, yet she still refuses to give up."

Yuan Cheng let out a hearty laugh. Qiu Peng, Zhao Long, and others beside him, including the over a thousand Earth-Digging Realm cultivators who had just moved the iron stake, also laughed loudly one after another.

While the crowd was laughing, they couldn't help but look up at the wall above.

The wall above the entire main area space actually already had six giant bulges three or four meters thick. Clearly, they were all smashed out by Li Ying Xuan Ling and others on the periphery.

"Every time we wait for her to hit for two hours before using the iron stake to prop it up, she can't see it from the outside. She probably even thinks the iron wall is too thick and she can't break through it at all, hahahaha."

Luo Yuan was also in the crowd. After he finished speaking, he turned his head and looked behind, then asked the crowd: "Where is the Si Cheng?"

The crowd looked back and discovered that Xia Chuan was no longer behind.

"He should have gone to patrol other places. The main area wall range is large, and he's worried that Longshan will play tricks in other places, right!"

Hearing this, the crowd's expressions immediately revealed a trace of strangeness. In the end, Yuan Cheng spoke: "The entire main area only has a small hole on the wall above the main building, and that small hole has already been filled by us. What other tricks can Longshan play? Aside from using brute force to break it, they have no other way."

The crowd nodded, their expressions revealing agreement.

All the walls of the Hive main area were poured with molten iron. Aside from leaving some air holes, there was only one main gate and a small hole with a diameter of no more than half a meter above the main building.

On the night they retreated from Wu Shuang, they had sealed the main gate with molten iron. Although the small hole above the main building wasn't blocked, the passage connecting to the ground above that hole was also filled by them with brute force.

Not to mention whether Longshan could find the hole on top of the main building underground, even if they found it, with a diameter of no more than half a meter, at most allowing one person to enter and exit, what was the use?

If the Longyou troops dared to come in one by one from that small hole, it would be purely looking for death.

Therefore, aside from using brute force to break the iron wall, Longshan had no other way.

"Don't be careless, just keep a close eye on this side!"

Just then, Xia Chuan's voice suddenly sounded from the rear.

The crowd looked back and discovered that Xia Chuan and Chen Yingyuan were walking toward this side from the direction of the main area building complex.

"Leader, there's no need to worry at all. Li Ying Xuan Ling's four siblings' strength is indeed not bad, but this iron stake made by Mu Si Zheng weighs over thirty million jin, and we are waiting in comfort. As long as we keep an eye on the part they are hitting and prop it up, there is no possibility of it being broken."

Hearing Yuan Cheng's words, Xia Chuan didn't refute. Looking at the seven bulging parts of the iron wall above, a smile also appeared on his face.

"If a sharp iron tool long and large enough could be made, and then many people joined forces to charge and hit from the outside, it wouldn't be impossible to break through. But Longshan came from afar, and Li Ying Xuan Ling couldn't have guessed that the Hive outpost would have such a sturdy iron wall fortress, so she definitely wouldn't have prepared in advance. Therefore, this time, they are destined not to be able to break through."

Mu Dong, who was named by Yuan Cheng, was beside him. At the end of April, after he, Cheng Feng, and Bai Dongying were scolded by Xia Hong, they all worked hard to cultivate and finally successfully broke through to the Cold-Resistant level at the beginning of this month. This time, leading the army to hold the Hive at all costs, the three of them were also transferred over from Xia City by Xia Chuan together.

The giant iron stake was temporarily built by him using the iron ore stored in the Hive after surveying the Hive's underground space and leading a group of craftsmen. At the beginning of the construction, he was already thinking about how such a ten-meter-thick sturdy iron wall could be broken from the outside, so hearing Yuan Cheng say there was no possibility of breaking through, he subconsciously refuted it.

The crowd, including Yuan Cheng, nodded immediately upon hearing this.

Indeed, although this barrier is ten meters thick, it is iron after all. If there were a sharp iron tool long and heavy enough, and the Longyou troops joined forces to charge and hit from the outside, breaking through shouldn't be considered very difficult.

It's just that the Longyou troops came from afar, and it's impossible for them to have such comprehensive preparations.

Smelting on the spot—without iron ore and coal, it's impossible; the Hive is at least over a hundred kilometers away from Longshan in a straight line, and going back to Longshan to take more is even more unrealistic.

Bang... bang…………

In the top space, another place actually started to make a loud noise.

Clearly, the Longshan Cold-Resistant level personnel outside had started to try hitting again.

"Eighth time, still coming?"

"Changed position, this time it's on the east side of the main gate."

"Being so persistent, must take the Hive?"

"They arrived last night, and it's already been a day, yet they haven't even seen our faces, and they still won't give up."

"Wait, let their people get tired for a while. Once the iron wall bulges more than three meters, use the iron stake to prop it up. I want to see how much resilience this Longshan has."

………………

Xia Chuan looked at the part being hit above, his brow furrowed slightly.

"Just refusing to go around and attack Xia City—it seems Longshan must have scouted the situation of Xia City and knows that Xia City is harder to attack, so they intend to die-hard at the Hive."

Chen Yingyuan nodded slightly and said: "Li Ying Xuan Ling is very shrewd. She should be able to see that we deliberately withdrew the people from Mirror Valley to lure her to attack Xia City. But attacking Xia City not only has greater difficulty but also easily falls into a situation of being attacked from both sides. She definitely won't go."

Hearing this, Xia Chuan just smiled and said nothing.

He withdrew the people from Mirror Valley, which was a chain plan that was sure to win and not lose. It was both to prevent the Longshan army from bypassing the Hive and going south, and also to lure them south through Mirror Valley to attack Xia City directly.

If the plan succeeded, he could lead these nine thousand-plus people from the Hive to attack, and with the defenders inside Xia City, attack from inside and outside, giving Longshan a fatal blow; if the plan didn't succeed, the people in Mirror Valley were safe, and they still held the Hive as usual, so there was no loss.

"However…………"

Chen Yingyuan's brow furrowed, and he continued: "Li Ying Xuan Ling doesn't look like such a stubborn person. After trying seven different places in a row, she actually still continues the eighth time. Even a stupider person can see that we are waiting in comfort inside. No matter how many times she tries, it's impossible to break the barrier. Why must she be so persistent in trying?"

Hearing this, Xia Chuan's brow furrowed, and he immediately fell into deep thought.

Indeed, this stubbornness of drilling into a bull's horn didn't look like Li Ying Xuan Ling's style.

But what other methods could she have to break the iron wall?

"The entire underground main area only has that one small hole on the top floor of the main building. I have already sent Zhao Hu, Zhao Bao, and ten other Cold-Resistant level personnel to lead over three thousand people to surround that position tightly. The remaining five thousand-plus people patrol the surrounding area of the main area around the clock. No matter what strange movements Longshan has, I can detect them at the first time. I don't believe they can have any new methods."

Since he couldn't figure it out, he simply stopped thinking about it. In any case, he intended to hold the Hive at all costs. As long as he didn't let Longshan break in for one day, they would

"They are all Earth-Digging Realm limits. Run, run quickly..."

"We can't run. There is hope if we close the iron gate. If they break in, the encampment is finished. Bring out all the Earth-Digging Realm cultivators and close the iron gate."

"Quick, everyone push for me, close the main gate, quick, quick, quick."

………………

At the main gate on the north side of the Bai Yuan encampment, golden light was flickering at this moment, and the sound of killing was shaking the sky.

Looking closely, one could see that the flickering golden light was actually soldiers wearing light golden armor.

This massive army had about a thousand people.

The front row of about three hundred people holding large broadswords had already stuck to the iron gate, frantically killing the defensive personnel around the iron gate; the back row of about six hundred people were all holding strong bows, frantically shooting arrows at the top and flanks of the iron gate;

There were also nearly a hundred people holding various different weapons, climbing up along the terrain around the iron gate. Under the cover of the archers in the rear, a small portion had actually climbed onto the stone platform above the iron gate, killing the Bai Yuan Earth-Digging Realm cultivators who were trying to close the iron gate.

The strongest one was a black-clothed young man who rushed to the very back of the stone platform.

That was a black-clothed young man holding a broadsword in his right hand and a four-meter-high banner in his left hand. He was waving the broadsword in his hand in a grand manner, and almost every strike could sweep away a dozen Earth-Digging Realm cultivators on his left and right.

He rushed all the way to the back of the stone platform in this way. Seeing the iron gate below that hadn't been completely closed, he fiercely inserted the banner in his left hand downward.

The seven-or-eight-meter-high flagpole was inserted in the middle of the iron gate. The black banner fluttered in the wind, and the "Xia" character on the front and the golden Teng Jiao pattern on the back immediately entered everyone's eyes.

"Scout Camp, rush onto the stone platform! Mo Dao Camp, continue to advance! Heng Dao Camp, shoot arrows for the last ten breaths. After ten breaths, abandon the bows and rush into the iron gate to protect the banner for me!"

The moment Director Yu Wen Tao inserted the banner behind the iron gate, Liu Yuan's roar also sounded on the stone platform.

"Kill!"

"Charge..."

"The iron gate has fallen, brothers, rush in."

…………

As the roar fell, the three hundred soldiers in the front row holding large Mo Dao seemed to have been injected with stimulants. One by one, they let out incomparably excited roars, held their Mo Dao high, and frantically rushed into the iron gate.

The six Heng Dao Camp soldiers behind were not to be outdone. In ten breaths, they quickly emptied the arrow quivers behind them, then directly abandoned their bows, drew their Heng Dao, and also rushed toward the iron gate like a tide.

The first Mo Dao Camp soldier finally rushed into the iron gate, and what awaited him were a dozen sharp broadswords.

The people of Bai Yuan were not stupid. The hundred or so guards deployed behind such an important position as the iron gate also had Earth-Digging Realm limit cultivation, and at the same time, the weapons and iron armor in their hands were also Hundred-Forged level.

Slash…………

A dozen sharp Hundred-Forged broadswords slashed onto his body. The iron armor of that Mo Dao Camp soldier immediately broke several holes. Not only was the iron armor broken, but such terrifying force pressed on his body, and he fell toward the ground. If it weren't for someone behind him supporting him, he would definitely have knelt down directly and never been able to stand up again.

"Only broke a few holes, how is this possible?"

"His weapon didn't break either, this..."

"His sword is so big, how could it be so sturdy."

"Aren't they all Hundred-Forged level?"

………………

Clearly, they had almost knocked that soldier down, but on Bai Yuan's side, not a single person had a smile on their face. Instead, their pupils shook violently, and their expressions were horrified.

The cultivation was the same, and the Hundred-Forged level weapons equipped were also the same. Great Xia's soldiers' iron armor, attacked by a dozen of them together, actually only broke a few holes.

How could this be possible…………

"Although they are all Hundred-Forged level, the Lei Kui iron armor I wear is different from yours!"

That Mo Dao Camp soldier sneered, then suddenly raised his head, held the Mo Dao in his hand, swept it horizontally in front of him, and then roared and rushed directly into the iron gate.

"Kill!"

"Kill…………"

With the first one, the second one soon appeared. The large Mo Dao held by the three hundred soldiers in the front row, as long as one rushed in, could sweep away a large area of people. As long as they maintained it for three or four breaths without retreating, more Mo Dao would immediately come in from behind.

And so, the collapse of the iron gate began from this!

After the massive Mo Dao Camp soldiers rushed in, they created a space of over a hundred meters in radius behind the iron gate in less than ten minutes.

The six Heng Dao Camp soldiers behind had no more obstacles and rushed in like a tide.

Puchi…………

Liu Yuan led over a hundred elite Scout Camp soldiers and had long since cleared the stone platform above the iron gate, killing the crowd of Earth-Digging Realm cultivators who were trying to close the iron gate. Seeing that the soldiers of the Nine Camps had all rushed into the iron gate, he no longer had any scruples and rushed down directly with the Scout Camp.

"The main gate is broken. People of Bai Yuan, listen clearly: surrender and you will not be killed!"

Liu Yuan was, after all, of Cold-Resistant level cultivation. With one rush, he could sweep away a large area of people. In less than four or five breaths, he rushed to the side of the group of Earth-Digging Realm limit cultivators who were retreating, and while frantically harvesting the lives of this group of people with his broadsword, he also started shouting "surrender and you will not be killed" at them.

"Surrender and you will not be killed!"

"Surrender and you will not be killed!"

………………

A group of elite Scout Camp soldiers also followed him and killed their way up, and also started shouting "surrender and you will not be killed" with him, constantly destroying the psychological defense line of the Bai Yuan people.

"Where is the leader?"

"Where did the Second Leader go?"

"They are all in the back, didn't you see? The main building has already collapsed."

…………

The people of Bai Yuan who were still resisting, in their despair, pinned their hope on the leader Bai Qiucheng. But after a reminder from someone with a heart, they discovered that the top floor of the main building in the middle of the encampment had actually collapsed.

Above the collapsed building, there were a total of six figures fighting, among whom two were being beaten back steadily—they were Second Leader Bai Qiuping and Third Leader Wu Ningyuan. It was just that on Great Leader Bai Qiucheng's side, it seemed he had the upper hand.

But the problem was, the black-clothed person who had just inserted the banner on the stone platform was already holding a broadsword and rushing toward the direction of Bai Qiucheng in the main building.

That is to say, Great Xia would soon be four against three.

The encampment was broken, and the Cold-Resistant level personnel were also completely defeated.

Bai Yuan, it's over!

Ping…………

I don't know who it was, but the first person dropped their weapon, and then the second and third followed. Aside from a portion of die-hard people who were still expecting something to change in the main building battlefield, more and more people started to put down their weapons and knelt directly to the Cloud Dragon soldiers to surrender.

"Bai Qiucheng, surrender. The Leader didn't strike personally, just to give you a chance. If you are still stubborn, there will only be a dead end in the end."

"Bai Yuan and Great Xia have no feud, why attack my encampment!"

"Don't talk nonsense, Bai Qiucheng. Since you have the heart to merge into Longshan, you must accept your fate. I will ask you one last time: surrender or not?"

"Peng Bo, you are dreaming. Longshan will destroy Great Xia sooner or later. Qiu Ping, Ning Yuan, come with me..."

As Bai Qiucheng's voice fell, before Director Yu Wen Tao could get close, two figures on the main building took the opportunity to flee quickly toward the direction of Longshan on the west side.

Only the person fighting Chen Yingba had a hesitant expression, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and put down his weapon.

"I am Wu Ningyuan, I am willing to surrender, I ask Your Excellency to raise your hand high."

Chen Yingba stopped his hand fiercely, turned his head to look at the two fleeing Bai Qiucheng, and shook his head, a trace of helplessness flashing in his eyes.

Not just Chen Yingba, Peng Bo, Wu Tianxing, and the three people including Director Yu Wen Tao who arrived later, looking at the fleeing Bai brothers, also revealed looks of helplessness.

Coincidentally seeing this scene, Wu Ningyuan thought that the few were helpless because they couldn't keep the Bai brothers.

But soon, he realized that he was somewhat ridiculously wrong.

………………

"The Bai brothers sent their families to Longshan in advance, and that Wu Ningyuan should not have sent his family away yet, so he can only surrender."

Not far west of the Bai Yuan encampment, looking at the fleeing Bai brothers, Hou Jing immediately cupped his hands and explained the reason to Xia Hong.

"Kill them!"

"This subordinate obeys."

After Hou Jing cupped his hands in agreement, a sharp glint appeared in his eyes, and he immediately chased in the direction where the two fled.

Bai Qiucheng's nine-mane strength, Bai Qiuping only had six manes—it shouldn't be difficult for the fifteen-mane Hou Jing to kill the two. But if he wanted to capture them alive, it would be a bit difficult.

Of course, more importantly, he didn't have the heart to capture the two alive.

At the beginning of the attack on Bai Yuan, Peng Bo took Wu Tianxing and Chen Yingba to sneak into Bai Yuan to talk to Bai Qiucheng. He didn't agree to surrender, and the great battle started.

The great battle in the main building just now clearly already had a result, but Bai Qiucheng was still stubborn and determined to defect to Longshan, which made Xia Hong a bit irritable.

Moreover, the matter of Bai Yuan tonight still needs to be blocked for a while; otherwise, if Li Ying Xuan Ling knows too early, it will affect the subsequent actions.

"Just right, I needed to win them over before, so I tried not to kill people. Now that it's a showdown with Longshan, it's time to kill some people to establish prestige; otherwise, these Cold-Resistant level personnel in Longyou will really think Great Xia's temper is not as big as Longshan's!"

After Xia Hong pondered for a moment, he leaped directly toward Bai Yuan and soon arrived at the location of the Bai Yuan main building.

"Greetings, Leader!"

"Greetings, Leader…………"

Director Yu Wen Tao, Peng Bo, Chen Yingba, Wu Tianxing, and Liu Yuan, the five people, immediately took the lead to bow to him. The Cloud Dragon soldiers who were dealing with captives around them also bowed respectfully to him.

"No need for formalities, get up! Hurry up and clean up, count the number of Bai Yuan Earth-Digging Realm captives, and control their families well."

"This subordinate obeys!"

Liu Yuan immediately cupped his hands and replied, quickly taking the soldiers to handle it.

The Cloud Dragon Army commander is Xia Chuan, but Xia Chuan didn't come this time, so he, the Scout Camp commander, could only act as the temporary commander, responsible for all affairs.

"Wu Ningyuan, right? Knowing how to surrender, not bad!"

Wu Ningyuan's expression froze, and he didn't know whether Xia Hong was praising him or insulting him. Helplessly, he could only cup his hands to him and bow his head:

"Greetings..."

Bang... bang...

Suddenly, two unknown objects were thrown to Xia Hong's side, hitting the ground and making two successive loud noises, interrupting Wu Ningyuan's salute.

Wu Ningyuan and the other few Cold-Resistant level personnel, including many people around the main building, all turned to look at Xia Hong's side.

After seeing those two objects clearly, aside from the Great Xia crowd like Director Yu Wen Tao and Peng Bo who had no surprise at all, the pupils of Wu Ningyuan and the group of people who surrendered in Bai Yuan contracted sharply, and their faces were full of horror.

Those two objects were none other than the Bai brothers who had just fled.

Bai Qiucheng's chest had completely collapsed, and his eyeballs were wide open, clearly terrified when he was killed;

Bai Qiuping's death state couldn't be called miserable, just a bit bizarre. His back of the head had completely broken open, clearly hit by a stick. His expression was as usual, clearly having no premonition of his own death.

Two leaders, just died like this...

Wu Ningyuan didn't know what others were thinking, but looking at the two leaders on the ground whose strength far exceeded his own, his body shuddered violently, and he immediately knelt down to Xia Hong, respectfully saying: "This subordinate pays respects to the Leader!"

He now understood the helplessness in the eyes of Peng Bo and others just now, including what Xia Hong's last sentence meant.

If he didn't surrender, the end would inevitably be becoming the third corpse on the ground.

"Alright, all get up. Peng Bo, Chen Yingba, Wu Tianxing, you three guard around Bai Yuan and don't let anyone leave here. Hou Jing, Director Yu Wen Tao, you come with me to Zhaoyang, let's go!"

Hou Jing!

Hearing this name, Wu Ningyuan's pupils tightened, and he caught a glimpse of the old man jumping down from above the main building. His heart beat violently.

Zhaoyang has a traitor. Hou Jing defected to Great Xia. Then what about those five or six thousand people who borrowed the road of Bai Yuan to go to Longshan tonight?

Xia Hong also wants to take Hou Jing to Zhaoyang. Hou Hu is now in Longshan!

Zhaoyang, is it going to change flags?

Isn't it said that Li Ying Xuan Ling led a massive army and blocked Great Xia at the Hive?

What is going on? The Xia army ran to the north, not only took Bai Yuan but also wants to occupy Zhaoyang. What do they want to do?

Wu Ningyuan's thoughts were temporarily put aside. After Xia Hong took Hou Jing and Director Yu Wen Tao away, Bai Yuan was completely taken over by Liu Yuan.

Peng Bo and the three pulled Wu Ningyuan and guarded the periphery of the Bai Yuan encampment directly, not allowing anyone to enter or leave at will; Liu Yuan led the Cloud Dragon Army to continue checking the Earth-Digging Realm population and their families in the encampment, clearly preparing for something.

………………

Walking along the snow plains northeast of Bai Yuan for over ten kilometers, soon the outline of the towering and majestic North Mang Mountain could be seen.

"Hiss... this height of North Mang Mountain is three or four times that of Twin Dragon Mountain, right?"

Unlike Xia Hong who saw it for the second time, Director Yu Wen Tao saw the magnificent North Mang Mountain for the first time and couldn't help but sigh.

"Although Zhaoyang has lived in Pinggu for decades, no one has ever climbed to the top of North Mang Mountain, so we don't know exactly how high it is. It should be over four thousand meters. What exactly is on it, we are also curious."

Even Hou Jing didn't know, which showed the mystery of North Mang Mountain.

Director Yu Wen Tao thought for a moment and said to Xia Hong: "There is Mang Mountain in the north, Twin Dragon Mountain in the east, Longshan in the west, and the Xing River in the south. Then it can basically be inferred that the overall terrain of Longyou is surrounded by mountains on three sides—east, west, and north—and cut off by the Xing River in the south. If we can control Longshan, we will almost have this entire piece of treasure in our hands. Even if other encampments want to plot against Great Xia in the future, it will be as difficult as ascending to heaven!"

Hearing this, Xia Hong withdrew his gaze from North Mang Mountain and revealed a look of admiration toward Director Yu Wen Tao. When he first saw North Mang Mountain, this thought was also in his mind.

From a geographical concept, Red Wood Ridge should also belong to Longyou, but because of the isolation of the arrow bamboo forest in the middle, it caused inconvenience for the two places to pass through, so it was divided into two boundaries.

As Great Xia's control over the arrow bamboo forest becomes deeper and deeper, the connection between the two places is becoming tighter and tighter. In the foreseeable future, the two places will inevitably merge together completely.

Water areas cannot be involved for the time being. Grabbing Longshan is equivalent to taking the last resource area of Longyou. The entire territory of Longyou is almost within Great Xia's map.

At that time, there will be Mang Mountain in the north, Xing River in the south, Longshan in the west, and Twin Dragon in the east. With the protection of four natural moats, Great Xia will be the uncrowned king of Longyou. If other encampments want to attack Great Xia, aside from attacking from the slope on the north bank of the Xing River—that is, the position he previously named "Xing Valley Pass"—there will be no other roads.

This is an excellent treasure land suitable for being a rear area!

Clearly, Director Yu Wen Tao also saw this point.

Hou Jing's eyes flashed with a few glints; he should have seen it too.

Xia Hong didn't continue to discuss this issue in depth. Seeing that there were only a few kilometers left to Pinggu, he directly changed the subject and asked Hou Jing: "How many Earth-Digging Realm cultivators does Zhaoyang currently have?"

Hou Jing immediately replied: "Zhaoyang has a total of 5,700 Earth-Digging Realm cultivators. After the Blood Guard Army was wiped out, there were originally 4,700 left. But the five thousand-plus people sent away last night included over 1,700 Earth-Digging Realm cultivators, so the remaining Earth-Digging Realm cultivators now only have a little over three thousand."

Mentioning that the five thousand-plus people sent away last night included over 1,700 Earth-Digging Realm cultivators, Hou Jing's pupils flashed slightly.

Xia Hong also raised an eyebrow and cast an inquiring look at him.

Hou Jing nodded directly: "Leader, rest assured, I have already arranged it."

"Good, then I won't say anything more. Now there are only about two hours left until dawn, and time is not enough. You go back directly to gather these three thousand Earth-Digging Realm cultivators, have them wear all the existing battle armor of Zhaoyang, and let Hou Xing, Zhang Ying, and Kong Fan lead them to depart for Bai Yuan immediately after nightfall tomorrow."

"This subordinate obeys."

Hou Jing didn't ask anything either. After nodding in obedience, he rushed to the encampment directly.

"Leader, you wouldn't be thinking of…………"

Director Yu Wen Tao clearly guessed Xia Hong's subsequent intention. After revealing a look of shock, he couldn't help but exclaim to him.

Are they going to attack Longshan directly?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 302 =====

Xia Chuan watched as everyone was rapidly retreating to the building area, his expression slightly condensed.

Once the main army is gathered, many of the outer cave entrances will naturally become unattended. It is only a matter of time before the Longyou troops come in.

However, he still didn't remain idle, but led a group of Cold-Resistant level experts, in groups of five, to continue patrolling all the cave entrances, guarding against Longshan taking advantage of their army gathering to send people to sneak in quietly from the cave entrances.

"Dragging out time is the right thing to do. This is only the second day, keep dragging!"

(End of chapter)