Speculation (Part Two)

A caravan traveled along the official road leading to Shengshan County, with endless refugee camps on both sides.

In the center of the caravan, a middle-aged man carrying a halberd and riding a fine horse looked worriedly at the refugee camps on either side, his lips moving slightly:

"Too many"

A young man, also on horseback, leaned over and asked in a low voice:

"Boss Xue, what's too much?"

The two men rode horses that were both of Demon Beast bloodline, tall and handsome, with very defined muscles.

The middle-aged man glanced at the young man sideways:

There are too many refugees.

The young man then glanced back at the refugees, paused for a moment, and whispered:

"So, this refugee camp is indeed much larger than the ones I've seen before, but so what?"

The middle-aged man's eyes held deep worry.

"If we're not careful, these refugee camps could easily riot."

The young man seemed unconvinced, pointing to the military camp in the distance:

"There are border troops stationed over there. Judging from the size of this camp, it's at least a thousand strong. A riot wouldn't be a problem."

The middle-aged man sighed and said in a low voice:

"I'm not worried about Shengshan County, but about us caravans."

The young man was taken aback, then his expression turned strange. Looking at the numb refugees, he whispered:

"It shouldn't be that serious; disturbing official roads is a grave crime."

The middle-aged man shook his head:

"Who cares about this when we can't even survive? I hope the inspectors from the Imperial Heavenly Supervision Bureau can quickly evacuate these refugees. If they continue to gather like this, they won't be able to survive and might really resort to robbery."

The young man's eyes flickered, and he slightly tightened his grip on his weapon.

"Hmm, the scale of this Demon Beast tide near the Wanxing Mountain Range seems to be quite large."

Before he could finish speaking,

A flock of birds suddenly flew out from the rolling forests on one side of the official road.

A large flock of birds

It was so large that it practically Sun Veil!

The flock of birds arrived quickly and departed just as fast, having already swept across the official road in the blink of an eye, fleeing towards the territory of the Great Yan Kingdom.

This sudden change was witnessed by everyone on the official road, and it seemed to freeze everything on the road.

Everyone knows what these birds represent, but stuck in their current position, no one dares to make any rash moves.

And in all of this stillness,

The middle-aged man's hand, gripping the halberd, began to tremble slightly, but he didn't look towards the mountains; instead, he looked towards the refugee camp.

"The Demon Beast are coming! Prepare for battle!"

The young man came to his senses:

"Wh-what?"

The middle-aged man brandished his halberd and let out a loud shout:

"The caravan is regrouping, preparing for battle!!"

"."

The Demon Beast eventually broke through the mountains and forests.

As the first Demon Beast entered the refugee camp, and as a refugee perished in its jaws, panic spread uncontrollably!

Terrified screams, shrill cries, and angry shouts erupted almost immediately, like a domino effect, and chaos quickly spread throughout the slums on both sides of the main road.

"Demon Beast! Demon Beast is coming!!! Run!"

"Ah!! Help!"

"Damn it, the village is gone, and they won't even let anyone stay in Erxi Slope anymore! What the hell is the imperial court doing?"

"My child, where is my child?! Erwa!!"

"No, don't take my food! It's for my mother's life! Don't kill me!! Please!!"

"Run, Fan'er, don't run onto the main road! The officials there won't show mercy. Run towards Shengshan County!!!"

As panic spread, the refugee camp erupted like boiling water.

In the refugee camp on the side of the Wanxing Mountain Range, countless ragged people surged toward the official road like an avalanche.

Some people wanted to escape to the other side of the official road, while others wanted to take advantage of the chaos to make a fortune.

Those who were coerced and those with ulterior motives rushed wave after wave toward the various merchant caravans and chivalrous groups on the official road.

The caravans and groups of heroes traveling along the official road reacted just as quickly upon seeing this scene.

"These refugees are insane!!"

"Escort team, prepare! Anyone who rams the caravan will be killed without mercy!!"

"They dare rob the Four Seas Merchant Caravan?! Kill them!!"

"These are all ordinary people, are we really going to take them?!"

"Damn it! Ordinary people would come and steal goods?! These people have gone mad!"

"If you don't act, these refugees won't show you any mercy. You'll have to pay the merchant guild for the goods?! Kill them!!!"

The escorts and knights guarding the caravan drew out their sabers one after another, but these shining sharp blades still failed to stop the flow of refugees who were swallowed up by panic and madness.

Like a tidal wave, the refugee tide swept away the caravans on the official road and then swept towards Shengshan County, which was not far away!

The moment the Demon Beast appeared, the Illusion Array engraved around Shengshan County was immediately activated, and in an instant Shengshan County Shengshan County the surrounding area within a one-kilometer radius were shrouded in a thick white fog.

Looking down from the sky, the entire Shengshan County appears to have vanished.

However, this is from the outside perspective; inside the illusion array, the chaos continues.

Even though most of the Demon Beast had been kept out, the dark mass of refugees still surged toward the clearly defined city walls like ants!

Panic had completely consumed the reason of these poor souls; they desperately tried to run to what they thought was a safe place, even though the Demon Beast behind them had already been blocked.

Unfortunately, the border troops in Shengshan County would not allow them to enter the city.

The general in charge of Shengshan County knew very well that allowing this group of insane refugees into the city would trigger an even greater disaster.

Border troops stationed near the refugee camp formed ranks and stood ready for battle.

After the border guards' attempts to persuade him failed, and amidst the relentless onslaught of the surging refugee tide,

The slaughter began.

Kill!

Anyone who dares to storm the city gates will be killed without exception; kill them until these crazed refugees calm down.

final,

The chaos was ultimately contained outside Shengshan County.

In just half an hour, ten thousand people died silently in the chaos caused by the Demon Beast, while the number of people who actually died in the Demon Beast' mouths was no more than a hundred.

Shengshan County has three city gates: east, north, and south. There is no gate on the west side because it faces the Wanxing Mountain Range.

After the trade routes were opened, Shengshan County set up three markets—east, north, and south—within the city walls along these three gates.

Each market was bustling, and the management methods were simple and crude.

Troops are stationed there.

The highest administrative official in Shengshan County is a colonel general. It is indeed a bit of a stretch to expect a roughneck like him to manage these things.

A troop of 500 men was stationed next to each market; anyone who dared to make a move in the market would be dragged out and beheaded.

Having a general in charge of a region has both advantages and disadvantages. At least in emergencies, the entire Shengshan County can react much faster than when governed by bureaucrats.

For example, right now,

Within half an hour of the arrival of the Demon Beast tide, the bustling city was forcibly emptied.

Squads of border soldiers, armed with sharp blades, patrolled back and forth within the city, ready for battle.

Standing by the window of the inn, Xu Yuan gazed at the thick fog in the sky that seemed to have existed since time immemorial.

In fact, the moment Xu Yuan saw the Illusion Array activate, he knew that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, something unexpected had happened again.

And that is indeed the case.

In addition to the soldiers patrolling the streets, every now and then a horseman would ride along the street shouting to reassure the people.

However, according to the person who shouted, this Demon Beast tide was not large in scale, and Deputy General Li had already led his troops out of the city to kill the monsters under the orders of Colonel Wang.

Xu Xinyao's Illusion Array could completely trap the attacking Demon Beast within the misty illusion array, and then lure them out in batches, allowing the border troops of the formed army formation to surround and kill them in batches.

Highly efficient and safe.

According to the person who shouted, the formation should be removed tomorrow.

Xu Yuan took one last look at the streets, which were now under martial law, shook his head gently, and turned to sit back on the bed.

Ran Qingmo was in the next room; the two didn't share a room.

After a moment of silence, Xu Yuan said in a low voice:

"Old Man Luo?"

"."

A moment of silence,

The voice of the Saint's Remnant Soul came through, relaxed and with a hint of laughter:

"How?"

"You said, how could these Demon Beast, with their level of intelligence, know about the attack on the city?"

"Um?"

The Saint's Remnant Soul let out a soft "hmm," then chuckled and said:

"These Demon Beast come in packs of more than a dozen. The Ancient Abyss abyss can't support such a large population, so we have to use these Demon Beast as expendable resources to expand outwards."

Xu Yuan shook his head:

I know that.

"I mean, why do these Demon Beast like to gnaw on tough nuts like city fortresses?"

"Wouldn't it be better to rush through some of the outskirts and corners? They're all consumables anyway, so there's no need to worry about how to get back. As long as we break into the heart of the territory, the trouble we cause for the Great Yan Dynasty will naturally be much greater."

The Saint's Remnant Soul spoke leisurely:

"Demon Beast lack intelligence, but the Demon Race does."

Xu Yuan remained silent for a moment upon hearing this, then suddenly realized the meaning behind the Saint's Remnant Soul's words, but after a long while, he only uttered five words:

"Another internal power struggle. 6."

While "fighting" on the border might cause the sects and the imperial court of the Great Yan to hinder each other, if they were to actually penetrate into the heartland, it would infringe upon the common interests of both the imperial court and the sects. If this happened too often, it would anger the sects on the border, prompting them to join forces with the imperial court to launch an expedition against the Ancient Abyss. This would be a real loss for the Demon Race in the Ancient Abyss.

"Slippery? Quite slippery indeed."

The Saint's Remnant Soul grinned:

"The Demon Beast tides that occur every spring in the Wanxing Mountain Range only attack towns, which can be considered a routine test by Ancient Abyss."

"As long as your Great Yan Dynasty can hold the line every year, then everyone will live in peace. But if your Great Yan Dynasty is unable to maintain the 100,000-mile border defense line of the Wanxing Mountain Range in any year, then Ancient Abyss will probably have to consider whether to take real action."

"The fertile lands of the Central Plains are far superior to that godforsaken place, Ancient Abyss."

"."

Xu Yuan was slightly stunned upon hearing these words.

He recalled the timeline in Cangyuan where "Ancient Abyss" was the final boss. He guessed that in those timelines, the Great Yan Dynasty was unable to maintain its long border defenses, which led Ancient Abyss to judge the Great Yan as weak and seize the opportunity to launch a large-scale invasion.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Yuan looked at the layer of fog outside and suddenly asked:

"Old Man Luo, can you forcefully break this illusion array?"

"What?" The Saint's Remnant Soul seemed slightly surprised.

Xu Yuan repeated in a low voice:

"I'm asking you, can you and Ran Qingmo help me break out of this illusionary formation?"

"If I were in my prime..."

"Alright, that's enough." Xu Yuan sighed.

"Tsk, you brat."

The Saint's Remnant Soul clicked its tongue, but then asked, "What are you worried about, kid?"

"This afternoon, Zhou Xiaohe said she would come back to this inn to find us this evening, but they haven't come yet," Xu Yuan said gravely.

The Saint's Remnant Soul reacted quickly:

"You suspect that this Demon Beast attack on the city is related to the Wanxiang Sect?"

Xu Yuan nodded:

"I didn't think too much about it at the time. They had only been gone for half an hour when the Demon Beast tide arrived. And their status within the Wanxiang Sect must be quite high. This is too much of a coincidence."

The Saint's Remnant Soul hesitated slightly:

"But there's no reason for the Wanxiang Sect to stage Demon Beast attack on the city. What good would dead people do them?"

Xu Yuan slowly got up and walked towards Ran Qingmo's room next door, thinking to himself:

"This is also what I can't understand. First, they spent so much money to help my Fourth Sister build this Illusion Array, and then they arranged this scene of Demon Beast attacking the city. Apart from the dead, what else does this Wanxiang Sect?"

Speaking of this,

Xu Yuan's eye suddenly twitched, and he abruptly stopped in his tracks.

"This Wanxiang Sect... it shouldn't be that bad, right?"

The thought that flashed through Xu Yuan's mind made him feel a sense of disbelief.

"What do you mean it's not that serious?" the Saint's Remnant Soul asked.

Xu Yuan hesitated slightly, then glanced at the Soul Ring and uttered a single word:

"Ghost Mist."

"."

Upon hearing this, the Saint's Remnant Soul was visibly stunned for a moment.

Xu Yuan didn't rush out. Instead, he placed his hand on the wooden door and fell into deep thought.

"You mean the Wanxiang Sect wants to create Ghost Mist?" The Saint's Remnant Soul's voice became intrigued.

Xu Yuan ignored the old man and said with a frown:

"That's hundreds of thousands of people. The Wanxiang Sect shouldn't have the guts to openly create Ghost Mist, right?"

Unlike Xu Yuan, the Saint's Remnant Soul did not hesitate, and said in a relaxed voice:

"Young Xu, this isn't something you can do openly."

"Um?"

"The great formation your sister set up has isolated everything inside. Even if everyone inside dies, outsiders will only think it was done by Demon Beast."

"."

Xu Yuan paused slightly, his eyes showing hesitation:

"A force capable of refining hundreds of thousands of people is enough to take down the Wanxiang Sect."

"But nobody will know."

The Saint's Remnant Soul shook his head, interrupting.

"." Xu Yuan.

The Saint's Remnant Soul chuckled softly and whispered:

"Actually, it's quite simple if you want to verify your idea. Go to the government office and ask the border army commander if the formation can be closed, and see how many Demon Beast are attacking this time. If you can match them, then it's pretty much a done deal."

Xu Yuan hesitated for a moment, his eyes extremely serious:

"That's settled then. Let's call Ran Qingmo to go check out the County Office first. If the Wanxiang Sect really wants to create Ghost Mist here, they'll probably have secretly set up other formations as well."

Upon hearing this, the Saint's Remnant Soul silently offered a reminder:

"Take it easy. Even if the formations within this city are damaged, Ran and I won't be any better off operating at full power, not to mention the border troops within the city can still form military formations."

Xu Yuan pushed open the door and went out:

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."