Immortal Path Space

Chapter 346: Vanguard

After Wang Hong and his two groups of soldiers separated, he left Wen Lan in charge of the merchant caravan to rest in place. The major battle had just begun, and all the strongholds were well-stocked with supplies, so they wouldn't run out of provisions anytime soon.

Wang Hong took the lead on his Flying Boat and began patrolling the area under his responsibility. In this region, there were a total of five strongholds, each strategically located on vital routes.

Each stronghold was manned by several thousand soldiers and had a commander in charge. Wang Hong first arrived at the first stronghold, which had over four thousand people, including more than thirty Foundation Building cultivators.

The stronghold had some rudimentary walls built around it, standing about ten feet tall and offering minimal defense.

"Where is your commander? Have him come out to meet me," Wang Hong shouted to the cultivators stationed on the walls as he and his group landed their Flying Boat outside the stronghold.

After a moment, a group of Foundation Building cultivators emerged from behind the walls, with one of them being Fu Li, the same man who had escaped during Fellowship Alliance's attack on Mountain Valley.

After escaping the pursuit that day, Fu Li had gone into hiding, living a low-key life and occasionally robbing smaller factions for survival. However, when the forces of the major factions returned to the scene, they issued an ultimatum to Treasure Hunters like him: join them or face death.

Like many other Treasure Hunters, Fu Li had chosen to join the major factions for safety. Before long, he was assigned to this stronghold to defend it.

"It's you!" Luo Zhongjie, who was behind Wang Hong, immediately recognized Fu Li and his aura surged, as if he was ready to attack without hesitation.

Wang Hong also recognized Fu Li's identity. He had received information from Liu Changsheng about the high-ranking members of the Fellowship Alliance, so he was familiar with them. Wang Hong had no intention of stopping Luo Zhongjie's actions; he thought it might be good to establish some dominance, and if necessary, he could eliminate Fu Li directly.

"I ask for your forgiveness, Fellow Daoist. I was originally a legitimate family cultivator. I joined the Fellowship Alliance only because I had no other choice at the time. I was coerced into it," Fu Li apologized cautiously to Wang Hong. Then, he passionately expressed his determination to fight against the Demon Clan.

Fu Li was genuinely afraid that Wang Hong might kill him in a fit of anger, considering how Fellowship Alliance had suffered at Wang Hong's hands before. The formidable impression of the East Zhou Merchant Caravan had deeply imprinted itself in his mind, and he dared not be Wang Hong's enemy anymore. Moreover, even if he were to resist, he had no confidence that he could gain any advantage with his current resources.

"Very well, since you are now dedicated to fighting the Demon Clan, defend your stronghold diligently. Starting today, you must hold it for a month without allowing a single Demonic Beast to cross the border. If you fail, you will be held accountable. Now, tell me, how is the situation with the Demonic Beasts? Have there been any incursions by their hordes here?" Wang Hong asked, temporarily letting Fu Li off the hook and inquiring about the Demonic Beast situation.

"Since we've been stationed here, we've intercepted three waves of Demonic Beasts, with their numbers ranging from two thousand to five thousand," Fu Li reported.

Fu Li breathed a sigh of relief, finally putting this page behind him. While introducing the situation to Wang Hong, he led Wang Hong and his group into the stronghold.

Wang Hong conducted a thorough inspection of the stronghold and found that Fu Li had managed it quite efficiently. Not spotting any issues, he made a brief stop and then proceeded to the next stronghold.

The five strongholds under Wang Hong's jurisdiction were not too far apart, allowing for mutual support if one stronghold faced a heavy attack.

Soon, Wang Hong had visited all five strongholds and was surprised to find that all the stronghold commanders were former Treasure Hunters.

Upon Wang Hong's arrival, some, like Fu Li, were cautious and feared repercussions. Others, however, were more arrogant due to their numbers and strength.

One of the strongholds was led by Bai Yikui, who commanded over a hundred Foundation Building cultivators. Before being recruited, Bai Yikui had been a notorious and long-standing bandit leader, causing trouble for many smaller factions. People held deep grudges against him, but they were helpless to deal with him until Qingxu Sect took a tough stance. Under Qi Shaoqing's supervision, they had been kept in check. However, now, with Wang Hong leading a group that didn't include any Qingxu Sect disciples, Bai Yikui felt no fear or respect.

Taking advantage of the weak and fearing the strong was the nature of these Treasure Hunters. Wang Hong had no immediate plans to confront them as long as they diligently defended their strongholds. Since the true Beast Tide had not arrived yet, the current influx of Demonic Beasts was not too numerous, and their size wasn't particularly large.

Over the next ten days, Wang Hong had a relatively relaxed time. Only a few small waves of Demonic Beasts arrived, and they were easily repelled.

During this time, Wang Hong urged the strongholds to further fortify their walls, emphasizing the importance of height. When the actual Beast Tide arrived, these low defensive walls would allow many Demonic Beasts to easily jump over them.

After these ten days of hard work, the walls of the various strongholds had been significantly raised and strengthened.

One day, Wang Hong was at one of the strongholds where more than two thousand Demonic Beasts were about to launch an attack. Suddenly, he received an urgent message from a commander named Feng Chang, reporting that a large group of Demonic Beasts was approaching his stronghold.

Wang Hong immediately took flight on his Flying Boat with his team, heading towards Feng Chang's stronghold. When he arrived, he saw a massive swarm of Demonic Beasts about a mile away, accompanied by a cloud-like formation of flying Demonic Beasts.

A rough estimate put the total number of this wave of Demonic Beasts at tens of thousands, indicating that the vanguard of the Beast Tide had likely arrived. The total number of defenders at this particular stronghold was only around five thousand, with just over forty Foundation Building cultivators. The difference in strength was staggering.

"You, take a few people and go to the other strongholds to gather reinforcements," Wang Hong quickly instructed Luo Zhongjie, who promptly departed.

"Ling Shuai! Ling Xue! You two will command the Flying Boat now. Lead the remaining eighty Qi Cultivation stage members to confront the flying Demonic Beasts in the sky," Wang Hong ordered.

Since the flying Demonic Beasts were faster than the crawling ones and were already at the forefront of the Beast Tide, this was an opportunity to eliminate them before the full-scale battle began.

"Feng Chang, lead the original forty Foundation Building cultivators from this stronghold. Take to the air and position yourselves as the right wing of the Flying Boat."

"All Foundation Building stage members, listen up! Follow behind me and serve as the left wing of the Flying Boat."

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