The Plan to Confront the Snake Horde

The mercenaries lay sprawled on the ground, panting heavily. They looked up at Xiao Yan, their eyes full of gratitude.

Although he had seen through their little schemes, Xiao Yan had not abandoned them because of it. That alone was enough.

At the thought, they hurriedly struggled to their feet, then dropped hard to their knees and kowtowed, tears of gratitude streaming down their faces.

"Thank you, Third Commander, for sparing our lives and coming to our aid. We will remember your kindness and remain loyal to the Desert Iron Mercenary Group."

Many others also spoke from the heart.

"That's right. If I, Huzi, don't die today, you'll be my dad from now on, and I'll follow you."

"Me too. I'd be willing to be the Third Commander's dog."

Xiao Yan paid them no mind, however. He simply waved his hand again, sending out a strand of soul power that lifted them all to their feet.

They felt warmth spreading through their bodies as an irresistible force of Dou Qi began to nourish them, slowly raising them up.

Once they had steadied themselves, the mercenaries looked at Xiao Yan again, their eyes full of shock.

From his Qi, they could clearly sense that Xiao Yan's Dou Qi cultivation was only at the Seven-Star Dou Zhe level.

Even the weakest among them was an Eight-Star Dou Zhe, and there were even Da Dou Shi and Dou Ling among them.

Yet he had knocked them all down with a wave of his hand. It was simply too unexpected.

But when they thought of the coming crisis, they were still terrified. One of them stepped forward and pleaded,

"Third Commander, what brilliant plan do you have to thwart the Snake-People Tribe's scheme?"

No one knew who had said it, but everyone chimed in, voicing their agreement.

"That's right, Third Commander! Seventy percent of the snake-type magical beasts in the desert are invading along with the Snake-People Tribe. Even with your ten Dou Wang on our side, I'm afraid we stand little chance of survival!"

Hearing this, Xiao Ding glanced at Xiao Yan and asked worriedly,

"He's right, Third Brother. We have few experts here to begin with, and the enemy is the Snake-People Empire, which rivals the entire inland region. Even if we sent word for help now, I'm afraid it would be too late."

At those words, Xiao Li's eyes also dimmed.

Clearly, he knew just how vast the gap between the two sides was.

Those ten Dou Wang had been brought over by Xiao Yan.

Stone Desert City's own defensive forces perhaps consisted of only a few low-level Da Dou Shi, plus the Dou Ling from earlier at most.

On the other side was the entire Snake-People Empire, with countless Da Dou Shi and Dou Ling, as well as the eight great leaders and Queen Medusa. The gap was simply too enormous.

Xiao Yan, however, smiled confidently and pushed Qing Lin forward, saying proudly,

"Don't worry, Big Brother. I've already thought of a countermeasure."

The youth crouched down, stroked the girl's cheek, and teased, "Isn't that right?"

With her cheek suddenly under attack, Qing Lin's little face turned red. She held her hands against her chest and fidgeted, answering softly,

"Mm!"

At the girl's sweet voice, everyone lowered the gazes they had fixed on Xiao Yan and finally noticed the little girl with the somewhat thin face.

What Xiao Yan had told them earlier had been so shocking that they had failed to notice anyone else beside him.

Xiao Ding even walked over, looked Qing Lin up and down, and reached out to pinch her little cheek. Astonished, he said,

"Third Brother, who's this little girl? Don't tell me your preferences..."

He recalled how Xiao Yan had always clung to Xun'er as a child, and now he had brought another little girl back with him.

Putting the two together, Xiao Ding suddenly realized what was going on. He studied the atmosphere between Xiao Yan and Qing Lin with a strange look in his eyes.

Hearing this, everyone else turned away and found ways to pass the time, not daring to anger Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan was speechless. He coughed irritably and explained,

"Don't let your imagination run wild. She's a little sister I just took in. Our relationship isn't what you think."

Then Xiao Yan rubbed Qing Lin's little head. He did not intend to reveal her identity just yet, and continued,

"This girl has a pair of special eyes that can control many snake-type magical beasts."

"There's still an hour until dawn, and the snake-type magical beasts will be the first to arrive. So you understand what I mean to do next, right?"

Xiao Li slapped his fist into his palm as realization dawned.

"So that's it! If we let this little girl control the strongest snake-type magical beasts as soon as they arrive, we'll get twice the result with half the effort when we deal with the Snake-People Empire."

Xiao Ding propped up his chin with his index finger and said thoughtfully,

"That makes sense. With them and the ten Fifth-Order Magical Beasts outside, we'll be perfectly capable of holding off the Snake-People Empire until reinforcements from the empire arrive."

With that in mind, he immediately waved his hand and ordered the city lord, who had just returned,

"City Lord, use your Dou Technique to hurry to the nearest city, Black Rock City, for reinforcements. Then go to the imperial capital and report the situation here to His Majesty. The faster, the better!"

The city lord nodded solemnly. "Yes, Commander!"

With that, he turned and unleashed his Dou Qi domain, transforming into a streak of light that sped into the distance, heading straight for Black Rock City.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yan spoke again.

"Besides that, there are some things I need to get. Everyone, go back and prepare for battle, or find somewhere to rest, or say goodbye to the people around you. Any of those will do."

"In any case, meet at the city gates in an hour."

With that, Xiao Yan likewise turned into an afterimage and darted out the door, quickly vanishing from everyone's sight.

Seeing how hurried he was, one mercenary could not help muttering, "The Third Commander ran off so fast. Don't tell me he got scared?"

But as soon as he finished speaking, the mercenary beside him punched him in the head and scolded,

"What nonsense are you spouting, brat? If the Third Commander feared death, why would he have come to tell us the news? Couldn't he have just taken the First and Second Commanders away?"

The man clutched his head. Though the pain was unbearable, he did not dare utter a word of protest.

After all, he was right. If Xiao Yan had really wanted to flee, he could have abandoned everyone in Stone Desert City and left with Xiao Ding and Xiao Li.

No matter how weak Xiao Yan himself was, he still had ten Fifth-Order Magical Beasts. Leaving the Tagor Desert would have been no difficult task.

Xiao Ding pondered for a long while, then shook his head helplessly and sighed. "In that case, everyone should make preparations."

He knew Xiao Yan's temperament well. Once he had made up his mind, he rarely changed it.

Rather than trying to force him to stay, it would be better to let nature take its course.

At that thought, his gaze fell on Qing Lin. He took her little hand and led her out of the hall to the Crimson Feather Bird, then said softly,

"This is a girl Third Brother just took in. Your next task is to protect her and bring her close to the snake-type magical beasts nearby..."

Meanwhile, Xiao Yan had already arrived at a patch of sand east of Stone Desert City.

He unfolded the Heavenly Flames map and examined it carefully for a moment, then called out to Yao Lao in the Storage Ring,

"This is one of the locations marked on the map. Hopefully we can find a Heavenly Flame here?"