Chapter 951: 412, Realize later, Substitute the essentials stealthily_2
Cultivation, strength, what does it mean?
Are you saying that the soldiers of that great army have extremely high cultivation and formidable strength?
No, these five people discovered a problem with that great army and approached voluntarily.
If the soldiers of that great army had high cultivation and formidable strength, then why would they voluntarily approach the army? This proves that the subtext is not that they are too strong.
But rather, that their cultivation was too low and their strength too weak?
A flash of insight suddenly crossed through Tuoba Yu's mind, and he quickly turned his head to ask the other people standing nearby: "Aside from this person, what are the cultivation levels of the other four?"
The subordinates didn't initially react, but upon realizing Tuoba Yu was asking about the four already sacrificed soldiers, they immediately responded: "They were organized like the other squads, one Second Realm Master, leading four First Realm Masters."
The deceased subordinate was at the Second Realm Master level of cultivation.
Hearing this answer, Tuoba Yu was completely stunned.
"Five Grandmasters, encountering an army of about a hundred thousand, and one of them escaped?"
All the scouts in the dilapidated temple were momentarily stunned by Tuoba Yu's question and then realized the implication, their expressions rapidly shifting.
"I didn't think about it earlier. That's right, even if it's not the elite Red Flame Army of Hou Clan but just the ordinary Zhaoyang Army, a hundred thousand martial artists could not be handled by five Grandmasters. How did he escape?"
As is well known, any force that can raise a private army demands that soldiers have a minimum cultivation level of five levels of body refinement. An army of more than ten thousand martial artists can already threaten Fourth Realm or even Fifth Realm Grandmasters. An arrangement of a Second Realm Grandmaster leading four First Realm Grandmasters is theoretically weaker than a Great Grandmaster of the Fourth Realm, let alone a Heaven-level Great Grandmaster of the Fifth Realm.
Moreover, these five people met an army of a hundred thousand, and even the most ordinary Zhaoyang Army of the Hou Clan requires a minimum cultivation of the Seventh Level of Body Opening. Under the blood suppression of a hundred-thousand-strong army, these five would not even be able to move, let alone run.
The only explanation is that army wasn't the army of the Hou Clan.
The thought that the army wasn't the Hou Clan's flashed through the minds of more than ten scouts in the dilapidated temple, including Tuoba Yu. As they realized an even more critical issue, their faces turned pale, and their bodies began to tremble.
"Sir, I recall we only checked the cultivation level of the leading segments of the Hou Clan army returning to Xingnan Prefecture City, and they were mingling with ordinary civilians. What we could see were mostly those above Grandmaster Realm. To avoid detection, we couldn't randomly assess the cultivation levels of the ordinary soldiers."
"That's right. Because the ordinary soldiers were mingling with civilians, we used their outfits to determine if they were part of the Hou Clan's army..."
"You mean to say, the army we saw returning to the Prefectural City likely isn't the Hou Clan's army, or at least, only a small part of it is?"
"This......"
......
"Shut up!"
Tuoba Yu yelled, interrupting the scouts' discussion in the dilapidated temple. His facial muscles were visibly trembling, and a hint of horror appeared in his pupils. Thinking quickly, he looked at everyone and rapidly asked: "Doesn't the Hou Clan have eight armies still outside? Which one is closest to us, speak quickly!"
A subordinate immediately replied: "Those eight armies went to the counties farthest from Xingnan Prefecture City, so they'd be the latest to return. Currently, the closest one to us should be near Jiujun County, about a hundred and twenty li from here."
"All of you stay here and continue watching Xingnan Prefecture City. I'll go alone."
Before the person even finished speaking, Tuoba Yu left an order, transforming into a strong gust of wind, dashing towards the direction of Jiujun County, leaving more than ten scouts standing in place, with expressions full of uncertainty and suspicion.
In mid-air, the strong gusts of wind slapped against his face, but Tuoba Yu felt nothing. His heart was racing uncontrollably, and the corners of his eyes wouldn't stop twitching.
The five deceased subordinates must have detected something wrong with the returning Hou Clan army's strength and cultivation to actively approach them, Tuoba Yu was certain of it.
This mission, overseeing the Hou Clan army in Xingnan Prefecture, came under strict orders from higher-ups not to engage with the Hou Clan army unless necessary, and to avoid any conflict. He knew it was because, a month ago, Hou Yuxiao had turned Tao City into a Neutral Zone.
With Xingnan Prefecture as a Neutral Zone, unless provoked by the Hou Clan, neither the Great Jin nor the Alliance could act here. Therefore, Tuoba Yu and his scouts didn't even dare venture into Xingnan Prefecture City. While monitoring Hou Clan army movements, they adhered to the principle of non-contact, deliberately choosing individuals whose cultivation would be hard to detect, to do so as discreetly and subtly as possible.
Thus, most of the time, observations were made with the naked eye.
And the Hou Clan armies returning to the Prefectural City were cunning enough to mingle with ordinary civilians. Only a small portion remained outside, and among them were Grandmasters and Yuan Dan Realm martial artists, but each army had no more than a few hundred people.
It was precisely these few hundred individuals that convinced all these scouts.
It's over, it's over...
Tuoba Yu reached near Jiujun County in less than half an hour. During this time, his heart never stopped pounding violently, and half an hour's reflection had allowed him to come to many realizations. Upon arriving, he was almost certain of his suspicions.
Next comes the verification process.
This time, he didn't bother hiding his presence, directly releasing his cultivation level aura of the Yuan Dan Second Realm Divine Skills period, sensing near Jiujun County. Soon, on the western Official Road, he discovered a troop of more than a million civilians.
He leapt over, scanning the civilian troop indiscriminately, observing the Hou Clan soldiers in Zhaoyang Army armor mingling with the civilians, and quickly sensed their cultivation.
Three Levels of Body Opening... Body Opening second level... Five levels of body refinement… Seventh Level of Body Opening...
First Level... Fourth Level... Five levels... Second Level...
As he sensed the cultivation levels of more and more soldiers, Tuoba Yu's entire face gradually turned a liver-red color, the rage in his eyes becoming increasingly intense, and he began to tremble in mid-air, fists clenched, unable to control his aura, which began to become disorderly.
"Tricked... tricked, this isn't the Hou Clan's army, it's over, it's over..."
"Who dares to spy here, unaware that Xingnan Prefecture is a Neutral Zone?"
Suddenly, a voice shouted from below, startling Tuoba Yu back to his senses in mid-air.
A young man dressed as a black-armored commander slowly flew up into the air, observing Tuoba Yu all in black, unable to discern his origin. The young man's face turned sullen, but sensing the aura emanating from Tuoba Yu, far stronger than his own, he didn't dare to take the initiative to attack, instead continuing to ask in a deep voice:
"I don't know whether the elder is with the Great Jin or the Alliance; Xingnan Prefecture is universally acknowledged as a Neutral Zone, with Youye Emperor and Lord Fengtian personally approving. It's inappropriate for you to brazenly probe my Hou Clan army's situation like this, isn't it?"
Tuoba Yu didn't speak, his fists clenched tightly under his sleeves.
Seeing no reply, the young man continued: "The two prefectures have too many civilians; our Hou Clan army is understaffed, having to draw some reservists from the clan. Their strength might be lacking, making a laughingstock out of us!"
......
How dare they, still trying to deceive me! VisitMyVirtualLibraryEmpire(MV-LEMP-YR)formore.
Tuoba Yu wished he could kill the Heaven-level Great Grandmaster in front of him with one strike, but he didn't. Exhaling deeply, he swiftly calmed his emotions.
Having already committed a grave error, he needed to find a way to remedy the situation. Killing this person would serve no purpose but to waste time. No, he had to quickly bring the information back to Jianye Prefecture City to report to the Retired Emperor, otherwise, the longer the delay, the further the Hou Clan's five hundred thousand troops would move away.
Yes, I must urgently report back to the Retired Emperor and the Strategist.
Tuoba Yu quickly made his decision. He cast a cold glance at the young man without saying anything, turned around, and sped off towards Jianye Prefecture City to the west.
Watching Tuoba Yu fly away, a glint of sharpness emerged in the young man's eyes.
"I have business to attend to first; continue escorting the civilians into Jiujun County City!"
"At your command!"
He didn't descend but relayed an order downward instead, and after hearing the response from below, he sped off like Tuoba Yu.
However, his destination was Xingnan Prefecture City to the east.