In just a few days, the Yi Mo Sect had recruited over ten thousand people.
Mo Qi led this force and set off grandly towards the South Gully Mine.
After marching for more than a hundred li, scouts reported, "Enemy sighted ahead. The Northwest Demon Guard, led by Commander Tu, has arrived with their entire army."
He had intended to engage in a siege, but unexpectedly, they were to fight a battle of attrition.
Mo Qi had several years of troop command experience in the New Wilderness. Although he hadn't commanded such a large force, he was familiar with the process.
He immediately arranged his troops and set up a unidirectional barrier with formation flags, while also deploying the catapults.
The stones used for the catapults were unique spirit stones from the demon realm. When launched, some would explode, some would emit divine light, and some would release dark energy. In short, all sorts of methods were employed.
Commander Tu viewed them as a rabble. He didn't take them seriously at all, shouting for an attack and waving his hand to send the vanguard forward.
At this moment, there were those flying in the sky and those running on the ground. Both in the sky and on the ground, they unleashed their divine abilities and techniques. Light and energy streaked like shuttles, filling the entire space densely, like an entire mountain advancing forward.
In Commander Tu's view, such an organized and large-scale charge was something those earthlings with no battlefield experience on the opposite side could not possibly handle. They would soon be scattered into a mess, routed and defeated.
Mo Qi had already declared strict discipline: advance only, and those who retreat will be beheaded!
Thus, everyone stood ready, unmoving as a mountain.
When the Demon Guard army charged within effective range, Mo Qi gave the order, and the catapults continuously launched spirit stones.
Those spirit stones emitted colorful light, like a dazzling galaxy, carrying world-destroying power, and struck the charging Demon Guard soldiers with the force of the wind.
The dark energy and divine light from the catapulted stones collided with the mountain of light and energy, creating gaps.
Some catapulted stones landed within the Demon Guard ranks, emitting deafening sounds. Countless points of light exploded, expanding instantly from small points. Figures were enveloped in those spaces, vanishing in an instant, followed by black smoke that lingered for a long time.
Overall, the divine abilities and techniques that had been advancing like a mountain were gradually riddled with holes, and the mountain began to collapse.
However, without further orders, the mountain continued to advance. The light and energy were much dimmer than before, and the momentum was no longer earth-shattering.
Catapulted stones continued to be launched, and the divine abilities and techniques continued to explode in the vanguard of the Demon Guard army. The sounds of explosions were incessant, and divine lights expanded and vanished like bubbles.
The Demon Guard soldiers wailed amidst the vanishing bubbles, some vanishing with them, others falling to the ground injured.
Thus, the vanguard of the Demon Guard's divine abilities and techniques disintegrated before they could even touch the Yi Mo army, and the mountain began to collapse.
Commander Tu was greatly shocked. The vanguard was gone just like that?
He never dreamed that a rabble could possess such destructive power.
He also saw their devastating catapulting artifacts, which were indeed troublesome and currently unsolvable.
If this problem wasn't resolved, sending more troops would be sending them to their deaths.
After a few moments of silence, Commander Tu chose to retreat.
The main army covered the rear, and the entire army gradually withdrew.
Seeing the enemy attempting to escape, Mo Qi was unwilling to let them go. He waved his hand, and the entire army pressed forward.
With Ye Zhi Xun and others leading the way, they advanced irresistibly, crushing everything in their path. They routed the enemy, leaving them in disarray and abandoning their armor and weapons.
The Demon Guard was finally in complete disarray, and Commander Tu fled with a few attendants.
In this battle, the Yi Mo army achieved a great victory, and their morale soared.
The entire army, without delay, advanced towards the South Gully Mine.
The South Gully Mine had already erected fortifications outside the mine, and the guards were ready and waiting.
Mo Qi had also devised a strategy for attacking the South Gully Mine.
The catapults once again attacked preemptively.
Some catapults were used to attack the enemy, while others launched detoxification spirit stones, directly into the mine. These detoxification spirit stones were inscribed with the message: "Those poisoned by the Sparrow Fragment Spirit Stones and the Demon Emperor, please use these detoxification spirit stones to cure yourselves, and then join us to seek justice from the Demon Emperor!"
The South Gully Mine was an open-pit mine with no roof. After the previous attacks breached the barrier, the detoxification spirit stones fell into the mine.
Initially, the miners were hesitant and indecisive. However, upon hearing the earth-shattering roars outside the mine and seeing the anxious expressions of the overseers, their faces turned green at the sight of the detoxification spirit stones. They yelled hysterically, "No picking them up! Picking them up is a capital offense!"
From their hysteria, the miners seemed to see their struggles and their fear.
The miners suddenly felt a sense that the overseers were afraid.
What were they afraid of?
Moreover, threatening them with death had never been able to intimidate these poisoned people.
How could those who had lost their souls, like walking dead, be afraid of death?
Thus, led by someone, they began to resist the overseers and started picking up the detoxification spirit stones to absorb them.
The overseers were outnumbered and not strong in combat. They were quickly swept away like fallen leaves in a strong wind, disappearing without a trace.
Thus, within the South Gully Mine, a flame of resistance quickly ignited, spreading rapidly from the inside out.
The miners surged out.
The mine guards were attacked from both front and rear and were quickly wiped out, with not a single one escaping.
Another great victory!
Mo Qi made a decisive move and immediately led his army to the West Gully Mine.
News traveled fast. Miners from other nearby mines heard that there was an antidote for the Sparrow Fragment Spirit Stones, and that those holding this antidote were trying to rescue the miners from various mines and rebel against the Demon Emperor.
Thus, the people could no longer sit still. Their long-suppressed emotions erupted, and they began to strike preemptively, counter-attacking the guards and overseers.
Therefore, the subsequent occupation of the mines became effortless, almost without expending any effort.
Moreover, several mines had already been occupied by the miners, who were just waiting for Mo Qi to send people with detoxification spirit stones to take over. He didn't even need to go himself.
Thus, the more than ten large and small mines under the jurisdiction of the Demon Slaying Guard changed hands one after another.
Only one Demon Guard post remained standing alone!
To avoid any unforeseen complications, Mo Qi briefly reorganized his army and immediately led them to attack the Demon Guard post.
Only by taking this post would it be considered their first true victory!
Otherwise, when the Demon Emperor sent reinforcements, the Yi Mo army would have no foothold, and the Demon Emperor's forces would counterattack, rendering all their previous efforts futile.
On one hand, he couldn't bear to see the territory he had painstakingly conquered slip away. On the other hand, he felt the heavy responsibility on his shoulders, carrying the hopes of countless people at the bottom of the demon realm. Mo Qi suddenly felt immense pressure.
However, this Demon Guard post was strategically advantageous and difficult to attack, with impenetrable defenses.
It had a sturdy city wall, protected by barriers and restrictions, making it particularly resilient!
The divine catapults struck it as if tickling it, unable to shake it in the slightest.
Mo Qi's Nine Heavens Divine Arrows also failed to cause any damage.
For this, Mo Qi even lost a Bursting Pill.
The Bursting Pill did blow a gap in the city wall, but no one could get through.
As soon as a person approached the city wall, countless divine lights would descend, turning them into dust.
Even with Ye Zhi Xun's peerless divine abilities, he could not break through. He attempted to breach the city wall with his own strength but was forced back by the divine lights and sustained some minor injuries.
Mo Qi was at a loss!