The physical surroundings also restricted the demons. The high-level demons found it difficult to maneuver their massive bodies in the limited tunnel space and unleash their true power potential. They were also afraid of the tunnels collapsing upon them. As a result, they lacked the ferocity usually exhibited aboveground. Their enormous size had become a burden here.
As thick as the hide of the high-level demons were, they were howling in pain from the close-range attacks.
Injured soldiers were being moved to the back for treatment and rest. The front line impeded the demons’ progress, making the rear of the formation the safest place. Ji Fengyan made use of a closing-in strategy to continuously advance her troops, forcing the demons to flee back to their nest.
This battle had been relatively smooth-sailing. Their familiarity with the various tunnels had enabled the soldiers to fight with definite efficiency.
After just a day, Ji Fengyan’s 40,000-strong team had already advanced several kilometers. Demon corpses were strewn wherever they went. Although her troops suffered injuries, the number of fatalities were still well within an acceptable range. Most of the injured men had been immediately moved to a safe location for treatment the moment they were not fit for combat.
The demons lacked battle strategy and organization. As a result, as much energy and resources as they had to expend, the effectiveness of their efforts were close to zero.
After defeating yet another wave of demons, Ji Fengyan stopped at a three-way path. She ordered her troops to reorganize themselves, allowing them a moment to catch their breaths.
Ji Fengyan had split off over 30,000 soldiers as she traveled through the tunnels, leaving only about 8,000 men with her now.
Ji Fengyan stood at the entrance to the three-way path. Her eyes narrowed as she stared into the darkness before her.
“According to the map, we have covered about one-third of the tunnels.” Liu Huo stood beside Ji Fengyan. He wiped off some bloodstains on her face.
Ji Fengyan grinned at Liu Huo. “The next part of the battle is the real crux. The number of forked paths will increase substantially when we reach the middle portion of the tunnels, and the distances will also be shortened. It will be an intense battle.”
The demon’s nest was situated right in the center of the tunnel network. All the tunnels originated from the circular-shaped nest and spread outwards to the far reaches of the plains. Hence, the closer one got to the nest, the denser the network of tunnels.
This also meant that they would encounter more and more demons as they advanced.
They had already defeated quite a number of demons within a day. The remaining demons would have already regrouped and formulated a counter-strategy. The on-coming battles would no longer be as easy as before.
“Liu Huo, do you want to lead a team?” Ji Fengyan glanced at him. It must be said that… Liu Huo’s combat prowess had suddenly escalated. How come she never noticed that this fellow was so good at fighting?
Throughout the day, she had yet to see a single demon able to even go near him.
Liu Huo raised his brows and turned around to survey the 8,000 soldiers resting on the ground.
“You want to continue cutting off the tunnels?” Liu Huo turned back towards Ji Fengyan.
Ji Fengyan nodded.
Liu Huo gave a helpless smile and sighed. “Take these 8,000 men for yourself. Just assign me one of the tunnels and I guarantee no demon would emerge from there.”
Ji Fengyan was stunned, but then laughed out. “You are so smug, you alone can hold off a demon attack from an entire side?”
Liu Huo said resignedly, “For you, even the impossible will become possible.”