Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

"Li Yuan, if one day we become opposing sides, what will you do?"

Suddenly, Leng Ning Shuang asked thoughtfully.

Li Yuan was slightly taken aback, not understanding why she would suddenly ask this question. Considering her situation, he figured she was probably too worried to ask such a question.

"Actually, I don't care too much about whether it's human or demon race. As long as it doesn't violate my principles, I'll make an exception."

Leng Ning Shuang was probably not expected to hear him say that. She was stunned for a moment, then revealed a faint smile: "As expected of the Li Yuan I know."

"I'm gone."

She turned her horse around, whipped it, and galloped towards the other side of the river. Dressed in flowing white, she remained as ethereal and aloof as when Li Yuan first met her.

Li Yuan watched them depart into the distance, then reined in his horse and galloped along the border.

A dozen days later, the new round of inspections was completed, and the group returned to Suzhou City, travel-worn.

As soon as they entered the Demon Suppression Bureau's office, a demon-hunting guard stepped forward: "Sir, we have a letter for you."

Li Yuan took the letter, which was sent by Ji Fanghua. He opened the seal and took out the letter inside.

Li Yuan's expression changed after just one glance. The letter contained only one thing: Yu Ling'er had gone missing.

It turned out that after she arrived in the Western Regions, she asked Zhao Wuji to help her find Yu Ling'er. After searching for a while, she learned that Yu Ling'er had disappeared in a chaotic battle, and there was no trace of her, neither alive nor dead.

Several months have passed since then, and there has been no news of her. The Longyou Road Demon Suppression Division sent people to search for her, but they have been unable to find her whereabouts.

Since losing contact with Yu Ling'er, Li Yuan had felt deeply uneasy. Now that the weight had been lifted, he felt a deep sense of sorrow.

He recalled Yu Ling'er's heroic words when she killed the enemy and made meritorious contributions. Her words still echoed in his ears, but her fate was unknown. His heart was heavy.

He had to travel the Longyou Road sooner or later.

Half a month later, the battle situation changed suddenly. Several demon emperors launched a joint attack on the Western Regions, which also affected Hexi. Battles broke out frequently. Fortunately, Li Yuan was prepared. The Demon Suppression Division and the Anxi Army coordinated their efforts, reported the situation at any time, and provided timely assistance, which was very effective.

However, the situation in Longyou Circuit was not optimistic. Due to its vast territory and severe shortage of troops, remote areas were lost one after another, resulting in heavy losses.

Every day, urgent military intelligence was sent from Suzhou to Chang'an, which made Li Yuan's blood boil and he wished he could immediately throw himself into the front line.

A few days later, shocking news arrived: the Inspector General of Longyou Circuit had died in the line of duty, and an urgent document was sent to Suzhou.

The imperial court ordered Li Yuan to immediately resign from his post as Inspector of Hexi Circuit and rush to Longyou to take over as Inspector of Longyou Circuit, assisting Zhao Wuji in dealing with the war situation.

With the war situation tense and urgent, Li Yuan couldn't wait for the new inspector to take office, and only gave a brief instruction to Wang Yan, the military commander of Anxi.

That same day, he summoned his subordinates, entrusted the border affairs to Xu Sheng for temporary management, wrote a letter to Zhang Tingyu, and finally submitted a special memorial to the emperor, sending someone to deliver it to the capital to express his gratitude.

Immediately afterwards, he gathered Wu Yu, Shi Yong, and other old subordinates, and they set off overnight.

The situation on the battlefield changes rapidly every day; every extra day of delay means countless lives lost.

The journey from Suzhou to Kucha was long, a distance of a thousand miles. Li Yuan and his party traveled day and night, changing horses but not people, and arrived in less than five days.

Kucha was one of the important military strongholds of the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions. Its city walls were tall and thick, with banners fluttering on them, exuding a solemn and imposing atmosphere.

The atmosphere in the city was significantly more tense than in Suzhou. Fully armed soldiers could be seen everywhere on the streets, and convoys transporting military supplies came and went in an endless stream. The air was thick with the oppressive feeling that a major battle was about to begin.

After entering the city, Li Yuan and his party went directly to the garrison headquarters.

Zhao Wuji had received the news early and was waiting for him at the entrance of the government office.

Seeing Li Yuan dismount, he laughed and stepped forward to greet him, patting him heavily on the shoulder: "It's only been half a year since we parted ways in Suzhou, and I didn't expect we'd become colleagues so quickly, haha..."

Zhao Wuji was a large, burly man with a full beard. Although he looked energetic, there was an undeniable weariness between his brows.

"Greetings, Brother Zhao."

Li Yuan knew him well and didn't stand on ceremony.

"You must be tired from the journey. Let's go inside and talk."

The two entered the yamen, and Zhao Wuji closed the door, plopped down in a chair, and said, "Brother Li, I won't stand on ceremony with you. The situation in Longyou is not optimistic."

Li Yuan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and waited for him to continue.

"Since the Demon Emperor went into seclusion, the Demon Court has been managed by the three Demon Emperors, Xuanbing, Molin, and Zhuyan. For the first year or two, the three checked and balanced each other, and none of them dared to go too far."

"But now the situation has changed drastically."

"Oh? Is this matter related to the Zhu Yan Demon Emperor?"

When Chen Shuo was sent as an envoy to the Demon Court, Li Yuan had deliberately learned about the situation there and quickly guessed the key to the problem.

"Yes, my brother, you guessed right. The Xuanbing Demon Emperor was never one to meddle in other people's business, and now he spends all his time cultivating on the glacier and doesn't care about anything else. The Molin Demon Emperor does advocate peaceful coexistence with the human race, but his ideas are becoming increasingly unpopular within the Demon Court."

Zhao Wuji was worried. "That Zhu Yan Demon Emperor is a thorough advocate of war. He has been trying to win over various demon kings and offering them great benefits. He has brought all the previously wavering forces under his control. Now, he has taken control of most of the demon court's forces."

As expected, those demon emperors previously fought each other, and sometimes even fought each other to compete for blood food.

But if they were to unite now, it would be an absolute disaster for humanity.

"How much force has he gathered this time?"

"According to the intelligence we have so far, he has persuaded at least four demon emperors to join forces with him."

Zhao Wuji held up four fingers, "They are the Crimson Flame Demon Emperor, the Black Wind Demon Emperor, the White Bone Demon Saint, and the Poisonous Gu Demon Emperor. These four also have a large number of demon kings under their command. They joined forces to start a war, and they responded to each other, catching our Great Tang Dynasty off guard."

He stood up, walked to the map hanging on the wall, and drew a large circle on it with his finger: "Large areas of Longxi, including parts of the Anxi Protectorate, have been devoured by them. The situation is even worse in the Mengchi Protectorate. According to previous reports, even Mengchi was once lost."

"Is it really that serious?"

Li Yuan was shocked. Mengchi Protectorate was the westernmost stronghold of the Tang Dynasty. If it were to fall, it would mean that the demon army had directly threatened the heartland of Longyou Road.

"How did Inspector Sun die in the line of duty?" Li Yuan asked.

Zhao Wuji's face darkened: "Five days ago, he led his men to investigate the demon situation near Shule. They encountered a demon army under the command of the Crimson Flame Demon Emperor. The enemy had five demon kings leading the team, and he was outnumbered... By the time the reinforcements arrived, it was too late."

Li Yuan also felt heavy-hearted. He was not familiar with Sun Yi, having only met him twice at the Demon Suppression Division's regular meetings. Now, upon hearing that Sun Yi had sacrificed his life for his country, he couldn't help but feel deep respect.

"Brother Zhao, there's no time to lose, please arrange the itinerary immediately."

Seeing that Li Yuan was eager to take up his post, Zhao Wuji admired him and said without further ado, "Shule is currently leaderless and urgently needs a capable person to take charge. You are the most suitable person to go."

Shule was one of the central battlefields, and the fighting was fierce. If it could not be held, even Hexi would be difficult to defend.

Similarly, it is also extremely dangerous there. Sun Yi was a cultivator at the peak of the Condensation Realm, yet he still perished there.

Li Yuan immediately nodded: "Okay, I'll set off right away."