"My lord, this way, please."
When Xu Hu led Chen Qing past a place where soldiers' corpses were still being collected, this place was perpetually covered in snow and wind because of the spell cast by the dragon before its death. If people who died here were not moved away within a short time, they would be completely buried by the snow and wind, and it would be quite troublesome to get them out. If they were dug out, they would most likely turn into frozen scraps.
"It's alright, let me see." As Chen Qing passed by the soldiers collecting the corpses, they all quickly saluted. Chen Qing returned the salute, looked at the corpses scattered on the ground, and asked, "Have the losses been great these past few days?"
"Not small," Xu Hu said with a wry smile. " North Sea City is our only outpost in order to provide support for Lord Ziyue at any time. Ever since the Yin-Yang Road was transformed into the Underworld, the giant pythons' attacks have never stopped. In the past ten days, we have lost more soldiers than in the previous six months."
Chen Qing frowned upon hearing this.
Shen Qi frowned and asked, "Why are you moving directly to Northern Wolf City?"
There's a contract in Northern Wolf City that supposedly prevents the giant python from attacking that area.
"There are two reasons," Xu Hu sighed. "The first is that Lord Ziyue won't let us station troops there. The situation there is extremely special. Although it's now our territory, it's only because the royal family has pledged allegiance to us. In reality, several powerful families there still have the ability to rebel at any time. If we station troops there and encounter a family rebellion, and then our stronghold in North Sea City is cut off, we'll truly be trapped like turtles in a jar."
"So the royal family has sided with us?" Chen Qing suddenly realized.
I see
The Divine Path Style can bestow titles upon a piece of land because of the legitimacy of that land. When he was appointed as the prefect of Liuzhou, he gained legitimacy over Liuzhou. Thus, he was able to use the Divine Path Style's methods to establish power in Liuzhou. The Underworld can also directly bestow titles.
So it's not necessary to occupy a place to make it yours. This time it's the same. The royal family became your vassal state, so the Northern Yan Kingdom became your territory. Naturally, it was also considered the land of the Divine Path Style sect, which is why Ziyue was able to open the Underworld there!
But what he was curious about was, how did Ziyue manage that?
Could it be that A Li seduced the emperor?
He knew a rule: even though A Li is now Transcendent, according to the rules, a local ruler has the blessing of Kingly Dao destiny. A Li can't even modify the other party's memories. There is only one way to make the other party listen to him, and that is to physically take him over.
Chen Qing didn't think Ziyue could persuade Ah A Li to seduce others.
That's a bit strange.
"What is the second reason?" Shen Qi continued to ask.
"The second reason is that we dare not test the waters lightly," Xu Hu said in a low voice. "The land of the Northern Wasteland has temporarily gained the privilege of not being invaded by the giant pythons, but that doesn't mean that privilege will last forever. The terrain of the Northern Wolf Kingdom is unique. If we go there, will it cause those giant pythons to change their minds and choose to attack the Northern Wolf Kingdom?"
Shen Qi nodded. "So that's how it is."
Xu Hu continued, "We still haven't found a way to defend against these burrowing giant pythons. In Northern Wolf City, we are all composed of the Fighter Army, and our logistics rely on that unbreakable ice road, so we are barely safe, although the cost is quite high."
Chen Qing immediately understood what the other party was saying. Although North Sea City had been occupied, no civilians had been moved here. All those who came here were Fighter Army with considerable fighting power. If attacked, they would all have the strength to fight back. At worst, it would just be a war of attrition. You kill a few of my Fighter Army, and I can kill one of your giant pythons. In the long run, it might not be worth it for you.
But the situation is different if the Northern Wolf Kingdom is attacked. There are a large number of ordinary civilians there. If those people are attacked by the giant python, the Northern Wolf Kingdom will be ruined, and any future passages that we want to open will likely be in trouble.
No wonder Xu Hu chose to stay here.
This place serves to both deter the Heavenly Python Palace from acting recklessly and prevent them from going too far, maintaining a delicate balance.
However, the cost is considerable, both in terms of the losses suffered by the Fighter Army and the logistical burden. Currently, Jiangnan has a strong foundation and can barely hold on for a while, but this is not a long-term solution.
"My lord," Xu Hu scratched his head, "Does Your Majesty have any ideas on how to deal with these cave snakes? To be honest, these things are far too cunning."
Chen Qing sighed. If this thing wasn't so shameless, how could the Heavenly Python Palace have had such an advantage in the early stages? Was it just because it produced more offspring?
"It can't be solved on the main battlefield, but there's still a chance."
"An opportunity?" Xu Hu quickly asked, "What kind of opportunity is Your Excellency referring to?"
These past few days, he had been thoroughly exhausted by these burrowing pythons. In fact, with the current combat strength of the Battle God Army, four or five soldiers could easily deal with an ordinary giant python that charged out. However, these creatures were elusive and unpredictable, which almost forced Xu Hu to adopt a one-on-one night watch method to deal with them.
Every time a soldier falls asleep, another soldier must stand guard beside him to ensure his safety to the greatest extent possible. Even so, they are occasionally ambushed.
The soldiers were constantly on edge, especially in this freezing cold place; no soldier could endure it for long.
But staying too long isn't good either. The longer they stay here, the more experience they gain, and the higher their survival rate. Sending veterans back to rest and bringing in new recruits will only lead to greater casualties.
For a time, Xu Hu was truly at a loss.
"If only we could control a few Earth Mother."
"Control Earth Mother?" Xu Hu was taken aback.
"Hmm," Chen Qing nodded. Snakes don't move underground by sight, but by heat. If there is a creature with equally strong heat sensing, it can detect the invasion of a giant snake from a great distance.
The underground battle only had an advantage in the second version. In the third version, the powerful demons' divine senses were incredibly strong; they could see you clearly even if you came from the earth's core, let alone from underground. But in the current version, only the giant python can sense the giant python's attack from a great distance.
That's really messed up; things like Earth Mother are very difficult to tame.
unless
Chen Qing thought of a possibility, but still hesitated.
"That will require some time; it's not possible to do it for now," Chen Qing said frankly.
Xu Hu nodded upon hearing this. "It's alright, my lord, there's no need to worry. The soldiers are getting used to it more and more, and the casualties will decrease over time. We also have specially made dried meat and vegetables, making transportation very convenient, so the pressure won't be too great. We can hold out for a year or two without any problem!"
One or two years
Chen Qing looked around and smiled bitterly; this was likely going to kill millions.
He can't afford to go through this kind of drain; we have to come up with a solution.
"By the way, what else do you know about Northern Wolf City?"
"I don't know much," Xu Hu said in a low voice. "That place is very complicated. Senior Ziyue came to tell me about the situation herself. Because she was afraid that the letters would be intercepted on the way, there has been no correspondence between us for some time."
"What did they say?" Chen Qing asked quickly.
"Ten days ago," Xu Hu said, bowing his head as he recalled, "That day, Senior Ziyue suddenly returned and gave me some information, saying that the Northern Wolf Kingdom would be taken down by the day after tomorrow at the latest, and that we should prepare to resist the Heavenly Python forces."
"I was quite surprised at the time, because Lord Ziyue didn't have a single soldier. I also had some intelligence over there, and it seemed that the various families were fighting fiercely for control. How could the entire Northern Wolf Kingdom suddenly become our territory?"
"But Lord Ziyue didn't explain much, only saying that the royal family of the Northern Wolf Kingdom would submit to us and openly pledge allegiance. Once they openly submit, we can directly establish the Underworld there and bestow titles upon other gods."
"When I first heard this, I found it unbelievable, but Lord Ziyue wouldn't lie about something like this, so I mobilized troops and strengthened the defenses. And indeed, the day after Lord Ziyue left, the Northern Wolf Kingdom declared its submission to us, and as Lord Ziyue said, Northern Wolf City suffered several days of rather fierce attacks!"
"What about the Underworld?" Unable to obtain useful information, Chen Qing asked the next question, " The Northern Wolf Kingdom was able to establish its Underworld instantly because it surrendered to us, but that's not the case with North Sea City. This location is quite dangerous. I remember Wei Gongcheng saying that they didn't send any underworld soldiers to attack the North Sea Underworld. How did they take over the Underworld here?"
Previously, North Sea City had not been within Chen Qing's scope of attack. The reason was simple: the Yin-Yang Road included the sea area. If war broke out, the entire vast territory of the Underworld in the North Sea would have to be opened, which was extremely dangerous. Currently, the Underworld's forces were insufficient, and Chen Qing originally did not intend to continue expanding until it reached a certain scale.
But this time, Xu Hu captured North Sea City without hesitation. Why was that?
You should know that the guild members are already familiar with the Divine Path Style and have certainly observed how we occupied the southeast. Once we start our invasion again, they will definitely try to coordinate with the Yin-Yang Road from the inside.
The same applies to the North Sea. If it were me, once Xu Hu began attacking North Sea City, I would definitely join forces with others and gather a large number of giant pythons to restrain his troops and prevent Xu Hu from easily capturing the city. If we could hold out for more than three days, given the current strength of the Underworld, it would definitely be unable to hold out against the extremely long North Sea defense line and would have no choice but to retreat.
However, according to Wei Gongcheng, Ziyue only asked them to hold out for one day that day, and the defense was quieter than expected. Throughout the entire process, not a single evil spirit was discovered. After the border of the Underworld was opened, not a single evil spirit came to the long North Sea region.
Xu Hu fought for three days to capture North Sea City, but during those three days, there was no movement from the Yin-Yang Road.
This is something that Shen Family and Wei Gongcheng still can't understand.
Chen Qing couldn't understand it either.
"Well," Xu Hu scratched his head, "I'm not entirely sure of the specific reason, but it seems to be related to Nezha, the one you raised, Master."
" Nezha?" Chen Qing fell into deep thought. Was he really Ghost Child?
But even if the Ghost Child has reached the Transcendent, it shouldn't be able to have such a significant effect, Ziyue. What exactly did it do?