Chapter 268: Movements of All Parties

While Meng Yifan was preparing for Meng Shuangdao to undergo the Thunder Tribulation, the news that the Demon Race army led by Lang Jiao had been almost completely wiped out spread throughout the entire Dongchuan Prefecture.

Inside Dongchuan Prefecture City, Prefect Zhang Yiqing was stunned upon hearing this news; he had not expected that a group of mountain hunters led by Meng Yifan would possess such formidable combat power, capable of defeating a Demon Race army led by a Fourth Grade Monster.

Even if Zhang Yiqing had dispatched the entire Divine Machine Battalion, he could not have achieved such a military feat; he never imagined a group of mountain hunters could do it, which made Zhang Yiqing doubt the authenticity of the intelligence, yet after confirming it several times, Zhang Yiqing had to admit that Meng Yifan and his group were truly extraordinary.

Zhang Yiqing carefully studied the intelligence and discovered that Meng Yifan was not only a Fourth-grade martial arts expert but also a Fourth-grade Immortal Cultivator, possessing immense personal strength.

Not only that, the army in Luolong County made extensive use of firearms, with firepower even more fierce than the Divine Machine Battalion; it was said they also possessed a new type of firearm with immense power capable of continuous fire, as well as a rocket launcher that could fly in a straight line.

The current situation in Dongchuan Prefecture was precarious; apart from Dongchuan Prefecture City and Luolong County City, all other areas had already been breached by the Monster Army.

Zhang Yiqing was overwhelmed with anxiety every day; he had repeatedly requested reinforcements from Dongzhou through special channels, but the news that returned was that the entire Dongzhou was being ravaged by the Demon Race, and even the Immortal Masters of the Astrological Bureau had been dispatched, engaging in several major battles with Demon Race experts, with both sides suffering losses and now locked in a stalemate.

The Governor of Dongzhou was unable to attend to others and had no power to rescue Dongchuan Prefecture, leaving Zhang Yiqing to find his own way to defend Dongchuan Prefecture.

"What if I could offer amnesty to Meng Yifan?" Zhang Yiqing's eyes lit up.

Killing an official and rebelling was a capital crime punishable by Lingchi, but in times of emergency, one must act according to expediency; the primary enemy of Dongchuan Prefecture now was the Demon Race invasion.

The war between the Demon Race and the human race was a conflict between two species, whereas Meng Yifan killing an official and rebelling was an internal contradiction among humans; in order to defeat the Demon Race, the crimes of Meng Yifan and his group could be temporarily pardoned.

According to the laws of the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty, in times of war, a Prefect has the duty to defend the city; if Dongchuan Prefecture City were breached by the Demon Race, even if Zhang Yiqing escaped, he would still be beheaded and displayed in public.

Now that several armies outside had gathered together, they could besiege Dongchuan Prefecture City at any moment, and Zhang Yiqing knew full well that with the current strength of Dongchuan Prefecture, they could not withstand a siege by the Demon Race army.

Therefore, offering amnesty to Meng Yifan was a high-yield, low-risk idea.

If Meng Yifan could truly accept the amnesty, then Zhang Yiqing would gain a formidable army under his command, which could not only defend the Prefecture City but also go out to exterminate the Demon Race.

"Pass the order: send Shadow to take my token and secretly head to Luolong County City to offer amnesty to Meng Yifan. As long as Meng Yifan is willing to accept the amnesty, past grievances will be wiped clean. I can officially appoint him as the Magistrate of Luolong County, and if he has any other conditions, he may propose them; as long as they are reasonable, I can agree to them," Zhang Yiqing said.

"Understood!" In the corner of the study, a man in black emerged from the darkness, took Zhang Yiqing's token, and then his body flickered, turning into a wisp of black smoke that vanished from the room.

On the other side, several armies of the Demon Race were gathered in Qingze County of Dongchuan Prefecture; this place was only a little over one hundred kilometers from Dongchuan Prefecture and served as the base camp for the Demon Race's attack on Dongchuan Prefecture City.

There were still over ten thousand commoners left inside Qingze County City; they were the blood-food for the Monster Army, and whenever they wanted to eat, they would pick out a batch to consume.

The commoners dared not resist, because on the day the city fell, everyone who dared to resist had already been eaten.

With the return of the Eagle Monster Beast, the Demon Race army also learned that the army led by Lang Jiao had been almost completely wiped out, and even Lang Jiao had been captured alive, which was a heavy blow to the Demon Race army.

Having continuously breached human cities, the Demon Race army was in high spirits, feeling that humans were just a bunch of weaklings who deserved to be devoured by the Demon Race army; the Demon Race army was currently preparing to concentrate its forces to attack Dongchuan Prefecture City, capture the entire Dongchuan Prefecture in one fell swoop, and build this place into a territory belonging to the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom.

They did not expect that at this time, humans would actually wipe out an army of the Demon Race; it seemed that humans still had strong individuals and could not be underestimated.

The Level 5 Demon Beasts had all been transferred to Dongzhou City to fight the Immortal Masters of the Astrological Bureau; currently, the one in charge of the Demon Race in Dongchuan Prefecture was the Fourth Grade high-level Flying Tiger Demon 'Hu Dameng'. At this moment, he was gnawing on a human thigh, and upon hearing this news, Hu Dameng threw the bloody human thigh to the other Demon Beasts behind him and ordered: "Summon the various commanders for a meeting."

Soon, four Demon Race commanders gathered together; besides Hu Dameng, the other three commanders were the Pig Demon 'Zhu Ganglie', the Snake Demon 'She Qingqing', and the Spider Demon 'Zhu Meimei'. These four were the strongest among the Demon Race within Dongchuan Prefecture.

They all knew the news that Lang Jiao had been captured alive and that the army had been completely annihilated, and at this moment, they were all somewhat worried.

"Brother Hu, Lang Jiao has been captured alive by the humans; let us quickly lead our troops to attack Luolong County and rescue Lang Jiao." Zhu Meimei usually had the best relationship with Lang Jiao, and at this moment, she was the most anxious, wishing she could set off immediately to save Lang Jiao.

"Do not be impatient. Luolong County's strength is very strong and cannot be underestimated. If we rashly go to attack, we might suffer losses again. I have already sent someone to notify Lord Lang Batian; once Lang Batian returns from Dongzhou, he will lead us to exterminate Luolong County City." Although Hu Dameng looked rough and fierce, he was actually a bold and cautious commander.

Lang Jiao possessed the Shadow Clone, and logically speaking, her survival ability was extremely strong; even if Hu Dameng personally took action, he might not necessarily be able to capture Lang Jiao alive, which showed that the humans in Luolong County were very difficult to deal with.

Lang Batian was Lang Jiao's father and also a Fifth-grade elder of the Wolf Race, possessing immense strength. He was currently in Dongzhou confronting human Immortal Cultivators. Lang Jiao was the apple of his eye, and upon learning the news that Lang Jiao had been captured alive by humans, he would definitely return to Dongchuan Prefecture to save her.

"Then what are we doing these few days? Are we just going to stare blankly and watch Lang Jiao suffer in the hands of the humans?" Zhu Meimei said with dissatisfaction.

"Hiss! Hiss!" She Qingqing flicked her forked tongue a few times and said: "If we remain idle, when Lang Batian returns, he will likely blame us."

"How about this: we mobilize our army, take the ten thousand humans in Qingze County to Luolong County City, and send someone inside to negotiate with Meng Yifan, exchanging the ten thousand humans for Lang Jiao."

"If he does not agree, we will slaughter the ten thousand humans under the city walls and see what he chooses."

Hu Dameng nodded and said: "That is indeed a good idea; let us do just that."

Just like that, the Monster Army of over one hundred thousand, carrying over ten thousand commoners, marched in a grand and imposing manner toward Luolong County.