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"Brother, may I ask if the God of War still has no time to see us?"

At the Beihai Defense Point, several contingents from Beihai were pressing for answers. Though severely injured, with wounds inflamed and festering due to a special toxin, these men, upon regaining consciousness, prioritized completing their mission.

That mission was to seek aid from Jiangnan!

The warrior responsible for reception replied with a stern face, "Noble envoys, please be patient. The God of War has also been very busy recently, and your arrival was quite sudden. It will take time to come over..."

The young medical practitioners tending to the wounds of these envoys heard this and bowed their heads in silence. Naturally less experienced than the seasoned warrior army, they couldn’t lie as convincingly. In truth, everyone there knew that Xuu Hu was actually not far away, on a warship.

The reason for not approaching was the lack of a better excuse to refuse the plea for help...

"Please endure for a while longer. There are too many types of poisonous snakes, and most of you have been bitten by several kinds. We can only rely on a specific medicine to temporarily alleviate the toxins while we analyze and produce the latest serum to detoxify you."

One of the middle-aged generals from the North looked up at these young practitioners, feeling immensely grateful: "Thank you for your trouble, young master!"

Since the war began in the North, more than half the casualties had been caused by snake venom.

Just as the young master said, there are too many species of snakes, and many doctors were helpless to cure them.

They could only watch as bitten soldiers agonized and succumbed to death, which dealt a tremendous blow to morale.

Here, however, these young masters, barely twenty years old, managed to immediately prolong their lives. This ability was even more impressive than that of famous doctors whose names were known far and wide, and it wasn’t just one of them...

Is this what the Lyuzhou Academy had been training their magicians for?

Watching these young practitioners use techniques to treat the soldiers, many old-fashioned aristocrats felt an unprecedented shake in their beliefs. They almost unanimously thought that if their own forces included such medical practitioners, the North would not have collapsed so quickly.

People from the sorcerer families began to reconsider. Had their families been too focused on strength, neglecting logistical support? After this event, it seemed necessary to organize a group of outstanding descendants to delve into this area of expertise.

"Please rest assured. At least you are safe here."

This statement deepened the silence among the members of the Northern Aristocratic Family.

They expected Jiangnan to have better countermeasures than the North but had not anticipated such formidable ones.

The massive Flaming Sun Array prevented the giant serpents from infiltrating.

It now seemed imperative to include rational education for the younger generations.

With the advancement of techniques in Jiangnan, if they failed to keep up, it would take no more than a decade before even a millennium-old family could face extinction!

The era of complacency with ancient techniques might truly be coming to an end...

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Meanwhile, on another warship, a gathering of Jiangnan’s upper echelons took place under Chen Qing’s command.

The God of War Xuu Hu, ruling over a hundred thousand warriors, the second-in-command of military affairs, and Tian Heng, ruling over the current fifty thousand Sea God’s Guards, all the lords of Nanming Prefecture, Nanyang, Yunzhou, and Yangzhou had arrived!

"Could Wei Gongcheng and Old Qi not make it?"

The speaker was Shen Eleven, the youngest lord among them.

He had no choice; as a direct descendant of the Shen Family specializing in the Divine Fire Technique who had died tragically young, Chen Qing naturally wouldn’t let his talents go to waste.

Although young and somewhat unreliable, he had been assigned a significant role.

With the support of Elder Shen San in the early stages and having governed for nearly two years, Shen Eleven had become much more stable.

Though still youthful in appearance, his demeanor was markedly different from before.

It was said that he was highly esteemed in Yunzhou and managed his duties quite well.

"We’ve received word from their side that they’ve encountered a significant incident and cannot come for now.

.." said Elder Shen San. He had not anticipated that after returning to Nanyang for a short while, such an incident would happen in Lyuzhou.

Old Qi nearly lost his spirit, which was indeed perilous!

It was fortunate that Wei Gongcheng reacted quickly. It had to be acknowledged that Chen Qing had an eye for judging people. Wei Gongcheng was indeed capable of handling major responsibilities. Shen San admitted that even he could not have managed better in the same situation!

"Do they need support in Lyuzhou?" Shen Eleven frowned. "By now, Zi Yue should have entered the Dragon Palace, right? Even if we act now, she surely cannot return immediately, can she?"

"We don’t need to..." the speaker was Shen Er, the current master of Yin in Nanming Prefecture, who shook his head and said, "As long as we maintain stability, that’s good. The situation in the Dragon Palace Secret Realm is unstable, so it’s best not to disperse our forces.

Lyuzhou may be the hub, but if the situation becomes dire, it can be abandoned. We must first secure our base."

These words made several members of the Shen Family nod slightly.

The master of Yin was powerful locally, but once they were out of their jurisdiction, it was different.

With the situation unclear, securing the base was essential.

Lyuzhou’s situation had already stabilized, so there was no need to risk dispersing forces at this time.

"Let’s talk about the current situation first," said Shen San, looking towards Xu Hu. "Lord Xu, you urgently called us here; the situation in the north must be particularly dire, right?"

"It’s very urgent!" Xu Hu nodded. "According to the tales of the lucky aristocrats who broke through, the situation in the north is almost entirely one-sided. All seven cities of Youyun have fallen, including Beihai City. The Duke’s Heir of Wei and numerous aristocratic youths are leading the remnants of their troops to hold out in North Dragon City. Only three cities remain in the hands of the Human Race now, and due to the influx of a large number of refugees, the food in the three cities is completely insufficient. If this continues, even if the giant serpents don’t attack, they won’t last more than a month. "

"That dire?" Shen Eleven was startled.

"It’s quite normal..." Shen Lao San said indifferently: "In the past few decades, the Human Race has been fighting civil wars and has long forgotten what to be wary of when battling demons. The giant serpents can move underground, and ordinary defensive means simply can’t stop them.

Spreading out their forces leads to insufficient military strength, an extremely passive situation.

Without the corresponding techniques, they can only watch helplessly as their logistics are devoured by the giant serpents.

Once logistics are gone, no matter how strong the army is, how long can they last? "

"Uh...." Shen Eleven felt his scalp tingle. Would his own region be able to handle it if these creatures made their way to Jiangnan?

After all, something like the Flaming Sun Array was just too costly to maintain!

"Since the north has come to us for help, what exactly do they want us to do?" asked Shen Er curiously.

"They plan to have us help to break through to Beihai City!

" said Xu Hu with a sigh, his expression grave.

"Once Beihai is opened up, they will withdraw all the troops from the north to Jiangnan.

Of course, that includes the refugees from the north.

According to estimates, there are about. .. over a billion people!"

"A billion?"

Are they planning to pack up and come over in one go?

"No..." Shen Er immediately shook his head: "Not to mention the waste of military resources required to break through the West Sea right now, our lord is still presiding over the Dragon Palace Secret Realm and may need support at any time.

If we waste our strength on the north, what will we do if there is a sudden need for support from our lord? "

"Hmm..." Shen San also nodded. "Apart from that, even if we could do as the princely heir of the north suggests and break through to Beihai City, there’s still the issue of resettlement.

Ten billion people, including the numerous aristocratic families of the north who will surely be prioritized for relocation.

With so many mixed characters, how will we manage once they arrive here? "

"And the population of Jiangnan is actually at its limit as it is. Suddenly cramming in so many refugees would create a massive problem in terms of settlement!"

"That’s a billion people!" Xu Hu’s face darkened: "Are we just going to watch as they’re devoured by the serpent demons?"

"Warrior Lord!" Shen Er frowned deeply: "You should consider the hundreds of millions of citizens of Jiangnan too; the billion people in the north are humans, and so are we here. How can you guarantee that after participating in this rescue, our citizens here will not be affected?"

"They are all citizens of the Central Plains!" The Warrior stood up. "The lord’s great ambition isn’t just for Jiangnan alone!"

"But right now, the lord only has Jiangnan!" Shen Er retorted without showing any weakness, and the two instantly confronted each other, making the atmosphere in the cabin tense!

"I mean..." Shen Eleven, looking at his second brother who had started arguing with Xu Hu, was puzzled: "For such a significant matter, shouldn’t it be decided by Chen... *cough*, by the lord personally?"

His words immediately made the atmosphere in the cabin even colder.

Shen San looked at the bewildered Shen Eleven and sighed, "If we could contact the lord, why would there be any need for all this trouble?"

"Can’t get in touch?" Shen Eleven was stunned.

"Since this morning, the Flood Dragons at the Dragon Palace have grown restless, and the lord... hasn’t shown any sign of responding!"

Everyone: "...."