World-Ending Demon Emperor
Chapter 694 - 343: Turing Tuo retreat! City Lord Gui Qinshao!

Chapter 694: 343: Turing Tuo retreat! City Lord Gui Qinshao!

Seeing this scene, Duke Turing Tuo felt an icy chill throughout his body, and his eyes nearly burst with rage.

Turing Chen, along with countless generals and soldiers who witnessed this scene, could not help but feel their skin crawl.

On the ground covering tens of thousands of square meters, towering flames and dense poisonous gas filled the air. Duke Turing Tuo’s forty thousand strong army was wailing, struggling, and then perishing miserably within.

No wonder the charge towards the city walls had gone so smoothly, almost without any resistance—it was so that more soldiers could crowd beneath the walls faster. It was all to ensure that this fire would claim more lives!

Duke Turing Tuo’s gaze fixed on the sea of flames, on the countless dying soldiers, his face twitching convulsively, becoming even colder.

"Sound the retreat!" he ordered coldly.

Immediately, the gong sounded.

Of course, this was merely a symbolic gesture, as the charge towards city walls had been too smooth. His entire forty-thousand-strong army had already plunged into hell, with no one left to return.

Duke Turing Tuo was very decisive, without any hesitation, he directly ordered the army to return to the main camp, stopping the battle,

...

After returning to the main camp, Duke Turing Tuo secluded himself alone inside his tent, closing the door for contemplation.

A moment later, Turing Chen spoke from outside, "Father, a personal letter from Suo Lun."

"Bring it in," said Duke Turing Tuo.

Turing Chen entered with the letter and handed it over to his father, Duke Turing Tuo.

Opening the letter, it was densely packed, with thousands of words.

The tone was neither cold nor warm, just straightforward, describing the situation in the most objective tone.

In the letter, Suo Lun clearly pointed out that he still had seventy thousand soldiers at his disposal, and countless captives. If Duke Turing Tuo focused on attacking Tianlang Pass, then Suo Lun’s chances of victory would be over sixty to seventy percent.

And if Duke Turing Tuo turned to attack the Fenglei Fort Defense Line, Suo Lun had over ten thousand defenders there and had deployed sturdy defenses along the river.

Now, with Duke Turing Tuo having only slightly over a hundred thousand troops left, if he left half to besiege Tianlang Pass and the other eighty to ninety thousand crossed the river to attack the Fenglei Fort Defense Line, his chances of victory would be over sixty percent.

So to continue with a large-scale battle, the victory odds for both sides were fifty-fifty. But even with the best outcomes, Duke Turing Tuo would at least lose more than a hundred thousand troops.

Suo Lun did not wish to fight, not because he couldn’t win, but to preserve more troops to consolidate the achievements of the previous battles. If it came to a fight to the death, it would be difficult to say who would end up holding the prize.

Previously, even with two hundred thousand troops, Duke Turing Tuo might not have won, let alone now, after already having lost forty thousand?

Finally, in a heavy tone, Suo Lun asked, "Duke Turing Tuo, are you in such a hurry to annihilate me for fear that Zhi Li His Highness will have no further use for you once his bird has flown and the bow has been hidden?"

After reading this, Duke Turing Tuo closed his eyes!

Suo Lun’s last sentence weighed heavily on his heart.

Currently, Suo Lun was the only enemy of Zhi Li, and also the last. Once Suo Lun was eliminated, what use would Duke Turing Tuo have to Zhi Li?

Of course, Duke Turing Tuo felt that as long as he firmly held onto military power, Zhi Li would find it difficult to deal with him.

However, he had some arrangements that were not yet complete, such as ensuring his daughter Turing Duo took control of Luan Yang City and arranging a marriage alliance between his son, Turing Chen, and the Hai Clan of Yingzhou Island, thus securing a retreat route by sea.

Once these arrangements were in place, the Turing Clan would have no future worries and his power would grow even stronger. Then, even if Zhi Li wanted to settle scores with the Turing Clan, it wouldn’t be so easy.

Duke Turing Tuo began to reflect; after receiving Zhi Li’s promise of ennoblement, he had become overconfident and single-mindedly set on annihilating Suo Lun.

Suo Lun’s griffin beasts’ air raids were meant as a warning, but still, it failed to awaken him.

Now, having suffered a crushing defeat under Tianlang Pass, he had truly come to his senses!

After rereading the letter, he closed his eyes to think for a while, then read it again.

Then he handed the letter to Turing Chen, saying, "Take a look."

Turing Chen read the letter quickly.

"What do you think?" asked Duke Turing Tuo.

"I think Suo Lun is exaggerating to extort us. But his last sentence made sense; if we really annihilate him too early, Zhi Li His Highness might indeed turn his back on us once he no longer has use for us," Turing Chen replied.

"No, Suo Lun isn’t extorting us. Every sentence in his letter is true. Even if I exert all my strength and wisdom, I currently have only a fifty percent chance of victory. And even in victory, it would be extraordinary if tens of thousands survived," said Duke Turing Tuo.

"Shall we then retreat our forces back to Zhi Du?" Turing Chen asked.

"Yes, we must go back, but not now!" Duke Turing Tuo replied.

...

The next day!

The King’s trusted eunuch, Gao Yin, holding the divine Dragon Scepter, rode a griffin beast to Duke Turing Tuo’s main camp!

"By the Dragon’s mandate, the King declares: The alleged assassination attempt on the young lord has nothing to do with Count Suo Lun, with both human and physical evidence to prove it. The conspiracy of Tian Shui City the Su Family is utterly baseless. Duke Turing Tuo is hereby ordered to immediately lead his troops back to Zhi Du. Defiance will be deemed treasonous. Let this be known!"

In front of all the officers and soldiers, Gao Yin proclaimed the royal command.

Duke Turing Tuo looked at Gao Yin for a long time, while all the military officers and soldiers watched Duke Turing Tuo.

If Duke Turing Tuo defied the order, it would mean he intended to continue the battle and would also become the kingdom’s first official to defy a royal command.

If Duke Turing Tuo did defy the command, in order to uphold the authority of the King’s decree, Suo Lun would have to fight with all his might, relentlessly, in a battle to the death against Duke Turing Tuo.

Otherwise, henceforth, no one would respect the King’s command.

In the end, Duke Turing Tuo knelt on both knees, accepting the King’s decree, and said, "Your servant obeys the command!"

At these words, Gao Yin let out a long sigh of relief, and so did Turing Chen and the others.