Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 335 The Demon Clan's Encroachment (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Sheng Yuanyao quickly retreated, heading straight out of the city.

As soon as they arrived at the city gate, the city was illuminated by the light of an array, and various powers erupted.

Before the city gates closed, Sheng Yuanyao slipped away through the south gate and ran off as fast as she could, and sure enough, the enemy's attention was not on her.

The Demon Emperor's voice could be heard echoing for miles: "Ye Tinglan is hiding in the East Sea, and Gu Zhanting is still recovering from his injuries. Since they don't care about the safety of your Northern Territory, then we will take back the hundred miles of territory we ceded over the past ten years."

A vast horde of demons appeared from the sky, their presence obscuring the sun and clouds.

A golden dragon emerged from the clouds, its claws reaching out and pressing heavily onto the city.

"Boom!"

The light from the city-protecting array clashed with the dragon claw, causing the earth to shake violently. The aftershocks even made Sheng Yuanyao, who was already far away from the city, stumble, deeply shocked.

The power of a super-grade item is something that someone like her, a small-time Karami, can't directly confront.

Sheng Yuanyao swung her long legs and ran off in a flash, heading towards Guiyuan City to her side and rear.

He said he was going to desert, but he couldn't actually make Sheng Yuanyao run home right away.

Following military orders, Sheng Yuanyao was happy to help supervise the circulation of magical artifacts and talismans in the rear cities. The risk was low, and she could help everyone.

But that's on the condition that the main city doesn't fall too quickly... which probably won't happen.

Sheng Yuanyao looked back again, but the city was no longer visible. She could only feel the bursts of various powers, soaring into the sky.

As expected, the emperor was there. If the emperor hadn't been there, this city would have fallen in an instant. How could it have withstood the arrival of the demon emperor?
Unable to fathom why the duel between the two emperors had erupted so abruptly, Sheng Yuanyao couldn't quite grasp the reason, and it was none of her concern anyway. She fled for several hours, disappearing into Guiyuan City in a flash.

"I, Sheng, have come here on General Zhao's orders to oversee the distribution of magical artifacts, talismans, and elixirs..." Sheng Yuanyao presented her token.

The stewards exchanged bewildered glances: "General Sheng, the city is besieged ahead, and we can't get our supplies in."

Sheng Yuanyao said, "Isn't there a secret passage? It's to guard against this kind of situation."

"The entrance to the secret passage isn't far outside the city; who would dare approach it!"

"This is not your concern, the general will make arrangements..." Before Sheng Yuanyao could finish speaking, a sudden earthquake struck.

Everyone looked up in horror at the sky, only to see yet another dark mass of demons closing in on the city.

Sheng Yuanyao was horrified.

Why are there still demons going around to the back? Something's not right!
The main city ahead is not an isolated city. Countless armies are stationed in satellite cities and strategically important locations, all connected by formations to form a complete defensive system. Even if the Demon Emperor were to directly attack the main city to restrain the Emperor, the surrounding camps would not allow anyone to easily bypass them and advance unimpeded. What would that make of?

Even if a small number of demons managed to bypass the defenses and raid the rear cities, the other cities would be coordinated and would quickly encircle and annihilate this isolated force. Who would dare to do that?
Seeing this situation, Sheng Yuanyao's heart sank, realizing that other cities in the rear might also have been besieged.

Someone sold military information, allowing the enemy to exploit loopholes in the defense system, seize rear cities, and turn the main city in front into an isolated city.

Sheng Yuanyao had no time to worry about who the traitor was; her biggest worry now was that she was besieged and could no longer desert!
"W-what do we do?" The person in charge of the equipment panicked. "There aren't many people left in Guiyuan City!"

"What's the panic! Defend the city! We don't have many people, but do you think the enemy has a lot? They're just a lone force that took a detour, what's there to be afraid of!"

"We...we're defending the city?"

Sheng Yuanyao brandished her sword: "Get to work, I'll go find the city lord myself!"

Having a father who is the head of the Demon Suppression Division is awesome. He's awesome in Xia Prefecture, and he's no less awesome in the Northern Frontier.

The city lord was packing his belongings when he saw Sheng Yuanyao enter, her hand on her dagger. He was stunned: "General Sheng, what's going on...?"

Sheng Yuanyao drew half of her waist knife: "You ran away, what are we going to do? Just wait to die?"

City Lord: "..."

"You think I won't run away?" Sheng Yuanyao gritted her teeth in anger. "I want to run away even more than you do. I should have run away sooner, damn it!"

City Lord: "?"

"But this situation can't be avoided. The more you leave alone, the easier it is to die. It's better to stick together and defend the city! There's still a large army in the capital. Even if the Huo family is stupid, they will come to our aid under these circumstances. The capital is not far from the northern border. We can hold out for a few days and we'll be saved. The chances of survival are much greater than if we run away on our own."

The city lord remained silent.

Sheng Yuanyao finally drew her sword: "Hand over the token, and if you want to leave, then leave. I'm here to guard the city! Don't blame me if you run out and die!"

…………

Outside the main city, the golden dragon is still reaching out its claws in the clouds.

They probed and probed, but only surrounded the enemy without attacking.

Gu Zhanting in the city: "..."

Even someone close to Long Qinghuang couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, this..."

The golden dragon turned its head, its dragon eyes coldly glaring at him: "What, you really want me to attack the city?"

subordinate:"?"

"This time, not a single True Person Tinglan will attack our Holy Mountain. What are we afraid of if we're locked in a stalemate? What, do we need supplies?"

Subordinates: "..." "Gu Zhanting." Long Qinghuang's voice echoed throughout the area: "Ten years ago, we were both severely injured, and I acknowledge your strength. Now that I have gained further insights, do you have the courage to come out and continue our unfinished battle?"

Gu Zhanting did not answer.

It's strange that Long Qinghuang would have this attitude.

Why has such a proud and volatile dragon become so steady...?

The people he colluded with were not Long Qinghuang's enemy tribes, but rather Long Qinghuang's trusted right-hand men.

Based on my understanding of Long Qinghuang, I was certain that she would disregard the city's defenses and head straight for the central palace to take Gu Zhanting's head while she was still recovering from her injuries. If her trusted lieutenant had given her a hand at this moment, and they had joined forces with Gu Zhanting to launch a pincer attack, Long Qinghuang would have been doomed.

But why is Long Qinghuang a completely different person? She's not the same dragon at all. If she had been this steady back then, she wouldn't have suffered that crushing defeat.

He forgot that people change, and so do dragons. Especially since Long Qinghuang was not a stubborn dragon who couldn't learn.

Having suffered a loss in the battle ten years ago, Long Qinghuang was much more composed in the Battle of Frozen Moon and Cold River. She would go to explore the outer edge of the glacier alone, which is how she encountered Lu Xingzhou.

In that battle, Long Qinghuang was still outmaneuvered and only managed to escape after being warned by Lu Xingzhou. In the next battle at sea, Long Qinghuang was even more cautious, observing the entire situation from the clouds until she saw no further changes before finally deciding to capture Lu Xingzhou.

She could have anticipated Feng Ziliu's obstruction, but no one expected a lunatic named Yuan Muyu. This was truly not a fault of hers.

After suffering repeated setbacks, Long Qinghuang is still not quite ready to "plan before acting," but at least she has learned to go against her nature: don't take action just because you are strong.

This is truly against her nature; she loves to take matters into her own hands and crush people... Now she's forcibly restraining herself and forcing herself not to get directly involved.

Although Lu Xingzhou spent little time with her, his influence on her was considerable.

Interestingly, to onlookers, she seemed no different than before, still recklessly acting on her strength and suffering setbacks time and again. Consequently, the message conveyed to Gu Zhanting was the same; everyone's judgment was somewhat skewed.

Even the judgments of those around him are flawed, so it's no wonder Gu Zhanting is blamed.

Fortunately, Gu Zhanting did not rely solely on exploiting his opponent's character flaws; he naturally had backup plans.

The backup plan wasn't from the Huo family or the Beijing army, but from the Ancient Realm.

When Ye Tinglan launched his attack on the Holy Mountain, it caused Long Qinghuang's situation to collapse. This time, following the same pattern, Long Qinghuang thought that even without Ye Tinglan, there was still the Ancient Realm.

As long as Long Qinghuang is kept here, she will fall into the same trap she did ten years ago.

Gu Zhanting hadn't expected Chen Yu to expose a flaw in his defense system, leaving his rear cities besieged and him isolated. Fortunately, the Huo family could use this opportunity to clean up the mess; they could lead their forces to reinforce the rear and resolve the issue.

With the game at this point, it remains to be seen who will emerge victorious.

However, it was Gu Zhanting who was now personally involved... In the short term, the news that he was trapped in the border city by soldiers was about to shake the hearts of the people of Daqian.

…………

Lu Xingzhou had just spoken to Sheng Qingfeng about the dangers in the Northern Frontier, trying to persuade Sheng Yuanyao to return ahead of schedule.

Sheng Qingfeng didn't have Ye Tinglan's communication jade talisman, so he used the paper cranes that were used by the Demon Suppression Division and the army. The efficiency was acceptable, but unfortunately, it still took some time for the paper cranes to fly over.

Whether the paper cranes flew to the border is unknown, but news first came that the demon army was pressing in and His Majesty was trapped in the border city, ordering Marquis Huo Xingyuan of Zhenyuan to rush to the rescue.

The capital was shaken.

Sheng Qingfeng was furious in the Demon Suppression Bureau office: "There's still no news of Yao'er! I'm going to personally go and save my daughter!"

Those around him pulled him back, saying, "Sir, please calm down. We are only besieging the city now. Lord Huo will come to our aid. If you leave your post without being summoned, even if you save the emperor, it may not be a good thing."

"Who the hell wants to save me? I'm saving my daughter!"

"Your Excellency, calm down, calm down." Those around him were wiping away sweat. The image of a loyal and devoted minister you'd cultivated for decades had crumbled almost instantly…

"Well, Chief, since Lu Xingzhou had anticipated this beforehand, he must have a plan. Why don't we ask him for advice? Lu Xingzhou and Miss Sheng are also good friends, so he probably won't stand idly by and watch his friend be in danger."

Sheng Qingfeng took a few deep breaths and finally realized that Lu Xingzhou was a judge in the underworld known for his wisdom and resourcefulness. If he didn't consult him, who else could he consult?
Where is Lu Xingzhou?

"I was a guest at Imperial Censor Xiao's house."

"Xiao Ting?" Sheng Qingfeng asked, puzzled. "Does he have any old acquaintance with Xiao Ting? Why did he go to visit him?"

"I do not know."

"Never mind that, get him here right now... no, I'll go find him myself!"

Sheng Qingfeng arrived at the home of Imperial Censor Xiao Ting in a great hurry, only to encounter Lu Xingzhou, who was taking his leave, at the door.

Sheng Qingfeng grabbed Lu Xingzhou: "How come you still have time to come to someone else's house for tea? What about Yao'er's matter!"

Lu Xingzhou said solemnly, "This is my last stop, Imperial Envoy Xiao. I will leave after this."

"Leave? Where?"

"Northern Xinjiang, help Gua Mei."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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