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Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains-Chapter 830 - 364. Taking advantage of the momentum to advance westward, military deployment
"Just as the Family Head said, the leaders of the four Holy Lands have been staying in Jianye Prefecture all along. Whether they have taken action or not, the primary concern for Leiyin Temple right now is definitely to guard against them. In my opinion, their arrangements must have been disrupted long ago; otherwise, Leiyin Temple wouldn't have proactively sealed Jianye Prefecture for a year. Perhaps the entire army has shrunk back to the Prefectural City.
Our army attacking now will only worsen their situation, and might even provoke those four Holy Land leaders to act together. By then, Jianye Prefecture will be ours to claim. The Family Head shouldn't worry any further, just give the order to attack!"
On the right side, Gao Changlong couldn't sit still any longer, directly stood up to petition. He could mostly guess that Hou Yuxiao hesitated because of concerns over inaccurate information, but the army was already mobilized to this point, with an arrow on the bowstring, it must be released. Standing up to petition was merely a way to show his stance first.
Sure enough, as he stood up, everyone else also started to clench fists and petition.
"Once the bow is drawn, the arrow doesn't return; as long as the Family Head orders, we will fight with our lives."
"Leiyin Temple has offended many Holy Lands, they are like locusts after autumn, blocking the entire territory is a sign of their guilty conscience. With the Family Head's command, we will surely invade Jianye Prefecture and expand our territories for Hexi."
"After lying dormant in Five Elements Heaven for over twenty years, it's time to test the army's power. For this attack on Jianye Prefecture, Su Li is willing to be the vanguard, please have the Family Head give the order!"
......
Seeing everyone's battle intent full, Hou Yuxiao's expression couldn't help but become more invigorated as well. He nodded slightly and said in a deep voice: "Rest assured, everyone. Since I have secretly led the army here, this battle will definitely be fought. But after all, the opponent in front of us is different from any before.
Leiyin Temple's top experts are more numerous than those from Hexi, and the number of soldiers also far exceeds ours.
The reason we dare to take the initiative this time is ultimately because of the rare good opportunity caused by Leiyin Temple's antagonism with the four Holy Lands. Being cautious is not a bad thing."
If it were an ordinary time, Hou Yuxiao would certainly first investigate the situation on the Jianye Prefecture City side himself. But Leiyin Temple's blockade this time is very thorough, the entire territory of Jianye Prefecture is covered by a mysterious realm array. If he gets close, he will immediately be discovered. Even someone with his high cultivation is like this, let alone others.
The reason Hou Yuling didn't receive any news from Jianye Prefecture over the past year is precisely because of this. Currently, the situation in Jianye Prefecture is such that people inside simply cannot get out, and people outside must alert Leiyin Temple if they want to get in. This is even considering Hou Yuxiao's cultivation. Given Leiyin Temple's tight control, others without sufficient strength would likely be killed immediately if they try to get in.
Of course, he can choose to break in, but that would alert the enemy, and Leiyin Temple could easily deduce that Hexi is preparing to attack Jianye Prefecture, which would not be desirable. In any case, from Zhao Qingxue, he can confirm one piece of information: the leaders of the four Holy Lands are currently in Jianye Prefecture pressuring Shi Tian to hand over the treasure map fragments. With this information, it's sufficient to support him in leading Hexi's army to take action against Jianye Prefecture.
"Moreover, regardless of Leiyin Temple's arrangements, the progress of the Red Flame Army over the past twenty-four years is enough to cope. Though strong, their forces have more than just us to deal with. The fact that the leaders of the four Holy Lands haven't come to Hexi to find me indicates a lot. As long as the situation in Jianye Prefecture doesn't differ too much from my expectations, Leiyin Temple will surely be defeated this time!"
Having clarified the thoughts in his mind, Hou Yuxiao no longer hesitated, looking at Hou Yuduan and said in a deep voice: "Old Fifth, tell us how to fight!"
Everyone knew Hou Yuxiao had made his decision; their expressions instantly became excited. Hou Yuduan took a deep breath, pointed to the map, facing everyone, indicating the locations of Pengkang County and Jiuchi County.
"We are currently twenty li west of Jiujun County. Within Jianye Prefecture, the closest place to us is Pengkang County, about seventy li away; followed by Jiuchi County, which is about one hundred and twenty li away. As far as I know, Leiyin Temple has almost no forces stationed in the lower counties, so if we want to eliminate Leiyin Temple's effective forces, the target is only the five county towns. At present, we have only these two cities to choose from!"
Pengkang County has thirty thousand elite Earthshade Monastic Soldiers, commanded by the peak shattered realm powerhouse Buddha Lord Yu Liuli. Moreover, Nu Yuan World-Honored One once appeared here;
While Jiuchi County only has fifty thousand ordinary Huang Chan Army, the commanding general is at most a shattered realm powerhouse.
Comparing the two, there is basically no doubt which is easier to conquer.
Seeing everyone's gaze focused on him, Hou Yuxiao knew they were all speculating on how he would deploy, whether to tackle the easier one first or go for the harder one.
He shook his head slightly, stood up, turned his head to the right:
"Gao Changlong, Gao Changhu, Gao Changbao!"
The three named, their expressions enlivened, stood up and walked to the middle of the tent, bowed to Hou Yuxiao respectfully and replied: "Subordinates present!"
"Each of you lead your respective troops totaling thirty thousand Red Flame Army, charge directly towards Pengkang County. You are the fastest on foot, encircle Pengkang without attacking."
"Subordinates obey!"
"Gao Cheng, Gao Hu."
"Present!"
"You two will lead your unit of 500,000 Zhaoyang Army, detour through Pengkang County, and guard the rear, remaining on alert for reinforcements from the other three counties. Do not act without military orders."
"I obey orders!"
"Hou Yucheng will lead 500,000 Red Flame Army directly to Jiuchi County, storm the city upon arrival. Hou Fei will lead 200,000 Red Flame Army, detour to the rear of Jiuchi County, and guard against reinforcements from the other three counties. Hou Ying, Hou Cun, Su Li, Nie Xinliu, each will lead their respective Zhaoyang Army unit—altogether 800,000 troops—barricade west of Jiuchi Pengkang County, maintain contact with the rest of the forces, and be ready to provide support. At the same time, deploy scouts in the wilderness. If any army from other places approaches, report first and depending on the situation, intercept the reinforcements!"
"I obey orders!"
"Hong Kui, go with Gao Changlong's unit to Pengkang. Hong Ju, go with Hou Yucheng's unit to Jiuchi."
"I, the elder, obey orders!"
"Hong Kui obeys orders!"
Orders were issued one by one, and those receiving them were filled with excitement.
In truth, the Hexi army's numbers are similar to three months ago—still 3.5 million—but after 24 years of Five Elements Heaven's dormancy, its strength is vastly different. Now, the Red Flame Army has 1.2 million, and the remaining Zhaoyang Army totals 2.3 million.
Just in the current deployment, there are already 1 million Red Flame Army and an additional 1.3 million Zhaoyang Army, which is over two-thirds of the Hou Clan's current forces. This shows that Hou Yuxiao is truly determined to seize Jianye Prefecture.
"After Zishi tomorrow night, on the Eighth Day of the Seventh Month, the whole army will officially set out for Jianye Prefecture. Hedong is no longer a concern, Leiyin Temple is surrounded. Whether our Hou Clan's westward campaign succeeds depends on all of you present!"
"For Hexi, open new territories without hesitation!"
Nearly twenty people in the tent shouted in unison, shaking the ground.
"Father, I want to go too, I want to go too..."
"Uncle, I also want to join the expedition, let me go..." freeweɓnovel.cѳm
In the main tent, during a moment of high spirits, two childish voices suddenly came from the entrance, causing everyone's expressions to turn quirky.
Hou Wuji and Hou Wuqie had been standing at the tent entrance for a while. Initially feeling very nervous, they were excited upon hearing Hou Yuxiao's orders, casting aside their fears with glee.
Hearing the meeting in the tent was over, the two couldn't resist rushing in, pleading with Hou Yuxiao to let them join the expedition.
But as soon as they entered, they were met with the stern gaze of Hou Yuxiao and Hou Yuduan, only then did they realize they were wrong, immediately shrinking their necks in fright.
"You two little brats, you sneaked out of Baiye Camp, not satisfied after playing for two days, you still want to run to Jianye Prefecture? If no one found you, and you really slipped away, and got caught by Leiyin Temple, your lives would be gone. Being so reckless and you still want to go to battle, hmm!"
Hou Yuxiao's sharp rebuke scared both of them, but the desire to go to war was strong in their hearts. Hou Wuji thought for a moment, reluctantly saying: "I guessed we were going to act against Leiyin Temple, that's why I wanted to go to Jianye Prefecture, to see if I could get any useful information, to make contributions to the family!
Besides, with our abilities, as long as we don't encounter any experts from Leiyin Temple, who can catch us?"
Hou Wuqie, also indignantly said: "Uncle, Father, Wuji and I are both at the Grandmaster Realm, and we've also cultivated the Holy Army Code. Compared to ordinary Red Flame Army soldiers, we're stronger and can fight on the battlefield. At your age, your cultivation wasn't even as good as ours, so why can't we go to the battlefield?"
"Do you two know how you got here?"
Upon hearing this question, the once indignant two of them immediately became like frostbitten eggplants, shamefaced and speechless.
Seeing their demeanor, everyone in the camp couldn't help but burst into laughter.