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Two hours ago...

On a cold night, atop the east gate of Baiyun City, the group of Southern Barbarian Soldiers, who had been domineering and unruly in the previous days, were now diligently performing their duties as defenders of the city.

They were transporting arrows and rocks, boiling the Golden Sap Secret Potion.

"I say, do we need to be this cautious?"

One of the Southern Barbarian Soldiers, drinking meat broth and gnawing on a bone, disdainfully glanced at the soldiers below the city gate, who didn’t dare to approach within a hundred paces.

They had reasons to scorn the Central Plains Soldiers: ever since receiving the Divine Temple’s blessings, all soldiers felt a qualitative improvement in their strength, especially after arriving in the Central Plains; the enhancement was so rapid it seemed like a dream.

Take the bone-gnawing soldier for example: ten days ago, he could leap ten paces high.

Coupled with the Southern Barbarians’ wall-climbing techniques, the defensive structures of the Central Plains were practically useless against him.

He still remembered the shock in the eyes of the archer when he jumped onto the battlements and chopped off his head, and he remembered how smoothly his compatriots cut down the resisting soldiers, like mowing grass.

He did not believe that they could occupy the Southeast because the Imperial Court’s troops had withdrawn.

In his view, the Imperial Court’s withdrawal was due to fear of their strength.

If those oblivious members of the Flying Dragon Army still dared to hold the Southern Barbarian pass, he would certainly teach the force that suppressed the Southern Wilderness for twenty years what terror really meant!

"How would I know?" sneered a comrade sitting nearby: "The chief said we shouldn’t underestimate Jiangnan. Those soldiers once defeated the Imperial Court’s forces."

"Bah... the chief’s power is becoming more and more enigmatic, but his courage seems to be shrinking." The soldier spoke with disdain: "The soldiers from Jiangnan? Now, the Flying Dragon Army only knows how to run when they see us, and the chief is still afraid of those weaklings from Jiangnan?"

"Don’t be too careless either." A tall man approached and sat down, saying, "Our Second Prince, it’s said, was taken down by the King of Qin of Jiangnan!"

"That must have been a deceitful scheme!

" The bone-gnawing soldier said with scorn: "Central Plains People have always been cunning. How brave our Second Prince is? Those skinny chicks from the Central Plains tied together wouldn’t match a finger of the Prince.

Using some despicable means, they ambushed our brave Prince.

Today, we shall return the favor a hundredfold, a thousandfold! "

The tall man frowned. He too thought the valiant Second Prince should have been unrivaled, but to say there were no formidable people in the Central Plains was perhaps an overstatement.

The recent Divine Temple rites had granted his people unprecedented strength, but as a result, it seemed everyone was becoming arrogant, seemingly forgetting they had been suppressed in the Southern Wilderness and couldn’t step out for twenty years...

Just as he was about to say something, suddenly a deep, muffled sound of a horn blared throughout the battlements. All the soldiers immediately put down their food and stood up to look below.

Boom!!

An intense explosion erupted on the battlements, the thunderous noise and the force of the impact made the entire city wall tremble, feeling as though an earthquake had occurred.

All the Southern Barbarian Soldiers were startled and only then noticed that the despicable Jiangnan Soldiers opposite them had used some weapon to attack the city gate from a hundred paces away—the power was much greater than that of a catapult!

"See, what did I tell you?" The bone that had dropped to the ground in fright was picked up by the Southern Barbarian Soldier who jumped up and said, "Those Central Plains bastards, they always resort to these underhanded tactics!"

The others were stunned, but despite the terrifying display, not a single casualty was on the city wall because they were protected by spirits!

Looking at the immense city, a transparent barrier enveloped it; corals of various colors suspended in the air looked exquisitely beautiful, yet they repelled the enemy’s terrifying firepower from the outside!

"Hmph, lucky for us we have the protection of the Divine Mother, thinking those Central Plains bastards can always be effective with such underhanded methods?"

After surviving what could have been their demise, beads of cold sweat ran down the backs of the soldiers, but in the next instant, they began to arrogantly swear and curse as though to vent the fear they had felt moments before.

But their arrogance did not last long.

From the enemy’s ranks, a Scholar in white robes appeared in the air, radiant with dazzling azure light, and with a single finger, he shattered the barrier!

As the barrier broke, from a hundred paces away, a group of armored soldiers encircled like a tide of steel, their momentum overwhelming, like a torrent of iron that surged with such force the previously boastful Southern Barbarian Soldiers involuntarily staggered back in horror, a sense of tension rising unbidden in their hearts.

"What are you staring at?" bellowed the tall man on the battlements, "Ready the archers and rolling stones, have the Gu Insects been put into the Golden Sap?"

The Wizard by the Golden Sap hurriedly grabbed a pouch nearby and poured the centipede-like black insects from the pouch into the potion.

Hiss!!

The shrill scream of the Gu Insects instantly made everyone’s eardrums ache, and some soldiers immediately revealed cruel smiles.

The Gu Insects mixed in the Golden Sap Secret Potion of the Southern Barbarians, if sprinkled on the flesh, would bore into the soldier’s skin along with the poisonous potion, rapidly infecting the person’s body.

Even if one did not die immediately, within a day, the infected soldier’s flesh would rot, and they would wail in agony until death.

This potion, a form of torture in the Southern Wilderness, was also a perfect tool for defending the city here.

Seeing such a miserable way to die would terrorize the enemy and erode their courage to scale the walls.

Thud, thud, thud!

The tide of iron armor drew closer again, the uniform steps revealing a well-trained elite force. The head of the city’s defenders, seeing the impeccably disciplined soldiers, couldn’t help but feel a flash of envy.

The soldiers from the Central Plains are real soldiers, whereas those from the Southern Wilderness can only be called ruffians.

Although now the soldiers of the Southern Wilderness have been blessed with some divine power, greatly surpassing their previous individual strength, the essence within them hasn’t changed.

Compared to the formation and cooperation level of these troops, it makes him feel as though his own people are still a ragtag bunch.

"Release arrows!" As soon as the soldiers came within thirty feet, the defending general roared immediately.

The Southern Barbarian soldiers who couldn’t wait to act, each sneered as they drew their bows, the arrowheads flickering with a dim blue light, obviously coated with deadly poison.

Whizz!

The next second, arrows poured down like rain, covering the sky, and the powerful force of the arrows, along with the wind, even emitted a screeching sound in the air.

Watching the soldiers continuing without halting their steps, many Southern Barbarian soldiers revealed a mocking expression.

Did they really think they were still the same as before?

Now, they were drawing hundred-stone strongbows, and each arrow had been blessed by spirits.

Even the mighty statues of the Southern Wilderness had their heads blown open by a single arrow.

When they took the southeast pass before, those Central Plains cavalrymen were pierced through with a single shot, horse and rider killed instantly, and the whole army was scared into complete disarray, a scene that remains vivid in their memory.

These ignorant Jiangnan soldiers, daring to face their archery without the protection of shieldbearers, were truly seeking death!

Soon, they’ll be like the soldiers from the Central Plains back then, scared out of their wits, pissing themselves in fear.

Of course, even if they did raise their shields, it would be useless.

They had tested it many times. With such concentrated fire, no matter how well-organized the shieldbearers are, they’d collapse instantly, their hands holding the shields would shatter from the force.

These ignorant fools, soon they’ll be.....huh?

The expected scene.....didn’t happen.....

The arrows, dense as rain, fell on the flood of Jiangnan soldiers, but they sank in just like rain, and then.....nothing happened.

There was neither the gruesome scene of flesh and blood exploding nor the wails that reach the heavens.

Below was still the sound of thudding footsteps. The sky-full of arrow rain was indeed like raindrops, unable to even hinder their pace for a moment.

"This..."

All Southern Barbarian soldiers were stunned at that moment. Since gaining their power, their archery had been invincible, not even the strongest elephant soldiers of the Southern Wilderness could withstand a single arrow.

These soldiers.....what’s going on?

Even if they were made of steel and iron, they should at least cry out in pain, right?

Since birth, they had never seen war like this...

Thud thud...thud thud!

The soldiers below still maintained their formation, moving in neat steps, closing in step by step. At that moment, all Southern Barbarian soldiers felt a suffocating sensation, the once-familiar fear rising in their hearts once again.

It was as if their previous rampages were just a dream, and the cold iron armor in front of them would personally crush their dream...

"My lord, please take action!!" The general on the city wall knelt down without hesitating, roaring towards the heavens.

He didn’t hesitate at all, almost instantly judging that there was no chance of victory!

Not the slightest bit, his own men, in the eyes of the enemy, were probably no better than pigs and dogs...

------------------------------------

"Your Majesty!"

Meanwhile, on another front, Tian Heng, who was originally in charge of commanding the army, was also immensely shocked!

Chen Qing took personal action, the Divine Wind Array was stunning beyond belief, especially the gesture of breaking the barrier with a single finger, which certainly startled him. But what shocked him even more was the actions of the soldiers following!

That single act from Chen Qing seemed to have given the soldiers endless morale. In that instant, all the soldiers, inspired, seemed to move beyond his command, following Chen Qing and surging into the city.

At this moment, Tian Heng somewhat understood why Chen Qing never guarded against him...

His own elite troops that he had trained for so long, were they all listening to Chen Qing at this critical moment?

What kind of power was this?