The Army Reaches Houting County

Standing alone atop the somewhat dilapidated city gate tower, the Barbarian Tribe Alien King could hear the ever-growing cheers of the Holy Clan people.

The capture of this colossal city, which had blocked the Holy Clan's southward advance for thousands of years, drove all the Holy Clan's people to near madness.

Countless people chanted his name, and his name resounded throughout the entire Beifeng City.

But the Barbarian Tribe Alien King showed no joy on his face, gazing expressionlessly at the endless Great Yan army camp in the distance.

The raging wind and snow did not obstruct his vision in the slightest; he could even see the patterns on the stone bricks of those makeshift camps.

"Creak--"

"Creak--"

Footsteps echoed through the snow, and a deep, hoarse voice sounded beside the Barbarian Tribe Alien King, tinged with laughter:

"Your Majesty, won't you go and celebrate? Many of our Holy Clan's people now regard you as equal to the Ancestral God."

The Barbarian Tribe Alien King turned his eyes back:

"Zha Ye, the Ancestral God does not exist. The so-called Ancestral God is just a fabricated object created by our Holy Clan in that Desperate Snow Plain."

"..." Zha Ye's previously smiling, ferocious face froze upon hearing this.

The Barbarian Tribe Alien King withdrew his gaze and continued to look at the Great Yan camp outside the city, his voice devoid of emotion:

"What brings you here to see me?"

Having grown up alongside the Barbarian Tribe Alien King, Zha Ye sensed the other's heavy heart, suppressed his smile, and solemnly reported:

"The various Holy Clan have taken over Beifeng City. The gains and losses have been tallied by the High Priest and are presented for Your Majesty's review."

The Barbarian Tribe Alien King casually took it, without even looking at it, and immediately gave the order:

"If there is nothing else, Zha Ye, you may leave now and leave me alone for a while."

Seeing this, Zha Ye quickly said in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing."

"Explain."

"An envoy from the Great Yan has been sent to see you."

"."

The Barbarian Tribe Alien King remained silent for a moment, then a hint of relief finally appeared in his deep blue eyes:

"Bring him here."

The cold wind was like a knife, stinging painfully on one's face.

Wrapped in a thick fur coat, Xu Yuan looked at the wind and snow outside the cave. Suddenly, the military intelligence report in his hand burst into flames and turned into a handful of ashes.

Lou Ji gave him the latest briefing.

Beifeng City fell completely, and Wu Yuan led a small number of remaining troops north to Houting County.

Looking out from the cave, the blizzard burying everything in the wilderness under an endless expanse of white.

The cave where Xu Yuan and Lou Ji are currently located is a communication point established by the Black Scale Guard in the Snow Plain, and can also be considered a safe house.

It is equipped with Spirit-Avoiding Array to prevent Will Soul probing, as well as Communication Crystal for long-distance communication.

The Northern Border has been embroiled in war for years, and the success or failure of a war largely depends on the amount of information each side has gathered.

The establishment of such contact points allows scouts or high-level cultivators to report enemy intelligence to the rear camp as soon as possible.

Of course, this kind of thing is not unique to the Black Scale Guard; many forces have built such caves or basements in the Snow Plain plains of the Northern Border.

Unfortunately, most of these contact points were destroyed during the last southward invasion of the Barbarian Tribe.

It wasn't that the Barbarian Tribe had extraordinary abilities to pinpoint the exact locations of these contact points in the vast Snow Plain; rather, it was simply because the various factions within the Great Yan were sabotaging each other, providing the Barbarian Tribe with precise information about their positions.

Lou Ji said that their Black Scale Guard originally had nearly ten contact points in the Snow Plain, but now only two remain.

One was in the mountains next to the Beifeng Plain, while the other was where Xu Yuan and his group were now, in the mountains a hundred miles northeast of Houting County.

"Changtian."

Hearing a soft call, Xu Yuan turned around.

A voluptuous figure emerged slowly from the shadows of the cave, swaying her slender waist and full hips, and chuckled softly:

"That little girl Wu Yuan doesn't seem to have touched anything you left behind."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan snapped out of his reverie and smiled slightly at Lou Ji:

"Although a lot of information is lacking, Li Qingyan is a smart woman; she should be able to figure something out."

Lou Ji smiled, her eyes crinkling, upon hearing his praise.

"It seems you and her have been getting along quite well these days, Changtian?"

Xu Yuan subconsciously recalled the seductive techniques of that wicked woman, chuckled, and shook his head.

"She's alright, a very capable woman."

He paused for a moment,

Xu Yuan glanced into the darkness behind Lou Ji and asked:

"Sister, has the sect reached an agreement with the Barbarian Tribe?"

"."

After a moment's hesitation, Lou Ji crossed her arms and tapped her fair chin with a slender index finger, her emerald eyes gleaming with a sinister light like a snake's tongue.

"Yes, an agreement should have been reached, but the two sides lack a foundation of mutual trust, and the situation remains deadlocked."

"The foundation of mutual trust?"

Xu Yuan murmured to himself, having figured out the cause and effect, and was somewhat speechless.

Even if the sect wanted to allow the Barbarian Tribe to pass through and head north, the Barbarian King would not dare to trust the sect too easily.

The Barbarian Tribe Alien King was probably well aware of the sect's purpose and knew that the sect did not want the Barbarian Tribe's strength to weaken too much, but this was a matter of losing one's head, and the heads of most of the tribe's fighting soldiers.

The Barbarian Tribe Alien King was unaware that his sect did not possess the Cloud Qi Bomb.

If, while they are taking a detour, the sect, disregarding martial ethics, suddenly throws a ' Cloud Qi Bomb,' the accumulated snow clouds will be completely dispersed, forcing the Barbarian Tribe tribes to engage in a decisive battle with the sect in the wild.

And engage in a decisive battle in the wilderness against the elite forces of the Great Yan.

After a moment of contemplation,

Xu Yuan exhaled a puff of white mist and looked at Lou Ji, asking:

"Sister, if you were to travel from Beifeng to Dali Mountain, how long would it take?"

Lou Ji replied without hesitation:

"Without concealing one's aura, traveling at full speed for half a day is sufficient, but if one wants to conceal one's aura, it will take at least two days, or even longer."

Two days?

Xu Yuan lowered his eyes and murmured, then smiled and said, "It's been almost five days since the Barbarian Tribe army besieged the city. That Barbarian Tribe Alien King should know very well that he doesn't have much time left and must make a choice as soon as possible."

Lou Ji looked at Xu Yuan with a smile in her eyes and continued:

"Oh? What choice?"

Xu Yuan smiled and exhaled a puff of white mist, looking at the falling snow outside:

"Should we choose to gamble everything and defend Beifeng City to the death, or should we completely trust the sect and go to Houting County to trap Marquis of Martial Achievement and Mr. Zong to death in the Northern Border?"

Speaking of this,

A hint of amusement flashed in Xu Yuan's eyes, but he didn't continue speaking.

As a seasoned intelligence operative, Lou Ji was naturally able to keenly observe the change in Xu Yuan's expression, and with slight displeasure, she pinched the soft flesh on his waist:

"Changtian, just say what you have to say. Are you going to hold back from your sister?"

Xu Yuan gasped in pain at his lower back and quickly took a step back.

"Stop, stop, stop! I'll talk, I'll talk, it's just a possibility."

Lou Ji chuckled softly and released her hand.

Xu Yuan rubbed his lower back and smiled helplessly:

"That Barbarian King is a madman; a madman's behavior cannot be judged by common sense."

"."

Lou Ji's eyes flickered slightly, and she instantly understood, saying softly:

"Changtian, are you saying that the Barbarian Tribe Alien King might not choose either path?"

Xu Yuan nodded and asked:

"Sister, what do you think of the defensive capabilities of the camps that the sect's elite troops built Beifeng City?"

Lou Ji recalled for a moment upon hearing this, then smiled and smiled:

"They're all just empty shells."

After a moment's pause, Lou Ji changed the subject:

"However, Changtian, although these sects are disgusting, their armies still have many capable people. The Barbarian Tribe Alien King should not choose to take the risk."

Xu Yuan shook his head, grinned, and asked:

"If they fight like dogs, that's a pleasant surprise. If they don't, we can just stick to the original plan, right? Yuan Hao is already waiting north of Houting County. Knowing that he can kill people, that psychopath is really excited."

As he spoke, Xu Yuan rubbed his arms, shivered, and turned to walk into the cave.

"It's so cold outside!"

Lou Ji watched his retreating figure, then took small, graceful steps to catch up.

"Changtian, that old fellow Zong Qingsheng said that Marquis of Martial Achievement's Beifeng Army didn't come down with him."

Xu Yuan paused, turning his head to look back:

"Didn't Mr. Zong try to persuade him?"

Persuading Marquis of Martial Achievement march south without revealing the Heavenly Message Crystal was indeed a skillful task.

However, for people of Zong Qingsheng's and Marquis of Martial Achievement's caliber, all their actions can basically be understood as "a war instinct".

After all, it was this "war sense" that allowed Zong Qingsheng to lay an ambush in advance and help Li Qingyan escape the siege of Dali Mountain.

After thinking for a moment, Xu Yuan hesitated and said:

"With just our 150,000 Black Scale Army, it would be difficult to maintain the defense line around Houting County."

Upon hearing this, Lou Ji raised her hand and pinched Xu Yuan's serious cheek, then said with a smile:

"Don't rush, sister. I only said that Marquis of Martial Achievement didn't go south, not that his Beifeng Army didn't go south. Of the Beifeng Army in the four towns of Snow Plain, he ordered two of them to go south with Zong Qingsheng. When they reached the Houting County, they were handed over to Wu Yuan for command."

Xu Yuan felt slightly relieved, but a hint of doubt appeared in his eyes.

It seems that Mr. Zong has successfully persuaded Marquis of Martial Achievement, but if that's the case, why would Marquis of Martial Achievement still leave two garrisons of troops in the Snow Plain Northern Border?

The south is concentrating its forces for a major strategic decisive battle. Marquis of Martial Achievement should understand the principle of using all his strength even when hunting a rabbit better than he does.

Lou Ji said softly:

"Changtian, don't overthink it. Marquis of Martial Achievement must have his reasons for doing this. Let's just focus on our own business."

A moment of silence,

Xu Yuan exhaled, walked to the table inside the cave, sat down, and asked:

"How long will it take for our people to reach the north of Houting County?"

We've arrived.

"What?"

"Hmm, the Black Scale Iron Cavalry and the Beifeng Iron Cavalry are a little faster than heavy infantry."