Daqin Zhentiansi

Chapter 1094 The Qingyang Prefecture garrison had no precedent for retreating halfway through a marc

Xuan Qing gripped the Frostbite Sword tightly; the icy blue light flowing across the blade did not dim but instead shone even brighter.

He turned his head slightly and said something to Yunxia.

The wind was too strong, and no one could hear what he said.

But Yunxia heard it clearly.

She paused for a moment, then smiled.

The smile vanished in a flash, and then she formed hand seals again, the remaining glow of the sunset re-condensing at her fingertips.

Meanwhile, higher in the sky, the fourth Demon General stood side by side with the first Demon General.

They did not participate in the siege, but instead surveyed the entire battlefield.

"The resistance at Tianyuan City is stronger than expected," the fourth Demon General said coldly. "Xuanjue's formation connects the four city walls into one. If we attack one, the other three will immediately reinforce it. Our people are tied down."

The Demon Commander remained silent for a few moments before slowly speaking: "Xuan Jue's goal is not to defend Tianyuan City."

"Ok?"

"He stood motionless on the city wall. From beginning to end, he only did two things: repair the key points of the formation and give orders. He was not best at defending the city."

The fourth Demon General's pupils contracted slightly: "What is he waiting for?"

"Wait for reinforcements." The Demon Commander's gaze swept past Tianyuan City and looked into the distant void. "He's using Tianyuan City as a nail, pinning our forces here. Once reinforcements arrive, the tide of battle will immediately turn."

"Then let his reinforcements not arrive." The fourth demon general raised his hand, and a purplish-black demonic light shot into the depths of the void, exploding into a circle of demonic ripples on the outer edge of the Sky Patrol Continent.

Where the ripples spread, hundreds of spatial rifts were forcibly closed simultaneously.

This is a lockdown.

He wanted to sever all ties between Tianyuan City and the outside world.

The Demon General didn't stop them, but he also didn't show any relief.

He simply continued to stare at the thin, gray figure on the city wall, as if waiting for something.

On the city wall, Xuan Jue sensed the closure of the rifts in the void.

He raised his head, his gaze piercing through layers of demonic energy, meeting the gaze of the leading demon general in the clouds.

The two stared at each other for a moment across the battlefield, which was dozens of miles apart. Then Xuan Jue withdrew his gaze and continued to repair the array's core.

His expression remained unchanged from beginning to end.

For the first time, the Demon Commander frowned.

Xuan Jue's reaction was too indifferent.

It was so faint that it stirred a very slight unease in his heart, one that he himself was unwilling to admit.

Outside the Sky-Patrol Continent, in the void.

Wherever the magical ripples passed, spatial rifts closed.

That was a blockade set up by the Demon General of the Underworld using the power of a peak Venerable.

It is enough to sever all teleportation channels between Tianyuan City and the outside world.

The first to be severed were the three spatial rifts in the direction of Qingyang Continent.

The 80,000 vanguard troops of Qingyangzhou Garrison had already marched halfway through the rift when they suddenly discovered that the passage ahead was beginning to collapse.

The deputy general of Qingyangzhou, who was leading the army, gritted his teeth and ordered a full-speed advance, but the collapse was happening even faster.

The last three thousand people failed to escape, disappearing into the collapsed cracks, their screams not even having a chance to reach the other side.

Immediately afterwards, the teleportation channel of the Flying Feather Army of Crimson Cloud Continent was also cut off.

One hundred thousand Flying Feather soldiers hovered in front of the collapsed crevice, watching helplessly as the points of light at the end of the passage went out one by one.

The teleportation channel of the Iron Wall Army of White Frost Continent.

The teleportation channel of the Tidal Army of Canghaizhou.

The teleportation channel of the Cloud Hidden Army of Liuyun Continent.

One rift after another closed within the ripples of magical patterns, simultaneously cutting off the marching routes of more than ten reinforcements.

But no reinforcements stopped.

The deputy general of Qingyang Prefecture looked at the collapsing fissure before him, glanced back at the more than 70,000 soldiers behind him, and squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth: "Take a detour. Go through the Tianyuan Corridor." Tianyuan Corridor.

That was an abandoned ancient road on the edge of Xuntian Continent, which was once the passage for transporting array materials when the Xuntian Continent Great Array was first built millions of years ago.

On both sides of the road are undeveloped spatial barriers; a slight misstep could result in being swept into spatial turbulence and leaving no trace.

For millions of years, no organized army has dared to take that route.

The lieutenant's deputy turned pale: "General, the Heavenly Abyss Corridor—"

“I said, take the Tianyuan Corridor.” The lieutenant interrupted him, his voice not loud, but all the soldiers around him heard it. “The Qingyangzhou garrison has no precedent for turning back halfway through a march.”

The more than 70,000 soldiers were silent for a moment, then responded in unison.

No one asked a second question.

The lieutenant turned around and stepped into the ancient passage first.

Behind him, 70,000 Qingyangzhou garrison troops filed in, the clanging of armor echoing through the passage like distant thunder.

The same scene was playing out simultaneously in various parts of Xuntianzhou.

The commander of the Flying Feather Army of Crimson Cloud Continent looked at the blocked passage, remained silent for three breaths, and then looked up at the 100,000 Flying Feather soldiers behind him.

One hundred thousand pairs of wings of light unfolded in the void, their silvery-white light stretching out and pushing back the surrounding darkness for miles.

"Since we can't use the teleportation channel, let's fly there." The commander's voice was calm. "Feather Army, listen to my command! Layout the entire army into marching formation. Target: Tianyuan City. Fly directly over the airspace of the Forty-Seven Continents."

"Commander, it will take at least three hours to fly across the airspace of forty-seven continents," the deputy commander whispered. "By the time we arrive, Tianyuan City may already be—"

"Then we must be even faster." The commander spread his wings of light and took the lead.

One hundred thousand Flying Feather Army soldiers followed closely behind, spreading out a silvery-white torrent several miles wide in the void, flying at full speed towards Tianyuan City.

As they flew over Crimson Cloud Continent, the cultivators on the ground looked up and saw the sky-covering, silvery-white wings.

Some clenched their fists, some knelt in prayer, and some drew their swords, watching the light fade into the distance.

Bai Shuangzhou.

After the Iron Wall Army's teleportation channel was cut off, the commander did not choose to take a detour or fly over it.

He chose the most direct approach.

"Disarm all siege equipment, and leave half the men to guard the supplies. The rest of you, lightly equipped, march quickly through the Void Rift Zone."

The Void Abyss Rift Region.

That was a dead zone between Xuntian Continent and Tianyuan City, filled with spatial rifts, with no complete spatial passages within a radius of tens of thousands of miles.

The cracks open and close without any pattern; sometimes one crack closes in front of you while another silently opens behind you.

Every year, countless caravans and independent cultivators disappear in that area, and their remains are never found.

"Even the heavy armor has been removed?" the deputy commander asked.

"Unarmor." The commander of the Iron Wall Army had already begun removing his armor.

Pieces of his heavy black iron armor fell off, slamming onto the ground with a dull thud.

The Iron Wall Army, renowned for its heavy armor infantry combat in Xuntian Continent, is now removing their prized heavy armor piece by piece.

No one complained.

The deputy commander silently removed his heavy armor, took the Iron Wall Army's flag from the flagpole, folded it neatly, and tucked it into his bosom.

The military flag must not be lost.

The 70,000-strong Iron Wall Army removed their heavy armor and set off lightly equipped.

They traversed the crevices, each step treading on the edge of a knife.

Someone was swallowed by the crevice, and his comrades reached out to pull him up, but only grabbed at air.

No one stopped.

The procession continued forward, getting smaller and faster.

The military flag was warm in the deputy commander's arms, warmed by his body heat. (End of Chapter)