Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

October 5th, 1322 of the New Yu Era

The western gate of Longguan Prefecture was tightly shut, and the Xuzhou Great Army on top of the city walls stood in strict formation, ready for combat. Although weary faces were evident, every soldier still forced themselves to stay alert, vigilantly watching outside the city, daring not to slack off for even a moment.

"The Qingyang Army has lost 31,021 men, nearly 70,000 remain."

"The Jinjia Army has lost 52,910 men, leaving 140,000."

"The Silver Armored Army has lost 140,000 men, with 350,000 remaining."

Gu Tianyun, looking out at the Great Jin Army encamped outside the city and the Demon Sect's army, which had already regrouped and was continuously advancing towards them, had a gloomy expression. Upon hearing the casualty reports from the three people beside him, his handsome face grew even more somber, and his mood sank to rock bottom.

"The 140,000 casualties of the Silver Armored Army occurred during the assault on Long Guan, mainly from the Qingyang Army and the Jinjia Army. When we took Long Guan, our casualties were only 30,000. The ambush at the river by Great Jin caused at least a doubling of our losses, reaching as high as 80,000!"

"Great Jin came prepared. Their Langtu and Huben armies are no weaker than our Jinjia and Qingyang armies in terms of elite soldiers and strong generals. Plus, they had the element of surprise. There was no helping it."

"Fortunately, we had experts in the army who bravely fought a losing battle to cover our retreat. Otherwise, it would have been uncertain whether we could have withdrawn smoothly into the city!"

The speakers were Liu Boyuan from Bailu Academy, Xun Qianjue, and Yu Longkai from the Wanjian Holy Sect. It was Yu Longkai who had brought 200,000 of the Jinjia Army to aid Guangling Prefecture. Also at the level of Qiányáng in cultivation, he and Gu Tianyun had both trained in Xu Du in earlier years and referred to each other as sworn brothers, sharing a deep bond.

Gu Tianyun, already feeling somber, grew visibly more agitated upon hearing their words, his face alternating between pallor and flushes, his breathing erratic for some time, completely unaware that a trickle of blood was seeping from the corner of his mouth.

"Eldest brother!"

"Sword Leader Gu."

"It's no matter, to survive an encounter with Tuoba Tao and Wanyan Lie joining forces is already no small feat, it's normal to suffer injuries."

Gu Tianyun closed his eyes and examined his internal condition, noticing that two colors of Xuanyin energy, one blue and one purple, were continuously eroding his dantian. He had already experienced the toxicity of the blue wolf poison from Marquis Qingyang, Tuoba Tao. But what was more troublesome this time was the Ziquan Mysterious Yin Energy from Marquis of Ziquan, Wanyan Lie.

Though his complexion was dark, when he recalled the battle from two days ago in which he narrowly escaped death, his eyes still showed a hint of profound relief. As he said, to fight alone against two marquises of Great Jin and survive was an incredible feat; injuries indeed seemed trivial in comparison.

"Eldest brother need not worry too much. After resting for two days, the soldiers in the city have mostly recovered. We still have 560,000 troops at our disposal, including 210,000 elite soldiers. Following the battle at Long Guan, the Demon Sect's Brahman World Purifying Army suffered over 40,000 casualties, and the Mansion Army of 200,000 now numbers only 490,000. Even when you combine those with the over 100,000 troops from Great Jin, that's barely over 600,000, with only around 200,000 elite soldiers. As long as we hold Long Guan, they won't find it so easy to break through and come inside!"

Yu Longkai, leading 200,000 of the Jinjia Army, was the chief commander of all the troops now, and thus had a thorough understanding of the casualties within the army. Currently, there is no more than a 100,000 difference in troop numbers between the defending army inside Longguan Prefecture and the Demon Sect's army outside, with only about a 30,000 difference in elite forces. Holding off the Demon Sect's army indeed shouldn't be a problem.

But he knew his words wouldn't make much impact, and his tone couldn't escape sounding a bit downcast. Gu Tianyun and the others, Liu Boyuan, had even more despondent expressions and showed not a sliver of joy.

Remembering the scene from five days ago, where an 800,000-strong army broke through Long Guan and defeated the Demon Sect's forces, leaving them in complete disarray—what a magnificent sight that was. Now, they had retreated into the city to passively await a siege, a complete reversal of roles, planting a complicated sense of distress in their hearts.

Even without considering the role reversal from attackers to defenders, just thinking about the words Gu Tianyun spoke two days earlier upon his retreat into the city weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.

Currently, their forces were trapped defending Long Guan, and the 100,000 Earthshade Monastic Soldiers from Leiyin Temple in the Prefectural City were firmly held in Zhang Zhenwei's sights, meaning that the entirety of the Guangling Prefecture and Xuzhou forces were stuck in place.

According to Gu Tianyun, Zhan Taiqing didn't hesitate to sacrifice 200,000 soldiers, carefully planning to lure them into attacking Long Guan to create this very situation where their forces couldn't move, leaving Great Jin free to focus on attacking Lingyuan Prefecture to the south.

"Great Jin is powerful, but fighting on three fronts? Isn't that a bit too exaggerated?"

"Emperor Yuliang is leading an army of one million to attack the Zhongzhou Lincang Path in Zhongzhou. Although the main force in Hedong is from the Demon Sect, with four Holy Lands participating, Great Jin will definitely send more than just two marquises, and they will have to keep sending reinforcements continually. This has already occupied much of Great Jin's manpower and resources.

To the south, the Demon Derivation Holy Sect, and to the west, the Blood Spirit Holy Sect potentially resolving the Saint Heir's rebellion at any moment—both of these powers will definitely act once they see Great Jin engaging The Righteous Path on two fronts. Emperors Fenling and Youye will surely have to personally oversee these situations. Under these circumstances, Great Jin dares to send forces to attack Lingyuan Prefecture and open up a third front, which indeed seems quite inconceivable!"

Liu Boyuan and Xun Qianjue sequentially expressed their concerns. Although both were aware of problems with the battle of Long Guan, they still found Gu Tianyun's speculations rather hard to believe.

In Zhongzhou, facing the Supreme Sovereign of the World, the former Divine Dynasty now known as the Great Yu Holy Dynasty, sending Emperor Yuliang from Great Jin wasn't really overdoing it since the situation was highly unpredictable. Without full commitment, they might suffer backlash;

As for their own front in Hedong, the war was still in its early stages, and even though the Demon Sect took the brunt of the fighting, they were facing the Wanjian Holy Sect and Bailu Academy, as well as Leiyin Temple, a Quasi-Holy Land. The three of them together could certainly hold their ground, which is why Great Jin surely won't just send two marquises. Thus, there's no doubt that more troops will be on their way.