Breakout

Perhaps it was the decisiveness of a soldier, but the instant Xu Yuan finished speaking, Colonel Wang shouted sharply towards the outside:

"Someone come here!"

"Squeak--"

The old-fashioned wooden door was pushed open from the outside almost instantly, and the adjutant who had been standing outside knelt down in front of the hall, clasped his hands in greeting, and said:

"General Wang, what are your orders?"

Colonel Wang stood up, briefly outlining the tasks as he spoke:

"You immediately take men to the City Defense Bureau to check the operation of all the major formations within the city, and notify He Xinchuan to lead the Second Battalion to be ready to leave the city at any time to meet Li Shengwu."

"."

The adjutant looked somewhat taken aback. Although he didn't know the reason, he still clasped his hands in a gesture of respect and accepted the order.

"Yes!"

"Go down."

Without pausing, the adjutant activated his military Cultivation Method and sped away.

Colonel Wang stopped at the door, glancing back at Xu Yuan inside the room.

"Young Master Zhou, I must excuse myself for now."

"Please go ahead, Colonel Wang. My senior sister and I will return to the inn first. If the City Defense Array really fails, Colonel Wang can send someone to inform me."

Night deepened.

Two hours later.

Led by the lieutenant he had met before, Xu Yuan climbed the city wall of Shengshan County.

Compared to the towering twenty-zhang-high city wall of Jingjiang Prefecture, the city wall of Shengshan County can only be considered a small mound.

Three or four feet long, the hard bluestone still bears the aftershocks of the battle, pitted and cratered, with even exposed array patterns visible in some places.

Following silently beside the lieutenant, Xu Yuan could see that the burly middle-aged man's face was now so gloomy it seemed to ooze water.

It looks like something bad has happened.

Enveloped by the illusionary mist formation, the sky was moonless, and only the flickering light of the campfires illuminated the city walls.

After silently advancing a distance, Xu Yuan slightly circulated his Cultivation Method and saw several generals in military uniform at the end of the city wall, including Colonel Wang.

When the officers standing on the city wall saw Xu Yuan approaching, they sized him up and then left in silence. Only Colonel Wang came forward to greet him.

After stopping, Colonel Wang got straight to the point:

"Young Master Zhou, I'd like to confirm with you one more time: do you really have no direct evidence to prove that the Wanxiang Sect intends to massacre the city?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan gently shook his head:

"The Wanxiang Sect would never leave behind direct evidence of such a thing. Colonel Wang, you should understand that."

Colonel Wang remained silent for a moment, then let out a long sigh:

"That's true."

Xu Yuan glanced sideways at the outside of the city.

Standing on this side of the city wall, one can clearly see the Shengshan Border Army, arrayed in battle formation outside the city, slaughtering the horde of Demon Beast drawn out from the Illusion Mist Array:

"Colonel Wang, what's the situation now?"

Colonel Wang pondered for a moment, then looked at the enemy formation over there as well:

"The number of Demon Beast inside the Illusion Mist Array is more than double that of previous years."

"No, I mean Communication Crystal."

Xu Yuan asked the question that concerned him most.

If the Communication Crystal is still working, he can call people over.

To his question, Colonel Wang remained silent.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan sighed.

Judging from the other party's reaction, the Communication Crystal is most likely faulty.

In other words, Shengshan County has now completely severed all contact with the outside world, becoming a veritable isolated town.

However, Xu Yuan felt that if it were just Communication Crystal malfunction, Colonel Wang wouldn't have shown such an expression:

"The City Defense Array is also malfunctioning?"

"Yes."

Colonel Wang's voice was low as he looked at the array patterns on the city wall, a helpless sigh escaping his lips:

"The Spiritual Qi pool of the City Protection Array has been tampered with; currently, the entire formation is only at about 20% capacity."

"Where is the Illusion Mist Array?"

"The control array patterns of the formation are malfunctioning; we can no longer control the formation."

"."

Xu Yuan frowned, pondered for a moment, and asked in a low voice:

"When Xu Xinyao was inscribing the formation, weren't you, the Shengshan Border Army, the first in line to control it?"

Although the materials for building the formation were provided by the Wanxiang Sect, when it comes to matters concerning the lives of the people of an entire city, Fourth Sister wouldn't be foolish enough to entrust such a matter of principle to the sect.

Colonel Wang was silent for a moment, then said:

"According to the formation diagrams provided by Miss Xu, our Shengshan County border troops are indeed the first in line to control the formation."

"So the blueprints were secretly altered?" Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes. "Xu Xinyao wouldn't make such a basic mistake."

"Bang!"

Colonel Wang slammed his fist onto the battlement, his fist clenched tightly.

"They must have done it after Miss Xu left!"

"After you left?" Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow.

Colonel Wang's tone carried a hint of helplessness:

"Miss Xu's Third Brother had an accident, and the Illusion Mist Array was not yet completed, so Miss Xu had to leave first. It was most likely during the final stage of construction that the array masters of the Wanxiang Sect secretly altered the array diagram left by Miss Xu."

"."

Xu Yuan sighed:

"Even if she doesn't leave, the outcome will be the same. As long as the Wanxiang Sect doesn't give up its plan to create the Ghost Mist, it's just a matter of sooner or later."

Then, Xu Yuan changed the subject and asked directly:

"So, Colonel Wang, what brings you here today?"

"."

A moment of silence,

Colonel Wang rubbed his hands together, his booming voice becoming somewhat hesitant:

"Young Master Zhou, would you and your senior sister be willing to lend a helping hand to Shengshan County? We will pay you a reward."

Xu Yuan was not surprised by Colonel Wang's request.

Now that the city is isolated and without reinforcements, having a Grandmaster of the third rank to help is like sending charcoal in snowy weather.

However, Xu Yuan did not rush to agree. Looking at the Shengshan Border Army fighting fiercely outside the city, he whispered:

"Colonel Wang, are you preparing to defend the city?"

"."

This question seemed to stump Colonel Wang. He looked at him and hesitated slightly before saying:

"The opening in the Illusion Mist Array is gradually widening. Currently, it draws out a thousand Demon Beast every hour. At this rate, by tomorrow or the day after, the number of Demon Beast flowing out every hour may exceed three thousand. The military formation cannot handle the onslaught and can only rely on the city wall formation for defense."

Xu Yuan gently shook his head and asked:

"Colonel Wang, do you think we can hold out?"

"Or rather, do you think the Wanxiang Sect will allow you to defend Shengshan County?"

"..." Colonel Wang remained silent.

Xu Yuan sighed and said in a low voice:

"Colonel Wang, do you know what the only advantage the Shengshan Border Army has over the Wanxiang Sect right now?"

"."

After a moment of silence, Colonel Wang probed:

"City Defense Array?"

Of course not.

What is that?

"Information gap."

Xu Yuan looked at Colonel Wang and said, word by word:

"The Wanxiang Sect is currently unaware that you are aware of their plan to create Ghost Mist in Shengshan County."

As he spoke,

Xu Yuan looked at the puzzled expression in the eyes of the burly middle-aged man in front of him, and smiled, saying:

"Colonel Wang, information asymmetry is very important."

"If the Wanxiang Sect knew about this, they would never continue to slowly boil the frog in water as they are now, but would directly release all the Demon Beast beasts from the Illusion Mist Array at once."

Xu Yuan pointed to the military formation outside the city:

"Imagine tens of thousands of Demon Beast trapped in the Illusion Mist Array suddenly bursting out of the mist all at once. Could your Shengshan Border Army hold them off?"

Colonel Wang clenched his fist slightly, looked at the young man in front of him, took a deep breath, and said:

"You mean we have to break through?"

Xu Yuan didn't speak, but that was essentially tantamount to acquiescence.

It is inevitable that we cannot hold on.

You have no idea how many tricks the Wanxiang Sect has up its sleeve, since they are always prepared to take advantage of you.

The first round of Demon Beast may just be one part of the whole.

Blowing up the city walls, instigating internal strife, or high-level cultivators infiltrating the city and creating chaos are all possibilities.

However, breaking through the siege would mean abandoning the 400,000 people and refugees inside and outside Flourishing Mountain.

Silence gradually spread on the city wall in the cold wind.

Single update today, will make up for it tomorrow.