Seven days later.
At the Mountain Villa, as battle reports arrived from the front.
Second Prince Cao Sheng frowned slightly.
"Black Iron City still hasn't fallen!"
Commandery Governor Huang bowed. "According to reports from the front, before our army launched its full-scale encirclement, the four border cities of Xilin Commandery voluntarily abandoned Biting Wind City, Red Gold City, and Nether Abyss City, concentrating all their forces in Black Iron City.
"Black Iron City's defenses are astonishingly formidable. Not only does it have multiple City-Protecting Grand Formations, but it also has large numbers of heavy defensive weapons and vast reserves of defensive resources.
"Led by two early-stage Saint Master realm cultivators, our army has besieged it for days on end, yet still hasn't breached the city."
Beside him, Commandery Governor Yin could not help speaking up.
"Second Prince, One Swarm has been running rampant along the northeastern borders of our Nanyang Commandery and Seven Star Commandery, taking several main cities in succession and plundering vast quantities of supplies.
"Even more hateful, every time this man takes a city, he throws open its treasuries, distributes large quantities of resources and treasures to the cultivators inside, and invites rogue cultivators and roaming bandits from all quarters to join him in plotting great undertakings.
"Now, whenever One Swarm reaches a city, its cultivators and common people not only fail to unite against their common enemy, but even welcome them in secret.
"And the bandits who have roamed the surrounding regions of the Feather Transformation Marquisate for years have heard the news and seen One Swarm brazenly committing crimes, drawing attention away from them.
"Now large numbers of roaming bandits really have poured into the two commanderies. Even local sects and factions have disguised themselves as bandits and begun attacking weaker main cities, hoping to