Chapter 485 - 223: The Battle of the Western Wilderness
After deciding to take the initiative to strike, Shen Chongming immediately issued a secret mobilization order to the allied families of the four cities in his capacity as Patriarch.
He drafted two thousand cultivators from the four cities under his jurisdiction into the army.
In the side room of the residence, Shen Wen’an looked at Shen Wenxing and his son and said in a deep voice, "I shall first go to the Western Wilderness this time, and secretly find a way to eliminate Lan Jue, who is at Half-Step Golden Core Realm, and several Great Demons at Fetal Breathing Perfection Realm from Great Witch Mountain."
"Brother, you and Chongming wait for my message and be prepared."
The Demon Cave at Great Witch Mountain in the Western Wilderness has a total of five Great Demons at Fetal Breathing Perfection Realm, including Lan Jue.
During the last harvest, Shen Wen’an took action and killed two of them, leaving three Great Demons, including Lan Jue at Half-Step Golden Core Realm.
These three Great Demons absolutely cannot appear on the front battlefield.
Otherwise, facing them, many Qi Cultivation Realm cultivators of the Shen Family would be nothing but slaughtered.
"Third Uncle, let me accompany you!"
Shen Chongming suddenly stood up and spoke, his eyes filled with intense battle intent.
"Nephew’s current strength is almost at the Late Stage of Fetal Breathing, I should be able to help you."
He felt it was too dangerous for Shen Wen’an to face several Great Demons from Great Witch Mountain alone and was worried about unexpected incidents.
"Enough, don’t add to your third uncle’s troubles."
Shen Wenxing raised his hand to stop his son, saying, "Your third uncle can go by himself, fight when he wants, and leave whenever he wishes."
"If you follow him and encounter danger, he would have to divide his attention to care for you."
Shen Wenxing had always been confident in his brother’s strength.
As long as this trip didn’t fall into the trap set by those Great Demons from Great Witch Mountain, there was no one in the Western Wilderness who could keep him here.
"Your father is right."
"Your third uncle can handle it himself."
Patting Shen Chongming’s shoulder lightly, Shen Wen’an comforted him and then said, "Your primary task is to plan the territory that Shen Family intends to seize and open the passage to the area of Flame Lake Ridge."
Shen Chongming’s eyes flashed with a trace of unwillingness, but he understood that this was the main purpose of Shen Family’s initiative to strike.
After this raid, the Shen Family not only needs to occupy the road to Flame Lake Ridge but also consider a series of issues like future defense.
All kinds of decisions require him, the Patriarch, to decide.
"Brother, I’m leaving."
Patting Shen Chongming’s shoulder again, Shen Wen’an bowed to Shen Wenxing, transformed into sword light, and left Yunshui City towards the Western Wilderness.
Shen Wenxing stood up, looked out the window at his figure disappearing completely, turned solemnly and asked, "How is the gathering of cultivators under our jurisdiction going?"
Shen Chongming bowed and replied, "Everyone is ready."
"I plan to divide the troops into three routes, one led by you, Ah Die, with soldiers mostly from Western Wilderness Body Cultivators."
"Tasked with advancing from the direction of Chungui City to attract the attention of those beasts from Great Witch Mountain."
"The Giant Centipede will assist you."
While speaking, Shen Chongming opened a map densely marked with notes.
"Another route will be personally led by me, rushing from the direction of Yunshui City and Hejian City to flank the side of the Great Witch Mountain Demon Cultivators."
"We, father and son, along with our cultivators, will be the main force to annihilate those Demon Cultivators from Great Witch Mountain, killing as many as we can to weaken their living forces as much as possible."
Pointing to a crimson circle on the map, Shen Chongming said solemnly, "If there are no accidents, this is likely to be the place of the decisive battle."
"It’s a pity our Shen Family doesn’t have cultivators proficient in the Array Dao, otherwise we could set up some ambushing Grand Arrays here in advance."
"The third route is led by Mu Chang with a portion of cultivators departing from this direction. Their main objective is to completely clear the minor demons from Great Witch Mountain along the way, ensure absolute control of the passage from Yunshui City to Flame Lake Ridge, and then slowly advance north."
Pointing to a crimson line crossing the Western Wilderness on the map, Shen Chongming’s eyes gleamed as he said, "This time, I plan for the Shen Family at least to control the entire area southward from here in the Western Wilderness."
Listening to his son’s description and looking at the various markers on the map, Shen Wenxing pondered for a moment and said, "Has there been people sent in advance to investigate the Spirit Ore, Spirit Field, as well as the gathering places of the Western Wilderness Tribe in this area?"
Shen Chongming paused, his expression slightly stunned, shook his head and said, "I haven’t considered this point."
"What do you mean by this, Ah Die?"
Shen Wenxing thought deeply and solemnly said, "Your third uncle mentioned that we must absolutely control the passage to Flame Lake Ridge."
"Yunshui City is three thousand miles away from Flame Lake Ridge, it’s impossible to complete relying solely on cultivator patrols across such a vast area."
"I feel we must build cities along the way as strongholds, definitely constructing a city at Flame Lake Ridge, and at least two giant cities in between."
"As for where the city should be built, it depends on the distribution of surrounding Spirit Ore and Spirit Field."
"These two cities can also strive to gather the Common People from the Western Wilderness Barbarian Race, passing down Cultivation Techniques to give them some strength to resist the Demon Cultivators from Great Witch Mountain."
Mentioning city-building, Shen Chongming frowned slightly.
Seeing him still hesitating, Shen Wenxing sighed and said, "Boy, what is called expanding territories means being able to fully guard and occupy it, that’s what expanding territories means."
"If you leave after fighting, that’s merely called invasion."
"Before having absolute power to completely drive the Demon Cave of Great Witch Mountain out of the Western Wilderness, city-building is the most reliable method."
Shen Chongming nodded and said, "I understand."
"My concern is after constructing the cities, how to defend during the next harvest."
The next harvest?
Shen Wenxing looked at the map before him and chuckled, "In the next harvest, who the Shen Family can draw is still uncertain."
