Chapter 679: The River is Accessible, and the Center is Also Accessible

Chapter 679: The River Can Be Crossed, and So Can the Middle

The first day's assault was quite fierce.

Unlike the Imperial Army, who thought fighting in the dead of winter was pointless, the Cui family and the Canal Guild troops bore grudges against the Wang family and were willing to give it their all.

After months of siege at Puyang, many of the Cui soldiers' comrades had died on the walls. The Canal Guild, at its core, was still steeped in gang culture—their own chief had been assassinated and left a vegetable, and the mere loyalty of "avenging the boss" was enough to make these men of the martial world fight to the death.

Add to that a group of Blood God cultists who would throw away their lives for advancement, and they actually mounted a fervent, blood-boiling assault in this icy, snowy landscape.

Xue Canghai, wielding the Blood God Blade, a dignified sect leader, threw himself forward like a suicide warrior, bravely leading the charge.

"Clang!" With a frog-leap strike that scattered gods and Buddhas, the enemy commander before him was cleaved in two, armor and all. The surrounding soldiers, terrified, scattered left and right.

Those who practiced the Blood Fiend Blade Art, once they reached the Secret Vault level, were a bug on the battlefield. Xue Canghai alone could breach a city wall as if it were child's play; only a formidable expert could withstand him, while ordinary soldiers under the fear effect were mere cannon fodder.

The siege of Puyang had dragged on so long that both sides knew each other well. Spotting Xue Canghai leading the charge from afar, the Wang family's guest elder, Yu Deju, ranked eighteenth on the Earth List, swiftly moved up, his long sword darting toward Xue Canghai's vital acupoints.

In the Puyang battles, these two were old rivals. Every time, Xue Canghai was forced back by him, needing a group of Blood God Sect elders to form a formation to hold the line. But as the attacker, he couldn't form that formation now, so Xue Canghai, frustrated, somersaulted back down the wall, his assault broken.

Around the same time, on another section of the wall, Wan Dongliu and Wang Zhaoling silently exchanged seven or eight moves. With several spears thrusting from the sides, Wan Dongliu had no choice but to leap back down, returning empty-handed.

Wang Zhaoling, however, was deeply shaken.

This Wan Dongliu, who kept such a low profile, was actually this strong! If not for the advantage of defending the city, in a one-on-one fight, he might need over a hundred exchanges to defeat him... This guy was too good at hiding his strength!

"Boom!" The battering ram slammed into the city gate.

Wang Zhaoling snapped back to attention and barked, "What are you all gawking at! Prepare the rolling stones!"

Cui Yuanyong stood on horseback before the formation, watching the brutal slaughter with a face as dark as water. As the commander, he could not easily join the assault; he had to monitor the situation on every front.

In truth, in such warfare, the commander himself was the weak point.

Cui Yuanyong didn't need to think to know that Wang Daozhong was somewhere watching him, ready to launch a sudden strike.

He wondered if Wang Daozhong had reached the Triple Secret Vault. Perhaps his breakthrough by absorbing the Sea Emperor's Yin Qi would have a major flaw like his elder brother's, making him only a pseudo-Triple, but there was no Xia Chichi or Xuanwu here to exploit that flaw—so he was effectively a true Triple. In mortal warfare, a Triple Secret Vault expert was someone who could single-handedly decide the entire battle.

As more and more top-tier Triple Secret Vault experts personally joined battles in the future, conventional warfare might lose all meaning. Like that arrow from Zhao Changhe... it was simply too absurd. Even Cui Yuanyong and his own side still shook their heads when recalling it—what was the point of a lifetime studying military strategy, formations, and encampments?

"There's a great opportunity on Sect Leader Xue's side..." Cui Yuanyong muttered to himself after watching for a moment. "He has a divine artifact he hasn't used yet; we need to find the right moment for him. Master Lu..."

The Earth List guest elder beside him, Lu Ya, bowed and said, "Here."

"Go support Sect Leader Xue and see if you can find him an opportunity to use the divine artifact. At least open a breach so his other Blood God cultists can form a formation together. We've seen the effects of their formation many times these past months and have benefited greatly from it."

"No!" Lu Ya shook his head. "I must protect the young master."

Cui Yuanyong laughed. "I am at least a First Secret Vault, ranked on the Human List. With thousands of troops protecting me, how could anything go wrong so easily? Go on, Master Lu."

Lu Ya hesitated. "But it's not appropriate for me to move first either. I should observe where Wang Daozhong goes and follow him... If I move first, Wang Daozhong will have too much initiative. What if he attacks Wan Dongliu's direction now..."

"This is a military order."

Lu Ya reluctantly accepted. "Yes."

As soon as Lu Ya left, the area around Cui Yuanyong became tense. Countless personal guards encircled him, and the guard captain even felt the young master shouldn't be on horseback—it was too conspicuous... Look at how Cao Boping stood out on the boat that day and got shot dead...

What if Wang Daozhong on the other side also shot an arrow... Speaking of which, what difference was there between Wang Daozhong and Zhao Changhe? Weren't they the same person?

Wang Daozhong stood high on the city wall, gazing at the enemy's main formation several li away. He felt the distance wasn't much different from across a river. Subconsciously, he took out his bow and aimed—damn, he couldn't even see the people clearly. He couldn't fathom how Zhao Changhe had aimed, let alone how he had drawn the bow to shoot so far.

He tried aiming at the battle on the wall again, but it was equally chaotic and impossible to target—he would only hit the wrong people.

Guichen glanced at him sideways and said slowly, "Why not give it a try, sir?"

Wang Daozhong: "..."

"What is it?"

"Such shameless acts—I am not that brazen Zhao Changhe." Wang Daozhong was about to put away his bow when he suddenly paused. He noticed Lu Ya leaving the enemy formation to support Xue Canghai's direction.

Wang Daozhong was stunned. "Lu Ya actually dares to leave Cui Yuanyong? Is Cui Yuanyong tired of living?"

Another Wang family elder said, "While Lu Ya has gone to Master Yu, let's immediately break Wan Dongliu!"

Guichen said, "Breaking Wan Dongliu—why not go straight for Cui Yuanyong? Master Wang is now at Triple Secret Vault, not comparable to his previous Second. Cui Yuanyong's military formation does not have the protective significance he imagines."

Wang Daozhong's heart stirred. "Right... Wan Dongliu is just a flanking force; Cui Yuanyong is the main commander. If we break Cui Yuanyong, this battle is decided!"

The Wang family instinctively felt something was off—not for any other reason, but mainly because Wang Daozhong, as the commander, personally risking himself in the midst of tens of thousands of enemies was a bit... but upon careful thought, it seemed fine. Cui Wenjing hadn't come, Zhao Changhe wasn't there, and Cui Yuanyong was only at First Secret Vault. The so-called protection of thousands was truly like clay chickens and pottery dogs to a Triple Secret Vault expert.

Conventional warfare thinking indeed needed to change. Don't miss such a good opportunity; it would be troublesome once Zhao Changhe returned.

"Zhao Changhe can take the enemy's head—why can't I?" Seeing no one objected, Wang Daozhong made up his mind. He drew his sword and flew out. "You all hold the wall steady, watch the movements inside the city, and beware of any lurking remnants of the Demon Suppression Bureau. I'll be back in a flash!"

"Pfft, we've scoured Langya several times over. What Demon Suppression Bureau could still be there..."

At the city's granary depot, several people had been lurking outside for a long time. Looking up at Wang Daozhong's departing back, their eyes lit up one by one.

Wu Weiyang and his companions, who had come from Jiangnan, wore Daoist robes and had been scouting the city for days under the guise of Taiyi Sect disciples, thoroughly familiar with all the arrangements inside.

As soon as Wang Daozhong left, they immediately darted out, rapidly closing in on the granary.

No one had imagined that these were not just "Demon Suppression Bureau remnants"—they were all at Human List level, four of them in total!

"Halt! What are you—"

Before the word "doing" could even leave his mouth, a flash of blade light, and heads flew.

A dignified defending general at the Ninth Gate of Mystic Pass couldn't even last a single exchange against four Human List experts.

Meanwhile, in the formation outside the city, Wang Daozhong's sword flew like light, thrusting straight at Cui Yuanyong on horseback: "A brat like you dares to lead troops! Unless your father comes, no one can save you!"

"Clang!" The sword sang, and purple qi filled the sky.

The purple haze enveloped the rivers and mountains—even if Cui Wenjing himself had come, he might not have possessed such a dense Qinghe Sword Intent!

"Cui Wenjing is ambushed here?" Wang Daozhong turned in horror, only to see an inconspicuous soldier in the formation lift his helmet, revealing a divine sword with majestic purple qi, an overwhelming torrent of sword energy hurtling toward him.

The still youthful face made Wang Daozhong feel a bit dazed.

Cui Yuanyang.