Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

Chapter 240: 144. Qinglong Association (12)_2

The city gate, spanning twenty meters across, could only allow fewer than twenty well-trained soldiers to pass at a time even if they were orderly. So, for this dense crowd of forty thousand to enter the city, it would take at least half an hour at the minimum.

Leading the Da Luo Sect forces, numbering over five thousand, Ding Peng watched as their entry into the city, although disorderly, slowed the pace of the retreat from behind. At the same time, the last thirty thousand Mansion Army troops were entangled with a portion of demons, beginning a desperate resistance.

"Young Sect Master, the brothers are ready!"

On top of the city wall, an elder from the Da Luo Sect in the Dan Embracing Phase approached Ding Peng and spoke in a somber tone.

Ding Peng, also in the Dan Embracing Phase of cultivation, had leaped onto the city wall early in the retreat. Hearing the elder next to him, he looked down to the very front of the thirty thousand Mansion Army troops and a chill flashed in his eyes.

"Wait a bit longer, let's wait for the brothers to get inside first!"

...

In the midst of the chaotic stream of people, Hou Yuxiao worked tirelessly with his group to maintain the order of their own forces. They all had the ability to ascend the city walls, but the problem was they couldn't simply abandon the three thousand men beside them, so they had to reluctantly wait for the Da Luo Sect's people to enter first.

"Big brother, something's off at the gate, there's something odd about the Da Luo Sect's people!"

Hearing Hou Yuduan's words, Hou Yuxiao and the others turned to look at the Da Luo Sect troops below the gate and were immediately puzzled.

"What's odd?"

"Aren't they doing quite well? Over five thousand people, this speed is already fast."

"What does Fifth Master mean?"

As everyone expressed their confusion, only Hou Yuxiao immediately understood what their Old Fifth meant, looking at the Da Luo Sect's troops and falling into deep thought.

The Da Luo Sect's entry was very fast, unnaturally fast.

The Hou Clan was definitely not as strong as the Da Luo Sect; that was without a doubt. But after all, they were still a second-rate martial world force. Although they had five thousand body-opening level five or higher martial artists, their quality couldn't possibly match that of the Xin'an Mansion Army.

You see, with the hard maintenance by him and the nearly thirty Warriors of the Gang Qi Realm, the three thousand men could barely manage to keep their formation from scattering. It was a given that there would be disarray when entering the city; Hou Yuxiao had braced himself mentally for it.

Yet the Da Luo Sect's troops were so orderly...

"These people are either well-trained, or they've been prepared in advance!"

After pondering for a moment, Hou Yuduan spoke earnestly.

Upon hearing this, Hou Yuxiao's mind flashed back to the image of the golden Buddha figure that emerged behind Ding Buhai, the Sect Master of the Da Luo Sect, during their previous encounter in the Secret Realm, causing his pupils to constrict as he turned again to look at Ding Peng on the city walls, feeling a chill down his spine.

"Second Elder, Patriarch Bai, Master Li, you three take everyone and bypass the eastern gate, head directly to the western gate to wait for us, quick..."

Hou Yucheng and the other two were taken aback, not understanding the meaning, and although they wanted to ask questions, seeing the seriousness on Hou Yuxiao's face and sensing the gravity of the situation, they immediately began to shout to the crowd.

"Everyone follow me northward, we're not entering the city, hurry up!"

The three of them called out loudly, and with the urging of the Gang Qi Realm warriors from all four families, the crowd of over three thousand promptly moved along the city wall towards the north, abandoning any thoughts of entering the city.

Meanwhile, Ding Peng, who was on the city wall, saw the situation below and realized that the Hou Clan was leading a large number of people away. His eyes lit up with a cold glint, and looking down to see his own people nearly all inside, only a few hundred remained; he gathered the Core Essence Qi in his throat and bellowed.

"Close the city gates, do not let any demons in!"

At the city gate, everyone was stunned into silence by this voice for three breaths, and as they turned around to see the gates gradually closing, panic spread across their faces.

"Close the gates now? We haven't even gotten in yet!"

"Who is it, who's closing the gate?"

"That's Ding Peng's voice!"

"The Da Luo Sect people just got in and now they want to close the gate, I'll fight you for this..."

...

In an instant, the city gate became even more chaotic. The several hundred Da Luo Sect members still hanging back and not yet inside became the target of everyone's attacks. The people immediately behind them surged forward, and in no time at all, over a hundred people were killed.

Meanwhile, Gui Yutang, who was leading the defense against the demons in the rear, turned to look at the city gate and raised his head to Ding Peng in the sky, his eyes filled with fury, "Ding Peng, you're seeking death!"

What mattered most to Gui Yutang was, of course, the thirty thousand Mansion Army under him. Ding Peng's move to close the city gates was undoubtedly sentencing these thirty thousand men to death, and one could only imagine the fury in his heart at that moment.

If it weren't for the fact that he was currently entangled with demons, he would have definitely charged up the city walls.

In the direction of the rear army, the thirty thousand Mansion Army was getting more and more entangled with the demons. If they were merely ordinary wild creatures of the mountains, armed only with fangs and claws, these soldiers, banded together and led by one or two experts, would have no problem killing them.

But among the tens of thousands of demons present, there wasn't only the wildlife of the mountains.

There were burrowing venomous insects emerging from the earth, spewing venom that instantly turned many soldiers into a pool of pus and blood; there were fierce birds with the ability to fly, whose gaze shot out eye lights sharp as Sword Qi, reaping the lives of soldiers; and there were ethereal, ghost-like creatures, latching onto soldiers whose life force was waning, raising their blades against their comrades...

Thousands of demons, with endless methods, even the well-trained thirty thousand Mansion Army couldn't hold them back. With the city gates closed, the rate of casualties started to increase rapidly.

Seeing this scene, Gui Yutang and the other two Great Commanders almost had blood welling up in their eyes. Still, Gui Yutang remained more composed, pondered for a moment, and made a decisive command, "If the city gate isn't opened, we all will die. You two hold the line, I will get into the city and find a way to open the gate."

"By your command, Commander!"

Seeing the trust in the faces of his fellow commanders, Gui Yutang's expression became somewhat ugly. Whether he could open the city gate or not, he had no idea in his heart. After all, Ding Peng's strength was similar to his, plus the Da Luo Sect had other forces, while he was on his own.

But if he didn't find a way to open the city gate, everyone outside would die.

Gui Yutang could clearly tell which was lighter and which was heavier. Without further delay, he turned around, his Core Essence Qi erupting as he flew toward the city wall.

...

Not far from the city gate, the battle between the three demons and three Grandmasters was also reaching a fever pitch...

Yang Xin's body was already covered with wounds, and Ding Buhai, who he was fighting against, was not in an optimistic situation either. The color of his blood-red robe was becoming deeper and deeper, as if it would soon be soaked through with blood.

Many of the branches and leaves of Lv Luo had also been cut off, and her injuries seemed heavier, but the demon Qi around her surged to the skies, as she still tenaciously entangled Ding Dian, preventing him from escaping.

Lastly, Song Yang, who opened his ancient Spirit Tomb, was trapping Fan Longhe tightly, thwarting his several attempts to flee.

"Lord Fan, both of you are unable to get away right now, so hand over the Prefectural Magistrate's Order to me quickly. If the barrier over Tongling isn't opened in time and the demons enter the city, blood will flow into rivers. By then, if the Holy Church holds us accountable, none of the three of us will be able to escape punishment!"

Hearing this from Ding Buhai, Fan Longhe's eyebrows twitched violently, and a flash of hesitation crossed his face.

It wasn't the first time Ding Buhai had said this. The Prefectural Magistrate's Order was so important that naturally, he wouldn't hand it over easily but the situation in front of him left him with no other options.

Both he and Ding Dian were indeed trapped, unable to escape, or at least it would take a long time. With only Ding Buhai relatively unoccupied—even though Ding Buhai only possessed the strength of a Master Third Realm, even if his power was stronger, it couldn't possibly exceed Ding Dian's.

Yet the fact was that the three demons were of similar strength, and compared to both of them, Ding Buhai had more than enough to spare!

Fan Longhe couldn't see the situation at the eastern gate, but it was precisely because he couldn't see it that he became more anxious. The thirty thousand Mansion Army was crucial; if lost, it was not just a minor issue of failing to block the demons.

The Xingnan Mansion Army was a private army of the Holy Church; should there be any lapse, both he, as the Prefectural Magistrate, and Ding Dian, as the Deputy Magistrate, would be unable to escape their responsibilities.

"Fan Longhe, what are you still thinking about? Quickly hand over the Prefectural Magistrate's Order to him!"

At last, Ding Dian's final words steeled Fan Longhe's resolve. He took out a silver token from his chest, channeling his True Qi to shoot it directly towards Ding Buhai from a distance.

"Ding Buhai, after you receive the order, open the barrier immediately upon your return. If you can keep the city gate intact, I will commend you to our Master. But if there's any failure, you will be held accountable."

"Count Magistrate, rest assured, I will act accordingly," Ding Buhai replied as he caught the Prefectural Magistrate's Order, his eyes revealing a hint of wild joy. Without the slightest hesitation, he left a message and immediately turned around and flew towards the Prefectural City...