77: Chapter 77 Blood News Arrives on the Island, Three Days on a Lonely Line

When the sound of the horn reached Xuangui Island, the blood in the water along the Northern Ridge reef line had not yet fully receded.

The garrison troops first looked up.

Then, someone realized that it was not the horn of Xuangui Island itself.

The warning horn of Xuangui Island was low and short.

This sound from afar, however, was as deep as if it were being pressed up from the seabed, dragging with it a tremolo that made one's teeth ache.

Li Heng's face turned pale instantly.

"The direction of the Meteor Trench."

Chen Mo's hand holding the talisman brush also paused for a moment.

Lu Changyuan did not look at them.

He turned and walked toward the Central Army tent.

"Bring the survivor here."

"Li Heng, guard the Northern Ridge; Chen Mo, repair the talisman lines; Lu Hu, follow me."

As the order fell, the few Loose Cultivators guarding the formation who had just sat down scrambled back up.

No one complained.

Last night had already worn away a layer of the resentment in them.

What remained was fear.

Fear is easier to manage than resentment.

The Formation Plate in the Central Army tent was still flickering.

The active line from Warehouse No. 3 to the Outer Port was flickering intermittently, and the old formation pillars on the south bank were brightening and dimming, like a lamp about to go out but not yet extinguished.

Lu Changyuan first pressed the cracked gray bone shard beside the formation map.

Then he had people drag the half-dead Black Scaled Cultivator into the tent.

That person was pinned by two Evil-warding Talismans, and their chest rose and fell very shallowly.

The purification powder was keeping them alive.

It was also keeping the pain alive.

Lu Hu held his blade horizontally against the side of his neck.

"Speak."

The Black Scaled Cultivator's eyes moved slightly, and a hoarse laugh squeezed out from his throat.

Lu Changyuan did not ask where the main force was.

He asked in great detail.

"Which waterway did you take to enter Xuangui Island?"

"How many times did you change people on the way?"

"Who embedded the gray bone shard into your brow?"

The Black Scaled Cultivator could no longer laugh.

He was not afraid of death.

But he did not expect the other party not to ask about big plans, but only about the waterway.

Lu Hu pressed his blade downward.

Black blood seeped out from the flesh.

Half a quarter of an hour later, the Black Scaled Cultivator finally spat out a few broken words.

"Northern... undercurrent."

"Outside the turtle's back... thirty miles."

"Black Armor... changing flags."

"Trench... empty shell."

As he spoke to the end, his pupils suddenly dilated.

A wisp of black smoke emerged from the crack in his brow.

Lu Changyuan raised his hand, and an Evil-warding Talisman was stuck on.

The black smoke was suppressed and extinguished.

The person also completely stopped breathing.

The tent became quiet.

Lu Hu said in a low voice, "Master, the Northern undercurrent he mentioned happens to bypass the front of the Meteor Trench."

Lu Changyuan looked at the formation map.

On the north side of Xuangui Island, there was indeed a patch of Outer Sea undercurrents.

It was only marked with a single stroke on the old map.

Because the water there was turbulent, ships did not usually travel there, and it was not suitable for transporting goods.

But if it were a unit of Black Armor Elites that did not fear losses, using Devilish Qi to suppress the water and maneuvering around from there, it was not impossible.

"Send a message to the Zhenhai Fortress."

Lu Changyuan said, "Use the Deputy Envoy's military token."

The formation master sent by Li Heng immediately stepped forward and straightened the transmission Formation Plate.

A Spirit Stone was embedded into the slot.

The Formation Plate lit up.

Just as it lit up for a breath, the light was torn apart by a burst of static.

It was not Lu Changyuan's message being sent out.

Instead, another blood-colored sound transmission talisman forcibly squeezed in.

The talisman paper burned very quickly.

Superintendent Mu Yunshang's voice came out from the flames.

It was hoarser than the previous times.

"Lu Changyuan."

"The front of the Meteor Trench is an empty shell."

"The Black Armor Elites have already bypassed the Northern undercurrent."

"The communications of the three lines of Zhenhai, Qingyuan, and Xingyan have all been disrupted."

The flames jumped violently.

There seemed to be explosions in the distance.

Someone was shouting on Superintendent Mu Yunshang's side, the voice mostly swallowed by the sound of the tide.

She paused for a breath and continued, "Lu Qingyao has been held back by a Golden Core level black tide and cannot return."

"I am also stuck here."

"If Xuangui Island is cut off, the three lines of purification, medical evacuation, and evil-suppression will all be in chaos within three days."

"Hold the line for three days."

"Within three days, I will tear open a path for reinforcements for you."

As the last word fell, the blood talisman burned into ash.

The Formation Plate cracked with a snap.

Everyone in the tent heard it.

No one asked again whether that unit of Black Armor Elites would come.

It was already on the way.

A Li family ship guard's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Three days..."

"With just these broken formations, how can we hold for three days?"

No one scolded him.

Because this sentence was also what was in everyone else's hearts.

Last night they held off two thousand low-level devilized sea beasts.

Those were low-level.

They were things driven over to fill the lines.

The real Black Armor Elites dared to even bypass the Meteor Trench.

How long could these old pillars, broken artillery platforms, and newly repaired talisman lines on Xuangui Island hold?

A chaotic bell suddenly rang in the direction of the Outer Port.

A ship protection Cultivator rushed into the tent.

"Deputy Envoy Lu, there are three light boats wanting to leave the port!"

"They say they are going to Zhenhai Fortress to report the news."

Lu Hu's eyes darkened.

Leaving the port at this time, reporting the news was fake; fleeing for their lives was real.

Lu Changyuan picked up the Xuangui Island military token.

The formation register of the five thousand mixed garrison troops on the military token flickered chaotically.

In the Outer Port area, more than a dozen light spots had already left their positions.

He did not get angry immediately.

"Seal half of the active lines in the Outer Port."

"The ships can move."

"Only transport the wounded; leaving the island is not allowed."

The ship protection Cultivator was stunned.

Lu Changyuan looked at him.

"Do you not understand?"

The man shivered.

"I understand!"

He turned and rushed out.

Lu Hu said in a low voice, "Master, are you not going to seal it completely?"

"If I seal it completely, people will think I have locked them on the island to wait for death."

Lu Changyuan said, "Leave half open, tell them the ships are still there."

"But whoever tries to seize them first, dies."

Lu Hu nodded.

This was harder than locking it down directly.

It was also more stable.

Lu Changyuan walked out of the Central Army tent.

The sky outside had completely darkened.

The sea surface was no longer dark blue.

The distant Outer Sea on the north side looked as if it had been stirred open by an invisible hand, with black mist rolling up layer by layer.

It was not the thin mist from last night.

Last night's mist would dissipate, and would be torn apart by thunderfire.

The current black mist was much heavier.

When it pressed over the horizon, even the waves were lowered by a notch.

The tattered formation screen on the outer ring of Xuangui Island was forced by that pressure, immediately shaking out large ripples.

Some garrison troops took a step back.

Chen Mo had just arrived from the Northern Ridge, his face pale.

His grandson was still in the medicine shed.

The old man, however, looked at Lu Changyuan first.

Lu Changyuan raised the military token.

"Superintendent Mu Yunshang has an order."

"Xuangui Island must hold for three days."

The parade ground was silent at first.

Then, chaotic sounds surged like a tide.

"Three days?"

"What about reinforcements?"

"What about Elder Lu? Is Elder Lu Qingyao not a Golden Core?"

"What can we use to hold?"

Lu Changyuan did not suppress his voice.

He waited for them to argue for ten breaths.

After ten breaths, he spoke.

"Reinforcements are held up at the Meteor Trench."

"Half of the communications from Zhenhai Fortress have been cut."

"If Xuangui Island falls, the supply lines for purification powder, Evil-Suppressing Sand, medicine, and formation base Materials for the front line will be cut within three days."

"When that time comes, it won't be five thousand who die."

"It will be the one hundred thousand Cultivators and mortal soldiers on the front line."

As this sentence fell, the chaotic noise weakened slightly.

Because they all knew this was not to scare them.

They had moved crates on Xuangui Island, guarded the warehouses, and seen how many wounded ships the Outer Port could handle in a single night.

If this island fell, many people would indeed not receive medicine, would not be able to retreat with injuries, and would not be able to replenish formation bases.

Lu Changyuan continued, "If you want to live, you can."

"Follow my instructions to hold, and your chances of survival are greatest."

"Seizing ships, running around, or dismantling warehouses is cutting off your own path to survival."

He turned to look at Li Heng.

"Three active lines are not enough."

"Connect them into five segments for me."

Li Heng's face turned livid.

"Not enough Materials."

"Dismantle the useless formation pillars."

"Not enough Spirit Stones."

"Open the Storage Pouch sealed by Commander Zhao Lingyue."

"Not enough people."

Lu Changyuan scanned the parade ground.

"Those who just asked how to hold, go move the pillars."

No one spoke again.

He looked at Chen Mo again.

"The Northern Ridge talisman lines are left to you."

"Draw as many as you can."

Chen Mo lowered his head.

"This old man will do his best."

"Do not do your best."

Lu Changyuan said, "Draw by team, record one for every one drawn; whichever team misses a talisman, that team will replenish its own people."

Chen Mo was stunned for a moment.

Then he understood.

This was not asking him, an old man, to carry it alone.

It was using his hands to distribute the responsibility for the talisman lines.

His throat bobbed.

"Yes."

The black mist in the distance pressed forward another layer.

The Xuangui Island formation screen trembled violently.

Several old talismans burned into ash on the spot.

Li Heng's expression changed.

"Deputy Envoy Lu, the outer formation will not last until dark."

Lu Changyuan looked at the northern horizon.

Deep within the black mist, scattered dark red light spots could already be seen.

Like eyes opening one by one.

"Then do not wait until dark."

He called over the messenger Cultivator beside him.

"Three orders."

"First, partially seal the Outer Port; no light boat is allowed to leave the second pillar."

"Second, move ten crates of intact purification powder from Warehouse No. 3 to the Central Army; do not enter the inner warehouse, and do not touch the contaminated crates."

"Third, hang the name tags of the twenty-seven people who died in battle last night in front of the parade ground."

The messenger Cultivator was stunned.

"Hang the name tags?"

"Let the living see."

Lu Changyuan said, "Those who died last night did not die in vain, and those who have to hold tonight will not hold in vain."

After this order was passed on, a row of wet wooden tags soon appeared on the parade ground.

Some names were written crookedly.

Some only had time to write nicknames.

But when the wooden tags were hung up, the people who had just been asking about reinforcements quieted down a bit.

The dead were remembered; only then could the living believe that they, too, would be remembered.

He pressed the military token into the formation map.

"Start repairing now."