Chapter 837: The Battle of Baisha Province

Feng Province, Datong Prefecture City.

Under the night sky, within Wuan University, a three-story, twelve-meter-long building ship was parked on the plains of the exotic beast breeding zone.

This building ship was a large-scale flight magic treasure, a strategic weapon brought out by the Xiao family!

Although this era has trains and automobiles, their speeds are not fast, and railways and highways in many places have not been completed.

Therefore, transportation remains a major problem.

If one wants to arrive at a certain place quickly, flying is the fastest way.

However, flight-type divine abilities and flight magic treasures are extremely scarce, and when a True Person performs the Wind-Riding Technique, or a Grandmaster relies on their Martial Dao Domain to fly, the consumption is immense and difficult to sustain.

Under these circumstances, a large-scale flight magic treasure that can carry a small number of elites across hundreds of kilometers in a short time with low consumption naturally becomes an extremely important strategic weapon.

The black boat in Li Fei's possession can hold too few people and has a low load capacity; if it were to fly under overload, such as flying in the sky while hanging heavy objects or more people below with iron chains.

The black boat would simply not be able to fly, and the magic treasure itself would encounter problems.

Martial Dao Masters with flight divine abilities like Fang Ziyan are fine carrying one person for a long distance, but they cannot handle carrying several more.

Therefore, if Li Fei wants to "surprise attack" Baisha Province, he must have a large-scale flight magic treasure.

Fortunately, the Xiao family has such a thing and brought it directly to Feng Province this time.

It is precisely because of this magic treasure that Xiao Ruihang and the others were able to arrive in Feng Province faster than the rest.

This building ship can accommodate over two hundred people at most and has a massive load capacity, enough for Li Fei to take a group of elites to Baisha Province.

Xiao Ruihang and Huo Hansi eventually agreed to Li Fei's plan.

For the Xiao family, they naturally and sincerely hope that the rebel army can be defeated.

And Li Fei's plan is beneficial to the overall situation; by removing the Hook-Deep Sword Sect and Mount Baituo a step early, the rebel army will be a notch weaker in high-level combat power when the final battle comes.

Regardless of what trump cards the First Imperial Prince and Prince Li are still hiding, weakening the opponent a step early is always the right move.

Therefore, after much deliberation, Xiao Ruihang agreed to Li Fei's plan.

As for Huo Hansi, the Huo family received many benefits from the Xiao family this time, and his personal participation in the battle is already a statement of his position.

Moreover, upon learning that Qiu Zi'an would also be going to Baisha Province, he had even less hesitation.

He also agreed to Li Fei's plan!

Fang Ziyan needed to treat Shi Caiming's injuries, so he did not participate in this operation.

Shi Caiming's injuries were too severe; even with Fang Ziyan performing the 【Benevolent Heart】 divine ability, it would take some time to recover, so he did not go either.

For this operation, the strongest combat power on Li Fei's side is Huo Hansi, a Grandmaster at the peak of the Flourishing Realm, followed by Li Fei, a "quasi-Grandmaster."

Besides them, four Martial Dao Masters—Qin Zhen, Qiu Zi'an, Liang Xin (the Chief of the Feng Province Stop-War Department), and Wang Yilong (the Sect Master of the Dragon-Tiger Gate)—will also participate.

Li Fei also summoned the two Martial Dao Masters previously responsible for protecting Li Lei and Zhang Yuqing: Master Jiming of the Leichan Temple and the rogue cultivator Yu Lei.

As for Li Lei, Zhang Yuqing, and the others, he temporarily settled them within Wuan University.

The Xiao family and the Huo family brought five Martial Dao Masters, so a total of eleven Martial Dao Masters are participating this time!

Additionally, there are Xiao Ruihang, a True Person retainer of the Xiao family, and Zhao Caishu, the Chief of the Feng Province Law-Enforcement Department, totaling three contemporary True Persons participating.

Furthermore, there are seventy-nine Dao Foundation stage martial artists and twenty-five Possession stage Great Mages brought by the Xiao and Huo families and summoned from various parts of Feng Province.

Finally, one hundred and fifty soldiers from the Imperial Guard of Datong Prefecture were brought along.

In Baisha Province, there is also Liu Changwen, the President of Baisha University, who is a Grandmaster of the Divine Derivation Realm; although he is injured, he still possesses combat power.

Baisha University, combined with the Baisha provincial government, is also a force not to be underestimated.

Otherwise, they would have long been devoured by the joint efforts of the Hook-Deep Sword Sect and Mount Baituo and would not have been able to hold onto the remaining territory.

With the strength of Baisha Province, plus the strong reinforcements from Li Fei and the others, it is not impossible to wipe out Mount Baituo and the Hook-Deep Sword Sect!

Although Li Fei told Xiao Ruihang and the others that they could set off immediately, they waited an extra day for various mobilization and preparation work.

It was not until the evening of July 17th that everyone was gathered, ready to depart.

For the sake of secrecy, many people did not know what they were going to do when they were notified to come here.

After everyone boarded the building ship, Li Fei did not inform the crowd of the destination of this trip.

Except for a few people, the rest were just following orders.

It is thanks to Li Fei now holding the military and political power of the entire Feng Province that he could mobilize this force so quickly.

A moment later, the massive building ship slowly rose into the air, and the formations on the hull were activated; viewed from the outside, the building ship had vanished into thin air, concealing its form.

The behemoth quickly passed through the clouds under the night sky, flying toward its destination.

"According to the flight speed of the 'Mirage', we expect to arrive at the provincial capital of Baisha Province around 5: 0 AM tomorrow."

On the top floor of the building ship, inside the control room, Xiao Ruihang said to Li Fei.

Carrying over two hundred people and a load exceeding sixty thousand catties, the speed of this large-scale flight magic treasure had dropped to its minimum.

Compared to the "Cloud-Hidden Crane," the large-scale flight magic treasure that the First Imperial Prince used to transport people, the Xiao family's "Mirage" is stronger in concealment and load capacity, but its speed is a notch slower.

However, it is still much faster than traveling on land.

"Good, thank you for keeping watch, True Person Xiao."

Li Fei said to Xiao Ruihang, then sat cross-legged in the control room, closing his eyes to regulate his breath.

During this period of seclusion, his blood souls had been continuously consumed, so the number of blood souls in the Myriad Blood Pearl was not full, only 3, 21.

The blood souls in the Blood Spring, after ten days of storage, currently numbered 1, 85.

In the span of one night, the blood souls could not recover much, so Li Fei just seized the time to continue strengthening the 【Mixed Origin Sword Realm】 in the illusion.

July 18th.

The vanguard of the Southern Border Army arrived in Xiguang Province, only one province away from Baisha Province.

Xiguang Province had received orders in advance to concentrate all elites to converge on Feng Province, so the current Xiguang Province had absolutely no power to resist this incoming vanguard force.

This vanguard force headed straight for the provincial capital, preparing to obtain supplies, then let some people "abandon darkness for light," and finally coerced these people to continue moving forward.

Along the way, this vanguard force had always done this, so their numbers actually increased the more they fought.

Of course, such a team is destined to only win when the wind is at their backs.

If the situation on the battlefield were to turn even slightly against them, this team would immediately collapse!

When the rebel vanguard force was rushing toward the provincial capital of Xiguang Province, the Xiao family's "Mirage" had already flown over the provincial capital of Baisha Province.

Baisha University is located within the provincial capital.

Li Fei did not let the "Mirage" land directly, but continued to maintain invisibility at high altitude, while he quietly landed on the campus of Baisha University with Xiao Ruihang, Huo Hansi, and Qiu Zi'an.

According to the prior agreement, the group arrived in front of a building guarded by the Imperial Guard on the perimeter.

However, the appearances of the few had all changed; they were no longer as they originally were.

Soon, someone walked out of the building, and after saying a few words to the Imperial Guard general guarding the perimeter, the guarding Imperial Guard cleared a path, allowing the four to walk into the building.

Officials wearing official robes could be seen everywhere inside the building, and their official ranks were not low.

After the Hook-Deep Sword Sect and Mount Baituo openly took action, the government office building of Baisha Province's capital was moved into Baisha University to avoid being assassinated by assassins.

Li Fei and the others were quickly taken to the fifth floor and walked into a conference room.

Four people were sitting in the conference room.

Upon seeing the arrivals, these four stood up one after another.

The door of the conference room closed, and Li Fei and the others also lifted their disguise techniques.

A man with no cultivation, wearing the official robes of a Pavilion Official, had his eyes light up and immediately saluted Li Fei:

"He Shushan, Inspector of Baisha Province, greets the Marquis of Jing'an and everyone."

"Lord He."

Li Fei cupped his hands in return.

"I have finally waited for you all. To tell you the truth, we just received news that the rebel vanguard force has already broken into Xiguang Province. If you had arrived one day later, we would likely have already started evacuating with our people."

He Shushan said with some agitation.

In fact, among these people in Baisha Province, few were willing to evacuate.

It is not that they are truly loyal to the Great Lan Dynasty and willing to sacrifice their lives for the country, but their families, friends, industries, wealth, etc., are all within Baisha Province.

Once they take their elite forces and leave, the entire Baisha Province will be at the mercy of the rebel army!

Even if they take back Baisha Province in the future, who knows what their homes will look like by then? How much of their belongings will remain?

So when Li Fei contacted the high-level officials here and proposed his plan, He Shushan and the others raised both hands in favor.

For one, this is an opportunity to perform a meritorious service.

For another, the Hook-Deep Sword Sect and Mount Baituo suddenly made trouble, killed many people, and snatched away many interests, having already forged a blood feud with the local forces represented by He Shushan!

Thirdly, if they can eliminate the Hook-Deep Sword Sect and Mount Baituo, perhaps they can buy more time, thereby giving them a chance to evacuate more people and resources.

Based on these reasons, He Shushan and the others are naturally willing to fully cooperate with the operation proposed by Li Fei.

After both sides sat down, they quickly got to the point.

"How is President Liu's injury?"

Li Fei first asked a key question.

No matter what form of war, top-tier powerhouses are always the key to victory or defeat.

Liu Changwen's state will directly affect the odds of this operation!

Liu Changwen, the President of Baisha University, is not tall and is even a bit fat.

Among martial artists, such a physique is actually very rare; the vast majority are all muscle.

Liu Changwen's eyes looked a bit gloomy as he spoke:

"Ambushed by that old thing Hong Zhi, my Martial Dao Domain was injured; my current state is about seventy percent of my peak period."

Li Fei continued to ask: "How strong is that Supreme Elder of Mount Baituo?"

Liu Changwen narrowed his eyes: "That old thing was already in the Divine Derivation Realm twenty years ago. In our last exchange, he displayed cultivation at the peak of the Divine Derivation Realm, only one step away from the Dao-Establishing Realm."

Li Fei: "Compared to Bo Chen, how is he?"

These words made Liu Changwen pause, and the look in his eyes when he turned to Li Fei changed slightly.

The famous Hook-Deep Sword Master had been hacked to death by Li Fei and the others working together!

"Hong Zhi is not as good as Bo Chen."

Liu Changwen said with great certainty.

If the person who ambushed him that night had been Bo Chen instead of Hong Zhi, he might already be dead!

Li Fei nodded, having a rough idea in his mind.

Looking at it this way, Huo Hansi and Liu Changwen joining forces would be enough to rival Hong Zhi.

Plus, with him joining the fray, there was a significant chance they could kill Hong Zhi!

"What is the Yu family's stance? Is it possible they will help the other side?"

Li Fei raised another key question.

The current Baisha Province is "divided into three," and the imperial court can only truly control the provincial capital and the surrounding villages and towns.

Of the remaining three prefectures, two are controlled by the Hook-Deep Sword Sect and Mount Baituo.

There is one more prefecture that is nominally under the control of the imperial court, but in reality, the one with the greatest influence is the Divine Fist Yu family, one of the "Seven Great Families."

The reason the Hook-Deep Sword Sect and Mount Baituo have not taken this prefecture is out of caution toward the Yu family; they do not want to force the other side into opposition.

Naturally, the imperial court has also been secretly wooing the Yu family, hoping they will offer their assistance.

"I have spoken with the current head of the Yu family several times; the Yu family's attitude is ambiguous, and it seems they intend to help neither side."

He Shushan said, "Furthermore, the spies planted in the Yu family by the Inspection Department have not detected any major movements from them. The current assessment is that there is over a seventy percent chance the Yu family will not intervene."

"Good."

Li Fei nodded.

He Shushan has served as the Baisha Province Inspection Commissioner for over a decade; his judgment, combined with the reconnaissance of the Inspection Department's spies, should be relatively accurate.

In fact, if the Yu family had also joined the other side, Baisha Province would have "fallen" long ago, and it would not have waited for Li Fei to bring reinforcements.

The reason the Yu family is unwilling to intervene is also very simple.

With the vanguard of the Southern Border Army about to arrive in Baisha Province, helping the imperial court offers the Yu family little benefit but carries great risk.

"Then we will not consider the Yu family for now, but we must prepare a contingency plan."

Li Fei proposed.

Afterward, the group discussed specific tactics in the conference room.

More than thirty minutes later, Li Fei and the others left.

Subsequently, personnel from Baisha University and the provincial capital began to move.

Three Martial Arts Masters, one True Person, forty-seven Dao Foundation stage martial artists, and twenty-two Possession stage Great Mages.

In addition, there were over five hundred Imperial Camp soldiers and over twelve hundred City Guard soldiers.

Having gathered all the elite forces of Baisha University and the provincial capital, they set out together!

This could almost be considered an all-out mobilization, completely abandoning the defense of the provincial capital.

If this battle is lost, Baisha Province will basically be out of the imperial court's control.

The five hundred-plus Imperial Camp soldiers were all mounted on exotic beast steeds, and the twelve hundred-plus City Guard soldiers were all riding in troop transport trucks.

This force quickly completed its assembly, left the provincial capital, and headed toward Wangcheng Prefecture, which is controlled by the Hook-Deep Sword Sect.

The Hook-Deep Sword Sect's base is in Wangcheng Prefecture, on a plain a dozen kilometers outside of Qingxu City.

The straight-line distance from the provincial capital to that location is over one hundred and eighty kilometers, and a road has been built in between that leads directly there.

The trucks carrying the City Guard travel at 30 kilometers per hour, making them the slowest part of the unit.

This means that even without stopping along the way and without encountering any problems on the road, it will take this force over six hours to reach the Hook-Deep Sword Sect's base.

The movements here in the provincial capital will inevitably be impossible to hide; six-plus hours is enough for the enemy to receive the news and prepare.

However, Mount Baituo is even further from the Hook-Deep Sword Sect, and they do not have large-scale flight magic treasures to use.

After receiving the news, even if they send people at top speed, they can only send a small number of elites to arrive in time to support:

Imperial Camp cavalry, exotic beast cavalry, and martial artists at the Dao Foundation stage and above.

Even if these people rush over quickly, the consumption will certainly not be small.

Moreover, it is impossible for Mount Baituo to send all their elites to support; they will inevitably hold some back.

This is the reason Li Fei and the others chose to attack the Hook-Deep Sword Sect first.

Mount Baituo will not easily abandon the Hook-Deep Sword Sect, so Hong Zhi, this Grandmaster, will inevitably have to rush over.

As long as Hong Zhi is killed and the elite forces of Mount Baituo are severely crippled,

then the battle for Baisha Province will no longer have any suspense.

PS: Just finished getting the marriage certificate and accompanied my wife back to her parents' home. Spent the whole day traveling, so the update can only be a bit shorter; I will try to update more tomorrow~

(End of chapter)