Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 371 The Battle of Hongguan, Zen Gold Powder and the Six Paths Vajra Mantra, the Shortsighted and Foolish People of the Eight Towns
November 29th, 131st year of the Moo calendar, first half of the night

"Marching towards Hongguan!"

To Lu Yang's surprise, after the 180,000 Digging Realm warriors returned to the main camp, Jiang Yuanlong gave them more than an hour to rest. By the time they regrouped and he ordered them to march on Hongguan Pass, more than half of the night had already passed.

The 180,000-strong Didi Jing set off from the north and south gates of the main camp, heading straight for Hongguan.

"There are still more than six hours until dawn, which is more than enough time! Zhou Shiyan leads the southern army and Lu Hong leads the northern army. With a distance of one kilometer, the army can directly approach Hongguan in battle formation. No matter how many methods Dajue Temple has, it will be useless!"

Jiang Yuanlong stood outside the West Gate, watching as the armies from the north and south had already marched out by about ten thousand men. After a moment of contemplation, he turned to face the two thousand garrison soldiers behind him and shouted, "We will not return until we have passed Hongguan Pass tonight!"

Swish...

The two thousand garrison soldiers, standing at attention, all raised their weapons in unison and shouted angrily, "We will not return until we have passed Hongguan Pass!"

Generally speaking, regular armies would standardize the weapons of their soldiers in order to facilitate the manufacture of weapons and enhance coordination on the battlefield. However, Jiangxia Town did not do this, and the soldiers had a wide variety of weapons.

Even so, the momentum created by the two thousand soldiers shouting in unison was enough to shake the entire camp. Not only the more than two thousand Cold-resistant level soldiers on the flanks of the army, but also many Earth-digging level soldiers who were heading towards the north and south gates couldn't help but turn their heads to look over.

"set off!"

At Jiang Yuanlong's command, he took the lead and walked out of the west gate, followed by more than 300 Jiangxia's Cold-resistant soldiers, then 2,000 Zhenyu soldiers, and on the flank of the Zhenyu soldiers were the seven towns' Cold-resistant reinforcements, which numbered less than 2,000.

Last night's surprise attack in the snow forest resulted in the loss of approximately two hundred men. Jiangxia and Qizhen each lost over one hundred men. Of the eight hundred cold-resistant soldiers in Jiangxia, more than half were originally from the Zhenyu Army and have now returned to their posts. Therefore, Jiang Yuanlong only has these three hundred men behind him.

With 180,000 Digging Realm soldiers, 2,300 Cold Resistance Realm soldiers, and two Jiangxia Garrison Army units, they maintained their battle formation throughout the entire journey and reached the Hongguan Pass in just half an hour.

"Hmph, now you know how to hide!"

Upon reaching the pass, Jiang Yuanlong immediately let out two cold laughs.

The Hongguan Pass, which is only two kilometers wide from north to south, is now deserted on its eastern side. The 70,000-strong army of Dajue Temple is all lined up on the inner side of the pass, facing east, ready for battle.

Even if the 180,000 Digging Realm warriors weren't a regular army, just standing still would create an oppressive atmosphere. Moreover, it was nighttime, and there were almost no trees on the eastern outskirts. Looking out from the inside of Hongguan Pass, it was a completely dark expanse, exuding a strong sense of oppression.

"Yanxin, retreat from Hongguan and return Longhe and Jinbi villages. The entire army of Dajue Temple shall withdraw to Qinghepu, so as to avoid the bloodshed tonight!"

Jiang Yuanlong was probably the kind of general who was good at winning people's hearts. He also clearly understood that his own army could exert great pressure on the enemy. So he did not rush to order an attack. Instead, he waited for more than ten minutes before gathering his strength and shouting loudly towards the inside of the pass.

"Jiuzhen set fire to Qinghe Village for no reason, injuring countless people. Dajue Temple is fighting this battle only to seek justice for those innocent people who died in the fire. Thanks to the master's earnest teachings, who in Qinghepu does not take pride in doing good deeds and accumulating virtue? We never provoke trouble. If Jiuzhen had not gone too far, there would be no battle today."

Yan Xin, on the other side, also stepped forward. He was no slouch either. After a passionate speech, he not only effectively countered Jiang Yuanlong, but also boosted the morale of his own side. The soldiers guarding the pass on the inside of the pass visibly became angry after hearing these words.

“Killing my sons, occupying my territory, and wantonly harming children are clearly bizarre acts. No matter how grand your excuses are, they cannot change these facts. The Great Awakening Demon Temple is bewitching people and deceiving the world. How can Jiangxia tolerate you? Fire your arrows!”

Swish swish swish…………

"Fire arrows!"

As Jiang Yuanlong shouted to fire the arrows, Yan Xin gave the order almost simultaneously.

One group flew eastward from the inside of the pass, while the other flew westward from the outside. Two volleys of arrows flew out simultaneously, and the battle of arrows began.

The pass was less than two kilometers long from north to south, and all 180,000 men who were armed with bows had now moved to the front ranks, making up about one-third of the total. This volley of arrows formed a black curtain of arrows that instantly engulfed the pass.

The Dajue Temple side only had a little over 70,000 Digging Realm soldiers, and even fewer with bows, estimated to be only around 20,000. So when the two armies' arrow formations clashed, the situation was completely reversed compared to the Snow Forest Battle of the previous night.

The barrage of arrows fired from Jiangxia directly covered the arrow rain at Dajue Temple.

Pfft... Pfft...

"what……"

Not only did they cover the enemy, but the arrows shot by Jiangxia were also significantly more powerful than those fired by the enemy.

You could tell just by the screams from both sides. There were very few screams from Jiangxia's side after being shot, while the screams from Dajue Temple's side became more and more frequent, and even the front line formation began to loosen.

"Front row, drop your bows and raise your shields to block! Back row, keep firing!"

Yan Xin's instructions also fully corroborated this point: Qinghepu's casting technology was too poor, not only in terms of armor, but also in terms of bows and arrows.

Moreover, none of the monks in the Dajue Temple's monastery were equipped with bows, and among the remaining eighteen households in the three villages, very few were equipped with bows. How could they compare to the more than eight hundred cold-resistant monks in Jiangxia?

Add to that the two thousand garrison troops, all equipped with powerful bows with a draw weight of over thirty stones, so the outcome of this arrow battle was almost a foregone conclusion.

Of course, although Jiangxia's arrow formation had the upper hand, from the moment Yan Xin ordered the front row to raise their shields, it was destined that the results would not be significant.

No matter how many arrows there are, most of them are still arrows shot by those from the Earth-Digging Realm, so the overall power is destined to be not very great. Moreover, the pass is already narrow, so if the front row puts up their shields, the effect will be very weak.

Aside from causing some disturbances or some of the arrows fired by the Cold-resistant class being able to effectively injure the enemy, they have almost no other uses.

"The Zhenyu Army will lead the charge alongside our main force, while the Seven Garrisons will provide cover on both flanks. Zhou Shiyan and Lu Hong will lead the rear guard in our charge to break through Hongguan Pass!"

It was impossible to recapture Hongguan Pass with just arrows, and Jiang Yuanlong was well aware of this. So when he saw that his soldiers' quivers were almost empty, he immediately gave the order.

As soon as he finished speaking, he was the first to lead the charge towards the western pass.

At this moment, on the east side of the pass, the army was clearly divided. In the very center was the two thousand garrison troops he personally led, along with all the cold-resistant troops from the eight garrisons; to the south was the ninety thousand men led by Zhou Shiyan; and to the north was Lu Hong's ninety thousand men.

As soon as Jiang Yuanlong gave the order, everyone started moving.

The fastest were the Zhenyu Army behind him, followed by the Seven Garrison Commanders standing on either side of the Zhenyu Army, and then the armies from the north and south. All three forces rushed forward at the same time, heading straight for Hongguan Pass.

"Retake Hongguan!"

"kill!"

"Kill all those wicked creatures from the Demon Temple."

"Brothers, kill!"

………………

The entire eastern side of the pass was instantly filled with roars. The overwhelming crowd caused the earth to tremble. The cold, afterimage-like flashes of swords, spears, halberds, and clubs seemed to illuminate the entire outer side of the pass. Everyone's face turned red as they charged towards the enemy forces inside the pass.

Rumble... Rumble...

call out……

Jiang Yuanlong took the lead, being the first to rush to the front of the army. He slashed out with a silver sword that was dozens of meters long, cleaving through the monks of the Zen temple who had not yet put away their shields, and plunged straight into the crowd.

The two thousand garrison troops following closely behind were like a sharp knife, piercing straight into the core of the pass's military formation. Their swords, spears, and halberds broke through the crowd, instantly creating a large gap more than a hundred meters wide from north to south.

The Seven Towns' Cold-Resistant Force quickly filled the gap, opening up the flanks and rapidly widening the opening to make room for the main army behind.

"kill!"

"kill!"

Zhou Shiyan and Lu Hong roared loudly, and the group of Digging Realm cultivators at the forefront on both the north and south sides also rushed in from the north and south edges of the pass.

The battle has begun!

Clang... Clang... Pfft... Crack...

"what!"

"Kill..."

The buzzing of clashing swords, the slicing of bones by sharp blades, and the screams of soldiers that rang out simultaneously filled the entire pass.

One side is defending to the death, while the other is launching a fierce attack; at this moment, neither side has a way out.

The attacking force was overwhelming, numbering 180,000. Even if those in the front lines wanted to retreat, they couldn't, as more and more troops kept pouring in from the rear. They had no choice but to keep charging forward.

"Charge in! They can't hold out!"

Jiang Yuanlong had already charged two hundred meters into the pass. Watching his own army advance triumphantly, his face was full of excitement. He cleaved the Flame Heart Chief in front of him with a sword and roared at the Zhenyu Army behind him.

"Brothers, the commander has broken through the pass! If we don't charge now, when will we?"

"Come on!"

Upon hearing Jiang Yuanlong's voice, the soldiers of the Zhenyu Army roared and charged forward with even greater force.

As a regular army, the Zhenyu Army almost completely overwhelmed the enemy. In just over a hundred breaths, they followed Jiang Yuanlong and forcefully penetrated into the heart of the pass, bringing with them the seven Zhenyu Han-class troops on the flanks.

As soon as they stormed in, the space for the Digging Realm cultivators to charge forward became larger and larger. In just a short while, a quarter of the 180,000 people had poured into the pass, and with the army still pouring in from behind, they continued to squeeze the space inside the pass.

"Hold on and don't retreat; we can't let them pass this pass."

After the battle of Xuelin, the exact number of monks in the Zen monastery is unknown, but it doesn't really matter anymore. Even if all five thousand monks were still alive, they wouldn't have been able to withstand Jiangxia's charge; that was inevitable.

The number of people in Jiangxia is simply too large.

It's almost three times the size of Dajue Temple!
Moreover, there are two garrison armies with enough combat power to overwhelm the enemy.

Therefore, no matter how loudly Yan Xin shouts, he cannot change the fact that Dajue Temple is constantly retreating.

"Hahaha, occupying two villages in one day, isn't that incredibly arrogant?"

"A motley crew trying to contend with Jiangxia? Dream on!"

"You wicked demon of the temple, prepare to die!"

"Brothers, keep charging in and take over the entire port!"

………………

The two thousand Zhenyu soldiers, all clad in forged armor, unleashed a fighting force even stronger than the seven Zhen reinforcements when they charged into battle. Following Jiang Yuanlong, they advanced triumphantly, penetrating the deepest points of attack, leaving corpses strewn everywhere they went. The defenders of Dajue Temple were utterly unable to withstand them.

The enemy's retreat fueled their morale, and they kept shouting for everyone to continue charging forward, closely following Jiang Yuanlong. Not to mention the cold-resistant warriors of Qinghepu, even thousands of monks from the Zen temple were forced to retreat repeatedly, only able to avoid them on the north and south sides.

Jiang Yuanlong probably felt it wasn't fast enough. Looking at the seven towns' reinforcements on the flanks of the Zhenyu Army, he suddenly shouted loudly, "Listen up, seven towns' reinforcements! The top 100 who kill the most enemies in this battle will each be rewarded with a Dragon Carp Pill, and the top ten will each receive five. If there are any supervising officers in the army, I, Jiang, will keep my word. You can come to me for them after the battle."

brush…………

Nearly two thousand Cold-Resistant level warriors from the seven towns turned to look at the sound. Not to mention the ordinary Cold-Resistant level warriors, even the seven reinforcement commanders, including Huang Tianxing and Qin Yuanhai, couldn't help but be shocked.

"Very well, Lord Jiang, you keep your word! I, Huang, will fight for you, Jiang Xia!"

"I will remember Deputy Commander Jiang's heroic spirit!"

"Brothers, since Jiangxia is willing to offer the real stuff, what else is there to say?"

"Charge! Break through Hongguan Pass!"

………………

Under the reward, there must be a brave man.

If last night's successful planning of the snow forest raid by exploiting the Seven Towns' reinforcements' reluctance to fight to the death only showed that Jiang Yuanlong was a competent general, then his ability to mobilize the fighting spirit of the Seven Towns' reinforcements with a single sentence on the battlefield is enough to prove that he deserves the title of "excellent."

If even the seven reinforcement commanders, including Huang Tianxing, were so excited, then the ordinary cold-resistant soldiers in the remaining seven towns were even more excited. Now, not only the town's defense troops, but they were all like they had been injected with chicken blood, rushing madly into the depths of the pass.

The signs of defeat at Dajue Temple became even more apparent.

"Sir, something's wrong! Those monks from the Zen monastery are infiltrating the crowd and approaching the outside of the pass. It's not just one or two, it's all of them!"

The Seven Towns reinforcements were positioned to the east, which was the rear. Wang Tao cleaved two Digging Realm soldiers in front of him with a single sword strike and quickly spoke to Lu Yang behind him. The battlefield, with over 200,000 people, was already extremely chaotic and noisy, so he didn't need to lower his voice at all.

"We discovered it a long time ago. Zhu Shunlin Fan, go and tell everyone to move to the outside with me. Dajue Temple has a backup plan. They deliberately gave up the pass!"

Wang Tao was observing, and so was Lu Yang. He deliberately led his men to stay behind the whole time, and his eyes never left the monks in the monastery. He had already discovered that although the thousands of monks seemed to be besieged, they were actually frantically infiltrating the crowd and approaching the eastern pass. Some were even willing to be slashed multiple times in order to rush over there.

Something's fishy, ​​there's definitely something fishy going on!
After Lu Yang sent Zhu Lin and the other two to inform the thirty-one men of Dongling, he turned to look at the Jiangxia men who were already bloodthirsty. His heart skipped a beat. Then he scanned the area outside the eastern pass and found that only twenty or thirty thousand men remained, blocked from entering by the people inside the pass. He instantly realized what was going on.

"This is an attempt to trap them. Once all 180,000 people are inside, it will be difficult for them to escape through this small opening!"

For the narrow pass, which is less than two kilometers wide, 180,000 people is far too many. Even if each person were to stand in a single-meter-long line, there would only be a maximum of less than 2,000 people. To put 180,000 people into perspective, they could form hundreds of long lines. It would be impossible for them to rush in all at once.

At this moment, there is almost no empty space inside the pass. The 20,000 to 30,000 people on the outer perimeter are not unwilling to come in, but simply cannot squeeze in, or rather, they come in very slowly. They can only enter the battlefield when an empty space appears on the inner side.

Such gaps can only be created by people inside the pass.

The most crucial of them all were Jiang Yuanlong, who charged fiercely on the west side, and the two thousand Zhenyu soldiers and two thousand Yuhan-level soldiers behind him.

The deeper they fight, the further the battlefield pushes westward, creating more gaps in the battlefield and allowing the outer groups to enter more quickly.

Lu Yang led the thirty-one men from Dongling and retreated continuously on the battlefield, soon they were only a hundred meters away from the pass.

"Don't retreat! The supervisory team is right behind us. If we retreat any further, we'll be exposed!"

Upon hearing Lu Yang's words, everyone immediately stopped retreating and began fighting the enemy soldiers around them, with the thirty-odd people trying to stay together as much as possible.

The Jiangxia army has a supervisory team of about 500 people, personally led by Zhou Shiyan and Lu Hong. They are currently urging the last 20,000 Digdi Realm soldiers on the outer perimeter to quickly enter the pass to fight.

"Isn't this just urging them to come in and die! Even if you're going to try to trap them, you have to be able to close the door properly first. What other tricks does Dajue Temple have up its sleeve..."

As Lu Yang watched more and more monks from the Zen temple approach the eastern pass, roughly estimating that there were nearly a thousand, a hint of curiosity appeared in his eyes.

Two hours have passed since the start of the battle, and it is now officially the second half of the night. There are still four hours until dawn, which is more than enough time for Jiangxia's side.

Inside the entire pass, there were at least 20,000 corpses on the ground. Everyone had to fight on top of the corpses. During the battles between those at the Cold Resistance level, they would even throw the corpses away and break them apart. It would not be an exaggeration to describe the entire inside of the pass as a place littered with corpses and flying limbs.

If you look closely, you can see that the corpses on the ground are mainly soldiers from the Dajue Temple side, which is consistent with their current situation of retreat.

"Dajue Temple only has 70,000 people in total, and the casualty rate has exceeded 20%, yet it hasn't collapsed. This evil temple is truly skilled at bewitching people!"

Looking at the Qinghepu army still fighting desperately, Lu Yang's eyes flashed with a deep sense of apprehension. He had heard Yuan Cheng say that an army that could maintain its fighting strength even after losing more than 20% of its soldiers on the battlefield could not be described as elite; it had to be an elite army determined to fight to the death.

The 70,000 Digging Realm cultivators currently at Dajue Temple have absolutely no connection to the elite army. In fact, more than 50,000 of them only surrendered to Dajue Temple last month. The fact that they were able to do this can only be attributed to Dajue Temple's ability to bewitch people.

"But that's about enough. It's time to use any backup plans we have."

"All monks, listen to my command! Release the Zen powder!" As if to confirm Lu Yang's inner suspicions, Yan Xin, who had been fighting Jiang Yuanlong deep in the west, noticed out of the corner of his eye that the Jiangxia army on the east side had all entered the pass. Suddenly, he circulated his qi and blood and shouted to the inside.

Lu Yang and the others' expressions hardened, and they quickly turned to look at the monks of the nearest Zen temple.

The monk from the Zen monastery had been slashed many times, half of his body was soaked in blood, and his face was covered in bloodstains. But upon hearing Yan Xin's command, he immediately took out a golden pill from his pocket, then looked around at everyone, revealed a sinister smile, and smashed the pill to the ground.

Thud...

The pill exploded immediately upon being subjected to the force, turning into a wisp of bright golden dust that quickly spread outwards. Although it soon dissolved into the air and seemed to disappear without a trace, don't forget that it wasn't just this monk in the monastery who did this.

Not only thousands of monks in the Zen temple, but also those at the Cold Resistance level in Qinghepu, as well as some at the Earth Digging Realm, were given the Zen Gold Powder pills, which they all took out and smashed on the ground.

Bang...bang...bang...bang...bang...

As the sounds exploded one after another, thousands upon thousands of golden plumes of smoke rose instantly from the inside of the pass, almost instantly covering the entire battlefield.

"This dust is strange! Everyone, wet your cloths and cover your mouths and noses!"

Jiang Yuanlong's face showed a moment of panic, but he still immediately ordered everyone to come up with a solution. The temperature on the north bank was extremely low, and ice was everywhere. It was not difficult to tear off a piece of clothing to make a wet cloth.

Clearly, he believed that Dajue Temple was releasing poison. Those at the Digging Realm already had strong resistance to poison, and covering their mouths and noses with a damp cloth was indeed the best way to defend against the effects of the poison. Not to mention those at the Cold Resistance Realm.

"Junior brother, help me! Everyone in Qinghepu, recite the Six Paths Vajra Mantra!"

But Jiang Yuanlong's idea seems to be wrong.

Yan Xin watched as Jiangxia's side covered their mouths and noses with wet cloths, and sneered a few times. Then he loudly ordered the twenty formal monks scattered throughout the battlefield to continue fighting their opponents while chanting incantations loudly.

“Ah…wa…sha…sa…ma…ha…”

“Ah…wa…sha…sa…ma…ha…”

Just like the chanting last month, this time not only those in the Earth-Digging Realm, but also all those in the Cold-Preserving Realm, as well as thousands of monks from the Zen Monastery, chanted the six-syllable mantra together with the twenty monks from the Zen Monastery.

After the incantation was recited three times, tens of thousands of people in Qinghepu suddenly trembled, as if they had fallen into some kind of frozen state. Their faces instantly turned red with blood, and then the color became redder and redder until it turned into a light gold.

The cold-resistant warriors of Qinghepu, along with the thousands of monks from the Zen temple, transformed their bodies into pure gold, radiating intense golden light under the night sky, resembling legendary golden Arhats.

"Our Guru has bestowed upon us divine power, granting us indestructible bodies. The bandits of the Nine Towns slaughtered our monks and killed our brothers. What are you waiting for? Kill all the bandits of the Nine Towns and wipe away our shame!"

Yan Xin was also radiating golden light. Due to his long battle with Jiang Yuanlong, his white monk's robe was tattered and covered in blood. His face was extremely ferocious. After saying these words, he raised his crimson monk's staff and pointed it into the valley, speaking in a very deep voice: "Kill!"

"kill!"

"Rush..."

"Fight back and slaughter all the bandits in the Nine Towns."

………………

It was clear that only a small number of people from Dajue Temple were moved by Yan Xin's words, probably just over ten thousand in total. They were obviously from the Digging Realm of Qinghepu, and had already experienced the divine power of their master last month. Therefore, they believed Yan Xin's words without a doubt and charged directly at the enemy army of Jiangxia without regard for their lives.

Several Digging Realm warriors from Qinghepu charged at a Zhenyu Army soldier with their broadswords raised. Their hysterical appearance was indeed somewhat frightening, but this was, after all, a battlefield where everyone was fighting desperately, so the soldier was naturally not intimidated.

The soldier used his sword to deflect the broadsword, then his eyes turned cold, and he thrust his sword downwards towards the chest of one of the men.

Clang...

But after the stab, the soldier's expression froze instantly.

His thousand-forged longsword only managed to pierce through the opponent's hundred-forged iron armor, producing a metallic clang, and then nothing more.

The soldier naturally dared not be stunned for too long. His expression changed drastically, and he tried to pull back his longsword to retreat and avoid the attack, because the other few Digging Realm cultivators who had just charged at him were all raising their broadswords and attacking him.

Unfortunately, he was still a little too slow.

The person he had stabbed in the chest, a Digging Realm cultivator, actually reached out and grabbed his longsword, then held on tightly, dragging him along the ground for several meters without letting go. He even looked up at him with a sinister smile.

puff...

The man's sinister grin served as the final death knell for this soldier of the Jiangxia Garrison. The weapons of the others were already slashing at him. Although he was protected by his thousand-forged armor and did not suffer any fatal injuries at first, one of them quickly found a gap in the waist of his armor and stabbed him directly with his sword.

"The Guru's divine power, this is the Guru's divine power, how is this possible..."

The soldier collapsed to the ground with a thud. Before he breathed his last, his eyes were fixed on the golden light emanating from the Qinghepu soldiers, his face filled with resentment.

And this soldier's experience is just a microcosm!
"My superbly forged weapons can't break through their defenses, how is that possible?"

"Ten thousand refinements? Even my silver sword can't break through that, so what's yours?"

"An indestructible body? What is that? You can get it just by chanting a mantra?"

Where did Dajue Temple get these miraculous abilities?

"This is not the time to worry about this, let's prepare to retreat!"

………………

In an instant, the entire battlefield was filled with horror and confusion. Not to mention breaking through the golden bodies of these people, many of their weapons were too poor, and they were even broken in two when they hit the enemy.

This wasn't just happening to the soldiers at the Earth-Digging Realm; even those at the Cold-Resistant Realm were in the same boat. The reinforcements from the Seven Towns, the Imperial Army of Jiangxia Town, and all those at the Cold-Resistant Realm were completely dumbfounded.

puff……

"Retreat! Turn around and break through to the east! Quickly!"

The person under the most pressure at this moment was Jiang Yuanlong. He was knocked away by Yan Xin's Zen staff. Looking at the long sword with the chipped blade in his hand and then looking up at Yan Xin's golden light, he did not hesitate at all. Without even observing the situation on the battlefield, he directly ordered everyone behind him to retreat.

We can't break through their defenses at all, so how are we supposed to fight?
No matter how many people Jiangxia has, they can't possibly win.

The reason why these monks in the Zen monastery do not wear armor has finally come to light.

With such miraculous abilities, why would they need to wear armor?

"If you want to retreat now, it's too late!"

Upon hearing Yan Xin's words, Jiang Yuanlong glanced at the pass to the east, his face instantly flushed red, and his pupils trembled with shock.

As of now, all 180,000 Digging Realm members have entered the pass.

Meanwhile, thousands of monks from the Zen monastery had already blocked the pass, and those golden-bodied monks, relying on their invulnerability to swords and spears, broke through the crowd and quickly gathered on the east side.

"Closing the door to beat the dog"—this clearly means they're not intended to let them out.

"Run, run!"

"We can't fight them, we can't fight them at all. Staying here will only get us killed."

"We can't break through their defenses."

…………

Panic-stricken shouts echoed in his ears. Jiang Yuanlong saw that the valley was in complete chaos, with no formation whatsoever. At this moment, he could no longer help but realize that Dajue Temple had deliberately let them in. His face was full of regret.

Not only now, but even last night's surprise attack in the snow forest was a deliberate defeat.

"What a brilliant scheme! Tens of thousands of lives, all for a show put on for our commander. What a demonic temple! You beasts, you beasts!"

After Jiang Yuanlong suddenly realized what was happening, he looked up at Yan Xin and squeezed out the words one by one through gritted teeth, which showed how angry he was.

........................

As the battle at Hongguan Pass raged on, a kilometer away on the northwest side of the mountain wall, on the fork of a large tree growing horizontally, five figures were watching the battlefield from afar, their expressions extremely focused.

"The Eight Garrisons have been defeated!"

"Jiang Yuanlong is a smart man, but he didn't consider that he was fighting a monster that didn't care about human lives at all. He deserved to lose!"

"The indestructible Vajra body—if I'm not mistaken, it must have involved inhaling Zen gold powder and then reciting the mantra three times, which caused the body to change. This is the same method as before, where someone held a molten metal pill in their tongue and then recited the mantra three times. The methods of those five masters are indeed quite astonishing!"

"If we fight like this, let alone 180,000 Earth-Digging Realm cultivators, even a regular army would probably have a hard time winning. No wonder the Great Awakening Temple, with just over 70,000 people, dared to occupy Hongguan and contend with the Eight Towns."

“This Dajue Temple is definitely a menace and should not be underestimated.”

………………

Hearing Xia Chuan and the others' exclamations, Xia Hong's eyes flickered slightly, and he suddenly turned to ask, "I remember that the last thing Xu Ning mentioned in the message he sent back was that there were two bright green pupils in the Great Awakening Hall, and that looking into each other's eyes meant certain death, right?"

All four nodded, clearly not understanding why Xia Hong was asking this.

"Tongue, nose, eyes..."

Xia Hong pondered for a moment, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, which he quickly concealed. He then turned to the four of them and smiled, “Although it’s only 180,000 Earth Digging Realm cultivators, it can still be considered a large-scale battle. You four are all commanders, so I brought you here specifically to watch the battle. You can’t just watch and leave.”

Jiang Yuanlong is definitely not stupid. Sending the four of you to command the troops doesn't guarantee you'll perform as well as he has. You must all remember the lessons learned from so many deaths. Once we return to Wuyuan, Yuwen Tao will take the lead in compiling this battle report into a book and storing it in the Ministry of War. Every captain and commander must carefully study it. I don't want Great Xia to lose so many people in one battle in the future.”

"I obey my orders!"

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Tao immediately cupped his hands in response, his expression becoming much more solemn.

As the Director of the Military Affairs Department, in charge of the military affairs of the Great Xia Dynasty, he quickly understood how important Xia Hong's order was.

Although only two regular armies participated in the Battle of Hongguan, the total number of troops on both sides exceeded 250,000. For the Great Xia, which had never experienced such a large-scale battle, it naturally had great educational significance.

"180,000 men! These were drawn from all the village-level camps within the Eight Towns! They were all wiped out in this battle. Judging from the state of Dajue Temple, they're probably going to kill a lot more. The Eight Towns have suffered a huge loss this time, haven't they?"

As soon as Yuan Cheng finished speaking, Xia Chuan and the other two shook their heads.

Xia Hong laughed and said, "How is it a big loss? At most, Jiangxia Town only lost two thousand town guards and a little bit of cold-resistant level. It's not necessarily a complete loss. The eight towns clearly don't treat these Earth-Digging Realm cultivators as human beings. They won't feel like they've lost out!"

Xia Chuan nodded, but quickly asked with a puzzled look, "Apart from Jiangxia, the other seven towns did not suffer any damage to their towns and would not feel any pain. But this great battle has been going on for so long and they haven't gained anything. So why send so many people to support Jiangxia?"

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Tao, Yuan Cheng, and Luo Yuan all fell into deep thought, clearly unable to fully grasp the issue at that moment.

Xia Hong, however, seemed to have sensed something. He suddenly looked up at the battlefield across the pass, a glint of light in his eyes, and said, "Who said they didn't get anything? Vajra Master has arrived."

Xia Chuan and the other three were suddenly stunned and quickly looked up at the pass.

Bang... Bang...

The distance was too great for the four to see clearly, but they could notice two golden lights clashing fiercely on the east side of the pass. Judging from this huge commotion alone, they could deduce the strength of the two people.

“Vajra Master, Xiahou Zhang, it’s those two again.”

Xia Hong was worried about arousing the vigilance of the two Xianyang-level beings, so he did not dare to casually perceive the battlefield situation. However, his eyesight was much better than that of Xia Chuan and the other three. After seeing the appearance of the two people at the pass, he combined the information sent by Xiang Liang and immediately identified their identities.

“Hongguan is the gateway to the north bank. If we lose it, the north bank of Xinghe will have no connection with Jiangxia Town anymore. It’s understandable that they are unwilling to accept this.”

As soon as Luo Yuan finished speaking, Yuwen Tao immediately shook his head and added, "It's not just that. With Hongguan lost, the entire Jiangxia region is essentially open to Dajue Temple. Do you think that with Dajue Temple's strength, if the Seven Towns don't help, Jiangxia alone can hold them off?"

“What use is Xiahou Zhang alone? He has already been defeated by Vajra Master once in Qinghe Village, so the result will naturally be the same this time. If only he comes, Hongguan will still be lost.”

Upon hearing Xia Chuan's words, Yuan Cheng immediately asked in confusion, "According to Si Cheng and Yuwen Sizheng, Hongguan is of paramount importance to Jiangxia! It makes sense that the other seven towns don't come, but what about Jiang Yinglong, the lord of Jiangxia Town? He's not even here. Is he just going to sit idly by and watch Hongguan be taken away by Dajue Temple?"

"You don't actually think that Qizhen Fei mobilized so many people, a total of 180,000, to cause such a great defeat at Hongguan, just to lure out Vajra Master, do you?"

Xia Hong suddenly turned to look at everyone. Seeing that they still looked puzzled, he smiled and continued, "Didn't you just say that the Seven Towns haven't earned anything so far?"

After saying this, he pointed directly to the west, a hint of disdain in his eyes, and said, "The Eight Towns don't care about the outcome of the Battle of Hongguan at all. At most, only Jiangxia Town is willing to put in some effort. They only care about how many masters Hongguan has attracted. If I'm not mistaken, the Eight Towns, including Jiang Yinglong, the lord of Jiangxia, should all be there right now!"

The four of them, including Xia Chuan, looked in the direction Xia Hong was pointing, and their expressions suddenly changed.

To the west, the direction of Dajue Temple is clearly visible.

That's it!

The four of them instantly looked enlightened.

"Hongguan is just a decoy. The 180,000 Digging Realm cultivators are nothing to them. They are mainly used to attract the attention of Dajue Temple. The ultimate goal of Bazhen is the four masters of Dajue Temple, or rather, the monster behind the four masters."

"These people are too ruthless. Just to attract attention, do they really need to kill so many people?"

"The five thousand monks of the Zen Monastery, the five chief monks and twenty formal monks are all here. The Vajra Master has also appeared. At most, there are only four masters at Dajue Temple. This is indeed a good opportunity to go there now."

"Who said there are only four gurus?"

After Xia Chuan uttered those last words, Yuwen Tao and the other two immediately realized what was happening, and their expressions became incredibly interesting.

"Dajue Temple still has at least seven hundred or so full-fledged monks! Hongguan is not their full strength."

Upon hearing Xia Chuan's words, Xia Hong turned to look in the direction of Dajue Temple. A flicker of interest crossed his mind, but he immediately shook his head and laughed, "These people from the Eight Towns are interesting. They have the desire to seize the treasure, but they're also afraid that other towns will get the spoils. So they're unwilling to join forces against Dajue Temple. They'd rather have more people die and figure out each other's strengths before making a move. It's both short-sighted and foolish..."

This sarcastic remark actually carried a bit of an omniscient perspective.

Xia Hong believed that if he were in the position of the Nine Towns, he probably would have done the same thing.

"But it's just as I thought. Let them go and test the waters first. If they really have the ability to kill those masters, destroying Dajue Temple would be a good thing. I'll see what this Vajra Master is capable of!"

After saying this, Xia Hong shook his head and looked towards the pass.

The strength of these masters at Dajue Temple is definitely not simple, not to mention there are more than 700 formal monks there. If the leader of the Eight Towns has the strength to destroy Dajue Temple, then he should be worried.

………………

East side of Hongguan Pass
Xiahou Zhang, still clad in a golden robe with his left arm in a sling, hovered in mid-air, holding a twelve-hole silver-ringed black silver knife, glaring at the Vajra Master before him, and spoke in a deep voice:
“Vajra Master, Dajue Temple has already occupied the villages of Jinbilonghe, and now it even wants to occupy Hongguan. Could it be that it really wants to start a full-scale war with Jiangxia?”

The battle below continued. The entire eastern side of the pass had been completely blocked by the monks of the Zen Temple. Jiang Yuanlong was leading the Zhenyu Army and the Seven Towns Yuhan-class troops in a frantic charge outwards. Although they had broken through a small gap, they did not flee. Instead, they charged to the north and south, trying to widen the gap, clearly hoping to allow more people to escape from the rear.

"Benefactor Xiahou, once the war begins, bloodshed is inevitable. If we don't completely extinguish the arrogance of Jiangxia, how will my Dajue Temple stand in the future? Enough with the nonsense. You escaped by chance last time, but this time it won't be so simple!"

The Vajra Master was radiating golden light. As soon as he finished speaking, his pupils focused on killing intent, and his two long, snow-white eyebrows trembled slightly. In an instant, they transformed into golden light and rushed towards Xiahou Dun.

(End of this chapter)