Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 175 - 144: Breakthrough?

Chapter 175: Chapter 144: Breakthrough?

Perhaps it was the decisiveness typical of soldiers, but the moment Xu Yuan finished speaking, Colonel Wang roared commands toward the outside of the room:

"Someone come!"

"Creak——"

The old wooden door was nearly instantly pushed open from the outside, and the adjutant standing by entered, knelt halfway in front of the hall, and said with a fist in palm salute:

"General Wang, what are your orders?"

Colonel Wang stood up, briefly arranging the tasks while speaking:

"Immediately take someone to the City Defense Office to check the operation of all major formations within the city, and inform He Xinchuan to have the second battalion ready to leave the city and support Li Shengwu at a moment’s notice."

"....."

The adjutant looked somewhat shocked, though unaware of the reason, he also saluted with his fist and accepted the command:

"Understood!"

"You may go."

With that, the adjutant did not linger and promptly activated the military cultivation technique, dashing outside.

Colonel Wang walked to the doorway and then paused, glancing back at Xu Yuan inside the room:

"Young Master Zhou, I must excuse myself for a moment."

"Please go ahead, Colonel Wang. My senior sister and I will head back to the inn for now. If there really is an issue with the Protective City Formation, you can send someone to notify me."

...

...

...

The night deepened.

Two hours later.

Under the leadership of a previously met deputy general, Xu Yuan ascended the city walls of Shengshan County.

Compared to the towering twenty-zhang city walls of Jingjiang Prefecture, the walls of Shengshan County could only be described as a small earthen mound.

At three zhang and four chi, the hardened greenstones bore the remnants of past battles, scarred and pitted, with formation patterns even visible in some places where the stone had been worn away.

Silent and following beside the deputy general, Xu Yuan could see this burly middle-aged man’s face was now grim enough to wring water from.

It seemed that an incident had indeed occurred.

Enveloped by the Grand Illusory Fog Formation, the sky held no moonlight, and on the city walls, the only light came from campfires flickering dimly and then brightening.

After silently covering some distance, Xu Yuan channeled a bit of his cultivation technique and saw at the end of the wall several military officers in uniform, with Colonel Wang among them.

The officers stationed on the city wall scrutinized Xu Yuan with their gazes when he approached, then silently left one after the other, except for Colonel Wang who came forward to meet him face-to-face.

After they had both stopped, Colonel Wang got straight to the point:

"Young Master Zhou, I must reconfirm with you once again, do you truly have no direct evidence to prove that the Myriad Manifestation Sect intends to slaughter the city?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan gently shook his head:

"Such matters are not something the Myriad Manifestation Sect would leave direct evidence for, Colonel Wang, you should understand that."

Colonel Wang fell silent for a moment, then let out a long sigh:

"Indeed."

Xu Yuan glanced sideways toward the outside of the city.

Standing on this side of the city wall, one could clearly see the Shengshan Border Army forming military arrays outside the city, slaughtering the hordes of Demonic Beasts that were being lured out of the Grand Illusory Fog Formation:

"Colonel Wang, what’s the current situation?"

Colonel Wang pondered for a moment, also looking towards the military formations:

"The number of Demonic Beasts within the Grand Illusory Fog Formation has more than doubled compared to previous years."

"No, I meant the Communication Crystal."

Xu Yuan asked about what he was most concerned with.

If the Communication Crystal was still operational, then he could call for reinforcements.

Regarding this question, Colonel Wang remained silent and did not respond.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan sighed.

Given the other’s reaction, the Communication Crystal was most likely ineffective.

In other words, Shengshan County was now completely isolated from the outside world, transformed into an unequivocal besieged city.

However, Xu Yuan felt that if it were only the Communication Crystal that was ineffective, Colonel Wang would not have such an expression:

"The Protective City Formation is also compromised?"

"Yes."

Colonel Wang’s voice was low as he looked at the formation patterns on the city wall, his sigh tinged with helplessness:

"The Spiritual Energy Pool of the Protective City Formation has been tampered with, and now the entire formation’s energy level is less than twenty percent."

"What about the Grand Illusory Fog Formation?"

"There’s an issue with the control formation patterns of the formation, we are unable to manipulate the formation now."

"....."

Xu Yuan furrowed his brow, pondered briefly, and asked in a low voice:

"When Xu Xinyao was engraving the formation, wasn’t the Shengshan Border Army supposed to have the primary control over the formation?"

Although the materials for constructing the formation were provided by the Myriad Manifestation Sect, in a matter such as the lives of the people of the entire city, Xu Xinyao wouldn’t be foolish enough to hand over control to the Sects.

Colonel Wang fell silent for a moment, then said,

"According to the formation blueprint Miss Xu provided, we, the Shengshan County Border Army, indeed have first priority in controlling the formation."

"So you’re saying... the blueprint has been secretly altered?" Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes, "Xu Xinyao wouldn’t make such a low-level mistake."

"Bang!"

Colonel Wang slammed his fist onto the parapet, gripping it tightly,

"They must have tampered with it after Miss Xu left!"

"After she left?" Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow.

Colonel Wang spoke with a hint of helplessness,

"Miss Xu’s third brother had an accident, and the Grand Illusory Fog Formation wasn’t finished yet. Miss Xu had no choice but to leave early. It’s likely that those Array Masters from the Myriad Manifestation Sect secretly changed the formation blueprint Miss Xu left behind during the final phase of completion."

"......"

Xu Yuan sighed,

"Even if she hadn’t left, the outcome would have been the same. As long as the Myriad Manifestation Sect didn’t give up on their plan to create the ghost fog, it was just a matter of whether it happened sooner or later."

With that, Xu Yuan changed the subject and asked directly,

"So, what exactly do you want from me now, Colonel Wang?"

"...."

A moment of silence,

Colonel Wang rubbed his hands, his booming voice now somewhat hesitant,

"May I ask if you and your senior sister could lend your strength to Shengshan County? We will offer compensation."

Xu Yuan was not surprised by Colonel Wang’s request.

Now that the city was isolated and without reinforcement, having a Third Grade Great Grandmaster help defend the formation was like sending charcoal in snowy weather under the current circumstances.

However, Xu Yuan did not rush to agree. Looking at the Shengshan Border Army fighting bloodily outside, he spoke softly,

"Colonel Wang, are you prepared to defend the city?"

"...."

This question seemed to stump Colonel Wang, who looked at him and hesitantly said,

"The breach in the Grand Illusory Fog Formation is growing bit by bit. Now, every hour a thousand Demonic Beasts are drawn out. At this rate, by tomorrow or the day after, the number of Demonic Beasts emerging every hour could exceed three thousand. The military formation won’t be able to hold them off; we will have to rely on the city’s Protective Formation for defense."

Xu Yuan gently shook his head and asked,

"Colonel Wang, do you think you can hold it?"

"Or rather, do you think the Myriad Manifestation Sect will let you hold Shengshan County?"

"......" Colonel Wang fell silent.

Xu Yuan sighed softly and said,

"Colonel Wang, do you know what the only advantage that the Shengshan Border Army has over the Myriad Manifestation Sect right now is?"

"...."

After a brief silence, Colonel Wang ventured,

"The city’s Protective Formation?"

"Of course not."

"What is it then?"

"Information asymmetry."

Xu Yuan looked at Colonel Wang, enunciating each word,

"The Myriad Manifestation Sect doesn’t know yet that you are aware of their scheme to create ghost fog in Shengshan County."

With that,

Xu Yuan looked at the burly middle-aged man before him, amusement in his eyes as he said,

"Colonel Wang, information asymmetry is very important."

"If the Myriad Manifestation Sect knew about this, they wouldn’t be slowly boiling the frog like they are now; they would directly release the entire horde of Demonic Beasts from the Grand Illusory Fog Formation at once."

Xu Yuan raised a hand, pointing towards the military formation outside the city,

"Just imagine, tens of thousands of Demonic Beasts trapped inside the Grand Illusory Fog Formation, all charging out of the fog at once. Can your ten thousand Shengshan Border Army hold them off?"

Colonel Wang’s slightly clenched fist tightened as he looked at the young man before him, took a deep breath, and said,

"You mean, we have to break out?"

Xu Yuan did not respond, which was nearly equivalent to confirmation.

Defending was inevitably impossible.

Those with a plan always had an advantage over the unprepared; you never knew how many contingencies the Myriad Manifestation Sect had in place.

The first wave of Demonic Beasts might only be one part of the crisis.

Destroying the city walls, inciting internal strife, high-level cultivators sneaking into the city to cause chaos could all happen.

But breaking out meant abandoning the four hundred thousand commoners and refugees inside and outside Shengshan.

Silence spread gradually in the cold wind atop the city wall.....