At this time, Orion glanced at the luck value displayed on his panel.
It had reached over 6.8 million.
But he still needed more than three million to have enough for an emperor-level lottery.
Orion couldn't help feeling a bit anxious.
There was still so much left to do.
Even if Gao Shun and his forces managed to defeat all 300,000 of the border troops at Yumen Pass, it wouldn't be enough!
To ensure success, Orion needed at least one more emperor-level lottery before reaching Chang'an.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then a spark of inspiration hit him.
"Wait a minute... the information we received must be delayed!" he thought.
"The order from Da Zhou was just issued. The defenders in Yizhou's cities have probably only just received the news."
"They haven't had enough time to fully evacuate yet!"
Orion saw an opportunity for a quick gain and immediately called out to Yuan Zuozong.
"Yuan Zuozong, order the Dragon Cavalry to move out!"
"While the defenders of Yizhou are still scrambling to evacuate, chase them down before they can fully withdraw!"
Orion's eyes gleamed with excitement.
The Dragon Cavalry, mounted on their beastly warhorses, could travel incredibly fast.
Even if the defenders had already fled, they couldn't have gotten far.
And even if the cities were empty, capturing them would still earn him luck points.
"Not a bad deal," he thought. "Every little bit counts."
...
Indeed, Orion's instincts were right.
In the major cities of Yizhou, the city lords had just received news from Chang'an instructing them to evacuate.
The suddenness of the order caught them off guard.
Wanting to gather up the wealth they had accumulated over the years, many of them delayed their retreat, unaware they were about to miss their best chance to escape.
It wasn't long before Orion and the Dragon Cavalry arrived.
The defenders, already demoralized by the news of evacuation, had little will to fight.
The Dragon Cavalry made short work of them, sweeping through the cities like a blade through butter.
In less than the time it takes for half a stick of incense to burn, Orion had taken control of an entire city.
There was barely any resistance.
From there, Orion continued his lightning-fast conquest, employing blitzkrieg tactics to devastating effect.
In rapid succession, the Dragon Cavalry captured ten cities in a single campaign, with every city yielding luck points from defeated defenders.
Orion also eliminated any remaining forces in these cities that were loyal to the Great Zhou Dynasty.
As he approached the Central Plains, the aristocratic families and officials that remained in the region were increasingly tied to the Zhou royal family.
"It makes sense," Orion thought. "They've been living under Da Zhou's rule for so long. How could they not be loyal to the royal family?"
But this loyalty also worked to Orion's advantage, as each city he captured filled his pockets and his space ring to the brim.
...
However, after taking more than a dozen cities, Orion's luck began to run dry.
Now, he found himself facing empty cities.
"Empty... another empty city!" Orion muttered in frustration as he surveyed the deserted town before him.
He had encountered three empty cities in a row. Only common folk remained, while the aristocratic families, officials, and garrison troops had long since fled.
Looking at his luck value, which had only increased to 8.1 million, Orion frowned.
The defenders in these smaller cities were few and far between. The luck points he gained from them were limited.
"If this keeps up, I'll never collect the remaining two million at this rate," Orion thought bitterly.
On the ground, signs of a hasty departure were everywhere. The campfires were still warm, and packed bags lay abandoned, as if the occupants had fled only moments before.
"No matter how small the gain, it's still something," Orion muttered. He turned to Yuan Zuozong.
"The defenders must not have gone far. Chase them down!" he ordered.
Yuan Zuozong immediately complied, and with the Dragon Cavalry's unmatched speed, they quickly caught up to the fleeing soldiers.
The result was inevitable.
Under the iron hooves of the Dragon Cavalry, the fleeing soldiers stood no chance. Their entire force was annihilated.
[Ding! The host's subordinates have killed 3,000 state soldiers, earning 52,000 luck points!]
[Ding! The host has captured an ordinary city and earned 50,000 luck points!]
Another 100,000 luck points added to Orion's total.
He opened his personal panel and saw that his luck value had reached 8.12 million.
"Still not enough," he sighed. "And this is probably the last group we'll be able to catch."
With only a few cities remaining before reaching Yongzhou, Orion knew that any further pursuit would likely be futile.
Once they crossed into Yongzhou, they would be in Chang'an's territory, and that meant engaging in a final showdown with Da Zhou.
...
As Orion pondered his next move, Yuxiang approached him, looking grim.
"My lord, we have a new development..." Yuxiang reported, handing over intelligence he had just received.
"Our spies in Chang'an report that Zhou Linglong has assembled a force of 100,000 from the major aristocratic families."
"The combat strength of this force is not to be underestimated. The weakest soldiers are martial arts masters!"
"Moreover, we've detected no fewer than six martial saints among them!"
"Six?!" Orion was stunned.
Hadn't the previous intelligence said that Da Zhou had only one martial saint in the Dragon Court?
Where had these other five come from?
"It seems that Longting must have deployed more of their hidden masters," Yuxiang said gravely.
Da Zhou's true power was something even the Xiaoyu organization hadn't fully uncovered.
"Six martial saints..." Orion muttered.
On his side, there were quite a few martial saints as well. Yuan Zuozong and Li Sandao, to name a few, and even the Eighteen Riders of Yan Yun were all at the peak of martial saint level.
But they were far from their full strength. Luo Yi and many of the others were still recovering from their injuries.
"If only Luo Yi and the others could recover faster," Orion sighed.
He had captured countless cities and amassed a trove of healing elixirs, but most were of low grade. While they weren't entirely useless, they weren't enough to make a significant difference.
At that moment, Yuxiang hesitated, as if remembering something important.
"My lord, if you seek higher-grade elixirs, why not visit Medicine King Valley?" Yuxiang suggested.
"It's said that the master of Medicine King Valley can refine eighth-grade elixirs with ease."
"Moreover, we aren't far from there now."
"Medicine King Valley?" Orion's eyes lit up at the mention.
Of course, he had heard of it before...