Li Hu showed no mercy; with a swift motion, he decapitated Zhu Rou.
Waiting for the farce to end, Xia Hong finally turned his gaze back to Li Tiancheng above, cupped his hands again, and smiled, "Senior Li, Long Mountain has been defeated. Let’s not let those outside make unnecessary sacrifices, shall we?"
Li Tiancheng remained silent for a long time, but a Li family member in front of him mustered the courage to step forward and angrily pointed at Xia Hong:
"You think we’ll surrender? Never. Long Mountain still has three thousand Longyou Army waiting for the leader to return with reinforcements, and all of you will die here. I swear by..."
Conveniently, there was a short sword by his foot. Xia Hong kicked it up, and it flew directly into the man’s forehead, interrupting his words.
The body hit the ground with a thud, causing everyone in the hall to shudder.
"Senior Li, what do you think?"
From start to finish, Xia Hong never glanced at the man but continued to focus on Li Tiancheng behind the high platform, asking again.
Li Tiancheng, whose gaze had been fixed on Li Hu, seemed to have just come to his senses, looking at Xia Hong with a heavy sigh:
"Defeating Long Mountain at your hands is no injustice..."
But his face was clearly filled with unwillingness, pausing for a moment, he asked in a voice tinged with struggle, "My Long Mountain still has more than fifty Cold Resistance Level soldiers and three thousand Longyou Army outside. Xia Hong, do you truly believe you can secure this victory?"
"They won’t come back!"
Xia Hong answered directly, and seeing the confusion on Li Tiancheng’s face, he smiled, adding, "Whether those three thousand Longyou Army win or lose in the Beehive, they won’t be coming back!"
Li Tiancheng asked, still unwilling to accept it.
Xia Hong didn’t answer directly but retrieved his Dragon Sparrow Saber from Li Hu’s hands nearby, then threw it fiercely at Li Tiancheng on the platform.
The Dragon Sparrow Saber flew from Xia Hong’s hand, transforming almost immediately into a silver streak, slicing past Li Tiancheng’s ear and piercing through the rear wall.
After the Dragon Sparrow Saber pierced the wall, it was two or three breaths before it struck something, emitting a loud crash.
The others were still puzzled, but Li Tiancheng’s expression changed drastically.
"Do you wonder why I just cut off one of your arms?"
Li Tiancheng’s eyes trembled violently; others were oblivious, but he understood.
The distance from the main building to the mountain behind was about a kilometer. Xia Hong’s casual throw just now took less than three breaths and made such a loud noise from that distance.
Xia Hong’s power far surpassed his own.
"Do you wonder why I just cut off one of your arms?"
Along with Xia Hong’s rhetorical question, Li Tiancheng realized Xia Hong had the chance to kill him during the siege.
Why did he intentionally only sever one arm?
It was, of course, to create a scene, showing the severed arm to the Longyou Army, compelling Li Xuanling to lead the troops back for reinforcements. Xia Hong had sent Yuwen Dao with the severed arm and Li Xuankong’s head in front of everyone, and Li Tiancheng had heard it.
"Impossible, even if Xuanling leads three thousand troops back, you have no means to deal with her. Your Great Xia simply doesn’t have this capability!"
Watching Li Tiancheng with his stubborn stance, Xia Hong continued with a gentle smile, "Upon seeing your severed arm, along with Li Xuankong’s head, even if she knows returning is a mistake, she can’t resist the three thousand soldiers and those fifty Cold Resistance Levels. Checking the time, Yuwen Dao should have only over four hours left before reaching Beehive..."
A dizzying sensation overwhelmed him, and Li Tiancheng suddenly felt deflated.
In over four hours, it’s impossible to return from the Beehive to Long Mountain with normal marching!
To speed up, Li Xuanling can only lead the troops through the Great Xia tunnels.
Xia Hong’s meaning was clear enough; they had tampered with the tunnels.
"I don’t believe it, Xuanling is incredibly shrewd and wouldn’t fall for such a trick; she won’t lead the troops through the tunnels."
"No matter how smart she is, she can’t override human nature. Enough..."
Xia Hong no longer wanted to discuss more with Li Tiancheng, waving to cut him off, pointing to the eastern side of the main building, "Let’s wait and see the outcome of the three thousand Longyou Army, but for now, Senior Li, let’s not let Long Mountain suffer more unnecessary casualties. Please!"
Li Tiancheng closed his eyes, standing and walking with Xia Hong towards the eastern outer corridor of the main building.
Hou Jing’s ten thousand soldiers were still about three hundred meters from the main building and making little progress, but behind them, a Golden Armor Army of about six hundred men stood.
Watching the people from Long Mountain below suffer rapid casualties, a trace of reluctance flashed in Li Tiancheng’s eyes. After hesitating for a moment, he finally opened his mouth, shouting towards the building below:
"Surrender! Stop the senseless resistance."
Li Tiancheng’s voice, easily recognizable in Long Mountain, made those below, especially those with Earth-digging Realm cultivation, turn to see him atop the main building, their faces mixed with desolation and reluctance, yet ultimately they slowly lowered their weapons.
Many had already surrendered, and Li Tiancheng’s words acted like a catalyst. A large number of Earth-digging Realm soldiers dropped their weapons first, followed by more and more.
The resistance among the Logging Realm and ordinary people was even smaller, and in just over ten breaths, they had all laid down their weapons and surrendered.
Although some small-scale resistance remained, it lasted less than a hundred breaths before Hou Jing’s troops quenched it.
Xia Hong turned his gaze to the massive mountain behind the western side of the main building, showing a trace of excitement, clenching his fists slightly.
Long Mountain has changed hands!
"Hou Jing, lead Zhaoyang and Dongkang’s families with five thousand men to confiscate the surrendered soldiers’ weapons and clean up all hiding rebels within the base;
Chen Yingba, lead Xiling and White Abyss’s families with over two thousand Earth-digging Realm to quickly repair the breach in the northern wall;
Wu Tianxing, lead Changning, Song Yuan, and Yucheng’s families with over three thousand Earth-digging Realm to patrol and guard the base, responsible for any trouble;
Liu Yuan, assign three hundred Cloud Dragon Army to Peng Bo, and patrol the walls with the remaining Cloud Dragon Army. From now on, no one leaves the base, and no one sneaks in;
Peng Bo, three hundred Cloud Dragon Army are assigned to you, additionally, Hou Xing, Zhang Ying, and Kong Fan, the three Cold Resistance Levels are under your command. Identify and lock up all senior members of Long Mountain and Li family in the dungeon one by one."
"Understood!" Newest update provıded by 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝※𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖※𝕟𝕖𝕥
The eight Cold Resistance Levels, including Hou Jing, bowed to Xia Hong, and after receiving their orders, they quickly took their people to attend to their tasks.