Lu Ran didn't have any authority in Stone City. All the matters were handled by Zhuge Qi and Lee Chao-young.
He came here to coordinate the relationship between the army and Stone City. Plus, Ye Tianze had an agreement that the Mixed Group couldn't interfere with the internal affairs of Stone City.
Lu Ran couldn't be bothered with how Stone City would develop in the future. However, he knew that he had to control the five thousand Tiger Guards.
This was his trump card, and his master, Ming Fu, was appointed as the Grand Commander of the Tiger Guards in Stone City. Every day, he would report to him about military affairs.
However, when Lu Ran saw the guards dressed like buns, he felt that something was wrong. He went to find Master Ming personally.
"What's going on? How are you going to fight dressed like this?"
Lu Ran's face was cold. "Give me an explanation immediately."
Master Ming was still in awe of Lu Ran. After all, he wasn't just the Stone City's Inner Secretary, he was also the Inner Secretary of the East Hall of the Human Emperor Palace.
But this time, he clearly wasn't going to tell Lu Ran the truth. He had been playing dumb with Lu Ran, saying that wearing an extra layer of armor would increase his defense.
Lu Ran wasn't stupid. The Tiger Guards were the elites of the White Tiger Army. Their armor was tailored to the enemies they faced on the battlefield.
As the Inner Secretary, he was in charge of military supplies. How could he not know that Master Ming was playing dumb with him?
"Tell me, what's going on?" Lu Ran asked.
He didn't suspect that the Tiger Guards would betray the army. As elites, they had a clean background. They were all warriors who had been through hundreds of battles. Their loyalty was definitely not a problem.
Just as Master Ming was about to continue playing dumb, there was a sudden burst of rapid bell ringing from within the stone city.
Lu Ran immediately stood up. It was the sound of an enemy attack. Master Ming bowed and said, "Lord Inner Secretary, after this battle, I will give you a satisfactory explanation."
"You!"
Lu Ran's face darkened. He was sure that Master Ming was hiding something from him.
However, he knew that a great battle was imminent, and it was not the time to dwell on this matter. He then went to the top of the city wall. The Tiger Guards had already prepared for battle. The ballistae on the city wall lit up with the light of the array patterns, ready to fire.
When Lu Ran arrived, he saw a large army of the Celestial Race on the eastern side of Mount Buzhou. They were clad in golden armor, with bows and crossbows in their hands, swords hanging on their waists, sabers hanging on their waists, and huge shields in their hands. They slowly marched towards Shi City, marching in unison.
The Shen Clan's army continued to emerge from the mountains. Their armor glowed with a dazzling light. Even from tens of thousands of feet away, it was still dazzling.
"Golden Armored Divine Guards, these are the elite Golden Armored Divine Guards of the God Clan. Looking at the formation … there are at least ten thousand of them!" Many people stood on the city walls.
There were Tiger Guards and geniuses, but the Tiger Guards were not afraid. If one looked closely, they could even see some excitement on their faces.
However, the young geniuses were different. Previously, when they faced the allied army of the three races, there were less than a thousand of them. The enemy had fought a battle to the death with the Wu people, and they had suffered heavy losses.
But now, there were ten thousand Shen Clan members here, and they were all in peak condition. They walked out of the mountains and arrived at the plains east of Shi City. They slowly stopped when they were ten thousand feet away.
The terrifying divine aura made the geniuses' breathing quicken, and their scalps tingle. Ten thousand Divine Guards filled the open plains in front of them.
The spiritual beasts that were originally cruising on the plains sensed the danger and disappeared without a trace.
"Look to the south!" shouted a Tiger Guard who was observing.
Everyone looked over and saw the thunderous sound of hooves coming from the northeast. The sky was filled with a bloody aura, and a wave of demonic aura came.
Soon, the Yao Clan appeared. This was an army formed by the various tribes of the Yao Clan. Compared to the Shen Clan's uniform army, they were very scattered.
However, their aura was no weaker than that of the Celestial Race. There were Ox Demons wielding battle axes, Divine Apes clad in battle armor, Dragon Eagles riding on dragons, and Wolf Riders galloping on both sides, howling like wolves.
"The Yao King's Imperial Guard!"
The humans on the city walls looked at the Yao Clan coming from Buzhou Mountain.
Ten thousand Golden Armored Divine Guards were already terrifying enough, but they didn't expect the Yao Clan to send another ten thousand Yao King's Imperial Guard.
"The Yao Clan's Imperial Guard is on par with the Tiger Guards of the White Tiger Corps. In a direct confrontation, twenty thousand Tiger Guards are a match for the Yao Clan's Imperial Guard," said Lu Ran.
"The Golden Armored Divine Guards in front of us are even more terrifying. Only fifty thousand Tiger Guards are a match for them."
The geniuses' faces turned ugly. With just five thousand Tiger Guards, not to mention defeating the Shen Clan, they couldn't even resist the Yao Clan.
However, this wasn't the worst part. At this moment, a terrifying bloody aura gushed out from the north. This bloody aura covered the sky and covered a radius of ten thousand feet.
Under the bloody aura, soldiers wielding swords and wearing scarlet armor flew over. The black wings on their backs were wrapped in bloody aura, and the two horns on their heads flickered with red light.
"Shura Blood Servants!" Lu Ran almost fainted.
He knew that the foreign races wouldn't show mercy to the humans this time, but he didn't expect the three races to send their elites.
"Golden Armored Divine Guards, Yao Clan Imperial Guard, Shura Blood Servants!"
Lu Ran smiled bitterly, "It seems that the foreign races want to flatten Stone City!"
The geniuses' faces turned pale. In front of the elites of the three races, they felt their spirit energy tremble uncontrollably.
Even Master Ming showed a dignified expression. Five thousand against thirty thousand, there was still one race that hadn't appeared. It was the Wu people, who were on par with the Shen Clan. They were also the most terrifying enemy.
Master Ming knew that this would be a bloody battle. If it weren't for the equipment that Ye Tianze gave them, he wouldn't have any confidence at all.
But with this equipment, Master Ming knew that the five thousand Tiger Guards had the power to fight, but this power didn't include the Wu people. If the Wu people joined in, thirty thousand against five thousand, the Tiger Guards would only be able to injure the enemy. They wouldn't be able to win.
They couldn't defend Stone City!
Lu Ran's face was covered in cold sweat. He immediately ordered someone to send a message to General Long Yan, asking him to lead a hundred thousand troops to reinforce.
But he knew that for an army to travel, even with flying shuttles, it would take at least a few hours to prepare. The fastest they could arrive here would be a few hours.
By the time General Long Yan arrived, it would be too late.
Looking at the gradually rising defensive array above his head, Lu Ran felt that it was extremely fragile. Although his stronghold had been upgraded to an advanced level stronghold, and the defensive crossbows on the city walls had increased by five thousand, he knew that they wouldn't be able to last long.
Suddenly, he thought of a person. Glancing around, he found that Zhou Chong, Dugu Nuoyan, and the other geniuses were on the city walls, but Ye Tianze wasn't there.
Lu Ran's expression changed. He thought that this guy didn't know that the foreign races were coming and ran away, right?
"Don't be so nervous, I won't run."
Ye Tianze's voice suddenly sounded. Looking at the army of the three races, his face was calm. "After so many years, these guys … have indeed improved, but it doesn't seem like they've improved much."
"What do you mean? This is the most elite army of the three races. There are thirty thousand of them, five times more than us!"
Lu Ran said, "At this time, you're still spouting nonsense? You've gone overboard, do you know that? Ye Tianze, you've gone overboard. For such an important place, you should have called General Long Yan over, but you only cared about your own interests, you … "
"What's wrong with thirty thousand troops?"
Ye Tianze said, "Six thousand against thirty thousand, it's a little difficult, but who says we can't win?"
"Win!"
Not only Lu Ran, but even Dugu Nuoyan and the others looked at Ye Tianze in disbelief. "Are you crazy?"
This was thirty thousand foreign races, and they were elites. If it was a one on one battle, these geniuses were confident that they could kill several times their number.
But this was a battle between armies. Unless one reached the Heaven Realm, the strength of an individual was insignificant in front of the power of an army.
In the previous battle, they had seen the power of the three races, and that was when they were exhausted from fighting the Wu people.
"The strategy of sowing dissension is useless, right?" Zhuge Qi asked.
"That depends on what it's used for."
Ye Tianze said, "Master Ming, immediately deploy the troops. When the three clans attack, don't leave the city. Wait until the three clans break through the formation, then press on. When we run out of crossbows, we will leave the city and fight them!"
"Leave the city!"
Lu Ran was furious. "As the White Tiger Army's internal secretary, I order you not to leave the city. If anyone dares …"
Ye Tianze's eyes flashed with killing intent, and he interrupted, "This is the first time, and I hope it will be the last. Don't question the commander's orders. Violators will be beheaded!"
Lu Ran took two steps back. His body was cold because he felt that Ye Tianze wanted to kill him.
"The five thousand Tiger Guards are the lifeblood of the White Tiger Army. If you can't protect them, you won't be able to atone for your crimes even if you die ten thousand times!" Lu Ran said.
"Let's wait and see."
Ye Tianze said, "Your father is wise."
"This subordinate is here." Master Ming stepped forward.
"Pass down my order. If anyone dares to question the commander's orders again, no matter who they are, they will be beheaded!" Ye Tianze said.
"Yes." Master Ming didn't hesitate.
He knew that in a battle, there could only be one commander. Otherwise, the morale of the army would be disrupted, and the army would collapse before the battle.
Lu Ran didn't expect Master Ming to betray him. However, at this moment, he felt the same as the other geniuses present. Ye Tianze was like a stranger. It was as if the usually easy-going youth had disappeared.
After a moment of silence, a scout hurried over. "Reporting to the City Lord. A hundred thousand soldiers from the Great Five Alliance have appeared behind us!"
Lu Ran's expression changed. He was about to speak, but he remembered Ye Tianze's orders and immediately shut his mouth.
Everyone present looked at Ye Tianze.
The situation was exactly the same as the battle a few months ago. However, the strength of both sides had changed.
However, they didn't expect that Ye Tianze wasn't nervous at all. Instead, he looked excited. "Good. I was afraid that you wouldn't come. Pass down my orders. Defend the east, north, and south with all your might."
Master Ming didn't understand and asked, "What about the rear?"
"The rear?"
Ye Tianze smiled. "Don't we have the hundred thousand soldiers from the Great Five Alliance behind us? The foreign tribes can't attack from the rear."
"Yes." Master Ming immediately sent someone to pass down the order.
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