For 200 years, the three nations of Mengla, Jialan, and the Acrylic Kingdom had constructed long walls along their respective borders to resist the Demon Invasion.
Yartas County was located to the west of Yang Zhiwen's Territory, adjacent to Desco County.
Furthermore, as the western border region of the Empire, Yartas County was the most crucial area for the Empire to resist the Demon Race's eastward advance, possessing a large Garrison Soldiers force.
But now, the Demon Race had actually bypassed the border Garrison Soldiers of Yartas County and appeared directly behind the Border Defense Line.
Because the task of resisting the Demon Race had long been entrusted to Yartas County, Desco County's main duty was to supply Grain and material provisions to Yartas County.
This resulted in Desco County not having many elite Garrison Soldiers.
And according to the messenger, the Demon Invasion had occurred two days prior.
It was certain that the Demon Race must now be launching a pincer attack on the Border Defense Line.
The Garrison Soldiers on the Border Defense Line, under a pincer attack from the Demon Race, should be quickly annihilated, after which the Demon Race would turn to advance eastward.
In that case, Yang Zhiwen's Territory would be the first to bear the brunt.
Because the Divine Creation Mountain Range divided the entire Continent, the reason the Demon Race failed to invade more land 200 years ago was partly due to the swift reaction of other nations, and partly due to the existence of the Divine Creation Mountain Range.
The existence of the Divine Creation Mountain Range blocked the Demon Race's eastward advance; to cross the Divine Creation Mountain Range and continue attacking eastward, they could only pass through a limited number of locations.
And among the entire Divine Creation Mountain Range, the largest passage point was located in Desco County.
Desco County generally formed a 'T' shape.
The lower part of this 'T' shape was the widest passage area of the Divine Creation Mountain Range—Nadal Pass.
Nord City was the westernmost city of Nadal Pass.
Nord City was not only the County Seat of Desco County but also a critical entity responsible for guarding Nadal Pass.
Yang Zhiwen's Territory happened to be the westernmost part of Desco County, meaning that once the Demon Race advanced eastward, his Territory would be the first area in all of Desco County to suffer invasion.
"Lord Yang Zhiwen, City Lord Kaens demands that you must hold your Territory to the death until Imperial reinforcements arrive. Any act of abandoning your Territory will be treated as Treason."
After relaying the news of the Demon Invasion, the messenger also informed him of Kaens's order.
Hearing the order relayed by the messenger, Yang Zhiwen's heart immediately turned cold.
The entire Territory had only 50 soldiers. Although they had become qualified combat personnel after several months of recuperation and equipment upgrades, 50 soldiers alone were clearly incapable of resisting the Demon Race's attack.
One must remember that the reason the Demon Race was able to swiftly destroy several nations back then and leave the other nations on the Continent unable to counterattack was due to the Demon Race's formidable combat power.
Under normal circumstances, even the lowest-ranking Demon Race members could achieve a one-versus-three ratio on the battlefield.
This meant that the 50 soldiers under Yang Zhiwen could, at most, deal with a dozen or so of the lowest-ranking Demon Race members.
Just one or two higher-ranking troop types would be enough to sweep away all of Yang Zhiwen's soldiers.
What chilled Yang Zhiwen even more was that Kaens actually demanded he stay put here. It was a waste of the many aphrodisiacs he had given him on the spot, a waste of his little blue pills.
If he dared to abandon his Territory and flee, he would be dealt with as Treason. One must know that the Empire had only one way to handle Treason—execution by drawing and quartering.
As for reinforcements? Don't joke about it. The Demon Race bypassing the Border Defense Line was an extremely serious matter for the entire Empire, even if the Empire had enough time to mobilize troops.
The defense of vital strongholds like the capital and Nord City would certainly be prioritized. Yang Zhiwen's ordinary Territory was likely not worth the Empire wasting military strength to defend.
"Lord Yang Zhiwen, I need to notify the other Lords. I will take my leave now."
After delivering the message, the messenger immediately departed.
Yang Zhiwen quickly snapped back to reality from the messenger's news. He knew he had to act immediately. Yang Zhiwen prepared to return to Blue Star to inform his nation and use the nation's power to resist the Demon Race.
Otherwise, all his efforts over the past two years in this world would be in vain.
"Uncle Jike, summon all administrative personnel here."
Yang Zhiwen immediately instructed Jike to gather all the administrative personnel of the Territory.
Since all administrative personnel were attending the banquet, the Territory's administrative staff quickly assembled.
Looking at the more than 30 people filling the room, Yang Zhiwen said nothing unnecessary and directly explained the matter of the Demon Race.
After Yang Zhiwen spoke about the Demon Race, everyone present fell silent.
The order from Nord City not only restricted Yang Zhiwen's possibility of leaving but also restricted the possibility of everyone present leaving.
But what was the situation of their Territory? These administrative personnel, just like Yang Zhiwen, were well aware.
There were only 50 regular soldiers. Even if they gathered the Young and strong men from the Domain Residents of the Fief, they could only organize at most seven or eight hundred people.
The key issue was that Yang Zhiwen had only been a Lord for a few months.
When Yang Zhiwen first became Lord, he had announced that all tax revenue for the next two years would be exempted.
The Territory had been able to operate normally these past few months mainly because Yang Zhiwen himself was footing the bill.
And now, gathering several hundred Young and strong men for resistance, they couldn't even solve the issue of weapons and equipment.
Moreover, even if they could gather enough Young and strong men and arm them, several hundred people often wouldn't make much difference against the overwhelming tide of the Demon Race's invasion.
"Lord, we should flee."
"How can we flee? Since Nord City has explicitly stated we cannot abandon the Fief, if we run, we must pass through Nord City heading east. But once we go east, we will be intercepted by Nord City, and if caught, we will be charged with Treason!"
"We can run south, travel by boat, first follow the Sapula River, then enter the Yoshir River, and finally reach the Alec Kingdom."
"Although the Alec Kingdom is a vassal state of the Empire, I doubt the Empire would bother with people like us."
"Therefore, as long as we reach the Acrylic Kingdom, we will be safe."
"I disagree with that route."
"The Demon Race is attacking fiercely. If we follow the Yoshir River, we are very likely to encounter the Demon Race halfway there."
"What should we do if we meet the Demon Race on the river?"
"In my opinion, we should run east. As long as we disguise ourselves as ordinary Commoners, there's a high probability we can slip through. After all, Nord City cannot check every single person fleeing from the west."
"The south is safer. The Demon Race's main attack focus will definitely be Nadal Pass. If we hurry south by fast boat, there's a high probability we won't encounter the Demon Race."
"Even if we don't encounter the Demon Race heading south, with the Demon Race aggressively advancing east, can you guarantee that the Acrylic Kingdom won't also be under attack by the Demon Race, and that the Acrylic Kingdom will open its borders to allow us entry?"
……
Looking at the noisy crowd, everyone was thinking about how to escape, and no one suggested resistance.
What made Yang Zhiwen even angrier was that no one mentioned what should be done about the ordinary Commoners in the Territory. Facing the massive Demon Invasion, it was understandable that they feared death and wanted to flee; Yang Zhiwen had no grounds to criticize that. However, these people completely disregarded the plight of the thousands of Commoners in the Territory, which caused Yang Zhiwen a flicker of anger.
"Enough, I have decided: we will hold the Fief to the death."
"Lord, think twice! With our strength, it's impossible to stop the Demon Race, and we don't know when Imperial reinforcements will arrive. We should leave the Territory."
"Yes, yes! The Demon Race members are all beings that eat people without spitting out the bones. Our lives are more important."