Chapter 517: Beishuo Dead End, Reunion and Fury

Beishuocheng, Lord's Great Hall

Yang Zun sat alone at the head of the hall, separated by a jade-colored bead curtain in front of him. More than ten maidservants' figures were swaying inside the curtain, clearly cleaning his wounds. From within, there were even faint sounds of a woman sobbing.

In the front row below the great hall, a total of eleven people stood, five of whom were Beishuo's Manifesting Yang level experts, and the other six were a group of Manifesting Yang level experts from Chen Cang, including Chu Xuankong, Chu Renjie, and Chu Qinghe.

"Reporting to the Lord, the fifty thousand Xia troops did not camp outside the city, but directly divided into four groups: twenty thousand at the east main city gate, and ten thousand at each of the other three sides, having already surrounded the city tightly and approached within three hundred meters of the city gates!"

As Yang Rong, who had hurried into the hall, stated the situation of the Xia army outside the city, the already oppressive atmosphere in the hall became even heavier.

Although everyone's faces were ugly, not a single person spoke, and they didn't even dare to make their movements too large, let alone look up at the bead curtain at the head of the hall.

Only Chu Xuankong, who had lost both arms, turned his head to look at the bead curtain at the head of the hall several times, his mouth slightly open, but then swallowed it back with a low expression.

"Elder Chu, if you have something to say, feel free to say it..."

Suddenly, Yang Zun's voice came from behind the bead curtain at the head of the hall.

His voice was abnormally weak, and the volume was no longer as loud as before, clearly holding on by force. The group of Beishuo people below heard the sound, and their expressions all dimmed slightly. Yang Rong and the other five Manifesting Yang level experts had even gloomier expressions, as if they were about to bleed.

The silent crowd finally all turned their heads to look at the six people from Chen Cang, including Chu Xuankong.

It could be seen that deep in the pupils of the Beishuo crowd, there was a thick hope. Clearly, they all realized that the only people who could help them right now were this group of people led by Chu Xuankong.

Chu Xuankong naturally knew what this group of Beishuo people was thinking. Hearing Yang Zun's words, he did not hesitate and directly said in a deep voice: "Brother Yang, it's been almost three days, and the people from Chen Cang haven't come yet. It can basically be concluded that He Fei was intercepted by someone; right now, we don't even know if he is alive or dead.

Learning of the disastrous defeat in Bai Mu City last night, I already sent Qinghe back to seek reinforcements. Qinghe acts steadily and is good at hiding his tracks; I think he won't be intercepted by Great Xia again, but the problem is..."

Speaking of this, he paused slightly and continued: "The journey is long. Even if Qinghe doesn't encounter any accidents on the way, this round trip will take at least sixteen hours or so..."

As Chu Xuankong's words fell, the hall was instantly dead silent.

He said there was a disastrous defeat in Bai Mu City last night, which was actually inaccurate, because the Frozen Abyss uses daybreak as the date boundary. Now there was still more than an hour until daybreak, so strictly speaking, the disastrous defeat in Bai Mu City occurred in the first half of today.

When Yang Zun fled back to Beishuocheng, less than two hours had passed since the first half of the night. Chu Qinghe also set off at that time, which meant that from the time he left the city to report the news until now, a full seven hours had passed.

From Beishuocheng to Chen Cang, a round trip takes at least sixteen hours; seven hours is not even half of that.

The key was that Chu Xuankong also said this was assuming Chu Qinghe didn't encounter any accidents on the way. If something went wrong, the time would only be longer, and if he were intercepted by Great Xia again...

In an instant, the despair on the faces of the Beishuo crowd in the hall became even thicker.

"Elder Chu, Yang is a military advisor of the Yan Ling County Government. Theoretically, I shouldn't have any objections to the County Governor's resolution, but before this trip south, the County Governor gave repeated instructions that Great Xia is absolutely not allowed to annex Beishuo. Now you have seen the situation; if reinforcements do not arrive, we cannot block the Xia army's blade..."

"I understand!"

Hearing the faint threat mixed in Yang Zun's voice, Chu Xuankong's expression also became ugly. He had lost both arms in Xia City and was also holding back anger in his heart, but thinking that Yang Zun had just lost two younger brothers, he still slightly suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice: "Reinforcements cannot arrive in the short term, and that group of people from Cai Qiu will not come to help us either. Right now, we can only hold the city firmly. The Beishuo city defense is still quite solid; holding out for a few days shouldn't be a big problem.

The current bottleneck is dragging out time..."

Dragging out for how long?

Sixteen hours was just a guess; who knew when Chu Qinghe would be able to bring people over.

Chu Xuankong saw the expressions on everyone's faces and immediately knew what they were thinking. A trace of disdain flashed in his eyes, and he said in a deep voice: "You have nearly two hundred thousand Earth-Digging level experts in the city. The Xia army cannot choose to attack the city at night. In other words, as long as you hold out for two hours during the day, it counts as holding out for a day.

Thirty-five thousand people, what are you afraid of?"

The crowd heard the sound, their expressions were slightly stunned, and then they turned their heads to look at Yang Zun behind the bead curtain at the head of the hall, immediately lowering their heads.

Who isn't afraid?

In the Battle of Bai Mu City, Yang Fa and Yang Jian were killed, the five great Manifesting Yang experts' lives or deaths were unknown, and the twenty-five thousand great army had almost all been folded in. Even the great lord they worshipped as a god had almost been killed.

At this moment, everyone in the hall recalled the terrifying scene when Yang Zun fled back in the first half of the night, with half of his neck slashed off, and their hearts were cold.

"Beishuo is likely unable to be saved..."

Suddenly, Yang Zun, who had been silent for a long time at the head of the hall, suddenly spoke.

As soon as he spoke, everyone below felt their expressions shake violently, and then they looked up at him, their pupils filled with incomprehension and confusion.

"This lord has been rooted in Chen Cang for many years, neglected the management of the town city, and almost never paid much attention to you. Beishuo falling into this situation today can be considered this lord's own fault..."

Yang Zun's tone carried a sigh. Afterward, he held his neck, stood up from the chair, pushed aside the bead curtain, and walked out slowly. Looking at the group of Beishuo people below, his gaze slowly stopped on the three middle-aged men in the front row, and he said in a deep voice: "Haiwen, Dongxin, Yuhe, you three take your families, old and young, out of the city to surrender to the Xia army! That Xia Hong is not a person of small capacity. As long as you surrender sincerely, he won't do anything to you."

"Lord, why say such things? My Mo clan and Beishuo built our fortune together; we prosper together and suffer together. Haiwen will definitely coexist with Beishuocheng!"

"Only in adversity can one see the truth. Dongxin does not consider himself a great man, but he is also unwilling to be a villain who betrays his lord and surrenders to the enemy. Lord, do not say this again. Dongxin swears to coexist with Beishuo!"

"Yuhe was born a Beishuo person and will die a Beishuo ghost. It's just a matter of the town being destroyed and the people dying. My Huang clan has been loyal to the lord for generations; how could I break my integrity here?"

Mo Haiwen, Yu Dongxin, and Huang Yuhe, the three Beishuo Manifesting Yang level experts with different surnames, all changed their expressions upon hearing Yang Zun's words. The three were emotionally agitated and almost without thinking, they refuted Yang Zun.

The group of Yang clan disciples below originally had extremely low expressions, but hearing these words from the three, their expressions looked a bit better.

However, Yang Zun smiled bitterly a few times at this moment.

"No need for this..."

He waved his hand, shook his head, and continued: "Don't be afraid. This lord does not mean to test you. I, Yang Zun, rose from the bottom; how could I not see through this situation? Even if reinforcements come from the two fiefdoms, at most they are just some Manifesting Yang level experts. Even if they can hold the town city, they cannot turn the tide. Great Xia unifying the Southern Foothills has become a foregone conclusion!"

Saying these words, Yang Zun himself seemed to feel much more comfortable. He looked down at Mo Haiwen and the three, his tone sincere and his expression serious as he said: "Haiwen, Dongxin, Yuhe, counting it up, you are all the third generation of Beishuo. Your ancestors were the ones who followed this lord to conquer the world. The feelings between us, if we really want to discuss them, are not deep. So no matter what choice you make, this lord can accept it..."

Seeing the three preparing to speak again to refute, Yang Zun directly waved his hand to signal them not to speak first. After pausing, he scanned the other Cold-Resistant level experts of Beishuo below. After thinking for a moment, he turned to look at Yang Rong and said in a deep voice: "Rong'er, pass my order: anyone in the city who wants to surrender to Great Xia, gather at the East Gate within half an hour. Half an hour later, I will go to the city gate to negotiate with Xia Hong and let them all leave."

"Lord..."

Yang Rong's pupils were crimson, and he didn't dare to nod in obedience.

Not only him, but the group of Yang clan disciples in the hall all had expressions of extreme sorrow, trying to say something one after another, but they all seemed to have their throats stuck, unable to say a single word.

The core personnel with different surnames in Beishuo were even more so. From the three Manifesting Yang level experts Mo Haiwen, down to the group of Cold-Resistant level experts, looking up at Yang Zun at the head of the hall, their eyes instantly moistened, and their faces were filled with emotion.

Getting ten thousand jin of silver is not as good as getting a promise from Yang Zun.

This sentence is a well-known fact in the Southern Foothills.

So at this moment, no one would doubt the sincerity of Yang Zun's words just now. Such a lord, how could it not move their hearts.

"Lord, we still have thirty-five thousand great army, and there are nearly two hundred thousand Earth-Digging level experts in the city. The Xia army is only a mere fifty thousand people. As long as we are of one heart, we will definitely be able to hold the town city!"

"My whole clan has received the lord's grace for generations; how can I betray my lord and surrender to the enemy? I will definitely coexist with the lord and Beishuo!"

"Wagging my tail to beg for life from Great Xia? Is that the backbone of my Beishuo men? Lord, do not say this again. Even if I die, I will not bow my head to Great Xia!"

"My Beishuo has stood in the Southern Foothills for over a hundred years; what is Great Xia? My subordinates will definitely live and die with the lord and will never bow our heads to Great Xia."

In an instant, all the core personnel with different surnames in the hall shouted angrily.

Even they were like this, let alone the Yang clan disciples.

Although not a single one of them stood out to speak, the determination in their pupils was several times thicker than just now, and even a few of them started breathing heavily through their nostrils; clearly, their emotions had climbed up.

"No need for nonsense. This lord's word is final. Since I have said it, I must do it. With half an hour as the limit, it can be considered this lord leaving a path of survival for the town's people. Go do it!"

Yang Zun was not influenced by the stance of the people in the hall. He still waved his hand and strictly ordered Yang Rong to pass the order.

Although Yang Rong was reluctant, he knew the lord's temper, so he bowed, nodded, and went down unwillingly.

"There is still more than an hour until daybreak. Half an hour to gather, and then another half hour to ask the Xia army to let them out of the city; it should be about right..."

After Yang Zun finished this sentence, he lowered his face, turned back behind the bead curtain, and sat back down on the chair.

"The Xia army will definitely attack the city after daybreak. Notify the garrison in the city to be prepared! Everyone go down, let me be quiet alone."

Everyone in the hall, including Chu Xuankong, as well as the group of family members and maidservants who were treating Yang Zun's wounds at the head of the hall, all hurried out of the great hall.

As soon as everyone left, the great hall instantly fell into silence. ===== CHAPTER 518 =====