CHAPTER 1132: CHAPTER 175: THE ARMIES UNITE (PART 2)

Even though Ye Lin was now officially the Acting City Lord, it was clear to everyone that he was practically no different from the actual City Lord.

Han Yue City was besieged by the court army, and the citizens inside were marked for certain death. Even though, with the help of the Tianyuan Sect, they repelled the court army this time, what about the future?

In a sense, the Dafu Dynasty no longer had a place for them.

Therefore, with the Tianyuan Sect setting up a permanent base here, it was a cause for celebration for all the citizens of Han Yue City.

At least in the future, they would not have to worry about being constantly retaliated against by the court army.

Meanwhile, after Zhang Xiaoman finished setting up everything, he took a good rest for a night before soaring into the sky.

He planned to first find the General here to understand the specific situation from him.

At this time, the eastern and western armies led by Lu Cheng had already arrived, and at least eight hundred thousand troops surrounded the outside of Han Yue City.

With such a large army, the consumption of provisions was naturally immense. Therefore, they were reluctant to engage in a prolonged battle, opting instead to rely on their superior numbers for a forced siege.

At this moment, inside what appeared to be an ordinary tent in the middle of the camp.

The aged old General Lu Cheng was discussing military affairs and planning the next battle strategy with several young officers.

"Commander, we have drained all the nearby accumulated water and diverted it into the Li River. As we suspected, those Devils didn’t dare to continue the unending rain, or they would have been the first to suffer," said a middle-aged officer in his thirties with excitement.

"Exactly. Although the terrain of Han Yue City is relatively high, as long as we dig water channels and move our army to the nearby hills, they will be the ones to suffer eventually. It’s like beating them at their own game, hahaha!"

The others around him also smiled.

In their eyes, confronting those Cultivators was inherently a highly stressful task.

The opponent’s endless means overwhelmed them.

Especially the latest heavy rain, which caused visible losses to their military provisions.

Although there was no evidence proving that the rain was manmade, these people weren’t foolish. They had long suspected that it might be the work of cultivators in the city.

The Han Yue City region wasn’t known for heavy rain, yet coincidentally during their siege, it rained continuously for over a dozen days, which could no longer be explained as mere coincidence.

So, for the past few days, everyone’s mood was akin to the weather here, shrouded in gloom day and night.

However, after a series of setbacks, they finally celebrated their first victory.

Though this victory seemed somewhat insignificant, merely stopping the rain through attrition.

But for them, it was a good start, believing that as long as they persisted, they would eventually defeat the Devils inside.

At the forefront, although Lu Cheng’s expression softened slightly, he was not as pleased as the others.

"Everyone must not become complacent. We have only stopped the rain for now. In a few days, we still need to intensify drainage and then organize a full-scale siege."

"The Commander is right. As long as we work together, no matter how powerful that demon is, he cannot possibly be a match for our army of eight hundred thousand!"

"Indeed, I’ve heard these Cultiv—Devils, are not all-powerful either. Once they run out of mana, they are no different from ordinary people! As long as we press forward and deploy our elite to entrap him, no matter how strong he is, he can only die with unfulfilled ambitions!"

Seeing his subordinates all grinning, Lu Cheng shook his head slightly and straightened his face.

"You are generals of the Da Fu Dynasty after all, how can you not keep your composure? Have you lost your wits over such a minor victory?! All of you, shut up for this old man!"

With this said, silence instantly fell all around, and the tent was once again enveloped in quietness.

Clearly, Lu Cheng’s prestige within the army was very high. These people might be unruly in front of a civil official, but they were very intimidated in front of the Great General.

"Sigh, stopping the rain was just the first step. Let’s not forget there’s still an invisible wall protecting outside the city, which the soldiers will find hard to breach, isn’t that so?"

"Moreover, there are Fierce Beasts and tigers within the city. Though I haven’t seen them, I’ve heard from military reports that they are demon beasts too. When they exited the city that day and stirred up a demon wind, hundreds of our soldiers were slaughtered easily, making them formidable adversaries not to be underestimated."

"Lastly, that Devil has yet to reveal himself. His true strength remains unknown..."

"I’m not trying to waver your resolve, but since you are all officers in our army, I speak bluntly in the hope that you will curb your arrogance and take this battle seriously!"

These words hit the generals like a hammer, awakening them.

"We shall heed the Commander’s teaching and never forget!"

Everyone stood, saluting Lu Cheng.

The latter nodded in satisfaction, and the people in the tent began devising their next specific strategies.

Discussing traps and possible escape routes for the enemy occupied them for an entire hour.

"Commander! I am willing to lead three thousand heavy cavalry to hold off that demon beast. Even if it has steel teeth and copper jaws, they surely cannot easily penetrate our heavy armor!"

"While General Niu holds the demon beast, I volunteer to capture that Devil! My unit has the most archers, and I believe that no matter how skilled he is, he cannot withstand my ten thousand drawn bows!"

"Well said! But have any of you considered how we’ll break through the invisible wall outside the city? We’ve tried before, even the strongest archers couldn’t shoot over it. The wall seems limitless, with no known height."

"If we can’t go over it, we’ll force our way through! I, Zhang Laosan, refuse to believe there’s a wall in this world that can’t be breached! When the time comes, we’ll have dozens of catapults firing simultaneously, surely we’ll bring it down!"

"Although you say so, have you all considered what if that demon knows he’s losing, and then rides the clouds away, what should we do? I’ve heard those Devils have Flying to Heaven and Escaping Earth abilities."

"No worries! I know some friends from the Sect of the Poisonless. I’ve brought them along. They will concoct poison for us to deploy around, an invisible substance that will render that demon’s body feeble and helpless against us!"

"..."

Everyone chimed in, listing out their upcoming plans one by one.

Lu Cheng remained silent, merely listening to their discussion, as if pondering something in deep thought.

He understood that things would not proceed as smoothly as they imagined.

The simplest conundrum was determining how many cultivators were truly in the city, which remained unknown.

According to previous intelligence from insiders, there was reportedly only one Cultivator.

But how accurate this information was, no one knew for sure, as other cultivators might be hiding within the city, yet to reveal themselves.

Yet, Lu Cheng had no choice. To eradicate this supernatural threat, he had to forge ahead.

Whether it was one or ten cultivators, there was no room for retreat.

Nevertheless, he thought it necessary to discuss this in detail with the soldiers later. Otherwise, should they find more than one Cultivator upon entering the city, they would be caught off guard, greatly demoralizing the troops.

While pondering, it was nearing noon outside.

Lu Cheng looked through the tent’s skylight, planning to send everyone away to eat before continuing their discussion.

Unexpectedly, he saw a figure descending from the sky, heading straight toward him.