Chapter 495

“...Beishuo has violated the alliance’s terms. The Alliance Lord has decided to lead the southern Lu towns in joint punishment. Given Longgu’s weak strength, you are ordered to mobilize 10,000 troops and deliver them all to Qingyang Garrison within two days for deployment!”

Just as Yangqu received the Alliance Lord’s decree, Longgu Town in the northwestern region received it almost simultaneously.

In the air above Longgu Town’s leadership hall, Deputy Commander of the Central Army Murong the Sinking dropped the decree and departed with Commander Hong Guang of the Divine Martial Army, giving no one in Longgu Town a chance to respond.

Longgu Town’s lord, Long Mingyuan, Military Chief Li Yangtian, Town Chief Long Wenhai, and the core leadership stared as the two figures vanished into the sky, their expressions grim.

“Hmph! Back inside, continue the meeting.”

Like Yangqu, Long Mingyuan and the core leadership had been abruptly interrupted during their meeting by Murong the Sinking and Hong Guang. Murong’s blatant disrespect—giving orders to him in front of the entire town—left Long Mingyuan humiliated. Once they left, he let out a cold snort and led the core group back into the hall.

“The Xia’s arrogance has reached this point—Lord Long, will you still hesitate?”

Inside the hall, a middle-aged man in black clothing, upon seeing them enter, spoke directly in a deep voice. Seeing Long Mingyuan ignore him and walk toward the main seat, the man’s expression darkened slightly as he continued: “Lord Long, the three northern towns began deployment seven days ago: Beishuo with 70,000, Jinshan with 60,000, Wuchuan with 60,000—that’s 190,000 troops already. Add Longgu and Yangqu, and the five-town alliance totals 240,000.”

“Xia’s current maximum force is only 300,000. The gap is not large. If the five northern towns unite, holding back Xia’s advance is no challenge!”

“Last night, Xia severed my uncle Chu Xukong’s arms and killed nine men from Chencang, eight from Cai Qiu. Lord Long, do you think the two Fan will simply let this pass?”

“I won’t hide anything from you, Lord Long. Before dawn today, we learned of large-scale Xia troop movements. My uncle and Cai Qiu’s heir, Cai Shiqi, have both sent messengers back to their Fan seeking reinforcements. Though we cannot yet send large armies south, we can certainly muster as many Xianyang-level experts as needed.”

“If the five northern towns unite, and with our two Fan ’s strong reinforcements, Xia’s dream of unifying the southern Lu is nothing but fantasy...”

As Long Mingyuan listened to Chu Renjie’s impassioned speech, his hesitation gradually faded. When Chu finished, he turned to his left, toward Military Chief Li Yangtian, and asked in a low voice: “Yang’s opinion?”

“Fight!”

Li Yangtian gave his answer immediately, then added gravely: “Can the Longgu lineage, standing for a hundred years, surrender without a fight? Xia’s forces may be strong, but united, the five towns need not fear them—especially with Chencang and Cai Qiu’s support!”

Long Mingyuan showed no surprise at his answer, then turned to the rest of Longgu’s core leadership.

“Fight! Xia wants to swallow us? Dream on!”

“Fight! Lord, Longgu has stood in the southern Lu for over a century—how can we be intimidated by this upstart Xia?”

“With the five towns united, our numbers aren’t far behind Xia’s. The two Fan ’s reinforcements will more than make up the difference. Longgu Town will never bow!”

“Fight! Xia may be strong, but it’s only one faction. Mu Yin, Jiang Xia, and Chui Shan may serve Xia Hong as dogs—we don’t care. But Longgu will never surrender!”

“Longgu will never surrender!”

………………

“Good!”

Long Mingyuan slammed his fist on the table and rose, exhaling sharply as he finally made his decision. A cold gleam flashed in his eyes: “Xia Hong ordered us to send 10,000 troops? Perfect. Use this as an opportunity to recall every Yuhanshan-level cultivator in the town and form a united army.”

“I’ll arrange it immediately!”

Military Chief Li Yangtian stood at once, bowed, and left with several subordinates to organize the mobilization.

“Lord Chu, Longgu now joins the alliance. May I ask, Brother Yang, what specific plans have been made for this Xia offensive?”

From the moment Long Mingyuan made his decision, Chu Renjie’s face had been beaming. Hearing the question, he nodded with a smile: “Lord Long’s immediate task is to assemble the army and gather supplies. Xia has only begun troop movements—there’s no need to react yet. By the way...”

He paused slightly, then continued: “Unsurprisingly, Yangqu’s Lord Cao has likely also decided. Now that the five-town anti-Xia alliance is formed, we must establish command hierarchy. I inform you now: last night, the three towns agreed that Lord Yang Zun will command the entire alliance. Lord Long, do you object?”

Long Mingyuan didn’t hesitate—he nodded immediately.

Among the five northern towns, Beishuo was the strongest, and its ties to Chencang were clearly extraordinary. The alliance must be led by Yang Zun.

“Lord, the Wanbao Branch in town...”

Suddenly, Long Mingyuan’s cousin and Longgu Merchants’ Guild head, Long Wending, spoke up, looking toward the main seat.

Everyone in the hall, including Long Mingyuan, reacted with subtle interest.

Two years ago, Xia had opened Wanbao Branches in all five northern towns under the alliance’s name. Now that they were breaking ties, they could openly seize the branch’s assets.

The valuables inside Wanbao were substantial...

“Too late!”

Just as Long Mingyuan’s expression softened, about to issue an order, an elderly man in white robes at the back of the hall suddenly spoke.

He was Li Zihé, son of Military Chief Li Yangtian and deputy commander responsible for town defense.

All turned to look at Li Zihé, puzzled.

Li Zihé’s face was grim. He bowed to Long Mingyuan: “Lord, last night five large carts left town from Wanbao. Led by Branch Master Zhang Fan and many senior staff—I was puzzled then. Now I see: they received word in advance.”

They fled ahead of time!

Long Mingyuan’s face darkened. He waved sharply: “It’s just one branch. Let them go. Zihé, seal the town immediately. From today, no one leaves—only entry permitted. Prevent any leak of alliance plans.”

“I obey!”

Li Zihé bowed quickly and departed to carry out orders.

“Lord Long, your planning is impeccable—Longgu is secure. Chu will return to Beishuo to report. Should Lord Yang Zun issue further orders, I will deliver them at once. Farewell.”

“Lord Chu, take care.”

Chu Renjie had achieved his goal. He had no reason to stay. He bowed to Long Mingyuan and turned to leave.

Long Mingyuan assigned tasks to the others, dismissed them, and kept only his eldest son, Long Wenhai.

“Wenhai, how many of our men can fight?”

As Town Chief, Long Wenhai knew the town’s situation intimately. He bowed immediately: “Father, in the past two years, Longgu has grown rapidly. We now have over 24,000 Yuhanshan-level cultivators: 14,000 frontline troops, 13,000 Town Guard, plus 1,000 Iron Spikes under Military Chief Li. The remaining 10,000 include 2,000 in the Alliance force, 5,000 in hunting squads, and 3,000 scattered across other towns.”

Long Mingyuan frowned. “The 2,000 in the Alliance and the 3,000 scattered elsewhere are unreachable. So we have at most 19,000 Yuhanshan-level fighters under direct control?”

In truth, this number was a staggering leap from four years ago. Long Mingyuan remembered clearly: back then, Longgu’s total Yuhanshan-level cultivators were barely 6,000.

Now, they numbered 24,000—four times as many.

A few years ago, he’d never dared dream of such growth.

Yet now, he felt no joy. Not only was he unmoved—he was grim, even defeated.