Chapter 364: Chapter 364: Strike First to Gain the Upper Hand
After they confirmed the Martial Soul Hall was truly about to move against the County City.
The three King Realm Chief Stewards and the Six Great Army Commanders present—all nine of them—furrowed their brows. The atmosphere grew heavy and oppressive.
If Lianshan County City truly became the battlefield for the final showdown with the Martial Soul Hall, it went without saying who would suffer the most: the city’s common people and low-level Martial Artists.
For them, the fallout from a Martial King Level battle was unthinkable. The mere aftershocks from a clash between two Martial Spirit Level experts would be enough to kill them instantly.
If the Martial Soul Hall were to attack the County City, rivers of blood would surely flow.
Of the millions of people within the city walls, perhaps not even one in ten would survive.
This was a scenario the Great Xia Dragon Guard absolutely did not want to see.
An emergency evacuation was also out of the question. The County City’s population was simply too large, and the vast majority were ordinary people with no assets or strength. If they left the city, they would have nowhere to go, nor did they have the ability to flee to other counties or cities.
Besides, if so many defenseless people left the city and were discovered by the Martial Soul Hall, they would become a liability the Great Xia Dragon Guard could be threatened with, putting them at a severe disadvantage.
The members of the great family clans could simply walk away from this, but the Great Xia Dragon Guard had to consider the bigger picture.
"Sir, what if we concentrate our forces and strike first, hitting the Martial Soul Hall’s main nest directly?" one of the Military Lords suddenly proposed.
At that, everyone’s eyes lit up.
Whoever’s territory the war was fought on would obviously suffer the heaviest losses. That being the case, why couldn’t they take the initiative and bring the fight to the Martial Soul Hall’s doorstep?
"Yes, that’s a great idea!"
"I agree, this plan is feasible. If we attack first, the Martial Soul Hall will be forced onto the defensive."
"From what I know, the Martial Soul Hall’s Earth Spirit Realm and Celestial Spirit Realm experts have already begun gathering in that abandoned town. It really does look like they’re planning a major move. If we launch a proactive assault, we can definitely catch them off guard!"
As soon as the idea was proposed, it won the approval of many of the Military Lords.
The exact location of the Martial Soul Hall’s nest was a secret to most, but for the nine of them—the top brass of the Lianshan County Great Xia Dragon Guard—it was an open book.
They conferred for a moment before all turning their gazes to Grand Chief Steward Jingtai.
A proactive attack would likely require mobilizing the full strength of the Great Xia Dragon Guard. Only Jingtai could make a decision of this magnitude.
Facing the eight pairs of questioning eyes, Jingtai suddenly smiled. "That’s exactly what I was thinking," he said. "And I have something very, very important to tell you."
’Something very, very important?’
’For the Grand Chief Steward to use "very" twice, it can’t be anything ordinary.’ The eight of them grew visibly more serious.
"I just received news this morning. Prince Duan is coming to Lianshan County."
As soon as Jingtai spoke, the other eight men’s eyes widened in shock. A moment later, their faces filled with elation.
Prince Duan, the younger brother of the current Great Xia Sovereign, had displayed immense Martial Dao talent from a young age. He had even been personally tutored by the royal family’s own Martial Emperor ancestor.
And now... he was a supreme expert at the Celestial King Realm!
If an expert of his caliber were to take action, he could likely wipe out the entire Lianshan County Martial Soul Hall by himself. How could they not be overjoyed?
"Grand Chief Steward, why is Prince Duan coming to Lianshan County? Is it because of the Martial Soul Hall?" another King Realm Chief Steward asked, puzzled.
Someone of Prince Duan’s high status, one of the most powerful figures in all of Great Xia, would not leave the imperial capital lightly, let alone visit a subordinate county city.
"He is coming for the sect recruitment," Jingtai said with a light chuckle.
"Lord Chief Manager, hasn’t the sect recruitment always been held in the imperial capital? Why would anyone come to our Lianshan County for it?"
As more questions arose, Jingtai just smiled and shook his head. "We’ll discuss that later. For now, the most important thing is dealing with the Martial Soul Hall."
"In any case, I’ve already sent a reply to Prince Duan, asking for his Flying Ship to stop for a while at the abandoned town—the Martial Soul Hall’s nest—at noon, six days from now. Prince Duan has agreed. He will help us take care of the Martial Soul Hall while he’s at it."
"I’ve already calculated the timing. We will gather all our Flying Demon Beasts and all Great Xia Dragon Guards at the Earth Spirit Realm and above. We’ll set out in three days, which will allow us to arrive on the morning of the sixth day."
"All of you, go back and make the necessary arrangements. We are taking every single Earth Spirit Realm and Celestial Spirit Realm expert this time. We must completely eradicate the Martial Soul Hall!"
"As for the Small Spirit Realm and Martial Master Realm members, leave them. First, we don’t have enough Flying Demon Beasts for them. Second, they would be too easily caught in the crossfire. As long as we wipe out all of the Martial Soul Hall’s experts at the Earth Spirit Realm and above in one fell swoop, we can slowly mop up the rest!"
Grand Chief Steward Jingtai made his final arrangements.
They would strike first, forcing a decisive battle with the Martial Soul Hall in its own nest!
With the final decision made, the entire Great Xia Dragon Guard began operating at peak efficiency.
Because Mu and his group had previously intercepted and killed so many Small Spirit Realm experts, most of the Great Xia Dragon Guards had not been taking missions recently and were still in the County City. This made mobilizing them incredibly easy.
For this operation, the Grand Chief Steward and the others were dead set on completely eradicating the Martial Soul Hall. They not only mobilized all active Earth Spirit Realm and Celestial Spirit Realm members, but they also called upon those who had retired.
As for the safety of the County City, the Grand Chief Steward and his men weren’t worried.
According to their reliable intelligence, the Martial Soul Hall’s experts at the Earth Spirit Realm and above had long since gathered in that abandoned town, fearing retaliation from the Great Xia Dragon Guard.
Furthermore, their Small Spirit Realm members had not been mobilized on a large scale.
The only ones active outside were small squads of Small Spirit Realm experts and some at the Martial Master Realm. By themselves, they posed no threat to the County City.
A state of emergency was declared under the personal command of Grand Chief Steward Jingtai.
The Great Xia Dragon Guard operated with incredible efficiency. Within three days, every expert at the Earth Spirit Realm and Celestial Spirit Realm was assembled. All the Flying Demon Beasts were well-fed and rested, adjusted to their peak condition.
At the crack of dawn on the fourth day, massive figures shot out from the Great Xia Dragon Guard encampment—they were Tier Two and Tier Three Flying Demon Beasts.
The back of every Flying Demon Beast was packed with experts from the Earth Spirit Realm, Celestial Spirit Realm, and even the King Realm.
The entire strength of the Great Xia Dragon Guard poured forth, their target: the heart of the Martial Soul Hall’s lair!
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