"How many are there, and how long until they get here?" Xu Jun asked in a deep voice.
"About five to six thousand, and they'll be here in about five minutes," Lin replied quickly.
Xu Jun immediately ordered, "Retreat immediately."
The group moved out of the residential complex in an orderly and rapid fashion.
They got into their vehicles, started the engines, and sped towards Hope City.
Less than a minute after they left, Lin spoke again, "Commander, they've spotted us and are in pursuit."
Xu Jun opened the car's sunroof, poked his head out, and looked back.
Behind their convoy, thirty to forty off-road vehicles were in pursuit.
Their main force, consisting of trucks, was a large procession of thirty to forty vehicles, moving slowly. They would likely be caught within three minutes.
"Stop. We'll eliminate these people before we go," Xu Jun commanded.
Xu Jun's order was quickly relayed to every vehicle, and they all pulled over to the side.
Hundreds of people quickly moved to the rear, forming a battle formation and standing ready.
"Language unknown," the pursuers, stopped dozens of meters away, shouted in a foreign tongue.
"Commander, none of us understand the Tianzhu language. Should we charge and eliminate them now?" asked the man with the mustache.
Simultaneously, a system prompt echoed in everyone's minds, "Enable translation function? Consumes two crystal cores per minute."
"Charge. Make it quick," Xu Jun decided, activating the translation function as he led his subordinates forward.
The same man spoke again, "Are you from Great Xia? What business do you have on our territory?"
Xu Jun, running, yelled fiercely, "Kill!"
The man opposite him, clearly having also activated the translation function, immediately shouted loudly, "Defend."
He also warned, "Our main force is arriving. I hope you won't court death."
The reply was a barrage of fierce attacks.
This group of Tianzhu people who dared to pursue first were quite capable. With only a few dozen individuals, they stubbornly held on for over a minute before Xu Jun annihilated them all.
"Commander, their main force is arriving."
Xu Jun didn't need Lin to tell him; he could already see the vanguard of the Tianzhu convoy within two hundred meters, with countless vehicles behind them.
"Form ranks!"
At the command, the soldiers immediately stepped forward to block the front, while the ability users and archers retreated to the rear, standing ready.
More and more Tianzhu people surrounded them.
A young man with a full beard stepped forward. "Hmph, how dare you kill my people? You must be tired of living. Attack, and send them to meet Lord Shiva."
The Tianzhu people immediately formed their ranks and advanced steadily.
Suddenly, colorful abilities erupted from both sides, bombarding the enemy.
Xu Jun's elite forces were powerful, but these Tianzhu people were not only strong but also far more numerous.
The battle was evenly matched.
Shouts, the clash of weapons, and screams filled the air.
Casualties were inevitable.
Xu Jun's Dragon Tiger Corps repelled the enemy's first assault, eliminating two to three hundred of them, but suffering nearly a hundred losses of their own.
Seeing this, the bearded Tianzhu man temporarily halted his assault but did not retreat.
Instead, he stepped forward and shouted, "Who is your leader? Step out and speak."
Xu Jun moved to the front line and retorted, "If you want to fight, fight. Are you looking for me, Old Xu, to surrender?"
Although he spoke fiercely, he desperately wanted to stall for time.
As soon as they left the residential complex, he had already sent someone to request reinforcements from Hope City via the chat channel and had received a reply.
His invincible City Lord was rushing to their aid and would arrive within half an hour.
The bearded man said sternly, "We Tianzhu people have the absolute advantage now. You should be the ones surrendering."
Xu Jun scoffed, "Is the advantage you speak of who can have more dead people?"
A flicker of anger crossed the bearded man's face. He said in a deep voice, "Hmph, my numbers are several times yours. Even if our casualties are higher, can you win?"
He paused and then said, "I'll give you a chance. Surrender immediately, and your lives will be spared."
"A joke!" Xu Jun sneered. "If you want our lives, come and get them. Let's see who dies first."
Although he wanted to stall, he knew he couldn't show any sign of fear. Otherwise, the enemy would reveal their fangs and devour him.
The bearded man spoke again, "If you don't surrender, that's fine. However, you killed our people first, so you must compensate us. Each person leaves two thousand crystal cores or equivalent equipment, and I will spare your lives."
Xu Jun deliberately put on a thoughtful expression.
The bearded man indeed spoke again, "I'll give you ten minutes to consider. Don't throw away your lives for a few trinkets."
After speaking, he turned and returned to the rear of the formation.
He quietly asked someone beside him, "How long until our main force arrives?"
The man replied, "Twenty minutes. Commander, why don't we just overwhelm them with sheer numbers?"
"Fool," the bearded man chided. "Although we could defeat them by disregarding losses, these are my people. They are the capital for my achievements. How can I waste them here? Once the main force arrives, we can easily crush the enemy. Why not?"
It turned out the bearded man and Xu Jun were playing the same game.
His five to six thousand people were only the vanguard; tens of thousands more were further back. Once they arrived, a few hundred people would be at his mercy.
Just then, a person approached and saluted, reporting, "Commander, the people from Xixiang Town have something to report."
The bearded man said indifferently, "Let him come up."
Soon, a dark-skinned Tianzhu man approached, fawningly saying, "Commander, I have a way to deal with those people."
"Oh? Tell me," the bearded man said calmly.
The dark-skinned man said, "They are from Great Xia and must be here to rescue their compatriots from Xixiang Town. They have already rescued the more than a hundred survivors I had imprisoned, but I still have nearly two hundred evolved individuals from Great Xia in my hands. If we utilize these evolved individuals well, we can definitely deal with these scoundrels easily."
The dark-skinned man was the leader of the Tianzhu people in Xixiang Town. He happened to meet the bearded man's group while out hunting and returned with them. Upon learning that Xu Jun had rescued the survivors he had imprisoned, he came to the bearded man to claim credit.
The bearded man's face lit up with joy. He smiled and said, "Good. If you can capture those people, I will appoint you as my vanguard."
"Yes, Commander. I will not fail your expectations," the dark-skinned man replied, leaving with obvious joy.
He quickly had the two hundred Great Xia people brought forward to the front line.
"You on the other side, listen up! These are your compatriots. If you want them alive, surrender immediately, or don't blame me for being impolite."