Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 312 - 226: The Appetite of the Barbarian Tribes_2

Chapter 312: Chapter 226: The Appetite of the Barbarian Tribes_2

Now, the city’s defenses are scant; most of the dispatched military forces have already headed north to clash with the barbarians.

If the barbarians were to strike, the city might be breached directly.

Looking up to the distance,

at this moment, those three shadows, nearly as tall as the Northern Border City walls, had gradually moved to twenty miles south of the city, confronting it from afar.

Seeing this, Yuan Hao’s pupils shrank:

"That is..."

The light sparked in Cang Leping’s eyes as he activated his cultivation technique:

"Ice Beast Colossi."

"Ice Beast Colossi?!"

Yuan Hao pondered for a moment, then froze: "How could the main force of the barbarians suddenly appear in the south?"

The creatures’ colossal size indicated enormous consumption of resources; nurturing such a war beast in the barren snowy wilderness of the Northern Frontier was an immense cost.

In other words, this thing was the barbarians’ coffin book.

The presence of this coffin book south of the city meant this attack was no feint.

The next instant,

Yuan Hao’s tone took on a hint of murderous intent as he glanced at the giant military camps within the city: "The barbarians couldn’t have tampered with our Dayan chariots... Vice-Commander Cang, this is blatant treason."

Vice-Commander Cang was unmoved, simply saying:

"The Sects of the Northern Frontier, no matter how foolish, would not make such a blunder. The urgent matter at hand is to hold Northern Border City."

And while they spoke,

a striking figure in fiery red robes floated down.

Upon seeing the newcomer,

Vice-Commander Cang was stunned for a moment and quickly knelt to pay respects, his voice trembling:

"Your Highness, weren’t you secretly visiting? Why have you suddenly come..."

"Shut up."

The icy gaze, cold enough to kill, swept over the two, Li Qingyan said coldly:

"If I don’t step in, who will unify the military forces inside Northern Border City now?"

"....."

Atop the city walls, the wind and snow were desolate, all silent.

Now, in the bid to exterminate the barbarians, Northern Border City had practically deployed all of its elite troops, further isolated by the blizzard disaster in the snowy plains.

The only forces that could be directly mobilized were Yuan Hao’s ten thousand soldiers of the Black Scale Army and the Feathered Forest Army, which had retreated to the rear to receive reinforcements.

All told, no more than thirty thousand.

Although the elite forces from the various Sects were mostly holed up in Houting County, they had also left behind some troops to guard their homesteads, and putting together the forces of the many Sects and Sect families amounted to roughly a hundred thousand.

But without a unifying figure to stand up and consolidate them, it would likely end up much like the previous siege of the Northern Border, every group shirking responsibility, preserving their own strength, with none wanting to fight the hard battle at the barbarians’ main point of attack.

This abrupt crisis forced Li Qingyan to step in.

Li Qingyan’s eyes, fiery red, burned with resolve as she stared at the distant colossal black shadows, exhaling a white breath:

"Cang Leping, with barbarians of such scale circling to the south of Northern Border, what exactly have you been up to these days?"

Cang Leping opened his mouth but ultimately did not speak, lowering his head:

"I’m incompetent, willing to accept military punishment."

Li Qingyan clenched her fists, a swirl of murderous intent in her eyes, but she eventually sighed:

"Stand up. At a time when every man is needed, how would you have me execute you?"

"....."

Seeing the atmosphere slightly eased, Yuan Hao, who was also kneeling on the ground, timely interjected:

"Prince Wu Yuan, you can’t blame Commander Cang entirely for the barbarian forces reaching the south. They must have sneaked over through the forests around both sides of the mountain."

Li Qingyan cast a cold glance at Yuan Hao, her demeanor unchanged by his Black Scale Army uniform, her voice very cold:

"I can understand that the disaster of blizzards gives these barbarians an advantage, and I can understand if the barbarians take mountain paths, but tell me, how can such a large target as the Ice Beast Colossi suddenly appear south of Northern Border City?"

As she spoke,

Li Qingyan took a deep breath, exhaling a cloud of white vapor on top of the city wall:

"Cang Leping, I was waiting outside the city today and saw the flying Scouts leave the city at the time of the third watch and come back at the time of the fourth watch.

"Two quarters of an hour... Is that enough time to scout a hundred miles?"

"Vice-Commander Cang, tell me, who is responsible for scouting the area near Northern Border City?"

"......"

Hearing this, Vice-Commander Cang immediately realized that the other party was looking to kill someone to make an example, and urgently whispered low:

"Your Highness, in such heavy snow, if flying Scouts continue to venture deep, they can easily lose their way and not return."

"Cang Leping, do you really think I dare not kill you?!"

Li Qingyan’s voice turned sharp: "I taught you to treat soldiers as your children, not to spoil them rotten. This is negligence, do you truly not understand what it means if Northern Border City falls?!"

Vice-Commander Cang’s frame trembled, and he reluctantly spat out the name of a person...

...

...

...

Inside the boudoir of Lou Ji in Northern Border City,

the previously relaxed atmosphere of friendly tussling had completely vanished.

Xu Yuan sat quietly on Lou Ji’s bed, like an auspicious mascot.

Meanwhile, Lou Ji, holding the Tianxun Source Crystal that Xu Yuan had just given her, was busily contacting all sorts of disorderly people right in front of him.

Two quarters of an hour later, Lou Ji ceased her cultivation technique and directly retracted the Tianxun Crystal Orb back into her Sumeru Ring.

Witnessing this, Xu Yuan’s lips twitched, but he did not ask for it back.

Because he knew that asking for it now would likely be futile.

Sitting beside him with a heavy sigh, Lou Ji said,

"Changtian... if the situation turns sour, follow your sister back to the Imperial Capital immediately."

Hearing this, Xu Yuan’s brow furrowed slightly:

"From what I heard of your conversation with those people just now, isn’t the situation still under control?"

Lou Ji looked into Xu Yuan’s eyes, her gaze complex:

"Changtian, this incident resembles the Nine Lotus Sect revolt from seventeen years ago."

"The Nine Lotus Sect revolt..." Xu Yuan murmured, "The incident that arose from the founding of the Tian’an Martial Hall?"

Lou Ji nodded, her beautiful face wearing a somber expression:

"The Sects must have obtained some information. They are seeking revenge for the decisions made by the Emperor and your father, just like what they did to the Emperor and your mother all those years ago. Back then, the Emperor led the campaign himself and was betrayed. Although the initial goal was achieved, you know how it ended."

Xu Yuan opened his mouth but said nothing.

A lesson.

The lesson that the powerful Sect conglomerate taught the Emperor.

And now, to equate this incident with that one?

After a long silence, Xu Yuan glanced out of the window:

"Sister, what’s happening outside?"

Lou Ji crossed her legs, revealing her fair thighs from the slit of her dress, and said in a hushed tone:

"Spies acting in the name of our Tian’an Commerce Assembly have blown up the Triumphal Arch in the South City."

"What?" Xu Yuan was momentarily stunned.

Lou Ji raised a hand to her temple, rubbing it with her thumb and forefinger:

"Don’t look at me like that. The Sects also have their talented individuals. If Sister can plant spies within them, they can certainly do the same."

"Have the spies been rooted out?"

"There are a few suspects, but nothing certain yet."

"What about the Barbarian Tribes?"

Xu Yuan asked pensively, "Destroying the city walls with spies, does that mean they’re coordinating with the Barbarian Tribes for the siege?"

Lou Ji gave Xu Yuan a peculiar look and counter-questioned:

"Why do I feel like you’re not at all panicked, Changtian?"

Xu Yuan fell silent, spreading his hands:

"Panicking now is of no use, and besides, the Barbarian Tribes haven’t breached the city yet, have they? Even if the Sects aim to replicate the incident from years ago, those two Princes within the city walls should be the prime targets, not me, a mere profligate son scarcely worth their full mobilization."

With a complex look at Xu Yuan, Lou Ji spoke softly:

"Alright, the Barbarian Army has been sighted to the south of the city."

Upon hearing this confirmation, Xu Yuan pondered and quietly murmured:

"The south of the city? Have these Barbarians taken the mountainous routes?"

Northern Border City lay between two mountain ranges on a plain. To bypass it from the south would mean taking routes through forests and cliff faces, where one misstep could lead to a brutal fall, and large siege weapons would be difficult to transport.

Thinking this, Xu Yuan mentally outlined the current situation of the Northern Frontier.

From north to south:

Barbarian harassing forces.

At Dali Mountain, Marquis Wucheng and Zong Qingsheng.

The Houting line, three hundred thousand elite troops from the Northern Border Sects.

Northern Border City, Li Qingyan.

Barbarian Army.

"......"

And with this outline formed,

Xu Yuan looked at Lou Ji with disbelief in his eyes:

"Sister,"

"Could this Barbarian Strange King really be intending,"

"to swallow up Dayan’s seven hundred thousand elite troops stationed in the Northern Frontier?"