Chapter 16: Explosion!

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They all knew just how perilous the situation was.

Yet, even with this awareness, as the soldiers gazed upon the horde of more than a thousand savage beasts, despair was etched upon every face.

They had already prepared themselves for sacrifice, but what filled them with anguish was the fear that their deaths would still not secure the safety of the Desolate City.

When beasts and humans clashed with equal strength, it was almost always the humans who perished.

Most especially, ordinary soldiers were doomed. Even the weakest beast, with a single charge, possessed enough power to crush a soldier’s insides, shattering their organs and killing them instantly.

There was simply no comparison.

Aside from the soldiers stationed elsewhere, there were only sixteen hundred soldiers here.

Of these, six or seven hundred had set foot on the path of martial cultivation.

But by rough estimation, the number of savage beasts was around twelve hundred.

They were already at a disadvantage in strength, and had only half the numbers of the beasts.

The disparity was staggering!

One could not help but admit, it was a comparison that drove one to despair.

Fortunately, humanity had the city walls as a bulwark, which would somewhat lessen their disadvantage.

The city walls—

Constructed primarily from unyielding, granite-like bluestone.

Five meters thick.

A martial artist of the seventh rank, unleashing a full-force punch, could only leave a mere centimeter-deep imprint upon it.

Moreover, the walls were inscribed with formations to absorb impact.

Yet, the Desolate City, lacking the support of the imperial court, had not been able to restore these formations once they were broken—they were little more than decoration now.

Even so, the soldiers, despite their despair, did not panic.

It was clear that their love for their families outweighed the suffocating fear and hopelessness.

“City Lord, there are two superior beasts this time, each as strong as a seventh-rank martial artist. I fear the Desolate City cannot hold; we won’t last till reinforcements from Zhen’an City arrive. You should lead the other townsfolk to safety first,” said Yang He, his face grave as he once again urged.

Following Yang He’s gesture, Yang Tian spotted the two superior beasts.

They stood at the heart of the beast horde, the largest of all—fifteen or sixteen meters long, nine meters in height, likely weighing twenty or thirty tons.

Because of the beasts’ massive size, the city walls stood a lofty twenty-five meters.

In the Jiuzhou continent, border cities all had towering walls.

After all, aside from beasts, martial cultivators possessed astonishing leaping abilities.

Lion-Tiger Beasts.

With the head of a tiger and the body of a lion, they were counted among the ten most formidable beast breeds.

This time, it was the Lion-Tiger Beasts leading their kin in the assault.

“Go and take command. Don’t worry about me.”

Since he had come at the first sign of trouble, he certainly would not leave before the battle had even begun.

If the Desolate City fell, he would have no place left to call home.

The mastermind behind this would seize the chance to finish him off completely.

Rumbling thunder echoed—

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The sun burned brightly overhead, but it felt as if thunder exploded across the land.

Before long, the beast horde crashed against the city.

One after another, the savage creatures hurled their bodies at the walls.

It was as if an earthquake shook the earth and stone, the ground and walls alike trembling as though they might crack and collapse at any moment.

Sharpened boulders, fireballs, explosive arrows—everything was launched down upon the beasts.

The soldiers worked together with practiced precision, their attacks executed with order and discipline—a result of countless battles.

There was barely any need to aim; the beasts were simply too enormous.

But alas, to kill a beast, one had to strike its vital points; anything less was merely attrition.

Savage beasts had skin like armor and flesh like iron; unless the wounds accumulated, they were nearly impossible to kill.

On the side of the Desolate City, there was no sound.

On the other hand, the beasts howled and roared, their cries shaking the very heavens.

A ferocious, bloodthirsty aura filled the air, threatening to unsettle the hearts of men.

The beasts’ assault bore a resemblance to human tactics.

Using their own as ladders, they trampled atop each other, trying to scale the walls.

The walls were high, and their weight immense; mere leaping would not suffice.

The greatest threat was not the beasts on the ground, but those that could fly.

Over a hundred flying beasts wheeled above.

By memory, these were Skyhawk Beasts.

Some looked like eagles, only dozens of times larger.

Wingspans stretched thirty meters or more.

Their legs were four or five meters long, thick and powerful.

Their sharp, curved beaks glinted with a chilling light under the sun.

Every so often, they swooped down from the sky,

Their talons were like giant blades; when they spread their wings, they blotted out the sun, each beat of their wings like a hurricane descending.

Only archers and javelineers could mount an effective attack against them, or squads of spearmen working in unison to defend.

Yang Tian thought the city’s soldiers were truly outstanding.

Yet, the defensive equipment was woefully scarce—and woefully obsolete.

To some, human lives seemed to matter less than nothing.

Savage beasts, flesh torn and bleeding, kept smashing against the wall as if unfazed.

But the soldiers could not endure such blows; if not killed instantly, they were left gravely wounded.

If seized by a Skyhawk Beast and carried aloft, or struck by those blade-like wings, a soldier would be shattered to pieces.

Within minutes of battle, barely a few beasts had been slain.

But already, dozens of soldiers had fallen.

In such a state, it was doubtful they could hold an hour, much less a day.

A tragic valor filled the air.

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Yang Tian’s heart ached with grief.

Though these were soldiers of Qin, as the City Lord, he had made the Desolate City his base—so they were now his men.

To see them slaughtered so mercilessly was agonizing.

He saw that even when seized by a Skyhawk Beast, so long as there was breath in their bodies, the soldiers would desperately draw their blades to hack at the beast’s legs, determined to fight to their last.

“Young Master, let’s go.”

Wang Fu arrived, also urging him to depart.

A thousand savage beasts, and two elite Lion-Tiger Beasts.

Even Wang Fu, an eighth-rank Scholar, could do nothing.

If he plunged into the horde, he would only be surrounded and killed.

Scholars were physically weaker than martial cultivators, and far inferior to beasts.

Even a ninth-rank martial artist would die here.

On such a battlefield—a melee of masses—individual strength was of little use.

Wang Fu understood all too well what the fall of the Desolate City would mean for Yang Tian; at least, if he escaped, there was still hope.

His duty was to protect Yang Tian.

“Uncle Fu, could you handle those two elite Lion-Tiger Beasts by yourself?” Yang Tian fixed his gaze on the leading beasts in the horde.

“Young Master, it shouldn’t be a problem. I know: to kill the king is to slay the horde. But I cannot face only them.”

Wang Fu understood immediately.

The two elite Lion-Tiger Beasts were like generals commanding the army.

If they died, even if the horde did not scatter, chaos would erupt.

But they were protected by over a thousand beasts—there was no way to reach them.

“Let’s try and see if there’s a chance,” said Yang Tian, his eyes steely with resolve, ready to play his trump card.

That trump card was, of course, a Scholarly Spirit Treasure.

He had no idea how powerful it truly was.

The original owner had cultivated martial arts, paying little attention to scholarly pursuits—especially since the scholarly path had long been in decline.

Few such treasures remained in the world, and even fewer would waste them as disposable weapons.

Could it kill a beast? How many? He had no certainty.

Yang Tian only hoped it would make a difference.

To him, Scholarly Spirit Treasures were not rare.

If he could save the Desolate City, only then would they have fulfilled their true worth.

He poured all the energy of a third-rank scholar into the first Spirit Treasure.

Paper inscribed with the poetry of the Immortal Poet, Li Bai.

“Let’s hope you don’t disappoint me.”

With a thread of scholarly energy guiding it, the feather-light sheet of paper became heavy as a mountain, shooting into the heart of the beast horde.

“Explode!”