Defeated edge

  There is an old saying: Men die for wealth, birds perish for food.

  These words are not off by a single hair, although later generations always laugh at the foolishness of earlier ones, but when it's their turn to take the stage and make choices, how many people in the world can hold on to their original heart in the face of great temptation and not let later generations lament them?

  Assuming that the Tianjin gods who came to the mainland to dig for gold are not greedy, and continue to act in coordination with the main force. Even if it's just a single Dragon King of the Yangtze River plus Lin Xu, this Huaxia god, even if several more Huaxia gods come, they still can't turn the tide of the entire battlefield. In terms of high-end combat power, there is no numerical advantage, and in terms of low-end combat power, there is no quality advantage. How did Lin Xu and Ao Ping win against these Tianjin gods? It's likely that in the end, they will still be defeated by the Tianjin gods who rely on their absolute numerical superiority.

  Fortunately, all of the above may just be assumptions. Tianjin Shen Li was confused and made a move that didn't make sense, so Lin Xu saw an opportunity to launch a surprise counterattack.

  After roughly sorting out his thoughts, Lin Xu patiently squatted at the open river surface where the Han River flows into the Yangtze River. After a while, he rushed to Long Jun and waved his hand, saying:

  "Hey, we've been ambushing for so long, just how many enemies are coming this way? Have you figured out the situation?"

  The entire Jiangshui River basin should have been under the control of the Dragon King of the Great River, even if he has lost the initiative on the battlefield now. However, when faced with Lin Xu's questioning, Ao Ping, as the Dragon King of the Great River, couldn't give an answer. This made him, who had always been concerned about his reputation, feel extremely humiliated and angry.

  With the spirit of knowing shame and then being brave, Ao Ping played with the "Ruyi Treasure Pearl" for half a day. After a while, he finally succeeded in summoning a carp spirit that had been cultivating for over 300 years in the nearby waters.

  The poor, untransformed spirit was not only unable to transform into a human form but also couldn't utter a single human word, which made things difficult for Lin Xu. The carp spirit who had been forcibly brought over couldn't speak up, but this didn't stump Ao Ping either. He simply repeated Lin Xu's question to the other party in dragon language with a huff.

  Various aquatic and terrestrial creatures that are cross-bred with the pure-blooded dragon tribe, their offspring are actually considered to be of the dragon species. The golden carp is one of them. According to legend passed down from the elderly, those carps with dragon bloodlines only need to cultivate deeply enough and live long enough, and the color of their scales will change to gold or red. Once they leap over the Yellow River Dragon Gate, they can transform into a true dragon. This carp spirit seems to have some dragon bloodline as well, and at this time, it was seen stuttering and making strange noises, conversing with Ao Ping in an unorthodox dragon language for a while.

  After repeatedly confirming that the message was correct, he felt that this carp spirit had lost its utilitarian value and was immediately kicked back into the water by Ao Ping, who had already obtained the necessary information. It wasn't that Ao Ping's character was too poor, but it had become a habit to burn bridges after crossing rivers. He was afraid that Lin Xuan would ask why the carp spirit understood dragon language, which involved many secrets of the dragon clan, and if outsiders were to inquire about this matter, it would be very embarrassing.

  The statement that dragons are lustful is by no means a slander to the reputation of the dragon clan, and it is indeed true, leaving no room for argument or cover-up.

  Those young and vigorous male dragons, once they entered puberty, immediately became lustful wolves, and then developed to the point where they saw an old mother pig on the side of the road and thought she had big eyes, double eyelids, a pretty face, and a clear brow. It's because of this that long ago there was the saying "dragons give birth to nine sons", with different explanations for each one. If you ask why, it's very simple: maternal lineage is vastly different, if the appearance of their offspring could still be the same, that would be truly terrifying!

  After listening to Ao Ping's account, Lin Xu didn't have the leisure to ask whether that carp spirit had a blood relationship with this current or former Da Jiang Long Jun. He immediately pulled Ao Ping back to a safe area and waited for the enemy to enter the pre-set ambush circle.

  The gods from the Eastern Land, since landing, have almost not encountered any effective resistance. They were blinded by their overly smooth progress and significant gains. One by one, they became arrogant beyond measure, without considering the possibility of an enemy ambush. They saw themselves in groups of three or five, neither in formation nor in line, swaggering into this Water Palace located in the middle reaches of the river as if strolling through a market.

  For these Tianjin gods, how to grab a better share of the spoils before their colleagues do is far more urgent than searching for the remnants of the enemy, and they don't care about the local gods at all.

  They waited until all the Tianjin gods who came one after another had entered the Water Palace, and not a single one of them could be seen outside. Lin Xu said to Long Junbao:

  "I say, Ao brother, the total number of enemies inside the Water Temple is less than three hundred, not a lot. I suppose there are quite a few who can match up to you and me in terms of skills!"

  Dajiang Longjun Ao Ping had always been smooth sailing in this life, and he had never suffered such a great loss. The hatred in his heart for the Tianjin Shen gang was so strong that he wanted to eat their flesh and sleep on their skin. At this time, Ao Ping appeared extremely arrogant, and he laughed loudly, saying:

  "Uh, it's just a total of three hundred, you and I will only get one hundred and fifty each."

  Despite his bold declaration of contempt for the enemy, Ao Ping lowered his voice and whispered in his ear:

  "Respectful god, are you really planning on just charging in like this?"

  This aggressive war came too suddenly, and Da Jiang Long Jun Ao Ping, the current commander of the Guangzhou Army, couldn't even dispatch a single soldier. The shrimp soldiers and crab generals directly under his command were all defeated in the first battle with the Tianjin God in the lower reaches, and it would take time to mobilize troops from other places, but distant water can't solve the thirst at hand!

  Seeing this, Lin Xu couldn't help but burst out laughing. He patted Ao Ping's shoulder and comforted him, saying:

  "Haha, of course that was a joke. Don't worry, Dragon King, I've already ordered the deployment of elite soldiers and generals. If nothing unexpected happens, this matter should be settled soon."

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, in less than a short while, Generals Zhang Xin and Wang Liang arrived one after another before Lin Xu. After encouraging the two generals for a few sentences, Lin Xu continued to instruct:

  "Alright, get into position later. Make sure those guys inside don't escape. Zhang Xin, this time is different from before. The opponent is a foreign god, so be extra cautious. Got it?"

  "Don't worry, sir, I understand."

  At this time, Lin Xu's gaze turned to his deputy general Wang Liang and said:

  "This time you're in charge of leading the reserve team, without my orders, even if the sky falls, don't make any rash moves."

  At the sound, Wang Liang's eyebrows were raised and he nodded slightly, without saying anything more. Then, Lin Xu clapped his hands heavily and said loudly:

  "Alright, you all go prepare! Wait for my signal later, and then launch the attack immediately."

  As reinforcements arrived, Lin Xu and Ao Ping also entered the river from a hidden place in the reeds on the shore. The closer the starting point was to the enemy before the formal charge began, the greater the advantage of taking the initiative would be.

  Carefully peeking outside the collapsed Dragon Palace, gazing at the dazzling lights of the Water Mansion, the original master of this land, Great River Dragon King Ao Ping, gritted his teeth with a "click" sound.

  To be honest, the more I think about today's events, the angrier I get. It's always been that only he bullies others, when did the great Dragon King become someone who gets bullied by others? What can be tolerated, what cannot be tolerated?!

  The Yangtze River has been peaceful for a long time, and outsiders think that the Four Rivers Dragon King and the East Sea Dragon Clan will not easily provoke trouble. However, there are exceptions like Lin Xu, who is a hot-headed young man who dares to challenge anyone. He is a rare breed that appears only once in a hundred years. Normally, they don't need to use force to solve problems, as the 100,000-strong water army under Ao Ping's command is scattered throughout the Yangtze River basin, guarding various strongholds. The 3,000 elite shrimp soldiers and crab generals, who are similar to an honor guard, were recently defeated in front of the surging enemy due to Ao Ping's chaotic commands. Fortunately, their sacrifice was not in vain, as it allowed Ao Ping to retreat from that chaotic battle unscathed.

  If it weren't for his subordinates being willing to die and fight their way out, that unsatisfied lustful dragon would have probably been sliced into a plate of exquisite sashimi by now, served at the Tianjin Shenqing banquet.

  "Hey, be careful when the battle starts later. They have a white sword, an evil mirror and a jade pendant, which should all be very powerful magical artifacts."

  Lin Xu leaned in and listened to the words of Da Jiang Long Jun, who had previously been at odds with him, and then nodded silently.

  At this time, Lin Xu had already promoted Ao Ping from a spoiled and unrepentant young master to a salvageable delinquent youth.

  Although this guy has done a lot of despicable things, bullying men and women, it seems that he hasn't completely gone bad to the core. At least he hasn't stooped to the level of collaborating with others and playing tricks on them like some lowly scoundrels. It's worth Lin Xu's kindness in lending him a helping hand.

  Sword, mirror, jade, these three things, Lin Xu heard that only felt very familiar, carefully thought about it for a moment, and seemed to have some impression, but for the time being, it was difficult to accurately grasp the spiritual machine. There were too many memories, making it hard to quickly clear his mind. This is also the reason why some gods become more confused with age, not because they are senile, but because they have too many associations.

  After a moment of silence, Lin Xue changed the subject and said:

  "Brother Ao, when can your men arrive?"

  As soon as this matter was mentioned, Ao Ping's anger surged up again, and then he seemed to be a deflated balloon, looking dejected and muttering:

  "Turtle Prime Minister passed on the message, the troops will need at least three days to regroup. Those four Dragon Kings are also busy resisting external enemies, reinforcements can only be expected after three to five days. The news from the East Sea has been cut off, and there is no hope for reinforcements for the time being."

  A person should know their own limits before showing off. Among the 8 million gods in Eastern Japan, about 70% are from the Tianjin system. Even excluding those who are pretending to be something they're not, there are still many gods with real power. Lin Xu has at most 10,000 dark soldiers under his command, and Da Jiang Long Jun Ao Ping can probably gather a few tens of thousands of shrimp and crab soldiers temporarily. If it were just the two of them trying to resist the invasion of foreign gods, that would be utterly futile!

  At first glance, Ao Ping, who had always looked down on others, could only pinch his nose and send an envoy to the other dragon kings of the four seas to send a distress signal.

  These letters, which exude a sense of bitterness and helplessness between the lines, are as sincere as some classic old movies where extras shout "For *'s sake, pull your brother one!" Afterwards, the messengers who were sent out in succession all brought back messages that were soothing and calming, saying that everyone needed time to prepare and could only ask Him to wait patiently.

  Taking a glance at Ao Ping's pale face and darkened complexion, Lin Xu let out a sigh. He calculated the prospects of his future career, which seemed to be not too bad.

  Lin Xu burst out laughing and comforted Ao Ping by saying:

  "Three days? That's almost enough, as long as we hold on for three days, the problems afterwards won't be big. Long Jun, you can start now!"

  "Hmm!"

  Dajiang Longjun Ao Ping expressed his full support, and Lin Xu immediately stood up and waved his hand at Zhang Xin on the war chariot not far away. The latter nodded in understanding and shouted:

  "Beat the drum!"

  "Knock knock knock knock——"

  Eight drummers in the central army received orders to strike with all their might, waving large drumsticks at the four drums placed behind the formation. The war drums made of crocodile skin tempered for a hundred years boomed loudly. In an instant, under the encouragement of the earth-shaking drumbeats, the dark troops from Mount Shengong launched a comprehensive attack on this brightly lit Water Mansion.