"What are they doing, running around so aimlessly?"
Outside the formation, Ye Yi and others were puzzled by the soldiers inside the formation, as if they were headless flies, running around everywhere, although they were right in front of them, they didn't chase after them. It was quite strange.
Not only Ye Yi and the others, but also the pursuing troops behind, and the dragon knights above, did not understand what these people were up to.
This was the miraculous aspect of qimen formations; those outside can never comprehend the feeling inside, nor know what kind of viewpoint they have or what state they are in.
And no matter what is called or done outside, those inside can neither hear nor see it!
It was because of this that the people behind entered directly into the formation, wanting to scold those inside, but the result was the same for all of them.
The result was that more and more people were inside, and those behind realized that something was off, so they did not enter anymore. But by that time, most of the people were already delayed.
And when they wanted to get around, they found themselves in a new formation after breaking through the walls. Ye Lang had already infiltrated the formation to both sides, and even surrounded the entire army!
After seeing this situation, the dragon knights did not know whether or not they should continue pursuing. And if they did not pursue, as long as Ye Yi and others escaped the actual control area of the Xiangkong Empire, they will not be able to pursue anymore, because the dragon knights are not allowed to cross borders, unless under special circumstances, and only a few could do so.
Well, even if a few people could cross the borders, what would they do after catching up to Ye Yi? Could they defeat a celestial high-level expert?
So, they either had to give up directly or intercept them and wait for the people behind to escape from this predicament, but how long would that take?
Looking at the situation, it seemed that they wouldn't be able to escape for a while!
"Give up, we'll go back and call for assistance. If we are only concerned about catching them and allow tens of thousands of people underneath to die in vain, our losses will be even greater!" The dragon knight's squad leader said in a deep voice.
"Yes!" The dragon knights responded, seeming to breathe a sigh of relief.
It seems that they also did not want to confront Ye Yi and the others, but they were hindered by the imperial order!
And if someone were to investigate, they would definitely find that not only were the pursuers reluctant to exterminate, but even Ye Yi and the others also held back. In the days of fleeing, they tried to avoid killing as much as possible.
So, this fugitive battle seems quite intriguing!
The imperial order is difficult to violate, but it can be indirectly disobeyed!!
Regardless, this time, Ye Lang's abilities are terrifying. If it weren't for the fact that the Sky Empire had blocked the news, Ye Lang would probably have become the focus of the entire continent.
...
"What are you saying? You mean Ye Lang single-handedly held off all the people, both the previous ones and the ones who came later?" Zhao Yaruo, who had become the empress, looked at the Dragon Knight squad leader in astonishment.
The people she was referring to, were the large army that had previously pursued Ye Lang and the others, along with the border guard.
"Yes! He used an alchemy array that no one had ever seen before, trapping everyone inside. They were spinning around inside it, but couldn't break out of his alchemy array! Fortunately, the people inside are safe. His alchemy array only confines people, and does not cause any other harm!" The Dragon Knight squad leader replied respectfully.
"All the people, how many people are we talking about?" Zhao Yaruo frowned and asked. She was not unaware of this issue, but like everyone else, some questions are known, yet one still asks to confirm from others.
"Altogether, 180,000 people!"
"180,000 people, all held back by him alone. How can anyone believe this?" Zhao Yaruo mumbled to herself.
"No one dares to believe it, but it is indeed true. It is because of this that we had no choice but to not complete Your Majesty's mission." the Dragon Knight squad leader took the opportunity to speak.
"I understand. If you didn't have the help of those 180,000 people, it would be difficult to hold them back, and there might have been some losses. This is not what I want to see." Zhao Yaruo said, "You did the right thing, no need to blame yourselves!"
Although Zhao Yaruo may seem crazy and eccentric, she is a person with a clear sense of right and wrong.
"Now the most pressing issue is to find a way to rescue those 180,000 people. If this continues, who knows what will happen! There are currently no border guards on the border, leaving it defenseless. If the enemy finds out, it will be a big problem!" This was also the main reason the Dragon Knight had returned.
Ye Lang held back these 180,000 troops in order to escape. But among them were the border defense troops. Being held back like this would require urgent action from any country.
"You should immediately take the royal alchemists to handle this. I hope they can come up with a solution!" Zhao Yaruo immediately ordered the royal alchemists to come over and instructed the Dragon Knight to take them there.
While waiting, seemingly absent-mindedly, Zhao Yaruo asked, "Is Ye Lang still there?"
"He should still be inside. When I came, he was controlling the alchemy array, and he himself was in the middle, surrounded by it!" the Dragon Knight squad leader replied.
"Others can be left alone, but he must be captured. Don't let him escape!" Zhao Yaruo gritted her teeth, hating Ye Lang.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" the Dragon Knight squad leader complied.
Anyone can understand that Ye Lang's value now far exceeds all others. Just imagine, if one person can hold back an army of 180,000, then sweeping through the entire continent would be a breeze.
Not to mention training a few people like him, having just him is enough!
"If, I mean if, by any chance, he manages to escape, you all must keep this a secret. No one is allowed to leak any information!" the empress said sternly. It was believed that whoever violated this order would be put to death, and their families might be affected too.
"Yes!" replied the Dragon Knight squad leader.
It was also the same in this case; everyone would understand that if Ye Lang were to escape, he should not be captured by anyone else. The best way to 'protect' him would be to ensure that no one knew about the matter.
Fortunately, although this matter caused quite a stir, only the military knew about Ye Lang's last strange array method, and only a small number of people actually saw him using it, leaving others to just speculate.
So, blocking this news was not a difficult task!
Because of this, Ye Lang was still able to roam freely on the continent, continuing his travels without attracting the attention of those in power!
"What are you saying? He actually managed to do that? What kind of alchemy array did he use?" The royal alchemists, who had not been very interested in coming here, also set off upon hearing that Ye Lang was in the middle of it.
They didn't want to come here, mainly because of Ye Lang. Zhao Yaruo's pursuit of Ye Lang was definitely not something they appreciated. To them, Ye Lang was special. They had seen him grow up, and his path in alchemy had taken him far.
To them, Ye Lang was like their apprentice, even though Ye Lang would not admit it, they all thought that way to some extent!
"How is this possible? Why can he achieve such a level? Will I never catch up to him in my entire life?" Among the royal alchemists, there was a girl clenching her fists with a constantly changing expression on her face.
Evidently, Ye Lang's combination of alchemy and the unusual array made her feel as if she had to stand on equal footing with Ye Lang, needing to climb an almost unattainable peak!
...
"This, what kind of alchemy array is this!"
A group of royal alchemists, upon seeing this scene from the air, were already dumbfounded. They couldn't imagine this sight.
Previously, they had only heard about it and hadn't seen the scene first-hand. So, their feelings were still in a more speculative state. However, it was different now, they were witnessing it with their own eyes, seeing 180,000 people trapped in an array.
Soon, they carefully observed the patterns on the ground, hoping to find answers, hoping to discover a response that could explain this situation.
However, they couldn't find any answers from their knowledge of alchemy. And if even they couldn't find it, it meant that this alchemy array had never appeared before, indicating that it was a first-time occurrence.
A first-time occurrence! This meant he created it himself, right?
This seemed a bit too unbelievable!
At that moment, the royal alchemists could only imagine that Ye Lang had discovered this alchemy array from somewhere, because, given his age, it was difficult to believe that he could create such an array.
"Is he still inside?" the Dragon Knight squad leader asked one of the Dragon Knights who stayed behind.
"Yes, still inside. Not a single person has come out so far!" The Dragon Knight replied.
"Not a single person has come out..." everyone murmured, questioning how to interpret this. Should they be grateful that Ye Lang had not escaped, or should they mourn the fact that not a single one of the 180,000 people had managed to break free so far.
Although the time between is less than a day, after all, the speed of the dragon's flight is extremely fast, which is unmatched by any means of transportation and is unbelievable to many people.
"How do you see it?" The royal alchemists began to discuss countermeasures. Anyway, they had to rescue the people first before discussing anything else.
"I cannot see it. The energy emitted by this alchemical array seems to have nothing special. Why would such a miraculous situation occur?" one of them responded.
Other people might have misunderstood that it was because of Ye Lang's alchemical array, but these people could sense that this was not only due to the alchemical array.
"Let's first try and see what this is all about!" The royal alchemists began to research and engage in alchemical confrontation with Ye Lang.
Afterwards, they used various different methods - some merely to rescue people, and others to disrupt Ye Lang's alchemical array - a variety of attempts...
The more they tried, the more surprised they felt. They were almost certain that Ye Lang's formation was not just simple alchemy, but was definitely something else!
However, by the time they figured this out, three days had passed and the 180,000 trapped army was almost at its limit, both physically and mentally exhausted!
What should they do? Should they let Ye Lang trap and kill the people like this?
"I think, Ye Lang creating these earth walls is not just to block. The arrangement seems to have a very subtle relationship," the girl spoke, watching those mysterious formations with a strange feeling.
Over these three days, she found these things increasingly mysterious and fascinating!
"Then let's try destroying those earth walls!" Everyone agreed on this point, suspecting that there was something wrong, but how could this simple arrangement of earth walls cause such a situation?
People would not believe that just the arrangement of some earth walls could have such a huge effect, making it unbelievable.
If that were the case, people in a group of buildings would also be trapped and unable to escape.
However, at this point, they really couldn't find any other reason, except that these walls were odd, everything else seemed normal.
By this time, they had already understood that Ye Lang's alchemical array was actually a kind of earth-based defensive formation that controlled the terrain, previously used to change the terrain and defend against others' attacks.
However, in the past, it was not so large, nor could it control such a large area, much less such complex changes!
"It's no use. We've destroyed these earth walls before, but the people inside are still the same, or even worse, and soon new earth walls will appear!" the dragon knight said.
"You said new earth walls will appear?" the girl asked.
"Yes, they will appear very soon!" the dragon knight nodded.
"In that case, destroying them shouldn't be wrong. If it doesn't affect him, he won't replenish them!" the girl thought and said, "We'd better gather everyone immediately and use alchemy to influence his layout and make those earth walls disappear."
"All right, let's try!" The royal alchemists all agreed on this point, drawing alchemical arrays on the ground, and their alchemical arrays were not small, after all, they were not fighting alone.
Once the alchemical array was completed, the royal alchemists began to activate it, intruding into Ye Lang's alchemical territory.
"Boom..."
The collision of earth walls!
At first, the alchemists on both sides engaged in a fierce battle. Ye Lang had been operating the alchemical array for three days and was doing it alone, yet he could still compete.
This was not because of his strength, but because he had occupied the area for more than three days and the defensive measures were quite complete, even if he initially activated the alchemical array in haste.
In fact, had Ye Lang been prepared earlier, it would have been impossible for them to destroy the array, at least not within such a short time.
Now, however, Ye Lang's formation was gradually infiltrated by the alchemists, and the people trapped inside were rescued one after another, feeling as if they had been given a new lease of life!
But this was only the periphery, and they could not infiltrate the central part, and they had been struggling for three days and nights.
By this time, no one cared about Ye Chengtian and his people anymore. They just needed to catch Ye Lang. He was now the key to everything.
At this point, they had deployed a watertight net, layer upon layer, to surround Ye Lang in the middle. Even with wings, he would not escape!
However, this was exactly what Ye Lang wanted. The more this happened, the safer Ye Lan Yu and the others would be, being able to safely reach the Vermilion Bird Empire!
As for his own safety, he hadn't considered it, not because he was prepared to sacrifice himself, but because he had a way to escape and would not be caught by anyone.
"Okay, time's up. I won't waste any more time with you!" Ye Lang's voice finally appeared, after so many days, he spoke for the first time.
His voice was calm, with a hint of laziness, perhaps because he was simply too tired...