Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

New Yu Era 1331, August 12

For Hou Yuxiao, ninety li was a short distance, reachable within the span of less than an incense stick's burning time, but for a million-strong army, it was quite far.

The 1.7 million Nanjiang Allied Forces were stationed in Qingmiao City. Even as confident as Hou Yuxiao was, he dared not have the three great armies arrive in batches, hence he had to accommodate the slowest among them.

The Red Flame Army was equipped with superior war horses, which could travel three hundred li in one hour. On the other hand, the Zhaoyang Army and the Hong Miao Army were equipped with good quality war horses, reaching at most one hundred and sixty li in an hour. And the thirty thousand of the Hong Miao Army who lacked war horses could only cover less than twenty li.

And that's with the forces not exceeding five hundred thousand.

With an army over a million strong, the metrics change entirely.

"Even if the million-strong army doesn't move, they can form lines stretching over dozens of li. Along the way, they must guard against ambushes and often change the order of march. Plus, with sudden emergencies in the army, if just using foot power, a million-strong army could at most travel about ten li in an hour; with good quality war horses, they could cover about twenty li; and with the best horses, thirty li at most."

At the mouth of Fei Peng Mountain, Hou Yuxiao glanced back at the lengthy marching army. Hearing Hou Yucheng's explanation, he nodded and said, "So it seems that, accommodating the Hong Miao Army, it will take at least nine hours to reach Qingmiao City, right?"

"Far more than that, big brother, look ahead!"

Following the direction pointed out by Hou Yucheng, Hou Yuxiao looked and immediately furrowed his brows, understanding why Hou Yucheng said it would take far more time.

Although Fei Peng Mountain stretched over dozens of li, its terrain indeed wasn't high. At the moment, viewed from mid-air, the highest point was merely about three hundred meters, while the lowest might not even reach one hundred meters. Hou Yuxiao frowned because the entire mountain terrain was uneven, alternating between elevated and depressed regions, with the smallest intervals not even ten meters apart.

This type of terrain would severely affect normal walking, let alone the passage of a bustling million-strong army. As for the war horses, it was even more challenging. It's estimated that the soldiers would find it difficult to ride on horseback; they would likely have to dismount and lead the horses by hand.

"I estimated that, without rushing, it would take at least a full day for the army to traverse this mountain area, that is twelve hours, plus an additional two hours to reach Qingmiao City. We might arrive by tomorrow noon at the earliest, assuming there are no disturbances along the way."

Speaking of no disturbances along the way, Hou Yucheng paused slightly, a hint of cold light flashing in his pupils.

"Because marching through such terrain as Fei Peng Mountain, those without horses can actually move faster, I've adjusted the marching order. I put the three hundred thousand of the Hong Miao Army at the very front, followed by four hundred thousand of the Zhaoyang Army, and an additional two hundred thousand from the Hong Miao Army, all mounted. Lastly, the Red Flame Army can bring up the rear, ready to react promptly if anything unusual happens."

Hou Yuxiao nodded and declared, "Then let's start entering the mountains!"

"Alright, the army advances into the mountain!"

Upon Hou Yucheng's command, the one hundred and twenty thousand strong army officially began its entry into the Fei Peng Mountain's rugged paths. The number of troops was immense, but this well-ordered march had the five hundred thousand Hong Miao squad not needing to dismount, moving the fastest. The mounted troops of the Zhaoyang Army, the Hong Miao Army, and the Red Flame Army, however, dismounted before the mountain entry and opted to lead their horses walking in.

Marching wasn't like battling; with mid-and-lower rank officers in command, Hou Yucheng and the three brothers of Gao Family didn't need to follow the main force. Moreover, with their current Yuan Dan Realm Cultivation, staying away from the main army and constantly observing the front gave the best outcome. Therefore, the four of them always stayed with Hou Yuxiao, hovering in mid-air watching the army's progress into the mountain.

"Although Fei Peng Mountain only stretches for seventy li, there are two big bends in the middle, rounding up the distance to nearly double. That's why it will take a full day to traverse, and now that it's past noon, by tomorrow's noon we should be able to get through."

Under the scorching sun, Hou Yucheng saw the end of the army's mountain entry and he sighed slightly. Then, peering towards Fei Peng Mountain and pointing at the two large curves in the middle, he continued, "From up here, those two big bends, along with the main body, indeed resemble a great Peng spreading its wings."

Hou Yuxiao glanced at it, nodded, and with a stern expression, turned to Hou Yucheng and asked quietly, "You've already made all the arrangements for the points where our army might be ambushed, right?"

"Rest assured, big brother, I've got everything planned out."

Hou Yucheng responded with full confidence, but then, struck by a thought, his expression showed a hint of confusion as he asked softly, "Big brother, the Nanjiang Allied Forces aren't foolish enough, are they, to actually initiate an attack?"

From the moment Hou Yuxiao deliberately chose the route through Fei Peng Mountain, Hou Yucheng discerned his intention to lure the Nanjiang Allied Forces into an ambush. However, up until now, he still harbored some doubts whether the Nanjiang Allied Forces would indeed take the offensive.

Currently, comparing both sides' military strength, Hexi had one hundred twenty thousand while Nanjiang had one hundred seventy thousand. It seemed as if Nanjiang had fifty thousand more troops, but one must not forget that on Hexi's side, they had thirty thousand from the elite Red Flame Army capable of countering Holy Land warriors. Thus, the true comparison of strength could not be based on numbers alone.

Even without considering the power disparity, for Nanjiang, their aim in this battle was to prevent Hexi from ruling over Nanjiang, essentially on the defensive. As long as they could withstand the Hexi forces and preserve their fighting capacity, then Hexi's goal of ruling over Nanjiang would not be achieved.

Since they were on the defensive, holding the city certainly held advantages and offered the greatest chance of success. Initiating an attack would be nonsensical, wouldn't it?