On the fifteenth day of the fourth month, it was already spring in the Shattered Cauldron Realm. Hundreds of flowers bloomed in the forest, and the forest was covered in a layer of lush greenery. Early in the morning, a light drizzle had just fallen, and it was cool to the touch. The forest was filled with the sounds of weapons rubbing against armor and horses stomping through the mud. From afar, the densely packed army of the Blackstone Empire had already filled the entire forest. At the front of the formation were all armored cavalry. Their warhorses had trophies of war hanging from their necks. These were the heads of the empire's citizens. Defenseless civilians had been slaughtered, and their hair had been tied to the horses' necks to be used as battle points.
"Whoosh …"
From the sky, a figure rapidly descended. It was Fu Yun, the commander of the Dragon Riders and one of the core members of the Blackstone Empire's remnant army known as the Northern Expedition.
"How is it, Lord Fu Yun?" Lu Yan asked as he reined in his warhorse.
Fu Yun respectfully replied, "It has been cleaned up. It seems that the Great Qin's border guards have already smelled our scent, so they have sent quite a number of troops to spy on us. Unfortunately, they have underestimated the Blackstone Empire. There was a hundred-man scout team in front of us, but they have already been dealt with by this subordinate. Commander, pass down the order for the army to advance directly."
"Alright."
Fu Yun smiled and raised his arm. "Continue to march north!"
Behind the armored cavalry was a group of soldiers with heavy shields. Most of them were freshly trained soldiers of the Nanman tribes, and their combat strength had yet to be tested. Regardless of whether they could participate in the battle, the impatient Lu Yan could not wait any longer. He had to get them into battle mode as soon as possible, because his group had been starving for many days. The Nanman tribes were poor, and Lu Yan's 150,000-strong army and the Yihe Kingdom's 100,000-strong army had almost finished all the food that the Nanman tribes had stored for many years in a single winter. Now that spring was in full bloom, they had to go north to find more food for the army. Otherwise, they would all starve to death in the barren forest.
When the soldiers passed by, they could smell the faint scent of blood in the wilderness. Looking into the distance, they could see corpses lying in the depths of the forest. These corpses had been soldiers when they were alive, and they could faintly see the bronze and silver Purple Flower insignia on their arms. They were the empire's scout team, and they belonged to the garrison of the Mingshan Province!
Lu Yan took a deep breath. Godly experts were indeed ruthless. One of them could kill a hundred people without a sound, and not a single one of them could escape to report back!
Baili Yan, on the other hand, frowned. He was deeply worried, but he could not say anything about it.
Lu Yan grabbed the reins and urged the horse forward. He turned to look at Baili Yan and asked, "Advisor, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing …" Baili Yan smiled.
"Counselor seems to be depressed. Is he worried about Qin Yi's army?"
"Of Of Baili Mountain
Baili Yan frowned and said, "We are already on the way to the north. However, there are some things that I do not know if I should say. If I say it, it might shake the morale of the army. If I don't say it …"
Lu Yan laughed, "Why are you so troublesome today? Speak, you are the descendant of Marshal Baili Qin. You can say whatever you want to say, and only I, Lu Yan, can hear it. No one will be able to shake the army's morale. "
"Mm."
Baili Yan nodded, looked at the newly grown grass and the horse's hoof prints in the mud, and said, "We now have one hundred and fifty thousand people, and nearly half of them are new soldiers. Their combat strength is unknown, and there is also Qin Yi's army of one hundred and fifty thousand people. Qin Yi, that old fox, has not died for a long time, so he must be stalling for time. As for us … Commander, do you really think that our one hundred and fifty thousand people, which is a mix of good and bad, can really conquer the four great provinces of Lingnan?"
"What do you think, Counselor?" Lu Yan was startled.
"I don't think so." Baili Yan's pair of eyes were full of cautiousness, and said, "The strength of Qin Empire is obvious to all, Lin Muyu, Qin Yin and the others are even more formidable, especially Lin Muyu and Feng Jixing, these two people can be said to be talented in both the pen and the sword. They are not only the masters of the God State, but they are also talented generals with military strategy. In terms of military strength and strategy, I am afraid that we are far inferior to them. Once the Qin Empire crushes us with the strength of the whole country, I am afraid that we will be defeated in less than a month."
"Hehe …" Lu Yan smiled slightly, and said, "The most important thing that the Counselor did not mention is that although the Qin Empire is strong, they are not united. What's more, now that the Congress has made the whole Lanyan City into a mess, Qin Yin, Lin Muyu, Tang Xiaoxi and the others are said to be in closed-door training, but there is also a rumor that they have already ascended. In this way, who is the master of the world is another matter. If we do not take advantage of this opportunity to recapture Lingnan, I am afraid that in the future, there will not be such a heaven-sent opportunity."
"So … Commander has already decided to deal with the Qin Empire in Lingnan?" Baili Yan asked.
"Yes."
Lu Yan took a deep breath, "Half a month ago, we received a letter from the Empire. Now that the Celestial Empire has suffered a crushing defeat, nearly a million soldiers died in battle, and their vitality is greatly damaged, but there are still hundreds of thousands of their strong troops at the border, and a variable, the Bai Ze Mercenaries, has appeared in the north. That Si Kongyao's appetite is not small, and sooner or later, she will attack the Blackstone Empire, so … His Majesty has also made a decision. Rather than fighting with hungry wolves, it is better to fight with a wounded tiger."
Baili Yan was stunned, "What His Majesty means is … the Celestial Empire and the Bai Ze Mercenaries are hungry wolves, and the Qin Empire is a wounded tiger?"
"That's right. The Qin Empire has experienced so many years of war, and their national strength has long been exhausted. They can no longer withstand another war. As long as we attack, we can seize this piece of land. Moreover, His Majesty has promised that as long as we conquer Lingnan, the second fleet of the Blackstone Empire will arrive in a few days, and move to the Shattered Cauldron Realm with the power of the entire country. "
"Move …"
Baili Yan's eyes were filled with amazement. This idea was too crazy. Could it be that the Blackstone Empire really wanted to treat the Shattered Cauldron Realm as a colonial territory?
"Where does His Majesty's confidence come from?" After pondering for a long time, Baili Yan asked.
Lu Yan smiled faintly and said, "The Sect Master of the Thunder Blaze Sect, Long Xi, and the Valley Master of the Wolf Valley, He Song, have already made a secret agreement with His Majesty. As long as we seize the two provinces of Lingnan, they will move with all their strength and fight with the Qin Clan for the fertile land of the Shattered Cauldron Realm."
"What? The Thunder Blaze Sect and the Wolf Valley have decided to participate in the war? "
"Yes."
Baili Yan's face was full of shock as he said, "I … I didn't expect that even the Wolf Valley, which has been dormant for so many years, would involve itself in the war. I really didn't expect …"
Lu Yan patted Baili Yan's shoulder and said with a smile, "Brother, there are still many things that you didn't expect … The situation is changing. The Thunder Blaze Sect and the Wolf Valley also have to think about their future, right?"
Baili Yan fell silent and said, "Then, Commander, what's your first step in the attack?"
Lu Yan's eyes were full of fierce light as he said in a deep voice, "First seize the southernmost Ox Horn City of the Bright Mountain Province, then attack Yu City and Lie City on the left and right, forming a pincer attack on Shangyang City. Within ten days, we will conquer Shangyang City in one fell swoop! Within half a month, we will conquer the entire Bright Mountain Province! "
"Good, so the commander has already planned it out."
Baili Yan nodded. "I hope everything goes smoothly."
…
A day later.
The heavy rain had stopped. After a spring rain, all living things were in full bloom. Ox Horn City was a county city with hundreds of beautiful flowers. The pear blossoms and peach blossoms dozens of miles outside the city were pleasing to the eye. To the south of Ox Horn City was a forest. Many hunters lived at the edge of the forest, but there were no hunters further in. This was because the forest was too dangerous with spirit beasts running rampant in it. Therefore, to ordinary civilians, the depths of the forest was an unpredictable forbidden land. No one went there unless they were courting death.
But on this day, a group of reapers appeared in this forbidden land.
As the massive dragons circled in the sky and the armored horsemen swept across the earth, the dense army of the Blackstone Empire swept through the entire southern part of Ox Horn City like a dark cloud. The defenders of the city didn't even have a chance to resist before they were routed.
Fu Yun led a squad of dragonriders and blasted open the city gates. Lu Yan led his men in, and the cavalry surrounded Ox Horn City. The defenders of Ox Horn City were all killed, and even the messenger birds they had sent out into the sky were hunted down by the dragonriders and wolf-falcons. The people far away weren't even able to receive a single piece of news.
After leaving behind five hundred men to defend the city and restocking the granaries, Lu Yan and Fu Yun split up. Fu Yun led tens of thousands of soldiers to attack Lie City, while Lu Yan led the army along the official road to attack the legendary City of Yu.
… …
Three days later, the army arrived within the borders of the City of Yu. Along the way, there was very little resistance. The most powerful resistance force only had three thousand men, but they were all slaughtered until they were in tatters, unable to retaliate at all.
City of Yu was a city that towered between mountains. The surrounding terrain was extremely precipitous, and mountain forests extended endlessly. However, the area around City of Yu just so happened to be flat, suitable for farming. As a result, after thousands of years of reproduction, a city was formed here, and it was named City of Yu by the Qin Family's ancestors. Over the countless years, City of Yu had given birth to countless capable and ambitious people. Among them, Lin Muyu, who came up with the plan of 'crossing the mountain ridge', as well as the late Marshal of the Yihe Country, Long Qianlin, were both people from City of Yu.
However, on this day, City of Yu was about to usher in a calamity.
Before Lu Yan's army arrived, City of Yu's four city gates had long been tightly shut. The soldiers on the city walls were all on standby, and the Dragon Hunting Crossbows and Magic Crystal Cannons had also been pushed onto the city walls. Compared to Ox Horn City, which was caught off guard, City of Yu at least had a premonition. Even though it was only half a day of premonition, it seemed to be enough.
On the city walls, the general of the defending army was an old general of the Yihe Country named Man Xun. It was said that he was the distant nephew of Marquis Man Ning, but there was no way to verify this. Man Xun was skilled in leading troops, and he had a great reputation in the Yihe Country. People called him 'General Xun'. It was precisely because of this that Xiang Yu felt at ease leaving such an important city like City of Yu in his hands.
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