Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

Chapter 377: 195. Bloody Massacre (Part 5)

New Yu Era 1322, August 15th

To the direct east of Wanyang County lay only one Official Road. This road spanned over three hundred miles, passing through Pinghu, Lingyuan, Yeyin, Zhaoyu, and Shayang counties before leading straight to Longxiang County City.

Among these, apart from Pinghu which was governed by Wanyang County, the other four counties were under the jurisdiction of Longxiang County. Therefore, the vast majority of the Official Road was within Longxiang's borders.

The five counties were positioned with some to the north and some to the south; their locations were scattered and not entirely the same. The Official Road inevitably wasn't smooth sailing. Located to the northwest of Longxiang County, the road took a large turn north after exiting Wanyang County, leading directly to Lingyuan County.

Upon reaching Lingyuan County, the road split into two, one continuing southeast within Longxiang County, and the other heading north into Yangping County.

Overall, Wanyang, Longxiang, and Yangping counties formed a right-angle triangle, with Yangping and Longxiang on the east and southeast sides respectively, and Wanyang County located to the southwest, only bordering Longxiang County. It once bordered a small part of Yangping County, but was unfortunately cut off by the Tongtian River.

Hence, whether it was Longxiang or Yangping County, access to Wanyang County was a necessity, and as such, Lingyuan County naturally became the unequivocally largest among the ten counties in the three jurisdictions, thanks to its exceptional geographical advantage.

As a general rule, the population of prefectural cities, depending on their prosperity, typically ranged from one to three million, while county cities usually had between three hundred to one million people. With a population of eight hundred thousand, the prosperity of Lingyuan was evident.

Lingyuan's claim to be the number one county in the three jurisdictions wasn't solely based on its population. Similar to the counties within Yongzhou territory, on the Xuzhou side, it was mostly a third-rate force ruling one county. The Gao Family was the local power in Lingyuan County.

Although the Gao Family had grown swiftly thanks to their geographical advantage, it had been difficult for them to escape the category of third-rate forces. As for relying on the family to support the status of the number one county among three jurisdictions, that was even more impossible. Everything changed seven years ago.

Seven years prior, Clan Leader of the Gao family, Gao Haicheng, broke through to the Grandmaster Realm. Upon his breakthrough, he invited guests from all around, and the leaders of more than ten third-rate forces from the three jurisdictions and ten counties attended. The Tianding Sect, Famed Sword Sect, and Yangping Wang Clan—the three second-rate forces—also sent elders, and even the three jurisdictions' Sword Executors each sent a congratulatory gift. Since then, the Gao Family earned the title of the strongest third-rate force among the ten counties, and Lingyuan County truly secured its seat as the number one county in the three jurisdictions.

In the Gao Family hall, Gao Haiwen hurried in from outside and said to Gao Haicheng, who sat above, "Elder Brother, Longxiang County's reinforcements have already been refused by us once. If we don't join in with the Yangping County's reinforcements now, after the Holy Sect defeats the Demon Sect's army, they will surely settle scores with our family!"

Gao Haiwen's tone was not only urgent, his heart was even more so.

When Longxiang County's forty thousand reinforcements passed through Lingyuan, Ren Feixing had already extended an invitation to the Gao Family, which Elder Brother Gao Haicheng declined, citing busy clan affairs. Gao Haiwen had disagreed even then. Now, rumors from the outside world suggested that the Demon Path was in a precarious state. No one believed the Demon Sect could win. If the Gao Family actively sided with the Wanjian Holy Sect, they could not only display their loyalty but also take the opportunity to reap benefits. Why not?

"Don't panic. With Sword Leader Xu in Wanyang County, our men will only be gilding the lily if we go. They won't have much real impact. Besides, the battle has only begun less than a month ago. If we rashly intervene now, with our limited resources, one wrong move could spell our doom. Let's continue to wait and see!"

Gao Haiwen was persuaded by his elder brother at the time after considering the reasoning. He saw the sense in it and said no more.

But just now, having learned that Mu Sword Enforcer led thirty thousand reinforcements from Yangping County out of Lingyuan on the way to Wanyang County, Gao Haicheng refused again, something Gao Haiwen could not understand this time.

"Elder Brother, Mu Qingwu set out just one day ago. Considering their marching speed, they might have just left Longxiang. If we tally our troops now, we can still catch up with the Yangping County reinforcements!"

Although the strength of the Gao Family far surpassed other third-rate forces, there were only just over three thousand martial artists above the fifth level of body refinement in the clan. If they were to set off now, it was indeed possible to catch up with the Yangping County reinforcements ahead.

At this moment, Gao Haiwen was indeed extremely eager. In his mind, Xuzhou was sure to win. To his knowledge, almost all the forces of repute from both Longxiang and Yangping Counties had sent troops to support the effort. However, the Gao Family hadn't sent a single person just yet. Once the siege of Wanyang County was lifted, even if Sword Leader Gu did not hold them accountable, just the intervention of the two great Sword Envoys, Ren Feixing and Mu Qingwu, would be too much for the Gao Family to bear.

"What are you panicking about? Tell me, how long has it been since Longxiang County's reinforcements passed through?"

Stunned by Gao Haicheng's reproachful inquiry, Gao Haiwen paused in contemplation before answering, "Ren Feixing passed through here on August 8th. By now, he should have already reached Wanyang County. Why do you ask?"

"Fool, what day is it today?"

"August 15th..."

As Gao Haiwen stated the current date, he grasped the implication of his elder brother's words, and his face immediately underwent a slight change.

"Seven days have passed, and there's been no word from Wanyang County. What do you guess is the reason?"

"Elder Brother, what are you implying?"

"You can figure it out for yourself. For now, strictly order clan members to stay put. I may need to summon our forces for action at any moment. Don't talk foolishly about helping again before the situation in Wanyang County is clear. In inter-county warfare like this, smaller players like us must avoid getting involved if we can. Otherwise, with a flick of their finger, our decades of family business could be destroyed in an instant!"