However, this county had an advantage: it was a basin with extremely treacherous terrain. The soil within the basin was all hard stone, causing the demons to suffer heavy losses. This time, the demon army had mobilized completely, intending to annihilate the troops stationed in the Western Regions in one fell swoop. Therefore, their target this time was that county in the Western Regions.
..........
At this moment, on the territory's side, the army was already being consolidated. This time, the territory had over eight hundred counties in the Western Regions, so this campaign was a campaign involving over eight hundred counties.
These days, the territory had also been diligently training its new recruits. Now, the Zhou Dynasty's army had exceeded two billion.
This was even with the people from the surrounding villages and towns willing to join the Zhou Dynasty.
Furthermore, the Zhou Dynasty's army here was still expanding.
This was because the people in these villages and towns were very concerned about the territory's future.
They feared being massacred by the demons.
Under such circumstances, the territory's officers came up with a plan: to recruit the poor or fallen individuals, form an army with them, and let them protect their safety, then have them assist in combat during times of war.
This way, these people might be willing to help the Zhou Dynasty's army defend their homes.
"Reporting to the Lord, we have received a swift victory report from Eastern Province. Our troops have intercepted the demon army halfway," a soldier shouted to Zhou Yan.
"En, good. Continue to monitor the situation there. Once any demons attempt to escape, they are to be completely annihilated, leaving no survivors. This mission is extremely arduous. Do not give them any opportunities, or it will be like last time, and we will be in danger," Zhou Yan said happily upon hearing this news.
"Yes!" The soldier immediately withdrew.
"Lord, when will our army reach the Western Regions? This humble subordinate requests to be part of the vanguard," at this moment, a deputy beside him stood up. He was one of Zhou Yan's trusted confidantes. Besides Zhao Yun and Liu Bang's three thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, Zhou Yan had four trusted deputy generals by his side.
"En, you have all worked hard. Prepare yourselves. Once we arrive there, you will also have your tasks. This time, the four of you must completely annihilate those demon troops and prevent them from escaping," Zhou Yan said, looking at them.
"Yes!" These four immediately stood up and replied.
"Good, go and rest! We will depart tomorrow morning. I need to pay a visit to someone," Zhou Yan said with a smile.
The next morning, Zhou Yan and these deputy generals set sail from Beizhou. After sailing for a day at sea, Zhou Yan and his group arrived at a desolate city.
At the city gate, three large characters were written: 'Western Regions'. Upon arriving in the Western Regions, Zhou Yan began to wander the streets, observing the environment. Currently, the main forces of their territory had occupied most of the Western Regions, but the Eastern Regions were the most difficult to conquer.
The demons in the Eastern Regions currently occupied three counties, and their demon god was also there. Zhou Yan had to deal with this demon god. If he did not resolve the issue of the demon god, Zhou Yan would not feel at ease.
Currently, the demon army was fiercely attacking the territories in the Eastern Regions, and the territories in the Eastern Regions were retreating steadily. They had already lost two counties. Zhou Yan estimated that the demons had already occupied most of the area in these two counties. Only the last county remained unconquered by the demons. That county was the last county in the Western Regions and the demons' granary, where a large amount of grain was stored.
However, the territory's army had already dispatched troops from three counties, totaling about six to seven hundred thousand soldiers. But it was absolutely impossible for these six to seven hundred thousand soldiers to defeat the demon army of over five million.
Zhou Yan's army was also preparing. Based on the scale of this demon invasion, Zhou Yan knew that a large number of demon troops would surely gather here. Therefore, Zhou Yan's mission this time was to annihilate the demon troops here. Only by annihilating the demons could these humans truly be safe.
"Your Highness, how much force do we need this time?" At this moment, in the main hall, a young general said to Zhou Yan.
"En, we don't need too much force this time. Our main enemy is the demon army in the Western Regions. Although this demon army is not numerous, they are all elites. So, the troops we are sending out this time will be around 5 million. However, our army's equipment is excellent, and the weapons are sourced from elsewhere, so their combat effectiveness is acceptable. Furthermore, the soldiers we are sending out this time have been strictly selected, so their combat effectiveness is absolutely incomparable to ordinary soldiers," Zhou Yan said to the young general.
"If that's the case, then let's set off!" The general immediately led the army towards the Western Regions, while Zhou Yan followed in the imperial chariot.
Soon, they arrived in the Western Regions, and Zhou Yan ordered the entire army to advance.
"Lord, the atmosphere in the Western Regions is not quite right," a general said to Zhou Yan.
"What is it?" Zhou Yan asked.
"The people here seem very panicked," the general said.
"This should be the border of our territory. Our territory has suffered heavy casualties here recently, so the people here are very worried. However, we must drive them away now," Zhou Yan said directly to the generals behind him.
"Yes!" Upon hearing this, the generals nodded and then led their troops to charge towards the city gate.
Zhou Yan waited at the city gate for them to enter. As soon as they entered, the city gate was blasted open with a bang, and then demons holding spears rushed in. Zhou Yan's army immediately reacted and began to resist these demon troops.
"Hahaha, I've finally found you all! Brothers, let's go eat and drink!" The demon leader shouted happily upon seeing Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan looked at the demon leader. This demon leader was a demon king-level powerhouse.
Zhou Yan did not waste any words and directly led his guard detachment to attack the demon leader. When the two sides clashed, Zhou Yan realized that the demon leader was very powerful. Zhou Yan did not intend to defeat him in one fell swoop.
Therefore, Zhou Yan only engaged him in a stalemate, while simultaneously ordering his guards to hold back the demon leader.
At this moment, Zhou Yan's guard detachment unleashed astonishing combat power, instantly pushing back the demon troops.