In his mind, within the Celestial Essence Cauldron, the Blood Essence began to boil, its massive vitality surging continuously.
Beneath the Blood Essence, at the bottom of the cauldron, something new appeared. They were two pitch-black grains of sand, resembling particles of the most fertile soil.
This must be the Spiritual Fertilizer. Recalling the Celestial Essence Cauldron’s description of the Spiritual Fertilizer, Chen Changsheng’s heart burned with anticipation.
The enemy was likely preparing for an all-out strike, and the Northern Barbarian Martial Artists were bound to make an appearance. Now that he had so much Blood Essence, Chen Changsheng decided to play it safe and push for the Middle Stage True Qi Realm.
Inside the Celestial Essence Cauldron, two hundred crystal-clear drops of red Blood Essence drifted up and down. Standing on the rooftop, he circulated the introductory Chapter of the Eight-Nine Profound Skill.
With a thought, drops of Blood Essence materialized in his mouth out of thin air before rolling down into his stomach. As each drop of Blood Essence was refined, waves of warmth flowed through his limbs and bones, converging in his Dantian and transforming into pure True Qi.
A moment later, the hazy cluster of white light within his Dantian expanded to its limit. It began to show signs of struggling between rapid internal expansion and external restriction.
RUMBLE!
HYAH HYAH HYAH!
AWOOOOO!
"Nephew, prepare for battle!" County Captain Li’s shout rang in his ears!
Chen Changsheng could no longer afford to refine them drop by drop. He summoned ten drops of Blood Essence directly into his stomach, running his Cultivation Technique at full speed to refine them in an instant.
BOOM!
A silent explosion echoed in his mind.
His Dantian expanded by thirty percent, and the cluster of True Qi surged by fifty percent. His five senses heightened once more, and his physical strength reached fourteen hundred pounds.
Middle Stage True Qi Realm! An incredibly refreshing sensation welled up within him, like downing a bowl of iced sour plum soup on a scorching summer day. Every pore on his body radiated absolute comfort.
Looking into the distance, he saw the nearly five hundred Northern Barbarian Cavalry outside the West Gate dismounting to eat and drink. Focusing his mind, he sensed the remaining amount of Blood Essence in the Celestial Essence Cauldron: one hundred drops.
Breaking through a Small Realm had consumed a full hundred drops of Blood Essence—double the amount required to break through to the True Qi Realm. It was easy to imagine that reaching the Late Stage True Qi Realm would require at least two hundred drops!
Soon, the cavalry from the south galloped over, and the cavalry from the east bypassed the south, both beginning to converge outside the West Gate. They were gathering their forces to storm the West Gate! This story is hosted at novelping.com.
Sure enough, County Captain Li’s figure descended upon the roof of the West Gate Tower like a giant bird.
"Nephew! Your tactic of cyclical volley fire is truly excellent! It perfectly suits the current situation of Chaoyang Town. You deserve the top merit for this first battle!"
Chen Changsheng muttered in his mind, "Does the top merit come with money?" On the surface, however, he replied humbly, "It’s all thanks to everyone’s united efforts. Chang Sheng wouldn’t dare claim the credit!"
After a few more words, a portion of the young militia from the east and South Gate walls rushed to the West Gate. Meanwhile, another change occurred in the distance.
A massive, dense crowd of ragged people appeared. Amidst the occasional flashes of Sword Light and blood, they carried wooden ladders while completely unarmed, trudging laboriously toward the southwest corner of the Chaoyang wall.
Three hundred Northern Barbarians armed with bows and arrows held the rear, while over seven hundred more hid within the teeming crowd, hollering and herding the people forward.
Chen Changsheng’s eyes narrowed. These ragged individuals were all Great Yan people. He could guess that they were the captives taken by the Northern Barbarians after breaching various towns and fortresses in Great Fog County. According to his predecessor’s memories, these people would either become cannon fodder for sieges or be dragged back to the grasslands by the Northern Barbarians to serve as slaves.
He watched the Great Yan people crying out as they fell. He watched those who tried to stall for time being hacked to death, and those who tried to flee to the sides being shot down.
Across his past and present lives, this was the first time Chen Changsheng had truly witnessed such tragedy. It was also his first time seeing such human-like beasts—no, they were worse than beasts!
When a creature’s own kind suffered, its cry was full of sorrow!
A wave of fury rose in Chen Changsheng’s heart, making his head burn with anger. Beside him, County Captain Li spoke, sounding as if he were comforting Chen Changsheng or perhaps just convincing himself.
"Nephew, we cannot lose the big picture over small matters. They have at least three Martial Artists; I exchanged blows with them at the South Gate. We can’t fall for their trap and go down there."
Chen Changsheng lowered his head, unable to look down any longer. When a tragedy out of legends became reality and unfolded right before his eyes, he found himself completely powerless. He asked softly, "Can we avoid killing them?"
County Captain Li didn’t answer, merely shaking his head gently.
"What if you and I, along with those who possess good Archery Skill, only shoot the Barbarians?" Chen Changsheng asked again. "We could force them to flee to the sides. Would that work?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Chen Changsheng shook his own head. The Barbarians weren’t fools. Once they got within a hundred yards, they would inevitably hide behind the Great Yan people.
As the crowd drew closer, Chen Changsheng quickly estimated their numbers. Three thousand! They were all young men and women. They all had yellow skin and black eyes. They were all Great Yan people.
But right now, every single one of these three thousand youths was emaciated, their limbs weak as they stumbled forward. Powerless to resist the Northern Barbarians in the face of swords, spears, and arrows, they could only choose to survive for one more breath if possible.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
The Northern Barbarians hidden within the crowd began to fire their arrows. Dead silence reigned on the city wall. Everyone gritted their teeth so hard they nearly shattered, yet no one dared to shoot back. They could only raise their shields over their heads, silently enduring the enemy’s Attack.
Chen Changsheng couldn’t bring himself to give the order. His figure blurred as he stepped up to the arrow platform. Nocking an arrow to his bow, he quickly spotted the exposed limbs of several Barbarians.
Three of the Barbarians who had carelessly exposed their hands or feet were struck in rapid succession. But quickly, the other Barbarians grew warier and hid themselves even better.
County Captain Li’s voice boomed. "Attention, everyone! From thirty-eight yards to fifteen yards, one volley every two yards! Cyclical covering fire! Those who disobey will be executed!"
He intended to blanket everyone outside the wall! With that, County Captain Li fired the first shot.
Three arrows flew out, and three robust Great Yan youths leading the siege party dropped to the ground!
The County Soldiers and constables on the wall began to yell.
"Brothers, you can’t be soft-hearted! If they come up, we’ll die! The nearly ten thousand civilians of Chaoyang Town will die!"
"There’s no other way! If you want to blame anyone, blame their bad luck!"
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
One by one, people began to loose their arrows. As for those who refused to shoot, the constables and County Soldiers started hacking them down. Soon, the cyclical covering Attack commenced. Below the wall, lives withered away. Miserable wails, curses, pleas, and enraged, impotent roars filled the air.
THUMP!
BANG!
Tall wooden ladders hooked onto the battlements. Four figures leaped out from the crowd. Treading on corpses and the heads of the living, they tapped lightly against the wooden ladders and vaulted onto the top of the wall.
Chen Changsheng was standing at the front of the Chen Family Village militia. Seeing a Northern Barbarian Martial Artist diving toward them, he immediately shouted.
"Fu Sheng, Chusheng, lead the men and fall back five yards to the left and right!"
Before his words even settled, several streaks of Sword Light swept toward the young men of the Chen Family, with one chilling gleam aimed straight at Chen Fusheng.
Chen Fusheng was terror-stricken. As the berserk killing intent locked onto his Heart Spirit, an overwhelming sense of helplessness surfaced in his mind. The chilling gleam was blindingly fast. By the time it appeared, it was already a mere three inches from Chen Fusheng’s waist.
Chen Changsheng was deeply shaken. The enemy had absolutely no martial honor—they didn’t seek out other Martial Artists for duels but immediately attacked ordinary people instead.
The clansmen behind him were retreating while simultaneously trying to parry the enemy’s attacks. Chen Changsheng knew that their resistance was futile. Ten streaks of Sword Light would cause at least six or seven casualties among his clansmen.