Chapter 473: The Witch Clan

The damp mist had turned to drifting rain; as the steeds galloped through, it was like swimming through a small river.

Sun Lie bowed his head and pressed forward; every knight carried a thread of spiritual resonance tied to him, allowing him to know at all times where each scout was, and when necessary, he could feed back a portion of his own power to enhance that knight's ability.

This was the ability of his Dao foundation; he remembered the first time he entered that mysterious world and met Wei Yuan—Wei Yuan had been deeply astonished by his Dao foundation.

The next day, Sun Lie was taken to a small camp with fifty cavalrymen, and someone told him that this would henceforth be the Scout Camp, and he was its commander.

The wind continually carried a faint scent of blood, making Sun Lie feel like vomiting. It was human blood—he was extremely sensitive to it; every time he smelled the blood of his own kind, his abdomen cramped and he wanted to vomit. But his powerful body suppressed all unwanted reactions, including pain.

The source of the bloodstain soon appeared: a small scout unit, surrounded and chased by a force several times their number of Mo Xue Feng Xing, both sides trading blows and falling one after another.

The scout unit had dwindled to five men, fighting as they retreated, yet they did not flee in panic—they dragged thirty enemies slowly toward the distance.

Sun Lie sensed them from afar, but he did not stop or rush to rescue them; he continued charging deep into the Witch Domain. As his steed leapt forward, Sun Lie crossed the three-hundred-li boundary—the world before him abruptly changed!

The once pale green horizon turned deep green; puddles on the ground multiplied visibly, and blackness began to seep into the earth's green. Swarms of mosquito-like insects, the size of palms, were everywhere.

Sun Lie suddenly reached out and pulled a giant mosquito from a swarm over ten zhang away; its abdomen swelled and contracted rhythmically, bearing a distinct golden ring.

This was the Golden-Ringed Giant Mosquito, found only deep within the Witch Domain; previously, they appeared only beyond five hundred li from the boundary, or even farther. They were exquisitely sensitive to their environment, retreating as Qingming expanded—but now, they had reappeared at three hundred li.

What this meant, Sun Lie knew all too well. The Witch Clan was clearly preparing something monumental; otherwise, they would not have so massively intensified the Witch Domain's environment and gone to great lengths to seal off this three-hundred-li line.

Sun Lie suddenly broke into a cold sweat—he realized he had overlooked a detail. Over the past ten days, the scouts had won numerous minor victories, achieving a kill ratio as high as one to three. He had been delighted, failing to notice that not a single scout had broken through beyond three hundred li.

Sun Lie suppressed his unease and pressed forward. He knew the silent Fasang cultivator in his unit would relay everything to the Wei Wei Jiezhu. He also sensed something hidden within his own unit, yet he could detect no trace of its spiritual aura.

As the cavalry continued forward, the ground beneath them subtly rose—a strange thing detached from the unit and swiftly glided off in another direction.

But it had not traveled far when two blurred figures emerged from the bushes and chased after it.

Sun Lie pressed on; from the side, he felt distinct tremors in the earth, followed by a thick scent of blood carried on the wind. In that direction, hundreds of scouts and Mo Xue Feng Xing were locked in desperate combat; then the tremors grew stronger, and all the Mo Xue Feng Xing instinctively converged toward one point.

Hundreds of scouts burst forth from the mist—five hundred riders! This was the absolute core of the Scout Camp; their appearance instantly plunged the Mo Xue Feng Xing into despair.

Yet the two hundred Mo Xue Feng Xing fought to the death without retreating; black-green mist surged from the earth, and one by one, more Mo Xue Feng Xing appeared—within moments, their numbers exceeded a thousand! They swiftly encircled, turning the tables to trap the Scout Camp's main force within, and both sides began a life-or-death battle.

Though the Scout Camp was now clearly outnumbered, every man fought to the death; the Mo Xue Feng Xing held only a slight advantage, and their casualties were even heavier than those of the scouts.

As the main force of the Mo Xue Feng Xing appeared, Sun Lie's cavalry suddenly accelerated, charging full speed into the depths of the Witch Domain!

At that moment, another tiny figure shot out from the unit; though small, its speed was unimaginable, and in an instant it was over ten li away.

Figures appeared from the sky, ground, water, and grass—each pursuing the tiny shadow. But immediately, a faint silver thread shot out from the cavalry, chasing after the four hidden Witch clansmen.

Then six or seven hidden Great Witches were lured away; Sun Lie instantly felt the pressure ease, and he charged forward at full speed, breaching four hundred li in moments.

The silent Fasang cultivator in the unit suddenly drew his weapon—a multi-barreled flying-sword machine cannon, with a sword case slung to its side, containing exactly two hundred flying swords. Ahead, the first intercepting Mo Xue Feng Xing appeared; Sun Lie also drew his flying-sword pistol. Suddenly, a strange hum echoed from behind the unit—the Fasang cultivator's machine cannon spun, and flying swords linked tip to tail, instantly sweeping entire ranks of Mo Xue Feng Xing from their mounts!

Sun Lie and the others fired simultaneously; a dense rain of flying swords shattered the Mo Xue Feng Xing unit, and they charged through the gap, pressing forward.

This was Sun Lie's plan: to send out scouts in waves, increasing in number—his traditional tactic. Finally, deploy the entire Scout Camp as the main force, just as before, attempting to swallow the enemy's bait whole. The Mo Xue Feng Xing's bait only needed to hold out a little longer, and their hidden main force would arrive, triggering a true decisive battle!

And this decisive battle was precisely what the Mo Xue Feng Xing wanted—and what Sun Lie had always strived to avoid.

Now, in the outcome of this battle, the Mo Xue Feng Xing would undoubtedly suffer greater losses, with a casualty ratio as high as two to one. But in the end, they would only be severely wounded, while the Scout Camp would be nearly annihilated.

Using the entire Scout Camp as bait, Sun Lie was certain he would draw the Witch Clan's attention away, causing them to neglect intercepting his small unit. Even if they discovered his true objective, they would only send heavy forces to block his retreat—not to seal off the path ahead.

The Witch Clan did not know: this time, Sun Lie planned a one-way journey. All he needed was to deliver the Wei Wei Jiezhu's eyes to their destination.

Sun Lie had originally feared interception by Witch Great Witches, preparing to sacrifice every member of his unit—only he and the Fasang cultivator breaking through five hundred li would complete the mission.

Fortunately, it now seemed the Wei Wei Jiezhu had indeed placed hidden agents within the unit, luring away all the Great Witches along the way; and the final silver figure filled Sun Lie with an inexplicable, instinctive dread—clearly, it was no ordinary Fasang.

The cavalry charged at full speed, smashing through two more waves of interception, finally breaching five hundred li!

Before Sun Lie now lay a black-green sky and earth, nothing but churning mist. The Witch Clan had erected yet another barrier!

Sun Lie gritted his teeth, preparing to charge forward—when suddenly, three Great Witches appeared before him, blocking his path. This time, he was truly cornered.

=9+Book_bar

At that moment, a faint shadow suddenly shot out from the cavalry, piercing through the three Great Witches in an instant and vanishing into the distance!

The three Great Witches staggered like drunks, tumbling from the sky; they collapsed, writhing in agony, unable to rise—none knew when or how they had been wounded.

The silent Fasang cultivator in the unit suddenly patted Sun Lie on the shoulder, pointing toward the three Great Witches: "You take two. The rest divide one each. Retreat in ten breaths."

Sun Lie obeyed instinctively; when he returned after ten breaths, he asked: "But we still haven't discovered what the Witch Clan intends to do."

The Fasang cultivator's face remained expressionless: "Mission accomplished. Retreat. The rest is the Wei Wei Jiezhu's concern."

Sun Lie, ever decisive, immediately led his unit toward Qingming.

At this moment, Wei Yuan flew like lightning, crossing one Witch defense line after another before they could react, swiftly penetrating a thousand li and breaking through the final barrier.

The Witch Clan's true arrangement finally appeared before him: a trench ten zhang wide and several zhang deep, where hundreds of thousands of Witch laborers and civilians were frantically digging, extending it relentlessly toward Qingming.

The excavated earth and stone were piled along both sides of the trench, raising the embankments. Countless Witch craftsmen and laborers drove wooden stakes, several zhang long, into the embankments on either side. Farther out, natural puddles on the land were linked together into a network of small canals, and countless flat-bottomed boats, drawing only one or two chi of water, glided along them, transporting craftsmen, laborers, materials, and grain.

Beyond lay a natural lake, now dammed. Once the sluice gates opened, this trench would become a canal, flowing straight into Qingming.

(End of Chapter)