Chapter 2009: Not Falling Into the Trap

"Yes.""Can the demon puppet burrow into rocks?""Of course not.""Good." Guo Baiyu immediately adjusted his direction, fighting and retreating!

He certainly hoped to fight and retreat, with both sides locked in a fierce struggle, so the Black Armored Army would naturally follow him up the mountain. Unfortunately, at this point, it became clear that his army was a mixed bag. The peripheral soldiers were already disoriented by the Black Armored Army's charge. As soon as they saw the main force retreating, they assumed Guo's army had lost and that they would be abandoned. Consequently, a large number of people scattered and fled, and the supervising officers had no time to stop them.

Guo Baiyu cursed them as "good-for-nothings." Too many groups had recently joined him, and a large number of these types were just there to make up the numbers, completely disloyal, always ready to switch sides, and often just wasting his food!

Above this slope lay continuous mountains, primarily composed of hard granite, but covered with a thin layer of soil, allowing for vegetation. The sandy ground was a bit slippery, but the horses could still traverse it.

Guo Baiyu ordered his main forces to lead the Black Armored Army in circles, then head up the mountain. This showed that only the troops he had personally trained could withstand such maneuvers.

At this point, the bandit army deliberately appeared somewhat disheveled, abandoning their armor and weapons along the way.

The Black Armored Army did not know that Guo Baiyu had Heavenly Palace supervisors with him, nor did they know that the Heavenly Palace wanted to capture Dong Rui alive, much less that a true divine avatar was present. Guo Baiyu expected them to pursue relentlessly.

The sorcerers by his side tore two "swift-movement talismans," and a faint green light covered most of the main army, making their movements more agile.

Seeing the enemy immediately heading into the mountains, the Black Armored Army rushed to the top of the slope and, as expected, charged forward without hesitation. While Mian City had its own detachments to relieve the siege, Wan Qiliang's target was Guo Baiyu!

But before they had run more than a dozen *zhang*, Dong Rui's voice transmission reached Wan Qiliang's ear:

"Hold on, my snail toad can't go up there."

He had accompanied Wan Qiliang on the expedition and was also using Madam Zhu's eyeball spider as a means of communication.

Wan Qiliang's pace slowed. "Why?"

"The main body of this mountain is entirely rock; the snail toad cannot burrow through rock."

Wan Qiliang paused, then looked up. The mountain was mostly sparse bushes, like a patchy scalp, indicating thin soil. Did Guo Baiyu know the geography here? By charging into the mountain, did he intend to engage the Black Armored Army in guerrilla warfare, or did he have another plan?

Wan Qiliang raised a hand, and everyone quickly stopped, awaiting new orders.

Normally, he would relentlessly pursue a fleeing enemy, directly capture Guo Baiyu, and the night's battle would be over.

This idea was extremely tempting, as Wan Qiliang found it difficult to assess Guo Baiyu's true intentions. If Guo Baiyu was simply retreating and he failed to pursue, allowing him to escape smoothly, it would be difficult to apprehend him later. Guo Baiyu still controlled several cities, and if he closed himself off to focus on defense, this clear-up operation could turn into an extended war, and it would be hard to say how long it might last.

If it were like Lu Yaofei's army, which besieged a city for twenty or thirty days, thereby delaying other operations, the Dragon God would surely reprimand them.

These thoughts flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.

In the past, Wan Qiliang would have certainly charged forward without a second thought.

But now, with a large army under his command, he wasn't swept away by hot-headedness or the desire for immediate victory. Instead, he looked back into the distance.

From this vantage point, the situation in Mian City was visible:

The Black Armored Army was fiercely engaging the bandit forces, and the danger to Mian City had not yet been lifted.

Hmm, had Guo Baiyu set some kind of trap, which made him turn back so decisively? What if Mian City was breached *after* the reinforcements arrived? That would truly be...

Furthermore, he firmly remembered the Nine Nether Emperor's repeated warnings:

Absolutely, Mr. Dong must not be exposed!

However, given the current situation, if Dong Rui were to continue with the team, he would have to emerge from underground; if Wan Qiliang ordered him to stop and pursued Guo Baiyu alone, it also seemed inappropriate.

Wan Qiliang took a deep breath and shouted, "Turn back and reinforce Mian City, quickly!"

The Black Armored Army reversed direction and charged out again, heading straight for Mian City.

On the mountain, Guo Baiyu saw this and was so enraged his eyes turned green. "So cunning?"

Just a few more steps, and the entire Black Armored Army would have been in the mountainous area, forcing that demon puppeteer named Dong to emerge from underground. But the enemy retreated.

Did the enemy sense something?

He prided himself on not revealing any flaws, so was the Black Armored Army truly so cautious?

Where was their promised "daring advance," their proclaimed bravery? How could they not even dare to pursue a fleeing enemy?

How ridiculously cautious!

Ultimately, his disadvantage stemmed from not knowing who the Black Armored Army's leader was, nor their battle habits and temperament.

Guo Baiyu had no choice but to descend the mountain and re-gather his peripheral troops.

Just as he was about to head straight for Mian City, a mounted messenger suddenly arrived with a report from the rear:

"General, bad news! Luofeng Pool has been occupied!"

Guo Baiyu was greatly alarmed. "By whom?"

"Nanrong He led the troops himself."

"That scoundrel Nanrong He really knows how to seize an opportunity!" Guo Baiyu almost ground his back teeth to dust.

He had occupied Luofeng Pool for over three months, and Nanrong He hadn't said a word, not even attempting negotiations, as if the matter had never happened. Yet as soon as he attacked Mian City, the other party dispatched troops to reclaim Luofeng Pool.

The timing was impeccable.

This presented Guo Baiyu with another dilemma:

Attack, or retreat?

With Luofeng Pool occupied, his army would have to retreat to Huan City, a longer and riskier journey.

The biggest problem was that the Black Armored Army's combat strength far exceeded his expectations; even Guo Baiyu's main forces, engaging directly, were struggling to hold their ground.

Guo Baiyu immediately summoned a supervisor, pointing directly at the city. "Can a deity descend into Mian City? Right now!"

The supervisor's answer was clear: "No! You didn't lure that demon puppeteer out!"

The Heavenly Palace's ultimate move is reserved only for powerful figures sent by the Nine Nether Emperor; not just any minor fry is worthy of a Heavenly God expending energy to descend! For him, all the lives here combined were less important than Dong Rui. This was a high-tier combat asset of the Nine Nether Emperor, an irreplaceable resource.

Guo Baiyu laughed in anger. "Then what use is this divine avatar of yours, if it's just being held back?"

His goal was to win, to capture Mian City, but these fanatics created complications, insisting on catching some demon puppeteer! Now, the rhythm of the war was completely disrupted, and he couldn't get it back on track.

The supervisor detected the threat in his words and coldly said, "The Heavenly God is always watching here. Even if you kill us, He will not descend. You'll just have to wait; perhaps there will still be an opportunity."

Guo Baiyu let out a breath and ordered a retreat.

Even with a divine avatar present, it wasn't a matter of simply summoning a god at will. First, the supervisor needed to report it, and second, it depended on the Heavenly God's will. If the deity was unwilling to descend, Guo Baiyu had no recourse whatsoever. To possess such a formidable weapon yet be unable to use it was an unutterable frustration.

Since he couldn't take Mian City for the time being, why waste time and lives here? Retreat!