This is a cultivation game, but the operation is bad

After a series of system notifications, Jiang Liu landed firmly on the top of Zhenmo City and craned his neck to look at the battlefield outside the city. The more he looked, the more incredulous he became.

Outside the city, the demonic army has become a vast sea!
How many monsters did we kill?

Those who don't know might think that the game's background is all about the demonic forces suppressing the righteous forces!

Clearly, with the intervention of the planners, the strength of the demonic forces has been greatly increased, to the point that they can even suppress the righteous forces in the Central Plains.

On the territory of the righteous path, they seized the city of the righteous path, thus fulfilling the dream of the demonic forces that had lasted for tens of thousands of years.

Amen, this is the power of planning.

Under the city.

The demonic army gave the righteous forces no chance to breathe. From the vanguard of Nascent Soul stage demon soldiers to the assault team led by the Integration stage demon general, and then to the support group with the Tribulation stage demon general in charge, a vast, dark sea surged toward the Demon Suppression City.

The blood-red demonic blades in the demonic soldiers' hands gleamed with a chilling light that corroded the soul. They unleashed one demonic slash after another from a distance, and countless demonic bullets rained down on the city walls like hailstones.

The attacks of the demonic cultivators clashed with the sword energy and spells of the righteous cultivators, exploding into a shower of light and black turbidity, filling the heavens and earth with the sounds of battle. The deafening roar was so loud it hurt people's eardrums.

The righteous NPC cultivators on the city wall were already fighting a bloody battle. Ling Xuan Zhenren, an NPC who had reached the Great Perfection of Tribulation Transcending, stood beside the Demon Suppression Pillar. His white hair was stained with blood, and his whisk in his hand scattered thousands of golden lights, barely withstanding the combined bombardment of several Tribulation Transcending Demon Generals.

However, several of the Tribulation Transcending cultivators around him had already perished, and the Integration stage cultivators fell like wheat being harvested. Some were pierced through the chest by demonic blades, while others had their souls devoured by demonic energy. Their corpses rolled down the city wall and were instantly trampled into mincemeat by the demonic soldiers.

Good heavens, since when did righteous cultivators become as insignificant as ants?

Is this still the era of cultivating immortality?

"These demonic monsters dare to act so recklessly outside the main city I'm stationed in; they really don't take me seriously!"

Jiang Liu was displeased by what he saw, snorted coldly, and was about to fly down the city wall to start a killing spree.

Just as he lightly touched the city wall with his toes and was about to leap out, a cold system notification exploded in his mind like a thunderclap.

[System Warning: Player Jiang Liu is the lead guardian of Zhenmo City and must oversee and command operations from the City Lord's Mansion. He is strictly prohibited from personally participating in frontline combat.]

Jiang Liu: “????”

What the heck is this?!

Jiang Liu's figure froze in mid-air, almost falling headfirst.

The guardians of Demon Suppression City are to sit in the city and command, and are strictly prohibited from personally participating in the fighting!

Worthy!

"What the hell?"

Jiang Liu stared wide-eyed at the system notification box in front of him in disbelief.

I'm fully equipped and have the City Lord buff, killing these demon bastards is like cutting melons and vegetables. You won't let me make a move?
If you won't let me take action, what's the point of me coming here?
Jiang Liu was so angry he laughed. Undeterred, he once again urged his sword energy, trying to ignore the system prompts and charge down. But this time, the system immediately triggered the penalty mechanism.

[System Second Warning: If the lead guardian participates in the battle without authorization, 5000 guardian contribution points will be deducted immediately, all city lord exclusive buffs will be nullified, the Demon Suppression Pillar's blessing will be halved, and if the guardian insists on intervening, the prerequisite for the mission penalty will be triggered. If the main city is lost, the guardian's cultivation level will drop by an additional major realm.]

Jiang Liu: “.”

OKJB, system, calm down, I was just kidding.

If you're not going to do anything, then don't. Why are you taking it so seriously? You're scaring the baby.

"Damn it!" Jiang Liu cursed angrily, not understanding what this damn mission was trying to do.

If we don't let him take action, what use is he?

Could they really be making him the commander?

I laughed. He's never even been a squad leader. Can he really command this major battle?

If I'm not allowed to take action, then I'll have to become the commander first.

Maybe once most of the people are dead, he'll be able to make his move.

We can't just let him stand by and watch, can we?
"So you're in charge of the city lord's mansion, huh?"

Jiang Liu opened the mini-map, entered the city, and headed straight for the city lord's mansion.

Enter the city lord's mansion and walk into the main hall.

In the center of the main hall hung a defensive terrain map of the Demon Suppression City. Around it were tokens for mobilizing defensive equipment and lists of war supplies. Seven or eight NPC advisors dressed in Taoist robes were anxiously discussing the map. The one leading them was none other than Ling Xuan Zhenren, a NPC who had reached the Great Perfection of the Tribulation Transcending Realm.

Ok?
Wasn't this guy just outside the city being beaten up by a group of demonic NPCs? How did he end up in the city lord's mansion?
The plot follows me, right?
Ling Xuan Zhenren's hair and beard were disheveled, and he had a deep, bone-revealing demonic wound on his shoulder. Upon seeing Jiang Liu enter, he immediately said with a worried expression, "Director Jiang, you've arrived! The demonic army's offensive is fierce. More than half of the arrow towers on the left flank have been destroyed, and the right flank's formation base is about to be breached. Please give us your orders to redeploy our forces. How should we deploy our defenses?"

Jiang Liu: “.”

Waaah, I don't understand, what does this mean?
Jiang Liu stood in front of the defensive terrain map, looking at the dense array of array points, arrow towers, and troop distribution markings, and felt his head buzzing.

He has never been a commander in games. He usually fights monsters by himself, charging in recklessly. He knows nothing about troop deployment or even the simplest offensive and defensive coordination.

What left wing, right wing, what formation base, arrow tower—in his eyes, they were no different from heavenly books.

Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, Master Lingxuan couldn't help but ask again, "Director Jiang, the situation is urgent. If you don't give the order soon, the left wing will be completely lost!"

Jiang Liu gritted his teeth. Since he didn't know how to command anyway, he simply waved his hand and said casually, "What's the panic? It's no big deal. Ling Xuan Zhenren, you few who have reached the Great Perfection of Tribulation, each lead a team. The rest of the cultivators, don't gather together. Just fight yourselves. Fight however you want, use your skills, kill as many demon fodders as you can, and hold your positions to prevent the demon soldiers from rushing into the city."

Upon hearing this, the main hall of the city lord's mansion fell into complete silence.

Ling Xuan Zhenren stood there, stunned, staring at Jiang Liu with a look of astonishment. He thought he had misheard and asked in bewilderment, "Director Jiang, you said... each fighting their own battles?"

"Yeah, everyone's fighting their own battles."

Jiang Liu nodded and said matter-of-factly, "You are all experts at the Great Perfection of Tribulation Transcending, are you afraid of those demon soldiers? Don't worry about any formations, just kill them all. As long as the demon soldiers don't break through the city, do whatever is convenient for you."

He thought the idea made sense. After all, the NPCs under his command were at least at the Nascent Soul stage, and there were even a few at the Tribulation stage. They could fight independently and have more freedom to act, which was better than him giving orders blindly.

Ling Xuan Zhenren hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself. He had fought for hundreds of years and had never seen such an absurd command. However, Jiang Liu was the guardian of Zhenmo City and held the highest command authority. Even though he was full of opposition, he could only obey the order.

"Follow the order!"

Ling Xuan Zhenren reluctantly cupped his hands, then turned to the other NPCs and ordered, "Fellow Daoists, as Director Jiang has commanded, fight your own battles and defend your respective zones to the death!"

The other NPCs at the Tribulation Transcending stage immediately accepted the order and left, each leading a team of cultivators to different defense zones. The advisors could only follow Jiang Liu's instructions and arbitrarily allocate defensive equipment without any specific focus or priority, hoping only to hold the city walls.

Yes, it's quite obvious that the NPCs don't have much confidence in Jiang Liu.

Similarly, Jiang Liu didn't have much confidence in himself.

He has no idea how to give instructions; all he knows is how to click away. (End of Chapter)