29: Chapter 29 Sword Guard Descends from the Sky, Strategic Deployment

The news of the four families joining forces spread faster than anyone had anticipated.

Early on the third day, three crimson warning smokes rose from the northwest watchtower of Blue Moon Island. Immediately following, the light boats patrolling the Outer Sea returned with their flags changed, signaling that Loose Cultivators and small merchant caravans on nearby sea routes were all turning back, like an invisible undercurrent suddenly emerging on the sea surface, pushing all idlers away.

Panic immediately rippled through the island.

The five thousand newly arrived Mortals had not yet been fully integrated into the order, and upon hearing outside talk of "the four families coming" and "ten ships pressing upon the sea," many faces turned pale. Even the old islanders and the Mortals who had previously fought the Water Ape could barely steady themselves; outside the Workshop, people began to tread softly unconsciously, and even when moving stones or drawing bowstrings, they were more tense than in previous days.

This was not their fault.

No matter how fierce the Water Ape was, it was ultimately just a Yao Beast.

But those coming this time were the old island masters of the four families, bringing a coalition of Cultivators who truly knew how to arrange formations, operate ships, and use Magical Artifacts.

That kind of pressure was not on the same level.

Lu Changyuan did not let this emotion ferment on the island.

In the afternoon, he personally ascended to the highest point of Qingyuan Terrace, letting all Dao soldiers, Workshop craftsmen, and able-bodied Mortals look toward the north coast.

"Fear is normal."

"The four families joining forces is indeed much harder to chew than the Chen family attacking alone."

"But you must remember one thing."

His gaze swept over the dense crowd below the terrace; his voice was not loud, but it was steady enough to suppress the wind.

"They are not here to save people, nor are they here to reason."

"They are here to divide Blue Moon Island."

"If you retreat today, the city walls, the fields, the Workshop, the meal at home, and the life you just received will all be taken away by them."

"So this battle has no second path."

"Either they die, or our entire island returns to the slave cage."

The originally skittering gazes below the terrace instead settled down little by little after these few sentences.

At this point, everyone knew that saying "perhaps we can still hide" was a lie. Once the ugliest skin was torn open, the remaining morale was easier to twist into a single strand.

Lu Hu stepped forward, roaring like thunder.

"Each battalion return to position! City walls, crossbow positions, anti-horse obstacles, Spirit Arrows, follow the contingency plan!"

"Whoever causes chaos first, military law will behead them first!"

Only then did the island start moving again.

But what truly allowed Lu Changyuan to breathe a half-sigh of relief was the purple light that suddenly streaked across the clouds at dusk.

A small shuttle boat, its flowing light retracted, stealthily moving almost against the cloud line.

It came extremely fast but did not land at the harbor, instead descending directly into an inner courtyard behind Qingyuan Terrace that had been cleared long ago. Lu Hu and Leng Feng drew their blades and approached almost simultaneously, but when the boat door opened, both of them were stunned for a moment.

Walking out of the boat was a young man in moon-white sword robes.

He looked to be only twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with clear brows and eyes, and a lazy, indifferent expression, as if he had just finished watching the snow from some mountain peak and had casually come to the Star Sea for a trip. But when he truly stepped out of the boat, the wind in the entire inner courtyard seemed to be sliced apart by an invisible Sword Intent.

Half-step Golden Core.

And not comparable to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage that Great Elder Chen Xinglie had slowly ground out over the years.

Lu Changyuan recognized the visitor with a single glance.

"Cousin Qingshan."

Young Master Lu Qingshan sized him up, first looking at his cultivation level, then at the crossbow bodies, Formation Plates, and un-transported Spirit Arrows piled in the inner courtyard behind him, and finally raised an eyebrow slightly.

"The letter was written in a hurry; I thought you were about to be swallowed by someone in the Star Sea."

"It seems now that you have grown teeth."

Lu Hu and Leng Feng only then reacted and immediately clasped their fists.

Twenty people followed behind Young Master Lu Qingshan, all wearing light armor with purple patterns, carrying swords on their backs, each with a breath suppressed extremely deep, yet deep like the night that could cut a person's throat at any time.

Zixiao Sword Guards.

This was one of the sharp edges that the main branch of the Lu family in Yunzhou could truly bring out and use to stabilize the situation.

The originally tense atmosphere in the courtyard stabilized a lot with the arrival of this group.

Because what came was not just twenty Sword Guards, but the sharp edges that the main branch could truly use to stabilize the situation.

Lu Changyuan did not exchange too many pleasantries with Young Master Lu Qingshan, only quickly recounting the situation of the past few days, the scale of the four-family coalition, the reaction after the Chen family was crushed, and the current defense of Blue Moon Island and the progress of the mystic ice spirit-breaking crossbow.

The more Young Master Lu Qingshan listened, the fainter the laziness in his eyes became, and in the end, he even looked at him seriously for two breaths, which was rare.

"Not bad."

"You didn't spit out the mine, the first wave of opponents wasn't killed in vain, and you even knew how to use the ransom and Spirit Stones to fill in the infrastructure."

"At least you're not like those trash in the clan who only know how to trade the family assets for face."

This was already considered a very high evaluation.

Lu Changyuan just smiled: "Since Cousin has come, you can't just watch the show."

Young Master Lu Qingshan also smiled.

"Rest assured."

"Since the letter has been delivered to my hands, if I let you be bitten to death by a few mongrels in the Star Sea, I'm afraid I'll be scolded by the old man for a year when I get back."

That night, the battle contingency plan for Blue Moon Island was fully laid out in a true sense.

In the main hall, sea charts, reef area maps, city wall, and north shore crossbow position maps covered the entire table. Su Qingli, dragging her body that clearly had not fully recovered, marked out the newly supplemented Inner Sea perimeter water formation, anti-horse obstacle placement points, and the preset firing ranges of the twenty mystic ice spirit-breaking crossbows.

Lu Hu was responsible for the frontal advance and gap-filling of the Dao soldiers, Leng Feng was responsible for monitoring people on the outer line and beheading messengers, while Shi Jian led the Mortal gunners and Workshop laborers, specializing in drawing bowstrings, transporting arrows, changing positions, and guarding the crossbow bases.

As for Young Master Lu Qingshan and the twenty Zixiao Sword Guards, they were kept back by Lu Changyuan until the end.

"Cousin and the Sword Guards should not appear first."

"Let them think that Blue Moon Island is, at most, relying on the reef sea, formations, and new crossbows to hold on."

"Wait until they truly press into the Inner Sea, when their morale is highest and their battle line is longest, then cut in from the side and rear."

Young Master Lu Qingshan listened, not only did not refute, but laughed instead.

"You really treat me as a blade."

"Isn't the blade of the main branch meant to be used at the most valuable moment?"

Lu Changyuan answered very flatly.

Young Master Lu Qingshan looked at him and nodded.

"Fine."

"Then I will wait for you to let them in."

After the discussion dispersed, Young Master Lu Qingshan did not immediately return to the inner courtyard to rest, but followed Lu Changyuan to walk through the north shore defense line from beginning to end.

Walking this way, even the casualness in his eyes diminished a lot.

Behind the stone mounds, the twenty mystic ice spirit-breaking crossbows were not simply lined up in a row, but were staggered into three layers according to the arc of the Inner Sea and the height of the tide line. The first layer was responsible for biting the bows of the first row of ships and breaking the formation ships, the second layer specialized in hitting the middle protective shields and command nodes, while the last layer was left to fill in leaks, and incidentally seal the Cultivators who tried to take off and bypass the firing range.

Behind each crossbow, there was more than one gunner.

Some were specialized in drawing the bowstring, some were specialized in lifting the arrows, some were staring at the steering position, and others were holding wet cloths and spare guide plates, obviously guarding against the overheating of the crossbow arms and the deviation of the Array Pattern after continuous firing. Such a division of labor might not be amazing in the army of a real big city, but on a new island that had just established a foothold in the Star Sea, it was enough to make people look at it differently.

Young Master Lu Qingshan reached out and pressed the crossbow arm of a mystic ice spirit-breaking crossbow, his fingertips feeling the chill suppressed by the mystic ice jade, and suddenly said: "Who came up with this thing?"

"I started it, Su Qingli changed the skeleton."

"The Mortal gunners and the people from the Workshop were trained by Shi Jian."

Young Master Lu Qingshan gave a soft "Hmm," and glanced at Shi Jian not far away who was transporting Spirit Arrows.

"You really know how to use people."

"With his background, you dare to put him on such a critical position as the crossbow station."

Lu Changyuan did not look back, only watching the Mortal gunners who were still calibrating the firing range for the last time.

"Blue Moon Island has a thin foundation."

"Without using these people, I wouldn't have this line today."

"Besides, whether people are willing to fight or not doesn't depend on their background, but on whether they know if what they fight for will be swallowed by their master."

This sentence made Young Master Lu Qingshan silent for two breaths, which was rare.

It wasn't that there was no one in the main branch who could speak pretty words, but there were few who could truly implement those words onto the city walls, crossbow positions, fields, and Workshops. At least this cousin, who did not hold power in the main family, was indeed not the kind of goods who only knew how to use the Lu family signboard to scare people.

The two continued to walk forward.

On the outermost side of the coastline, cold iron anti-horse obstacles had been buried in several sections along the shoals and reef gaps. At first glance, they looked like chaotic reefs exposed in the waves, but if a large ship was forced to get close, or if a Yao Beast or Cultivator wanted to wade and charge hard, the first step would be to step into these murderous iron mouths. Further back, the auxiliary flags and temporary water formations newly supplemented by Su Qingli had already connected with the Inner Sea firing range, not seeking to block the coalition outside, but only seeking to tilt their ship bows and cannon muzzles by half an inch when they pressed in most proudly.

In naval warfare, half an inch is enough to kill.

Young Master Lu Qingshan looked at the whole circle and finally smiled for real.

"Your battle doesn't look like defending a city."

"It looks like a guillotine placed on the sea, waiting for people to jump in by themselves."

Lu Changyuan also smiled: "Defending a city is finding excuses for those who can't hold it."

"Since I want them to enter the Inner Sea, it is naturally not to get beaten."

At this time, the sky had completely darkened.

Torches all over the island were extinguished one by one according to the plan, leaving only a few clear fires deliberately exposed for the Outer Sea to see, making people look from afar and only feel that Blue Moon Island seemed to be still hurriedly reinforcing the crossbow positions and city walls, so busy that even the lights could not be leveled. But the blades that should move, the crossbows that should hide, and the people that should hide had long shrunk into the night and behind the stone mounds.

Young Master Lu Qingshan looked up at the clouds, and the twenty Zixiao Sword Guards had already silently dispersed, like a piece of invisible chill pressing on Blue Moon Island.

And on the coastline below, the Mortal gunners finished the last round of empty-string testing under Shi Jian's low shout, and then all knelt down, quiet enough that only breathing remained.

This silence could explain the problem better than any shouting.

Because everyone knew that in a little while, in that darkness of the Outer Sea, real blood and fire would collide.

In the dead of night, the sea breeze suddenly became tighter.

A new horn sounded from the Outer Sea watchtower, three shorts and one long, the sound urgent and deep.

The four-family coalition had arrived.

When Lu Changyuan led people to the highest point of the coastline defense, the distant sea surface was already lit with patches of lights. Ten large warships were like ten pieces of black iron pressing toward the horizon, the banners on the ship bows were different, but all carried the same murderous intent.

At the edge of the Inner Sea, twenty mystic ice spirit-breaking crossbows had all been pressed behind the newly built stone mounds, the Mortal gunners knelt halfway beside the crossbows, their faces white, but their hands steady.

Above the clouds, Young Master Lu Qingshan and the Zixiao Sword Guards had completely hidden their figures.

The entire Blue Moon Island, at this moment, was like a Vicious Beast that had tightened its limbs and hidden all its teeth in its mouth.

And Lu Changyuan stood on the high platform, watching the fleet getting closer and closer, and slowly raised his right hand.

"Let them enter the Inner Sea."

"I want to let them... have no return."