At six-ten in the morning.
With Su Xinghe's command, the 200,000-strong player expeditionary army on Jiuzhangyuan rushed down the mountain like a tide. They did not shout battle cries; they were all silent, only the sound of the raging wind and snow, and the sound of their horses' hooves and footsteps on the snow could be heard. Led by the main elites of the four guilds, Xinghe, Canglong, Hancheng, and Linyuan Xianyu, they charged directly towards the two demon camps located between the two mountains. Each camp had 50,000 troops, totaling 100,000. This was the first piece of meat for the expeditionary army.
In the forest, there was no noisy chatter from the players. Everyone had adopted the guild chat's silent mode for external communication. As a result, it wasn't until a large group of players rushed to the front of the demon tents that the guards in the camps realized what was happening. A player's divine archer struck a first-tier demon soldier in the arrow tower with a Soul Burning Arrow, knocking him unconscious before he could even raise his voice to shout. He was then shot into a hedgehog and killed.
Feng Canghai took the lead, his long sword sweeping across the camp gate. With the attack of the Xinghe players behind him, the gate was breached in an instant. The demon soldiers' camps were very simple, all made of wood, and were directly flattened by the players. Only then did countless demon soldiers rush out of their tents, brandishing their weapons and roaring, "Humans are attacking, sound the alarm quickly!"
In an instant, hurried horn calls spread throughout the two demon camps. Countless demon soldiers rushed out of their tents and engaged in a bloody battle with the players. However, they still suffered heavy losses. Caught off guard, the demon army sustained significant damage.
"Kill!"
The expeditionary army finally opened their mouths. Yan Yuhan, the leader of Hancheng, led a group of heavily armored warrior-class players from the Hancheng guild, charging headlong into the fray, their spears thrusting, continuously killing monsters of the Flowing Gold grade. The infantry players from the rear also followed, and various spells, arrows, and barrages erupted in the midst of the demon army. Although some of the demon soldiers had a bit of cultivation and most of them wielded bone shields, they were no match for such fierce firepower, falling like wheat being reaped.
"Yi Shi Cang Liang, Jian Huang!"
Su Xinghe said in a deep voice in the expeditionary army's core chat channel, "Canglong Guild, wheel to the left to encircle and trap them. Linyuan Xianyu, wheel to the right to encircle and trap them. Directly surround these demons like dumplings and devour them all in one go!"
"Good!"
The thunderous sound of hooves echoed, and in an instant, the snowy ground where the two demon camps were located was stained red with blood.
...
Panyun Mountain.
In the command tents of the two demon camps, Fu Sheng and Nan Qingfeng, two great demons of the thirteenth tier, narrowed their eyes and used their spiritual senses to capture the situation on the battlefield below. The other top-tier demons sat leisurely in their seats, waiting for the order from the strategist Shi Jungang before they could join the battle.
"Is it ready?"
Bai Ye respectfully said, "The fish have taken the bait. Although it's not Lin Zhao's unit from Xueyu Tianchi, these people from another world are even more detestable. They would rather side with the lingering Dashang Dynasty than with us demons. Since that's the case, there's no need for us to be polite. We'll kill as many as come."
"Mmm."
Shi Jungang took a deep breath and said, "Originally, I set this feint to lure Lin Zhao into the trap. But Lin Zhao is cunning and won't easily take the bait. Then we'll just fish for whoever does. Immediately issue an order. The 200,000 troops ambushed on both flanks of Jiuzhangyuan will immediately charge out and cut off the retreat of these human armies. All of you on Panyun Mountain, after the time it takes an incense stick to burn, will descend the mountain with me and the remaining 100,000 elite demon troops to attack the human army!"
"Yes, Strategist!"
A group of people nodded in unison.
...
"Dong dong dong~~~"
The war drums sounded from Panyun Mountain, and on both sides of Jiuzhangyuan, fine black dots began to appear, eventually converging into two rivers and moving to envelop the rear of the player expeditionary army. Lin Zhao saw all of this and frowned, "As expected, it's a trap set by the demons. The expeditionary army is finished."
Wu Zhi frowned, "Shall we... descend the mountain to provide support?"
"No."
Lin Zhao shook his head, "Xueyu Tianchi has the Juque Fan formation, so we can only fight on Xueyu Tianchi. Once we descend the mountain, we might also encounter an ambush. There must be a master guarding the demon camps."
"Mmm!"
Just in the distance, as the 200,000 demons from both sides of Jiuzhangyuan appeared, the player expeditionary army was surrounded. In an instant, everyone fell into a panic. Although Su Xinghe shouted in the guild that these demons were just mobile experience points, the panic of the players continued to grow because the situation had exceeded their estimations.
"Damn it!"
Yi Shi Cang Liang fiercely chopped off the head of a second-tier demon cultivator with his sword and frowned, "As expected, when everything goes too smoothly, there must be a trick!"
"Boss!"
A guild leader said in a deep voice, "What do we do now? Our retreat has been cut off."
"Fight, what else can we do?"
Yi Shi Cang Liang's heart was truly desolate now. Just then, with a "ding," he received a message from Lin Zhao: "If all else fails, break through to the southwest. Xueyu Tianchi is in your southwest direction, and the demons might still be a little wary."
"Good!"
Yi Shi Cang Liang did not hesitate. He immediately mobilized a portion of the Canglong Guild's cavalry to charge south, forcefully carving out a path of retreat for themselves first.
...
"Everyone, don't panic!"
On the battlefield, Su Xinghe held his sword and roared, "The demons only have 400,000 troops, and we have 200,000. What are we afraid of? We'll kill as many as come, just treat it like farming monsters!"
However, facing the rolling tide of the demon army crushing towards them, everyone felt a chill in their hearts. Farming monsters didn't involve monsters of the Flowing Gold grade at levels above 120! The demon armies descending from the mountains were basically level 115 at the lowest, while the average level of the expeditionary army players was only level 90. How could they play with a difference of 25 levels?
Moreover, there weren't just small monsters!
In the wind, a golden figure appeared. It was a great demon of the eleventh tier. With a fierce palm strike, he smashed into the crowd of players, instantly killing nearly a hundred Xinghe elite players. They all turned into white light and returned to Changle City to resurrect. Some players caught a fleeting glimpse, and their hearts nearly stopped. That eleventh-tier great demon was a level 135 Heaven-grade boss. How could they possibly fight this?!
"Break through to the rear!"
Yan Yuhan, the leader of Hancheng, was also stunned. He led the main elite forces of Hancheng in a fierce breakthrough to the rear. But as they turned around, a gray and white figure appeared behind them. It was Wu Li, a great demon of the twelfth tier. Wu Li grinned menacingly and said, "If you dare to come to Panyun Mountain to die, you should have the awareness to die. Why are you thinking of retreating now?"
Saying this, Wu Li suddenly opened his mouth and, with the force of a whale swallowing a cow, unleashed a natal spell. In an instant, the souls of hundreds of Hancheng players in front of him seemed to be ripped away. They stood there screaming in agony, their health bars rapidly decreasing, and their bodies began to disintegrate into white light. In just one strike, over 99% of the hundreds of players were instantly killed.
That Wu Li's true form was a great black fish that had been cultivating for many years. His methods could not be described as anything less than brutal.
Yan Yuhan's body turned cold, and he felt as if his head was about to explode. He thought that the Northern Expedition would bring glory to his family, but who would have expected this outcome? Unexpectedly, disaster struck again as a young girl in a blue dress appeared in the sky, holding a blue oil-paper umbrella. A golden, pointed dragon horn protruded from her head. She raised her hand and summoned a thin sword, slashing it twice towards the ground.
"Shua shua~~~"
In the crowd of the Hancheng Guild, two parallel sword lights instantly appeared. Wherever the sword light passed, players were cleanly killed. The two sword energies cut two trenches on the ground, over ten meters wide and of unfathomable depth. Countless players from the Hancheng Guild were squeezed into the trenches, and the remaining fine sword energies within the trenches quickly shredded them, causing countless dense white lights to fly up.
"..."
Yan Yuhan turned his head and looked at the girl's rank, his face turning pale.
Long Zheng, a sword cultivator of the twelfth tier, a Ghost God-grade boss!
On the battlefield, the player expeditionary army had almost lost its ability to resist and was being slaughtered unilaterally.
...
"Bastard..."
Su Xinghe looked up at the dense army of demons crushing towards them in the distance, his expression filled with despair. He never dreamed that the two demon camps could have so many top-tier demons, nearly ten eleventh-tier great demons were rampaging through the player ranks, not to mention, there were even a few twelfth-tier demons. The attacks of twelfth-tier demons were terrifying, all of them having instant-kill AOE skills. At this stage, players were low-level, lacked buffs, and had poor equipment, completely becoming fodder!
"Mmm?"
In the wind, a woman's voice could be heard. It was a woman in a white dress, holding a luminous white long sword. Her beautiful eyes fell on Su Xinghe, and she immediately smiled and said, "Found the leader."
"What leader?!"
Su Xinghe gritted his teeth, and in the next second, the woman thrust her sword forward.
"It's over..."
In an instant, Su Xinghe's mind went blank because he caught a fleeting glimpse of the demon woman's rank!
Nan Qingfeng, thirteenth tier, Saint-grade boss. Among the demons, this level was already comparable to a sage!
"Shua~~~"
Su Xinghe gritted his teeth and directly activated his 5-second invincibility special skill. Originally, Su Xinghe could have directly crushed the town scroll and left, but he knew he couldn't. It was the Xinghe Guild that launched this Northern Expedition. If he were to return to the city invincibly, he would obviously become a laughingstock of the entire server. In an instant, Su Xinghe let out a low roar, relying on his invincibility state, he leaped onto his horse and swung his sword heavily at Nan Qingfeng.
Nan Qingfeng's sword strike was filled with potent energy. Although she was not a sword cultivator, Nan Qingfeng's swordsmanship was extraordinary. With one strike, Su Xinghe was left with only a sliver of health, just 1 point, and he fell to the ground with his horse. In front of him, a figure holding a spear appeared. It was a first-tier badger from the demon race. With a "chi" sound, it thrust its spear into Su Xinghe's chest!
The esteemed leader of Xinghe was actually killed by a first-tier demon soldier!
...
With Su Xinghe's death, the entire expeditionary army collapsed like a mountain of broken soldiers.
In the sky, not only were there a group of eleventh and twelfth-tier demon experts wreaking havoc, but even the two thirteenth-tier great demons, Nan Qingfeng and Fu Sheng, personally took action. Seeing the fleeing crowd, Fu Sheng smiled slightly and flicked out a natal bamboo slip. Instantly, the bamboo slip transformed into a giant, like a heavenly pillar, falling to the south. Then, it continuously split into more bamboo slips, sealing the entire battlefield within. As a result, players who tried to break out were all left between Jiuzhangyuan and Panyun Mountain.
"It's over..."
Yi Shi Cang Liang slammed his head into a bamboo slip, causing his forehead to ache.
"My condolences."
Lin Zhao's voice came through, "This... is truly unsolvable. I can't help."
"..."
Yi Shi Cang Liang's heart grew desolate. From now on, he would never participate in any damned operation with that unlucky kid Su Xinghe again. As the saying goes, following Xinghe means going hungry for three days and having a meal for nine!