221: Chapter 222 Taking you by surprise?

Over the next two days, including Gu City, the atmosphere across all eleven captured cities was tense and chaotic.

The migration of over a million city residents was a massive undertaking, unimaginable to ordinary people.

Fortunately, Flower City did not choose to use traditional, slow-moving horse-drawn carriages for the long journey, but instead utilized the Hongdao Arrays that had already been set up and perfected along the route.

In this way, efficiency was increased more than a hundredfold.

"Hummm!!"

Accompanied by the seven-colored rainbows that lit up the Void Realm from time to time and the low rumble of the Formations, massive Hongdao Arrays were operating at full capacity in the squares and main thoroughfares of the Ten Cities.

Large groups of panic-stricken residents, carrying their families and belongings yet kept in orderly fashion by cold, rigid military orders, were stepping into the Hongdao Array light curtains, one team after another, under the strict escort of Flower City soldiers.

As the light flickered, they were sent in batches to nearby nodes and subsequently to Flower City.

Besides this, what currently weighed on Strategist Zhu Ge and Lei Lie was the final and most dangerous part of the relocation task: covering the rear.

Although Gu City had now been taken by Flower City, it was originally Wang Shuai's eleventh hidden chess piece and was not among the Ten Cities openly declared for war.

The population of the city could not compare to the Ten Cities, so the truly complex relocation matters were still spread out across the dispatch points in the Ten Cities.

Outside a temporary military tent in one of the cities, Strategist Zhu Ge sat in a specially made wooden wheelchair, with an iron splint resting on his knees. Holding a pen in his hand, he was marking up a register densely packed with records of array point consumption and population batches.

"Strategist, drink some water and take a rest." A personal soldier stepped forward and carefully placed a bowl of warm water on the small table beside the wheelchair.

Strategist Zhu Ge nodded slightly, raised his hand to rub his somewhat sore eyes, and let out a long, heavy breath.

His gaze drifted past the register in front of him and landed on the Hongdao Array, which was lighting up with neon light from time to time not far away.

At the edge of the drill ground not far from him, Lei Lie was resting his hand on his combat saber, calmly coordinating the defensive line of the rearguard battalion with a composed expression.

Over these two days, this Minister of the Military Department of Flower City had been behaving extremely calmly.

In the past, if he encountered such trivial and tedious population relocation and defensive deployment, Lei Lie would inevitably be a bit irritable, complaining that these tasks were slow and sluggish, and might even shout that things were moving too slowly.

Yet these past two days, he had been unusually calm. Not only did he take the initiative to shoulder the heavy task of covering the rear for the Ten Cities, but he also personally led troops to patrol the hidden sentry defensive lines on the outskirts of the Hongdao Arrays.

Even his voice was much more restrained than usual.

The change was so great that it was as if he had undergone Possession.

This was clearly not normal.

While he was deep in thought, Lei Lie strode up to the wheelchair and said in a deep voice, "Strategist, the three thousand brothers of the rearguard battalion have already extended the defensive line, and scouts have been dispatched thirty miles out. As long as there is any disturbance along the way, we can change our Formation at any time to cover the withdrawal of the Hongdao Arrays in each city."

Strategist Zhu Ge looked up at the burly Minister of the Military Department and smiled. "With Lei Lie personally overseeing the rear, everything is naturally secure."

After a pause, he continued to ask, "However, Minister Lei, these past two days... you seem much calmer than usual?"

Lei Lie grinned, his rough, weather-beaten face full of relief and openness. "What kind of talk is that, Strategist? The army has won, the Ten Cities are secured, and our Flower City is about to welcome a million residents. The City Lord's great undertaking is growing step by step. Although I am a rough man, I know what is important. I am happy in my heart, so naturally, I have energy to work!"

Strategist Zhu Ge listened and nodded with a smile. "Regarding this point, not only is the Minister happy, but I am the same. However, we must guard against the reaction of the Wang Group. Only after this batch of residents from the Ten Cities is completely settled in the city can we truly rest easy."

"Rest assured, Strategist, I understand." Lei Lie cupped his hands together and bowed politely to Strategist Zhu Ge before turning around and striding toward the camp that was preparing to depart.

But the moment he turned around, the smile on Lei Lie's face vanished completely.

His large hand, resting on the hilt of the broad-bladed combat saber at his waist, tightened quietly.

His gaze dropped slightly, his peripheral vision glancing toward the rolling mountains and ridges beyond the Ten Cities.

That was the direction from which the Wang Group's reinforcements were most likely to attack.

Strategist Zhu Ge watched Lei Lie's departing back, his feathered fan tapping lightly on his knees twice.

His brows also furrowed slightly.

The simple conversation just now further verified what he had been thinking.

Possession was certainly out of the question.

But it was certain that their Minister was hiding something.

And Lei Lie had never been someone who could hide his emotions perfectly.

Yet now, he was acting contrary to his usual behavior, not even revealing a shred of it to him.

This was enough to indicate that what he was hiding in his heart was not ordinary.

But over these two days, the relocation of the Ten Cities, the consumption of the Hongdao Arrays, the escort of prisoners, the rearguard deployment, and the replacement of hidden sentries—everything was piled up before them.

Lei Lie had taken the initiative to take on the rear-guard patrol; his reasons were legitimate, and his arrangements were flawless...

On the surface, everything looked normal, but he was even more uneasy.

So he closed the register and ordered in a low voice, "Keep an eye on Lei Lie. If there are any unusual movements, report them immediately."

"Understood!"

...

Meanwhile, in a city belonging to the Wang Group, hundreds of miles away from Gu City.

This city was built against a mountain, and its walls, forged from black iron, were over ten zhang high. On the ramparts, the black flag of the Wang Group, embroidered with a golden "Wang" character, fluttered, revealing the sternness unique to a clan's territory.

This place was the Wang Group's closest subordinate city to Gu City on the edge of the Xiaonan Region.

The City Lord was named City Lord Xu Zhen. He had a deep Foundation in this area and was ruthless in his methods; he could be considered a veteran of the Wang Group.

At this moment, in the underground Teleportation Array chamber in the deepest part of the City Lord's Mansion, the Void Realm twisted violently without warning.

"Hummm—"

A blinding silver light curtain of space suddenly lit up, and violent spatial fluctuations tore dense cracks into the marble floor.

The few elite soldiers guarding the array chamber changed expressions drastically and instinctively reached for their weapons. However, before they could step forward, a figure fell out of the spatial light curtain in a sorry state.

The person rolled on the ground a few times and plunged headfirst into a water trough on the side, letting out an extremely miserable grunt.

"Who?!"

"Second... Second Young Master?!"

The general who rushed over saw the person's face and gasped in shock, hurriedly scrambling to pull the man out of the water trough.

The person who had fallen out was none other than Wang Shuai.

However, at this moment, where was any of the elegance and nobility of a Wang family Young Master or a City Lord in Wang Shuai?

His hair was disheveled, his face was pale as paper, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Although he clearly had not experienced any fierce battle, his breathing was extremely rapid.

His hands were tightly clutching the shattered remnants of the array stone, his knuckles white. He looked as if all his dignity had been stripped away in public, leaving only an empty shell that was forcing itself not to collapse.

Not long after, City Lord Xu Zhen, having received the news, hurried to the secret chamber.

The moment he saw Wang Shuai's miserable state, this veteran City Lord, who had seen his fair share of storms in the Xiaonan Region, could not help but let a flash of deep shock cross his eyes.

He stared at the crystal powder in Wang Shuai's hand that had completely lost its luster and shattered into several pieces, and a stormy sea surged in his heart.

That was a high-level spatial Teleportation Array stone.

This Teleportation Array stone was a life-saving trump card that the current helmsman of the Wang Group had personally entrusted him to give to Wang Shuai.

And such a precious item, even for the entire Wang Group, could definitely be considered extremely rare.

When City Lord Xu Zhen originally followed orders and gave this teleportation stone to Wang Shuai, he had never even imagined that there would be a day when this Teleportation Array stone would be used!

After all, the Wang Group had given Wang Shuai eleven small cities, and there were no strong enemies in the vicinity. Behind him stood the behemoth that was the Wang Group. Logically speaking, it should have been impossible for any obstacles to development to exist for at least several months!

It was even less possible for any entity to exist that could force Wang Shuai to use such a precious life-saving item!

But who knew... in less than a week, the one-in-a-million chance had actually happened!

City Lord Xu Zhen took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the shock in his eyes. A look of concerned and sincere smiling immediately piled onto his face as he personally stepped forward to support the trembling Wang Shuai and said softly, "Young Master, what happened to you..."

Wang Shuai shoved away the towel handed over by a maid nearby and picked up a cup of warm tea, gulping it down in one go. Because he drank too quickly, he choked and began to cough violently.

He gripped the teacup tightly, his fingernails almost sinking into his flesh.

But when he looked up again, the disheveled look on his face had been forcibly suppressed a little.

"Zhou Yun." Wang Shuai spat out the name through gritted teeth. "It was that despicable and shameless bastard, Zhou Yun!"

"That fellow is extremely cunning! He doesn't know what clues he used, but he actually figured out the true situation of my Gu City. Taking advantage of when I was off guard, he gathered all the elite main forces of Flower City and secretly besieged Gu City!"

Wang Shuai's voice was still sharp, but he was desperately trying to maintain his already shattered dignity. "If I hadn't discovered it early and sensed something was wrong in advance, and led my trusted aides to fight a bloody path out, I might have really fallen for that villain's trap! But Gu City... Gu City is lost!"

City Lord Xu Zhen listened to Wang Shuai's roar, his smile remaining gentle and considerate, even revealing just the right amount of indignation and shared hatred toward Zhou Yun.

"So that's how it is. That Zhou Yun is truly despicable, daring to use such low-handed methods to plot against you, Young Master. You are alert and decisive, Young Master; being able to evacuate safely is already a stroke of great fortune!"

However, under City Lord Xu Zhen's mask of a gentle smile, in his heart, he only felt it was absurd and ridiculous.

Catching you off guard?

And led your trusted aides to fight a bloody path out?

Then why did only you fall out of the Teleportation Array chamber?

Are you a wild man traveling alone in the wilderness?

You are a City Lord!

You have thousands of soldiers under your command, watchtower defensive lines all over the city walls, and countless scouts and eyes scattered outside the city!

If the opponent wanted to completely surround an entire prepared city, they would have to use at least ten thousand troops. With such a massive troop mobilization, galloping warhorses, and spiritual energy filling the sky, how blind, deaf, and useless must you be to only "realize" it when they have besieged the city so tightly that not even water could trickle through?!

In City Lord Xu Zhen's view, there could only be two reasons for this situation.

Either that guy named Zhou Yun is too smart, his intelligence bordering on demonic, having calculated every detail to the extreme, and his control over the army is so strong it's hair-raising.

Or, the reason is much simpler.

That is, Wang Shuai is a pig, and a dead pig at that!

Only a dead pig would wait until someone had reached their lair's doorstep and besieged the city before thinking to squeal and thinking to run away!

The worst part is that Gu City is the small city with the worst conditions among the eleven cities under Wang Shuai.

With Wang Shuai's nature, how could he possibly be there?

Combined with the fact that he said he was besieged, it is highly probable that the other Ten Cities were also lost.

What a... waste of space...

City Lord Xu Zhen sneered repeatedly in his heart, feeling the utmost contempt for this Young Master of the group who was usually arrogant and kept talking about wanting to teach them, the Wang Group's subordinate cities, how to do things.

So much for being a key heir candidate cultivated by the Wang family; he is nothing more than a useless piece of trash with grand ambitions but little talent.

However, how sensitive a person was Wang Shuai?

This crushing defeat had torn all his pride and dignity to shreds.

At this moment, he was like a skinned hedgehog; any disturbance would make him hysterical.

Although City Lord Xu Zhen's face was full of gentle smiles and his tone was extremely respectful, Wang Shuai still captured that fleeting look of mockery, disdain, and ridicule from the depths of the other person's eyes.

That look was like a sharp steel needle, fiercely stabbing at his highly tense nerves.

He is mocking me!

This lowly old thing, who only became a City Lord by relying on the charity of the Wang Group, is actually looking down on me!

Despising me!

Wang Shuai's chest heaved violently, a mouthful of blood stuck in his throat, making his face turn blue.

If it weren't for Zhou Yun... how could I, this Young Master, have fallen to this point?!

How could I be looked down upon by a dog under the Wang Group, and despised by these people who in the future should have been looking to me for their livelihood?!

Anger rolled in his chest like magma, and Wang Shuai's knuckles clicked and popped.

But he ultimately still retained a shred of reason, knowing that this was not the time to fall out with City Lord Xu Zhen and settle scores.

The urgent priority now is revenge!

It is to get back at them!

If he doesn't capture Zhou Yun alive and skin him alive, he, Wang Shuai, will never be able to hold his head up in the Wang Group for the rest of his life!

"City Lord Xu Zhen!"

Wang Shuai forcefully suppressed the violent rage in his heart, stepped forward, and stared fixedly at City Lord Xu Zhen, his voice hoarse like a beast. "Zhou Yun just forcibly captured the Ten Cities and then launched a surprise attack on Gu City. At this moment, his troops must be exhausted, and he will definitely be eager to gather the population and transport supplies. This is our best chance for a counterattack!"

"You must immediately mobilize the army and advance at full speed! Before they have time to retreat to Flower City, we will intercept them on the road and surround them again!"

"This time, I, this Young Master, will make sure he cannot escape even with wings!"

Speaking of this, Wang Shuai's eyes became completely venomous.

"I want to capture Zhou Yun alive!"

"I want the entire Xiaonan Region to watch how he kneels at my feet and begs for death!"

City Lord Xu Zhen looked at the ferocious-looking Wang Shuai, slightly lowered his eyelids, and gently rubbed the jade thumb ring on his hand, a look of just the right amount of hesitation appearing on his face.

"Young Master, sending troops is naturally the right thing to do. It's just... although the forces within my city are sufficient, it is still hundreds of miles away from those Ten Cities. After a long journey, the soldiers will inevitably be exhausted. Moreover, the situation in this area is complex. If I send out my entire force, the rear will be empty..."

"One hundred thousand gold coins!"

Wang Shuai suddenly interrupted him, his eyes bloodshot, staring fixedly at City Lord Xu Zhen. "As long as you can capture Zhou Yun, I, this Young Master, will approve one hundred thousand gold coins in military pay for you! As soon as we return to the group, I will request it from my second uncle!"

Hearing this, City Lord Xu Zhen's fingers rubbing the thumb ring paused slightly.

He looked up, and the mockery deep in his eyes was instantly replaced by a look of just the right amount of obedience.

Since this Young Master of the Wang family was willing to pay, and there were instructions from above to take care of him, he was naturally happy to go with the flow and play along with this Young Master in a grand drama of encirclement.

"Young Master, you speak too seriously. Serving the group is my bounden duty."

City Lord Xu Zhen bowed slightly, his smile flawless, his voice calm and firm.

"Pass on my orders: assemble the army, and set out immediately!"