White Cloud City today is very different from what it used to be.
The Southern Barbarians have a custom of celebrating with bonfires, and in the past few days, bonfires and Southern Barbarians soldiers could be seen everywhere in the city.
Those beast-like soldiers would take off their shirts in the heavy snow, drink until their bodies were flushed, and decide the fate of a beautiful woman from the Central Plains based on their drinking capacity. The loser would fall drunk and collapse, while the winner would laugh and engage in public debauchery. The cries of women and the savage laughter of beasts filled the air, with joy and humiliation coexisting. The men could only hide in their houses, like ostriches burying their heads in the sand, covering their ears.
But tonight is different. The bonfire feast that was usually a regular occurrence is absent today. The streets of White Cloud City are eerily quiet, with patrolling soldiers who, upon spotting someone on the street, will not hesitate to chop off their head without even asking questions.
"What's going on?"
In the alley, Jiang Xiaoling looked on with a puzzled expression at this unusual scene. Just now, they were blocked by a group of patrol soldiers in the alley. If it weren't for the dozen or so Southern Barbarians soldiers who had been turned into puppets and were providing cover for Painted Skin, they would probably have been surrounded and attacked long ago.
"Curfew is in effect," Painted Skin Mister said, gazing outside. " The Southern Barbarians have lax military discipline. Every time they conquer a place, they like to celebrate wildly with excessive drinking. This is mainly because the cities in the Southern Wilderness are easy to defend and difficult to attack. Once they are captured, it is difficult to reclaim them. Only a small number of troops are needed to guard them, while the rest can celebrate and revel every night. It is because of this characteristic that they were beaten so badly by Lu Ming's counterattacks that they cried for their parents, and they still haven't learned their lesson."
"The fact that the curfew could be imposed earlier this time suggests only one possibility: the commander of these Southern Barbarians soldiers is someone with intelligence who predicted an attack on White Cloud City tonight and made preparations well in advance."
"Someone with intelligence?" Jiang Xiaoling was taken aback.
"That's the only possibility," Painted Skin Mister sneered. "The nature of these Southern Barbarians is to be unruly. Forcing them to obey military discipline will only backfire. Only when there's an emergency can you get them to take things seriously. What did I say this morning? From the very beginning, this was a trap. Do you believe me now?"
"You judged it to be a trap just because of that?" Jiang Xiaoling sneered.
With rare patience, Painted Skin said, "The imperial court has a cooperative relationship with the Southern Barbarians, so it's impossible for them to suddenly send troops to attack here. In the world today, besides the imperial court, the only other forces in the Central Plains that can openly confront the Southern Barbarians are the South Sea, the East Sea China Sea, Heavenly Capital, and Jiangnan. Geographically speaking, all four forces are possible, but in terms of the situation, only two forces have the capability."
" The East Sea and the South Sea are emerging powers. They have each occupied the Ancient Dragon Palace and are desperately digesting the ancient heritage there. In just six months, even with extraordinary abilities, it's impossible for them to send troops!"
"And now, the only places in the world qualified to send troops are Jiangnan and Heavenly Capital."
" Heavenly Capital an old power with close ties to that person in the East Sea, but they are also wary of each other. No one can say for sure how much power Heavenly Capital has now, but the possibility of them sending troops is very small. One reason is the terrain; the southeast region is not favorable to Heavenly Capital. The second reason is that their interests are intertwined. Heavenly Capital is extremely vigilant towards the East Sea, fearing that someone might return to take control of Heavenly Capital again. You must know that there are still quite a few forces within Heavenly Capital who believe in that person."
"Without sending troops to the East Sea, Heavenly Capital should not act rashly."
"After eliminating Heavenly Capital, only Jiangnan, with its strong national power and numerous soldiers and generals, has the capability to launch a proactive attack. The border between Southeast Commandery and Jiangnan is extremely long, and Southern Capital, with its four cities, could be the first priority target for attack. Why choose your White Cloud City specifically?"
"Is this city most strategically valuable or does it have the most resources?" Painted Skin Mister chuckled, looking at Jiang Xiaoling. "Neither. It's because this city has you!"
Jiang Xiaoling: "."
"You issued that inexplicable summons, and Chen Qing of Jiangnan most likely sensed it as well. He was already planning to annex the southeast, so with this, he'll naturally prioritize attacking White Cloud City. If I'm not mistaken, this time, he might even come in person!"
"Do you value me that much?" Jiang Xiaoling asked with a smile.
" Chen Qing is different from us. He clearly knows more than we do, so he should understand your importance better than we do. Chen Qing should be the one who understands best what updated intelligence means, so it's not surprising that he's willing to go to such lengths."
"Then why do you say this is a trap?"
"Because that person hasn't made a move yet!" Painted Skin sneered. "Half a year ago, he started planning to withdraw troops from the capital in order to set up a trap in Jiangnan. And this time, with your help, the chances of him luring Chen Qing to come in person are even greater. Kid, I'm afraid you won't be able to save your loved one tonight."
"What do you mean?" Jiang Xiaoling's face immediately turned cold. "You promised me!"
"I do want to know your secret, but I don't want to die even more." Painted Skin shook its head slightly. "He must have come here too." As it spoke, Painted Skin gently moved its fingers. At this moment, Jiang Xiaoling clearly saw extremely fine threads on the other party's old fingers.
He looked up along the silken thread and was immediately startled. Only then did he realize that there seemed to be a layer of transparent creatures wriggling above their heads.
"This is Youyun Jellyfish, which I obtained in the East Sea six months ago. I've been able to hide from him thanks to this thing for the past six months. But no matter how good its concealment is, I still have to avoid giving myself away. That guy is probably already in this city. If I make a move again, I'll really be asking for death!"
Jiang Xiaoling was completely confused, but he understood one thing: it seemed the other party intended to break the contract and abandon the rescue of his mother and sisters.
Just as he was about to retort, a sudden loud rumble shook the entire earth.
At five years old, he had never experienced anything like this before.
He fell straight to the ground, clutching his head. The violent sound was like a bomb, making his head buzz and leaving him unable to recover for a long time.
What's going on?
Jiang Xiaoling looked up and was surprised to find that, at some point, the sky above White Cloud City was filled with vibrant colors, with countless colorful corals densely covering the sky. At this moment, the sky above White Cloud City was as beautiful and fantastical as the seabed, which captivated him.
" East Sea Barrier!!" The Painted Skin looked up, a look of surprise flashing in its eyes.
"This guy actually set up the East Sea Barrier in White Cloud City? When did he set it up? Yesterday?"
Doesn't this mean that guy actually arrived in White Cloud City yesterday?
Thinking of this, Painted Skin felt a cold sweat slide down his back. Was it possible he had already been discovered?
"This is?"
Outside the city, Tian Heng, who had already organized a large army to besiege the city, was taken aback.
In order to quickly breach the city, he brought in the magic cannon that the academy had just developed. He had personally tested its power; one shot could overturn a mountain!
He aimed his cannons at the city wall, intending to break it down and then use the water formation to freeze White Cloud City instantly. The West Sea Army has been training on the ice for half a year, and those Southern Barbarians would be lambs to the slaughter if they were trapped in this terrain.
I never expected that the plan would be thwarted so soon after it had only taken its first step.
How could a city as simple as White Cloud City have a defensive formation comparable to those in Jiangnan?
" East Sea Barrier!" Not far away, Ao Zhen, seeing this scene, immediately exclaimed, " Heavenly Color Coral! It seems the development in the East Sea is going very smoothly; that guy actually mastered this kind of formation!"
Chen Qing was also amazed by this scene. He didn't understand how that guy could make such a fast progress. In just half a year, he was able to set up such a city-protecting formation in an instant. He didn't believe that the other party had been lying in ambush in White Cloud City all along, unless the summoner who appeared in White Cloud City was in cahoots with the King of Qin.
"This is troublesome," Ao Zhen frowned. " The Underworld has already opened. If we can't stop here, Shen Shiyi will probably be under a lot of pressure."
She had participated in the battle to recapture West Sea City and knew that every second was incredibly precious when the Underworld faced attacks from evil spirits. With the East Sea Barrier blocking their way, unless they retreated, they feared they wouldn't be able to withstand the stalemate.
But she also knew that initiating a Underworld annexation would consume a huge amount of energy, and they were already short of energy. If they retreated this time, Southern Capital would not have the opportunity to take the initiative to attack again for at least the next year.
"I'll do it."
Chen Qing sighed.
Upon hearing this, Tian Heng and Ao Zhen both looked at Chen Qing in astonishment.
Four more chapters to go!