Chapter 1538 - 1518: Ba Tianhu's Schemes

After much deliberation, Yu Hai from Qingshan City, with the support of the three giants of Ba Tianhu and the promise of ruling all five of Yang Xiao's cities, finally became tempted.

"At worst, we just die, right?"

"Brothers, Ba Tianhu, Guo Jianglong, and the Pangolin are now fully supporting us. With them as our backing, what do we have to hesitate for?

Besides, the Dark Web only has a few hundred people, and Mr. Master is severely injured right now. As long as our twenty-plus cities unite, our army and our main war generals have a combined strength much stronger than Yang Xiao's five cities.

If we all work together, after seizing the City of Hope, the five cities will be co-managed by us, and all the spoils will be evenly divided among everyone.

More importantly, we can restore the previous social system, no longer being slaves to the citizens in the cities, belittling ourselves."

The more than twenty City Lords hesitated for a long time before finally being persuaded one by one.

Guo Jianglong said:

"You all charge at the front, and the three of us will stand behind you, rest assured,

For now, don't attack the City of Hope directly. Concentrate your strength and first take down the most peripheral Cold Wind Valley, then consume the cities one by one."

Yu Hai excitedly slapped the table:

"Alright, let's do it this way."

...

The news of Ba Tianhu and the other two encouraging Yu Hai and the City Lords to attack Cold Wind Valley quickly reached the City of Hope and the Dark Web Headquarters Valley.

Elder Qi and the others, not yet calmed down from Mr. Master repelling Ba Tianhu, were immediately dumbfounded.

"Damn, Ba Tianhu is not giving up on destroying us."

"If that old Yu Hai dares to come, I'll chop him up!"

Flying Tiger shouted loudly.

Black Wood calmly said:

"Last time, Yu Hai only asked us to change our policies, without attacking us directly. But this time, with the support of Ba Tianhu's trio, he's launching a direct assault.

If those twenty-plus cities join forces, we really wouldn't be a match for them."

"Could we ask for Mr. Master's help again?"

Elder Qi asked the Dark Web's Fifth Master sitting beside him.

The Fifth Master pondered for a moment and said:

"I can report this to Mr. Master, but how Mr. Master decides is not within my control."

"Alright, then I'll trouble the Fifth Master. The situation is urgent, please head to the Dark Web Headquarters Valley as soon as possible."

"Alright, I'll go immediately."

After saying this, the Fifth Master got up and left the meeting room.

Then Elder Qi said to everyone:

"From now on, all five cities should enter a state of emergency, and ensure smooth information communication between them. If one city is attacked, the others must provide immediate support,

Also, send out the notice that to protect our homeland, anyone above the Empire Level must accept conscription, join the temporary army, and obey unified command and dispatch."

Flying Tiger then said:

"Elder Qi, you forgot something very important."

"What?"

"Our Demon Beast Alliance Army, there are hundreds of thousands of them in the Dark Forest. As long as the Demon Beast Alliance supports us, we can definitely resist Yu Hai's alliance."

Upon hearing this, Elder Qi immediately exclaimed excitedly:

"If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten. Flying Tiger, you've communicated with the Demon Beast Alliance Army with Yang Xiao many times, go and find the Tyrannosaurus Demon Beast leader immediately and ask for their help."

"Alright, I'm off."

...

The Fifth Master hurriedly reached the Dark Web Headquarters Valley and even before he could speak, the Second Master, who was overseeing the Dark Web's work, said:

"You're here because of Ba Tianhu attacking the City of Hope, right?"

"Second Master, you already know?"

"Haha, I knew even before you did, don't forget we have intelligence personnel in every city."

"Then Mr. Master must also know, what's Mr. Master planning to do?"

After a moment of silence, the Second Master said:

"I've already reported to Mr. Master. Mr. Master said this is something Yang Xiao's subordinates need to resolve themselves,

We can assist them briefly, but we cannot support them forever."

"Huh?"

Mr. Fifth looked at Mr. Second with some surprise.

Mr. Second smiled faintly and said:

"Mr. Fifth, don't forget what kind of organization our Dark Web is. We specialize in assassination activities that come and go without a trace. Large-scale direct confrontations are not our forte.

Mr. Master has already helped Yang Xiao's subordinates once. In that instance, Mr. Master didn't hesitate to directly go to war with Ba Tianhu.

Now, Ba Tianhu, Guo Jianglong, and the pangolin have united, aiming to take down our Dark Web and Mr. Master.

Ostensibly, they are attacking the City of Hope, but in reality, their true target is us. If we get embroiled in the City of Hope's war now, stuck in the quagmire of war, unable to advance or retreat, then how would we cope when Ba Tianhu and the others join forces to attack us?"

Mr. Fifth was shocked to look at Mr. Second, not expecting the situation to be so complex behind the scenes.

"From now on, you need to take some brothers back to the Dark Web Headquarters. I've already summoned all the assassins and subordinates back to the Dark Web Headquarters, leaving only some intelligence personnel outside."

Mr. Fifth thought for a moment and said:

"If we don't help Elder Qi and the others, they are very likely to be defeated and killed by Yu Hai and the others, and the City of Hope and the other five cities will fall into Yu Hai's hands."

"Mr. Fifth, this is Mr. Master's order. Do you have any doubts?

Moreover, what's the harm in a few people dying in the Central Continent? This place is fundamentally survival of the fittest. To survive, one must rely on oneself; Mr. Master will not fight for them again."

Mr. Fifth helplessly nodded. He had been in the City of Hope for a year and had gotten along well with Elder Qi and the others, forming some attachments. Thinking of Elder Qi's talents and the impending devastation of millions by war, he felt a bit sad.

Mr. Second patted Mr. Fifth on the shoulder and said:

"Yang Xiao and the others once allied with the Demon Beast. If the Demon Beast Alliance Army can assist Elder Qi and them, Yu Hai might find it difficult to conquer the City of Hope."

Mr. Fifth sighed deeply,

"It seems that's the only way!"

...

Yu Hai, leading a twenty-city alliance of 200,000 troops, finally launched an attack on Cold Wind Valley.

Elder Qi and his group were not to be outdone, organizing an 80,000 Empire Level guard army, along with hundreds of thousands of Demon Beast Alliance Army, to siege Cold Wind Valley.

This was an exceptionally brutal battle. In the Dark Forest, tens of kilometers from the city outskirts of Cold Wind Valley, a rare large-scale battle in Central Continent history unfolded. Warriors on both sides fought desperately.

The battlefield was a gruesome scene with rivers of blood and mountains of corpses.

Despite assistance from hundreds of thousands of Demon Beast Alliance Army, Elder Qi's forces clashed evenly with Yu Hai's 200,000-strong army. After over ten days of fighting, Yu Hai lost sixty to seventy thousand warriors, and Elder Qi lost over thirty thousand warriors and tens of thousands of Demon Beast Alliance Army.

The battle reached a stalemate, with neither side able to quickly defeat the other.

Yu Hai and others called for help from Ba Tianhu.

Ba Tianhu comforted them:

"City Lord Yu, hold on. The opponent is also nearing their breaking point. At this moment, endurance is key.

Furthermore, your twenty-plus cities can each mobilize at least two thousand troops, can't they? If not two thousand, surely fifteen hundred.

Your reserve troops are greater than Cold Wind Valley's. As long as you unite and pour your reserve forces onto the battlefield, you can immediately capture Cold Wind Valley."

Yu Hai and others were taken aback, saying:

"Lord Ba Tianhu, our cities are nearly depleted, and the population is limited. If all our guards are committed to battle, even if we take Cold Wind Valley, wouldn't that be meaningless?"

"How is it meaningless? Once you capture Cold Wind Valley, you can reorganize the army. Don't worry, I've got your back. At a critical moment, I'll step in and help you. I've already prepared ten thousand elite soldiers. Rest assured."

"Really? Thank you, Lord Ba Tianhu!"

Though Yu Hai felt depressed inside, he had no choice. He was caught between a rock and a hard place, unable to move forward or retreat.

Initially, he thought the 200,000 troops could easily capture Cold Wind Valley, but didn't expect the valley's combat powers to be unexpectedly strong, especially the attacks from the hundreds of thousands of Demon Beast Alliance Army causing heavy losses to his alliance.

Yu Hai returned to the battlefield to convene with over twenty city lords to discuss dispatching more troops.

The over twenty city lords were filled with anger upon hearing the situation.

"Damn it, we're fighting to the death here, and Ba Tianhu is sitting back watching the show."

"Didn't he say he'd step in to help us?"

"It's like putting us on the grill!"

"So what do we do now? We can't retreat, and we can't win the offense."

"Since we've come this far, let's just go all in and throw all our forces onto the battlefield. I refuse to believe we can't capture Cold Wind Valley."

"Most of the forces from the City of Hope are already gathered here. If we defeat them this time and take Cold Wind Valley, we can quickly capture the other four cities."

"Alright, let's gamble!"

...

Inside Sky Tiger City, Think Tank Yuri and Ba Tianhu, along with several War Generals, secretly plotted.

Ba Tianhu laughed heartily and said:

"Think Tank, your move was really brilliant. Yu Hai and Yang Xiao's subordinates are fighting to mutual exhaustion. Once they're completely worn out, I'll clean up the mess. By that time, wouldn't dozens of cities in this region all submit to my rule? Haha... Brilliant, truly brilliant!"