Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

The fire is still raging and is estimated to take at least a day or two to extinguish, especially the fires that have been coated with phosphorus wax, which can only be left to die off on their own.

Mo Yuming learned from the surrendered soldiers that most of the provisions were collected from Shangyuan City, while some were purchased at a high price from Zhenglan Kingdom.

Due to the large quantity, the grain was divided into two batches. Only one batch was burned, while a large amount of grain was still stored in the city lord's mansion in Luoxia City.

The force guarding this batch of provisions consisted of two thousand cavalrymen and five thousand city defense troops under Lord Liao. The leader was a level nine Earth-rank cavalry general and two Heaven-rank Dharma Masters, along with four magic crystal cannons.

After discussing with the old men, Mo Yuming concluded that they must go and meet Su Yangyan as soon as possible.

Despite having so many heavily armed guards in Luoxia City, and having already sent Leopard and Master Xi to reinforce it, it seems that the enemy's strength was underestimated.

If they act rashly, it will be extremely dangerous.

Furthermore, this blockade only destroyed the enemy's supplies, and the loss of troops was not significant.

Besides the two thousand surrendered soldiers, nearly seven or eight thousand more troops will retreat back to Luoxia City, including two Heavenly Realm experts.

Once they return to the city and rejoin the garrison, the enemy's defensive forces will be even stronger.

With just a dozen or so people, they can't make much of a difference.

Because the fire blocked the road to Luoxia City, Mo Yuming and the others had no choice but to take a detour through the mountains.

However, the mountain path was narrow and steep, making it impossible for the Crimson Cloud Horse to use.

The Crimson Cloud Horse is a top-class warhorse and extremely valuable; it would be a real pity to discard it.

Fortunately, this area is under the jurisdiction of Luoxia City, and Su Ce is very familiar with the terrain here. He knows that there is a ranch nearby where he can temporarily raise Crimson Cloud Horses.

Therefore, Mo Yuming dispatched Su Ce and Xingye to lead a team of soldiers to transport the horses and the armor and equipment of the cavalry to be stored there, and then come to meet Mo Yuming.

Mo Yuming's mission this time mainly relies on surprise attacks. The lighter the equipment, the more agile he will be. Just like the Falcon Team, they are all dressed in black tight-fitting clothes and carry nothing but weapons.

Armor and similar equipment are actually a burden.

Although it lacks protection, it is much more flexible and mobile.

The group quietly arrived outside Luoxia City, and Mo Yuming ordered all the soldiers to choose a place to hide.

He then dispatched Da Ye and Feng Ye, led by Su Ce, to sneak into the city and meet with Su Yangyan, and to decide on the next step after confirming the situation.

Half an hour later, Su Yangyan personally arrived at the hiding place of Mo Yuming and the others.

As expected, Su Yangyan and the others, following their previous agreement, prepared to launch their operation amidst the chaos after the ambush on Mo Yuming's side began.

However, when they sneaked into the city lord's mansion, they found that something was wrong.

Contrary to previous reconnaissance, the defenses within the manor remained very tight. It was not weakened by the removal of the grain supplies; on the contrary, it was heavily guarded.

Fortunately, the City Lord's Mansion was originally Su Yangyan's residence, and no one was more familiar with all the facilities inside than him.

After realizing that something was wrong, Su Yangyan and the others quickly retreated without alerting the garrison inside.

Mo Yuming introduced Su Yangyan to Ge Zhuang, who had just surrendered.

Ge Zhuang was one of the guest advisors invited by the Marquis, and he was very clear about the situation in the garrison.

This time, the Marquis not only brought 100,000 elite troops, but also selected ten Heavenly Rank experts from his advisors and retainers.

The Marquis only had about twenty guest ministers, most of whom were between the first and third levels of the Heavenly Rank.

Heavenly Realm experts are already extremely rare, and Heavenly Realm Level 4 and above experts are even rarer, so it is very difficult for ordinary marquises and kings to recruit Heavenly Realm Level 4 experts.

The fact that the king mobilized ten Heavenly Realm experts at once and personally led the troops in battle demonstrates the importance he placed on this campaign.

Of the ten guest elders who came this time, five were at the first level of the Heavenly Rank, three were at the second level of the Heavenly Rank, and two were at the third level of the Heavenly Rank.

There were also ten generals at the peak of the Earth Rank. In the ambush at Dangerous Rock Valley, one Heaven Rank Level 1 guest elder and two generals were killed by the impact.

The old man Hu who was ambushed and killed on the nameless hillside was one of the two Heavenly Rank Level 3 experts.

Another Heavenly Rank Level 3 expert was kept by the Marquis's side as his personal protector.

The general who was killed earlier was also one of the Ten Great Generals, and he had only been promoted to the Heavenly Rank for less than a few months. If he had survived this battle, he would definitely have been promoted to Grand General or Young Marshal upon returning.

Before the war even officially began, the Marquis's Heavenly Rank experts had already lost two, and with the defection of Ge Zhuang, three of his ten guest advisors had been lost as well.

Of the ten generals, only seven remain.

The greatest loss was the complete annihilation of the entire supply train.

In just a few days, the fighting strength of the Marquis's army shrank by nearly one-third.

Most importantly, Mo Yuming has completely cut off the supply lines! As long as Mo Yuming destroys this last reserve of food, the Marquis's army will collapse without a fight in just a few days.

Taking the initiative to attack the enemy forces holed up in the city lord's mansion is much more difficult than ambushing them in the dark, especially with the magic crystal cannons that even Heaven-rank experts find hard to dodge, which makes the attack even more difficult.

Finally, after careful consideration, Mo Yuming made a bold decision.

He ordered Ge Zhuang to lead the Falcon Team and some of the more capable surrendered soldiers, disguised as stragglers who had escaped, to infiltrate the mansion as inside agents.

Because the entire transport convoy was cut off by fire, the troops behind had no way of knowing that the general at the front had been killed and the soldiers had defected.

In addition, Ge Zhuang was also one of the guest advisors, and his status in the army was very high.

After the Heavenly Rank 3 Elder Hu was killed, among the remaining four Heavenly Rank experts, only one Heavenly Rank 2 expert had the strength to contend with him; the other three were no match for him.

Now is the perfect time to infiltrate. With the main general killed and the army leaderless, coordination among tens of thousands of troops will be extremely chaotic.

Guest advisors and experts all act alone, do not lead troops into battle, and do not manage the affairs assigned to soldiers.

The rank of the General of the Cavalry who remained in charge was slightly lower than that of the deceased general, and the soldiers he led were only the two thousand men guarding the mansion.

The 10,000-strong army escorting the supplies was not under his command.

Since the fate of the general leading the troops is still unknown, he doesn't dare to pay too much attention to the defeated soldiers. He simply designated an area within the mansion to settle them down before sending soldiers to investigate.

Mo Yuming instructed Ge Zhuang and his men to enter the city as dusk approached, when the light would be dimmer, allowing them to better conceal their presence and pass through the checkpoint.

When the generals defending the city saw that it was a guest minister leading a few hundred men back in a disheveled state, they would naturally assume that the man had been defeated by the enemy and fled back, and they would not suspect any trickery.

Unless the spies sent out find evidence that they have turned against them, which is almost impossible to do.

Upon learning of Ge Zhuang's return, the general guarding the city hurriedly ordered his soldiers to invite him to his residence. He and four other guest ministers then hosted a banquet to calm Ge Zhuang's nerves and to inquire about his situation.

Ge Zhuang naturally spouted a bunch of lies that he had prepared beforehand.

Upon learning that the enemy had dispatched 40,000 troops and twelve Heavenly Realm experts to surround their 2,000 vanguard troops, and that both the Grand General and Hu Keqing had been killed in battle.

After all the other generals were killed and only a few of the two thousand soldiers remained, everyone present was shocked by the strength of the enemy!

The guest retainers present were all deeply moved, and some even considered leaving.

Then, after hearing that the enemy army had burned the supplies, all the troops headed towards Jian'an City without pursuing the enemy, and they breathed a sigh of relief.