Victory Secured, Stop While Ahead

Starting in early December, the Bewildering Soul Grand Formation on Anping Road Nanxiang Road became ineffective, no longer able to reduce the supply efficiency of Tonghuo City.

The leaders of Soul Offering Pass decided to completely abandon the defense outside the Soul Offering Pass. Many troops hidden in the wild were recalled, and all small settlements were abandoned.

Only a small number of troops remain hidden in underground cities or secret valley bases. These strongholds typically house only a few hundred combat personnel, and in total, they may number between twenty and thirty thousand.

The Six Armies Alliance basically ignored these small fry and was too lazy to spend time searching for them.

Because they couldn't gather together, lacked heavy siege equipment, and didn't even have any strong warships, they couldn't amount to much.

On such a battlefield, the bravery of small units is of no use whatsoever.

Even if tens of thousands of people gather together, if there isn't a single fifth-tier warship, three to five hundred Great Zhou soldiers can easily chase them away.

In low to mid-level battlefields, large-scale Divine Soldier, siege engines, and flying warships can play a decisive role.

When Long Xiao and Zhao Xing encountered the Netherflame Warship, they could only watch helplessly if the ship didn't open its barrier.

The same applies to killing Qian Shougang. They only had a chance to take advantage of him because he took the initiative to leave the air fortress of the warship. Otherwise, they could only watch as Qian Shougang's men flew back to the Black Dragon Army's base.

The wilderness beyond the pass is vast. Once we conquer the Soul Offering Pass, we can send a large army to slowly sift through the ranks and find merits.

The Soul Offering Pass is defended by sixteen different factions of troops. Some of them are Fire Demon Tribe, some are from the Sacred Spirit Royal Court, and some belong to other tribes of the Golden Feather Royal Court.

The chieftain elected by the sixteen armies was called "Nether Soul," while Morik was just a minor chieftain at the very bottom of the list.

Under the command of the Nether Soul, there was also a ' Military Advisor ' of the Profound Heaven Sect, known as ' Dragon Yang Daoist '.

It was he who ordered a reduction in forces and a full-scale defense.

Two months ago, the Nether Soul was able to fight the Six Armies Alliance of the Great Zhou to a standstill.

Even a minor leader like Morik could harass Tonghuo City in the rear.

Two months later, the Nether Soul has completely switched to a defensive posture, not sending out a single warship or releasing a single ghost, purely defending the city.

A gray-black barrier stretched out as a line on the horizon.

Standing on the Tower Ship, Zhao Xing looked into the distance and could see that the sky ahead had completely darkened.

Upon closer inspection, one can also discover that many ghosts are roaring on the barrier.

"The Soul Offering Pass stretches for hundreds of miles, and because there are so many Yin Soul, that area is filled with yin energy."

The Soul Offering Pass doesn't have the same high defense level as the Fire Dragon Pass, but it requires specific tools and classes to conquer.

Because its barrier is rooted in the Yin Realm, it has torn open a gap in the Yin Realm, continuously releasing underworld energy.

Normal siege weapons will be less effective against it, and other classes will also be weakened when entering this area to fight.

This created a domain that was only suitable for underworld professions like Priest and Soul Manipulation Sorcerer to excel in.

"If it were originally just the alliance of the Divine Might Army, the Black Armor Army, Sea Pacifying Army, this battle would not be easy to fight."

"However, with the addition of the Illusory Nether Army, Beginning Origin Army, and Primal Glory Army, the situation is different," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

Beginning Origin Army and the Primal Glory Army have pure combat-oriented Priest camps, while the Illusory Nether Army is primarily composed of Priest.

In contrast, the Divine Might Army and the Sea Pacifying Army have a limited number of combat-type Priest. A battalion of about a thousand men is only equipped with ten to twenty Priest. There are also few experts; most are at the Ninth Grade, with Eighth Grade and Seventh Grade being relatively rare and unable to form their own battalions.

The Black Armor Army does have a Priest battalion, but Xia Jing didn't consider encountering people from the Sacred Spirit Royal Court when he was selecting his men.

"Things are different now."

While Zhao Xing waited for the supplies to be unloaded, the Allied forces also began their work.

The most important weapon in the project is called the "Primal Chaos Realm Breaking Ram".

It sounds impressive, but it's actually just a "Five Elements Trebuchet" mounted on a warship.

The warships that carried it were also called Primal Chaos Warship or Five Elements Warship.

The launch was carried out 30 miles outside the Soul Offering Pass.

The entire warship was designed solely to serve this one powerful tool for breaching defenses.

Zhao Xing planted many materials in Tonghuo City, which are consumables needed for the Primal Chaos Realm Breaking Warship.

"Boom boom boom!"

A bright blue light emanated from the port deck of the Primal Chaos Warship, and behind each catapult were twenty Mechanism Master.

When they were launched, the sky and earth around the warship camp turned blue, and the power of water became incredibly dense.

The first round of launches all used the [Metal Rock Trebuchet].

One by one, eight-meter-diameter, spherical, multifaceted boulders hurtled toward the Soul Offering Pass city gate.

It dragged its tan tail and crashed onto the black barrier.

The black barrier, covering an area of ten miles, was instantly eroded and stained a yellowish-brown.

The barrier of the Soul Offering Pass is called the "Profound Heaven Yin Five Elements Grand Formation". The largest sect in the Sacred Spirit Dynasty is the Profound Heaven Sect.

This Magic Array was custom-made for the Sacred Spirit Royal Court and can be defended by borrowing the power of the Yin Realm.

Spear and shield, offense and defense. Generally speaking, the spear is stronger, but it depends on the situation.

The area to be defended at Soul Offering Pass is very large, but the Six Armies Alliance is concentrating its attack on one area.

A large patch of yellowish-brown has appeared on the black barrier, as if a mud puddle had been slapped onto it.

The first batch of Primal Chaos Warship were launched, and the second batch of Primal Chaos Warship followed without interruption, launching the second batch of "giant stones".

The second batch launched were the [Lihuo Trebuchet].

Zhao Xing planted five-tier materials on the volcano in the southern part of Tonghuo City: ' Split Crown Wood ', ' Phoenix Perch Wood ', and ' Blazing Fire Bamboo '. All of these are fire-element materials and are consumables for making ' Blazing Fire Stone '.

The fiery red boulder fell in quick succession, followed by the earthen yellow boulder.

The patch of yellowish-brown on the black barrier was instantly covered by flames.

The black forces, which were initially recovering lost ground, suddenly slowed down.

The purpose of the fire and earth stones was not to break through the black barrier's defense, but to solidify and disrupt the self-repair mechanism of the Nether Five Elements barrier.

Next came the third wave of giant stone launches— the Heavy Water Trebuchet.

A swirling mass of deep blue water, shimmering with a mesmerizing light, covered the flames that had just been extinguished.

"Buzz~"

The entire barrier suddenly became transparent.

At the Soul Offering Pass, the solidified earthen-yellow barrier suddenly became brittle.

A large amount of ink faded, and the barrier began to shake, as if it had consumed a tremendous amount of energy in an instant.

The fourth batch – [Geng Metal Trebuchet]

"Boom boom boom!"

The power of the Geng metal stone was much greater. When it struck the pale blue ice crystals, it immediately broke large holes in the barrier.

However, not long after, the black barrier was repaired and all colors were erased.

Meanwhile, the warships of the Great Zhou began a new round of bombardment using earth, fire, water, and metal elements.

"This kind of drawn-out battle is purely a logistical wasteland," Zhao Xing shook his head. "In low-level battlefields, the Primal Chaos Warship are a downgraded version, lacking the most crucial element: wood."

The "Wooden Stone Throwing" technique involves scattering large quantities of Seventh Order seeds and seedlings over the target area.

All of them were carefully selected 'variant species'.

They can use the barrier as nourishment! They take root in the defensive barrier!

It can quickly drain the barrier's energy supply, and restoring it won't be so easy.

"On the complete version of the Primal Chaos Warship, there are Fifth Grade and Fourth Grade Military Sima Nong in charge, and there are also corresponding sorcerer battalions in the four rows of launchers at the front."

"When the wood element is attacked, if the situation allows, the Pure Yuan Projection of the Military Sima Nong will also cover the barrier, which will double the power."

However, a fully-equipped Primal Chaos Warship, with so many experts, is usually found in high-level battlefields, such as attacking royal cities.

As for now?

Now all we can do is wait it out with the Soul Offering Pass Gate.

The bombardment method of the Primal Chaos Warship puts a lot of pressure on logistics, and the Magic Array of the Soul Offering Pass also consumes a lot of resources.

Now it's a matter of who can't hold on any longer.

Even if there is only one gap that cannot be repaired, the army can break through the defenses and slaughter their way in.

On December 15th, Zhao Xing once again led eight warships, transporting supplies to break through the enemy's defenses, to the front of the Soul Offering Pass.

At this time, Soul Offering Pass had been under continuous attack for seven days.

However, the Profound Heaven Yin Five Elements Grand Formation remained sturdy, quickly patching up each breach.

On December 22, Zhao Xing once again came to the front of Soul Offering Pass to deliver supplies.

The planting strategy in Tonghuo City has been completely adjusted, with the main focus now on planting materials needed for sieges.

At this point, the barrier of the Soul Offering Pass had held for fourteen days, starting from the full-scale defense of the ' Nether Soul '.

The recovery speed is getting slower and slower.

However, Zhao Xing was also exhausted. Although Tonghuo City had 100,000 people, the army's consumption was also incredibly staggering.

He not only had to transport supplies, but also manage the logistics of 100,000 people, and even personally farm the land.

On December 28, Zhao Xing delivered the last batch of supplies to the front line.

"This is the last batch. The area within a hundred miles of Tonghuo City has been completely turned into wasteland by me."

"It will take a month for 100,000 people to find a new place, build a city, set up a formation, adjust the Earth Vein, and cultivate seedlings."

"If you still can't take it down, there's nothing I can do."

Zhao Xing's tone carried a hint of fatigue.

"You've worked hard, Brother Zhao." Qi Yuan Army looked at Zhao Xing with a hint of admiration in his eyes.

"Enough, enough!" Nangong Ye said. "In just one more day, the Soul Offering Pass will surely be breached!"

Yi Yue had nothing to say.

He had previously been somewhat dissatisfied with Zhao Xing, but now he couldn't find any fault with him.

Zhao Xing, leading the Divine Might Army, Sea Pacifying Army, and Black Armor Army —these makeshift logistics teams—has achieved so much; he truly has nothing to say about it.

In Yi Yue's eyes, these were all logistics teams for a weak army, but Zhao Xing insisted on meeting their needs.

Originally, Yi Yue, Qi Yuan Army, Nangong Ye had all prepared for this battle to last until the spring of the eighteenth year of the Jingxin Calendar.

But it's happening much earlier than expected.

December 29th.

"Boom!"

"Bang!"

The boulder suddenly pierced through the black barrier.

Soldiers patrolling and stationed on the city walls were instantly smashed into mincemeat by falling rocks.

Moreover, the impact of a single rock can cause widespread damage, and the powerful force of a rolling boulder can also cause secondary injuries.

This time, the black barrier had a gap ten miles in diameter, which was impossible to repair.

A dark mass of warships sped in from outside the pass through the gap.

"Enemy attack!"

"Enemy attack!"

"Hurry up and get to the city wall fortress!"

"Run!"

The city's minor leaders screamed pitifully, but in the rush, they had no time to put up any effective resistance.

"Boom boom boom boom~"

A loud noise came from the city wall.

The piercing, heavy sound caused the soldiers guarding the city to bleed from their ears and their heads to ring.

It felt as if an earthquake had struck the city walls.

The garrison on the city wall was thrown into chaos.

"Don't panic, everyone get into the city walls and fortresses, strengthen the barrier!"

"Don't you dare escape!"

A commander with a horrific scar on his face roared, his voice drowning out the din.

So he ordered the leaders of the city walls to enter the fortress, while he himself flew along the city walls to quell the panic.

However, he had just turned around.

"Pfft~"

A crossbow bolt as thick as an arm pierced through him, even embedding him entirely into the city wall.

"Ah--"

"Fire, fire, fire!"

"My leg, help me!"

The city walls were already a scene of utter devastation.

In a Military Hall, the Nether Soul suddenly awoke.

"Where did the noise come from?"

"Report, General! The enemy has crossed the southern section of Soul Offering Pass, the barrier has been broken, and the city wall has been smashed and has many defects!" a soldier reported in a panic.

"What?!" Although he had expected it, Nether Soul still couldn't believe it when the moment actually arrived.

"Charge into battle immediately!"

"Go and call Elder Longyang quickly." Nether Soul rushed out of the room and arrived outside the warship.

As the supreme leader, his warship remained suspended in the black clouds.

"Leader." A moment later, Dragon Yang Daoist appeared on the deck.

"Elder, the southern section of the city has already fallen. Can it still be defended?" the Nether Soul asked.

"We can't hold out any longer," Dragon Yang Daoist shook his head. "We can only fight and retreat quickly while the formation is still effective. According to the original plan, we retreat to Spirit Turtle City. If they pursue us too far, we might still have a chance to counterattack."

On December 29th, the southern section of the Soul Offering Pass barrier, which had held for over half a month, was breached and could not be completely repaired.

The Six Armies Alliance quickly mobilized and swiftly crossed the border.

Faced with the elite troops of the Great Zhou, Nether Soul immediately gave up resistance and ordered a retreat.

Upon hearing this news, Zhao Xing breathed a long sigh of relief.

"We've finally broken through this barrier."

He was extremely exhausted at this point, and if his Fate Soul hadn't reached the Sixth Rank, he wouldn't have been able to persevere for so long.

However, he still didn't go to sleep. Instead, he quickly sent messages to Chen Shijie, Long Xiao, and Xia Jing, advising them not to pursue the matter too deeply.

After repeated admonitions and receiving replies from several people, he finally lay down on the bed.

"A wise person knows when to stop and will then enjoy great fortune."

"Hopefully, Old Chen and the others will listen to advice."

Zhao Xing rubbed his temples and began to drift into a deep sleep.

"Zhao Xing, Zhao Xing, wake up."

Zhao Xing didn't know how long he had slept when he suddenly felt someone calling him.

"Um?"

Zhao Xing opened his eyes and saw Chen Shijie's face.

"Old Chen, you're back in Tonghuo City?"

"Hmm." Chen Shijie nodded.

"How long have I been asleep?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Five days," Chen Shijie said. "Han Bing said you slept for about five days."

"So long? How is the situation at Soul Offering Pass?" Zhao Xing asked.

Chen Shijie poured Zhao Xing a glass of water. "There's good news and bad news."

"Let's hear the bad news first," Zhao Xing said.

Chen Shijie said, "Our cooperation with the Illusory Nether Army, Beginning Origin Army, and Primal Glory Army has ended, and there was some unpleasantness involved."

"Oh? Why is that?" Zhao Xing asked.

"After entering the pass, the Six Armies Alliance relentlessly pursued and killed sixteen alien armies, including the Nether Soul and Morik."

"It went very smoothly at first. Nangong Ye's Illusory Nether Army was mostly composed of Priest, and he himself was a Sixth Rank Priest, but his Official Rank was Seventh Grade."

"We followed the Illusory Nether Army and advanced for over 800 li."

"Qi Yuan Army, Nangong Ye, Yi Yue still want to continue the pursuit and plan to take advantage of the situation to launch a surprise attack on the eastern front of the Qinggang Mining Area."

"Huh?" Zhao Xing was surprised. "Where do they get their confidence? We only have about 120,000 to 130,000 people in total."

"The Fire Demon Tribe's West String Pass defense line has been breached by the main forces of the Black Dragon Army, Beginning Origin Army, Red Cloud Army, Illusory Nether Army, and Primal Glory Army. They have received orders from the main force on the northern front."

"Break through Spirit Turtle City and join forces with the main forces in Fire Turtle Territory and the northern front."

"We want to draw the attention of the Golden Feather Royal Court from the eastern front."

"After all, our success in breaking through the Fire Dragon Pass and the Soul Offering Pass is enough to attract the attention of the Golden Feather Royal Court."

"A feint attack?" Zhao Xing understood immediately; they were planning to make a big show of it.

With only 120,000 to 130,000 men, but claiming to be a million-strong army, it would be very convincing if the Six Armies Alliance attacked Spirit Turtle Territory and made moves to join forces with the main force on the northern front.

"The talks broke down?" Zhao Xing asked.

"That's right," Chen Shijie said. "Our army disagreed with continuing the pursuit. Without our logistical support, they couldn't have caught up so quickly. So Yi Yue had a big argument with Liao Rulong, angrily accusing us of delaying the battle."

"Now, their three armies have separated from our forces and are moving towards the northeast front, awaiting their own logistical support."

"What about the Black Armor Army?" Zhao Xing asked. He was most concerned about Xia Jing. As for the three armies, he didn't care, but the Black Armor Army was also in the northern war zone.

"Xia Jing also received the order. Although he hasn't said it yet, I guess he thinks the same way," Chen Shijie said.

Xia Jing's relationship with the Divine Might Army was, after all, closer.

"I'll try to talk to him in a bit. What's the good news?" Zhao Xing asked.

"The good news is that Long Xiao, Xia Jing, and I have all surpassed one million battle merits," Chen Shijie said with a smile.

"Oh? The battle merit mission has been settled?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Yes, you should be able to see the message through the Earth Mirror as well."

Zhao Xing immediately took out the Earth Mirror to check.

Then he smiled.

[Zhao Xing the Divine Might Army, you have completed the Military Realm mission of "Maintaining Soul Offering Pass"]

[Based on your overall performance and the results achieved in the Eastern Front, you have earned a total of 525,400 combat merits!]

"How many do you have?" Chen Shijie asked.

"Not much, only 520,000," Zhao Xing said calmly.

Chen Shijie waved his hand. "Men, take this scoundrel away and torture him severely!"

Long Xiao walked in, surprised, and asked, "What crime did he commit?"

Chen Shijie scoffed, "Boasting and showing off in front of superiors!"

Long Xiao asked with a slight smile, "What did he say?"

"I asked him how many battle merits he had earned, and he actually said not many, only 520,000. Can you believe that? Should we have fought him?"

"Haha, he really deserves to be hit."

"This humble official knows his mistake, Lord Chen calm down." Zhao Xing also smiled and played along with Old Chen.

Joking aside, Zhao Xing's many military achievements were not unexpected by Chen Shijie.

Zhao Xing managed the 100,000-strong logistics force in Tonghuo City very well, without any mishaps.

Zhao Xing deserves Bewildering Soul Grand Formation and the barrier of the Soul Offering Pass Gate; Chen Shijie certainly couldn't have done it on his own.

First, he couldn't get past this Bewildering Soul Grand Formation. This array had been set up after the Fire Dragon Pass was broken, and it had been held back until now.

At a critical moment, separating the front-line troops from the logistics troops was a disaster. Giving Zhao Xing 400,000 merits is definitely not too much.

Afterwards, breaking through the barrier of the Soul Offering Pass was entirely a contest of logistics. The military supplies needed by the Six Armies would probably not have been able to be met in such a short time if someone else had been in charge.

Zhao Xing possesses advanced Volcano Art and the Instant Primordial, which are key spells for cultivating fifth-tier plants. These techniques can greatly shorten the cultivation time. With him as a breakthrough point, the remaining low-grade Agricultural Official can be utilized, something that ordinary Military Sima Nong simply cannot do.

Breaking through the barrier, replenishing supplies, and dividing the credits as a whole, he was awarded 520,000 battle merits.

"What are your plans for the next step?" Chen Shijie asked. "You advised us not to be rash, but is there any basis for your advice?"

Zhao Xing told Chen Shijie, Long Xiao, and Xia Jing not to be rash. The two then advised Liao Rulong, who listened to their advice, as did Xia Jing, because Qi Yuan Army and his group's next plan did not align with their original plan.

Now I'd like to ask Zhao Xing what his thoughts are on the next steps.

"Let's rest and observe the situation," Zhao Xing said. "We'll see how things go."

This answer is vague and somewhat disappointing.

But Zhao Xing couldn't tell Chen Shijie and the others that Emperor Jing was about to call a truce.

How could someone of the Seventh Grade guess this so accurately? Did he rely on his divination skills?

Therefore, we can only use some old reasons. "The Golden Feather Royal Court is very determined to defend the Fire Demon Tribe Clan's territory, but now it has been defeated on three sides."

"Just think how humiliating that would be! They'd definitely have to fight for something and win, otherwise morale would collapse and their prestige would plummet."

This isn't just wild guessing; the Golden Feather Royal Court actually did just that in their previous life, but they chose to target the Divine Thunder Army.

As a result, Yan Da encountered Lu Yuanwei, the chosen one, and not only suffered a crushing defeat, but also almost followed in his cousin's footsteps.

After this, the Golden Feather Royal Court abandoned the Fire Demon Tribe's territory, thus laying the foundation for Lu Yuanwei's rise to power.

"You think the Golden Feather Royal Court will target the east?"

"Hmm, I think it's possible." Zhao Xing nodded. Actually, he wanted to wait until February of the eighteenth year of the Jingxin Calendar.

In early February, Emperor Jing would cease hostilities, and in March he would bestow rewards and honors.

This was the first time Emperor Jing had intended to initiate a war between high-ranking and mid-level officials.

Later, due to the Creation Disc and other reasons, they would waver and continue training troops, but it was from this point on that battle merits became harder to obtain.

The fighting deepened, the environment worsened, and the battle lines stretched ever longer. Even the Military Sima Nong weren't omnipotent; some supplies simply couldn't be replenished. For example, certain ores still had to be transported from the Great Zhou.

During the truce in February, a small number of high-level players will enter the fray. If you rush in too quickly at this time, you might get killed by those high-level powerhouses who don't care about martial ethics.

Even if they don't encounter any high-level experts, Emperor Jing will order a retreat to leave a buffer zone. Charging now would be pointless.

"In short, I suggest you take a break now. Don't you and Long Xiao both have a million battle merits? Find Lu Tingzhi from the Transportation Department and have him come over. You can exchange your Yin Spirit slots first," Zhao Xing said.

There won't be a second chapter. The war part is finished. I'm going to prepare for the next part of the story and get some sleep.