"A dead end? Cutting off our own retreat? Miss Gongyang, please take a closer look."
Sikong Jing replied with an indifferent tone before forcefully ordering, "Luohun Warriors, attack!"
As soon as the command was issued, the Soul Stealers hidden in the mountain paths surged out one after another.
At the same time, various types of traps and weapons also bombarded the three million-strong army on Luohun Road, and suddenly, both sides’ forces were fully engaged.
In that instant, Gongyang Ying was stunned and exclaimed, "No, how do you have so many soldiers?"
Looking over, the Soul Stealers seemed to be densely packed, with numbers no less than half a million.
The Soul Stealers from before never had this many members.
With a cunning smile, Sikong Jing replied, "In these days, the Soul Stealers made a name for themselves, and various bands of thieves rushed to join us. Miss Gongyang, you wouldn’t be ignorant of this simple fact, would you? Did you really think I planned to conquer the world with only two hundred thousand Soul Stealers?"
At his words, Gongyang Ying stood there dumbfounded.
She had overlooked the point that the Soul Stealers were storming into city after city, a feat that could become the stuff of legend among all the mountain bandits.
In the territory of Wang Hun State, why would any bandit group big or small pass up such an opportunity?
Of course, they all flocked to join the Soul Stealers, and naturally, their numbers continued to swell.
The Soul Eater had calculated all this from the start, which is why he was unafraid of being encircled by three million soldiers, even daring to meet them head-on.
He was far from delusional.
"Even so, you won’t win,"
"Three million against five hundred thousand, a regular army against a scattered band of mountain bandits, you’re still doomed to lose."
Gongyang Ying trembled all over, muttering continuously.
Meanwhile, Sikong Jing no longer paid attention to her, instead beginning to command the battle.
The Luohun Road was inherently easy to defend but difficult to attack, and the Soul Stealers already had the high ground...
Moreover, the 66th Army was comprised of the elites among the elites.
In contrast, the soldiers of Wang Hun State were not elite; they were only ordinary troops, and they did not have a marshal like Lu Lungan. That was the huge gap between them, a gap that was enough to compensate for the disparity in numbers...
So, as Sikong Jing began to command, the situation instantly tilted in favor of the Soul Stealers.
Each of his commands seemed to be perfectly timed to slaughter the opposing soldiers; soon the air was thick with flying blood, and the Luohun Road was littered with corpses—most of which belonged to the soldiers of Wang Hun State.
Of course, there were also many corpses of the newly joined mountain bandits.
An hour later, Zeng Youhan began to panic, screaming, "Retreat, retreat immediately!"
He was in a frenzy; he felt as if he was facing a terrifyingly unparalleled commander. He felt that every one of his commands and strategies was so feeble, completely targeted and thwarted by his opponent.
And the opponent’s gunners were even more terrifying, like Fierce Beasts wielding guns, embarking on a frenzied slaughter!
Retreat, retreat, retreat...
Thus the Wang Hun State Soldiers fled in complete disarray, while the Luohun New Thieves cackled maniacally as they pursued and butchered them; they were killing with delight.
Sikong Jing did not stop this but instead turned to look at the pale-faced Gongyang Ying, "Miss, how about my bargaining chips now?"
Shaking violently, Gongyang Ying clenched her teeth and said nothing.
But in her heart, she was utterly shocked; she had seen the command of the Soul Eater with her own eyes, it was mysteriously effective, absolutely terrifying—he was a very capable and mature commander.
She was so wrong; the scattered bandits were turned into a fearsome weapon in his hands.
Seeing Gongyang Ying silent, Sikong Jing then shouted, "Kill, chase down the Wang Hun State Soldiers."
Gongyang Ying’s delicate face lost color as she cried out, "Wait a moment, let me think about it."
Finally, Gongyang Ying stopped the pursuing Soul Stealers, intending at least to give the Wang Hun State Soldiers a chance to withdraw and catch their breath.
As for Sikong Jing, he didn’t mind and directly announced, "Withdraw the troops back to camp."
Although the Luohun New Thieves were very unwilling to follow Sikong Jing’s order, they obediently complied.
They were well aware of how terrifying the Soul Eater Leader could be.
When all the Soul Stealers had returned to the cliff on Luohun Road, Sikong Jing looked back at Gongyang Ying and inquired, "Miss Gongyang, now that I have withdrawn my troops, how have you considered our position?"
Raising her head slowly, Gongyang Ying resolutely said, "I’ve made up my mind, your stakes are still not high enough."
Her voice, almost squeezed out between her teeth, was deliberately meant to infuriate Sikong Jing.
She, Gongyang Ying, would not compromise!
However, what met her was the loud laughter of Sikong Jing. All of a sudden, Sikong Jing pointed in the direction of the fleeing soldiers and said, "Miss Gongyang, Miss Gongyang, do you really think that by retreating, the Wang Hun State Soldiers can escape?"
"You are too naive. Do you think I can’t guess your little schemes?"
"The reason I withdrew the troops is because, for me, withdrawing them is no different from continuing the pursuit... or perhaps, the biggest difference is merely allowing Zeng Youhan to live a little while longer."
These words were incredibly arrogant, but the members of the 66th Army deeply agreed with them.
If even the renowned War Soul Marshal Lu Lungan was no match for Sikong Jing, what chance did the likes of Zeng Youhan and the small Wang Hun State have?
Gongyang Ying was provoked to anger, and she couldn’t help but let out a shrill scream.
"Soul Eater Leader, you are too arrogant. Do you think you are that strong just because you have some command abilities?"
"City Lord Zeng Youhan will definitely seek reinforcements from the Imperial Capital, and the real War Soul Elite Soldiers will soon arrive."
These words were also deliberately uttered by Gongyang Ying to halt Sikong Jing’s intentions, just waiting for the reinforcements.
Yet Sikong Jing remained unmoved and slowly raised his head to look towards the skyline, replying distantly, "The reinforcements from the War Soul Dynasty will arrive in about five days. What do you think I can do in these five days?"
Having said that, Sikong Jing looked again towards Gongyang Ying...
She, with a cold face, firmly retorted, "You can do nothing. Five days is for the elite soldiers’ support... but Wang Hun State is surrounded by three other states, and these states will immediately send troops. As long as I am here, they will have to come to our aid."
Gongyang Ying had thought it through clearly, Wang Hun State was not on the border, and naturally, there were other states nearby.
Distant waters cannot quench a nearby fire, so she would seek the help of nearby waters.
Although the nearby waters were not that powerful, they would be enough to overwhelm and thoroughly inundate the Soul Stealers when combined from three states.
In the past, other states might have made excuses not to help or sent a few people to cope with the situation.
But her, Gongyang Ying’s status was too high; therefore, the states would definitely not dare to neglect their duty and would surely come with full force to exterminate the threat.
If three million troops were not enough, then bring ten million!
Sikong Jing sighed softly, then added, "Miss Gongyang, why must you make such a fuss? It’s just about a Thousand-year-old White Ginseng; is it really worth all this trouble?"
Upon hearing this, Gongyang Ying sneered coldly and stopped talking, her expression resolute.
Now, it was no longer just about the Thousand-year-old White Ginseng; it was about the prestige of the War Soul Dynasty. If the Soul Stealers were allowed to create havoc , even the War Soul Emperor might lose face.
Even if the situation were to be settled with a Thousand-year-old White Ginseng now, it would still be a loss of face for everyone in the War Soul Dynasty.
Thus, the Soul Stealers must be annihilated!