The Second Line of Defense Falls

Lu Shuang looked at him too.

"Lu Feng, what's your plan?"

Lu Feng leaned against the stone wall, remained silent for a few moments, and then spoke:

"There is a solution, but it depends on whether everyone is willing to accept it."

"Tell me quickly," Jiang Han leaned closer.

"No matter which pass the monster attacks next, we can't possibly know immediately. Even if we did, it would take time to get there. By the time we arrive, it will be too late."

"Isn't that obvious? We all know that," Lin Jingfeng muttered.

"Shut up."

Lu Shuang gave him a cold glance. Lin Jingfeng immediately fell silent.

"Instead of passively taking a beating, we should take back the initiative."

Lu Feng's gaze swept across everyone's faces.

My suggestion is for everyone to retreat to the second line of defense.

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone fell silent.

"What? Retreat to the second line of defense? Abandon the first line of defense?" someone asked in disbelief.

"Then what's the point of defending the first line of defense? Isn't that tantamount to admitting defeat?"

"If the higher-ups find out that we voluntarily abandoned the first line of defense, who will take responsibility?"

One question after another arose.

Even Jiang Han lowered his head and remained silent.

He believed that Lu Feng was not the kind of person who would give up easily. Just now on the battlefield, Lu Feng charged ahead alone and saved the lives of several Hua Jin masters.

But this time, he still couldn't figure it out.

"I see."

A cold, clear voice suddenly rang out.

Everyone turned to look, and there was Lu Shuang.

"What do you understand?" Lin Jingfeng pressed.

Lu Shuang glanced at Lu Feng, who nodded slightly, and then took out a map of Severed Cloud Pass from her bosom and unfolded it in front of everyone.

Her finger traced across the map, passing through the eight passes of the first line of defense one by one, finally stopping at the specially marked pass in the center of the second line of defense.

"Look, Severed Cloud Pass has three lines of defense. The first line has eight passes, distributed along the entire line. We are currently at the first line of defense."

Her finger moved along the blue line on the diagram.

"But the problem is that our people have also been divided into eight groups."

She raised her head, her gaze sweeping across the faces of everyone present:

"If the monsters concentrate their forces to attack any one of our passes, it will take at least an hour for the people at the other passes to get there."

"And the second line of defense!"

Her finger pressed heavily on the lone pass marker on the map.

"There's only one entrance. All our forces are concentrated in one place; however many monsters come, we'll hold them off. They can no longer defeat them one by one."

"Although the first line of defense has been lost, as long as the second line of defense is in our hands, Severed Cloud Pass is still in our control. Once reinforcements arrive, the first line of defense can be retaken at any time."

As soon as Lu Shuang finished speaking, Jiang Han was the first to react, and he slapped his thigh hard.

"I see!"

He strode over to the map, his finger tracing the narrow passage between the first and second lines of defense, his speech a few decibels faster than usual:

"There's a long distance between the first and second lines of defense."

Even if the demonic beasts breach the first line of defense, they won't be able to get many people in. That passage is too narrow; the main force can't spread out properly!

"The first line of defense was already narrow; once the monsters squeezed in, there was no way to spread out."

"We launched a counterattack from the second line of defense; they're trapped like turtles in a jar, none of them can escape!"

Everyone then finally understood.

The furrowed brows that were just moments ago began to relax one by one.

"A brilliant plan!"

A Grandmaster clapped his hands.

"This way, we can attack or defend as needed. As long as the monsters dare to come in, we can slowly wear them down and bury them all inside this pass!"

The atmosphere in the corridor visibly relaxed.

Although this approach means temporarily abandoning the first line of defense, as long as the second line of defense remains intact, the overall situation is still under control.

The way everyone looked at Lu Feng changed.

Even Lin Jingfeng no longer showed any resentment when he looked at Lu Feng.

Having been humiliated at Drunken Immortal House, he had originally planned to get revenge once his strength surpassed Lu Feng's.

But just now outside the pass, he personally witnessed Lu Feng being besieged by twelve Demon King, yet he still remembered to save that Hua Jin master. He also saw Lu Feng single-handedly hold off more than a dozen Demon King, buying time for everyone to retreat. Those little thoughts of his had long since vanished.

This guy is not only good at fighting, but he's also quicker-witted than them.

At that moment, the tokens on the waists of Lu Feng, Lu Shuang, Jiang Han, and Lin Jingfeng all vibrated simultaneously.

Lu Feng took off the token, glanced at it, and froze.

A very faint line of text floated on the token, sent by Xiao Tianqi. It was short, only eight characters: "The second line of defense has been breached. Return to the city immediately."

He looked up and met Lu Shuang's gaze.

Her face was as somber as his.

Lin Jingfeng even flipped the token over to check it again, as if hoping he had misread it.

"What happened? Why do you all look so different?"

A Grandmaster nearby noticed something was wrong and quickly asked what was going on.

"The second line of defense has been breached by the monsters."

Lu Shuang's voice was low, but every word fell clearly into everyone's ears.

She paused, then added,

"It's still unclear exactly which checkpoint they broke through from."

"What? How is this possible?"

"We were just risking our lives to hold off the monsters for them outside the pass, how could the second line of defense have been breached?"

"Could the message have been sent incorrectly?"

Those who were just pleased with their plan to trap their prey are now forced to accept that their second line of defense has been breached.

What about all their previous efforts?

Lu Feng did not participate in the questioning.

He was certain the news was true.

Xiao Tianqi wouldn't make baseless accusations, much less joke about such a matter.

He exchanged a glance with Lu Shuang, Jiang Han, and Lin Jingfeng; none of them doubted the veracity of the news.

"Lu Feng, what do we do now?"

Lu Shuang spoke. Her tone was steady, but Lu Feng could hear the tension beneath.

Lu Feng didn't answer directly, but instead asked a question in return:

"The message instructs you to return to the third line of defense, or go directly back to the city?"

"Back to the city," the three said almost in unison.

Lu Feng took out a map, spread it on his lap, and scanned it repeatedly between the second and third lines of defense.

His finger moved slowly along that distance on the map, his brow furrowing more and more tightly.

Between the third and second lines of defense lies an open plain.

The third line of defense was also quite sturdy, with passes, high walls, and reinforced with array patterns.

Unless all the Great Grandmaster are committed to defending the third line of defense.

However, the higher-ups ordered them to return to the city, not to have the heads of the various departments guard the passes.

What does this mean? It means that the higher-ups had no intention of defending the third line of defense.

Lu Feng's finger stopped on the map, and his gaze darkened.

With the third line of defense breached, Severed Cloud Pass was completely lost.

Severed Cloud Pass lost, Shouyun City lies behind it, and beyond that lies most of the heartland of Yongzhou.

He didn't believe that the higher-ups couldn't even figure out this.

Unless they originally intended to abandon the third line of defense.