Chapter 209 - 184: Over Ten Thousand Martial Army_1

" "Demons? Zombies?"

Lu Yan is stunned upon hearing.

Isn’t a refined corpse, nurtured with the aura of filth, the same concept as a demon?

"Indeed, they are similar to demons, but there are some differences. For a corpse refined by the Feudal Lords, due to the remnant obsession from before their death, it only guards the respective Clan and does not kill indiscriminately, nor can it stray too far from the corpse-raising pit."

"Moreover, that lingering obsession will dissipate. Every time it takes action, its obsession diminishes a bit. Once the obsession completely dissipates, it becomes no different from a regular corpse and must be destroyed. Otherwise, it is highly likely to become a real demon."

Li Wenxin continues to explain.

Lu Yan nods, asking, "How strong are these refined corpses? Can they compare to a Grandmaster?"

Li Wenxin shakes her head: "Of course not. The stronger their cultivation level during their lifetime, the more powerful the refined corpses they turn into. The refined corpses raised from three First-level Masters can contend against a First-level Master. The same goes for Second-rank Masters."

Lu Yan nods again. In this case, the Tuoba Clan really wouldn’t hold out for long. As long as they fight a few more battles and the obsession of the refined corpses dissipates, the Tuoba Clan is certain to be defeated.

"Once the Tuoba Clan perishes, the Li Family and the Gao Family will inevitably march northwards, and after the Wei Family is defeated, the Qiu Family and the Ouyang Family will undoubtedly deploy forces towards the south. By then, we will be under attack from both front and rear, besieged on all sides, and will be utterly destroyed."

Li Wenxin says.

Li Xingchen also wears a worried expression, pondering strategies to change the situation.

"We cannot sit and wait for death. I believe we need to take the initiative and strike first. Firstly, the Tuoba Clan cannot perish."

"If the Tuoba Clan is saved, or even if the Li Family and the Gao Family are defeated, we can join forces with the Tuoba Clan, taking control of the southern barbarian lands and resist the Feudal Lords from the south."

Lu Yan says.

"Lu Yan, we naturally understand this concept, but how can we forge a breakthrough? Even if we consider the senior you are backed by, and the Clan Elders, coming to the Tuoba Clan’s rescue, we might still not be able to defend against a joint attack by the Li Family and the Gao Family."

Li Wenxin sighs.

"To create a breakthrough is actually simple, we just need to expose Li Wenxuan’s identity as Martial Spirit in front of both armies. I believe the majority of the Li Family will not continue to follow him."

"As for the Gao Family, as long as it hasn’t been thoroughly infiltrated by the Martial Spirit, those normal martial artists will definitely not continue to cooperate with Li Wenxuan. With that, the crisis of the Tuoba Clan will be resolved."

"At the same time, senior, you can seize this opportunity to regain control of the Li family."

Lu Yan says.

"This plan is great, but how can we make Li Wenxuan expose his identity as Martial Spirit in front of both armies? Is the senior willing to take the risk?"

Li Wenxin says.

Lu Yan nods, saying, "I have discussed this with the senior before. He will take action, heading to the battlefield of Baiyue City, seizing the opportunity to attack Li Wenxuan with his arrows, forcing him to reveal his identity as Martial Spirit."

"Please extend my gratitude to the senior."

Li Wenxin bows solemnly towards the direction of the main gate.

"Very well, I will pass on the message."

Lu Yan looks serious.

"I want to go as well," says Li Xingchen.

Lu Yan shakes his head, saying, "Senior, Changfeng City lacks powerful warriors; we still need you to hold down the fort. The battle at Baiyue City is not about helping the Tuoba Clan defend the city, but to force Li Wenxuan to reveal his identity as a Martial Spirit. The emphasis is on sudden attacks, catching them off guard. Having too many people will result in difficulties instead."

Seeing Lu Yan saying this, Li Xingchen can only give up.

"The senior also wishes for me to follow along. Therefore, I will have to leave the management of Changfeng City to you both for a while."

Lu Yan says.

Li Wenxin and Li Xingchen were surprised, not understanding why the Master of Archery wished for Lu Yan to accompany him.

But this is someone else’s secret, and they didn’t feel it was right to inquire.

That night, Lu Yan secretly entered the second-level Blood Land Vein once again, informing Wang Lin not to come out during this period.

He did not reveal to Li Wenxin and the others about the second-level Blood Land Vein.

At least, for now, he didn’t intend to reveal it.

The next morning, Lu Yan, with the Red Blood Blade on his back and the quiver in his hand, silently left the city, heading for Baiyue City.

With his speed, he arrived in just a few hours.

The combined forces of the Li Family and Gao Family divided into two routes to attack the Tuoba Clan.

The martial marquis under the Tuoba Clan surrendered upon hearing the news.

When the Tuoba Clan received the news, they also gathered the martial marquis that were close by and relocated them within Baiyue City.

More than ten martial marquis combined, there were dozens of martial marquis and three to four thousand martial soldiers, greatly enhancing the defensive capabilities of Baiyue City.

However, the Li Family and the Gao Family also summoned the martial marquis under their banners to join the battle.

Both clans deployed a total of twelve thousand martial soldiers, gathering ten miles east of Baiyue City and setting up camp.

Upon reaching Baiyue City, Lu Yan observes from a distant mountain peak.

Baiyue City, its gates tightly shut with groups of soldiers on the city wall, the defences are closely guarded.

With Lu Yan’s eyesight, he can see the rows of huge crossbows placed on the city wall, all of them Armor-piercing Crossbows without exception.

The city walls and the exterior are pock-marked, many abandoned weapons discarded, the earth red with blood, flies swarm around, there’s even a considerable amount of corpses left around.

Apparently a great battle took place not long ago.

Lu Yan then looks in another direction.

The connected tents, their flags rustling in the wind, with a large number of soldiers patrolling around them.

They are the combined forces of the Li and Gao families.

Lu Yan takes out a piece of Dried Martial Food that he has prepared earlier and begins munching on it. He then starts cultivating, aiming to increase his Bone Strength.

He is inching closer to reaching the peak of Martial Marquis Level Five, and doesn’t dare to slack off. He wants to reach the peak of Martial Marquis Level Five as soon as possible.

Time passes day by day.

Lu Yan waits for half a month, but, the combined forces of the Li and Gao families show no signs of attacking the Tuoba Clan.

"What’s happening? They haven’t attacked in half a month. Are they planning to besiege?"

Lu Yan wonders to himself.

It’s not uncommon for martial forces to adopt a siege strategy when attacking a city.

Martial cultivators need to consume Martial Food.

Especially cultivators who have broken through the limit three times or more.

If they lack Martial Food for an extended period, not to mention increasing their cultivation level, their cultivation level will regress, and their Qi-Blood will decline.

Additionally, in order to prepare Martial Food, not only exotic beast meat is required, but various supplementary spiritual medicine and Martial Food spices are also needed.

If the siege lasts a long time, the city will inevitably lack healing spiritual medicine. They will not be able to cook martial food, which would cause chaos among the troops.

"Go and investigate."

Lu Yan descended from the mountain peak and silently approached the military camp.

A few miles from the camp, Lu Yan stopped. With a thought, his Cloud Walk avatar appeared. Lu Yan took out a black robe for his avatar to wear as it swiftly approached the camp.

The camp was set up in a valley surrounded by mountains on two sides. This situation was advantageous for Lu Yan’s investigation.

He quietly infiltrated the left-side mountain peak, climbed up a large tree to hide his figure, and watched the valley.

The soldiers in iron armor moved in orderly fashion, with strict discipline. The camp emanated an aura of solemnity. An invisible pressure pervaded all around, making even Lu Yan feel a suffocating sensation and causing the hair on his skin to stand up.

"A crowd over ten thousand will form a sea of people. Their combined actions have a formidable momentum."

"The combined actions of a martial army of over ten thousand warriors is even more terrifying, like an earthquake."

Lu Yan was secretly vigilant.

A Grandmaster might be strong, but it would indeed be dangerous if they were surrounded by tens of thousands of martial soldiers.

Though inner strength was strong, it was ultimately limited and would be depleted.

Therefore, it would be impossible for him to directly infiltrate their camp to attack Li Wenxuan. If he got trapped, he would be on a path of certain death.

"Hmm? What are they doing?"

Lu Yan noticed a large number of people laboring in the back of the camp.

He quietly moved closer and discovered they were building some type of siege equipment.

It was a catapult.

No wonder there was no attack for half a month. They were likely waiting for the catapults to be built and then launch an all-out assault on Baiyue City.

After watching for a while, Lu Yan returned to his original location on the mountain peak and continued to consume his dried martial food for cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, another half a month had passed.

Wooo...

The horn sounded, causing the ground to tremble violently.

The allied army of the two clans, twelve thousand martial soldiers, surged forward like a tidal wave, heading towards Baiyue City.

All the warriors were mounted on war horses.

A third of them rode red horses, while the remaining two-thirds rode on ordinary horses.

Lu Yan recognized the red horses. They were Red Blood Horses.

The Red Blood Horse was a special breed, nurtured with martial food.

It needed a regular diet of martial food mixed with spiritual medicine to be raised. The cost was enormous. Only those Grandmaster-level Feudal Lords could afford to raise a few, and certainly not enough to provide for all their soldiers.

Boom! Boom! Boom!...

The war drums resonated on the walls of Baiyue City as the entire army prepared for battle.

Both the clans’ armies halted a few miles from Baiyue City.

Then, one by one, the catapults were pushed forward from the back and slowly advanced towards Baiyue City.

Behind them, people pushed wooden carts loaded with huge rocks, each weighing several thousand pounds.

The expressions on the faces of many in Baiyue City changed.

These grand catapults possessed formidable power.

The catapults slowly approached Baiyue City – one thousand meters, five hundred meters...

"Shoot them! Don’t let them get close," an order echoed from the top of Baiyue City.

Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!...

A rain of arrows flew towards the catapults, like locusts swarming.

But the Li Clan and Gao Family were prepared. From behind the catapults sprang forth numerous soldiers carrying shields as heavy as a thousand pounds. Like walls, they stood up in front of them, blocking all the arrows.

Ordinary troops could not achieve this, but for martial soldiers, it was not a problem.

Shield soldiers cleared the road in front, while behind them, the catapults continued to advance.

"I’ll do it."

On the ramparts, a strong man personally fired an arrow.

With a bang, the thousand-pound shield was shattered. Another arrow obliterated the wheel of a catapult. The enormous catapult fell to the ground, rendered useless.

"Good."

"Long live the Clan Elder."

Cheers echoed on the city wall.

"Again."

The strong man, clearly a Grandmaster, drew his bow again and fired another shot.

Another catapult was destroyed.

"Launch."

Screech... screech...

The catapults were activated. Huge rocks were readied, and then shot out into the distance. Like meteors, they flew towards Baiyue City.

Suddenly, dozens of huge rocks appeared in the sky above Baiyue City, casting huge shadows.

"Not good."

Seeing the massive rocks, the warriors of Baiyue City were thrown into panic.

Huge rocks weighing several thousand pounds were falling down. Even a Limit Breaking Warrior or a Martial Marquis would not dare to intercept them. If hit, they would undoubtedly be crushed to a pulp.

Whirr! Whirr!...

Suddenly, several figures leapt high up from the ramparts of Baiyue City.

These figures had shriveled, black, iron-like skin. Their bodies were enveloped by a gray mist. They leaped up tens of meters, their fists smashing several rocks that were about to hit the city wall into fragments.

The remaining huge rocks fell either outside the city or inside. Nobody cared about them.

The residents near the city wall had already been evacuated. These huge rocks smashed houses in the city, but they didn’t hurt anyone.