You call this the way of the sword?

The Qiao family is a military family. Qiao Lie studied military strategy and learned how to manage people and command troops from a young age. Therefore, he dared to stand in front of the stage and mobilize all the candidates in the third assessment.

The results were good at the time, and Qiao Lie felt great about himself. But now, seeing the actions of the Zhoucheng commander, he suddenly realized that he was still far behind.

When it comes to stirring up emotions and inspiring fighting spirit, the military is the best.

At the same time, Qiao Lie vaguely sensed something was off, especially since Lü Yanliang had given a speech earlier, seemingly very dissatisfied with Fengtian's behavior, while the chief official of Zhoucheng was speaking smoothly and effortlessly, as if he had been prepared all along.

Suddenly, a commotion arose, and the gates of the Great Yu Heavenly Palace slowly opened.

A radiant light, like that of the blazing sun, shone through the celestial palace, unleashing intense spatial fluctuations.

The Qiangdu Channel, initiated from within, is rapidly taking shape.

At this moment, the city's commander once again issued an order to the entire city, commanding two adjutants to form a legion. The cultivators in the city responded enthusiastically to the call, with over ten thousand joining the legion and rushing to the battlefield.

In no time, half of Zhoucheng was empty.

Qiao Lie witnessed the whole process and was filled with mixed emotions, feeling proud as well.

He knew very well that war had nothing to do with ordinary people. If ordinary cultivators did not want to participate in the war, no one could force them, unless the situation was critical and the alien races had already reached their doorstep.

It was clearly not a critical moment, but after a mobilization by the city's chief official, all the cultivators in the city actively participated in the battle, their fighting spirit surging, and their target was the demon race's lair, which was inexplicably brutal.

Qiao Lie hesitated for a long time before finally asking his commander, "Are we really going to attack Jiuliancheng? Yang Qingfeng isn't that impulsive; he probably won't go that far..."

The commander of Zhoucheng, who was directing the various legions in battle, chuckled and glanced at Qiao Lie upon hearing this. "Did I say I was going to attack Jiuliancheng?"

Qiao Lie's eyes widened. "Then they..."

The commander of Zhoucheng shook his head and said, "I will command them to attack Jiuliancheng, but I won't actually fight. You know the saying 'besieging Wei to rescue Zhao,' right?"

Qiao Lie nodded, but still didn't understand.

The city's commander patiently explained, "The reason why the demons and ghosts are forcing their way across is to suppress Fengtian. Therefore, we are also initiating our own crossing to support Fengtian."

"But you can't guarantee whether we'll arrive first or the enemy will, and you can't be sure that those of us who force our way through will be able to repel the enemy. So we need to have a backup plan."

"To attack Jiuliancheng, there are two prerequisites."

"Unless we are defeated and Fengtian is on the verge of collapse, or we achieve a complete victory, then we will take it by force."

The city's chief official was dressed in a long robe, appeared gentle and refined, and spoke in a logical and composed manner.

Qiao Lie understood immediately, and at the same time broke out in a cold sweat, "You mean..."

"Shhh."

The city commander gestured for silence, patted Qiao Lie on the shoulder, and said, "Some things are cruel to explain in detail, but this is a battlefield. You came here to train, so you should be able to face life and death."

As he spoke, the Zhoucheng commander ignored the astonished Qiao Lie, shook his head and chuckled, "Since you Fengtian have the guts to wage war against the enemy, you must be prepared to bear this blood debt. How many people will die in this battle is not something I can control."

"I'm telling you all this because you're General Joe's son."

"You will go further than me, and may command more soldiers in the future. Do not act impulsively."

After that, Qiao Lie couldn't listen to anything the city official said.

He had already realized that the cultivators from all the strongholds in Pingchuan were aiming their swords at Jiulian City, their fundamental purpose being to contain the enemy's reinforcements that were trying to cross the border.

Its strategic direction can be summarized in four striking words: sacrifice the big for the small.

If Fengtian is in danger, human cultivators will launch an attack on Jiulian City, forcing high-level demons to return to defend it. If the demons return to defend it, they will be in dire straits.

What terrified Qiao Lie even more was that the reason for this strategy could be entirely attributed to the various identities he had previously revealed.

The top scorer in the country.

The richest man's daughter.

Cabinet Princess.

Miss Qiao.

Representatives of the public.

If the national examination is the cradle for discovering new talents, then Pingchuan is the primary battlefield for cultivating them. On this battlefield, the key is summed up in four words: cultivating new talents.

Those who have survived from the previous cohort are no longer considered newcomers, but rather mediocre.

Following this line of thinking, the military intends to exchange countless mediocre individuals for five top-tier ones.

The commander of Zhoucheng actually has no real authority. His plans and actions are all authorized by the military high command, and he is even remotely controlled and commanded by the high command.

In other words, the military has been implementing this iron-fisted policy from top to bottom and inside to outside.

But even the most mediocre person is still a human being, and the military cannot send people to their deaths for no reason. If there are large-scale battle losses on the battlefield, the military must always bear responsibility.

In this context, Fengtian, which triggered a full-scale war, was guilty of heinous crimes.

This is the blood debt that the city lord was referring to.

People will die in war, and that was Qiao Lie's initial thought.

But if countless people are sacrificed to save Fengtian, then the nature of the matter changes.

"If you don't want to bear this blood debt..."

Qiao Lie shook his head. The arrow had already been released; there was no way to back down now.

He stroked the Asura Demon Mask in his hand, then slowly put it on his face. "Then I'll carry it."

As Qiao Lie stepped into the teleportation array, the chief officer of Zhoucheng looked up at the Great Yu Heavenly Palace and transmitted his voice to Lü Yanliang: "General, he's gone."

Lu Yanliang replied calmly, "Yes, proceed as planned."

On the strategic map, the cultivator legions from various strongholds have already launched their attacks, with more than a dozen routes spreading across the entire plain, surging northwestward toward the demon race.

They will attack demon strongholds along the way, igniting a full-scale war.

Among them, there was not a single Yu-Xia soldier.

The commander entered the central building of Zhoucheng, where there was another strategic sand table map in the command room.

This map marks all the strongholds of the Ghost Clan from south to northeast, and even clearly circles the Ghost Clan's lair. Moreover, all sixteen armies of Yu Xia are listed, indicating that they are on standby.

Looking at the map, the commander of Zhoucheng couldn't help but ask, "General, even without Fengtian, would we still launch an attack?"

Lü Yanliang replied very casually, "Of course."

The officer frowned and said, "If that's the case, why add more burdens to Qiao Lie?"

Lu Yanliang pondered for a moment and asked, "What happened? What was his reaction?"

The officer shook his head with a wry smile, "There's no reaction. Even if there were, it wouldn't be now."

After a long pause, Lü Yanliang said, "For many years, there hasn't been a major war between the various races that has damaged their very foundations. Your generations have seen your hatred for demons and ghosts fade away, and what I fear most is that you will make the wrong decisions in the future."

"We are adding burdens to you so that you can see clearly that those who died on the battlefield were our ancestors, our kinsmen, and our compatriots."

"If one day you manage to slay and subdue the demons, it won't just be your achievement. You have no right to accept their surrender on behalf of your ancestors, understand?"

The war between the five races has continued to this day due to generations of blood feuds, and no form of surrender is accepted.

Lü Yanliang didn't say it explicitly, but his attitude was already very firm.

This is what the radicals are advocating.

The chief officer of Zhoucheng is only a ninth-rank major, and there is currently no distinction between radical and conservative. For Qiao Lie, there is even less of a distinction. But that's how factional struggles are; they have to be cultivated from the root.

At this point, the map to the west changed.

The city commander glanced at the scene and was immediately stunned. "General, Fengtian has breached Yuncheng and has already teleported to Huicheng."

Lu Yanliang laughed and said, "It seems they want to take all four cities of the Green Lion. They have quite the appetite."