213: Chapter 214 I'm going to kill him with my own hands!

Immediately following that, under the stunned gaze of the Four-City Allied Forces, that ray of rainbow light rapidly unfurled in mid-air, transforming into a magnificent rainbow-colored grand road that stretched straight to the horizon.

A Silver Rank Formation, the Hongdao Array!

"Go!"

City Lord Qin Fang did not hesitate in the slightest, leading the remaining troops of the Heyang Army and the scouting squad of Flower City onto the light bridge.

Supported by the power of the Formation, the army became like a streak of light, rapidly fleeing towards the high sky, with their direction pointing straight towards Heyang.

"You think you can run?!"

Among the pursuing Four-City Allied Forces, some low-level soldiers and low-rank assassins who were blinded by bloodlust and did not understand the mechanics of the Formation roared, raising their weapons and preparing to charge onto the rainbow-colored grand road in mid-air.

"Stop! All of you, get back here! Are you looking for death?!"

Just at this moment, the lieutenant leading the team was scared out of his wits. He desperately pulled on his warhorse's reins and lashed a whip across the back of the soldier who had charged the fastest.

"General, they are right in front of us..."

The soldier clutched his back, his face full of confusion.

"You don't know a damn thing!"

The lieutenant pointed at the magnificent yet lethal rainbow-colored grand road in mid-air, gritting his teeth and cursing:

"This is a Hongdao Array set up in mid-air! It requires two nodes to be maintained together!"

"City Lord Qin Fang and his men have already taken the first step! If we rashly follow them now, once they reach the destination and casually turn off the node on that end, this light bridge will vanish instantly!"

The lieutenant stared at the high sky with blood-red eyes.

"At that time, all of you will fall directly from the high sky and be smashed into meat paste!"

Upon hearing this, those soldiers who had originally wanted to charge up instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

They looked up at the Heyang Army and the Flower City scouts who were walking further and further along the light bridge and were about to disappear into the clouds; their legs couldn't help but feel a bit weak.

They dared not pursue.

Clearly the enemy was right before their eyes, clearly their own side had a massive army.

Yet they could only stand at the valley entrance in frustration, watching the light dissipate.

...

A quarter of an hour later.

The old road was once again filled with the sounds of cartwheels and military boots.

The Four-City Allied Forces did not set up camp.

The vanguard continued to reorganize and advance towards Flower City, while the rearguard gathered the wounded and scattered cavalry.

The four City Lords only parked their central command chariots by the side of the road, temporarily listening to reports from the valley entrance.

"They ran?"

City Lord Liefeng stood on his chariot, the corners of his eyes strained red.

"He took a group of defeated soldiers and, right in front of your faces, used the Hongdao Array to run away?"

The lieutenant knelt in front of the chariot, trembling all over.

"Yes... yes, City Lord."

"And that scouting squad from Flower City also left together."

City Lord Liefeng's expression grew even gloomier.

"Get out."

The lieutenant hurriedly kowtowed and retreated.

The next moment, City Lord Liefeng kicked over the marching map rack beside the chariot.

Clatter!

Maps, command tokens, and half a cup of cold tea crashed into the muddy water by the roadside.

The chariots of the City Lords of Qinghe, Nanchang, and Maple Leaf were parked nearby, and their expressions were equally ugly.

They certainly knew about the Hongdao Array.

In the past, in order to open up trade routes, Flower City had also established similar nodes on several of the public routes leading to them.

But that valley entrance was not on any public trade route.

And they had never heard that Flower City had secretly hidden a node in such a deep mountain valley, far from any village or shop.

What made their hearts turn even colder was that City Lord Qin Fang could carry the Formation stones with him.

City Lord Qin Fang did not wait for Flower City to activate the Formation.

He pressed the Formation stone himself, awakened the node himself, and led the Heyang Army away himself.

They were also City Lords who cooperated with Flower City, also walking trade routes, buying spirit rice, and exchanging medicinal materials in Flower City, yet City Lord Qin Fang held a retreat route that could be used at any time.

As for the four of them, they didn't even know where that retreat route was.

Silence hung between the several chariots for a long time.

They had been played.

First played by City Lord Qin Fang.

Then, that scouting squad from Flower City had snatched the people right from under their noses.

Finally, they had been slapped hard in the face by that hidden retreat route.

City Lord Liefeng knew that he hadn't been slow to see through it.

He had already sealed the valley entrance in the shortest possible time.

But what City Lord Qin Fang wanted was to strike the morale of The Four Cities.

What Flower City wanted was to take away the allies who bled for it.

Both sides had actually managed to achieve their goals!

City Lord of Qinghe gritted his teeth and said slowly: "From the very beginning, Flower City never truly trusted us."

City Lord of Nanchang looked at the map in the muddy water, his face gloomy.

City Lord of Maple Leaf cursed in a low voice, blue veins bulging on the back of his hand.

City Lord Liefeng clenched his fists tightly, his fingernails digging deep into his palms.

In his mind, he saw Zhou Yun's gentle face.

When receiving their merchant caravans, that person never spoke in a hurry.

Giving paths, giving goods, giving business.

But the Formation stones that could truly save one's life were only given to City Lord Qin Fang.

The scouts who could rescue people first and report later on the battlefield only came to pick up City Lord Qin Fang.

Behind a single Formation, it was the line of closeness that Flower City had drawn long ago.

"What a Zhou Yun."

City Lord Liefeng suddenly drew his long sword and slashed it at the chariot railing.

The wooden railing split on the spot.

His voice squeezed out from between his teeth:

"Being a city that trades with all of you, you actually treat us so differently."

"Guarding against us at every turn, yet leaving a retreat route for City Lord Qin Fang."

He lifted his eyes.

"If you are heartless, then don't blame me for being unrighteous!"

...

Dark clouds hung low, and the mud on the old road was stirred into black water by hundreds of thousands of military boots.

The vanguard of the Four-City Allied Forces had already resumed their march, slowly advancing towards Flower City.

The chariots in the center did not stop for too long.

The quartermaster, having just finished tallying the battle losses, knelt in the muddy water, his voice tight.

"Report... City Lords, the casualties have been tallied."

City Lord Liefeng looked at him.

"Speak."

"In this battle at the entrance of Wuyang Valley, our army's dead, severely wounded, and missing total over twenty thousand."

The quartermaster lowered his head even further.

"Among them, the Heyang Army's frontal charge, trap counter-attacks, and banner-slashing breakthrough caused nearly half of the casualties."

"The rest..."

He lowered his voice significantly as he said this.

City Lord of Qinghe looked at him coldly.

"What about the rest?"

The quartermaster's throat rolled.

"The rest, more than half, are related to the breakthrough of that scouting squad from Flower City."

Beside the chariots, the sound of wheels crushing through the muddy water seemed to drop a notch.

A hundred men.

That scouting squad from Flower City had at most a hundred people.

They didn't stay to fight to the death, nor did they pursue the scattered soldiers; they just tore through the blockade and picked up City Lord Qin Fang.

But just with that tear, the external communication lines, the blocking detachments, and several mage nodes of the Four-City Allied Forces were all thrown into chaos.

The massive losses were not hacked out by their own hands, one by one.

But rather, they were caused by their chaos.

The muscles on City Lord of Nanchang's face twitched.

"How many people did City Lord Qin Fang bring?"

The quartermaster said in a low voice: "The Heyang Army had about fifty thousand in the battle, and when they retreated... they lost about ten thousand."

City Lord of Nanchang's breath hitched.

Fifty thousand from Heyang, and they lost ten thousand.

But on the side of the Four-City Allied Forces, over twenty thousand were torn away by the joint efforts of Heyang and the Flower City scouts.

Even more fatal was that City Lord Qin Fang was still alive.

The remnants of the Heyang Army had also left.

City Lord of Maple Leaf suddenly spoke.

"What about those Flower City scouts?"

The quartermaster's body stiffened.

City Lord of Qinghe also slowly turned his head.

"How many died?"

The quartermaster's eyes dared only fall on his own insteps.

"None... none at all."

City Lord of Maple Leaf's expression became terrifying.

"Not a single one was left behind?"

The quartermaster's voice was as thin as a mosquito's.

"Not... a single one."

Beside the chariots, no one spoke again.

Not a single one.

No corpses.

No prisoners.

No armor.

No spoils of war that could be taken back to stabilize the army's morale.

They only saw that squad kill their way in, pick up the person, and leave by stepping on the Hongdao Array.

Like a knife, it cut a bloody scar across the faces of the Four-City Allied Forces.

After the cut, it was sheathed right in front of their faces.

City Lord of Qinghe looked down at the ruts in the muddy water, his fingertips tapping the chariot railing.

"If troops are lost, they can be replenished."

He spoke very slowly, but the tail of his tone was cold.

"If morale is broken, the road ahead will be hard to walk."

The several City Lords subconsciously scanned their surroundings.

The soldiers who were marching each hung their heads; no one was laughing or talking loudly like they were when they set out.

Some had the blood of the Heyang Army still on their armor.

Some would unconsciously slow their pace by half a beat when passing the direction of the valley entrance.

They knew very well that City Lord Qin Fang hadn't truly damaged the Foundation of The Four Cities.

But he had broken the spirit of this allied army.

That scouting squad from Flower City had then pressed that crack another inch deeper.

City Lord of Nanchang clenched his fists, his knuckles making cracking sounds.

"City Lord Qin Fang can run for a while, but he can't run for a lifetime."

He stared at the front of the old road, his voice deep and vicious:

"Once Flower City is broken, I will slaughter him with my own hands!"

City Lord of Maple Leaf's expression was ugly, but he still sneered.

"Let him live for a few more days. Heyang City won't be able to run."

City Lord Liefeng did not respond to these words.

He hated City Lord Qin Fang more than anyone.

And he hated that Flower City scouting squad more than anyone.

But now, he could not let this hatred drag the army's morale down at the Wuyang Valley entrance.

City Lord Liefeng looked up at the other three.

"City Lord Qin Fang's debt can be settled later."

"The top priority is to take Flower City."

He paused for a breath, his voice lowering.

"Delay brings change."

The three City Lords looked at each other and did not refute.

Flower City was the biggest goal of this trip.

And only by taking Flower City could these losses today possibly be replenished.

Just at this moment, a lieutenant behind City Lord Liefeng looked at the soldiers with low morale around them and finally couldn't help but speak.

"City Lord..."

His voice was very low, but the nearby personal guards and the quartermaster still heard it.

"With our current combat strength, can we really deal with Flower City?"

A silence fell beside the chariot.

City Lord Liefeng slowly turned his head.

"What do you want to say?"

The lieutenant's Adam's apple rolled, but he still braced himself and said:

"The subordinate just feels that a single Heyang City, with less than fifty thousand people, has already caused us to lose so much."

"Flower City's random scouting squad can also snatch people away from our army Formation."

"And Flower City's combat power, even now, is inevitably above that of Heyang."

"What's more, what we are going to fight next is a siege battle..."

The second half of his sentence got stuck in his throat.

But everyone present understood.

They had almost brought their entire force.

If they couldn't take Flower City, Zhou Yun would never let The Four Cities retreat unscathed.

City Lord of Qinghe raised his eyes slightly.

City Lord of Nanchang did not speak.

The sneer on City Lord of Maple Leaf's face also faded.

The lieutenant finally realized something was wrong, his face turned pale, and he knelt into the muddy water.

"City Lord! The subordinate is thinking for the City Lord, and for Liefeng City; I have absolutely no intention of shaking the army's morale!"

City Lord Liefeng looked at him.

"Is that so?"

A flash of sword light.

The lieutenant's voice stopped abruptly.

His head rolled into the muddy water, and the blood was washed away by the black water churned up by the chariot wheels.

All the soldiers around stopped breathing.

City Lord Liefeng sheathed his sword and swept his gaze past the chariots.

"Anyone else who shakes the army's morale."

His voice was not loud.

"Beheaded."

...

At the same time.

Flower City, City Lord's Mansion.

The main hall was brightly lit.

Wan'er stood at the desk, pressing two urgent battle reports that had just arrived.

"City Lord, the external scouts and the Third Scouting Squad have sent back news one after another."

Her speaking speed was a fraction faster than usual, but the end of her tone was not chaotic.

"The Four Cities of Liefeng, Qinghe, Nanchang, and Maple Leaf have collectively set out and are advancing towards Flower City."

"On the way, Zhao Kun led the Banhe City army to intercept, but failed to stop the Allied Forces and has currently retreated back to Banhe City to hold."

Zhou Yun's fingers, which were resting on the edge of the desk, paused slightly.

He lifted his eyes.

"How is Zhao Kun?"

Wan'er immediately replied: "City Lord Zhao had one arm severed by a strong enemy, but his life was saved, and he has now retreated to Banhe City. The remnants of the Banhe army suffered heavy losses, but the city gates are still in their hands."

Zhou Yun was silent for a breath.

Wan'er continued: "After the Four-City Allied Forces advanced another twenty-plus miles, they encountered the Heyang Army led by City Lord Qin Fang at the entrance of Wuyang Valley."

"City Lord Qin first used traps to severely damage the pursuers, then charged head-on, cutting down the Maple Leaf vanguard banner, forcing The Four Cities to fall back to defend their central command."

Her fingertip paused on the second battle report.

"Subsequently, City Lord Qin led the Heyang Army to break through to the side. City Lord Liefeng reacted very quickly and sealed the valley entrance in advance."

"The Third Scouting Squad supported according to the City Lord's Mansion's contingency plan, broke in from the outside of The Four Cities, and merged with the remnants of the Heyang Army."

There was a moment of silence in the main hall.

Zhou Yun looked at her.

"Were they rescued?"

"They were rescued."

Wan'er's voice softened, but she answered steadily.

"City Lord Qin has used the hidden Hongdao node in Wuyang Valley to lead the remnants of the Heyang Army back towards Heyang."

"The entire Third Scouting Squad retreated with them, and not a single person was left behind by The Four Cities."

The bit of darkness in Zhou Yun's eyes finally loosened a fraction.

But it was only a fraction.

He asked: "Casualties?"

Wan'er's fingers gently pressed on the edge of the battle report.

"The Heyang Army had about fifty thousand in the battle, with losses of about ten thousand."

"Sha Chenghu is seriously injured, but City Lord Qin is still able to handle matters."

"The Four-City Allied Forces suffered over twenty thousand dead, severely wounded, and missing at the Wuyang Valley entrance. A significant portion of this was due to the chaos caused by the Third Scouting Squad breaking in and tearing apart the communication and blockade nodes."

Over twenty thousand.

Ten thousand.

As these two numbers fell, the candles in the main hall flickered slightly.

A victory in delaying.

But also a loss of lives.

Zhou Yun looked down at the battle report on the desk, and after a moment, asked:

"What about the Four-City Allied Forces?"

Wan'er's fingertip fell on the old road on the map.

"Still advancing towards Flower City."

Zhou Yun frowned slightly.

The sound in the main hall seemed to be pressed low by this sentence.

In the battle at the Wuyang Valley entrance, the Heyang Army slashed banners and charged the Formation, and Flower City's Third Scouting Squad snatched people from the Four-City Formation.

The Four-City Allied Forces should have seen the gap in combat power.

They should also understand that Flower City's garrison is not an empty city.

Yet they still continued forward.

Is it breaking the jar because it's already cracked?

Or... is there another reason?