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The Battle of Tiannan Guan is the key to determining whether Jiangnan can swallow the Southeast this time!

All the high-ranking officials in Jiangnan are now focused on this battle, especially in the Yin Division...

At this moment within the Yin Division of Yunzhou, the masters of the six major Yin Divisions have gathered, and all the military forces of the Yin Division have been concentrated in one place.

With the six masters themselves present, it can be said that this is the largest battle Jiangnan has mobilized resources for to date.

"The two generals have worked hard..."

On the battlefield ahead, the corpses of evil ghosts piled up like mountains, and the stench permeated the entire battlefield.

Many people participating in the Yin Division war for the first time could not understand why, though all are spirits, they still explode with the blood and flesh reminiscent of human bodies?

At this time, two yaksha generals, revealing their true forms and standing two zhang tall, slowly returned. Their bodies were covered in flesh and blood, and they exuded an immense murderous aura, clearly having just engaged in heavy slaughter.

Murong Bingyun could see this very clearly.

He had just witnessed the two yaksha generals single-handedly slaughter tens of thousands of evil ghost troops and defend the southwest front all by themselves.

Their strength was so shocking that he hadn’t been able to regain his composure for quite some time.

Is this the legendary extraordinary power?

Such power, he had heard, was abundant in the Dragon Palace. He suddenly felt a trace of gratitude towards Princess Ao Zhen because if it weren’t for her suppression, the Western Sea Army certainly wouldn’t have been able to contain such monsters, right?

"Haha, such hard work!" A voice more immature than his own resounded from behind. Murong Bingyun’s lips twitched, and without turning around, he already knew it was his unreliable superior: Shen Eleven!

"We have seen the Lord of the Yin Division." The two yakshas were much more polite and seemed to show a fair amount of respect to Shen Eleven.

"No need to be so formal, we’re all brothers here. There’s no need to be so restrained in the future," Shen Eleven said carelessly, trying awkwardly to emulate the hearty demeanor of those battlefield commanders. Murong Bingyun and the nearby Judge felt a bit awkward at the sight.

However, the two yakshas didn’t mind it. They were already very satisfied to be valued.

If Chen Ying were here, she would definitely recognize that these two yakshas were the same two who had previously escorted them to the Capital City.

They had died tragically due to underestimating the strength of Nanman Prince Wutugu.

But thanks to the miraculous binding of the spiritual path, their spirits were instantly pulled back to Jiangnan after death, something neither of them had expected.

Upon their return, they were unexpectedly assigned to Yunzhou, which delighted Shen Eleven.

He distributed the power of faith as if it cost him nothing, intending to cultivate two imposing Ghost Generals.

The innate talent of the yakshas indeed did not disappoint Shen Eleven.

After a huge amount of faith power was invested, their strength advanced by leaps and bounds, almost reaching the True Dragon Rank.

That’s also why the two showed such respect to Shen Eleven. After all, he was different from Tian Heng of the Western Sea—he was truly willing to pile resources on them. For this kindness of being recognized, the two were very appreciative.

Moreover, it was said that the Yin Division had a reincarnation system; even if they died in battle again, they could be reincarnated. With such a safety net, what reasons were there to complain?

"It’s already the ninth day!" The Judge approached and looked into the distance, "Lord Tian Heng took four cities within five days, and the achievements are astonishing. But here at Tiannan Guan, we’ve been at a stalemate for a full four days.

It seems that this final checkpoint is not easy to capture. .."

"Isn’t that the truth?" Shen Eleven sighed, looking at the piles of evil ghost corpses in the distance, also feeling a sense of urgency. Originally, there had been preparations for a protracted war, but the consumption turned out to be much greater than expected.

Several major Yin Divisions joined forces, mobilizing all current battle forces, and even temporarily used secret Yin Division techniques to call upon the Warrior Army from the world of the living to serve as ghost soldiers, still proving to be quite strenuous...

There were too many evil ghosts, and so far, the big ones hadn’t appeared yet. Every day was alarming, and if this continued, at most they could hold on for another five days before fearing all soldiers would be completely consumed.

Jiangnan is abundant in martial virtue externally.

The living dead left over from the Ancient Worms are mostly exterminated by the Warrior Army.

Moreover, with the resistance against the Python Corps in the north, the casualty rate is actually not low.

Over the past few years, each of the major Yin Divisions had several tens of thousands of Warrior Armies entrenched.

But this accumulation took several years. If they suffered losses this time, heaven knows how long it would take to rebuild...

"If you ask me, haven’t we expanded our territory enough?" Shen Shi sighed, "Since we can’t take it down, why not take a breather? With more evil ghosts gathering in the southeast, the news is spreading, and at this rate, we can’t hold out for many more days."

"We can’t give up..." A voice arose from behind, rigid and stern, without turning around Shen Shi knew it was that one official from Lyuzhou who didn’t share the surname Shen: Wei Gongcheng.

"Why is that, Lord Wei..." Shen Shi rolled his eyes, not understanding why his brothers had sent him to work with someone whose personality was clearly a mismatch...

"The primary purpose of the Tiannan Pass is to guard against the countries of the Southern Wilderness.

While there are many mountain cities in the southeast, a natural and significant pass like Tiannan is extremely rare.

Once we take it, the Southern Wilderness would need five times their current force to attempt another invasion.

If we give up this pass, the southeast will be a point of invasion at any time. "

"Although the southeast isn’t like the north with its vast plains and most cities built against mountains, the problem is, the most abundant soldiers from the Southern Wilderness are adept at scaling mountains.

This environment here is as advantageous to them as flat plains are to cavalry in the north.

Your plan is to use this area as a supply base, heavily employing Mountain Deities.

If this is to be a main rear supply area, it must be secure.

Otherwise, if the Southern Barbarians come raiding from time to time, wouldn’t the harvested grains just feed others? "

"Is it that exaggerated?" Shen Shi pursed his lips, "You make it sound like without that pass, we wouldn’t be able to defeat them. Haven’t you seen the Western Sea Army slaughtering those Southern Barbarians like chickens and dogs?

If not for the coalition of the major states, how could they stand against the Western Sea Army? "

"It’s not calculated like that..." Wei Gongcheng responded patiently to the brash young man: "This time, the Western Sea Army sent its absolute elite forces, arguably the most cutting-edge military power in Jiangnan at the moment.

According to my intelligence, especially in Wutu Country, those soldiers who worship in the Ghost Temples are growing rapidly.

Many elite troops are nearly on par with our Warrior Army and are continuously getting stronger.

The north already requires a substantial military presence, with most of the Warrior Army stationed there.

The Western Sea Army will also need to withdraw soon to continue developing the West Sea Island nation. "

"The southeast won’t be able to spare many troops in the future. Under such circumstances, a hazardous pass becomes crucial. Currently, the cities in the southeast have walls that are not too high, many of which can be easily scaled by barbarians, providing no real defense. Only Tiannan Pass..."

Murong Bingyun, who stood aside, nodded in agreement.

Tiannan Pass boasted complex terrain and city walls over thirty feet high, the largest defensive structure built by the Great Jin Dynasty.

If they could capture it and position a powerful Gate Deity there, even if the Southern Wilderness reached the same level as the Warrior Army, they would struggle to mount an assault.

The significant forces saved could then be fully devoted to defense against the north and the Imperial Court.

"Jiangnan is bound to expand its military in the future, but with our current forces, if we can’t take Tiannan Pass, we can’t hold the southeast. All the efforts of these past days, and the many officers and soldiers lost from the Imperial Court, would be in vain!"

"Uh... Is it that serious?" Shen Shi said somewhat awkwardly.

After all, he had actually considered beating a retreat just moments ago, not realizing the dire consequences of failing to capture a single pass.

"Unless utterly defeated, we will not retreat," said Wei Gongcheng in a low voice. "Cheer up, no matter if it takes five days or ten, we must hold this place for our lord!"

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"This is tricky..."

Below Tiannan Pass, looking up at the massive barrier and the swarming Southern Barbarian Soldiers atop the city walls, both Tian Heng and Chen Qing were exceedingly vexed.

Logically, defending a city should be the Southern Barbarians’ weakness, but after three days of relentless assaults, they had failed to breach it. The enemy moved with purpose and was particularly experienced in warding off extraordinary powers...

"There are experts inside..." Tian Heng sighed, conceding, "It’s hard to conquer through brute force."

Chen Qing, too, frowned deeply, biting her finger.

It was vital to seize Tiannan Pass; otherwise, all their sacrifices would have been for naught.

Moreover, the failure would deal a massive blow to morale.

Since Jiangnan had gained momentum, it had never lost an external conflict.

Retreating now would be a severe defeat, and internal discord, already present, might crack wide open.

Once fractures form, a significant effort is required to mend them, and in the current situation, where the ancient era is on the brink of resurgence, time is the scarcest resource.

This pass must be taken!