Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

However, what Duanmu Hong said next immediately changed his expression.

"Indeed, Hexi has strong soldiers and sturdy horses, and it's indeed difficult to resist with just the Nanjiang soldiers alone. But Master of Hou Family, take a guess, after we repair the Chi Li Heaven Barrier, will the situation perhaps...…"

Duanmu Hong paused here suddenly, noticing the change in Hou Yuxiao's expression, then continued with a light chuckle, "Change at all?"

As he finished speaking, he led Qing Xuan and the four Rakshasa Holy Sect members of the Eight Divisions, turned around, and sped off in the direction of Qingmiao City to the west, leaving Hou Yuxiao standing there with a face that couldn't settle on one expression.

That statement of Duanmu Hong's could be said to have hooked onto the greatest concern of Hou Yuxiao's journey thus far: What did the restoration of the Chi Li Heaven Barrier truly mean for the Rakshasa Holy Sect?

Right now was the decisive moment of battle between the Rakshasa Holy Sect and the Blood Spirit Demon Sect. At such a critical juncture, Sikong Yue did not hesitate to send out Duanmu Hong, a Sub-Saint of Martial Dao, and six Peak Grandmasters from the Eight Divisions to Nanjiang. The significance of the Chi Li Heaven Barrier to the Rakshasa Holy Sect was, therefore, absolutely extraordinary.

What did Duanmu Hong's statement mean?

Once the Chi Li Heaven Barrier was repaired, the situation would change.

Change how?

Would the Nanjiang Allied Forces no longer fear Hexi?

A gloominess gradually emerged in Hou Yuxiao's eyes. His understanding of Nanjiang was limited to begin with, let alone the Chi Li Heaven Barrier about which he knew nothing. This made his heart feel heavier, and he even started to have doubts about attacking Qingmiao City.

"Family Head, in my opinion, Duanmu Hong is merely trying to bluff us. If he really was absolutely confident, why would he take the initiative to mention the repair of the Chi Li Heaven Barrier? The normal approach would be to repair it quietly, and then when we attack Qingmiao City, he would take action. The fact that he's brought it up is clear sign of bluffing, hoping to scare us off, or at least to delay our attack on the city!"

Hou Yuxiao was startled for a moment, then turned to look at Gao Changlong beside him, and suddenly felt enlightened. His expression immediately relaxed.

That's right, if the Chi Li Heaven Barrier was 100% certain to turn the tide of war, then Duanmu Hong wouldn't need to mention it at all. All they had to do was wait for the Hexi army to attack and then strike a fatal blow, right?

If he's mentioning it, then it's definitely a bluff!

Insiders can be blind to the obvious, and it was such a simple matter that he hadn't seen through it until Gao Changlong pointed it out. Hou Yuxiao felt somewhat embarrassed but was not the type to be stubborn. He turned to look at Gao Changlong, a look of appreciation on his face, and nodded his head vigorously, saying:

"You're right. Duanmu Hong's bluff has precisely revealed that he urgently needs time to repair the Chi Li Heaven Barrier. We must break through Qingmiao City quickly, otherwise, if he were to successfully repair the barrier, who knows what big trouble might arise."

Gao Changlong looked worried, saluted and said, "Despite our heavy losses, Qingmiao City still has more than a million Nanjiang Allied Forces, a force no weaker than Hexi. Moreover, defending a city is inherently an advantage. Even with Hexi's elite Red Flame Army, it's nearly impossible for you, Family Head, to take the city quickly!"

Hou Yuxiao certainly understood Gao Changlong's meaning. In fact, it was not just a matter of military strength; even the difference in the strength of the high-level fighters between Hexi and Nanjiang was not negligible. The Red Flame Army was able to capture Hei Miao City because the city was vulnerable with all of its Peak Grandmasters taken away by Heigu, and due to the stupidity of Black Yan and Bai Tong, who severely underestimated the strength of the Red Flame Army and actually led their forces out at the moment the northern city wall crumbled, allowing Hexi to easily take Hei Miao City.

The situation in Qingmiao City, however, was different. Duanmu Hong, Qing Xuan, Bai Tong, and at least sixteen Peak Grandmasters were present. In terms of top-notch fighters, they absolutely crushed Hexi. Though they didn't have an elite force like the Red Flame Army, they had a significant number of soldiers. Plus, with the fall of Hei Miao City as a precedent, Qing Xuan would definitely be more cautious. It would be difficult for Hexi to successfully capture Qingmiao City, let alone to do so quickly.

Yet, there was not a hint of worry on Hou Yuxiao's face. Instead, he turned and looked distantly at Qingmiao City, a cold smile on his lips as he softly said, "A conventional assault, relying on Hexi's army of over a million, would indeed be impossible. But I never said we're going to siege the city in the conventional way..."

Without fully clarifying for Gao Changlong, Hou Yuxiao stopped there and loudly commanded, "Enough, get the army moving. We must reach Qingmiao City before dawn."

"Your subordinate obeys!"

Gao Changlong didn't know what Hou Yuxiao was planning, but his seemingly unstoppable confidence reassured him somewhat. He turned around to issue the march orders, and as the orders were clearly passed down, the army in the valley quickly began to clear the corpses from the road to make way for the march.

Luo Mountain Valley was littered with the bodies of Zimiao soldiers, and if not for the ample manpower of the Hexi army, it would have been difficult to clear in a short time. Of course, the method of clearing was rather rough, simply stacking the bodies to the sides of the valley, just clearing a path through.

In less than half an hour, Gao Changlong, at the head of a portion of the Zhaoyang Army, had cleared the valley. Seeing that the army had slowly started to move forward, he flew up to join Hou Yuxiao above the valley and reported on the battle situation:

"We have killed a total of 223,124 enemies in the valley. The vast majority died at the western mouth of the valley, likely trampled to death in the stampede when fleeing, which accounts for at least seventy percent."

This number made even Hou Yuxiao feel a chill. Initially, the Zimiao Army was up against only three hundred thousand Red Flame Army soldiers. Even if it had been a head-on battle, the Zimiao Army fatalities wouldn't have exceeded two hundred thousand. In their rout, they ended up trampling over a hundred thousand of their own to death...