Relax and take a break

  Physics holds that all forces in the world are interactive, which may be a truth.

  Lin Xu's injury was severe, but in his subconscious counterattack, Huo Shanjun didn't gain much advantage either.

  That handle sharp as iron like mud seven-star sword seems to be chopsticks inserted tofu, easily pierced the abdomen of Huo Shanjun, if not in time to stretch out his hand to press the wound mouth skin rolling, I'm afraid this moment even intestines are flowing out.

  Lin Xuan couldn't believe it, but He Shan Jun had just taken a direct hit from his Thunderclap and was still able to crawl out of the ground alive. Facing his arch-nemesis who had been revived like a salted fish, Lin Xuan couldn't help but look at him with suspicion. People often said that cats were born with nine lives, could it be that its close relative, the tiger, also had a few more lives than other animals?

  The battle has reached a point where both sides are exhausted, and what they are fighting with is no longer their own strength, but each other's willpower and obsession.

  At this time, Lin Xuqiang endured the intense pain and twitching sensation of his wounds, forcing out a strange smile that was barely visible, and said in a calm tone:

  "Haha, it's Lord Hoshan! This time you've already lost, and stubbornly resisting is futile."

  Upon hearing this, he widened his tiger eyes and Lord Huo Shan made a move as if he was going to come forward and continue the fight.

  At this scene, Lin Xu, who was struggling to hold on, had his legs cramping up, and he couldn't help but secretly curse, how come this guy wasn't afraid of death at all?

  Just then, a lean black figure suddenly darted out from the wall of people composed of yin soldiers on the side and unexpectedly reached out to grab Ho Shan Jun's arm, saying urgently:

  "Brother Shan, quickly follow me and break through the siege! If we don't leave now, it will be too late. Earth Escape!"

  Suddenly changing the situation between the elbow and armpit, even the dark troops guarding the periphery couldn't react in time. Lin Xu was barely holding on to the scene with a strong exterior but weak interior, and he couldn't possibly intercept the opponent either.

  Until he saw Bei Doufu take away the equally seriously injured Huo Shankun with his earth escape technique, Lin Xu covered his wound that wouldn't stop bleeding and finally let out a sigh of relief. Immediately afterwards, he was surrounded by a group of dark guards who protected him in the center.

  The development of the situation is very clear, and if Huo Shan Jun, the tiger demon with undiminished fighting spirit, was not forcibly dragged away from the battlefield by Tie Gang's trusted aide, Bei Dafu, Lin Xu would have continued to fight it out with him, and it would still be uncertain who would emerge victorious.

  This time's battle can end here, Lin Xu is also seeking nothing more. After all, he was hastily responding to the attack, with his later hand welcoming the first hand, and it would be considered a draw if he could hold on.

  Lin Xuan exerted his divine technique to stop the bleeding and repair his Golden Body. After catching his breath, he turned to his subordinate beside him and asked:

  "What's the situation with the battle at Jiufeng Town?"

  A newly promoted deputy general, Milong, stepped forward with a smile all over his face and said:

  "Reporting back to the Grand Master, one corner of the formation chart in Jiufeng Town has been breached, with no major casualties among personnel, only..."

  Lin Xue had always disliked it when others spoke only half of what they meant, and immediately frowned and scolded:

  "What's going on? Stop teasing."

  At the sound, Deputy General Mi Long was scolded until he didn't dare lift his head and said:

  "The townspeople were in a state of panic, with many people shouting that they wanted to go outside the mountain."

  Even ants cherish life, and it's only natural for ordinary people to fear death. But if Jiufeng Town really sets off this trend, won't Lin Xu's hard-earned business, which he has accumulated over so long, all be ruined? He can't help but think deeply about it.

  At this time, the deputy general Wang Liang and Zhang Xin, who were in charge of pursuing and killing the remaining enemies, also withdrew their troops and came to Lin Xu's front, paid their respects, and stood separately on both sides.

  Stroking his chin and thinking for a moment about a countermeasure, Lin Xu suddenly had an idea, turned his head to Wang Liang and said:

  "Wang Liang, quickly send someone to spread the word in town that the monsters have suffered a setback and don't dare launch another fierce attack on Jiufeng Town. They plan to lie in wait outside, eating anyone they see, and doing so raw. Alternatively, you can say that the government is starting to arrest yamen runners to work on the imperial mausoleum and the Great Wall, and will be conscripting strong men from various counties in Huainan. The more outrageous the rumor, the better."

  Everyone present was stunned by these words. Who had ever seen the Mountain God play this trick? Wang Liang, the deputy general who was about to execute the order to spread rumors, also looked disbelieving and stuttered:

  "Old master, this...this is also too much..."

  "Listen to me and don't be wrong, hurry up and go!"

  His own injuries were still unhealed, and Lin Xu didn't have the patience to slowly reason with his subordinates, so he immediately gave a deadly order.

  Seeing this situation, Wang Liang also didn't dare to force it, and could only cup his hands and say:

  "I will obey your orders!"

  He waved his hand and drove Wang Liang away. Lin Xu turned around and looked at Zhang Xin, who was in charge of guarding Jiufeng Town recently, and said:

  "What is the casualty situation of our army?"

  "Reporting back to the Grand Master, more than half of the shadow troops have been injured or killed, and the Revival Pool is almost overcrowded."

  Originally, Zhang Xin had planned that after Lin Xu's promotion to the Divine Rank, he would also be able to rely on his seniority and get promoted to Deputy General. Who would have thought that such a huge mistake would occur halfway through, almost burying the Lord's foundation? Although the worst outcome has not appeared for now, the scale of the casualties is so great that even Zhang Xin himself feels shocked and horrified when he sees it. As for his current feelings of regret and remorse, they go without saying.

  Looking at Zhang Xin with his head down and a dejected expression, Lin Xu stood up and patted this subordinate's shoulder, comforting him:

  "I understand. You immediately lead a thousand elite troops to patrol the surrounding area within a hundred miles of the town, and if you find any monsters gathering in groups, disperse them immediately. As for those scattered small monsters, don't bother with them."

  Upon hearing this, Zhang Xin was overjoyed and felt that the task of pursuing and eliminating the remaining enemies was relatively easy. Since Lin Xu was willing to entrust him with this task, it proved that his lord's trust in him still remained.

  At this moment, Bi Jiang Zhang Xin single kneeled on the ground and said emotionally:

  "Yes, I will definitely get it done! I won't disappoint Master's trust."

  After finishing speaking, Zhang Xin rushed straight to the Mountain God Temple and quickly gathered his troops to start searching for the scattered remnants of the defeated monster alliance.

  Around the same time, following Lin Xu's latest instructions, Deputy Director Wang Liang also secretly dispatched people to spread rumors in Jiufeng Town.

  The masses who have always blindly followed others' opinions are gradually becoming completely lost in the direction of progress amidst various contradictory and seemingly unrelated rumors.

  Indeed, the monsters in these great mountains are man-eaters; can it be that this living hell of a world no longer eats people? To some extent, those marrow-sucking tax officials are more terrifying and poisonous than monsters. At least the latter won't kill people indiscriminately when they're not hungry, while the former can ruin your family without even needing an excuse. If they leave Jiufeng Town, this hard-won paradise on earth, and try to find a better place to settle in this chaotic world plagued by disasters, it's simply an impossible task.

  As time dragged on, the number of people who hesitated and were unwilling to leave Jiufeng Town also increased dramatically. After all, humans are a species with strong herding behavior, and in the end, only a few hundred residents chose to stick to their decision to leave Jiufeng Town.

  "Wang Liang, how's the situation in town these past few days? Are they still making a fuss about leaving?"

  Recently, Lin Xu has been staying in Jiufeng Town's Shangshen Temple to recover from his injuries. He is still closely monitoring the changing situation. When Deputy General Wang Liang returned from reconnaissance, Lin Xu again asked him about the population loss in the town.

  At the sound, General Pi bowed his hands and said:

  "In response to Master's words, the number of people leaving is decreasing day by day, however..."

  Seeing his subordinate starting to get into the habit of being secretive again, Lin Xu rubbed his forehead and said irritably:

  "Alright, I've said it many times, don't be ambiguous, just say what you want to say directly."

  "Yes, the people in town are still uneasy!"

  At this time, Lin Xu closed his eyes and meditated for a while, then opened his eyes and said with a thoughtful expression:

  "It's no wonder, thinking back to that day's situation, he still feels terrified. What do you think is the best way to calm people's hearts?"

  Lin Xu did not expect his subordinates to respond, even if they were several deputy generals with intelligence close to that of humans. Compared to living people with active thinking, they also lacked learning ability.

  These elite soldiers are undoubtedly the best in the world, as they execute orders without hesitation. With just one command, they can charge into the fray without any second thoughts. However, this good obedience also limits their further development, and at most, they can only be considered high-quality cannon fodder. As an advanced type of soldier, the deputy general is a mid-tier level that is smarter than ordinary soldiers but not as intelligent as the top-level generals. Perhaps with another promotion, the deputy generals may still have hope to increase their intelligence. For now, Lin Xu doesn't expect much from them in terms of providing suitable plans, after all, thinking isn't the strong suit of these elite soldiers.

  After a slight pause, Lin Xue looked around at the many subordinates in the grand hall and continued:

  "Religion is the best spiritual sustenance. When a person's heart is empty, fear will naturally arise. As long as there is faith, the heart has something to rely on. Whether this faith is useful or not, the effect is the same. Now is the perfect opportunity to expand my influence, you must work hard for me and do things well, understood?"

  His subordinates looked at Lin Xu curiously as he sang a monologue, this philosophical statement was difficult to arouse the interest of professional soldiers, if it were Daoist Yan Chixia here, he might still be able to exchange some insights with Lin Xu.

  Zhang Xin, who had been silent all along, also tentatively said:

  "...May I ask, sir, where should we start?"

  His train of thought was interrupted, Lin Xu was worried and scratched his head, thinking hard for half a day, suddenly he brightened up and said:

  "Hmm, first of all, we need an existence with strong symbolic meaning as a carrier of faith. You say build a high tower, how's this idea?"

  Seeing that the two senior colleagues had already made their moves, Deputy General Mi Long did not want to be marginalized in front of his superior, so he plucked up the courage and said:

  "Great elder, isn't that pagoda a Buddhist thing?"

  Hearing this, Lin Xu burst out laughing and said:

  "Ah, he's a rough stone that can polish jade. As long as the deity enshrined inside is Mount Huo's god, then it's all set."

  Lin Xu became more and more excited as he spoke, and he began to gesticulate wildly with his hands and feet, saying:

  "Yes, starting tomorrow, we'll start promoting and mobilizing the townspeople. We'll call on everyone to donate a brick or other building materials. With the collective efforts of all, the construction of the tower will be underway smoothly."