Chapter 337. The Red Forest Merges Together (2)

While it was inevitable that morale would drop if they retreated, there was nothing they could do about it.

The Evil Valley's stamina won't last any longer.

The Evil Faction's qi reserves were shallower and less stable than those of the Righteous Faction, making it a large problem. Although they had the numerical advantage, their average cultivation realms were low, which meant that they were being pushed back by the Dark Heavens Army.

Even if Zhou Xuchuan could continue the battle, he wouldn't be able to defeat Destructive Soldier.

This was a tactical retreat.

"Take the wounded and retreat!"

"Retreat! Retreat!"

Meng Chuhe and Zhu Meng's voices rang out loud.

"Hahaha! You loser bastards!" Zhongli Daojun laughed, shaking off the blood on his sword.

"Now, look at them! They're running away with their tails tucked in like defeated dogs! Isn't that really funny?! Zhongli Daojun hurled insults and ridicule to provoke them, but no one fell for it.

Seeing that, he gnashed his teeth and roared, "Great! The momentum is ours! Go after those fleeing—"

"Enough." Destructive Soldier stopped Zhongli Daojun from saying anything.

"B-but..." Zhongli Daojun looked at Destructive Soldier in embarrassment.

"Our side is tired, too."

At Destructive Soldier's words, Zhongli Daojun finally looked around.

The Seven Stars Division soldiers of the Dark Heavens Army also looked exhausted.

Since they were outnumbered by a thousand and five hundred troops, the damage was considerable, making it burdensome to chase them to the end.

"Moreover, don't forget that Weng'an is the enemy's base. Getting greedy when you're tired and accidentally falling into a trap is going to be a disaster."

Zhongli Daojun looked regretful, but he nodded as if he had no choice but to listen to Destructive Soldier's words.

"The enemy won't run away, and they won't be able to go far anyway due to the supply shortage and casualties, so there's no need to worry. Moreover, support will arrive soon, so let's reorganize and aim for the next battle."

***

Weng'an had been occupied by the Righteous and Evil Factions for a long time now, so the military facilities, such as the barracks and the watchtowers, were relatively well equipped.

The retreating Guizhou Army arrived at Weng'an and reorganized.

"There are over eight hundred dead and five hundred wounded."

"How many are seriously wounded and how many are slightly?"

"Two hundred are seriously wounded and three hundred are slightly wounded."

"So if we exclude the dead and seriously wounded, we're down to three thousand five hundred?" Shen Daoyun sighed and leaned back against the backrest of his chair.

"What about the Dark Heavens Army?" Zhou Xuchuan asked.

"According to our scouts, the Dark Heavens Army's casualties are estimated to be at five hundred," Meng Chuhe reported in Shen Daoyun's stead.

"

Ugh.

"

A groan escaped the mouths of the Guizhou Army's leaders.

Even though they were superior in numbers, they still sustained severe damage.

Considering the difference in their cultivations, it wasn't a strange thing. Still, they didn't inflict as much damage as they had expected.

"For now, prioritize the treatment and the supplies for the wounded."

The Guizhou Army began a large-scale reorganization in Weng'an.

The supplies were handled by the Guizhou Branch Manager of the Gold Will Merchants, Gao Hun, and the wounded were left to the physicians of the Benevolence Clinic.

"The retreat went smoothly and we didn't take much damage, but something feels off, like I didn't wipe properly after taking a shit."

"Yeah. It was too easy."

Meng Chuhe agreed with Zhu Meng's opinion.

"Let us answer your doubts."

The command barracks opened, and a group of people came in.

"

Huh!

"

The commanding officers gasped for breath. The women in the group were so beautiful that they couldn't help but lose their minds.

"Senior Brother!" Luo Xiaoyue smiled happily upon seeing Zhou Xuchuan.

"Junior Sister Luo!" Zhou Xuchuan greeted Luo Xiaoyue with delight.

"Oh my. You're standing in front of me, but you decided to greet someone else first. You're so cruel, Sword God," Duan Lihua joked, laughing mischievously.

"The air between you two has always been unusual, so I truly wonder if the two of you really are just disciple brother and sister."

Luo Xiaoyue shut her mouth and blushed at Duan Lihua's words.

"I knew you were delusional, Unnie, but I hope you'll become more aware of the location and situation before you say anything," Tang Hui said, sounding displeased while standing next to Luo Xiaoyue.

Duan Lihua's eyes widened like a crescent moon at her words. "Jealous?"

"You're irritating." Tang Hui frowned.

"T-the Wave Sword Phoenix and Poison Phoenix..."

"

Gasp

!"

Exclamations came from all around. Famous figures of the

murim

had arrived one after another.

"T-the Tactician Phoenix is here."

Shen Daoyun was also surprised to see Zhuge Xiuluan.

For someone who dreamed of a position at headquarters, the Tactician Phoenix, who would be part of the future core of the Martial Alliance, was someone whom he truly had to know.

Other famous warriors of the

murim

had gathered in addition to her, and the command barracks became noisy.

Clap!

Zhuge Xiuluan clapped her hands to attract everyone's attention.

"Excuse me, but don't you think we should get to the point?"

The commanding staff finally remembered their predicament and sat down.

"It's nice to meet you all. I'm the Tactician Phoenix, Zhuge Xiuluan, Vice Captain of the special force dispatched from the Martial Alliance headquarters." Zhuge Xiuluan cupped her fist and greeted them.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The captain of the special force was Duan Lihua.

Zhou Xuchuan was also a member of the special force, but since he often acted alone, he wasn't really fit to be the captain. Thus, Duan Lihua, who had a lot of combat experience and was a Harmony Realm Master, was chosen as the leader of the special force.

"I've been informed about the first battle that happened half a day ago."

"Come to think of it, didn't you say you would answer the question I asked earlier?" Zhu Meng asked curiously.

Zhuge Xiuluan nodded and answered, "Yes. They're aiming for a more certain victory. Since their reinforcements will arrive soon, they must have decided that there's no need to force themselves into an unnecessary fight."

"Reinforcements?"

"A few days ago, we were attacked by the Nine Water Gangs on our way to Guizhou from Dongting Lake."

"...!"

Surprised gasps echoed from here and there.

"Could it be that the Eighteen Stockades of the Red Forest have joined hands with the Dark Heavens Association?"

Shen Daoyun's face darkened.

The Eighteen Stockades of the Red Forest weren't stupid, and they wouldn't have mistakenly attacked a special force with so many skilled fighters. If they had attacked despite knowing the truth, it meant that they considered the Righteous and Evil Alliance as their enemy.

"Yes."

As soon as they left Dongting Lake, the special force sent special messengers to each branch of the Righteous and Evil Alliance.

The Eighteen Stockades of the Red Forest—a force of the Black Hand—were nothing more than a group of bandits. However, their numbers weren't small, and they were quite troublesome to deal with.

In addition, the neutral Eighteen Stockades of the Red Forest choosing sides was a big problem, as the Alliance was already having a headache due to the traitors popping up everywhere.

In the end, is this how it's going to end up?

Zhou Xuchuan's face also darkened.

He had personally stepped forward to take them down, but they still ended up joining hands with the Dark Heavens Association, repeating the same story in his past lifetime.

If I had even the slightest bit of time, I would have subjugated them, but I never had the luxury...

The Stockade Boss' decision came faster than expected. He had succeeded in inducing a civil war by deliberately leaving behind treasures, but it hadn't lasted as long as he thought it would.

More than anything, the Righteous Faction was insanely busy with the Great War of Good and Blood, the Great War of Good and Demonic, and the emergence of the Juvenile Fist Emperor.

The Evil Valley was also having its own problems as its forces were split in half.

Hong Xialang... I've heard about her vaguely in my past lifetime, but I don't know the details. Unlike this lifetime, Meng Gang and Blessed Existence used the Eighteen Stockades of the Red Forest to restrain enemy forces before they were suddenly destroyed.

Zhou Xuchuan had read several books about it just before his death during his time as one of the Five High Elders of Mount Hua. Thanks to those books, he knew a lot, but he wasn't omniscient.

"Above Guizhou is the Red Forest's base, Chongqing, so it's likely that they've joined up with the Dark Heavens Army by now."

"We have a numerical advantage, but if that disappears..." Shen Daoyun's voice was filled with worry.

"Could you tell us who is a part of the special force?" Zhu Meng asked curiously.

"Fifty Second Class warriors, thirty First Class warriors, and twenty Peak and Transcendent experts for a total of one hundred," Duan Lihua answered instead.

"Urgh."

Unfortunately, a special force was still a special squad. It couldn't really function as decent reinforcements.

They were skilled, but there were too few in number.

The front lines weren't just here in Guizhou. The traitors and the Dark Heavens Association's Seven Star Soldiers were moving everywhere; the other experts were busy dealing with them.

While they were pondering what to do, Zhou Xuchuan said, "It's not that there isn't a way. I've prepared an alternative solution."

"An alternative solution?"

The people around him stared wide-eyed at him.

"First of all, I'm truly sorry for not telling you in advance. It's not that I particularly suspect you, but since the Dark Heavens Association's eyes and ears are everywhere, I could only bring it up now. Please understand."

"

Ahem,

of course. That doesn't really matter. After all, isn't that what the situation requires?" Shen Daoyun stepped forward as the representative and tried to clear the air with a cough.

The old-fashioned "elders" of the Righteous Faction who valued their

face

would respond in anger, asking why he couldn't trust them, but the Righteous Faction members from Guizhou weren't so hard-headed; they were more flexible.

Moreover, even if they were stuck-up members of the Righteous Faction, they still wouldn't dare to express their discontentment in front of one of the Six Empyrean Overlords.

"Sun Tzu once said—ground which can be abandoned but is hard to reoccupy is called

Guà.

Kěyǐ Wǎng Nán Yǐ Fǎn Yuē Guà.

"

Guà Xíng Zhě, Dí Wú Bèi, Chū Ér Shèng Zhī.

"

From this position, if the enemy wasn't prepared, one could advance and defeat them.

"

Dí Ruòyǒu Bèi, Chū Ér Bù Shèng

."

However, if the enemy was prepared, and one cannot advance and defeat them...

"

Nányǐ Fǎn, Bùlì

."

Then returning would become difficult, and there would be no benefit at all.

"We'll use this

Guà.

"

It was a phrase from the

Terrain

chapter of the

Art of War.

Shen Daoyun glanced at Zhuge Xiuluan and asked, "Are you referring to a formation?"

"It's similar. But please be careful not to let our strategy leak out."

Zhou Xuchuan carefully conveyed the message to the key figures through the Encrypted Voice Transmission in case someone else heard them.

— Even if you're surprised, please listen quietly.

"...!"

The people looked surprised upon hearing the voice in their ears.

Encrypted Voice Transmission?

How can the Sword God use sound arts...?

Encrypted Voice Transmission was classified as a sound art.

The principle was similar to ventriloquism, but it was different.

One would bite their tongue so that their tongue couldn't be seen, and then they would open their mouth slightly to speak. It was a method of breaking down sound waves that transmitted one's voice using one's qi, and then recombining them in the ear of the desired target.

It was a popular sound art along with the Lion Roar of Shaolin Temple, but it was extremely difficult to perform. To make matters worse, it consumed a lot of qi.

They had never heard of the Mount Hua Sect having the Encrypted Voice Transmission Art.

— Not far from Weng'an, there's a trade route to Guizhou that the Gold Will Merchants are using for supply purposes. We've set up a mechanism near there. We plan to guide them there.

Everyone frowned when the word "mechanism" was mentioned.

Mechanism?

Is he serious?

I mean, I get the situation is what it is, but still...

The importance of mechanisms had yet to be highlighted at this point in time.

It had only become popular during the Era of War and Chaos. Back then, they had suffered incredible damage due to some mechanisms upon attacking a branch of the Dark Heavens Association.

In the case of the Treasury of the Three-Eyed Godly Thief or the Tomb of the Ominous Demon, most of the mechanisms had been dismantled or destroyed by Zhou Xuchuan. As a result, the art of mechanisms didn't become very popular, and they weren't even considered dangerous.

While it was a different story at other times, these people found it difficult to rely on what they considered a "dead" technique for the upcoming decisive battle that would determine the fate of Guizhou.

— I know what you're thinking, but please trust in me. By the way, the Gold Will Merchants have greatly invested in the art of mechanisms. Would the Merchant King spend his money on something so trivial? Moreover, I, the Sword God, will guarantee this. So please trust in me.

Hmm.

Well...

Aren't they the Sword God and the Merchant King?

Fame was essential for commanding during a war. If one were unknown or were giving commands through one's connections, the people wouldn't listen to one's orders.

However, if one had the reputational guarantee of a hero who once led wars to victory, an Empyrean Overlord, and the King of Merchants, it would be a different story.

Those factors gave strength to Zhou Xuchuan's pleading.

I want to hide it until the end, but if I don't show at least the blueprints of the mechanism, our troops will fall into it. At the very least, I should tell the leaders.

Zhou Xuchuan tried his best to persuade the commanding staff. Even if he could get them to follow the order, they couldn't feel doubt or anxiety all the way to the end.

He was going to persuade them so that the operation would proceed as naturally as possible.

Shengji, now is your time to make a name for yourself,

Zhou Xuchuan thought. The Gold Will Merchants branch in Guizhou had used its abundant funds and the excellent labor force of the Valley of Phantoms to set up the mechanisms.

In addition, the Tactician Phoenix specializing in natural formations was with them, so it was time for them to show the others the power of mechanism formation arts.