Chapter 648: Heading North

The Demon Court had long coveted the seven passes that had suppressed them for nearly ten thousand years. If they could capture just two, the defensive line of the Six Sects would be riddled with holes. The Demon Court would then be able to seize the strategic initiative, freely invading the Six Sects’ territory through the gaps in their defenses and completely reversing the situation where the Six Sects had been slowly encroaching upon their lands for tens of thousands of years.

But of course, the Demon Court was not the only one to realize this.

After determining the situation was untenable, the Cultivators stationed at Celestial Radiance Pass and Pingyang Pass triggered the Grand Arrays to self-destruct. Although traitors colluding with the Demon Court prevented their complete destruction, the two passes were still severely damaged.

To the Demon Court, Array Masters were an even scarcer resource than Alchemists. Furthermore, the expertise in both Arrays and Artifact Refining required to repair the passes was far beyond the capabilities of ordinary Array Masters and Artifact Refiners.

Even so, the Demon Court still attempted to gather a group of Array Masters and Artifact Refiners to try and repair Celestial Radiance Pass and Pingyang Pass.

However, they consumed a massive amount of resources for paltry returns. With the war against the Six Sects reaching a fever pitch and the military situation growing increasingly tense, the Demon Court had no choice but to abandon its plan to repair the two passes.

Yang Jing sank into thought. ‘Just because the Demon Court can’t repair Celestial Radiance Pass and Pingyang Pass doesn’t mean the Rescue Army can’t.’

‘With the Rescue Army’s military strength, if we could retake Celestial Radiance Pass and Pingyang Pass and use them as strongholds, we could directly sever the connection between the Demon Court and its main forces. That would turn their Eastern Expedition Army into an isolated force, caught in an encirclement by the Six Sects.’

‘The Demon Court rarely holds an advantage in terms of Divinity Transformation combatants. Hoping to settle everything in one decisive battle, they’ve concentrated an unprecedented number of troops, pouring everything they have into this campaign.’

‘If their Eastern Expedition Army is annihilated, the losses would far surpass any previous war. It might even be enough to directly topple the Demon Court’s rule.’

‘If this plan succeeds, the victory will be unprecedented.’

‘Once the Demon Court is destroyed, without the pressure from the west, the northern Demon Sect is nothing but a scattered mob. Facing the grand army of the Six Sects, they’d be like grasshoppers in late autumn—crushed with a flick of a finger.’

Even with Yang Jing’s stable Dao Heart, the thought of this grand vision captivated him, and he found it difficult to contain his excitement.

He circulated his Magical Power to calm his wavering mind. Yang Jing regained his composure; he knew that while the rewards of this plan were immense, the risks were equally great.

‘If the intelligence about Celestial Radiance Pass and Pingyang Pass was deliberately leaked by the Demon Court, the Rescue Army would likely walk right into an inescapable trap. Even if there is no trap, should the two passes be too damaged to repair, it would all be for nothing.’

He looked down at the raging sea of fire below, lost in thought.

The Celestial Stone Kingdom was not as powerful as the Yingyue Kingdom, and its Sovereign had even been conscripted into the Eastern Expedition Army. However, as a major grain-producing nation within the Demon Court’s territory, the Celestial Stone Kingdom was vast—nearly three times the size of the Yingyue Kingdom.

The Rescue Army spent more time burning its Spirit Fields than they had spent wiping out the Demon Wolves of the Yingyue Kingdom.

The Celestial Stone Kingdom bordered as many as six other Demon Countries, so such a drastic event could not be concealed as the attack on the Yingyue Kingdom had been. Upon detecting the assault on the Celestial Stone Kingdom, these other Demon Countries dared not delay and immediately organized forces to provide support.

However, the elite troops of these Demon Countries had long since been conscripted by the Eastern Expedition Army. The hastily assembled reinforcements were a disorganized mess—soldiers didn’t know their generals, and generals didn’t know their soldiers. They were almost completely in the dark about the invading Rescue Army.

The moment they encountered the Rescue Army, their formations collapsed like a landslide, and they were utterly incapable of putting up a fight.

Some Flying Boats even pushed directly into the neighboring Demon Countries, and any Demon Army they encountered was routed at the mere sight of them.

Yang Jing opened his eyes and issued an order to Yinjiao.

“Order all units of the Rescue Army to board their Flying Boats and return to regroup immediately. Any who delay out of greed for merit will be punished according to military law, with no leniency. Any who repeatedly defy the order to retreat will be executed on the spot!”

The Rescue Army was still young, and most Cultivators were selfish, insatiably greedy individuals.

If left unrestrained, they would just keep plundering, and the entire Rescue Army would spread out like a pancake, completely scattered across the territory of the Demon Country. Initially, they might maintain their unstoppable offensive, but it wouldn’t be long before they became bogged down in a quagmire, only to be completely surrounded by the Demon Court once it had time to react.

At Yang Jing’s command, the vast majority of the dispatched Flying Boats immediately began to return. The few that were delayed by spoils of war did not dare to tarry for long.

The awe inspired by Yang Jing’s repeated victories over Nascent Soul Cultivators in the Central Province was still fresh in their minds. Combined with the severity of his order, no one in the Rescue Army dared to take it lightly.

Even so, he still penalized the military merits of the Cultivators who had delayed. The spoils they had gained were worth far less than the merits they lost as punishment.

After the destruction of the Celestial Stone Kingdom, the Rescue Army was now fully exposed to the Demon Court. The battles to come would be nowhere near as easy as what they had faced before.

It was better to nip the problem in the bud now than to suffer heavy losses later due to lax discipline.

Amidst the ash that filled the sky, the vast fleet finished regrouping.

“Master, shall we proceed with the original plan and head north along the coast?”

Yinjiao asked. The few disciples present were already aware of the situation at Celestial Radiance Pass and Pingyang Pass, but their opinions were divided. Iron Head, for instance, believed they should take advantage of the Demon Court’s lack of preparation and seize the two passes directly.

Even if the passes couldn’t be repaired, they should be completely demolished to eliminate any possibility of the Demon Court using them.

Yinjiao, however, felt this was too aggressive and risked falling into one of the Demon Court’s traps. He argued they should stick to their previous plan. Since the Demon Court couldn’t repair the two passes anyway, the Six Sects Alliance Army could naturally recapture them after winning a major victory, aided by the Rescue Army’s harassment tactics.

This would not only minimize the risk, but when the Demon Court’s Eastern Expedition Army was eventually forced to retreat, the Rescue Army could use its superior mobility to pursue and slaughter the routed troops. The results of such a pursuit, he argued, might not be any less glorious than a battle of annihilation at the two passes, but the risk would be far smaller.

“My disciple, Yinjiao, has the makings of a great general.”

Yinjiao’s strategy was the epitome of caution, leaving a margin for error at every turn. Even a defeat would only be a minor one. Iron Head’s plan, however, placed extremely high demands on a commander’s ability to make decisions in the heat of battle.

“In the current situation, we cannot always pursue the safest option. Water has no constant form, and armies have no constant strategy. Since our forces hold the advantage in mobility, we should use that mobility to maneuver the enemy and seek opportunities on the move.”

Yang Jing said.

If their only enemy were the Demon Court, they could certainly afford to adopt a more cautious strategy. However, the Celestial Slaughter Demon Saint and the Evil God of the Primordial Storage Realm were watching like hungry tigers, ready to intervene in the war on the Western Continent at any moment. If possible, they had to eliminate the threat of the Demon Court as quickly as possible to prevent further complications.

“We will head north, our spearhead aimed directly at the Rat Riding Country. This nation is also one of the Demon Court’s major grain producers, its importance no less than that of the Celestial Stone Kingdom. It is a place the Demon Court will be forced to defend.”

Because the majority of their forces had been conscripted for the Eastern Expedition Army, troop levels within the Demon Court’s domain were already stretched thin, especially the forces under its direct command.

If the Demon Court wanted to save the Rat Riding Country, they would be forced to alter their existing deployments to move troops. At that point, whether to fight or to withdraw, the initiative would be entirely in our hands.