No Choice!

"Let me go! I'm not sick! I'm not sick!"

Clang! Clang! Clang! The violent struggle caused the entire iron bed to collide with the ship's planks, making a loud noise.

The young man, bound hand and foot with Azure Steel Chain on the iron bed, Yin Chi eyes, cheekbones so red they looked like they were about to spit blood, veins throbbing all over his body, and fingers shrunken into chicken claws.

My skin feels like it's about to crack, and my muscles feel like they're about to cramp.

This is completely contrary to his claim that he is "not sick".

There were faint snickers coming from the ship.

Liang Qu wanted to laugh, but he held it in.

As Xu Yuelong reviewed the intelligence information, a look of worry appeared in his eyes.

I knew beforehand that the second grandson of the Liu Family had an addiction, but I didn't expect it to be so serious; he was just as addicted as the other Black Incense.

It's really worrying that they might suddenly die on their own boat.

A more mature-looking young man standing beside the iron bed heard the laughter of the crowd and awkwardly dug his toes into the ground, his face turning bright red.

He took the rope from the soldier while feeling dizzy, wrapped it around the Liu Family's grandson's face several times, covered his mouth, and then used hemp rope to wrap the four corners of the iron bed.

"Hmm~ Hehehe~"

Thump, thump, thump! The loud noise turned into a muffled thud, and the world suddenly became quiet.

Two soldiers moved an iron bed onto the deck so that the "patient" could bask in the sun, and from time to time, words like "suppress Evil Qi" and "cure the disease" could be heard.

With the noise gone, Xu Yuelong regained his composure and focused his attention back on the briefing in front of him. Halfway through reading it, his gaze suddenly jumped to Liang Qu.

"You have Dragonfolk inside you, kid?"

"I don't have that ability!"

Liang Qu shook his head repeatedly.

It was just a hidden camera; there was never any undercover agent involved.

Moreover, the Dragon Man Tribe was formed due to unique circumstances, resulting in a very strong sense of cohesion within the group, making it difficult for infiltration.

"Then what about you..."

Xu Yuelong flipped through the briefing and read it again.

The entire briefing consisted of only a few pages, three diagrams and one table, yet its content was extremely rich.

A map showing the valley's terrain, a map showing the locations of the strange fish scouts, and a map showing the distribution of the Dragonfolk and Frog Clan in the valley.

Another table shows the numbers and approximate strength of the Dragonfolk and Frog Clan.

They've completely uncovered everything! The information is so detailed, they're practically telling you what color underwear the Dragon Girl is wearing!

Xu Yuelong seriously doubted whether Liang Qu could accomplish the same task if he were to assign it to someone else...

What is the accuracy rate?

"Around 80%, no less than 70%, the Dragonfolk have sent out a large number of scouts to patrol back and forth, and the exact number is constantly fluctuating."

"Eighty percent, that's quite a lot," Xu Yuelong estimated in his mind. "How did you manage to do that in just one day?"

"I have my own way."

Liang Qu was unwilling to talk about it, Xu Yuelong did not force him.

He couldn't help but think of last year's flood control efforts, where Liang Qu also spent a day figuring out its course and creating a sand table model...

Perhaps the same method could be used?

"You're a natural-born scout, kid! You've done another great job today!" Xu Yuelong patted Liang Qu on the shoulder. "It's a pity this was a side job and won't be recorded in the Merit Ledger. If you get a share of the loot, I'll make sure you get the best spot to attract spiritual energy!"

Understanding each other's strengths and weaknesses is crucial for winning negotiations! It's equivalent to knowing where the other party's bottom line is!

Liang Qu thanked him.

Xu Yuelong grabbed the intelligence and hurriedly left. He then struck the Cloud Plate to summon the high-ranking officials to discuss their plans again.

"It wasn't a wasted effort."

Liang Qu leaned against the ship's railing, facing the wind and gazing into the distance. With this promise, he was confident that his harvest would not be too bad.

To draw out the spiritual energy, one must be within twenty miles of the strange phenomenon; the closer the better.

Furthermore, for Wolf Smoke Martial Master, it is best to have one or two acres of land to monopolize in order to maximize profits, and for Hunting Tiger Master, it is even more than ten times that! If two people are in the central area, it is better to monopolize the outer ring.

In this way, the capacity of the central core area is limited, with each area having its own specific role!

The fewer the participating forces, the less competition, and the greater the benefits! Nobody wants to give up what they've already got.

Half an hour later.

Zuo Heng, Sui Hongyan, and the others left with smiles on their faces, clearly in good spirits.

The situation was already quite good, but this detailed intelligence came together perfectly.

It's safe!

evening.

The sky was ablaze with fiery clouds, the setting sun filtering through a thin layer of clouds, creating a shimmering, golden expanse.

The Dragonfolk has not yet arrived.

Ran Zhongshi was surprised. "The Dragonfolk are so calm?"

Xu Yuelong did not hesitate and turned to look at the soldier.

"Pass down the order: set off and advance thirty li! Wait until midnight. If we still haven't moved forward, continue the round trip!"

"Yes!"

The anchor was pulled out of the water, and the fleet, which had been anchored for a day, slowly moved forward.

Several miles away, the Dragonfolk monitoring the fleet identified the direction of the fleet and were greatly alarmed.

The intelligence was once again handed over to the Mountain River Valley.

"Elder, what should we do? They're really coming for us!"

"What should we do?"

Inside the cave, the group of Dragonfolk appeared somewhat flustered.

To the south, there are nearby River Conservancy Office, and to the east, there are also Iron Head Fish eyeing the area covetously; it can be said that it is beset by wolves in front and tigers behind.

By the end of today, the number of Great Monster Spirit coming from the east has reached a staggering fifty, with two Demon Beast leading them, their organizational power has skyrocketed!

This vanguard force, relying on a single Coral Crystal Insect, is relentlessly searching for the exact location. Before the anomaly manifests, they will inevitably find the valley! The Dragonfolk don't have much time left to make a choice!

Long Zongyin's eyes gleamed.

Asking the Frog Clan yielded no good solutions.

In short, if you're not convinced, then fight.

The problem is, after attacking River Conservancy Office and then Ironhead, how many tribesmen will be sacrificed in two rounds of battle? The already precarious population...

After a while.

Long Zongyin sighed.

He looked towards the outstanding members of his clan.

"Binglin, E Ying, come with me. We're going to meet some important figures from the River Conservancy Office. Yan Rui, take good care of them and make sure nothing goes wrong!"

Long Yanrui knew that this was not the time to refuse.

"Please rest assured, Elder!"

midnight.

The dark blue stars hung high in the night sky.

The long incense stick curled upwards, severing the thin cotton rope at the corresponding position, and the iron block fell into the copper plate with a crisp sound.

Xu Yuelong picked up the iron block and twirled it between his fingertips.

"Three more goals..."

"Report!"

"Come in!"

The soldier entered and knelt on one knee. "Reporting to Xu Tiling, a Dragonfolk has arrived ten miles ahead in a small ferry boat! He invites Lord of the River Conservancy Office to come to the Great Marsh for a chat!"

Everyone in the room perked up and beamed with joy.

They've finally arrived! "I told you they couldn't hold back!"

"According to A Shui's exploration, Northern Fish should have arrived at the destination by now, so they are naturally anxious."

"Even a fool knows it's not good to fight on two fronts. The Dragonfolk and the Flood Dragon have a grudge against each other, and the Flood Dragon is on good terms with the Northern Fish. The Dragonfolk have no choice but to side with us."

There has always been a conflict between Northern Fish Southern Frog.

The Dragonfolk may seem to have the power of choice, but in fact, the outcome was already predetermined when the River Conservancy Office fleet arrived.

Xu Yuelong asked, "How many people are on the other side?"

"Nine people! Eight men and one woman, led by an elderly man with silver hair, whose strength is unknown."

Liang Qu stood up and asked, "Is that woman about my height, and beautiful in appearance?"

The soldier was ashamed. "His height is similar to Lord Liang's, but it was too dark for me to see his face clearly."

Liang Qu turned his head and said, "This Dragon Girl's strength should be at the peak of the Great Martial Master! She is one of the candidates for Qi Consumption, and the silver-haired old man in the lead should be one of the First Elder of the Dragonfolk race."

He clearly remembers what he saw and heard when he explored the canyon.

At that time, an elderly man with silver hair visited, and he was the superior of the three.

Ran Zhongshi said, "In that case, the opponent has at least two peak Great Martial Master! Perhaps more. We need to be extra careful!"

"It doesn't matter, would he dare to kill me?" Xu Yuelong said nonchalantly. "If they don't dare to make a move, the more people they bring, the more panicked and guilty they are."

"We must be on guard," Ran Zhongshi advised. "Better safe than sorry. The Dragonfolk are beset by internal and external troubles and are on edge. If they get angry, no one can predict what might happen."

"That's right." Xu Yuelong was one to listen to advice. "Then Zhong Shi, Uncle Yang, let's ask Commander Sui from the Demon Subduing Division to accompany me. Fang Su, Wen Bin, A Shui, Yin Bin, Ran Ying will come with the ship, so that we'll have the same number of people!"

Liang Qu carefully considered the details.

Four Great Martial Master and five Wolf Smoke, roughly the same strength as the opposing side.

Having met the Dragonfolk in person, I have an unparalleled advantage in terms of information.

"Quickly prepare the boat!"

"Yes!"

Those whose names were called took their equipment and boarded the small boat. Liang Qu casually tossed Fubo into the water, just in case.

When Yang Dongxiong and Sui Hongyan arrived, the oars were put into the water, and the small boat moved closer to the front of the fleet.

Under the cover of night.

The moonlight shattered.

The towering Dragonfolk was silhouetted against the distance.

During the contact between the two sides.

A patrol of frogs in the southern part of the water darted about and bumped into the vanguard scouts of the Iron Head Fish.

"Hey! You stupid fish, what are you trying to do! Invading your frog grandpa's territory! Take one more step and I'll make you into fish head soup!"

The Red-skinned Frog put his hands on his hips and shouted, slamming the anchor in his hand heavily on the ground, kicking up a large cloud of mud and sand.