Great Wilderness Demon Lord

Within his dantian, the crimson-gold flames of the Extreme Emotion Demon suddenly shone slightly.

That cool yet tender voice rang out again, carrying a faint sigh: "When love reaches its extreme, it becomes obsession. You are obsessed with defending the city, obsessed with survival, obsessed with... not being devoured by demonic thoughts."

Xiao Yunlan remained silent for a moment, then silently replied in his mind, "Do I have a choice?"

Yu Qingwu's voice was soft and gentle: "Yes. Let go of your obsessions and let the demonic thoughts devour you, and you can attain great freedom and liberation."

"Is that still me?"

"Yes and no," Yu Qingwu said softly, "but at least, I don't have to suffer like this anymore."

Xiao Yunlan shook her head: "That's not what I want."

"What do you want?" Yu Qingwu asked.

Xiao Yunlan looked at the busy camp below the city wall, at the garrison soldiers shivering in the cold wind yet still repairing the wall, and at the prisoners being guarded in the distance.

"I want these people to live," he said slowly. "I want to protect this city, protect this line of defense, protect... the homes three hundred miles behind us."

The fiery crimson flames of the Demon of Extreme Passion suddenly intensified.

"What a fine 'thought'." Yu Qingwu's voice held a strange undertone. "When this thought reaches its extreme, it becomes extreme emotion. Xiao Yunlan, do you know that the path of extreme emotion is the most harmful to both oneself and others?"

"I know," Xiao Yunlan said, "but I have no other choice."

Yu Qingwu fell silent, and the crimson-gold flames slowly subsided.

Xiao Yunlan also withdrew his gaze and walked down the city wall.

He knew that his entanglement with demonic thoughts was becoming increasingly profound.

The cunning demon craves scheming, the murderous demon craves blood, the valiant demon craves battle, and the passionate demon craves conviction...

He was like a herdsman feeding four ferocious beasts, feeding them with choices and actions, while struggling to maintain a fragile balance.

But how long can this balance last?

he does not know.

All he knew was that he had to make Ice City more fortified before the Wolf Rong army arrived.

And for this, he is willing to pay any price.

Even if the price is one's own soul.

As night deepened, the cold wind grew stronger.

Throughout the ice city, firelight flickered and people bustled about.

An even bigger storm is brewing in the north.

And this small ice city on the Shuofeng Plain is waiting for its arrival.

-----------------

For the next five days, the entire city of Shuofengyuan was practically racing against time.

More than 1,400 jackal prisoners worked day and night under Zhao Meng's supervision. They raised the ice walls, dug pits, moved stones, and built a second line of defense.

At first, some prisoners tried to resist or slack off, but when Xiao Yunlan beheaded three jackal men who led the disturbance in front of all the prisoners and hanged their families, the resistance quickly subsided.

Fear and obedience began to spread among the prisoners.

Meanwhile, supplies from the direction of Zhenhuang Pass were also being delivered one after another.

Thanks to Liu Heyang's efforts, the second and third convoys arrived one after another, bringing more arrows, iron, grain, medicine, and even a batch of old crossbows transferred from the northern fortresses.

Although these crossbows were cumbersome, old, and slow-firing, they were extremely powerful and posed a significant threat to the Wolf Rong cavalry in siege warfare.

Xiao Yunlan placed crossbows on the arrow towers at the four corners of the ice wall, assigning five operators to each tower, and they practiced day and night.

On the fifth day at dusk, as the final section of the ice wall was completed, dust rose again from the southern wasteland.

This time, it's a much larger team.

Two hundred newly recruited soldiers, led by a squad leader surnamed Sun, escorted twenty large carts loaded with supplies, and were guarded by fifty border cavalrymen, and arrived in Bingcheng.

Xiao Yunlan personally came out to greet him.

Captain Sun was a burly man in his thirties with dark skin and rough hands, clearly someone who had practiced martial arts for many years.

After Xiao Yunlan reviewed the troop deployment documents, he clasped his hands in a salute: "Sun Heng, the commander of the Shuofengyuan troop replenishment team, has come with two hundred recruits and twenty carts of supplies, on the orders of Deputy Commander Han, to await the command of Colonel Xiao!"

Xiao Yunlan returned the greeting: "Captain Sun must have had a long journey."

His gaze swept over the two hundred recruits.

These new recruits wore uniform lamellar armor, carried long spears and waist knives. Although their formation was not very orderly, they at least stood straight, and their eyes showed the tension and curiosity unique to new recruits.

There were no cavalry, no elite soldiers.

Xiao Yunlan understood—Han Zhong, or rather Princess Li Xuan, was only providing limited support.

They are willing to reinforce their troops and provide supplies, but they will not easily commit their elite forces to this forward outpost that could become a meat grinder.

However, that's enough.

Two hundred recruits were enough to make up for the manpower shortage, freeing the garrison from heavy daily tasks such as patrols and guard duty, allowing them to focus on battle preparations.

"Zhao Meng," Xiao Yunlan called out.

"exist."

"The new recruits are under your command. Within three days, have them familiarize themselves with the defenses of Ice City and master the operation of basic defensive equipment. Those who fail to meet the requirements will be assigned to the auxiliary troops."

"Yes, sir!"

Xiao Yunlan then looked at Sun Heng: "Captain Sun is exhausted from his long journey, so let's settle him down and let him rest today. Starting tomorrow, your unit will be responsible for the defense of the eastern section of the city wall. Tieshan will hand over the specific defense duties to you."

Sun Heng clasped his hands in a fist and said, "This humble servant understands."

The troop entered the city, and the supplies were unloaded. Manager Wu led the accountants in inventorying and cataloging the goods, and the camp bustled with activity once again.

Inside the main tent, Xiao Yunlan unfurled a newly drawn defense map.

The Ice City's defense system is now taking shape. Its core is a 20-foot-high wall made of ice and soil, with the top of the wall widened to 5 feet, allowing three people to walk side by side.

Two deep trenches were dug outside the wall, filled with sharpened wooden spikes; chevaux-de-frise and caltrops were placed between the trenches.

Inside the wall, a second line of defense was built on the ruins, consisting of low stone walls and crenellations.

In terms of troop strength, the original garrison has been reorganized and replenished, with more than 40 veteran soldiers and more than 100 recruits remaining. In addition, there are 200 newly arrived recruits, bringing the total number of combat-ready soldiers to about 350.

In addition, there were Shi Biao's thirty chamber of commerce guards, and fifty convict auxiliary soldiers who had performed well and had been freed from their shackles.

Of the more than 1,400 jackals, about 800 were able-bodied men, all of whom were assigned to a labor service team and supervised by Zhao Meng; the more than 600 women and children were assigned to light work and were overseen by Steward Wu.

The reserves of supplies have also become much more abundant.

The stockpile of arrows exceeded 20,000, logs and stones were piled up like mountains, food was enough to last for two months, and medicine, kerosene, tools and other supplies were also replenished.

Judging from its strength on paper, Harbin is no longer the hastily built, rudimentary outpost it once was.

But Xiao Yunlan knew in his heart that the real test was yet to come.

The Wolf Rong army consisted of at least two thousand cavalry and five thousand jackal servants.

Such a force is sufficient to launch a continuous and fierce attack, completely submerging the Ice City.

He must prepare for the worst.

As night fell, Xiao Yunlan returned to his main tent after inspecting the city walls.

The charcoal fire inside the tent burned brightly, dispelling the chill of the northern winter night. He took off his outer robe, sat cross-legged on the couch, and closed his eyes to look inward.

Deep within the dantian, four clusters of light flames floated silently.

The cunning demon's deep blue flames were slightly satiated from days of scheming and planning; the valiant demon's crimson flames surged steadily, conveying a subtle anticipation for the upcoming battle; and the passionate demon's golden flames burned quietly, reflecting his unwavering determination to defend the city.

The dark red flames of the Slaughter Demon, however, appeared unusually restless.