Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 180 - 146: Breaking the Formation (Two-in-One) _2

Chapter 180: Chapter 146: Breaking the Formation (Two-in-One) _2

At the end of the day, Colonel Wang’s eyes carried a hint of helpless resignation.

"....." Xu Yuan remained silent.

An hour later,

the adjutant returned, carrying a large cloth bag on his back. As he spread it out on the ground, it immediately revealed the dozen or so jade boxes of various sizes inside.

Xu Yuan glanced at them, somewhat surprised by the quantity, but he soon came to terms with it.

As a border city, Shengshan County was undoubtedly poor, but the sum of resources was certainly substantial for an individual.

After a moment of contemplation, Xu Yuan picked a few jade boxes and said softly,

"Then I shall accept without further ado."

Colonel Wang gave a slight smile and said directly,

"Master Zhou, these are all yours."

Xu Yuan’s gaze sharpened.

The smile on Colonel Wang’s face was pure as he clasped his fists in a bow, "Master Zhou, to be frank, I had originally planned to sell these soul-related medicinal materials at a high price to subsidize our soldiers, but I doubt there will be such an opportunity in the future. You may take them all if you need them."

Xu Yuan pondered for a moment, then took out two flawless crystals from the Sumeru Ring and placed them in front of Colonel Wang.

As soon as the two crystals appeared, the surrounding Origin Qi suddenly became richer.

However, Xu Yuan did not stop his actions of retrieving items; several sealed wooden barrels were brought out from the Sumeru Ring, and one could hear the sloshing of liquid inside.

"What is this?" Colonel Wang’s pupils constricted slightly.

Xu Yuan liked to take advantage, but he did not want to exploit someone like Colonel Wang,

"Source Crystals, Spiritual Liquid, consider that I have bought these medicinal materials."

"But..." Colonel Wang appeared tempted, but he still didn’t immediately agree, "But these materials aren’t worth this much..."

"Colonel Wang."

Xu Yuan interrupted him, each word deliberate, "You should know what the people staying within the formation will face next."

"......" Colonel Wang opened his mouth but was unable to utter a word.

He understood the meaning behind Master Zhou’s words.

At this point in time, their Shengshan Border Army attacking the Grand Illusory Fog Formation was almost a blatant declaration to the people of Myriad Manifestation Sect that, "We know of your plans to slaughter the city."

What the Myriad Manifestation Sect would do in response was self-explanatory.

Next, the Shengshan Border Army tasked with protecting the civilians would face the frenzied onslaught of tens of thousands of ferocious Demonic Beasts.

In such a situation, the Protective City Formation was undoubtedly their lifeline.

The Protective City Formation had two sources of power; one was the Origin Qi from heaven and earth, which, when the formation was inactive, would be gathered and stored by a special Formation, and the second was Source Crystals and Spiritual Liquid, treasures condensed from the earth’s natural Origin Qi.

In wealthy large cities like Jingjiang Prefecture, they would usually have a substantial reserve of Source Crystals for emergencies, but judging by the dilapidated state of Shengshan County, it was highly unlikely that they had any.

With just the remaining twenty percent of the energy that had been tampered with, the Protective City Formation would probably only last a few days at full power.

If Xu Yuan and his group could successfully kill the Myriad Manifestation Sect formation masters, it wouldn’t matter, but if they needed to request reinforcements, it would take at least a fortnight for help to arrive and back again. Without the Protective City Formation, the ten thousand soldiers of the Shengshan Border Army would stand no chance of holding out.

Xu Yuan raised his hand and pushed forward the two Source Crystals he had obtained from Xu Changge:

"Take them. Any extra energy for the Protective City Formation is good."

Colonel Wang stepped back, clasped his fists in both hands, and was about to kneel to Xu Yuan:

"Master Zhou... your generosity is boundless."

Xu Yuan immediately supported him with the Saint’s Soul Power and waved his hand,

"That’s enough. Prepare to break the formation in an hour. I need to make some preparations here."

Colonel Wang nodded earnestly, ready to leave, but his steps faltered for a moment. In the silence, he asked softly,

"Could Master Zhou tell me his name?"

Xu Yuan’s gaze held a trace of amusement, "Why? Do you also wish to erect a shrine for me?"

"....." Colonel Wang remained silent.

Xu Yuan waved his hand, chuckling,

"I am in the business of intelligence and have no need for such things."

...

...

Colonel Wang left.

As the commander of the city, many things required his attention and arrangement.

The cold wind blew through his hair as Xu Yuan stood atop the city wall, his gaze deep as he looked at the foggy formation in the distance.

Time ticked by, second by second,

In the quiet,

The teasing voice of the Saint’s Remnant Soul suddenly rang out in Xu Yuan’s heart:

"When did you become so righteous?"

The sudden voice made Xu Yuan’s thoughts pause, and he chuckled in response:

"Righteous?

"Does giving a few Source Crystals and a few buckets of Spiritual Liquid count as being righteous?"

"You didn’t have to give them at all," the Saint’s Remnant Soul said with a low, amused tone.

Xu Yuan shook his head, his voice very calm:

"Do you think I’m lacking those things?"

"No," the Saint’s Remnant Soul responded.

Xu Yuan looked in the direction where Colonel Wang had just left and said softly:

"I actually quite admire people like Colonel Wang who could have broken through the siege, but for the sake of the common people of Shengshan County, he chooses to stay and defend the city.

"Defending the city with a nine in ten chance of death...

"To me, Source Crystals and Spiritual Liquid don’t amount to much, but for them, these can actually save lives, and not just one, but the lives of four hundred thousand people.

"If there were more people like Colonel Wang, it would be good for Dayan, or at least for the common people of Dayan.

"Besides, this also counts as cleaning up the mess my foolish sworn sister made."

"So the answer to this kind of multiple-choice question is quite obvious, isn’t it?"

The voice of the Saint’s Remnant Soul was ambiguous:

"I thought you would be colder."

"I’m not like you, an old immortal without even blood. My blood is still warm," Xu Yuan retorted.

The Saint’s Remnant Soul chuckled:

"Xu kid, whether your blood is warm or not, we’re actually the same kind of people."

Xu Yuan fell silent for a moment, not denying it:

"Maybe.

"Never mind me, Old Man Luo, have you finished refining those soul-related medicinal materials?"

He had gathered the soul-related medicinal materials naturally to replenish the Saint’s Remnant Soul’s Soul Power.

The Saint’s Remnant Soul was slightly distracted, sensing for a moment, then spoke softly:

"Recovery is mostly complete."

Xu Yuan looked at the orderly military formations below and said softly:

"Then let’s wait for Colonel Wang’s people to notify us."

With that,

Xu Yuan asked thoughtfully:

"To tell you the truth, the situation in Shengshan County has really been an eye-opener for me, hundreds of thousands of people...

"Hey, Old Man Luo, for extraordinary powerhouses like you, are common people no longer considered the same species?"

The Saint’s Remnant Soul didn’t answer directly but instead asked:

"Xu kid,

"What do you think these Demonic Beasts, which are attacking the city and sending themselves to death, mean to the Demon Race of the Ancient Abyss?"

...

...

...

The standard military unit of the Dayan Army was five thousand people; Shengshan County’s Border Army had two such units, one brigade, precisely composing a ten thousand personnel formation. However, the constant skirmishes had long since reduced the full strength of Shengshan’s Border Army.

The army’s high cohesion and efficiency were fully demonstrated in a crisis.

Changing the guard at the Grand Illusory Fog Formation’s Demonic Beast exits, summoning leaders of various merchant groups, Xia Groups, and Escort Agencies in the city to discuss matters, transporting defensive equipment and supplies from the storage to the city walls, distributing special bows and crossbows for city defense, arranging for the refugees outside the city to enter in batches...

In one hour’s time, the Shengshan Border Army inside Shengshan County operated like a highly precise instrument, conducting an orderly dispatch.

Time ticked by,

And at an unexpected moment for everyone inside the city, a ten-zhang long lance shadow formed without any sign above the military formations outside the city. It then struck the thick fog with the swiftness of lightning, tearing a three-zhang wide opening in the fog at the instant it mingled with the dense mist in midair. Through this opening, the bright moonlight was clearly visible.

Then, a black figure wearing a mask passed through the half-air like a fleeting white horse, precisely through that three-zhang path, disappearing from sight.

And within moments of the figure’s disappearance, the torn opening quickly healed.

No, it wasn’t like that.

At the instant the mist in midair healed, the number of ferocious Demonic Beasts that surged out from the mist suddenly doubled!

Standing atop the city wall, Colonel Wang, holding a long saber, shouted loudly:

"Shengshan troops, form the battle formation, prepare to meet the enemy!"