Breakout

Perhaps born of military swiftness and resolve, the moment Xu Yuan finished speaking, Colonel Wang barked sharply toward the doorway: "Men!" *Creak—* Almost the next instant, the old-fashioned wooden door was pushed open from outside. An adjutant waiting outside stepped forward, dropped to one knee before the hall, clasped his fists, and asked, "General Wang, what are your orders?" Colonel Wang rose, giving brisk instructions: "Take men immediately to the City Defense Bureau to inspect the operation of every grand array in the city, and notify He Xinchuan to lead the Second Battalion, standing ready to ride out and support Li Shengwu at any moment." "..." A flash of bewilderment crossed the adjutant's eyes. Though he did not know the reason behind it, he clasped his fists and accepted the order at once. "Understood!" "Dismissed." With that, the adjutant lingered no longer, channeling his military cultivation method as he sped away outside. Colonel Wang paused at the threshold and glanced back at Xu Yuan inside the room. "Young Master Zhou, pray excuse me for a moment." "Go right ahead, Colonel Wang. My senior sister and I will return to the inn first. If something truly has gone wrong with the city defense grand array, you may send someone to notify me." The night deepened. Four hours later. Led by the vice-general he had met earlier, Xu Yuan climbed the city wall of Shengshan County. Compared to the walls of Jingjiang Prefecture, which towered twenty zhang high, the ramparts of Shengshan County could only be considered a small earthen mound. At three zhang four chi, the hard bluestone bore scars left behind by past battles—pitted, cratered, with exposed array patterns visible in several spots. Walking silently beside the vice-general, Xu Yuan could see that the burly middle-aged man's face was dark enough to wring water from. It seemed something had indeed gone wrong. Shrouded by the Illusory Mist Array, the sky held no moonlight; atop the ramparts flickered only the dim, wavering light of bonfires. After walking in silence for some distance, Xu Yuan lightly channeled his cultivation method and spotted several commanders in military attire at the far end of the wall, Colonel Wang among them. When the officers on the wall saw Xu Yuan approach, they looked him up and down before departing in silence, leaving only Colonel Wang to step forward to meet him. Coming to a halt, Colonel Wang remained as straightforward as ever: "Young Master Zhou, I want to confirm with you once more: do you truly have no direct evidence that the Wanxiang Sect intends to slaughter this city?" Hearing this, Xu Yuan shook his head slightly. "In a matter like this, the Wanxiang Sect could never leave behind direct evidence. Colonel Wang, you surely understand that." Colonel Wang fell quiet for a moment, letting out a long sigh. "Indeed." Xu Yuan glanced out past the parapet. Standing on this side of the wall, one could clearly see the Shengshan border army formed into battle arrays outside, slaughtering packs of demonic beasts funneled out of the Illusory Mist Grand Array. "Colonel Wang, how does the situation stand now?" Colonel Wang pondered briefly, likewise watching the battle array in the distance. "The demonic beasts inside the Illusory Mist Grand Array are more than double the number in previous years." "No, I mean the communication crystals." Xu Yuan asked the question he cared most about. If the communication crystals still functioned, he could call for reinforcements. To this question, Colonel Wang remained silent, saying nothing. Seeing this, Xu Yuan sighed. Judging by the man's reaction, the communication crystals were most likely dead. In other words, Shengshan County had completely severed all connection with the outside world, becoming an isolated city through and through. Yet Xu Yuan felt that if it were merely the communication crystals failing, Colonel Wang would not wear such an expression. "Has the city defense grand array run into trouble as well?" "Yes." Colonel Wang's voice was low. Looking down at the array patterns along the wall, he let out a helpless sigh. "The defensive grand array's spiritual energy pool was tampered with. At present, the entire array is charged to barely twenty percent." "What about the Illusory Mist Grand Array?" "The array's control patterns have been compromised. We cannot manipulate the grand array now." "..." Xu Yuan frowned, thought for a moment, and asked in a low voice, "When Xu Xinyao engraved the array, wasn't your Shengshan border army granted primary control?" Although the materials for constructing the array were provided by the Wanxiang Sect, when it came to a fundamental matter concerning the lives of an entire city's populace, his fourth sister would not have been foolish enough to surrender control to the sect. Colonel Wang fell silent for a moment before saying, "According to the array blueprints Miss Xu provided, our Shengshan County border army was indeed granted primary control." "So the blueprints were secretly altered?" Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes. "Xu Xinyao wouldn't make such an elementary mistake." *Thud!* Colonel Wang slammed his fist against the battlement, his knuckles clenched tight. "They must have tampered with it after Miss Xu left!" "After she left?" Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow. A hint of helplessness surfaced in Colonel Wang's voice. "When trouble befell Miss Xu's third brother, the Illusory Mist Grand Array had yet to be completed, and Miss Xu was forced to leave early. Most likely, during the final stages of completion, those Wanxiang Sect array masters secretly altered the array diagrams she left behind." "..." Xu Yuan sighed. "Even if she hadn't left, the outcome would have been the same. As long as the Wanxiang Sect never abandoned their plan to create the ghost mist, it was merely a matter of sooner or later." With that, Xu Yuan shifted the conversation, asking point-blank, "So, Colonel Wang, what is it you want from me by summoning me here?" "..." A brief silence fell. Colonel Wang rubbed his hands together, his booming voice growing somewhat hesitant. "May I ask if you and your senior sister, Young Master Zhou, could lend Shengshan County a helping hand? We will pay compensation." Xu Yuan was not surprised by Colonel Wang's request. Now that the city was isolated and without aid, having a Third-rank Grandmaster hold the line was nothing short of timely charcoal in the dead of winter under these circumstances. However, Xu Yuan was in no hurry to agree. Looking at the Shengshan border soldiers fighting blood-soaked battles outside the walls, he asked softly, "Colonel Wang, are you planning to defend the city?" "..." The question seemed to catch Colonel Wang off guard. He looked at him, speaking with slight hesitation: "The breach in the Illusory Mist Grand Array is widening bit by bit. At present, a thousand demonic beasts are funneled out every two hours. At this rate, by tomorrow or the day after, the number diverted out may exceed three thousand every two hours. The battle arrays won't be able to kill them all, so we can only rely on the city walls and the grand array to hold out." Xu Yuan shook his head gently and asked: "Colonel Wang, do you think it can be held? "Or rather, do you think the Wanxiang Sect will let you hold Shengshan County?" "..." Colonel Wang fell silent. Xu Yuan sighed and said in a low voice: "Colonel Wang, do you know what the Shengshan border army's sole advantage over the Wanxiang Sect is right now?" "..." After a moment of silence, Colonel Wang ventured tentatively, "The city defense grand array?" "Of course not." "Then what is it?" "The information gap." Xu Yuan looked at Colonel Wang, pausing between every word. "The Wanxiang Sect doesn't know yet that you are aware of their plot to manufacture ghost mist in Shengshan County." With that, seeing the bewilderment in the burly middle-aged man's eyes, Xu Yuan smiled faintly and said: "Colonel Wang, the information gap is critical. "If the Wanxiang Sect knew, they wouldn't be boiling frogs in warm water like they are now. They would unleash all the demonic beasts trapped inside the Illusory Mist Grand Array in one fell swoop." Xu Yuan pointed outside toward the battle arrays. "Just imagine: if those tens of thousands of demonic beasts trapped in the Illusory Mist Grand Array were to surge out of the mist all at once, could your ten thousand border soldiers hold the line?" Colonel Wang's fists tightened slightly. Looking at the young man before him, he took a deep breath and asked: "You mean... we have to break out?" Xu Yuan did not answer, but his silence was tantamount to an admission. Holding the city was out of the question. When calculated malice strikes unprepared targets, one has no idea how many trump cards the Wanxiang Sect has prepared. This first wave of demonic beasts might be only one piece of the puzzle. Blowing up the city walls, inciting internal riots, high-level cultivators infiltrating the city to sow chaos—any of these could happen. Yet to break out meant abandoning the four hundred thousand civilians and refugees inside and outside Shengshan. Silence spread gradually through the cold wind atop the ramparts.