Page 85

The city gate was busier than usual today.

Wei Gongcheng, in his wheelchair, was lifted directly onto the city wall, the reason being that the Gate Deity of the city gate had already issued a warning at dusk!

More than thirty soldiers, including Maozi, gathered together on the city wall, and several hundreds of newly-recruited young and strong men had also arrived at the top of the wall!

"General, what is that?"

Maozi asked bravely.

Below, the dark fog was dense, and indistinct figures could be seen moving underneath, but those creatures with crimson eyes were clearly detailed and ought not to be human!

Could it be Insect Demons?

But isn’t the number a bit too much?

Upon hearing this, Wei Gongcheng shook his head.

If Insect Demons could accumulate in such numbers, Jiangnan would have fallen long ago.

These creatures take a very long time to infect people, and are extremely easy to expose, with the most one time being a sealed-off village that had been infected with hundreds of people.

Even that incident led to the Jiangnan Academic Commissioner being blamed. The scale of this current threat...

He made a rough estimate, and the indistinct figures in the dense fog below likely amounted to more than ten thousand!

"Old Wei..." Zhou Haitao looked down somewhat nervously and swallowed his saliva before asking, "Is it doable?"

Wei Gongcheng rolled his eyes. Chen Qing really knew how to leave him with tough problems. The newly recruited could at most help with carrying rocks or boiling dung juice for miscellaneous tasks.

Of the soldiers capable of fighting on the wall, there were only a few dozen like Maozi.

Just thinking about a few dozen defending against tens of thousands was enough to give him a thrill. ..

"Don’t worry, we have the Gate Deity," was all Wei Gongcheng could offer in reassurance.

There were only a few dozen soldiers, and Lyuzhou City hadn’t seen battle for many years, resulting in a severe shortage of military weapons and equipment.

Many of the bows and arrows in the armory were old and hadn’t been maintained with oil, some hardly able to be drawn.

Whoever had to defend under these circumstances would be cursing their luck.

Zhou Haitao turned pale upon hearing this: "The boss has put me in harm’s way. I just got my whole family into the city!"

Upon hearing this, the faces of Maozi and the others on the city wall also turned grim. They had brought their families over earlier than Zhou Haitao, having snatched up quite a few good houses with the help of Gu Bei and others, and had called their families to live in mansion-like houses.

Wei Gongcheng shot Zhou Haitao a glance and said, "You think you’re the only one suffering? Look at the number of those monsters. If they spread out, do you think your family would be safer in the county or countryside?"

Zhou Haitao suddenly felt he might indeed be wrong. At least here, there was a city gate to defend. If the towns or counties encountered so many monsters, wouldn’t there be no hope left?

While they were speaking, excited roaring sounds continuously emanated from the black fog below, similar to that of exuberant wolf packs, but far scarier than these wild animals.

This was because it was clear that the sounds were human; when people begin to howl like wild beasts, it creates an especially horrifying auditory experience!

"It’s getting dark..." Wei Gongcheng glanced at the sky, perhaps understanding why these creatures were excited.

Chen Qing had said not to leave the city after dark, and yet these creatures, gathering within the black fog, became excited as nightfall approached.

The clever Wei Gongcheng decided instantly these creatures. .. were afraid of sunlight!

"Get ready!!" Although Wei Gongcheng was disabled, his commanding presence was still robust. His shout, filled with encouragement, somewhat steadied the hearts of the soldiers who had become a bit weak-kneed from the howling below.

"Everyone, don’t worry!" Wei Gongcheng declared, "These monsters can’t stand the light of day, and we are protected by the Gate God. As long as we hold out tonight, the demons will surely disperse!"

With a vast disparity in numbers, it was necessary to use other means to restore morale and confidence in the hearts of the people, and Wei Gongcheng’s shouts were very effective.

Upon learning they just needed to hold out through the night, the soldiers, who had been somewhat desperate, suddenly saw a glimmer of hope. At this moment, what humans lack is a lifeline to cling to!

"Archers, get ready!" Wei Gongcheng, looking at the creatures in the black fog that were already stirring restlessly, waved his hand to give commands!

He didn’t have much hope for Maozi and the other temporarily conscripted archers, but any ranged damage they could cause was something...

Seconds ticked away, and Maozi and the others with bows held their breath, tensing the atmosphere.

Finally... after the last remnants of twilight faded, the black fog churned and spread outwards, and then everyone could see the red-eyed monsters clearly...

They were indeed people, all kinds—youths, the elderly, women, even children—with various garments and attire, but all tattered and covered in a great deal of seaweed, their skin appearing as if it had been soaked rotten. In the dark of night, their pale appearances were frightful!

The next instant, these zombie-like beings placed their hands on the ground and ran towards them in a frenzy, their speed much faster than that of an ordinary person, but not ridiculously so, just somewhat quicker...

Wei Gongcheng was slightly relieved to see this scene, as it seemed these monsters weren’t particularly strong.

Hundred feet, fifty feet, thirty feet, ten feet...

"Fire the arrows!"

With a fierce shout, the next second, dozens of bright flashes whistled away, their uniformity resembling a straight line, carrying a power Wei Gongcheng hadn’t anticipated, as if they had drained the air around them, creating a nearly suffocating sensation...

Wei Gongcheng’s eyes widened with surprise. He had heard that the Gate Deity could enhance the soldiers on the city wall, but he hadn’t expected it to be so dramatic!

This is...?

Before he had time to think further, he saw those dozens of arrows, glowing with blue light, pierce through hundreds of the living dead.

The force of the arrows was incredibly strong, going straight through their throats and breaking their necks, with blood spurting violently, creating a shocking scene.

Despite being disabled, Wei Gongcheng’s vision was excellent, and he could see clearly that these dozens of arrows hardly missed, each hitting the throat with terrifying force. Nearly every arrow took a life!

Wind Arrow Technique!

Wei Gongcheng’s eyes bulged, recognizing the archery technique famously known in Northern Yan Country. It was exclusive to the Celestial Wolf Family, requiring soldiers with Windwave bloodlines to practice in tandem with magicians and was the mark of an extremely elite archer.

It had blocked the elite forces of Great Jin outside city gates numerous times, a highly troublesome adversary.

These hunters, born without noble lineage or heritage, could actually achieve such ability simply with the blessing of the Gate God?

Wei Gongcheng turned to look at his soldiers.

By now, Maozi and the others had entered their element, launching arrows one after another.

Though not as rapid-fire as a string of beads, their efficiency was astonishingly fast. With such arm strength and precise form, their performance didn’t wane even after releasing more than a dozen arrows.

Within the span of a few breaths, thousands of the charging creatures had their necks broken by arrows!

Swallowing hard, Wei Gongcheng suddenly understood Chen Qing’s confidence. With such miraculous effects, given enough time to train hundreds of such soldiers, they could likely withstand a siege by tens of thousands of elite troops without faltering in the slightest!

But the pity was... there were too few of them!

Wei Gongcheng looked down from the city wall. Although the archery of Maozi and his cohort was terrifyingly sharp, there was no stopping the hordes of undead creatures as they swarmed towards the wall despite the barrage.

Watching this, Wei Gongcheng grew curious. These undead creatures brought no siege equipment, and with the city gates towering over ten meters high, how would they climb up?

As he pondered, the answer came in the next second. A group of undead creatures clustered together like ants, piling upon one another, forming a human ladder!

"Quick, throw stones, pour molten metal!" he bellowed.

Following Wei Gongcheng’s roar, the recruits, inexperienced in battlefield horrors, finally sprang into action.

The foul-smelling molten metal poured down, but its effect was minimal.

The excrement that was lethal to human soldiers—one of the most cost-effective defensive weapons of a siege—caused infection and death once someone was drenched.

However, though the scalding metal induced wails among the creatures, they fought ferociously, seemingly impervious to pain—undeterred by the prospect of falling or even momentarily halting their human ladder’s progression.

Rolling stones had some effect, as they were heavy, but the hastily prepared stones were too small to make a significant impact. Then, as the undead were about to reach the top of the wall, the faces of those in Wei Gongcheng turned ashen.

If these creatures were to surge over the walls and engage in close combat, their sheer number would overwhelm the battlements in moments.

Was this the end?

Not just Wei Gongcheng, but the new soldiers pouring waste and hurling stones turned weak-kneed at the sight of the undead scaling layer by layer, retreating as if on the verge of panicked flight.

Suddenly, a green light flashed within the eyes of the three wolf heads on the city wall; a massive White Wolf apparition materialized in midair.

The next second, countless wind spikes burst from the giant metal gates as though triggered by a waiting mechanism, firing with powerful force. The nearly ten-meter-high pile of undead corpses exploded instantaneously, severed flesh flying everywhere, drenching the entire wall in a rain of blood.

Stunned by the scene, the onlookers were momentarily frozen. The oppressive undead ladder had now been demolished as easily as if pulling weeds, rousing everyone with excitement as they dropped to their knees, chanting in unison, "Gate God!"

Wei Gongcheng, shocked by the spectacle, also heaved a sigh of relief. Chen Qing had such a trump card up his sleeve—he wished he had been warned earlier; he had nearly been frightened to death.

It was not that he feared death, but faced with creatures intent on consumptive dissection, his instincts caused him some unease.

The mighty Gate God had finally caused even those recklessly fearless creatures pause, and the undead who were ready to continue the corpse ladder stood frozen, staring blankly at the city gates.

Moments later, the undead scattered, and Wei Gongcheng noticed three distinct figures walking through the clearing path, obviously different from the decayed undead. Covered in black fur, their skin also pitch-black and emanating wafts of dark mist.

Wei Gongcheng guessed that these must be the leaders.

Anxiety tightened within him—controlling thousands of undead, if they were a high-level demon, he had no chance of resistance in his crippled state.

Internal urgency grew. What was Chen Qing up to?

Why hadn’t he returned?

"Oh, things are going smoother than expected, huh!" a familiar voice suddenly resounded beside him. Wei Gongcheng started and turned around. Standing there, dressed in an ostentatiously white shirt despite the cold, if not Chen Qing, then who?

But hadn’t Chen Qing gone out?

How was he here?

If he had returned, how had he done so?

At the same time, half a quarter of an hour earlier, the Shen Family members who had already reached the city gates were also taken aback.

Murong Yunji, with her keen vision, could clearly see that it was Chen Qing atop the city gates.

But if that was the case, who was this person beside them?

Second Elder Shen also stared blankly at the figure next to them, standing there in a blue shirt. Despite the different attire, it was unmistakably Chen Qing as well!