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Chapter 188: Demonic Beast Assault on the City
🕑 Added 2024-01-10 06:50:44 +0000 UTCImmortal Path Space : Table of Content/Chapter List
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Wang Hong was patrolling when he suddenly felt the ground tremble. The vibrations grew stronger, resembling the thunderous charge of a massive army.
Wang Hong's expression changed; having led troops in numerous battles, he was familiar with such tremors.
Simultaneously, urgent bell tolls echoed within the city, and four figures ascended from the city, soaring into the sky.
These were the four Golden Core cultivators stationed in the city. As the source of the tremors extended beyond the range of their Divine Sense, they could only ascend to the skies to observe with their naked eyes.
From the direction of the Boundary Mountain Range, a dense horde of Demonic Beasts emerged, countless and overwhelming.
The four Golden Core cultivators gathered in the air, and a middle-aged man in white spoke, "Fellow Daoist Zhao, Fellow Daoist Ning, Fellow Daoist Yun, judging by the situation, it seems to be an inevitable Beast Tide. Do you have any strategies to counter it?"
"With the city currently vulnerable, we may not be able to hold out for long. There's a risk of the city falling and lives being lost. The immediate priority is to contact those who are seizing control of the Spirit Stone mines and have them rush back for reinforcement," said the Golden Core cultivator surnamed Zhao.
"Our reinforcements might not make it in time. It will take at least two days for them to return, and that's in an ideal situation. If they encounter interference from the Demon Clan, the time required could be even more unpredictable," the Golden Core cultivator surnamed Ning pondered.
"Fear is inevitable now. If we wait, we might lose Jin'an City before our people arrive. Currently, there are only five hundred Foundation Building cultivators left in the city, and they are not skilled in combat. They are mostly shopkeepers, alchemists, tool refiners, and spirit meal practitioners," the cultivator surnamed Yun spoke.
As he spoke, the Demonic Beasts drew closer. At this point, the Golden Core cultivators could observe the specific details of the beasts with their Divine Sense.
There were ten third-tier Demonic Beasts, three thousand second-tier Demonic Beasts, and no less than three hundred thousand first-tier Demonic Beasts.
Comparing this force to Jin'an City's strength—four Golden Core cultivators, five hundred Foundation Building cultivators, and over forty thousand Qi Cultivation practitioners—the most terrifying were not the three hundred thousand first-tier Demonic Beasts but the ten third-tier ones.
First-tier Demonic Beasts would find it challenging to breach Jin'an City's walls and protective formations. By relying on the city walls and formations, there was still a possibility of defending Jin'an City by continuously killing them.
However, the real threat lay in the ten third-tier Demonic Beasts. With Jin'an City's current strength, they could only hold off four, leaving the other six to combine forces with the three thousand second-tier Demonic Beasts. If they relentlessly attacked the protective formation, it would be difficult to withstand for more than two days.
At this moment, the faces of the Golden Core cultivators turned grim. Facing enemies several times their strength, even with their Golden Core cultivation level, if they were carelessly surrounded by several Demonic Beasts, there was a risk of falling.
"Given the current situation, defense is absolutely impossible. It's just a matter of how long we can hold on. But defending the city is doomed to fail, and the duration of the defense is meaningless," the first cultivator in white said somewhat despondently.
"With the city destined to fall, and under the siege of Demonic Beasts, only a few will survive breaking through. Perhaps one in ten. We might as well organize the city cultivators to scatter from Jin'an City while the Demonic Beasts haven't fully converged," suggested the cultivator in white.
"Although Fellow Daoist Zhou's suggestion is reasonable, abandoning the city now and being pursued by the Demon Clan from behind would lead to substantial casualties as well," said the Golden Core cultivator surnamed Zhao.
"But wouldn't it be much better than breaking through the Demon Clan's siege? After all, more people are likely to survive," argued the cultivator named Zhou in white.
"But, Fellow Daoist Zhou, have you considered this? If we abandon the city today and those who died in battle are counted against us, people might think that we, the four, are greedy for life and fear death, leading the escape at the sight of the Demon Clan attacking the city, disregarding the deaths of many low-tier cultivators. If we lead the low-tier cultivators in defending the city until it falls, and then break through the siege, even though there will be countless casualties, it won't be solely our responsibility," said the Golden Core cultivator named Ning.
"I also agree with Fellow Daoist Ning's point. If we lead a group of low-tier cultivators in a desperate defense, we might at least inflict some damage on the Demonic Beasts. Leaving these Demonic Beasts alive will cause trouble for the Cultivation World in the future," the cultivator named Zhao said.
While Zhao agreed with defending the city, he believed it was more advantageous to harm more Demonic Beasts.
At this point, the cultivator named Yun also spoke, "I also agree to defend the city. At the same time, we should send a message to our friends seizing the Spirit Vein, informing them of the situation here. Whether they choose to reinforce or not is up to them. What if we can hold on until the main force arrives?"
Yun still held a glimmer of hope. After all, they couldn't decide whether the reinforcements would come or not. Since both sides were in an equal relationship, he could only suggest letting the other side decide, making it sound more agreeable.
With three out of four Golden Core cultivators agreeing to defend the city, that became the unanimous decision.
They then stationed themselves in the four directions—east, south, west, and north—and organized the Foundation Building and Qi Cultivation cultivators to defend the city.
Meanwhile, Wang Hong, standing on the city wall, watched the approaching tide of Demonic Beasts. Despite having witnessed numerous large-scale scenes, he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.
The city was currently empty, and the gap in strength between the two sides was too significant, leaving no chance of victory.
As a mere foot soldier, leading these Qi Cultivation cultivators, who were unfamiliar with each other and lacked coordination and trust, added to the challenge.
At this moment, a Daoist Master flew to the sky above the city, accompanied by a strong Golden Core pressure.
"All of you, defend the city walls, await reinforcements, and don't make mistakes. Once the walls are breached, everyone has only one path—death," the Golden Core cultivator named Zhao shouted loudly from the air.
Upon hearing the voice of the Golden Core cultivator, everyone rallied, finding their backbone.
Just then, a massive light screen rose from the city walls, enveloping the entire city. This was Jin'an City's protective formation.
The formation required a considerable amount of Spirit Stones to operate and was usually dormant. There was a central hub in the city guarded by a team of Foundation Building cultivators, and a large group of over a hundred Qi Cultivation cultivators was responsible for replacing the Spirit Stones.
At this moment, the city's streets were deserted, with all the civilians assigned to participate in the city's defense posted on the walls.
Wang Hong's patrol team, originally consisting of twenty people, had now increased to eighty.
The segment of the city wall they were defending was only ten yards long. If all eighty people crowded onto it, each person would have just over a foot of space, making it quite cramped.
He divided the eighty people into two groups, A and B, taking turns to guard the wall. Currently, each group was assigned to fight for an hour before resting and letting the other group take over.
After all, they were only Qi Cultivation cultivators. Even fighting for an hour was a tiring task. Fatigue could lead to increased casualties, so rotating was essential.
Each group of forty was further divided into two teams. One team of thirty was responsible for the front-line defense, while the other team of ten provided support and assistance.
Additionally, on this section of the city wall, there was a Spirit Energy Cannon, a powerful weapon that Wang Hong had only heard about but never witnessed in action.
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Next Chapter >>Chapter 189: City Defense
