Chương 3: Terror in the city
After a full day of battle, both sides had casualties. Vrime soldiers were faring fine. Only a few of them had died while they took out a hundred Wyre soldiers. However, Wyre army was big. Losing a hundred soldiers was nothing. Their General Han Mo was confident in his victory. He had seemingly brought this big army to conquer many cities of Carny. Just one Vrime city could not hinder their momentum.
By midnight, Wyre troops began to move in the dark. Them setting up a camp to rest for the night was merely a ploy to fool the opponent. They intended to ambush at night when Vrime would have let their guard down. Defending a fortress was easy, conquering it was difficult. Thus, Han Mo resorted to such underhanded methods.
Unbeknownst to him, Xiao had been lying in ambush. All her troops were wide awake and waiting for the enemy.
"Princess, I hear their footsteps." Kyle said to Xiao. He had a support type technique which could let him hear even minute sounds.
"Prepare." Xiao said, folding a scroll she had been reading. This scroll contained the Death Spear technique that Deodomus had used to slay the iron scale lizard beast in one hit. He had then given it to Xiao to learn.
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Speaking of techniques, there were basically three major categories of them: Cultivation techniques, Combat techniques and Support techniques.
Cultivation techniques helped a cultivator to level up in cultivation realms.
Combat techniques were used for fighting and were further divided into assault & defense types.
Support techniques were either meant for healing, observation or boosting the cultivation & combat techniques.
Techniques were further unofficially divided into different grades/classes. Only the Empyrean grade & Ancient/Mystic grade techniques were official and noteworthy. The Death Spear technique was an Empyrean grade technique and hence displayed such great power.
"They've stopped moving." Kyle said again.
"Why would they stop?" Xiao frowned. Her eyes darted left to right as she quickly pondered.
"Damn it…" Xiao uttered.
"They are releasing the beasts. I can hear the cages opening." Kyle said.
"Yeah, I figured that. We can't let the beasts enter the city! Stop the incoming beasts!" Xiao shouted the last part. Her soldiers had been sitting behind the high walls. They stood up immediately, revealing themselves. Numerous torches were lit up in succession. Archers nocked arrows and took aim.
Krree! Roarrr! 4 giant beasts screeched & growled as their cage doors were lifted and they were released. Immediately, the beasts charged towards city walls.
"Fire!" Xiao shouted and immediately hundreds of arrows were released. These were imbued with chi and some were shot via combat techniques. The result was a flurry of explosions and shockwaves. Some arrows lit up and rained down fire while some glowed and struck the beasts powerfully. However, the four beasts remained unharmed.
These beasts resembled crocodile, snake, dung beetle & wolf. They had huge bodies larger than elephants and had mutations all over their bodies. The crocodile had numerous eyes and a spiked tail. The snake had small wings on its back but it was unable to fly. The dung beetle was huge and was flying slowly towards the wall. The Wolf was fierce and swift.
Bam! Bam! The crocodile beast struck the main gate heavily. It was attempting to break through. Wyre troops would then swiftly charge inside. The snake dodged the arrows agilely and slithered up the wall.
Hisss!!! It exhaled poison breath which engulfed several soldiers, killing them right away!
The dung beetle flew into the city and clacked its teeth continuously. It was emitting a humming vibration which spread quickly and made everyone sluggish. The effect seemed to be lingering & increasing in intensity. Soon the affected soldiers would be unable to even stand up; let alone fight.
The wolf climbed up on a minaret. Full moon was shining in the night sky behind it.
Awooooo! The wolf howled aloud and then leapt down like death descending as it started massacring the soldiers. Each of these beasts had Master realm power but they lacked intelligence. Only their natural instincts were in play. Still, they were a formidable opponent.
Swoosh! Xiao moved swiftly like a sparrow as she ran up on the straight walls and then leapt at the dung beetle beast.
Whoom…whoom….whoom! The dung beetle beast was pulsating vibrations every two seconds. These assaulted Xiao and affected her. She was feeling sluggish and tired. But her speed didn't fall as she had already made the jump. She landed directly on the beetle's back.
Whoom! Whoom! The vibrations intensified while the beast rolled in air, trying to toss Xiao away but she stuck to its back using a support type technique which allowed her to stick to any surface through her feet. Her long sword glinted in the moonlight as she swung it down with full strength.
Swish! Swish! The beetle beast's wings were cut off easily and it fell down with a boom.
Whoom! Whoom! The vibrations kept pulsating outwards. The soldiers were feeling too tired now. Meanwhile the wolf and snake had already reaped many souls.
"Yeti Power!" Kyle activated his technique and leapt at the wolf. Feeling challenged, the wolf leapt back at Kyle. The two immediately exchanged blows. The wolf bit Kyle's shoulder but Kyle's body was tough. He endured the bite and punched the wolf. The wolf was tough too. The two of them tangled in a fight & collided with walls and pillars, breaking everything in their path. Other soldiers tried to get as far away from the two as possible.
Meanwhile Hansel fought the snake beast. Hansel may be old but he was a veteran warrior. He wielded a shield and spear & used his weapon-based technique to push back the beast towards the edge of the wall.
Suddenly an explosive sound echoed.
BOOM! The front gate was broken through and a giant crocodile beast barged in, followed by large amounts of Wyre soldiers. The city had been breached!
Graaah! The crocodile roared and started massacring the soldiers in its way. It directly chomped them to death. Weapons and techniques had no effect on its thick skin. Meanwhile the Wyre soldiers spread out and kept pouring in. The situation immediately became dire for Vrime.
"Everyone, gather! Archers! Target the enemies inside!" Xiao commanded after she beheaded the beetle beast. Meanwhile Kyle and Hansel were still tangled with the two beasts. Xiao charged ahead and fought the crocodile beast now. Her yin chi based technique was Empyrean grade. Her chi was abundant and her cultivation base fully revealed its advantage as Xiao bashed the thick skinned beast until it was howling in pain. But the crocodile fought back each time too and Xiao was unable to kill it.
"Princess we are getting overwhelmed. We won't last even half an hour!" A captain shouted as he fought the opponents fiercely.
"Damn it! Damn it!" Xiao cursed in her mind. She was fairly strong and capable of fighting a drawn-out battle but now that the fortress had been infiltrated by hordes of enemy troops, she was losing hope with each dying soldier of hers.
"Cleaving the mountain!" Xiao shouted and used a powerful move on the beast. Pure yin chi slashed at the crocodile beast, causing a deep cut on its back.
Graaah! The crocodile beast immediately turned and fled. It still had the capability of fighting Xiao, but depending on its instincts, it decided to retreat in fear.
Awoooooh! The wolf beast let out its last howl as it was slain by Kyle. But Kyle now had numerous injuries on his body. He needed treatment but there was no chance of it in the current situation.
"Aaahh!" Meanwhile Hansel let out his last cry before he was melted by the snake beast's poison. Hansel died but he had injured the snake beast greatly. But unlike the crocodile, the snake hatefully kept attacking the Vrime troops. Xiao could not spare any time on it and went towards the gates instead.
Swish! Swish! Swoosh! Her long sword flickered and enemy heads rolled. She killed numerous Wyre soldiers while charging ahead. She intended to push them all back but this was a blunt method. She'd require full support from her troops but they were all busy with their respective opponents. Xiao alone could not stop every enemy soldier who were flooding in and spreading out into different directions.
"Damn it! Kyle! Bring Deodomus here! We need him!" Xiao shouted.
"But princess, his demand!" Kyle shouted back while reaping souls.
"I'll do it!" Xiao bit her lower lip hard. So what if she had to get naked in front of a man. In exchange for lives of thousands of people, her dignity mattered little. Xiao was unlike other nobles. She may seem brash and haughty, sometimes even cold but she always cared for her people & put them before anything else. The citizens of Vrime were whom she was fighting for. She would not regret her decision made for the greater good.
"Just what kind of a person do you take me for? I've already been here since a while." A man said to Xiao as he appeared beside her. He was Deodomus.
"Deodomus!" Xiao exclaimed before swinging her sword again and continuing to kill enemy soldiers around her. Deodomus joined in. Xiao and Deodomus fought side by side. Unknowingly the Wyre troops were retreating, not wanting to fighting these two. Of course there were already thousands of them inside and fighting the Vrime troops. Terror in the city was at its peak.
Hiss!! Suddenly the snake beast leapt down at Xiao and Deodomus.
Swoosh! A spear was hurled by Deodomus at the beast. He had nearly a hundred weapons stored up in his spatial ring and could summon any of them at his will. Spatial rings had independent spaces inside them which could be used to store objects and even people, provided the rings were of high quality.
Bam! The snake beast fell on the ground as it was impaled by the spear. Its corpse skidded for a few feet before stopping in front of Deodomus and Xiao.
"I've been preparing a move to block the gates & strengthen the walls." Deodomus said. "After using this move, I'll be weak for a short period of time. I'll be counting on your protection then."
"I'll protect you with my life if you risk yours for me." Xiao said. The two of them gazed at one another for a moment before resuming their massacre. Wyre soldiers at the entrance were either killed or forced back. In front of Xiao and Deodomus was a broken gate and fearful enemies. However, it was only a matter of minutes before powerful captains or their general Han Mo himself barges over. Then it'd be a full-blown bloodbath!
"Stone…prison!!" Deodomus suddenly shouted and stomped the ground heavily. All of his chi was channeled outwards from his feet and merged with the ground which immediately morphed and rose up! Within a few seconds the broken gateway was blocked up by a thick layer of heavy stones seemingly joined together into one construct. But that was not all. Next, the walls began to morph and rose up, getting taller and taller. The bricks all melted into one solid wall! Within a minute, the fortress walls had been reinforced, enhanced and the entrances had been blocked off. The danger was momentarily averted.
"Earth element technique?!" Xiao exclaimed as she witnessed all these changes. "You have earth element constitution?!" She stared at Deodomus.
"I wish, heh." Deodomus exhaled before kneeling down. He was extremely fatigued. Xiao immediately approached him to defend against any attack from the enemy troops inside the fortress.
"I merely used earth element stones to gain earth element traits which were all used up in this one move. Even my chi is exhausted. I can't fight for a while now." Deodomus said.
"You did great. Many thanks!" Xiao said and sighed in relief. Now there were merely a thousand few enemy soldiers inside the city walls. Those could be dealt with. But many Vrime soldiers had fallen. Situation was not that good. Xiao had to stand beside Deodomus to protect him.
"Rrahhh!" At this point Kyle made his move. He started pummeling the enemies.
"Charge! Kill the enemies!" Xiao roared too and encouraged her soldiers.
Vrime soldiers roared and attacked! A fierce battle ensued. Meanwhile Xiao guarded Deodomus who had sat cross-legged and was now recovering his chi in a half meditative state.
"Tell me about yourself. Where have you come from? Why is someone as powerful as you, here?" Xiao asked. This was the first time she and Deodomus were talking without trying to fight each other.
"I've come from a place far away sigh." Deodomus said. "Me and my sworn brother Anek travelled through many states and kingdoms. We became mercenaries and fought several battles. But ultimately, we were betrayed by one of our recruiters. We were ambushed by him. Anek got deeply injured. Though we escaped, we couldn't reach this city in time to save his life."
"...I'm sorry about your brother." Xiao touched Deodomus' shoulder & he looked up to smile at her.
"Thank you. What about you princess? I hardly know you." Deodomus asked.
"Sigh. I'm the heir to the throne of Carny state. My father rules perfectly but he's aged now. After my mother's death he's become eccentric even. The enemies are all around us. I've been moving from one battlefield to another for the past whole year now. That's pretty much it." Xiao replied.
"Well, at least you've got some loyal people." Deodomus said, pointing towards Kyle who had been fighting nonstop despite his severe injuries.
"…Would you like to join Carny, Deodomus? I can make you a captain in my own personal regiment." Xiao offered.
"You're merely one step away from Master realm too. Once you break through to that level, you can become a general. Have your own regiment under you." Xiao said.
"Thanks princess but, I'm merely a drifter. I like to be free. Fight whoever I want, flee whenever I want." Deodomus said. "So I have to decline your offer. But of course, you can still convince me with your beautiful body I can't take my eyes off of." He smirked perversely.
"Humph. If not for your perversion, you'd make a fine specimen of a man." Xiao said mirthlessly.
"If not for your uptightness, you'd be called the most dazzling woman in the entire world." Deodomus said.
"I'm not uptight." Xiao frowned.
"Sure you are." Deodomus chuckled. "You deliberately use techniques which aren't suitable for you. You scold men and don't embrace your womanly talents. I'd say you're trying to prove to your father that you're better than any son he could have had in your place."
"…." Xiao glared at Deodomus. He had hit the nail on the head. His deductions were accurate. This was indeed the case. The cultivation world was full of prejudices. Men were the leader, women were subservient. Naturally, every family preferred male children. Lord of Carny was no different.
But Xiao was no ordinary girl. She had outstanding talent in cultivation. She was beautiful, powerful, a capable leader and diligent. She had all the qualities of a leader but she could tell that her feats never truly satisfied her father. He even became blunter after Xiao's mother died. Thus, Xiao had resolutely tried to oversell herself. She used techniques befitting men while not even carrying herself as a girl at any given point of time. She had been developing an inferiority complex while fighting it too and that led to complexities, turning her uptight.
"Fuck off." Xiao murmured. "Let me know when you have recovered enough to hold your ground. I need to finish off these bastards before the enemy troops make their next move."
"Sure." Deodomus replied. "Though, now that I've helped you, how about that reward which should be in progress?" He smirked while checking out Xiao.
Xiao had been fighting all this while and had been sweating. Her clothes were damp and clinging to her body, revealing her curves clearly. She was the perfect girl whom Deodomus couldn't help but stare at.
"…Before dawn, once the battle inside the city is over…come to my room with me." Xiao said lightly. She was going to give Deodomus what he demanded. While even thinking about it, Xiao's heart had started beating faster and her face turned rosy.
Boom!
Suddenly a large portion of the reinforced fortress wall was destroyed in a chi explosion. A man floated over and looked at the fight unfolding inside the fortress. At once, all eyes moved towards this floating man who was wearing a tough armor and a sleek sword.
"Han Mo…" Xiao muttered as looked at this opponent.
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