Shennong Daojun

Chapter 353: Absolute Heaven and Earth Power: Battle of Practitioners (1)

"call out"

Zhao Chuanzong loosened his bow string and accurately hit the neck of a barbarian commander who was riding a horse in front of him with a sharp arrow.

"Pfft~" The barbarian commander covered his throat, blood spurted from between his fingers, and fell to the ground from his green-maned horse.

"Buzz~"

Zhao Chuanzong felt that his body suddenly became hot, his energy and blood surged, and the previous fatigue was swept away.

"It's the late Juyuan period."

Zhao Chuanzong was overjoyed.

He glanced around and saw that there was no trace of the enemy anymore, so he blew the eagle whistle around his neck and began to gather his men.

Loud whistles echoed in the sky, and soon more cavalry gathered from all directions.

"Hundred generals." Adjutant Liu Er appeared next to Zhao Chuanzong.

"How is the situation?" Zhao Chuanzong asked.

"The scouts who spread out to the north from Xichang City were all killed, and no one escaped." Liu Er said with a smile, "I think this fourth wave of eighty people should be the last spies in Xichang City. I won’t send anyone to explore after that, I’ll just huddle up and defend the city.”

"Yes." Zhao Chuanzong nodded, "Based on this, Xichang City does not have many troops, probably only a thousand people, which is the same as the information detected before."

How many scouts there are can usually estimate the size of the army. Zhao Chuanzong had previously captured a live muzzle and asked for information, and then led the rangers outside the West Field City to intercept the barbarians leaving the city. Now he could generally confirm the situation in the city.

"Inform the machine engineer Zhang Wu and send the information back to the army in the rear."

"yes!"

…

On January 19, the 16th year of Yuanding, Zhao Xing, Xia Jing, Long Xiao, and Chen Shijie issued the "River Crossing Operation Plan" to all armies.

After the Shiyang Army captured Xichang City, they crossed the Tianshui River in three columns and headed southeast, passing through Lanwan, Hudukou, and Jiangsheng Line, and then crossed the Canglan River to join Li Hao's Wu Yao Army. .

All baggage, except necessary food supplies and small vehicles, horses, and boats, and other heavy equipment were thrown away. The 30,000 troops around Fengwu City must set off on the same day.

After receiving the order, the generals of each army immediately retreated on January 19th. They evacuated from Fengwu City, Yangbei, and Tujiao, and headed towards Xichang City and Tianshui River.

On January 23, the Qinglong Army took the lead in arriving outside Xichang City.

On January 24, at Mao hour, the 5,000-strong Qinglong Army led by Long Xiao defeated the resistance of the generals who defended Xichang City and successfully occupied Xichang City.

Seven quarters past noon.

"Da, da, da~"

Zhao Xing rode a horse and entered the city with Xia Jing, while Long Xiao was busy searching for supplies.

As soon as he entered the city, he saw Long Xiao kicking a sack while cursing.

Zhao Xing and others jumped off their horses and came to Long Xiao: "What did you find? I heard that the battle damage was very low. Why are you still angry?"

"Damn, I don't have any useful equipment at all, it's all food. I really made you laugh." Long Xiao pointed to a pile of sacks on the ground, "After I attacked the city, I wanted to replenish some arrows, but it took me a long time to find them. I didn’t even realize they had an armory.”

"In the end, I only found a hundred spare oxbows and scimitars in the barn, and they were all rough goods."

Xia Jing smiled and said: "The general who defends Xichang City is a leader of a small tribe under the command of King Jinyu. He has no more than 1,500 soldiers and only 15 practitioners."

"It's such a small town, how much military supplies do you want? It's good to have food. You still haven't understood Brother Zhao's fighting spirit. Wouldn't it be better to have food?"

Long Xiao looked at Zhao Xing, who was reading the post-war summary.

"That's right." Zhao Xing put together the list, "Xichang City is originally a grain farm, and strictly speaking it is not a city. Even if all the indigenous residents are counted, there are only more than 5,000 people. If you can get some food, just Very good.”

Long Xiao nodded. Since Zhao Xing said it was good, then it must be good.

"What are you doing, what are you doing, go away!"

"I want to see the general."

Suddenly, there was movement among a group of soldiers on the street.

Zhao Xing looked over and saw a barbarian with skin folds on his face that looked like fish gills being driven away by the Qinglong Army.

"What's going on?"

Long Xiao took a look and said: "A native said he wanted to join us, and he also spoke Dazhou dialect. But I didn't agree. He came to see me twice in the morning, and he really refused to give up."

"Why don't you agree?" Zhao Xing asked in surprise.

"Those who are not of my race must have different minds." Long Xiao said matter-of-factly. "Although we don't kill barbarians, our Qinglong Army doesn't want barbarians. Even if he sincerely serves, it's hard to use and communicate with him. How can he compare with the soldiers we have trained for many years? If we want him, it will be a hindrance. ”

"Your Qinglong Army is elite and you don't need it. You can use it if you incorporate it into other armies." Zhao Xing said. "You don't have to worry about their ulterior motives. These barbarians hate the people of the Royal Court more than the people of Great Zhou."

"What's the truth?" It was Long Xiao's turn to be surprised.

"The natives of Xichang City belong to the 'Kashi Tribe', but the garrison you just defeated is the 'Kui Niu Tribe' of the Golden Feather Royal Court." Zhao Xingdao: "Those who are not from my race must have different minds. Use it with them. The time is more appropriate. I looked at the records and found that there were more than 30,000 residents in Xichang City five years ago, but now there are only more than 5,000 left. What do you think happened? "

Long Xiao was thoughtful, but Zhao Xing waved his hand and asked the soldiers to bring the barbarian over.

"General, general, the younger one is called 'Wang Gang', and he is willing to serve the Great Zhou Dynasty." This barbarian spoke in poor Zhou dialect. When Zhao Xing heard his name, he chose it right away. He belonged to the bad Zhou Dynasty. name.

Although this person's skin is wrinkled, he is actually in the prime of life, just because of his race's appearance. In fact, it is an organ similar to fish gills.

"Wang Gang, why do you want to join us?" Long Xiao asked curiously.

"General." Wang Gang cupped his hand, "As long as the general does not kill the unarmored people after entering the city, and does not kill the defenseless people, the general is worth following."

Long Xiao couldn't understand. Could it be that the troops of the Southern Barbarian Royal Court were more terrifying to their own people?

It's really strange that just because he didn't kill civilians, it became the reason for being supported.

"The regular troops you fought before were all the regular armies of the Royal Court, and those regular armies still had some military discipline." Zhao Xing said: "The West Field is ruled by a mixed army of barbarians. They don't have much of a national concept, only a tribal concept, and they obey the orders of the Royal Court. When it comes to fighting, they only need to complete the mission. As for the life and death of the other tribes of barbarians, they don’t care.”

"Yes, that's it." Wang Gang said angrily, "Our Kashi tribe has been conscripted eight times in five years. When all the brave soldiers are taken away, we will have no power to protect ourselves. The people from the Kuiniu tribe came last year Here, we are not considered our own people at all.”

"Five years ago, our Kashi tribe had tens of thousands of people, but now we don't even have 5,000. During this period, we only fought two wars and lost more than 3,000 people. The rest of the tribe all died in the so-called of our own hands.”

"They asked us to contribute to the Royal Court in the name of Wu Yueshen, but what did Wu Yueshen and the Royal Court bring to us?!"

"General, I am willing to join Da Zhou and lead the way for you."

Zhao Xing nodded: "Okay, Wang Gang, since you speak the language of Dazhou and take the name of Dazhou, then you are from Dazhou."

"However, I will not set up a position for you, but you can apply for food and weapons in this city at any time. If you can find five people, you will be the corps commander. If you can find ten people to listen to you, then you will be the commander. You If you can find a hundred people to listen to you, you are a hundred generals!”

"Thank you, General." Wang Gang said happily: "General, if I can recruit a thousand people, can I be a general?"

"You have a good idea." Zhao Xing smiled and said, "Where can you find so many people?"

"General, as the saying goes, it's hard to leave your homeland. After Xichang City was breached, a small number of defenders and barbarians escaped, but most of them were still hiding in underground valleys. Among them, there were still 800 young and capable warriors. "Originally we had the idea of ​​waiting for the enemy to leave before coming out," Wang Gang said, "But the villain saw the general's kindness and risked his life to contact him."

"Wang Gang, I just said that if you can find so many people, you will be in an official position. However, if you want to secure a future for your tribe, it depends on your performance."

"Yes, general, I'll bring them here right now." Wang Gang understood what Zhao Xing meant. If he wanted to get the same treatment, it would still depend on his meritorious service. However, this is better than continuing to be ruled by the remaining barbarians.

It took five years for the Kashi tribe to see clearly the face of the Royal Court, and they have reached the point where they can accept anyone as long as they are not ruled by the Royal Court.

Zhao Xing waved his hand and sent a team of people pushing several carts of grain to follow Wang Gang.

As soon as the king left, Long Xiao scolded the two commanders who were searching the city: "What are you doing for food? You don't even know that there are eight hundred barbarians hiding?"

The commander of the search for the city was also very aggrieved. They were not in the city and were still hiding in caves outside the city. How could they be found so quickly.

"Don't blame them harshly." Zhao Xing said: "If these people are determined to crawl into the cave, they are familiar with the terrain, and it will be difficult for you to find them."

"Brother Xia, have the spies sent out to explore Tianshui City come back?"

"Not yet." Xia Jing shook his head.

"Order the Shenwei Army and the Xuanjia Army to enter the city for repairs, start cooking, and quickly recover their strength." Zhao Xing said, "In two days at most, we will go to Tianshui City."

"yes."

…

In the early morning of January 25th, the Shenwei Army and Xuanjia Army led by the headquarters received bad news in Xichang City.

The Tiger Jiao Army and the Lieyang Army led by Liao Rulong and Wang Ji were attacked by Zang He, the commander of the Jiuyou Army, in the Huangling and Zhangshan areas.

The Zhen Haijun led by Chen Shijie, Zhao Zheng, Wang Ji, and Han Bing were intercepted by Hou Sen, the commander of the Jiuyou Army, at Sandaowan.

Except for the Zhao Xing and Xia Jing teams, which went relatively smoothly, the other two teams all had troubles at the beginning of the river-crossing plan.

It was originally agreed that they would meet up at Xichang City and the Tianshui River area in the early morning of the 25th, but the other two groups still did not arrive until the evening of the 25th.

Zang He and Hou Sen were the commanders of the Jiuyou Legion.

The commander of the Jiuyou Army, Commander Youyun, who was responsible for encircling and suppressing Xia Jing's troops, discovered that the Zhou army in Fengwu City had escaped on January 20, so he sent Zang He and Hou Sen each with more than 800 troops. The leading troops went to intercept the Shiyang Legion crossing the river.

Both Lao Chen and Liao Rulong have over 10,000 people.

The 800 people led by Zang He and Hou Sen were all practitioners, but 90% were in the Juyuan realm. Most of them were warriors and not many mages.

It is simply unrealistic to rely on 800 people to eat 20,000 people, so the purpose is just to slow down the march of Zhou's deserters.

Zang He and Hou Sen saw that Chen Shijie and Liao Rulong's troops were marching in neat formations and advancing and retreating in an orderly manner. They were all elite soldiers, so they did not dare to get off the ground to fight.

They could only throw firecrackers and spells on the flying boat.

Once the firecrackers were thrown, their vitality was almost exhausted, and they had to return. Because the flying boat needed supplies, and the people also needed supplies.

Zang He and Hou Sen themselves took the flying boat to rush to Fengwu City quickly, so they could not carry many large-scale lethal weapons at all. Therefore, this pursuit only slowed down the marching speed of Chen Shijie and Liao Rulong's troops, and did not gain any advantage. Both sides did not even have many casualties.

Until the afternoon of the 26th, Zhao Xing in Xichang City received the news that the two troops temporarily repelled the pursuers. Zang He and Hou Sen led their people back to Fengwu City for supplies and repairs, maintenance of the flying boat, treatment of the wounded, and waiting for the follow-up army.

After getting rid of the pursuers, the two troops reached the designated stationing location in the evening.

On January 27, the Shenwei Army, the Xuanjia Army, the Lieyang Army, and the Hujiao Army, with a total of more than 18,000 people, launched an attack on the eight-grade witch city Tianshui City from three sides.

The Zhenhai Army led by Chen Shijie, as well as some reserve troops, stayed in the shallows and Xichang City to guard against the vanguard troops of Zanghe and Hou Sen.

The Shenwei Army attacked from the east of Tianshui City, and the first to be dispatched was the chariot troops.

The original chariots were pulled by strange beasts, or they had magic arrays and core energy crystals to drive them, which could fly in the sky and walk on the ground.

But now it is different. The mechanism master who has recovered his strength can only restore the power of some magic mechanisms, and the chariots can only walk on the ground.

It's like the flying boat can't fly in the sky for long, because this world is different.

The chariots in the restricted area are also different from the past, a bit like a combination of a shield car and a battering ram.

The siege chariots used by the Shenwei Army were all built by Wang Ji. It looks like a carriage, but the front is not a horse, but a spiral ram, about three meters long.

There is a 'sail' on the top of the carriage.

There are a total of 120 siege chariots, which crashed into the east wall of Tianshui City.

The external structure of the carriage has three layers of defense, one is the leather layer soaked in animal skin, the second is metal iron sheet, and the third is a combination of hardwood.

Three layers of protection protect the fragile core of the array.

In the restricted area of ​​Jue Tian Di Tong, the mechanism of the mechanism master is very fragile and easy to fail, because the available materials are too weak. And once it is too far away from the mechanism master, it will fail.

There is no way, only in this way can the array be protected.

"Hu~~"

There was a gust of wind on the battlefield, and the wind blew on the sail of the chariot and began to push the chariot forward.

The wheels of the chariot are tracked, so it can pass through the trenches.

Because there are not many practitioners, all the Shenwei Army needs one person to use wind magic to blow the sails of more than three chariots.

Zhao Xing had the strength of the eighth-grade Lingqiao realm. He was also casting spells to blow wind. He controlled thirty chariots to crash into the local city wall.

The sails were fluttering, and the chariots slowly moved towards the city.

"Blow! Blow it back quickly!"

"Don't let these ghosts get close!"

On the east wall of Tianshui City, a red-skinned barbarian general waved a long sword and roared madly.

The magic wizard on the wall also began to blow the wind fiercely, blowing out of the city.

There was no way. If the boundary-breaking chariot was not blocked, this thing would be able to destroy the structure of the magic circle wall as long as it was close to the city wall.

"Wuwuwu~"

Two completely different winds began to blow wildly in front of the east city.

The sails of the chariots sometimes fluttered to the east and sometimes to the west, and they saw back and forth, and soon fell into a stalemate.

One hundred and twenty chariots were still more than a hundred meters away from the city wall, and basically slowed down, like a turtle crawling.

But soon, twenty chariots broke the deadlock.

Zhao Xing controlled the strong wind and blew twenty world-breaking chariots.

The magic wizard who was competing with him suddenly changed his face.

"Commander, there are masters on the opposite side, I can't stand it." Three magic wizards reported immediately.

"Asshole! How high can they be? Hold on!"

"Yes, yes..."

However, the facts are not transferred by personal will.

Even if Zhao Xing is at the eighth level of the Spirit Bridge Realm, the wind he uses is much stronger than that of the same level.

In addition, because of the Moyun Vine, Zhao Xing can open the pure Yuan soil that can only be opened at the fifth level, and absorb spiritual energy from it continuously.

So he almost doesn't need to consider consumption, basically always in full state.

Other magic wizards or wind warlocks, high-intensity confrontation, blowing for three to five minutes, have to stop to recover vitality.

Low-level practitioners, casting spells with all their strength, consume a lot of energy.

But Zhao Xing can blow the wind here until the end of time.

"Ka Ka Ka~"

Twenty chariots soon approached the city wall.

Then they encountered the second problem - the moat.

"Hua La~"

The water in the moat surged out in large quantities, forming waves and blocking the way.

Zhao Xing saw this and had no choice but to cheat again.

"Xingyun!"

The swallowing cloud technique was performed, and white clouds floated above the moat and began to quickly absorb the water in the moat.

"What.!"

Seeing the water level of the moat drop rapidly, the barbarian general on the east wall almost popped his eyes out.

"Is there a fifth-grade military minister on the opposite side? Why is his cloud so strong?"

"No wonder the commander-in-chief of the Nine Nether Army wants to encircle and suppress this army. Can we, Tianshuihe, really be able to withstand it?"

The barbarian generals guarding the city began to panic.

Check out the 16-9 book bar to see the correct version!

His eyes began to turn towards the twenty airships parked in the inner city.

Within the scope of Jue Tian Di Tong, due to limitations in materials and various reasons, there are only medium-sized flying boats at most. There are no warships.

A barbarian of his level can only use a small flying boat at most, which can only carry five to twenty people. The height is also limited and cannot exceed one thousand meters.

He had to take the mechanic who built him with him, otherwise he wouldn't be able to fly far at all.

"The enemy is determined to use this city to cross the river. They are besieging it on three sides. I don't know how many tens of thousands of people there are. We only have 6,000 people in the city. Can we withstand it?" The barbarian lieutenant began to have other thoughts.

But out of fear and belief in the Nine Nether God, he still suppressed the fear in his heart and gave orders.

"Fire Archer, prepare!"

"put!"

The barbarian general took advantage of his own sorcerer to start casting spells, taking advantage of the wind and shooting arrows, mainly towards the sails of the boundary-breaking chariot.

But this is of no use, because the 'sail' material made by Wang Ji has a very high ignition point and cannot be burned by ordinary fire.

The flame spell is fine, but the problem is that Zhao Xing is also using the wind spell, and the fire cannot float at all, it will only turn around and hurt his own people.

Tianshui City is now being attacked from three sides, and the number of practitioners assigned to each side is simply not enough. Except for those who have obtained [Guardian of Heaven and Earth], the spells of others can only take effect within the city.

"Boom!"

The sound of a collision with the wall alerted the barbarian general. He looked towards the city wall and saw that the corner of a chariot had reached the city wall and started to shine.

What he didn't know was that Zhao Xing on the other side had actually begun to think about whether to give up the attack.

Because the situation coming from the other two sides is not very good. If the casualties are too heavy, or if the delay is too long, and the 30,000 Nine Nether Troops chasing behind are caught up, then the trouble will be big.

At that time, they would have to fight with their backs against the water, which violated his original intention of fighting guerrilla warfare.

"The messenger asked Xia Jing to the west, how long will it take to capture it?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Yes!" The messenger was the mechanic of the Wuliang Moment Subliu. He closed his eyes and quickly replied to Zhao Xing. "Sir, General Xia said that it will take four hours at the fastest to break through in the west."

"Where's the north side of General Liao?"

"Two hours."

Zhao Xing made an estimate and found that he had the best luck, as the enemy's defense was weakest on the east side of his command.

Now twenty boundary-breaking chariots have begun to destroy the city wall formation, and the enemy's reinforcement speed is obviously slower than the speed of breaking through the defense.

After about three quarters of an hour, the eastern city wall will be able to be nakedly defended. Once the city wall array fails, the difficulty of attacking will be greatly reduced.

Under the command of the Shenwei Army, there is an artillery battalion, which can be regarded as a big killer in the restricted area of ​​​​Jue Tian Di Tong.

A long time ago, Zhao Xing suggested to Ji Che that when the six departments held a meeting and the Suppression Realm held a meeting, some of the most powerful weapons in Jue Tian Di Tong were also put on the research agenda.

For example, Wang Ji of the Divine Power Army developed a mechanism called the [Shenwei Cannon]. Its materials are very ordinary and have nothing to do with magic, but its power is amazing.

Jiuyoushen sent three armies of practitioners, Youyun, Zanghe, and Housen, totaling more than 30,000 people (not including a small number of local troops) to encircle and suppress the Shiyang Army. It was not without reason. This army defeated the Nanman Army in Juetianditong. Its lethality is far more efficient than that of armies elsewhere.

Because Zhao Xing used the Shi Yang Army as a pilot at that time, and it was also the first army to conduct training with Jue Tian Di Tong as the imaginary enemy.

"Tell Xia Jing and Liao Rulong that if Tianshui City cannot be taken within two hours, they must retreat immediately and we will cross the river in another direction." Zhao Xing shouted to the messenger.

"yes!"

…………

As time passed, nine boundary-breaking chariots were destroyed one after another, but the light on the city wall became weaker and weaker.

Finally, after three-quarters of an hour, the city wall became dull, and every brick turned earthy gray and lost its luster.

The city wall barrier has disappeared!

"It's finally broken!" Zhao Xing breathed a long sigh of relief. If it were placed elsewhere, in such a seventh-level witch city, the magic circle would only be at the intermediate level and could be broken casually.

But here, it is very slow to break it.

"Machine artillery battalion, fire!"

Rumble~

On and within the city walls, large-scale explosions began. Fires emerged, and the huge sound immediately inspired people's hearts.

"First and second fire bow battalions, shoot!"

"Where's the Sky-breaking Flying Boat? Zhao Chuanzong, put the Breaking God Slave on the Sky-breaking Flying Boat. Let me lift it into the air and focus on the seventh-level kill!"

"Get ready for camp first, follow me..."

Just as he was giving the order, Zhao Chuanzong suddenly pulled Zhao Xing.

Zhao Chuanzong was a hundred generals of the rangers. He was unable to play a role in the siege, so he acted as the deputy of the eldest brother Zhao Xing.

"Why are you pulling me?"

Zhao Chuanzong hesitated and said: "Brother, Liuyun Feizhou is prepared for you, not for fighting. General Xia said that it can only be used for you to break out of encirclement..."

In Jue Tian Di Tong, Fei Zhou's energy core became Yuan Jing, but it also became fragile. If he went to storm the city, it would most likely be broken.

There are not many small airships in the Ten Yang Legion. The entire army only has fifty ships in total, and there are only four medium-sized airships, which are sky-breaking airships.

Among them, small airships can only fly short distances and low altitudes, but medium-sized airships can fly long distances.

"Bastard! Call me Da Sinong!" Zhao Xing kicked Zhao Chuanzong away, "Is it Da Sinong, or is it General Xia Jing? Listen to my order and lift me into the air. I never thought of escaping alone!"

Zhao Xing's voice was loud and clear, and everyone saw and listened.

In fact, Mr. Zhao knew that this thing was a psychological comfort. It would be difficult to escape with this thing when Jiuyoushen was conducting a large-scale sweep. Otherwise, he would have fled back to Da Zhou.

He would never think of running away unless he reached the full level (fifth level) in Jue Tian Di Tong.

If he reaches the fifth level, he won't be afraid anymore.

If he reaches the fifth level, he will have more methods. However, Liu Tianning is said to be invincible at the same level when he is at the fifth level, and he can challenge challenges beyond the level such as eating and drinking.

At the fifth level, Mr. Zhao can summon a very powerful straw man clone. Of course, the premise is that he has to survive this wave of sweeps.

Tianshui City was destroyed, and he couldn't let these 'upgrade experience' escape. Just killing some ordinary barbarian soldiers is of no use.

"Yes!" Zhao Chuanzong gritted his teeth and said: "The general has an order to move the God-breaking crossbow onto the flying boat, including the Sky-breaking flying boat!"

"kill!"

"Come on!"

…

An hour after the battle started, the east side of Tianshui City was defeated.

The west and south sides also broke through the city two hours later.

After masters such as Zhao Xing, Xia Jing, and Long Xiao boarded the city, they immediately opened up the situation, established a foothold at the top of the city, and immediately blasted open the city gate after regaining their strength.

After the city is broken, there will be street fighting. After entering the city, the battle will completely become a war between low-level practitioners. Tianshui City is a seventh-level witch city. As long as they enter, the people of the Ten Yang Legion will restore their realm to up to the seventh level.

The most difficult part is to destroy the city, and many people will die in the process.

On the night of January 28th, Tianshui City was completely destroyed.

"How many people have recovered their strength?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Originally there were 350 people, but after taking Tianshui City, the number reached 880." Xia Jing said.

"There are more practitioners in Tianshui City than us, but fortunately they are not experts. They are far worse than Fengwu City, and they are weaker than the pursuers behind them now." Chen Shijie said.

"Where are the casualties?"

"More than a thousand people died," Xia Jing said. "It's a good thing we captured the city, otherwise the number would have to more than triple."

The Witch City is very important, because as long as the soldiers do not die immediately and enter the city after the city is broken, they will be able to recuperate to the greatest extent. Their own resistance will also recover with the state, and serious injuries will become minor injuries, and minor injuries will become minor injuries. .

"Repair quickly, treat the wounded soldiers, and move the boat across the river. We can only stay here for two days at most." Zhao Xing said.

It took them about three days to rush from Fengwu City to Xichang City. The advance of tens of thousands of troops was relatively slow, but it was already considered fast.

Now there are tens of thousands of pursuing troops behind them, leaving them little time to repair the Tianshui River.

On February 1st, the army gradually crossed the rapid Tianshui River.

On the evening of February 2nd, Zhao Xing once again split the Shiyang Legion, this time into six groups instead of three. Xia Jing, Liao Rulong, Zhao Zheng, Long Xiao, and Chen Shijie each led the way and hid the ships crossing the river in Sanshu Bay.

Xia Jing and others did not understand this: "We will no longer need these ships when we go north to cross the Canglan River. Why not destroy them?"

Zhao Xing looked at the soldiers hiding the ship and thought: "Keep it for now, just in case."

…………

On February 5th, 10,000 people led by Commander Youyun of the Nine Nether Army and 20,000 people from Zang He and Hou Sen came to Tianshui City.

"Commander, Yingwu King Xia Jing and others have crossed the river." Zang He said, "The march is very fast, as if they know that we are encircling them."

"So what if you know?" Hou Sen said coldly: "After crossing the river and heading south, no matter which direction there are, there are ambushes. How long can they hold out if they run so lightly?"

"As the encirclement becomes smaller and smaller, the speed of our rescue will become faster and faster. If we are a step slower this time, it will be difficult for them to attack the city next time to supplement."

"What Hou Sen said is right." Commander Youyun looked at the map, "As long as we keep chasing them, sooner or later we will push them into a dead end, and then they will have nowhere to escape."

In the wild, practitioners cannot get supplies. The higher the level of recovery, the more food they need to eat. As long as the army is destroyed, it will be difficult for a single person to enter the city.

Screened over and over again, they were either caught, killed, or starved to death in the wild. Fly through the air? That would be easier to catch.

"Report to the Commander-in-Chief! We have made a big discovery!" Suddenly, a guard rushed in excitedly.

"Tell me." Purple lines covered half of Youyun's face, making him look a bit coquettish.

"We just received news that in the Zhou team crossing the river, the highest Zhou official was not only the Yingwu King Xia Jing, but also the long-lost Great Sinong Zhao Xing!"

"What?" Commander Youyun stood up with a loud sound and stared at the soldiers: "Are you sure the news is true?"

"It's absolutely true that our people devoured a wandering soul of the Great Zhou Dynasty, saw Zhao Xing and Xia Jing enter Xichang City with their own eyes, and also saw him when they were in Tianhe City."

"Hahahaha!" Commander Youyun burst out laughing, "I didn't expect such a great achievement to happen to me."

Regarding Zhao Xing, Ji Che made a condition to his subordinates that anyone with accurate information would be promoted by two ranks and given the title of Marquis. Those who bring back the great agricultural officer will be promoted to five levels and given the title of Duke!

The Nanman side also values ​​it equally. As long as the Great Commander Youyun has accurate information, it will be enough to be promoted afterwards, and Zhao Xing will be captured or killed, and there is a chance to be taught by Wu Yueshen in person!

"I want to kill Zhao Xing!" This was the first reaction of the Great Commander Youyun. But he quickly gave up this idea.

Because although he has recovered to the sixth rank, Zhao Xing may have recovered to the seventh rank. How can he find someone in the vast wilderness alone?

There may be a risk of overturning. After all, Zhao Xing's past record is famous for his cross-level challenges.

Even if it is the fifth-rank Jiuyoushen, it is still impossible to find him if he acts alone, so he still has to rely on the army to act.

"Report to Jiuyoushen immediately! These 30,000 people alone are not enough. We need to create a large encirclement. The more people, the better."

Youyun immediately realized that it was impossible for him to take the victory alone, so it is better to get the visible benefits first.

At the same time, through the transmission of layers of information, the news that Zhao Xing was still alive was also secretly transmitted back to the royal city.

"Your Majesty, we got the news from the Minister of Agriculture!" Ji Si reported.

"Are you sure?" Ji Che, who was sitting on the throne, was excited. "Don't pretend again and make me happy for nothing."

"This time it is absolutely true. The letter was written by the Grand Minister of Agriculture and matched the secret information of the military world." Ji Si said. "But the front line also brought bad news, that is, the Nine Nether God has concentrated more than 400,000 troops and is conducting a large-scale sweep of Cangyue Mansion and Lanhe Mansion in the central part of the Southern Barbarians."

"The Grand Minister of Agriculture is in the northeast of Lanhe Mansion, and he is surrounded by the Nine Nether God."

Ji Che was silent. This news was really too bad. He just got the news from his elder brother, but found that his elder brother was in danger.

"Immediately send a message to King Luohou, asking him to go to Zhao Xing at all costs. I repeat, at all costs! Even if it is a few decades later, even if all the ten imperial guards are defeated, it doesn't matter!"

"Yes." Ji Si nodded.

Ji Che looked out at the distant sky and murmured to himself: "Brother, you have to hold on."

…………

On February 7, three days after leaving the south of Tianshui River, Zhao Xing's Shiyang Corps began to attack Mincheng, Heshuicheng, and Yuyoucheng of Lanhe Prefecture according to the original plan.

Once these three cities are opened, as long as two more lines of defense are passed, there will be a chance to join Dong Ze's Shensu Army.

Two of the lines of defense are still relatively sparse. After all, Jiuyou God has mobilized so many people, so many places have become short of manpower.

But after three days of fighting, Mincheng, Heshuicheng, and Yuyoucheng have not been captured, but the enemy's reinforcements are coming.

"Brother Zhao, the situation is not good. If we can't take down one within three days, we will be surrounded." Xia Jing was worried.

They now have a thousand practitioners, among which there are already more than ten seventh-grade practitioners, but this strength will not last long in the mighty enemy encirclement.

As the encirclement gets smaller, their window of opportunity to attack the city will become shorter and shorter.

"No more fighting." Zhao Xing looked at the map for a while and shook his head, "Fighting any further will lead to a dead end. Tell Lao Chen and Lao Liao's troops to start retreating."

"Where to retreat?" Xia Jing asked.

"Cross the Tianshui River again and return to Fengwu City." Zhao Xing said.

"What?" Xia Jing was a little confused: "How can we go back? There are enemy troops surrounding us on all seven sides. Do we have to return to the north of Lanhe Mansion?"

"The most dangerous place is the safest place. We just crossed the river. The enemy certainly can't think that we jumped out of an encirclement and got back in again." Zhao Xing said: "So we have to take advantage of the enemy's encirclement before they attack their weak river garrisons and return to the north of Lanhe Mansion again, and we have to be fast."