"All of you stay in your residences. Do not wander around or talk about anything. Wait for me to come back and make a decision." Chen Yang immediately ordered the people of Qingyang City as soon as he returned to his residence.
After he finished speaking, he didn't wait for the others to reply. He turned around and quickly walked out.
Seeing this, the rest of the people looked at each other a few times, then they returned to their temporary residences without saying a word.
When Han Li returned to his room, a pensive expression appeared on his face.
He did not know what had happened to make Eche stop the Five Cities Martial Competition. Could it be that the Puppet City had chosen this moment to cause trouble?
He originally wanted to find out some information from Gu Qianxun, but after considering that she was also confused, he gave up.
In reality, he had no interest in the dispute between Xuan City and the Puppet City. It was just that this had messed up his plans.
If the martial competition could not proceed smoothly, it would be impossible for him to obtain the Celestial Qilin Meteorite Crystal. If he did not solve the problem of the Black Calamity Worm, even if he had a way to get out of this Secret Territory, it would be troublesome.
Han Li pondered for a moment, then quickly shook his head and stopped making unnecessary guesses.
Since it had come to this, he would just wait and see.
Thinking of this, he let out a light breath and sat down cross-legged, slowly closing his eyes.
Everywhere in the city was heavily guarded. Groups of black-armored soldiers guarded the main roads.
The ground near the gates of Xuan City rumbled as underground entrances appeared one after another. Groups of black-armored soldiers emerged and climbed up the city walls, quickly filling up the city walls.
On top of the city walls, there was also a series of cracking sounds. The stones on the city walls moved to the sides as if they were alive. Every hundred feet, a black stone tower would rise.
There was a gigantic crossbow installed on top of the stone tower, and there were many huge bolts on top of it.
Most of these arrows were silver white and flashed with a cold light. They looked extremely sharp.
A small portion of the arrows were fiery red with white patterns carved on them. They emitted bursts of explosive aura. It was obvious that they were a special kind of arrow.
Other than these arrow towers, there were also many catapults, mechanical weapons, and all kinds of puppets on top of the city walls.
On the Heavy Profound Mountain Range that was close to Xuan City, some figures could be vaguely seen, as well as some huge mechanical weapons.
Everyone looked into the distance as if they were facing a formidable enemy.
…
Han Li sat quietly in his room for about half a day. Suddenly, an attendant from Qingyang City came to invite him to gather at Chenyang's residence.
He did not hesitate and immediately made his way to the guest hall. At this moment, there were already seven or eight people in the hall, including Gu Qianxun, Yi Liya, Xuanyuan Xing, and the others.
When Gu Qianxun saw Han Li walking over, she nodded her head in greeting.
Han Li walked over and sat down beside him.
"The entire city has already been sealed off. It seems like the situation isn't looking good." Gu Qianxun said slowly.
Han Li frowned and didn't say anything.
"I know what Fellow Daoist Li is worried about.
If the Five Cities Martial Competition is really canceled, I will think of a way to help you obtain the Celestial Qilin Meteorite Crystal. "Gu Qianxun transmitted.
"Why are you helping me, Fellow Daoist Gu?" Han Li's eyes flickered as he asked back.
"I naturally have my reasons for helping you. To put it simply, you still have value." Gu Qianxun said indifferently.
"That's a relief," Han Li said with a smile.
As the two of them spoke, everyone from Qingyang City had arrived. Chenyang's figure also walked out from the inner room.
"The reason why I called everyone here is because of the commotion outside. I've already asked about the reason.
Within ten thousand miles north of Xuan City, a large group of people from the Puppet City has been discovered. "Chenyang said with a serious expression.
Although everyone had vaguely guessed it, when they really heard it, their expressions changed.
Some revealed a look of fear, while others revealed hatred in their eyes.
When Han Li heard this, his eyes slightly brightened.
As there was no trace of Purple Spirit in the vicinity of Xuan City, he had already planned to go to the Puppet City when he had the chance. He did not expect the other party to find him first.
"City Lord, how many people from the Puppet City have come?
Could it be a small number of people from the Puppet City that came here because of some matters? "Someone said.
"The exact number is still unclear. However, City Lord Echu has already found out that the Puppet City Lord Sha Xin is also among them.
Xuan City has already sent out a warning, but the other party did not care at all and is still coming towards Xuan City. They are not coming with good intentions. "Chenyang shook his head and said.
"Could it be that our Xuan City and the Puppet City are going to fight again?" Gu Qianxun frowned and asked.
"The Puppet City Lord Sha Xin is coming personally without any warning. This is not a good sign." Chenyang said slowly.
The room instantly became silent. Everyone's gaze fell on Chenyang, but no one spoke. It could be said that it was so quiet that even a pin drop could be heard.
"Everyone, do not worry. Right now, the elites of our Xuan City and the four affiliated cities are all gathered here. We also have the geographical advantage. Those people from the Puppet City will not be able to take advantage of us." Chenyang seemed to have felt the heavy atmosphere and changed the topic.
Hearing this, everyone's spirit was slightly lifted.
"In this period of time, all of you should do your best to prepare. If the war really starts, we will definitely have to take action." Chenyang's gaze swept across the crowd and said slowly.
Although everyone was worried, they were not timid people and agreed in unison.
Seeing everyone's reaction, Chenyang nodded his head in satisfaction. He then announced some rules of the city.
"Fellow Gu, do you think that the sudden appearance of the Puppet City Lord is really to attack Xuan City?
Or is there another purpose? "Han Li transmitted his voice to Gu Qianxun and asked.
"I'm not sure.
Xuan City and the Puppet City are sometimes at peace, but most of the time, they are hostile towards each other. After so many years of killing each other, the two sides have already formed a deep hatred. Therefore, every large scale battle between the two forces is abnormally intense. "Gu Qianxun transmitted her voice back.
"I believe that when the relationship between the two sides became better, it was because of some external reason?" Han Li asked.
"In other words, only when they are facing a natural disaster or a large scale attack from the Scaled Beasts will they temporarily join forces.
If I remember correctly, the last large scale battle was thirty thousand years ago. At that time, the main battlefield was at Opal City. Both sides fought for close to a hundred years and the entire Opal City was destroyed. Both sides suffered countless casualties.
At that time, the Opal City Lord was not Sun Tu, but someone else. That person unfortunately died in the war and Sun Tu took the opportunity to become the Opal City Lord. "Gu Qianxun explained.
"I never thought that the survivors of this desolate secret territory, which was almost forgotten by the outside world, would still have such intense conflicts." Han Li shook his head.
"All the battles are for the sake of fighting for the scarce resources. Actually, regardless of whether it is Xuan City or the Puppet City, their ultimate goal is to leave this dark secret territory." Gu Qianxun looked at Han Li and said with a deep meaning.
"I should have thought of this long ago. However, the people who have this idea should be the upper echelons of this place, right?" Han Li nodded and said.
"Who knows … If a war really breaks out, do not be careless. An individual's strength is insignificant in a large scale battle." Gu Qianxun warned.
"City Lord, although the people of the Puppet City have appeared outside the city, it is hard to guarantee that their target is not Qingyang City.
We are all in Xuan City right now. If Feo decides to send its main force to attack Qingyang City, it will be very difficult to defend with the strength of the city. "Yi Liya said after Chen Yang finished his announcement.
"How could I not know about this? However, even if we return to Qingyang City with all our strength, it will be too late. We can only pray that the Puppet City's target is not there." Chen Yang sighed and said.
Chen Yang warned the crowd about a few things to take note of before sending them away.
The other three cities also received the news that the Puppet City was approaching. They hurriedly gathered their forces and prepared for battle.
After an unknown period of time, the sound of horns and the sound of the Heaven's Might War Drum echoed throughout the city.
The originally bustling streets were now empty. Even if there were a few pedestrians, their footsteps were hurried and their faces were full of panic. The shops on both sides of the streets were also closed.
On the main road of the city, groups of armored soldiers and beast carriages would occasionally pass by, rushing towards various parts of Xuan City. The air was filled with a tense atmosphere, as if a storm was about to arrive.
On the city wall of the main gate, countless black-armored soldiers were busily working in an orderly manner.
At this moment, a group of people climbed up the city wall. The soldiers in front of them hurriedly made way for them.
The person leading the group was Ge. Beside him were seven or eight people. Tong Song, who had led Han Li and the others into the city, and the eagle-nosed man were also present.
Ge gazed towards the distant horizon and remained silent. The people beside him did not dare to make any noise and disturb him.
After a while, Ge's eyebrows sank.
He saw a grey line appear in the distant horizon. It was accompanied by a thunderous rumble as it rolled over.
The black-armored soldiers on the city wall quickly saw the situation in the distance. There was a sudden commotion as everyone clenched the weapons in their hands.
Ge was expressionless. He raised his arm and waved it forward.
The gates of Xuan City suddenly opened. Countless black-armored soldiers rushed out. Most of them walked out, but about thirty percent of them rode various scaled beasts. They formed several square formations on the empty ground outside Xuan City.
A sharp cry came from the Thick Profound Mountain Range near Xuan City. Then, flying scaled beasts flew down from the mountains. Most of them were bald eagle scaled beasts. There were black-armored soldiers on their backs. They were so densely packed that they almost filled half the sky. They vaguely formed a battle formation, waiting for the arrival of the enemy.
The grey line in the distance had already become much larger. It was a grey cloud that resembled a sandstorm. Within the grey cloud, one could vaguely see an army made up of countless puppets.
The puppet army seemed to have also sensed the battle formation outside Xuan City. They stopped about a thousand miles away from Xuan City and did not move forward.
When the soldiers of Xuan City saw the army of the puppet city, their fighting spirit surged. They all looked at Ge, waiting for him to give the order to attack immediately.
But what happened next was out of everyone's expectations.
The army of the puppet city just stood there quietly and did not continue to attack. This caused Ge to frown. He did not give the order to attack either.
Both sides were in a stalemate.