Chapter 1539 - 1519: City of Hope Turns into a Dead City

Yu Hai led the alliance army of twenty cities, and Elder Qi's army engaged in a difficult tug-of-war in Cold Wind Valley.

Yu Hai additionally reinforced with sixty thousand warriors from over twenty cities.

Elder Qi and others were finally unable to resist and had to abandon Cold Wind Valley, retreating to Firebird City.

Yu Hai immediately surrounded Firebird City with the army, and both sides once again fell into a stalemate.

However, this stalemate did not last long. Half a month later, Elder Qi and others had to abandon Firebird City and retreat.

Before retreating, Elder Qi convened a meeting.

"I have a suggestion: concentrate all the forces on City of Hope and no longer defend Shuize City. What does everyone think?"

Black Wood nodded, saying:

"That's also good. We can concentrate all our forces on City of Hope to better resist Yu Hai's alliance army. With three cities under his control, Yu Hai will undoubtedly disperse some of his forces to defend them, thus reducing the pressure on City of Hope."

Fan Chen said:

"I suggest we also take the initiative to abandon Titan City. City of Hope has been expanded in the past two days and is large enough now, with a population of over a million and complete facilities.

We have concentrated all our forces in City of Hope, with over a hundred thousand warriors, plus the support of the Demon Beast Alliance. Temporarily resisting Yu Hai's attack shouldn't be a problem."

"Hm, that's right. Although Yu Hai seems aggressive now, their situation is quite difficult too. The army from over twenty cities each has its own agenda. Leaving four cities to them allows them to divide and compete for interests,

Moreover, the battles during this period have caused them significant losses in manpower, and many cities are struggling. If we retreat now, some people in Yu Hai's alliance may see this as an opportunity to stop chasing us."

...

After a while of discussion, everyone agreed to retreat, pulling all the troops back to City of Hope. Civilians willing to migrate to City of Hope could also move overnight.

After the announcement, hundreds of thousands of civilians willingly migrated to City of Hope.

Elder Qi then mobilized a large number of civilians and warriors to the Dark Forest to harvest ripe crops and bring them back to the city.

Elder Qi proactively abandoned three cities. Yu Hai and others were overjoyed and immediately sent troops to occupy Firebird City, Shuize City, and Titan City. Including the previously occupied Cold Wind Valley, they took a total of four cities.

Yu Hai also convened an alliance meeting to discuss the next action plan.

"We are facing two choices now. First, continue to siege City of Hope and completely eliminate Yang Xiao's forces. Second, refrain from attacking City of Hope for the time being and plan after a period of recovery. What are everyone's opinions?"

"I suggest that we see this as an opportunity to stop and not continue the assault on City of Hope. I've calculated that the main forces of City of Hope are still there, with about ten thousand guard troops, and they also have the assistance of the Demon Beast Alliance, making their strength very formidable.

Especially now that they are concentrated in City of Hope, eager to engage us in a decisive battle. If we were to siege City of Hope now, even if we reluctantly managed to capture it, the results would be devastating, with significant casualties on our side."

"If our main army is depleted, what is the point of capturing City of Hope?

Let's not forget that there are many other factions in the Central Continent watching and waiting to capitalize on our mutual losses. If we and Yang Xiao's subordinates fight to the point of mutual destruction, they could easily capture our cities, rendering all our efforts futile and leaving us digging our own graves."

"Indeed, Ba Tianhu encouraged us to start the war, but now he is slow to take action to help us. We need to be cautious at this point."

"Leaving City of Hope actually gives us a lifeline. Otherwise, after mutual devastation, Ba Tianhu might directly seize our twenty-odd cities."

...

"What everyone says is true, but leaving City of Hope is also a potential threat. Once they recover, they will certainly retaliate against us."

"What is there to be afraid of? Once they recover, we will have recovered too. Are we really afraid of their one city when we have more than twenty?"

"Moreover, Mr. Master from the Dark Web hasn't aided them this time, so we don't need to worry."

...

In the end, most agreed to pause the attack on City of Hope.

Although there wasn't direct combat for the time being, both sides stationed garrison troops in the Dark Forest, strengthening vigilance, and sporadic small-scale skirmishes occurred frequently.

Elder Qi specifically sent the Flying Tiger with a troop to infiltrate the Dark Forest, coordinating with the Demon Beast Alliance, specializing in ambushing the enemy's small teams entering the Dark Forest.

After dozens of ambushes, they killed over a thousand in Yu Hai's alliance army, discouraging them from entering the side of the Dark Forest near City of Hope.

The Dark Web and Mr. Master hadn't taken action to help Elder Qi and others. This left Ba Tianhu unsure of what to do.

Though Ba Tianhu speculated that Mr. Master might not have truly reached Emperor Level Advanced Realm, he dared not attack the Dark Web Headquarters Valley.

Guo Jianglong and the pangolin were far from the Dark Web Headquarters Valley with Ba Tianhu ahead of them, naturally lacking the motivation to forcefully intervene.

The matter of the three of them jointly attacking the Dark Web Headquarters was thus shelved.

The surface of the Central Continent seemed to return to its previous situation.

Due to the war between City of Hope and Yu Hai with Ba Tianhu, those wanting to migrate to the City of Hope temporarily ceased their migration, as no one wanted to risk getting involved in the conflict.

Additionally, the current population of City of Hope stands at over a million. Due to the war, coupled with several thwarted large-scale raids by Yu Hai's alliance army destroying the crops they planted in the Dark Forest, City of Hope faces a food shortage.

Elder Qi is now extremely anxious, suffering sleepless nights.

Everyone fondly recalled Yang Xiao ruling over five cities, maneuvering skillfully between Ba Tianhu and the Dark Web. The more they thought about it, the more they admired Yang Xiao.

"Sigh, has Yang Xiao really disappeared? Is our City of Hope doomed as well?"

"Elder Qi, the situation in City of Hope is increasingly severe. The city population is too large, and food shortages are beginning. We might endure for one or two months, but if the situation doesn't improve afterwards, it could lead to major unrest, collapsing internally even before Yu Hai's alliance advances."

"What about our trade caravans? Can't they bring back more grain from outside?"

"Currently, Ba Tianhu, Guo Jianglong, and the pangolin, in conjunction with the Wind Eagle Trade Union, have issued orders not allowing other cities in the Central Continent to sell grain to us.

Additionally, our regular grain procurement routes have been cut off by the Wind Eagle Trade Union, making it increasingly difficult to buy grain from outside."

"Even if we manage to buy grain from outside, City of Hope's nearly two million population makes it challenging to sustain them with free food for a long time."

...

The hall fell into silence, and everyone felt that City of Hope was on the verge of becoming a dead city.