Meanwhile, Mo Hua, who had retreated with his troops to the Shugu Headquarters after suffering an ambush, losing some forces, and gaining nothing, also wore a solemn expression.

This Elder You, all of a sudden, made him feel like he had nowhere to begin.

Elder You was a critical chess piece for the Hua family.

Judging from this recent defeat, if he were to use the Karma Technique to divine Elder You’s whereabouts, there was a high probability that Elder You would detect it through some means, and Mo Hua would instead fall into his calculations.

This ambush could only be considered a “greeting.”

What kind of danger he would face if he were to be schemed against again was hard to say.

Mo Hua did not know whether Elder You himself possessed the Karma Technique, or if one of the Hua family’s old ancestors had given him a certain Heaven’s Secret treasure.

But no matter what, Elder You had “karmic protection.”

Karma was like this: when you calculated others, others were also calculating you.

Previously, it was always others who calculated Mo Hua and came up empty.

Now, Mo Hua had for the first time tasted the feeling of being “frustrated.”

He had tasted the feeling of failing in deduction and being schemed against instead.

Mo Hua did not feel good, but when he considered that this was a big game of chess, and his opponent was Elder You, especially the Hua family behind Elder You, and even the Hua family’s old ancestors, he felt it was not entirely unacceptable.

After all, he was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, and it was perfectly normal not to gain an advantage against a Hua family ancestor at the Void Refinement stage.

Moreover, it might not even be just one ancestor.

But the Hua family’s elaborate布局 in the Great Wilderness, sucking the blood of various tribes like leeches, was always an unavoidable hurdle.

He always had to find a way to deal with the Hua family.

“From the current situation, Elder You’s karma cannot be touched, or it will be a case of ‘being too clever for one’s own good’.”

“But if I avoid Elder You, where else can I start?”

“What other clues does the Hua family have in the Great Wilderness that I can use to scheme against them?”

Mo Hua frowned and couldn’t help but think, “And will Elder You really let me keep calculating like this?”

“Even if I find new clues and deduce some information from them, how can I ensure that this information was not deliberately leaked to me by Elder You?”

In the following days, whenever Mo Hua had time, he constantly pondered and subtly deduced matters concerning the Hua family, but he either hit dead ends everywhere or felt as lost as looking for a needle in a haystack.

Mo Hua couldn’t help but sigh.

In front of him was Elder You, behind Elder You was the Hua family, and behind the Hua family were ancestors manipulating things.

And in this Great Wilderness game, there was a high probability that the Hua family was not the only aristocratic family.

Besides the Hua family, in the chaotic situation, his martial uncle was also lurking in the dark, watching greedily and pushing the spread of the famine.

“This game of chess is too difficult to play…” Mo Hua sighed.

When it came to playing chess, he was actually still a “novice.”

But this Heavenly Dao seemed not to have given him any “novice protection period.”

As a “novice,” he had to play on the same chessboard with aristocratic families, Void Refinement ancestors, and his martial uncle right from the start.

The difficulty was truly as high as “purgatory.”

Mo Hua had no choice but to temporarily admit defeat.

This plump Elder You, he would put aside for now; for the time being, they would not interfere with each other, and what to do, he would decide later.

Soon, Mo Hua no longer had the extra mental energy to consider Elder You’s affairs.

Because he encountered an even more formidable enemy.

The current Wilderness was a large sandbox, with all forces mixed together.

Many things happened inevitably, accompanied by a large number of accidents; there were too many variables, and karma was constantly changing.

An event calculated an hour ago might completely change in development and outcome just an hour later.

No matter how profound Mo Hua’s spiritual sense, or how strong his computational power, he could never be completely thorough and flawless in such a situation.

By a very accidental coincidence, he overlooked a scout.

And this scout was connected to immense murderous intent.

By the time Mo Hua noticed this hidden danger an hour later and ordered his men to “eliminate” the scout, it was already too late.

The karma had already been revealed.

Just two hours later, dust rolled in the distance, the earth trembled, and roars filled the sky.

An extremely powerful barbarian army charged over.

They wore black armor, were heavily armed, and had Witch Cultivators performing war dances to boost morale, with fierce demon cavalry leading the charge.

In addition, there were many other types of soldiers, wearing ferocious barbarian armor that Mo Hua did not recognize, surging over like a torrent.

Deep black banners flew high, pointing to the sky, depicting a black vulture with fierce red eyes, about to spread its wings and fly.

The Wujiu Tribe!

Moreover, it was a main army of the Wujiu Tribe.

Mo Hua knew he couldn’t win with just one glance.

Although he had now unified the Shugu Tribe, with over a hundred thousand barbarian soldiers under his command and considerable fighting power, they were absolutely no match for this Wujiu Tribe army.

Even if this Wujiu Tribe army numbered only fifty thousand, their equipment was too complete, they had too many types of soldiers, and their barbarian armor was too exquisite.

If they were to truly fight, even if they won, it would be a Pyrrhic victory.

Mo Hua knew how difficult it was to “start from scratch” and unite the forces of the Shugu Tribe; he had put in a lot of effort. Therefore, he would never sacrifice this “living force” in this battle.

Moreover, he was also bringing a large number of barbarian civilians and slaves.

Once the main force was defeated and the front line of defense was breached, these barbarian cultivators and slaves would be slaughtered like cattle and sheep.

Fortunately, Mo Hua had considered this situation before.

Preparation ensures success, while unpreparedness leads to failure. This was a life lesson his father, Mo Shan, had repeatedly emphasized when Mo Hua was young and hunting demons.

Now, living in a chaotic world, with the lives of over 800,000 people on his shoulders, a single misstep could lead to eternal damnation. Mo Hua naturally couldn’t afford to be anything but cautious.

Mo Hua had long ago deduced various possible dangers and formulated many contingency plans.

Even the area where he was currently stationed was planned beforehand, specifically to allow for offensive and defensive maneuverability in case of danger.

Therefore, upon detecting the Wujiu barbarian soldiers approaching, Mo Hua quickly ordered his barbarian soldiers to cover the retreat.

The rest of the tribe members were to withdraw to a nearby large valley, while the barbarian soldiers would utilize the natural defenses of the valley to hold the pass and resist the Wujiu Tribe’s attack.

Because he had prepared in advance, Mo Hua’s orders were also timely.

Therefore, by the time the Wujiu army truly arrived, most of Mo Hua’s barbarian cultivators had already relocated to the other side of the valley.

The two armies stood in confrontation across the natural chasm of the valley.

In the middle, there was only a mountain path about ten zhang wide.

This created a situation where “one man could hold the pass against ten thousand.”

If the Wujiu Tribe wanted to destroy Mo Hua’s forces, they would have to charge head-on and cross the relatively narrow mountain path.

And the Shugu Tribe’s barbarian soldiers could avoid the disadvantages in troop types and numbers that came with large-scale warfare.

They only needed to concentrate their forces at one point and defend the valley.

The Wujiu army paused for a moment; it seemed their high-ranking barbarian generals were deliberating and weighing their options. But after some consideration, they began to charge.

It seemed that initiating battle, annihilating the Shugu Tribe, and absorbing Mo Hua’s forces would be far more beneficial than detrimental to them.

And even with natural defenses to hold, the fighting power of the Shugu Tribe was not taken seriously by the Wujiu Tribe.

Especially the barbarian armor on the Shugu barbarian soldiers, which was significantly inferior to that of the Wujiu Tribe in terms of material, grade, and type.

Although the Shugu Tribe’s Yuangu heavy armor was strong, its overall quantity was too small.

Furthermore, this was in a third-grade mountain realm, where in Golden Core level battles, second-grade Yuangu heavy armor, even if constructed with a twenty-one-pattern绝阵, had very limited utility.

All these factors combined were not enough to make the Wujiu Tribe wary.

If one man sought to hold the pass, then they would kill everyone holding the pass.

The Wujiu Tribe began its charge.

Witch Cultivators chanted incantations, performed strange dances, accompanied by the eerie sounds of the xun.

The Wujiu Tribe’s heavy armored soldiers led the way, advancing step by step into the valley.

All other types of barbarian soldiers also moved in orderly fashion, pressing forward like a tidal wave.

Even Mo Hua felt his scalp tingle slightly.

He hadn’t expected the Wujiu Tribe’s military might to be so strong, their momentum so immense.

It even possessed some of the grandeur of the Great Wilderness’s “royal court army.”

Times make heroes; it seemed that in this chaotic struggle, the Wujiu Tribe had gradually, and unknowingly, grown into a formidable power.

Mo Hua had no choice but to bite the bullet and order the Shugu Tribe’s heavy armored soldiers and other barbarian troops to hold the line.

The two sides engaged in a desperate, inch-by-inch struggle on the narrow and perilous mountain path.

Blades and spears intertwined with flesh and blood; fresh blood splattered onto the earth.

It was quite tragic for a time.

The Shugu Tribe was clearly at a disadvantage, but they still forged a “Great Wall” with human lives.

As the battle progressed and the situation grew critical, Mo Hua was forced to make some choices he had previously been unwilling to make.

He could only order the barbarian slaves to charge into battle, to serve as “cannon fodder.”

Otherwise, once the conventional forces were depleted, everyone would simply wait for death.

As for whether the barbarian slaves would survive as cannon fodder, that depended on their own “fortunes.”

Mo Hua could only promise them that if they survived the charge, it would count as a meritorious deed, and they would be granted freedom.

This was all he could do.

And as he watched each barbarian slave, each vibrant life, following his command as a “Witch Priest” to charge against the powerful, armored barbarian soldiers of the Wujiu Tribe, and then one by one die on the front line, torn apart by the saws of war until their flesh and blood splattered everywhere.

Mo Hua’s heart bled.

At this point, he finally understood the feeling of “mercy does not command troops.”

War was cold, ruthless, and accompanied by massive death.

It was either you die, or I perish.

Many times, it meant choosing a portion of one’s own subordinates to go to their deaths.

No one wanted to do this, but they had to.

Because there was no choice.

Many seemingly cold-blooded, cruel, and inhumane “choices” were essentially forced by harsh reality.

No one wanted to be “inhumane,” but cruel reality forced people to act inhumanely, otherwise, it would lead to even more tragic consequences and more deaths.

In war, in the grand scheme, every “superior” holding power and making decisions had to bear this pain in their hearts.

Mo Hua’s heart was also filled with this pain.

But the battle continued.

Under the pressure of the strong enemy, he had to cast aside his pain, maintain the clearest rationality, and continuously use his念力 for “cold and ruthless” calculations, treating human lives as “chess pieces” to engage in mutual killing with the enemy, exchanging pieces, constantly making trade-offs in the fierce struggle to maximize his own interests.

The casualties of the Shugu Tribe continued to mount, with flesh and blood flying.

But thankfully, with their backs against the wall and united in hatred, the Shugu Tribe’s defensive line managed to hold.

No matter how the Wujiu Tribe launched their charges, the Shugu Tribe stood firm like a reef.

Even if the Wujiu Tribe temporarily broke through the defense line, they would quickly be forced back.

The struggle between offense and defense never stopped.

Soon, the Wujiu Tribe also realized that their casualties were already substantial.

In the deadly struggle, the Shugu Tribe’s people were dying.

It was impossible for the Wujiu Tribe’s barbarian soldiers not to die either.

In fact, because the Shugu Tribe primarily defended and the Wujiu Tribe attacked relentlessly, the Wujiu Tribe actually had more casualties than the Shugu Tribe.

Therefore, after repeated fierce but unsuccessful assaults, the Wujiu Tribe’s fighting fervor subsided, and as they weighed the gains and losses, their hearts gradually grew cold.

Their casualties had already exceeded expectations.

If they continued fighting like this, even if they annihilated the Shugu Tribe and absorbed Mo Hua’s forces, it would likely not be worth the cost.

And from the looks of it, the Shugu Tribe was incredibly tenacious, and whether they could even be overcome was still an unknown.

If they failed to capture it by force, it would truly be a case of losing both the wife and the army, suffering extremely heavy losses, and they would have no way to explain it to their young master.

The Wujiu Tribe’s offensive had to slow down.

And Mo Hua’s side also got a moment of respite.

Afterward, both sides continued symbolic attacks and defenses for a while. The Wujiu Tribe still couldn’t break through the Shugu Tribe’s defense line, but they also seemed unwilling to retreat.

This was because the “sunk cost” was already very high.

Retreating now would mean all previous sacrifices had been in vain.

These were real soldiers and lives.

But getting stuck in this quagmire and continuing the fight would only be like boiling a frog in warm water, leading to increasingly greater losses.

Unwillingness to abandon sunk costs would only worsen the situation.

Mo Hua and the Shugu Tribe had no choice but to grit their teeth and fight to the very end.

After another period of attrition, with both sides losing a portion of their forces and lives, the Wujiu Tribe finally retreated.

Firstly, because their provisions were insufficient.

This was a year of disaster, with famine rampant. Not only local tribes like Shugu, but even the Wujiu Tribe itself lacked food.

In fact, because the Wujiu Tribe had so many barbarian soldiers and such strong forces, their consumption of provisions was even greater.

Previously, they had always killed and plundered as they went.

When they won a battle, they would directly burn, kill, and loot the enemy to vent their hatred and replenish their military supplies.

But the problem now was that they hadn’t won.

They gained no advantage from Mo Hua, nor did they break through the Shugu Tribe’s defense line, so naturally, there was nothing to plunder.

Without plunder, they couldn’t replenish supplies, and thus couldn’t continue to be bogged down.

Secondly, they also encountered sneak attacks from other tribes.

The Wujiu Tribe’s barbarian soldiers had run rampant in the Zhuque Mountain Realm, annihilating countless tribes and killing innumerable people, naturally incurring too many enemies.

Previously, this Wujiu army, flying the Wujiu Tribe’s banner, had immense momentum and strong forces, so naturally no one dared to provoke them.

Now, after a battle with the Shugu Tribe, their forces were heavily depleted, and food supplies were insufficient, so they were targeted by some other scattered tribes.

These tribes were not strong enough to wipe out this Wujiu army.

But harassing them, killing some people, and stealing some things were certainly possible.

With internal shortages and enemies surrounding them, and seeing that the Shugu Tribe could not be overcome, the Wujiu Tribe naturally had no choice but to issue a resentful order to change course and retreat.

The Shugu Tribe’s crisis was thus resolved.

However, a deep feud had also been established between the two sides.

Many people from the Wujiu Tribe had died, and they attributed this to the Shugu Tribe’s stubbornness, their unwillingness to surrender, and their refusal to let them burn, kill, and plunder.

This was all the Shugu Tribe’s fault.

As for the people of the Shugu Tribe, it went without saying.

Being ambushed and besieged by the Wujiu Tribe for no reason, and losing many lives, was also a bloody debt.

Mo Hua also harbored a hidden hatred in his heart.

His forces were hard to cultivate, yet so many were lost in the battle with the Wujiu Tribe.

One day, he would make the Wujiu Tribe pay a heavy price.

At the same time, Mo Hua suppressed his anger, endured the pain in his heart, and tried his best to summarize the gains and losses of this battle.

He had to find a way to make more comprehensive plans and accumulate greater power.

Future battles absolutely could not be fought like this again.

He absolutely could not shed so much blood again, and absolutely could not let so many more people die…

(End of this chapter)