News of today's battle would surely reach the capital soon. Their families had achieved nothing, losing over two hundred elite members of the aristocratic families and causing the needless deaths of dozens of Qingyang Pass defenders. Meanwhile, the enemy had managed to escape Beining Pass, the most brutal battle, unscathed, with soldiers and civilians lying in wait. The contrast was so humiliating that even they themselves felt ashamed, and the elders of the capital felt humiliated as well.
"Why don't we just negotiate peace with Mu Hanyan? If our eight great families work together to defend the two passes, our chances of winning will be greater." Fang Zihe, the young master of the Fang family, said tentatively.
Today, the sword pets of He Qingzong and others really opened his eyes and made him extremely envious. Thinking of how he was bewitched and turned to Tan Taixuan, he wanted to slap himself twice.
"No, things on the battlefield are no joke. We have fought side by side all the way, and we are loyal to each other and will protect each other through thick and thin. If we break up now, we will be like a pile of loose sand, and how can we fight against the monsters?" Tan Taixuan rejected Fang Zihe's proposal with just one sentence.
He had said a lot of harsh words at the beginning. If he compromised with Mu Hanyan like this, where would his face as a deacon of the Holy Court be? Even if he was a deacon of the Outer Court, he was still a deacon, and his face was much greater than those children of aristocratic families.
Fang Zihe was so angry that he almost burst into cursing. What the hell was the loyalty and support for each other? If Mu Hanyan hadn't displayed his divine power and scared the group of strange beasts away, many of them would have escaped long ago and become a group of scattered sand. Aren't they a group of scattered sand now?
Although he was secretly complaining, facing the tyranny of Tan Taixuan, he still didn't dare to persist. He just turned his head away quietly with a look of contempt.
"Lord Tantai is right. Our five great families have been protecting each other through life and death along the way, and have long been as close as a family. If we break up, it will be detrimental to the battle situation. Besides, even if we bow to Mu Hanyan, she may not accept it. Even if she accepts, we are not as close to He Yanzhang's family as we are, and we won't be able to gain any advantage. Instead of this, we might as well put aside our differences and work together to let everyone see the true abilities of our five great families." Changsun Yian found a broken fan from somewhere and spoke while shaking it, looking like a wise military strategist.
"Young Master Changsun is right. Mu Hanyan is arrogant and spoiled, and she doesn't take us, the great families, seriously. We must not give in to her," Mo Yanhong echoed. He and Mu Hanyan had the deepest conflict, and he knew that if he joined forces with her, the position of Patriarch would be even less likely to fall to him. His turmoil was even more determined.
"Then let's listen to Young Master Changsun and Young Master Tantai. The overall situation is still undecided, and there will certainly be many tough battles ahead. Things on the battlefield are changing rapidly. If we work together, we may not lose to them." Tantai Xuan made the final decision.
Fang Zihe looked at the stubborn Tan Taixuan, Chang Sun Yian and others and had nothing to say. He just sighed deeply.
In the following days, just as Mu Hanyan had expected, the strange beasts did not give up. Almost every day, a large number of strange beasts poured out of the Longyan Mountains, frantically attacking Beining Pass and Qingyang Pass, and even took advantage of the opportunity when the two passes were tightly guarded to invade Luoan City.
However, the strength of these strange beasts has not changed much. Except for a few strong ones comparable to the ninth-level swordsmen, most of the others are only equivalent to the strength of low-level swordsmen, or high-level swordsmen.
After being repaired, several catapults at Beining Pass can be used again. Of course, even without these catapults, it doesn't matter. The four red cloud golden armored elephants standing behind the pass can throw huge stones infused with the strength of the soldiers defending the city heavily downwards. The power is not much less than that of the catapults.
Most of the beasts only made it halfway before being crushed into pulp by the boulders. The few lucky enough to reach the pass were greeted by a group of elite soldiers in heavy armor, ready for battle, and a group of elite families riding sword pets, their faces even more ferocious than their sword pets.
After leaving behind the cold corpses of countless companions, the strange beasts returned empty-handed again and again, and the thunderous cheers of soldiers and civilians rang out again and again at the gate of Beining Pass.
In comparison, defending Qingyang Pass on the opposite side was much more difficult. They did not have the Red Cloud Golden Armored Elephant that could be used as a catapult, and the children of the aristocratic families did not have sword pets to protect themselves. What was worse was that once they entered the battlefield, they were like a group of scattered men fighting on their own, and there were those who cheated and pretended to be injured or dead one after another.
Even so, after days of fierce fighting, more than 200 elite children from the five major families died tragically on the battlefield. If it weren't for those experienced and brave soldiers guarding the pass, Qingyang Pass would have been captured by strange beasts countless times by them alone.
The golden afterglow gradually spread across the earth, night fell again, and the day's attack and defense came to an end.
"Oh, if I had known earlier, I should have followed Young Master Mu. I wouldn't have to be so cowardly." At Qingyang Pass, a young man from a noble family who had just crawled out from under the corpse of a strange beast sighed and said.
"I want to too, but unfortunately the young master is determined to have his own way and insists on following Tan Tai Xuan. What can we do?" Another young man from a noble family also crawled out.
Seeing that there was someone as smart and wise as himself, the man was slightly stunned, and then they looked at each other and smiled bitterly.
As the elite descendants of the major families, they also have their pride. At the age of full vigor and vitality, they also want to make achievements and be recorded in history. But there is no way. The people around them are like this, and they are unwilling to die in vain.
Not to mention them, even the young masters of each family seemed to be fighting bravely, but in fact their eyes were wandering during the battle, and they were always looking for a way to escape. How can we blame them for being afraid of death?
On the opposite side, a graceful yet heroic figure walked up to the top of the city wall, and the two children from the aristocratic families straightened their backs immediately.
These days, Mu Hanyan led the way and defended Beining Pass together with others. Her fearless demeanor impressed everyone, and they were no exception.
Mu Hanyan nodded to them. Although she disliked Dan Taixuan and the young masters of those families, she had no ill will towards other children from aristocratic families. She also had great respect for those brave and fearless children from aristocratic families.
Seeing Mu Hanyan greeting them, the two men's faces turned red, and they were ashamed of their previous cowardly behavior.
"It's getting late, go back and rest early. There will be a tough battle tomorrow. Protect yourself and return to the capital alive." Mu Hanyan said softly.
Tears rolled down their cheeks, out of shame and out of emotion.
They were in a daze and could not remember how they walked down the city wall. However, at the moment they walked down the city wall, they made a decision that they would never regret for the rest of their lives: from then on, they would never be cowards again, and would never lie among the corpses pretending to be dead again. They would use the swords in their hands and their blood to defend their dignity and would never let anyone look down on them again. Only in this way could they live up to the respect in Mu Hanyan's eyes and those words of encouragement.
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