Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

Chapter 447: 219, Prelude to the Battle of Hedong

New Yu Era 1322, September 30th

Guangling Prefecture City, Sword Control Bureau

The spacious main hall of the Sword Control Bureau was currently filled with over a hundred people.

Ren Tianxing, who should have been seated at the head as the Sword Executor of Guangling Prefecture, was now standing obediently at the back with his four top commandants, with at least ten people ahead of him, some of whom had cultivation levels even higher than his, a Heavenly Grandmaster.

Originally, Ren Tianxing felt somewhat uncomfortable, as this hall had always been under his command, and now being relegated to the sidelines was inevitably unsettling.

However, as long as he saw those standing ahead, some with a stronger aura than his, his discomfort immediately evaporated. He turned to his confidant, Yue Changhai, the Commandant of the Silver Armored Army of Guangling Prefecture, and whispered a question.

"Old Yue, still no news from Long Guan Prefecture?"

"Marquis Qingyang's Wolf Slaughter Guard has been patrolling around Long Guan. I sent five rounds of scouts, totaling over a hundred men, to probe the area, and not one has returned!"

Yue Changhai's response made Ren Tianxing's expression turn rather grim.

Knowing both yourself and your enemy allows for victory in all battles, but with a major conflict imminent, their ignorance of the Demon Sect's army was far from beneficial.

But he also knew it wasn't Yue Changhai's fault.

Previously, Gu Tianyun had ordered him to station all the Silver Armored Army units in Lingdong Prefecture. For nearly a month, he and Yue Changhai had been there, and he was roughly aware of the scouting missions, but not having a single survivor return was still unexpected.

"Those ten thousand soldiers of Marquis Qingyang, the Wolf Slaughter Guard, have a minimum cultivation of Open Body Ten Layers Peak, with nearly a thousand being Warriors of the Gang Qi Realm, and all mounted on war horses. Ordinary scouts we send, or even if I personally went to gather intelligence, on encountering them, the slightest mishap could cost me my life."

Speaking of the Wolf Slaughter Guard, Yue Changhai sounded somewhat envious; being a commander himself, he coveted the Great Jin's renowned armies.

"However, I heard that Xu Du has already dispatched the Jinjia Army. If the Jinjia Army comes to our aid, we needn't fear the Wolf Slaughter Guard anymore!"

Ren Tianxing nodded. He had known earlier than Yue Changhai about Xu Du's dispatch of two hundred thousand elite soldiers from the Jinjia Army to support Hedong, which would naturally be greatly beneficial.

But the problem was, the Demon Sect on the other side also had elite forces, not to mention Great Jin. The Wolf Slaughter Guard was only considered a third-tier armed force of Great Jin; the true elite units that could shake The World if mobilized.

"Unfortunately, we can't gather any intelligence from the Demon Sect and Great Jin. Nearly a month has passed since Long Guan Prefecture fell. Beside Marquis Qingyang's ten thousand Wolf Slaughter Guard, whether Great Jin has deployed more significant forces, or whether the Rakshasa Holy Sect's large army has crossed the river, if both Great Jin and the Demon Sect have arrived, which corps they have sent—these are all unknown. Going into battle with so little information about the enemy, a sudden conflict could be greatly detrimental to us!"

Ren Tianxing looked troubled; he was most concerned about the upcoming Battle of Hedong—inevitably, as the Sword Executor of Guangling Prefecture, he was directly affected. A defeat in the battle would mean the fall of Guangling Prefecture and the end of his role, making it impossible for him not to be deeply concerned.

"Magistrate Ren need not worry; Sword Chief summoned us back to the prefectural city today, probably to announce news. Just because we can't gather intelligence doesn't mean Xu Du can't. The Battle of Hedong has already stirred the four Holy Lands and Leiyin Temple. Heaven-sealing Sword Honorific was previously seen in Tongling; the Holy Sect is surely making efforts. Xu Du must be aware of the situation; otherwise, he wouldn't have sent the Jinjia Army for support so promptly!"

"What worries me is exactly that. We already have the support of Bailu Academy and Leiyin Temple. Even with Marquis Qingyang's Wolf Slaughter Guard, and even adding the Demon Sect, we should barely be able to withstand them by mobilizing the troops from Xingyuan Road. But Xu Du dispatched the Jinjia Army without any hesitation, indicating the situation is likely far worse than we understand. Otherwise, Xu Du's response wouldn't have been so hurried..."

On hearing Ren Tianxing's words, Yue Changhai realized the key issue and his expression changed instantly.

"Bailu Academy's Mountain Chief, the Great Confucian Zou Ziqu, came personally from Yangzhou, along with Xun Qianjue and Liu Boyuan, these two venerable members of the Realm of Knowledge; Leiyin Temple also sent two disciples of the Buddha Honorific, Masters Wuxing and Wuyan. I heard that both entities each sent a hundred thousand troops, but it's uncertain how effective these two hundred thousand troops will be and whether the two truly intend to help us resist Great Jin and the Demon Sect!"

While speaking, Yue Changhai's gaze shifted to the five people standing in the forefront, showing a glint of hope. He, much like Ren Tianxing, was also a high-ranking official of Guangling Prefecture. A defeat in the Battle of Hedong would not bode well for him either; naturally, he hoped that Leiyin Temple and Bailu Academy were sincere in their support against the Demon Path.

The five people standing in the front, the three on the left all clad in Confucian robes, stood in a hierarchical order, one in front and two behind. The person standing at the forefront was clearly older, standing tall like a pine tree, straight and commanding, his presence alone exuding authority; his crane hair was as meticulously groomed as his posture.

Although Yue Changhai knew who had come, he had never seen them in person. Seeing this, Ren Tianxing immediately began quietly introducing them to him.