An army had to give their subordinates a reason to fight for their lives to rally their morale. No one was willing to lose their lives carelessly.
Pang Guan had a reason to avenge his daughter's humiliation. Everyone would benefit if he replaced Hao Defang.
On the other hand, Hao Defang was quelling a rebellion. Her subordinates were fighting to protect their own interests. After a bloodbath, those who contributed would rise to the top.
This was not a battle between a few people that could be driven by friendship and emotions. This was a war fought by countless people. Regardless of whether the reason was honorable or not, they had to at least let others know what they were fighting for!
Pang Guan and Hao Defang were fighting, and no one knew who would emerge victorious. With both sides fighting, and Your Majesty's promise, it is a great opportunity for our army to occupy Mao Road! These were the exact words that Miao Yi had his generals convey to the army. He was blatantly telling everyone that they were going to occupy Mao Road's territory!
With just a few words, the Netherworld army was in an uproar. Trapped in the Netherworld for so many years, the glory they had lost was instantly ignited.
The army had gathered and sharpened their claws for many years, waiting for this day. Like a hidden dragon emerging from the abyss, the soldiers from the Netherworld!
Hundreds of thousands of troops suddenly appeared in the phantom market and surrounded the Pavilion of Loyalty. They were the Netherworld troops who had stayed behind.
Inside the Pavilion of Loyalty, Cao Man stood by the window and looked at the waning lights outside. She asked blankly, "Has the Netherworld army set off?"
Wei Shu replied, "They have. How does Niu Youde intend to fight this battle?"
Cao Man replied, "I'm not sure. He refused to reveal his battle plans and only asked us to cooperate. We can only make a judgment after the situation unfolds. This is also our weakness. The Old Master is used to hiding his family's power behind the scenes. For so many years, the Xiahou family's inner core has lacked the foresight to lead troops in battle. "
Wei Shu nodded slightly, "Everyone says that he is good at war. Moreover, he had planned this beforehand. He won't be too bad."
Celestial Court's Li Palace, inside the grand hall.
Qing Zhu turned with interest and asked, "Niu Youde sent troops to surround the Pavilion of Loyalty?"
Sima Wentian nodded, "Yes. The news from the phantom market has been confirmed."
Standing in front of the star compass, Wu Qu raised his head and replied, "Clearly, he is afraid that the Xiahou family will take advantage of this opportunity to stir up trouble. He is a decisive person."
Qing Zhu raised an eyebrow and said, "Since the Xiahou Family is supporting Pang Guan so much, I wonder how they plan to restrain Niu Youde. We will wait and see."
Sima Wentian said, "Niu Youde has been flirting with Cao Man for a long time now. House Xiahou is probably the least likely to interfere with Niu Youde's plans."
The people of the Netherworld surrounded the Pavilion of Faith and Justice, instantly alerting various forces.
In the study room of Heavenly King Guang's Mansion, Lord Guang asked the same question as Lord Qing, "Did Niu Youde send troops to besiege the Hall of Faith?"
In the residence of the Kou Heavenly King, Kou Lingxu, who was staring at the star compass, muttered, "Surround the Pavilion of Faith and Justice? It seems like Niu Youde really obeyed the imperial edict and sent out his troops. I wonder what benefits Lord Qing promised him! "
Tang Henian said, "I don't think there's anything else that can tempt him apart from a fiefdom."
Kou Zheng stopped the Star Bell in his hand. "The spies in the Netherworld sent the last message before the army assembled and cut off the communication. Niu Youde's purpose was clear. The Green Master gave him the Mao Road territory."
Tang Henian said, "As expected. The Green Master really had a good plan. Even if Niu Youde helped Hao Defang out of his predicament, Hao Defang wouldn't be willing to give it up so easily."
Kou Lingxu stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes. "The Netherworld army has been building up their strength for a long time. Their morale can be used. Whoever commands the southern army will have a headache!"
In the vast starry sky, a hundred people were at the front to scout the path, a hundred were at the back to guard the rear, a hundred were at the left and right sides to protect the four flanks, and a hundred were at the center as the center. They maintained a distance that could be seen with the transcendence eye as they sped through the starry sky at full speed. Every single one of them was either excited or cold. Their eyes revealed their determination to make a comeback.
Inside the storage space, the densely packed troops were either sitting cross-legged or wiping the weapons in their hands.
Even though Xing had changed his appearance, he had donned his battle armor as well. Inside his storage space, Miao Yi and a few other Commanders were gathered around the star chart compass, constantly analyzing the situation of the battle and issuing orders to the others.
Not too far away from them was the communication center formed by the troops of the former Netherworld Command Manor. They were constantly receiving information from Pang Guan and Hao Defang's troops, quickly determining their positions on the star atlas, and relaying the situation to Miao Yi and the others.
Traversing Tyrannical and the others were astonished by Miao Yi's intelligence gathering abilities. It was understandable that Miao Yi could grasp the movements of Hao Defang's troops, but he could even grasp the movements of Pang Guan's troops. They wondered how much effort the Governor had put into the southern army over the years.
What did it mean to have deep foresight? This was what it meant to have deep foresight. It was evident that the Viceroy had been making preparations for the army to charge out of the netherworld for a long time. Just this intelligence gathering ability alone was enough to make Tyrannical Dao and the others feel deep veneration for him. For a war on the battlefield, what could be more important than information? Being able to predict the enemy's movements meant that one could make accurate judgments, minimizing situations that were disadvantageous to oneself, and minimizing losses as much as possible.
The vanguard of the army charged straight through a star gate and emerged from the void. Hao Defang's troops stepped aside and watched as the Netherworld army quickly passed through.
"We've successfully passed!" Nangong Ruyu, who had gone out for a short while, returned to the command center in her storage space and reported to everyone.
Huang Li immediately pointed to the direction the army was heading in and said, "Governor, if we keep going straight, the next star gate will be the Mao Road's territory. That can be considered a relatively important pass, and there are already ten million troops gathered there. I'm afraid a huge battle is about to break out!"
Miao Yi stared at the astrolabe and said, "That's not my target. Once we enter, we'll be able to kill our way through. Don't get entangled!"
Everyone exchanged glances. 'What does he mean?'
Miao Yi quickly fiddled with the astrolabe and created a star chart. He pointed to a star gate and said, "This is the entrance to the Yingui Domain from the Ziwu Domain."
Everyone stared at him. Traversing Tyrannical said, "The Yingui Domain is Pang Guan's base. The passage between the Ziwu Domain and the Yingui Domain is the closest path for Hao Defang's personal army to take. You can also say that it's the only way for Hao Defang's personal army to reach them."
Miao Yi nodded and said, "That's right. Hao Defang's personal army is rushing towards this place like a hot knife through butter. They can't possibly take a detour to save Hao Defang. They can only forcefully break through this pass and save Hao Defang as soon as possible. Pang Guan had obviously realized this as well. From the reports he received, Pang Guan is currently mobilizing a large number of troops to gather here. He must be doing everything he can to stop them. Hao Defang's troops have been tampered with by the Xiahou Clan, so they can't be mobilized smoothly. If they cooperate with Pang Guan's troops, they will be restrained at every turn. On the other hand, Pang Guan doesn't have this problem, and neither does Hao Defang's personal army. That's why this place will be the key to the decisive battle. It'll be a pity if we don't join in on the fun! "
Everyone exchanged glances. 'The decisive battle is indeed the key, but can we really handle it if we go to such a crucial place?'
Mai Zi said in a clear voice, "Governor, please reconsider. Hao Defang's personal army is made up of the elites of Hao Defang's troops. There are eighty million of them. If Pang Guan wants to stop them, he'll have to gather at least twice that number. In a chaotic battle between two to three hundred million troops, I'm afraid we'll suffer heavy losses with only fifty million troops!"
Miao Yi said, "Hao Defang's eighty million elite troops have only been attacking and not defending in order to reinforce Hao Defang. They've already lost more than ten million troops along the way. Pang Guan's troops still have to coordinate with the Xiahou Clan's movements to restrain the other reinforcements. In the end, the number of troops that can be gathered here is only around two hundred million. Once these troops are gathered here, it'll be the same as exhausting all the forces around Pang Guan's nest. It'll be difficult to gather reinforcements again in a short period of time. What will be the outcome of the bloody battle between Hao Defang's elite troops and Pang Guan's forces? By the time we arrive, both sides will have lost at least half of their forces, and they'll be exhausted as well. Once we arrive, we'll be able to easily crush either side! "
Everyone was a little confused as they listened. They didn't know what Miao Yi was talking about. It sounded plausible, but there were flaws everywhere. The Governor shouldn't be this muddle-headed. What was he trying to do?
Nangong Ruyu said, "By the time we arrive, I'm afraid the outcome of their battle will already be decided."
Miao Yi tapped on the astrolabe and said, "That's why we need to take a shortcut. We'll take the shortest route and thrust our way through!"
Everyone was shocked. Heng Wudao calculated with his fingers, then said in a deep voice, "Governor, the territories of the Mao Road, the Fifth Road, and the Sixth Road are interconnected. If we take a shortcut from here, we'll have to pass through thirty-three star gates. Among them, we'll have to pass through the boundary of the Mao Road thirteen times. There's no way Pang Guan will let us pass through so easily. There will definitely be many obstructions along the way. By the time we arrive, we'll already be exhausted. Governor, it's not appropriate to thrust our way through! I don't think it's important whether we can save Hao Defang or not. What's important is that we've done our best. The best choice we can make now is to annihilate Pang Guan's forces as much as we can with Hao Defang's forces. This way, Pang Guan won't be able to do much, and we'll be able to preserve our strength as much as possible. That way, we won't run out of manpower when it comes time to divide our territories! "
"Do you really think they'll hand over the Mao Road so easily? I'm afraid it'll be our turn to fight the Hao Faction's forces to the death after this is over! " Miao Yi calmly nodded, then stopped talking about it. He raised his hand and said, "There's no need to discuss this any further. I've made up my mind. Speed is paramount in war. It's settled then!"
Everyone felt helpless, but at the same time, they felt that there was something fishy about this matter.
Not long after, the army passed through a star gate and finally came face to face with the Pang Faction's forces.
The entire Netherworld Army was dispatched, and they were easily routed. It didn't take much effort at all. Miao Yi and the others followed the army and revealed themselves. They quickly hid back in the command center and continued on their way.
Just like that, the Pang Faction's ten million troops were routed. The process was so smooth that Traversing Tyrannical and the others found it hard to believe. Could it be that the Netherworld Army had become so ferocious after lying dormant for so many years?
After that, the Netherworld Army's advance was similarly smooth. When they passed through the Fifth Earthly Road and the Fourth Road, the Hao Faction's forces naturally let them pass. Meanwhile, the Pang Faction's forces were also easily routed by the Netherworld Army. Along the way, everything they saw and heard made Traversing Tyrannical and the others realize that their judgment was wrong. They seemed to have underestimated their own forces' strength. The Governor's previous judgment was the correct one.
As the battle progressed, the Netherworld Army's morale soared. They realized that they were actually this powerful, and that the enemy couldn't even withstand a single blow from them. The apprehension they felt before the battle was completely gone.
Deep within the Kou Manor, Kou Lingxu stood in front of the astrolabe. He slowly tilted his head to look at Tang Henian beside him and asked, "You've successfully broken through again?"
Tang Henian said with a serious expression, "This is already the fifth wave of troops the Netherworld Army has routed. Counting them, we've already routed over seventy million troops from the Pang Faction! According to the reports from our scouts along the way, the Netherworld Army's offensive is very fierce. The Pang Faction's forces couldn't even withstand a single blow from them. They couldn't hold them back at all. In comparison, the strength of Hao Defang's forces is far inferior! "
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