Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

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Seeing a large number of Sorcerers rushing toward them, smart individuals like Chen Lingyun, Su Yunjin, or Li Minghu had already seen through the crux of the situation at a glance.

Sorcerers would arrange for their mortal relatives to manage their territories, so these relatives definitely had a way to contact them, but the Rikoku Cultivators couldn't communicate with these mortals, and the efficiency of intimidation or enticement wouldn't be high.

Therefore, Yan Yu chose to beat people up rather than kill them.

Mortals do not have enough understanding of the Transcendents to judge whether the person beating them up is stronger or weaker than their Sorcerer relatives.

Considering they likely became village or town heads only after their Sorcerer relatives directly killed the previous leaders, these mortals typically brimmed with overconfidence, acting like a fox that borrows the tiger's might. The first thing they would do after a beating was to urgently call the Sorcerers for rescue.

In this way, they could successfully lure the snake out of its hole.

The Sorcerers approaching from afar with great momentum even thought that the intruders in their territory might be Sorcerers from a neighboring hostile force, so they gathered people immediately to seek revenge, only to be greeted by the Rikoku Cultivators' swords blazing skyward... At this point, where could they possibly escape to?

Thud!

Yan Yu and his group effortlessly wiped out this group of Sorcerers then swiftly left the village or town, tirelessly seeking the next settlement on their list.

Although there was no surplus of communication, the fact that the tactics were executed so smoothly impressed everyone, who quickly noted down all of Yan Yu's maneuvers.

For about ten days, the group continued their assault, unaware of how many Sorcerers they had killed until the news finally reached the Witch King.

The recent rampages of the Rikoku Cultivators took place in the territory of the Golden Light Sorcerer Suo Wen.

Suo Wen was a supporter of the current Witch King Long Po Ming and strongly endorsed the plan to move north to plunder Rikoku's resources, even personally summoning two thirds of his Sorcerers to join the Witch King Allied Forces.

As a result, the remaining third left to guard their territories had been nearly wiped out by Yan Yu and his group. So much so that upon hearing the news, many quick-tempered Sorcerers wanted to abandon the northern campaign immediately to rush back and defend their homes.

They must protect their homes! The Rikoku Cultivators mostly left after their attacks without staying for long, but the neighbors wouldn't be so "kind"! It would be a dreadful outcome to return from the campaign empty-handed only to find the neighboring powers annexed their territories, ultimately losing both wealth and land.

Suo Wen didn't lose his head to the bad news like his subordinates. Although he had not heard of the famed "home switching tactic," he was aware that the Rikoku Cultivators were killing left and right exactly to force the Witch King Allied Forces to divide their troops.

Can't divide! Dividing is falling for their trap!

But not dividing was not an option either because the anxious subordinates might rebel.

Suo Wen could lead them because no one could beat him in single combat, but if these people united against him, the outcome would be uncertain.

It would be easy for the Witch King to wave his hand and dispose of them all, but the problem remained the same: letting them go back meant losing manpower, disposing of them still meant losing manpower—there was no difference. It might as well let them return.

Thus, the Witch King's forces had to temporarily halt their northern march to discuss how to resolve this problem.

After discussing for half a day, they finally arrived at a strategy: let Suo Wen hurry back with men to kill off these Rikoku Cultivators, arrange for adequate personnel to stay behind, and then quickly return to support the campaign.

Although there would definitely be a delay, the Witch King Allied Forces were inherently a decentralized and loose structure, making it difficult to move in unison with strict commands. As such, this was seen as the best possible solution under the current circumstances, minimizing losses within a manageable range.

"... Since it's their optimal solution, it's naturally predictable," Yan Yu said to his team after conquering another town and pausing to speak to the group. "The more Sorcerers we kill, the higher the likelihood that they will muster forces to hunt us down. The confrontation is almost inevitable; it's just a matter of time."

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"This is good news," Li Minghu nodded and said, "Whether it's to delay their progress in the northern campaign or to force them to split their forces, it's all beneficial."

"At this point, our strategy has been two-thirds successful," Yan Yu continued, "To take out this batch of troops would be equivalent to severely damaging the Witch King Allied Forces. The Witch King is likely to become restless. If he dares to disregard us, the hard-earned prestige he has built will be lost entirely. What kind of Witch King is he if he can't even protect his subordinates?"

"I understand the rationale," Li Zhaojiang said with a wry smile, "But in the end, we still need to defeat their reinforcements, right? And the number and quality of these reinforcements are definitely not on the same level as the enemies we've been dealing with these past few days."

"Of course," Yan Yu admitted unabashedly, simply stating, "No matter how fancy the moves are, once the fighters engage, it inevitably comes down to a contest of inner strength. To employ 'using the slight to defeat the strong,' you at least need to have the finesse of those critical four ounces to move a thousand pounds."

Li Zhaojiang fell silent, his expression still filled with worry, as his sister had started coughing again recently.

Almost a week and a half of Sword Flight and frequent deadly combat, pushing their bodies and depleting their True Yuan daily, even the girls of the Zhenhai Team were showing signs of exhaustion. Li Minghu's health naturally suffered more, with her lung disease showing ominous signs of worsening.

Li Zhaojiang was not afraid of deadly battles himself, but he was absolutely unwilling to let Li Minghu suffer any harm. In his anxious concern, his demeanor turned pessimistic and negative without him even realizing it.

Yan Yu, seeing through the thoughts Li Zhaojiang was reluctant to express, did not waste words trying to soothe his emotions, but instead looked once more at the girls' faces around him.

Zhao Yuanzhen was still full of fighting spirit; Lin Ning, though haggard, had eyes as bright as morning stars that remained sharp and spirited.

Chen Lingyun and Su Yunjin both looked pale but managed to support themselves, with their performance in recent battles not falling short.

As for the Annan Army on the other side, because the boys generally had stronger physiques, they were in better condition than the Zhenhai Team.

Only Li Minghu, although she stubbornly refused to show her weakness, betrayed her physical condition with the frequency of her coughing.

"I know everyone is very tired," Yan Yu said, having quickly considered the situation, "We could actually rest now and wait for the enemies to come to us. That way, we would only need to fight two major battles to completely accomplish our mission."

"No need," Li Minghu spoke out against it, "How long do we have to wait if we rest now for the enemies to make their move? With each passing day, more Sorcerers will enter Nanjiang, and who knows how many people will suffer because of that... people who could have otherwise not died... cough cough cough!"

Her face turned alarmingly pale as she took out an Elixir Medicine to consume, and her complexion finally regained some color.

Yan Yu watched her silently, thinking to himself how her spirit of self-sacrifice seemed almost tangible. In his previous life, how had the Annan Army not noticed this? No wonder Li Zhaojiang couldn't stand it later and turned to the dark side.

If it were Chen Lingyun leading the team, he would definitely respect her wishes, but I, Yan Yu, am not that type of person.

Perhaps the Valkyrie could find a secluded place to rest temporarily, and the others could go the extra mile and make a concerted effort. But Li Minghu certainly would not agree to stand by and watch. I need to think of a way to trick... I mean, come up with a reasonable explanation to convince her.

While Yan Yu was silently pondering, the rest couldn't bear to watch and began to urge Li Minghu to rest immediately, telling her not to treat Elixir Medicine like a stimulant.

Li Minghu naturally refused, insisting on staying to fight alongside everyone. It seems that in my past life, all the powerful Sword Immortals had stubborn temperaments. The Valkyrie died rather than retreat, Lin Ning would rather stay single than engage in matchmaking, Lord Master would rather break with his family than not choose his own wife, and Teacher Mei naturally went without saying.

Sigh, Sword Immortals who handle things flexibly like me are just too rare.

Just as Yan Yu was wracking his brains to weave words to persuade Li Minghu, suddenly he saw dark clouds gathering in the Northeastern sky. It appeared that a large number of Sorcerers were invoking the Ghost Walking Technique, flying towards them.

Upon seeing this, Yan Yu immediately rejoiced:

Good, they're coming!