The shabby gates of the Monster Suppression Department were merely left ajar, and the two Demon Suppression Envoys had not yet donned their clothes, bleary-eyed and uncertain as they hurried to the hillside upon hearing the news. Once they clearly saw the corpses of the demons, they were all startled, staring agape.
News of demon corpses outside the small town quickly spread, causing shock and panic among the locals. However, with the break of dawn, Li Hao had already asked the innkeeper for directions to Liyang City and set off with the Candle Flame God.
Since he was here, he might as well take a look. Liyang was in trouble, and the Xia Family, as a part of the Divine General Mansion, had sent aid to Liangzhou. Li Hao had no reason to turn a blind eye and simply leave, after all, he too belonged to the Human Race.
Following the official road straight ahead, passing through two cities, Li Hao surreptitiously extended his Dao Domain to Xiyan. The Candle Flame God concealed its own aura with its Dao Domain. Although they didn’t have the Demon Pass that the demons used, they also eluded the detection of the city’s Arrays.
The Arrays were only able to detect demons of the Ultimate Study Realm; they were helpless against the demons of the Tai Ping Realm, who had mastered the Dao Domain.
Only the capitals of the great states, or the Imperial City, would have special Divine Weapons that could sense even demons of the Grand Tao of Peace Realm as they stepped foot there.
But such items were exceedingly rare, and ordinary cities could only rely on Arrays.
Those two cities were also on high alert, clearly having experienced demon attacks, but it was not as severe as in Liyang City.
As Li Hao passed by, he also conveniently dealt with several demons lurking dozens of miles outside the cities. To him, it was merely the matter of a thought.
Liyang City.
A border city in the northwest of Youzhou, surrounded by towering mountain ranges forming a natural barrier, making Liyang City the most significant obstacle in the area.
This was also a crucial route in the northwest of Youzhou. The Xia Family stationed heavy forces there year-round. To lose Liyang City meant losing Youzhou’s northwest frontier, which would lead to a chain collapse of over a dozen other cities.
At that moment, dozens of miles outside the city, heaps of corpses lay scattered, including demons, Xia Family soldiers, and torn War Banners covering the bodies.
Inside the City Lord’s Mansion, within the council hall, three strategists and seven generals were present. Among them, several were the Xia Family’s young Junior Generals. Their faces were flushed red, holding back anger.
“These damned beasts cut off our reinforcements and supplies, planning to starve us to death here!”
“They’re seeking to take us down at the smallest cost. These demons have started to use their brains!”
“Shall we call for reinforcements from the family? Among those demons, there are two from the Three Immortal Realms in command, and who knows if there are others hidden. Without the Arrays, we would have lost already. There’s no need to be stubborn.”
“Call for reinforcements? The demons from Gluttonous Valley are waiting for this! As soon as our family sends people, they might have already set up an ambush halfway and plan to kill them, using us as bait!”
“That’s right, the situation at the family’s side is also not optimistic. The Valley Master of Gluttonous Valley had caused a ruckus half a month ago, and now nobody knows where he’s hiding.”
“Right now, we’re the ones defending Liyang City. We can’t always expect the family to help with everything. We need to solve this difficulty ourselves. Or should we, like the Li Family’s Duke of Xingwu in Northern Yan, spread the word and ask for reinforcements from various families?”
“The situations are different. Northern Yan wasn’t defended by those families’ troops. They were just a small fraction of assistance.”
“Small it may be, it’s still strength. We can at least make those families bleed. They know nothing but hoarding wealth, eating, and drinking, oppressing the commoners. When demons come, they only move and hide deeper, with no sense of responsibility. It’s time they helped!”
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“Difficult. We don’t have so much time to rally the call now. I have a suggestion.”
“What is it?”
Everyone turned their attention to one of the strategists.
This middle-aged strategist looked around, his gaze particularly passing over the young Xia Family Junior Generals, and whispered:
“How about we change our War Banner?”
“Change the War Banner?”
“Yes. You all know about Liangzhou’s events, right? Why don’t we try sending an elite force with changed armor, flying Marshal Haotian’s War Banner, pretending it’s reinforcements from within the pass?”
Upon hearing the strategist’s words, everyone was stunned. The defenders of Liyang City, however, brightened up, liking the idea.
The young Junior Generals of the Xia Family, however, looked displeased. One of them pondered with a closed gaze, while another blurted out in anger:
“Impossible! This is Youzhou, our Xia Family’s territory. We are not dead yet, and you propose to fly the banner of an outsider?”
The middle-aged strategist had anticipated opposition and quickly said, “These are exceptional times. If it can save the people, achieve results, and spare many soldiers from injury, that is what truly matters.”
“No!”
The young Junior General shouted, “In Youzhou, there’s only one War Banner that should fly—that’s the Xia Family’s War Banner! This is our family’s stronghold!”
“This is just a temporary measure…” the strategist tried to persuade further.
“What if we use his War Banner and fail to scare off these demons?”
Another interrupted, questioning, “That person has been silent for some time now, his War Banner has been studied by the demons in these past months. It doesn’t have the same deterrent effect anymore. Now everywhere, people use his War Banner to try scaring off demons, but the demons have seen through this tactic. The Banner’s power is not as great as before.”
“As Generals, we can’t be as foolish as the commoners, believing in those mythologized tales like they take a teenager for a god. Regardless of his strength, after disappearing at Mo River for so long, his War Banner has lost its deterrent power!”