At dusk, the mountains dimmed. After the day's bitter fighting, corpses lay piled like mountains on Soul-Rending Mountain, and the setting sun cast an added pall of desolation over them.
The exhausted Great Qian soldiers dared not linger outside. They hurriedly sounded the gongs to withdraw and returned to camp to rest.
Sure enough, a fresh force attacked just after dark: Night-Owl Demons, who could see in the night.
But the Great Qian army was not unprepared. Cultivators stepped forward to cast illumination spells, and allied troops promptly moved in to relieve the crisis.
Because the camps were sensibly arranged, the various peaks and crossroads could support one another. The night raid soon ended in failure.
Over the next few days, Hou Lu continued deploying his troops and formations, fighting several major battles against the Great Qian army. Not only did he fail to harm them in the slightest, but he also lost several ridges, allowing them to press even closer.
The Great Qian army was in no hurry to advance recklessly. They fortified each step forward, proceeding steadily and securely.
Yue Province currently had ample funds, provisions, and troops, while experts were continually being transferred here. Through sheer attrition alone, they could grind their opponents to death.
Watching from the sidelines, Yin Changming saw things clearly. He sighed. "Zhang Wenxuan is a renowned Great Qian commander. He has campaigned far and wide for decades-how many strategies and tricks must he possess? Although Hou Lu has lived for centuries and can be counted among the wisest demons, he is still far inferior when it comes to warfare."
Elder Fu said, "Ultimately, he is a cultivator, not a commander."
Yin Changming added, "Actually, even if Hou Lu were skilled at campaigning, it would be useless. Yue Province's strength has grown enormously