I shouldered the iron rack and carried three barrels of medicinal solution back to the City God Temple, returning to the Three Yin Hall.
Once in the underworld, I could use the Swift Wind Art, and using it wouldn't hinder my carrying. I quickly ran back to the snowy mountain. The White Vajra leader wanted to test the medicine itself, but was intercepted by a subordinate of a large individual. Fearing poison, it wanted to test it first.
I opened a barrel of the medicinal solution. Its smell was extremely pungent, and it wasn't milky white as I had imagined, but orange. Even without breathing, the irritating gas would penetrate my nostrils. I should have brought a few N95 masks.
The large ape handed it to me, placing it on its head. The wound on the large Vajra's head was extensive. I casually broke off a branch from a tree, using its needle-like leaves as a brush. I dipped it in the medicinal solution, calculating approximately a five percent concentration. No, it was too much. After shaking some off, I evenly applied the solution to the White Vajra's head.
As it was a hormonal drug, its effect was peculiar. After it helped me back to the ground, its expression immediately changed. It felt refreshed and jubilant, and the other large Vajras also clapped their hands and stamped their feet, causing the snowy mountain to shake once more.
To show my sincerity, I taught them how to use the medicinal solution, having them pair up and apply the medicine to each other, saving me the effort of climbing up to each one.
A total of about one hundred and twenty White Vajras, under my command, lined up and took turns applying the medicine. After all the affected areas were treated, more than half a barrel remained. I also honestly told them that this medicine could only alleviate their symptoms, not cure them completely. I would bring more medicine later. While I couldn't guarantee a cure, it would definitely stop their suffering from the fetal poison.
This alone was enough to earn the loyalty of the White Vajras. The leader convened a meeting with several White Vajras who seemed to be middle management. After much grunting and hemming, they reached an agreement. The leader pointed towards the Three Yin Hall, indicating their willingness to help me!
I excitedly snapped my fingers. With these more than one hundred and twenty great apes, it was conservatively estimated to be equivalent to an additional fifty thousand troops. They wouldn't need to help defend the city; they just needed to destroy the rebel siege weapons and then charge into the rear to disrupt the enemy lines.
Having dealt with the Ape Spirit clan, Xiao Yan Wang and the others hadn't returned yet. I went back to the Three Yin Hall first. Dongfang Jibai said that Long Qu had urged them three times to hurry out of the city and head to Da Hang.
"How many rebels are left in the city?" I asked.
"Fifty thousand. They took two hundred thousand with them," Dongfang Jibai replied. So, there were originally two hundred and fifty thousand. We had eliminated some on Black Wind Cliff, and the White Vajras had dealt with some on the snowy mountain, but only a little over a thousand were lost. The large numbers hadn't changed.
As expected, these fifty thousand were left behind for slaughtering the city. The two hundred thousand were meant to join forces with the one hundred thousand rebels of Halchaku to encircle and annihilate the fifty thousand regular troops of the Three Yin Hall.
I had observed that the industries of the Three Yin Hall were mainly based on hunting and fishing. Almost every household had hunting tools, which was why the rebels had to leave fifty thousand men behind, enough to massacre these two hundred thousand civilians. If they were ordinary civilians, twenty thousand regular troops would suffice for a massacre of two hundred thousand.
"Then, let's do it! Mobilize the army and civilians to deal with these fifty thousand rebels, and then activate the city defense mode. Long Qu will surely lead his troops back for reinforcements. At that time, we will attack from the rebel rear. All your city's army and civilians will pour out, and we will crush the rebels in one fell swoop. We won't aim for complete annihilation; we just need to kill Long Qu and then capture tens of thousands of his men. The rest will likely surrender."
This rebel army, though large in scale, was merely a common rebel force, not the elite rebels I encountered in Er Qi City. Although they were subordinates of Prince Qi, they were formerly part of the imperial army and could potentially be persuaded to surrender. There was no need to show them no mercy.
"Kill Long Qu? Are you confident?" Dongfang Jibai asked.
"This requires special handling," I said. "I see you're quite skilled. What are your chances of winning against Long Qu?"
"Me?" Dongfang Jibai scoffed. "My strength is less than thirty percent of Long Qu's!"
"Then, that young man?" I asked, pointing outside the door. Li Yuanba had already arrived and was squatting in Dongfang Jibai's courtyard, eating wild game.
"Him? Is he very powerful?" Dongfang Jibai asked back.
"I don't know your standards for judging experts in the underworld. You can try him out and see how strong this kid is," I said.