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Published at 19th of October 2022 01:26:18 PM


Chapter 227.: Insect Assault

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“Beasts have breached the formation!”

“Beasts have breached the formation!”

“Prepare for battle!”

Orders came down immediately from the immortals to the executive elders who then broadcasted them across the entire city.

“All reserves to the southwestern sector! Defend Tiger Fang Gate and Jade Ox Gate!”

“All reserves to the southwestern sector! Defend…”

The walls of the southeast came to life with an almighty roar. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and cultivators declared their defiance and solidarity.

While they were alive, no insect horde would enter the city. They swore it!

The executive elder in charge of Tiger Fang Gate gave out a quick succession of orders. Weapons were readied, bows were drawn, and large wooden catapults were prepared to fire. The men and women on the walls gripped their chosen instrument death and awaited the incoming bloodbath.

The insect horde did not keep the human side waiting for long. In a few moments, tens of thousands of insects had poured through. More came in every second from the vast, endless host waiting outside. The six immortals were steadily being pushed back and there was nothing they could do to stop the hole from spreading wider.

The front row of the approaching wave was the gigantic horned beetles. After that was a sea of red ants that were as big as rats. Following that were masses of grasshoppers and crickets and so many other kinds of beetles it was impossible to describe.

The sky was filled with mosquitos, flies, bees, and wasps. After them were butterflies, moths, and countless more. Flight was an innate skill of insect beasts and it made them especially formidable. Even the weakest mosquito could fly and stay out of range of the strongest mortal cultivator.

The horde did not spread out too much as it would thin their ranks. They concentrated their forces on the two southeastern gates. Even so, the entire assault wave was now over five kilometers long.

“Light the fires! Fire the great catapults!”

“Fire!”

A huge whooshing sound filled the air as the great catapults two stories tall flung their payload over the walls. These wooden contraptions were strengthened by inscriptions and powered by cultivators that specialized in brute strength over all else. They were capable of throwing a one-ton object over five hundred meters.

Thirty huge balls of flame rose into the sky and then fell towards the incoming army. The insects paid this first response no heed and there was no reaction from the ranks. They made effort to dodge and there really was no room to.

Boom!

Crimson flowers of destruction blossomed on the battlefield, billowing tall flames and black smoke. The catapults launched balls filled with liquid flame which exploded upon impact over a wide area. Everywhere it landed turned into a sea of fire.

Insects that were hit were vaporized by the force and heat. Insects nearby were blasted away. Two of the armored beetles suffered direct hits but simply shrugged off the impact like nothing had happened. The rest of the armored beetles walked through the sea of flames like nothing was wrong.

The other insects, however, did not have such insane defense and were forced to take detours around the growing flames or simply get pushed to their death by the one behind them.

“Fire all catapults!”

“Yes sir!”

The sky above the southern wall was a brilliant scene as hundreds of flaming bombs were launched toward the insect horde. It was a storm of fire and destruction. It was a hellish defense!

The missiles cut swaths through the flying legions and carved huge gaping holes in the formations on the ground. Thousands of insects died with each explosion. Even more died charging straight into the remnant flames.

Flames were a common weakness of insects and there were few insects, even in the immortal realms, that liked flames. These defenses were designed from hundreds of years of battle experiences and were highly effective.

The front lines of the incoming host thinned out greatly and there were several bottlenecks caused by vast lakes of fire. This made perfect targets for the archers on the walls who launched an unrelenting rain of arrows.

These arrows were made from hardened steel and imbued the strength of Body Refinement Realm and Mind Focusing Realm cultivators. They cut through clouds of insects in the air and down onto the concentrated mass on the ground that was crawling over each other. A single sharp arrow could slay multiple flying insects and still impale several more on the ground.

The fire and arrows were fearsome but the insects still kept coming closer and closer. They suffered horrendous losses but even more pushed up from behind. They pushed aside their dead or crawled over them without care. The fallen served as the perfect tool for smothering flames so the insects sacrificed their own to put out the lakes of flame so they could advance.

Finally, the insect’s frontline arrived at the wall.

Bam!

Bam!

Two of the armored beetles found the gates and started ramming their horn against the thick steel doors. Each strike left a concerning dent in the supposedly impregnable gate. The rest of the siege beetles found random sections of the wall and mindlessly rammed it. Although it seemed pointless, each attack still took out big chunks of stone and brick. If left alone, they were certain to cause a lot of damage.

The other insects could not do anything to the walls or the gate so they resolved to charge over it. Those that could climb started crawling up the vertical wall. Those that could leap used the mass of insects to shorten the distance to the top. It was even simpler for the flying insects as all they needed to do was fly higher to clear the fifteen-story walls.

“Deploy the poison!” The executive elder’s voice carried over the entire section, “Go!”

The lowest-level cultivators charged to the front ranks and threw over buckets of foul liquid. It was a special concoction that was extremely toxic to insects. When it came in contact with insect blood, it also created a thick corrosive vapor that remained close to the ground and killed insects that inhaled it.

It was the perfect weapon for the weakest defenders and allowed them to contribute in this brutal battle. With the insects all crowded together at the foot of the walls, there was nowhere to run from the poison once it was thrown down.

The ones that were crawling up got hit by the poison directly and immediately died. They then fell down and caused the liquid to vaporize and inflict even more damage. The weaker ones died in droves. The stronger ones struggled before succumbing.

Only the most powerful insects managed to remain standing and continue climbing. These joined the flying legions that were not affected by the poison and soon reached the top of the wall.

“Incoming! Prepare for contact!”

The cultivators took to the front row to meet the assault at last. Chen Wentian in his disguise and He Xuanwu was among them. Each peak expert was surrounded by a battalion of strong fighters.

“Come here!”

“About time!”

Various eager cries came from the wall.

They were all beast cultivators. They grew up killing beasts. It was their profession and they were eager to show off their power.




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