The Second Mixed Legion attacked the center at the same time.
Blue Sphere cultivators met the first demonic rank and locked the road into close combat. Pyrelith fighters remained behind them until the enemy compressed enough for concentrated strikes to matter, while Marephoros pressure limited the demons' ability to widen the engagement around the flanks. The center became loud, violent, and apparently decisive.
That was what Haotian wanted the defenders to believe.
The western side reacted first.
Several demons abandoned positions closer to the central barrier when Lianhua entered the side street. They moved to prevent her from reaching the supporting formation node, strengthening the western flank but reducing the pressure immediately behind the central line. Yinxue waited until the redistribution became clear before attacking the connection between the two groups.
Voidpierce Sword Sutra opened the relationship.
Yinxue's blade severed it.
The western support ceased functioning as part of the larger defensive structure.
The demons still held the street physically, but their formation could no longer transfer pressure cleanly toward the center.
The same problem developed east.
Yueru used lightning to disrupt the active inscriptions running between two defensive anchors, while Ziyue attacked the soldiers responsible for maintaining the physical passage between them. The demons attempted to reinforce the area from the center, but that response weakened the main road further.
Haotian felt the central balance shift.
"Now."
The reserve teams behind the Second Mixed Legion moved.
Pyrelith cultivators released concentrated force into the section of the demon line that had lost support from both sides. The attack was not a single enormous explosion. Several coordinated strikes hit the same defensive relationship in sequence, each one forcing the barrier to draw more power from a network that no longer possessed full lateral support.
The barrier cracked.
Blue Sphere cultivators drove forward.
The central demons gave ground.
Haotian entered the breach before the defenders could close it.
A heavy cultivator carrying a wide axe stepped into his path and swung horizontally through the opening, trying to prevent the coalition from expanding the breach. Haotian lowered his center of gravity and moved inside the arc, one hand striking the demon's elbow while the other drove into the ribs beneath the armor.
The first impact changed the weapon's path.
The second broke the cultivator's balance.
Haotian turned his body and used the demon's own momentum to throw him into the damaged barrier.
Another defender came from the right.
Haotian stepped past the thrust and caught the shaft beneath his arm.
Dragon Vein Collapse entered through the weapon.
The technique traveled along the structure of the spear, through the demon's grip, and into the arm and shoulder before reaching deeper circulation pathways. The cultivator released the weapon too late and fell backward as the disrupted energy tore through his balance.
Haotian discarded the captured spear and continued forward.
The Second Mixed Legion followed.
The breach widened.
The demons did not panic.
Their officers saw that the center could no longer be restored and ordered the front ranks to withdraw toward the deeper position before the coalition spread around them. Ranged fire intensified from behind the retreat, while the western and eastern groups began disengaging from Lianhua, Yinxue, Yueru, and Ziyue to avoid being cut off.
Haotian let them move.
The objective was north.
Every breath spent chasing isolated defenders was a breath given to six.
The coalition crossed the second line before the demons could complete the deeper formation they had intended to use next.
That did not mean nine was collapsing.
The sector ahead contained more troops.
The roads widened toward a larger military region where the southern formations of nine had originally been stationed, and Haotian could already sense new defensive concentrations forming there. The demons had lost two delaying lines faster than planned, but they still possessed enough strength to continue the battle.
The question was whether they could hold long enough for six to matter.
A second message arrived from Xiangyin.
The six-o'clock advance companies had reached the first prepared position in seven.
Xuanyin read the report quickly. "Contact has begun in the south. Xiangyin is making the advance companies deploy before the main force arrives."
Haotian nodded.
That was exactly what he had asked her to do.
He looked at the coalition around him.
The Second Mixed Legion had taken casualties, but its formation remained intact. The Sixth had closed enough distance that fresh teams could rotate forward without stopping the advance. Shuyue had already begun applying limited support to several exhausted groups without spreading the Dao Palace of Virtues across the entire army.
Tianlan and the Frost Rainbow Falcons remained active above and behind the forward formations.
The stronger aerial resistance from nine had finally reached them.
Several demonic cultivators descended from the northern rooftops while others remained high enough to support with ranged attacks. Celestara fighters moved to intercept, but the demons were stronger and more numerous than those encountered near eight.
Tianlan saw one of the aerial groups trying to move beyond the Celestara line toward the road behind the Second Mixed Legion.
He raised his spear.
The lower Frost Rainbow Falcon reacted first, crossing beneath the demons rather than climbing directly into them. Its movement forced the leading aerial cultivator to rise and turn, disrupting the group's formation. Tianlan waited until the change exposed one defender to the coalition fighters below.
His spear thrust upward.
Ninefold Thrust unfolded through a compact sequence rather than broad rotations that would strain his recovering arm. The first attacks forced the demon to defend higher than intended, while the later thrusts closed the space beneath him. A Celestara cultivator struck from the side before the aerial demon could regain position.
The higher Falcon descended into the opening.
The enemy group broke apart.
Tianlan did not pursue them beyond the coalition's airspace. His spear lowered again as the Falcons climbed back toward the Celestara formations, leaving the deeper aerial positions for the next stage of the advance.
Haotian noticed the restraint.
He approved without saying anything.
The road ahead narrowed briefly between two military structures before opening toward a larger intersection farther north. Several demonic formations were moving toward that point now, not only from directly ahead but from the western side of nine. The enemy commanders had recognized that the coalition was advancing faster than expected and were committing more manpower to the southern edge of their sector.
That was dangerous.
It was also useful.
Every soldier moved south to hold Haotian was one soldier no longer protecting the deeper western routes.
The coalition continued.
The demons tried to slow the approach through smaller attacks rather than another immediate full defensive line. Ranged techniques struck from windows, formation nodes activated beneath selected portions of the road, and groups of heavy cultivators attacked the leading teams before withdrawing into the next street. None of the actions were large enough to stop the coalition alone.
Together, they consumed time.
Haotian refused to allow that time to accumulate unnecessarily.
When a formation node activated beneath one company, he used the Dao of the Universe to identify the supporting relationship and directed Veridian cultivators to the physical anchor instead of stopping the entire legion. When ranged defenders occupied a rooftop that directly threatened the road, Celestara and Umbrel fighters cleared that position while the main formation continued moving beneath them. When demons abandoned side streets that did not threaten the advance, no one followed.
The army kept north.
Another message from seven reached Xuanyin.
The first six-o'clock advance company had attacked Xiangyin's delaying line.
The coalition detachment was holding.
Yanfei had not yet committed the prepared Frostfire obstacles.
Xuanyin relayed the information to Haotian. "They are still at the first position."
Haotian looked toward the larger intersection ahead.
"Good."
The demons at nine were almost finished forming there.
The position was stronger than the previous two.
Several companies had assembled around the intersection with enough depth that breaking the first rank would not immediately expose the rear. Formation nodes covered the central road, ranged cultivators occupied multiple elevations, and a reserve force waited behind the western side rather than committing to the front. The enemy commander had given up trying to complete every defensive layer farther south and concentrated instead on one position strong enough to hold.
Haotian slowed only long enough to study it.
The coalition had finally reached the place where nine intended to stop retreating.
Xuanyin joined him near the forward map as reports continued arriving.
"The six-o'clock advance companies are still south of the damaged bridge," she said. "Their main body has entered seven."
Haotian looked at the defensive concentration ahead.
"How long until six can reach the rear of the main coalition if Xiangyin begins withdrawing now?"
"Not immediately. They still have to clear her positions and move through the damaged sector."
Haotian nodded.
That gave him the answer he needed.
The next position did not need to be broken instantly.
It did need to be broken before Xiangyin and Yanfei ran out of ground to trade for time.
Haotian turned toward the Second and Sixth Mixed Legions as their commanders reorganized the forward layers.
Lianhua, Yinxue, Yueru, and Ziyue returned from the sides and took positions closer to the main formation. Shuyue remained farther back with the exhausted teams and command depth. Tianlan and the two Frost Rainbow Falcons settled into the air-and-ground relationship they had maintained through the advance.
Nine o'clock stood ahead of them in force.
Six o'clock was pushing north behind them.
The pincer was no longer a possibility on a map.
It had begun.
Haotian looked toward the defensive line blocking the road into nine.
They had to break it before the southern half could close.
The defensive position ahead was the strongest line nine o'clock had established since the coalition began moving north. The main road widened into a military junction surrounded by several fortified structures, elevated walkways, and two intact formation towers whose fields overlapped across the approaches. Demonic companies occupied the intersection in depth rather than forming one exposed front, with shielded cultivators distributed through the first layer, heavier fighters farther back, and ranged formations positioned where they could fire through prepared gaps without striking their own people. A reserve force remained deliberately uncommitted behind the western side, ready to reinforce whichever section Haotian pressured hardest.
Haotian studied the position through the Dao of the Universe while the Second and Sixth Mixed Legions reorganized behind him. The defenders had stopped building a sequence of temporary lines and committed enough manpower here to turn the junction into the anchor of the lower nine-o'clock sector. If they held it, the six-o'clock force would eventually arrive behind the coalition and complete the pressure the Demon Generals wanted. If the coalition took it before that happened, the entire geometry changed.
Xuanyin stood farther back with the command formation, receiving reports from both fronts. The latest message from seven showed that Xiangyin and Yanfei were still holding the first serious delaying position, but the advance companies from six had begun pressing them hard enough that remaining stationary would soon become dangerous. More importantly, the main six-o'clock formation had entered the sector behind its advance elements.
"The six-o'clock main body has reached seven," Xuanyin reported. "Xiangyin is preparing to leave the first position."
Haotian kept his attention on the junction. "Tell her to begin the staged withdrawal when the pressure forces it. She does not need to hold any position longer than it costs them time."
Xuanyin sent the instruction without changing anything else.
South of the main battle, Xiangyin had already reached the same conclusion.
The first six-o'clock advance company had deployed across the road below her position instead of marching directly into the coalition line. Its commander understood that the defenders around seven had been beaten too quickly to provide reliable support, and he treated Xiangyin's detachment as a prepared blocking force rather than a remnant to be swept aside. Shielded cultivators moved toward the center while smaller groups probed the side streets, testing whether the coalition had left a route around the position.
Umbrel observers found both attempts before they developed.
One group moved through a narrow western street and discovered that the coalition had placed no visible defenders there. Instead of assuming the route was open, the demonic officer slowed and sent scouts forward. They found Veridian cultivation worked into the damaged ground beneath the buildings, enough to make a rapid movement through the street dangerous even if the structures themselves remained standing.
The officer chose not to enter.
That caution preserved his people, but it forced the advance company back toward the main road where Xiangyin wanted them.
The first heavy attack struck the Blue Sphere anchors at the center of the coalition detachment. The demons did not commit everything at once. They attacked in successive groups, keeping enough soldiers behind the first contact that a Pyrelith counterattack could not punish the entire formation. The pressure was heavier than anything Xiangyin had faced from the sparse seven-o'clock defenders, and she immediately understood that the advance companies had no intention of throwing themselves away simply to reach her faster.
She allowed the mixed teams to take the first contact.
Blue Sphere cultivators absorbed the central impact while Marephoros fighters shaped the road edges, limiting how widely the demons could deploy without entering weaker ground. Pyrelith members attacked only where the front compressed enough to justify the expenditure. Xiangyin moved through the line between those exchanges, striking officers and heavier cultivators whenever they attempted to create a breakthrough.
Her spear never remained in one place long enough for the demons to surround her.
A thrust drove one attacker away from the Blue Sphere line. Xiangyin pivoted, shortened her grip, and used the shaft to redirect another weapon before the second demon could exploit her exposed side. She stepped backward with the coalition line rather than forward into the enemy, preserving the entire purpose of the position.
The demons kept increasing pressure.
Yanfei watched the wider approach from behind Xiangyin's line and saw the first elements of the main six-o'clock force appearing farther south. Their arrival changed the balance immediately. The advance companies no longer needed to defeat the coalition detachment alone. They only needed to maintain contact until the larger formation joined them.
Yanfei sent the information forward.
Xiangyin looked once at the road behind them.
"Begin the withdrawal."
The mixed detachment had practiced the movement before contact. The rearmost teams left first, moving toward the damaged bridge while the center continued fighting. Blue Sphere cultivators gave ground in measured steps, never turning their backs on the enemy, while Umbrel observers abandoned the side streets only after confirming that no demonic group had moved far enough around the position to threaten the withdrawal.
The demons recognized the change and pressed harder.
Their commander ordered the central formation forward, hoping to turn the controlled withdrawal into a retreat before the coalition reached its next prepared position. The increased pressure forced several mixed teams to accelerate their backward movement, but Xiangyin moved into the center and stopped the most dangerous push before it could split the detachment.
Her spear struck the lead demon's weapon aside and drove through the opening toward his shoulder. The cultivator twisted away, but the movement exposed the two soldiers behind him. Xiangyin changed the spear's direction before the first thrust completed and swept the shaft low enough to break their formation rather than their bodies.
Blue Sphere cultivators used the disruption to withdraw another several steps.
Yanfei waited until the final coalition team passed the prepared point in the road.
Then Frostfire spread.
Ice raced across the paving behind the retreating formation, filling cracks and coating debris without reaching the coalition's own footing. Several demons continued forward anyway, trusting their cultivation to ignore the frozen surface. Yanfei allowed them to enter before heat surged through the ice beneath them.
The road fractured violently.
Frozen stone expanded and split, then collapsed through weakened sections of paving as thermal stress spread into damage already left by the previous assault. The demons nearest the front remained standing, but the formation behind them lost its clean approach as broken ground opened between groups. The commander was forced to slow the pursuit long enough to reorganize.
Yanfei withdrew immediately.
She had no reason to remain and admire the obstruction.
The detachment continued toward the damaged bridge.
Farther north, Haotian gave the order to attack the nine-o'clock junction.
The Second Mixed Legion advanced through the center while the Sixth remained close enough to replace exhausted teams without crowding the road. The demons responded from every layer at once. Formation pressure spread across the ground, ranged attacks descended from the elevated structures, and the first shielded ranks stepped forward only after the coalition entered the overlapping fields.
The collision stopped the Second Legion's momentum immediately.
Blue Sphere cultivators held, but this time the defenders behind the first line were numerous enough to replace anyone forced backward. Marephoros cultivation disrupted the road edges, yet the demons had positioned their own formations to stabilize those sections before the battlefield began. Pyrelith attacks struck the center and damaged several barriers without creating a breach.
The junction had been built to survive exactly this kind of pressure.
Haotian did not increase force blindly.
His perception spread through the position while the mixed legions maintained contact. The formation towers were obvious threats, but neither was the true foundation of the defensive line. Their attacks drew power from a wider network beneath the junction, and that network depended upon three physical relationships distributed through the surrounding structures.
The western support passed beneath an elevated walkway.
The eastern support ran through a fortified building occupied by ranged cultivators.
The central support lay beneath the road itself.
Destroying one would weaken the others.
Destroying two would make the entire junction unstable.
Haotian looked toward Lianhua and Yinxue.
"The western support runs beneath the elevated walkway."
Both women understood.
He turned toward Yueru and Ziyue. "The eastern support passes through the ranged position."
They moved before the defenders could determine why the family was separating.
Haotian remained in the center.