"What?"
Upon receiving the urgent distress report, Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor, Zhuiri, abruptly stood up, "The Winged Demon Army we dispatched has been annihilated?"
"They were besieged by an army exceeding 300,000?"
"Wasn’t the entire defensive line of Blood River Fortress only 500,000? How could there be an army of 300,000 at the Yang Gate Fortress?"
A series of questions emerged in the mind of the Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor, Zhuiri, making his face grow increasingly pale.
With his insight, how could he not understand that Ye Zhen’s strategy was superior?
Since advancing, he had been meticulously cautious, making steady progress, yet he still fell into Ye Zhen’s trap.
At least in terms of manpower, it was completely mismatched.
The known forces they had accounted for already exceeded 600,000.
"Report, Your Highness, the Fire Swallow Army of Great Zhou has appeared at Cairo Fortress. The attack is fierce, and the Cairo Fortress garrison is requesting support!"
"The Fire Swallow Army, isn’t that the elite under Ji Yuan, the old villain of the Human Demon Battlefield Grand Commander’s Mansion? How did it arrive here?" The Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor, Zhuiri, was utterly shocked!
Subsequently, the face of the Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor, Zhuiri, grew increasingly grim.
The Winged Demon Army could be said to be his fastest and most mobile force, now trapped in the Yang Gate Fortress, and must be rescued.
However, other troops rushing to the Yang Gate Fortress at full speed, even if bringing only the elite, would take two hours.
And after two hours....
With no choice, the Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor slightly altered the offensive against Blood River Fortress, personally leading 120,000 elite troops to rescue the army at Yang Gate Fortress and the Winged Demon Army.
Simultaneously, he dispatched another army of 80,000 to support Cairo Fortress. As for the side of Blood River Fortress, after withdrawing 200,000 troops, there were still 400,000 remaining to maintain the offensive.
However, on the way to the rescue, the Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor, Zhuiri, was puzzled.
Wasn’t he the one bringing the might of a million soldiers to trample Blood River Fortress and take Ye Zhen’s head?
How did it turn into him being exhausted shortly after the battle began?
This was completely unreasonable.
Moreover, the arrival of such an elite unit as the Fire Swallow Army at Blood River Fortress, yet he had received no prior information, was truly....
Despite this, the Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor, Zhuiri, remained quite optimistic.
Two hours, the army at Yang Gate Fortress and the Winged Demon Army, should be able to hold out, right?
Even if losses occur, they would be within an acceptable range.
Nevertheless, the Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor, Zhuiri, could never imagine that Ye Zhen alone had completely restrained the Winged Demon Army.
A single geomagnetic field turned the Winged Demon Army into sitting ducks.
And Ye Zhen’s Heavenly Wave Army of North Sea employed an unexpectedly extravagant crossbow barrage tactic.
The attack speed was extraordinarily fast.
Less than an hour after the reinforcements set out, the Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor, Zhuiri, received an urgent message.
This urgent message made the hand of the Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor, Zhuiri, tremble violently, his face filled with disbelief!
Total annihilation!
Of the 50,000 Winged Demon Army, aside from the Winged Demon Corps Leader and three trusted aides who escaped, all other Winged Demons were completely wiped out.
Following this urgent message was an even more desperate plea from the Demon Clan commander attacking Yang Gate Fortress.
The message stated that their army was encircled by the Human Clan army.
Requesting urgent reinforcement, immediate assistance.
Under Ye Zhen’s overwhelmingly fierce offensive, he had no confidence in holding out for even an hour!
All along the way, the Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor, Zhuiri, was rushed into a frenzy by one urgent plea after another, his lips almost bursting with anxiety.
In a frantic hurry, after two hours, he finally arrived at Yang Gate Fortress.
However, waiting for him inside Yang Gate Fortress was a rigorously arrayed 100,000 elite troops under Heu Qi, and 80,000 Heavenly Wave Army of North Sea.
As for the Demon Clan troops that had previously attacked Yang Gate Fortress, there remained 50,000 survivors engaged in a final resistance under the encirclement of over 100,000 troops!
With a brief engagement, the Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor, Zhuiri, was alarmed by Ye Zhen’s Heavenly Wave Army of North Sea’s overwhelming firepower.
With 100,000 elite troops under Heu Qi holding the line, Ye Zhen’s Heavenly Wave Army of North Sea could unleash firepower unabated.
His 120,000 reinforcements, forget about rescuing the remaining troops trapped in Yang Gate Fortress—it seemed they were about to be trapped themselves.
This realization shocked the Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor, Zhuiri.
In an instant, he recalled the fate of the Seventh Crown Prince Congyun.
In less than half an hour, the Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor, Zhuiri, decisively ordered a retreat, leaving behind thousands of corpses.
And Ye Zhen did not pursue.
In reality, the crossbow bolts that Ye Zhen’s Heavenly Wave Army of North Sea brought today had been over 70% depleted, unable to sustain another high-intensity battle.
Moreover, the close to seven hours of fierce fighting over three hours had taken a great toll on the soldiers under his command, preventing further combat.
As for the remaining forces assaulting Yang Gate Fortress, Ye Zhen naturally aimed to annihilate them with minimal cost!
In the military camp, the Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor, Zhuiri, stood silently in the commander’s tent, a bitter expression on his face.
Vowing to claim Ye Zhen’s head, unexpectedly, in the first battle, Ye Zhen delivered a crushing blow.
Cleverly utilizing the intelligence disparity, concentrating superior forces to annihilate the troops he sent to attack Yang Gate Fortress.
Simultaneously, the troops he sent to attack Cairo Fortress also suffered severe damage from the renowned Fire Swallow Army!
In the battle of Yang Gate Fortress, 200,000 mixed troops and 50,000 Winged Demon troops were annihilated.
Post-battle statistics revealed that the 250,000-strong army caused only less than 40,000 casualties among Ye Zhen’s forces.
Among these 40,000 casualties, most belonged to elites under Heu Qi from the Northern War Zone.
However, the price Ye Zhen paid was exorbitant, with 20 million various crossbow bolts expended.
The consumption of crossbow bolts by the 100,000-strong Heavenly Wave Army of North Sea under Ye Zhen in three hours of battle reached the level of a million-strong army.
In this battle, the Fire Swallow Army demonstrated exceptionally formidable combat power.
With ten thousand against twenty thousand, at the cost of over thirteen thousand casualties, they annihilated 51,000 Demon Clan troops, with the rest fleeing for a thousand miles.
Counting the corpses left beneath Blood River Fortress, the first battle alone reduced the Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor, Zhuiri’s army by over 310,000.
Instantly decreasing the Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor, Zhuiri’s army from a million to 700,000.
At this moment, the Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor, Zhuiri, finally understood the actual troop strength under Ye Zhen’s command.
Ye Zhen’s total troop strength reached 800,000, even after this great battle, still standing at 750,000.
In terms of troop numbers, they were still at an advantage.
Oh, right, when completely wiping out the enemy attacking Yang Gate Fortress, the remaining 30,000 elite Demon Clan troops, in hopelessness, surrendered one after another.
After dividing war achievements and prisoners with Heu Qi, Ye Zhen took less credit but gained the most elite 20,000 Demon Clan prisoners.
The number of battle slaves of the Demon Clan under Ye Zhen’s command increased to over 30,000.
Regarding military merit, it remained the same routine: report a small portion and sell most to replenish dwindling military supplies.
However, after this battle, the situation at Blood River Fortress altered instantly.
Previously, the Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor, Zhuiri, arrived with a force of a million, intending to crush Blood River Fortress.
But after this battle, the edge of the Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor, Zhuiri’s forces had become awkward.
Dividing forces was necessary, yet too much division was perilous, fearing another concentrated annihilation by Ye Zhen.
From a certain standpoint, Ye Zhen actually took the initiative.
As for the Second Crown Prince of the Demon Emperor, Zhuiri, he was left in a highly awkward and uncomfortable position.
He knew that the current situation was one of insufficient forces; however, even though his control over troop numbers surpassed eight million, he couldn’t draw large numbers from other fronts at this time.
In the short term, he had to rely on the current forces to attack Blood River Fortress.
Even with insufficient strength, he could only quietly seek an opportunity.
Under these circumstances, the previously critical situation at Blood River Fortress entered a period of relative stalemate, and more importantly, a period of relative stability.
Minor skirmishes and conflicts occurred constantly, yet there were no major battles.
In this situation, as the commander, Ye Zhen suddenly found himself with more free time.

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