Chapter 287
"Young Master!" Cecilia called out softly.
"It’s fine, let’s head out as well, we must strive to survive!" Adam hung the Dragon Tiger Jade Auspicious Scepter at his waist and, under the cover of the endless night, set off with Cecilia.
They were rushing toward the Silver Willow dynasty.
The Northern Desert, inside the camp of the Demon Extermination Alliance.
An old man with a full head of red hair sat there, his armor riddled with deep scars and battle damage, he had clearly just been through several major battles, below him, the assembled generals were in a similar state, some were even missing an arm or an eye, this was a grim testament to the brutal reality of the war.
No one spoke, the military tent was terrifyingly quiet, with only the sound of howling winds sweeping past outside.
Finally, one general bit the bullet and broke the silence. "Um... Commander, let’s retreat, if we keep fighting like this, we’re going to completely run out of troops!"
The red-haired old man didn’t respond, he simply sat at the highest seat, head lowered, lost in unknown thoughts.
"Commander! Those damned reinforcements from the Southern Region said they would arrive in a month, but now that the time is almost up, they claim they can’t make it!"
"What bullshit about a sudden internal rebellion in the Southern Region that requires troop suppression! What kind of internal rebellion is more important than a Demon Race invasion?!" another general shouted, slamming his fist on the table in pure rage.
"And the Heavenly Court! They control so many heavenly soldiers and generals, yet they absolutely refuse to send reinforcements! Doesn’t that damn Western Sea have a bunch of old bald donkeys? Send them to the front lines too!"
"Exactly! Commander, I don’t know what kind of drugs the Demon Race took, but they suddenly intensified their offensive on our Eastern Continent, our defending forces were already weak, and now we really can’t hold on anymore."
"We originally had an army of 600,000, and now we only have 400,000 left! We truly cannot keep fighting, our soldiers’ lives are lives too!"
The generals took turns trying to persuade the red-haired old man.
Troop casualties were normally a common occurrence, but those losses had to be worth it, their Eastern Continent defense line had the weakest military strength to begin with.
The fact that they had managed to hold out for a month was entirely built on sacrificing lives.
The opposing Demon Race army numbered 500,000, and up until now, they had only lost 50,000.
If it were pure attrition, that would be somewhat acceptable, even if embarrassing to admit, at least it served some purpose, however, although the enemy lost 50,000, it made absolutely no difference.
Because the enemy possessed the Dao of Devouring, by devouring as they fought, the overall strength of their entire army had actually increased, sustaining war with war, this was the most terrifying part.
The Demon Race’s innate Dao laws were simply born for war, and most critically, new intel indicated the Demon Race was sending another 200,000 troops, if that was the case, what the hell were they still fighting for?
Staying here, apart from throwing their lives away, would just serve as a whetstone for the enemy, completely useless, better to retreat and preserve their forces.
The red-haired old man’s expression was grave, the wrinkles on his face seeming even deeper, streaks of white hair had even begun to appear among his fiery red locks.
"I know what you all mean, but have you thought about this? If we retreat now, the Demon Race army will march into the Eastern Continent without resistance, when that happens, the entire Eastern Continent will be plunged into suffering, and countless commoners will become the Demon Race’s rations!" The red-haired old man slowly raised his head, sweeping his gaze across the crowd, his voice carrying unyielding resolve.
"Commander, we understand, but we truly cannot hold on any longer, the Demon Race army is getting stronger, we are simply no match!" a general said bitterly.
"If we retreat, we can at least preserve a portion of our troops, once reinforcements arrive, we will still have a chance to counterattack!" another general added.
The red-haired old man fell silent before speaking slowly. "If we retreat now, what kind of morale boost will it give the Demon Race? How will the entire Mysterious Yellow Great World view us? They will say we are accomplices of the Demon Race, helping them devour our own compatriots!"
"There are millions of commoners in the Eastern Continent, on the borders alone, countless people haven’t left for various reasons, even if many have relocated, with their meager abilities, how far could they possibly go?"
"It would just be a little bit further, ultimately, they would still end up in the bellies of the demons."
The crowd remained silent, the old man made sense, but they genuinely couldn’t hold on.
"But Commander, if we don’t retreat now, the most we can do is delay the advance, when the time comes, those commoners will still die, and our entire army will be wiped out here, it is completely meaningless!" a general took a deep breath and said.
The red-haired old man nodded helplessly, he knew this as well, what they needed most was reinforcements.
But reinforcements from the Heavenly Court and other places had been repeatedly delayed, he couldn’t understand it, the Mysterious Yellow Great World was so vast, why was there such a severe lack of military strength? Had they truly been at peace for too long?
And what about the Heavenly Court? Their celestial soldiers possessed extraordinary combat prowess.
Could they really not spare even a single detachment to help?
"I will request reinforcements from the Heavenly Court and the other continents, I will go personally, but for now, we must hold the line a while longer, we cannot let the Demon Race army march into our Eastern Continent easily!" The red-haired old man’s gaze was firm, his voice sonorous and powerful.
Helpless, the generals could only nod.
Meanwhile, in the Southern Continent.
Atop a towering, majestic mountain peak, a middle-aged man stood with his hands behind his back, gazing far into the distance.
A/N:
Extra Chapters
100 power stones - 1 Extra Chapters
200 power stones - 2 Extra Chapters
Capsule - 1 Extra Chapters
Massage Chair - 3 Extra Chapters
Luxury Car - 5 Extra Chapters
Magic Castle - 15 Extra Chapters