Li Xuanling knocked on the table, and a hint of anger appeared on her exquisite face.
External forces meddling in Pingxi Plain had always been what Long Mountain most guarded against.
Ever since her father Li Tianhua led Long Mountain to rise powerfully, in Li Xuanling’s view, the entire Longyou was already in their pocket.
Even with someone like Marquis Zhaoyang Hou Hu, it doesn’t change anything!
Yet now, an external force has actually made its way in.
"We can’t wait until nightfall to send spies. Li Ying, Zhou Yuan, Meng Ying, Xuanping, the four of you set out immediately. Go and investigate the situations of Wushuang, Yang Lu, Beehive, and Hanqiong. Find out what the current status of these four families is and report back immediately with any news. Be extra cautious while outside."
The four below responded to the order, stood up promptly, answered with a bow, and swiftly headed towards the exit.
Li Xuanling continued to turn her attention to the map behind, her mind deep in concentration.
Information is extremely important.
Li Xuanling was well aware of this fact, but the issue was that everything was happening too quickly.
Over four thousand troops departed from Long Mountain on the evening of the fourteenth—half stationed to the northwest of White Abyss to cut off the communication route between White Abyss and Xiling;
The other half was personally led by her in a two-night forced march to White Abyss’s southern region, now stationed here to prevent the forces of Wushuang and Hanqiong from joining with the troops of Zhaoyang at White Abyss.
So, she brought the army of Long Mountain here just last night.
The timeline was too quick; she hadn’t even had time to send out spies. If she hadn’t noticed Wushuang’s proximity and dispatched Li Ying to investigate at dawn, they might not have known until now that Wushuang had been occupied by Great Xia.
No, they aren’t even aware of Great Xia’s presence till now.
"Wushuang, Hanqiong, Yang Lu, Beehive—these four families must have undergone unforeseen upheavals. We need only wait for Li Ying and her companions’ reports next."
After pondering for a moment, Li Xuanling turned to Li Xuandu and inquired softly:
"Is Hou Hu already over at White Abyss?"
Upon hearing this, Li Xuandu’s eyes flickered slightly, and he nodded lightly: "He’s already there. A thousand Blood Guard troops are stationed at White Abyss’s outpost, and Uncle Qing has been supervising. The forces from Xiling and White Abyss haven’t moved much; Hou Hu seems, unwilling to fight!"
Li Xuanling chuckled softly, saying: "It’s not unwillingness, it’s fear. Those thousand Blood Guard troops are his greatest asset in Zhaoyang. Having lost over a hundred people three days ago, he must be grieving, not daring to challenge us further."
At this, she paused slightly before continuing: "He’s well aware that Zhaoyang’s only chance of victory is to gather the forces of Wushuang, Hanqiong, Xiling, White Abyss, and Dongkang, perhaps even more camps, to deplete our Longyou troops. So, there are bound to be deployments in the south, likely arriving in the next few days. Be vigilant of the surroundings!"
There’s also a contingent of a thousand Blood Guard troops on Zhaoyang’s side, so Hou Hu is fully aware of the strength of Longyou’s forces. Without absolute numerical superiority, defeating Long Mountain is utterly impossible.
Zhaoyang alone cannot muster enough Earth-digging Realm warriors; thus, the only way to battle Long Mountain effectively is by consolidating Earth-digging Realm warriors from other camps and gathering them together.
This is why Li Xuanling immediately mobilized Longyou troops to cut off Zhaoyang’s communication passages with the other camps.
"From peak combat power to regular divisions to the quantity of ordinary Earth-digging Realm warriors, Zhaoyang has no advantage over us. Even if he does gather personnel from the five camps in Longyou, his chance of success is at most thirty percent. The only variable now is this sudden appearance of......"
"Special Envoy Qiu Peng from Great Xia requests an audience with the esteemed individuals of Long Mountain!"
A cheerful voice suddenly rang out from outside the wooden house, not only interrupting Li Xuanling’s words but also causing the remaining seven inside the house to change expressions instantly and look toward the entrance.
"People from Great Xia?"
"Special Envoy, requesting an audience!"
"What is the meaning of this?"
The seven people inside exchanged glances before all directing their gaze toward Li Xuanling.
"Let him in then, let’s hear what he has to say!"
Compared to the others, Li Xuanling appeared much more composed; she lightly waved her hand to signal the last person below, who immediately nodded, stood up, and proceeded to exit the room.
Though the wooden house was illuminated by fire, it was daylight, preventing anyone from venturing out because of Earth-digging Realm’s restrictions. Thus, only Cold Resistance Level individuals could be sent.
Similarly, since the visitor could come during broad daylight, he must also be of Cold Resistance Level, so sending a person of the same level was not considered disrespectful.
The person who went out quickly returned, leading a handsome, black-clad man with a slender long knife, slowly entering.
Upon seeing the slender long knife, Li Xuanling, along with three others below, had their gazes slightly tense, and their expressions subtly changed.
This was everyone’s first reaction upon seeing the face of the black-clad man.
Cold Resistance Level is not common; among the twelve giant camps of Longyou, those with maximum strength reaching or even exceeding thirty thousand pounds might be numerous, but those truly breaking through to Cold Resistance Level do not exceed a hundred.
And among these Cold Resistance Level individuals, the majority are over forty years old.
For example, of the eight Cold Resistance Level individuals present in Long Mountain, five are over forty, while among the remaining three, Li Xuandu and Li Xuanyan are thirty-two and thirty-seven, respectively.