Chapter 500

In the 136th year of Mo Ao, December 28, late night

Wuchuan Town, Donggu Camp, main tower’s top hall

“Hail, Young Lord!”

Qin He, Young Lord of Wuchuan, flew swiftly from the southwest sky, ignoring the guards at the gate—he rushed straight into the hall and immediately bowed to his father, Qin Feng, at the head of the room.

“Father… Lord, Xiang Fuhai’s ten thousand troops did not head toward our Donggu—they changed course southwest; it looks like they’re heading for Fushan Camp.”

Qin Feng, Lord of Wuchuan; Ye Tianhao, Army Chief; and a middle-aged man in green robes stood at the hall’s side, before them a massive map depicting the northern five towns.

Behind them stood nine others.

Upon hearing Qin He’s words, all turned to the map, their faces instantly clouded with disappointment.

“After all, he’s a town lord—Xiang Fuhai isn’t that foolish!”

As soon as Ye Tianhao spoke, everyone in the hall nodded.

Only Lord Qin Feng nodded, then let out a cold snort: “Looks like he’s planning to join forces with Luo Yuan’s thirty thousand troops first. At least he has some self-awareness—if his ten thousand had dared march straight west, my Donggu’s fifty thousand wouldn’t be sitting idle…”

At this, everyone’s faces flushed with pride.

To counter the Xia Army’s advance, Wuchuan Town had mustered only sixty thousand Cold-Resistant-level troops, sending fifty thousand to garrison Donggu—clear proof of Lord Qin Feng’s high regard for Donggu Camp.

“With fifty thousand elite troops holding Donggu, Da Xia dreaming of opening their supply line is pure fantasy. We don’t need a quick victory—so long as Beishuo and Jinshan towns hold out a little, tying down Da Xia’s two allied armies, once their supplies run out, they’re finished.”

At this moment, Qin Feng’s face was full of cold smirks.

He couldn’t deny that Da Xia’s growth over the past two years had filled him with envy—he knew well that Da Xia’s current overall strength could utterly crush any one of the five northern houses.

Honestly, if the north had only Wuchuan Town, Qin Feng wouldn’t even consider resistance—he’d surrender to Da Xia without a second thought.

But with five houses, the situation was different.

And with Chen Cang and Cai Qiu, two major vassal towns, supporting them—even if they couldn’t send large armies south, even a modest force of Manifest Sun-level troops could sway the battle.

Thinking of this, Qin Feng turned to the man in green robes on his right, frowning slightly: “Master Cai, it’s been two days already—surely the two vassal towns’ reinforcements should be arriving by now?”

Cai Yuntong nodded, then frowned: “Yunhe departed the night before last—nearly twenty hours have passed. Even accounting for gathering troops, they should be here by now…”

After failing to seize Xia Yusheng, the five northern towns had been uneasy, so on the night of the 26th, the moment they learned of troop movements within Da Xia’s borders, they immediately realized Da Xia was preparing to strike.

The five northern towns’ combined strength could, on paper, match Da Xia—but in truth, even Qin Feng and the other two northern town lords had little confidence in actually winning.

So seeking aid from the two vassal towns was inevitable.

In fact, they didn’t even need to ask.

On the night of the 26th, during the raid on Xia Cheng, Chu Xuan Kong of Chen Cang lost both arms, Cai Shiqi of Cai Qiu nearly died, and seventeen Manifest Sun-level troops perished across both vassal towns.

This raid had actually been initiated by the two vassal towns themselves—they hadn’t even involved any Manifest Sun-level troops from the five northern towns, sending only Yang Jian, who knew Xia Cheng’s layout.

This alone showed they had no respect for Da Xia.

The result? They were brutally humiliated.

Chu and Cai already hated Da Xia with a burning fury; even before hearing of the troop movements, they had already decided to return to their vassal towns for reinforcements.

Wuchuan, sandwiched between Jinshan and Beishuo, had no direct route to the vassal towns—but that didn’t mean Qin Feng was ignorant of their affairs. He had visited them himself and knew well the distance between the vassal towns and the southern foothills.

Glancing at the northern Dongchuan and Jinshan’s Yinhe Valley, he frowned inwardly: “Cai Qiu’s delay is understandable—the Bone-Eating Pass is dangerous and far; even accounting for gathering troops, it’ll take at least two days. But Chen Cang shouldn’t be this late! Manifest Sun-level troops traveling from Danxue Peak in northern Dongchuan, through the Nine Curves Blood Corridor to Yanling County, normally take seven to eight hours—round trip shouldn’t exceed sixteen. Even accounting for the county governor needing to summon troops from elsewhere, twenty hours should be enough—why haven’t they arrived yet?”

Qin Feng pondered, found no answer, then stared at the map’s four marked Xia Army routes, clenching his fist slightly, his eyes filled with irritation.

If he could, he truly didn’t want to rely on the vassal towns to resist Da Xia.

As the saying goes: inviting a god is easy; getting rid of him is hard…

The Xia armies of Jinyang and Dongchuan were bloody proof—if the vassal towns sent large numbers of Manifest Sun-level troops down, even if they defeated Da Xia, how would the five towns ever stand again before them?

The two vassal towns had offered aid without demanding any conditions.

Not demanding conditions? That was the greatest condition of all.

Qin Feng had been a lord for decades—he understood this perfectly.

“Damn it—only four years since they broke out east, and already such strength…”

If the nine southern towns and the six central-southern towns were mere supporting players, then the three northern towns were the true protagonists. Qin Feng and Yang Zun rose together, both transforming their village-level camps into town-level powers under the crushing pressure of Jinshan Town.

If the former Nine Towns of Nanlu and the Six Towns of Zhongnan were mere supporting players, then the Three Towns of the North were the absolute protagonists; Qin Feng and Yang Zun rose simultaneously, both forcibly elevating the village-level outposts of Wuchuan and Beishuo into town-level strongholds under the intense pressure of Jinshan Town.

“Whether fate or mere backdrop—this is the test. The vassal towns’ armies can’t come south; that’s a distant concern. Da Xia is the immediate threat. If we use the vassal towns to destroy Da Xia and carve up its lands, with Wuchuan united, in ten years we might…”

"Whether we are destined or merely supporting players hinges on this moment—the Fanzhen armies cannot march south, and that remains a distant concern; Da Xia is the threat right at our doorstep. If we can use the Fanzhen’s strength to crush Da Xia and then carve it up, my Wuchuan forces, united as one, might well achieve it within ten years..."

Qin Feng’s thoughts were shattered by a man rushing into the hall.

“Fourth Brother, what’s the rush?”

Seeing it was his fourth brother, Ye Tianwu, Ye Tianhao snapped sharply—war was imminent; a Manifest Sun-level warrior showing such panic would shake morale.

Everyone else in the hall understood this well—their brows tightened.

But Ye Tianwu ignored his brother’s rebuke, his face tense: “A scout from Longgu Town has returned with word—Longgu’s Army Chief Li Yangtian has betrayed us—he swayed fifteen thousand troops out of the city and colluded with Da Xia…”

As Ye Tianwu laid out the details of Longgu Town’s fall, everyone in the hall—including Qin Feng—lost all composure.

And as Ye Tianhao recounted, in full detail, the events at Longgu Town, everyone in the hall—including Qin Feng—immediately lost their composure.

Their minds exploded in shock. They spun toward the map of the five northern towns, pupils trembling, faces pale with horror.

Their minds exploded with a bang, and they immediately turned to look at the map of the Five Northern Towns, their pupils trembling uncontrollably, faces filled with shock.