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Chapter 1056: Chapter 997: Combined Attack
"Damn it!"
A certain seventh-order Devil Beast cursed, then quickly calmed down and commanded, "Immediately gather everyone and launch a counterattack against the Cultivators! We can afford to lose any other places, but we must absolutely hold the area near the Fine Gold mine vein!"
"No!"
A sixth-order Devil Beast was about to leave to pass on the command but was stopped by another shout, "Doing so is too obvious; those Cultivators are no fools and will easily guess our intentions. Let the army strike everywhere and slowly converge towards the mine vein, Hundred Maple Forest, and One Zhang Gorge from all directions, at any cost, to occupy this large area!"
The three places mentioned by it, when combined, covered almost a thousand miles of territory, all of which were strategically advantageous for defense and difficult to attack. It was a highly rational move for the Devil Race to expand in this direction.
"Yes!"
The Devil Beast responsible for conveying orders hurried away.
"It seems we cannot catch the Cultivators off guard and drive them out of the mountains with a swift and unstoppable force. We need to prepare for a protracted war."
Another seventh-order Devil Beast furrowed its brows and said, "I think we should organize manpower to start mining the Fine Gold now, lest we end up with nothing."
The notion that the Devil Race might ultimately be defeated did not meet any opposition from the other high-order Devil Beasts, as they were well aware that though the words were harsh, they were true!
The strength of the Devil Race was not weak, but they were merely a small branch isolated and surrounded by Cultivators on all sides.
If a full-scale battle with the Cultivators were to break out, they would definitely not be able to sustain it since the Immortal Tao could continuously summon more Cultivators to join the battle, while their numbers were limited; they would diminish with each loss.
"Let’s decide on this then; we’ll confront the Cultivators while doing our best to occupy that thousand miles of land, yet we ourselves should not act directly, to prevent the war from escalating further, and simultaneously organize manpower to mine the Fine Gold." The leading seventh-order Devil Beast weighed the options and finally agreed to this plan.
"It’s a pity that the essence of the mine vein is on the Cultivators’ side, otherwise why would we even need to intervene?" One Devil Beast sighed helplessly.
While sixth-tier Fine Gold was not inferior, acquiring seventh-tier Fine Gold, which was naturally superior and could be used in Immortal Artifacts, was always preferable.
"If we end up unable to hold the mine vein and the Cultivators discover it, we should openly reveal the vein and claim that we’ve found eighth-tier Fine Gold, and maybe even ninth-tier in the core, to provoke infighting among the Cultivators!"
For a seventh-tier Fine Gold mine vein, let alone the Zhang Family, even the Cave Abyss Sect might not be able to monopolize it!
Not to mention the eighth-tier and ninth-tier Fine Gold, true treasures of heaven and earth, which would eventually drag all the powers of the East Continent Immortal Realm into the fray.
"But doing so, the East Continent Immortal Tao will not allow us to hold this land."
"After this battle, we won’t be able to hold the mountains anyway." Another Devil Beast shook its head.
The Zhang Family had deployed tens of thousands of its people to participate in the battle, making such a significant sacrifice. Regardless of whether the Fine Gold mine vein was discovered, they wouldn’t leave the Devil Race in control of this land rich in Spiritual Energy.
Many high-order Devil Beasts sighed; not only had their plans completely failed, but they would also lose this Spirit Land, contrary to their initial intentions.
But as things had reached this point, all they could do was try to secure the greatest benefit for themselves.
As for those lower-order Devil Beasts?
Whether they lived or died, what did it matter to them?
—
The reaction of the Devil Race was still very fast; within half an hour after encountering the Cultivators’ surprise attack, they organized a counterattack against the Cultivators.
Countless Devil Beasts swarmed out, their numbers unknown but many times those of the Cultivators. Even though most of them were lower-order, their combined attack dispersed the darkness for dozens of miles around with its dazzling Spirit Light.
Fortunately, the Zhang Family had already prepared various defensive measures in the Nine Bend Gorge over the past three days. After completing the first round of surprise attacks and before the Devil Beasts could regroup, the Cultivators fought while retreating.
Most of the Cultivators had since retreated into the Formation, so they could rely on the Formation to fight against the Devil Race.
Of course, some Cultivators, either foolish or greedy, did not retreat immediately and now found themselves targeted heavily by the Devil Beasts.
Of these several hundred Cultivators, less than a tenth managed to safely take refuge in the Formation! It goes without saying for the others; they all became fodder for the Devil Beasts.
"I did not expect the Devil Race in the mountains to be so powerful."
Li Zhirui watched from outside the Formation as the Devil Beasts relentlessly attacked, simultaneously dealing with some sixth-order Devil Beasts, and remarked, "It seems this will be a fierce battle."
Despite amassing nearly a hundred thousand Cultivators, there were at least ten times as many Devil Beasts. Even if ninety percent were cannon fodder, with so many ants they could bite an elephant to death. Without reinforcements, the Cultivators would eventually have to retreat.
However, it seemed likely that the Zhang Family had prepared a response to this situation. Though there were no vassals of the Zhang Family on the vast plain, there were many Loose Cultivators with considerable strength.
As long as the Zhang Family offered them benefits, these Loose Cultivators would surely rush to the battlefield.
Indeed, as Li Zhirui had guessed, on the day the Zhang Family made their move, they publicly announced an attack on the mountain Devil Race, calling on Loose Cultivators to join the battle with generous rewards.
Naturally, the Loose Cultivators were very active. Within just half a day, tens of thousands of Loose Cultivators boarded the Spirit Boat under the leadership of the Zhang Family and headed to the battlefield.
And just as the Cultivators and Devil Beasts were fiercely battling, these tens of thousands of Loose Cultivators arrived just in time. The addition of this fresh force immediately stabilized the faltering Great Array.
