Chapter 2222: Chapter 2222 A Battle of No Return
The army under Ye Liuyun’s leadership likewise began a comprehensive mobilization.
It all began with the moving out of Xiao Yunfang’s and He Lianxiu’s soldiers from Inferno City.
Mu Qingcheng led the 100,000-strong eastern army through the Conveyor Formation and gradually reached Inferno City and took over its defense.
Ye Liuyun distributed the four thousand praetorians he captured to Yu Xiaofeng and Xiao Yunfang’s team respectively.
Then, the 100,000 troops along the southern coast also assembled outside of Inferno City. After everyone arrived with their equipments, Pei Yong took over the team.
This time Ye Liuyun was, in essence, fighting a battle of no return. After all, behind them was the Endless Sea.
They would be forced to withdraw to the east if their primary forces were annihilated in combat. It would be even harder for them to fight their way back here.
Pei Yong led the 100,000 armies on their onward march.
Thus, Ye Liuyun’s 400,000 troops advanced towards the Revival Dynasty.
Upon receiving the intel, the Revival Dynasty began to worry that Ye Liuyun was plotting a full-scale assault on the Regalty. To be safe, they began to converge their western and northern reinforcements on Regalty to avoid being too late.
But Ye Liuyun’s two armies split up when they neared the Regalty, with one heading north and the other west.
It appeared as though they were either massing to meet the northern and western forces head-on or planning to surround Regalty.
They didn’t siege any cities along the route. All they did was travel. Naturally, no city with a limited perspective dared to stop them.
Then, Xiao Yunfang’s army started marching as well, quickly conquering the eastern cities one by one.
The Revival Dynasty, indeed, could not figure out Ye Liuyun’s true intentions. So they could only dispatch 1,000 praetorians each way for surveillance.
They were afraid that these three armies might suddenly turn their attack on the royal citadel of Regalty, so they dared not deploy too many troops at once.
However, what they didn’t expect was that all three of these praetorians had been annihilated.
Yu Xiaofeng and Xiao Yunfang’s two armies, each with two thousand advanced ninth-level martial practitioners and Ye Liuyun’s Blade Legion, annihilated them with ease, even capturing quite a lot of them in the process.
The prisoners they caught were allowed to return to report to Pei Yong, all by themselves.
After a few days of silence, the Revival Dynasty made some corresponding adjustments.
Their northern army directly confronted the armies of Ye Liuyun and He Lianxiu, while their western army began to retreat towards Deliverance Hill.
Meanwhile, thirty thousand praetorians were dispatched. Ten thousand aimed for Xiao Yunfang’s army, ten thousand charged towards the city guarded by Pei Yong, and another ten thousand rushed toward Inferno City.
Ye Liuyun was also amazed. "The Revival Dynasty has launched a full-scale counterattack because they are unable to determine our attack’s trajectory! Tiger Head does have some skill."
The Revival Dynasty launched a five-pronged counterattack, which surprised him because he had underestimated how brutal they would be.
Yu Xiaofeng also asked Ye Liuyun for advice. "The Western army is retreating to Deliverance Hill, could it be that they are trying to expand their power, instead of trying to fight against us?"
"No way!"
Ye Liuyun and Song An gave their conclusion together.
"If the western army seeks independence, after we exterminate the Revival Dynasty, they certainly won’t be able to withstand our attack. Therefore, they either have to act now or surrender."
"So, they’re retreating deliberately, waiting for your army to attack Regalty before they ambush," analyzed Song An.
"This precisely proves that that this army is the strongest among all their forces!" added Ye Liuyun.
"I believe this indicates that ’Tigerhead’ is Yuan Hao," he continued his analysis. "There is a lag in time as his army in the north advances and his force in the west retreats."
"He could deal with my troops first, then quickly return to lead the western army against your forces. Regardless of his victory or defeat against me, it would not delay his command of the Western army!"
"That’s likely! His three-pronged attack from the praetorians towards the eastern part might be a strategy to lure our main forces into rescuing our comrades."
"Our forces are one hundred thousand on each front, whereas he only has ten thousand praetorians. As soon as we set in for a rescue, they would flee. They are fewer in number and can evade faster, we wouldn’t be able to catch up with them!" Song An also discerned the intentions of the Revival Dynasty.
"That’s right, I believe that’s the case too. These tens of thousands of praetorians from the Revival Dynasty, may not necessarily be willing to fight till the end! But if it is under ’Tigerhead’ command, the possibility exists. There is a chance that he might launch a vicious attack on the base to exert pressure on our front-line forces!”
Ye Liuyun believed that Mo Xiaotian would undoubtedly use the Praetorians just as a means of intimidation if he were in charge. However, there is a chance that the praetorians might attack the city in full if it is commanded by ’Tigerhead’.
According to Song An, "A leopard cannot alter its spots. Even during dire situations, Mo Xiaotian will not entrust anybody the command of his life-saving armed units."
"Whether they are actually launching a full attack or just feigning one, our original plan stays!"
Ye Liuyun finally made a decision.
As a result, Ye Liuyun’s multi-pronged forces proceeded to advance as per the original plan, without a single adjustment.
Mo Xiaotian, stuck in the palace, became restless, continuously inquiring about changes in the battlefield situations.
The lack of change, however, increased his anxiety.
Song An, who knew him well, speculated perfectly right.
’Tigerhead’ indeed suggested a counterattack to Mo Xiaotian, but Mo Xiaotian did not accept his idea. He was unwilling to expend the praetorians.
Ye Liuyun’s conjecture was also spot on. Yuan Hao was Tige Head who had always concealed his identity. He had previously pretended to be non-cooperative with the Revival Dynasty to give Ye Liuyun a false feeling of security.
But as soon as he witnessed Ye Liuyun’s strategies, he knew that he should not be taken lightly.
Unfortunately, his advice to Mo Xiaotian was not heeded, and he was not entrusted with command over the praetorians.
However, he made the most of the situation by leading the Northern Army into combat with Ye Liuyun before heading back to the West to engage an additional 100,000 men, a strategy that appeared to be enough to deplete Ye Liuyun’s forces.
However, much to his surprise, Ye Liuyun had anticipated his strategy.
It was only because Ye Liuyun himself had a Black Tower that he considered Yuan Hao too might have the ability for transportation.
In reality, Yuan Hao lacked any means of magical transportation methods. However, he could teleport back at will thanks to a Conveyor Formation he had covertly established atop Deliverance Hill.
The word reached Ye Liuyun and his troops. The advance of the praetorian was followed by the engagement with Xiao Yunfang’s army.
"Your priority is to defend. In their first confrontation, they will definitely launch a full-scale attack, whether it’s an actual attack or a fake. You should all concentrate on defence and attempt to seize as many of the praetorian’s experts as possible. Then you may launch a counterattack!" Xiao Yunfang was briefed by Ye Liuyun.
Xiao Yunfang immediately began her fortification. She commanded Qiong Qi to set up defensive formations in the recently conquered city. Liu Yang, Mo Shaowen, and the others prepared themselves and led the soul cultivators.
Likewise, Qiong Qi got right down to the business of organising the defensive formations. Following two days of madcap activity outside the city, they made it back in time to await their arrival.
