At Yinchuan plain, when they looked down from the sky, the form of the Yellow River resembled a Chinese word. The water washed sediments accumulated at the river’s bottom to the shore and formed a rich plain.

The Ocean Demons frequently encroached on Chang River and Zhu River because these rivers were situated along the coast. They found it harder to invade the Yellow River. One of the reasons was that Zhang Xiaohou had destroyed the massive underground river tunnel of Bo City. Another reason was that a large amount of sediments and impurities accumulating in the Yellow River had severely hindered the Ocean Demons from marching to it.

The Yellow River water flowed rapidly. It was difficult to control its speed. It often led to disaster. The turbulent flow of water made the low-level Ocean Demons difficult to swim.

The Ocean Demon army was mostly made up of low-level Ocean Demons. By the time they swam to the Yellow River, they were already exhausted. How could they still have the strength to encroach on the cities of the Yellow River?

This was the fallen area of the plateau. Even though it was only plains, the altitude was more than a thousand meter. The Ocean Demons had difficulty reaching the zone.

Most civilization was impossible without the water. They needed water to irrigate, farm, generate electricity, and even for transport. Mo Fan wondered where the water came from. Probably rainwater. Meanwhile, those areas where the rain was scarce had to rely on the snow and ice from the mountain.

When the temperature rose, the snow on the mountains melted. The melted snow flowed to the lower areas and formed streams. The streams converged at a certain point to form rivers. When the rivers converged, they formed bigger water bodies. Prosperous cities were formed around these water bodies. It had been this way since ancient times.

However, a cold wave befell China. The snow on the mountains hardly melted. Many rivers had dried up. Without the supply of water, the crops died. Even transportation by river was hampered.

Even though the sea water could keep the difference of temperature along the coast balanced, many Ocean Demons attacked the coasts. The weather was bitterly cold, and the rivers were frozen.

With the Ocean Demons’ attack, humans were left with only five base cities to rely on.

The South Emperor joined forces with the Ocean Godly Horde of the Pacific Ocean. This was no different from ending humans’ all possible means of survival.

If they gave up the East Coastline and retreated to the country, could humans truly survive under such a poor environment?

　…

Zhao Xiaohou used to serve in the military both within the country and along the coast. He was absorbed in his thoughts while staring at the icy cold Yellow River.

A lot of ridiculous ideas were published on many websites. They suggested retreating from the East Coastline and focusing on destroying the Ocean Demons in the country. They suggested taking back their territories from the weaker Ocean Demons to alleviate the current situation.

The seemingly wide people came up with endless plots. They made analyses and came up with winning scenarios. As a result, the admirers began to question the government’s decisions.

The truth was those ‘wise’ people had never fought at the frontlines. They were narrow-minded and thought they could solve the problems only by their words. They had never witnessed the Ocean Demons’ brutality. They had never seen the hopelessness and disappointment reflected on the citizens’ faces when they stared at the snow mountain where the snow no longer melted to provide them with a reliable water source.

There was no peace. No places to hide. The country had to ignore those suggestions and its supporters. It had to resolve the issue surrounding the snow mountain, kill the Ocean Demons, and save the people from desperate situations!

In fact, the people needed ways of preventing their crops from freezing, they needed ways to melt the snow mountains, they needed more advanced water transportation, they needed more powerful mages to fight the Ocean Demons and they needed a lot more solutions than the ‘wise’ people behind their keyboards giving suggestions.

The country was in a dire situation. As the cold wave continued, the upstream water might freeze forever. By then, there would be no water supply to irrigate the crops. The dams could not generate electricity. The country’s civilization would regress. Even if humans were not entirely wiped out, the Ocean Demons would have won.

“Chairman Shao Zheng was not impeached. He is somewhere he is needed the most. He always has a farther vision than others,” Zhang Xiaohou said to himself.

“Hey, are you daydreaming?” asked Jiang Shaoxu.

Zhang Xiaohou returned to his senses, only to realize that two women had crawled to the bottom of the plain and discovered some clues on the river banks.

“I’ve checked the surroundings. There are no demons around this area,” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“Okay, we’ll go down there, then. Lingling and I found a river monument. I believe this is what we’re looking for,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“Good. I’ll continue to keep a close eye on the surroundings. Let me know if anything happens,” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“You’re indeed an experienced soldier. You could even lure the Golden Sand Demon Tigers away. How did you do that?” asked Jiang Shaoxu.

The ability to evade demon hordes in the wilderness was very important. Even if one had a very high level of cultivation and could easily kill a demon horde, the vibration from the use of spell and smell of blood could attract a larger number of demon hordes.

“I was a scout when I first joined the army. So, scouting is my strongest ability.” Zhang Xiaohou smiled. He was quite proud of his scouting ability.

“Okay. You may continue fooling those Golden Sand Demon Tigers. We’ll copy the words and patterns on the river monument before leaving,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“Is that a sacred totem beast’s clue?” Zhao Xiaohou asked.

“It must be,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Great!”

…

On the east foothill of Helan Mountain, a large flock of tens and thousands of creatures that resembled crows swarmed out of the valley. The creatures had venomous purple pupils. They flew in flocks in the sky. It almost looked like a night sky spangled with stars.

However, it was noon, and the sun was still bright. The view made one palpitate.

“Damn it! Are you setting me up?! The Bug Valley is barely considered a small horde!” Three people were speeding on the plains. They looked like tiny dots.

The bizarre Star Bugs were behind them. Some Blood Beasts had been wandering on the plains and preying on the bison. But when the Blood Beasts saw the bizarre Star Bugs swarming them, they fled.

The Blood Beasts were slow. The Star Bugs passed by them like a gust of black wind, and the next moment, the Blood Beasts were reduced to bones. Even the surrounding plants were gone. It was a frightening sight to behold!

“Instead of teasing me, why don’t you kill them with your Fire Element magical power? I remember there’s a special effect of your flames. It can jinx those bugs!” Mu Bai cried out.

“Are you kidding me?! They placed their eggs in a valley rock fire for them to hatch. If they are afraid of fire, why do we even have to run?!” cussed Mo Fan.

“It’s because your fire power isn’t strong enough!”

“Hah! Then why are you running away?”

“I just don’t want to mess with them,” Mu Bai said coolly.