Daqin Zhentiansi

Chapter 1119 begins the strategy of using war to sustain war.

Zhang Yuan stood outside the shed, listening to the discussions inside, without saying a word.

His gaze passed over the valley entrance and over the hillside, landing on the distant horizon, on that faint, purplish-black halo.

The demonic energy on the hillside did not dissipate after the previous charge; on the contrary, it became even stronger.

Dark clouds pressed down on the horizon, with faint, purplish-black flashes of lightning flickering silently within them.

In the more distant mountains and forests, the outlines of even more magical beasts are slowly emerging, densely packed and countless.

They did not launch an attack immediately, but simply stood there quietly, like a gray wall.

More monsters are arriving from all directions.

Yan He walked out of the shed.

He walked up to Zhang Yuan and clasped his hands in a fist salute.

His knife was already back in his waistband, and blood was still dripping from the burlap wrapped around the hilt.

He clenched his fists with great force, his knuckles turning white.

"Senior Zhang, the three thousand soldiers you led are incredibly powerful. Our leaders just discussed it."

"You don't need to worry about us. Take the young people with you, take as many as you can. We old guys will stay behind to cover the retreat, and hold out for as long as we can."

Tuoba Shan suddenly looked up: "Uncle—"

Yan He waved his hand, blocking him back.

He looked at Tuoba Shan, and his gaze suddenly softened.

A smile appeared on that blood-stained face.

The smile was faint, but genuine.

"Shanzi, your father died young. I held you when you were little, do you remember?"

“Your uncle has never begged anyone in his life. But I’m begging you this time. Take the children and leave. There are still the Bai Shuang remnants and the Tuoba tribe outside the mountains. You must live.”

Zhang Yuan did not answer him.

He stood at the valley entrance, eyes closed, the Dao Seed within his body trembling slightly.

His senses extended outwards, passing through hillsides, through hordes of magical beasts, through layers of demonic energy, all the way to the outer perimeter of the Nine Ridges Mountains.

The demonic energy gathered around the perimeter to form a ring-shaped wall with extremely high density and a thickness of at least several tens of miles.

There were even more demonic beasts gathering inside the demonic energy zone, so many that his senses couldn't fully cover them.

Then he opened his eyes and said something.

"We can't break through."

Yan He was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

Zhang Yuan turned around and walked back into the shed.

In the center of the tent was a flat stone, its surface covered with ashes from the charred tent fabric, giving it a grayish appearance.

He reached out and lightly touched the stone surface with his fingertips.

A pale golden light spread from the fingertips, gently pushing away the ashes on the stone surface and spreading out a map of light and shadow covering several feet in diameter.

The mountains rise and fall, the valleys meander, and every ridge and ravine is clearly visible.

The location of the monster horde was marked with red dots, which covered the outer edge of the map like a blood-red chain.

The area with the densest demonic energy was marked in purplish-black, and that purplish-black circle completely surrounded the entire Jiuling Mountain area.

People gathered around and looked down at the map.

They had spent their whole lives looking at mountains and hunting, but they had never seen anything like this before.

Yan Qing's eyes widened in surprise.

Yan Lie touched his chin with his uninjured hand, his eyes scanning back and forth across the map.

Yuan Mu opened his mouth, looked at the map and then at Zhang Yuan, wanting to say something but swallowing it back.

Zhang Yuan pointed to a purplish-black area surrounding the Nine Ridges Mountains: "The monsters aren't randomly surrounding us. They're forming a formation."

"This ring of demonic energy has completely locked down the outer perimeter of the Nine Ridges Mountains. The density of the demonic energy ring and the nine-layered demonic energy vortex are of the same origin. Anything that rushes in, whether human or demonic beast, cannot get out."

Han Zheng's expression changed. His face, already ashen, turned even paler: "You mean we're trapped in an even larger encirclement?"

“Yes.” Zhang Yuan nodded. “The Wolf King did appear. It’s been on the outskirts the whole time. It’s waiting for more magical beasts to gather and completely seal off this area.”

"Even if we lead the young people out of the valley, we won't be able to break through the blockade around Jiuling Mountain. Going out would just be suicide."

Yan He fell silent.

Han Zheng fell silent.

Meng Yuan also fell silent.

The shed fell silent, with only the whistling of the wind blowing through the valley outside.

The wind howled through the pile of rocks at the mouth of the valley, making a whistling sound, like something was crying.

Yan He looked down at the purplish-black band of demonic energy on the map of light and shadow, his eyes bloodshot.

He held out for a day and a night, waited for reinforcements, and witnessed a great victory, but now he hears, "We can't break through."

Tuoba Shan stared at the band of demonic energy on the map of light and shadow for a long time.

Then he turned to Zhang Yuan: "Senior, what should we do?"

Zhang Yuan did not answer immediately.

He looked down at the map, his finger pointing to several high points in the heart of the Jiuling Mountains.

With a fingertip, a golden dot of light was left on the map with each touch, and the dot flashed twice before slowly fading away.

"Here. Here. And here."

"The three high grounds are all within the coverage of the demonic energy zone, but the terrain is treacherous, making them easy to defend and difficult to attack."

"We won't charge, we'll defend."

"Integrate all the teams participating in the hunt, form unified squads, and unify command. Go out and attack before the monsters complete their encirclement. After the attack, retreat, defend the high ground, and reinforce the defenses. Then wait."

Yan He pressed further, "Waiting for what?"

Zhang Yuan raised his head, his gaze calm.

His finger was still on the last point of light, and the golden light at his fingertip slowly faded away.

"Wait for the Wolf King to come out on his own."

"It's hiding on the outskirts, trying to use low-level magical beasts to wear down our troops and morale. So let's do the opposite—use the low-level magical beasts it sends to train our troops."

"We'll kill one wave of monsters, then another. We'll use bones for arrows, hides for armor, and tendons for bowstrings. Once we kill them until they feel the pain, they'll come out on their own."

Yan He remained silent for a long time.

He glanced at Han Zheng.

Han Zheng nodded, then looked down at the three high grounds marked by Zhang Yuan on the light and shadow map.

Although he was only a deputy commander, he had led troops his whole life and could tell at a glance how accurately the three high ground positions had been chosen.

He looked at Zhang Yuan, but his gaze was different from before.

He clasped his hands and said, "Han Zheng, deputy commander of the Gale Battalion, awaits your command."

Meng Yuan nodded heavily, his voice deep and resonant: "Meng Yuan, commander of the Shilei Fortress Guard, with three hundred remaining troops, awaits your command."

The chieftains of several small tribes also clasped their hands in greeting.

Their clan, which usually doesn't even rank in the eyes of the five generals, is now standing here as well.

Zhang Yuan nodded, turned around and walked out of the shed.

He stood outside the shed, looking at the white frost-covered battle flag at the bottom of the valley.

The battle flag fluttered in the mountain wind, and the snow-capped peaks on the flag shimmered in the sunlight.

Under the battle flag, three thousand soldiers remained in formation, awaiting the next order.

Their armor was covered in blood, but their formation remained perfectly intact.

The training began that afternoon.

Zhang Yuan divided everyone in the valley into three camps. (End of Chapter)