Chapter 26

Looking around, the wooden boards were gone, and the view was much clearer now, but the fog was so thick that it was hard to see far.

He saw a nearby carriage where the guard had already cut the ropes with his sword, released the horses, and was hiding under the tilted carriage with the driver. It was clear they were trying to use the iron cage for protection, or they had seen the situation here and knew that the carriage could not withstand the massive impact from above.

The two men were stunned for a moment, then immediately started to crawl out. Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and blood splattered through the dust.

Yu Qing looked again and found that the two men had disappeared, vanished under the carriage, which had now settled on the ground like the one he was in.

The relentless attack continued to rain down from the sky, and the惨叫声 and gruesome scenes around him made Yu Qing's hair stand on end.

He reached out from the iron cage and felt the lock above, using his inner strength to try to unlock it as if it were a key. However, he discovered that this was a blood-costly thousand-mechanism lock, specifically designed to prevent cultivators from opening it without the key's outline.

Swish! He suddenly pushed the people around him away, drew his sword, and struck the iron cage with a loud clang. As expected, it did not break. The cage was made of fine steel, and not just any fine steel. It was likely reinforced to prevent damage, and his sword blade was now chipped.

One of the candidates shouted, "Brother Shiheng, try prying it open with your sword."

Idiot! Yu Qing cursed in his heart, sheathed his sword, and ignored him.

Earlier, when Shiheng was injured, he felt some guilt, but now he realized that Shiheng had a big destiny, escaping a major calamity with a minor one. He had become the unlucky one who would die, and if he had known this, he would never have come to replace Shiheng on the journey to the capital.

Although he knew that a demon was trying to harm the candidates, he couldn't understand why there was such a deep grudge that it could result in such an attack.

He didn't want to die in this cage, but the current situation seemed to indicate that hiding in this prison carriage was the safest place.

The stone chips that had run down his neck and into his clothes made him extremely uncomfortable. He had just dusted himself off and shaken out the stone chips when, boom! Another impact shook the top of the cage, hitting him again.

Everyone was stunned, swaying, and Yu Qing was once again dazed, with ringing in his ears, blurred vision, and a headache. He was covered in dust and dirt again.

The giant eagles continued to drop stones.

However, no matter how the aerial bombardment devastated the area, there were always some lucky ones. There were about a dozen carriages that never got hit, causing the candidates inside to constantly worry about when they would be hit. This was a terrible feeling, far worse than the situation Yu Qing and the others had become accustomed to.

Despite the thousands of guards, hundreds of officials from the Sining Mansion, and fifty great archers, they were completely helpless against this aerial assault.

It was frustrating, but there was nothing they could do.

The cries around them gradually diminished, either because people had been killed or had temporarily found shelter in the mountains.

Jin Hua Hai was furious and wanted to order the Sining Mansion personnel to search the mountains and kill without mercy, but Jiang Yinan stopped him, fearing it was a ploy to lure them away. In close combat, the Sining Mansion personnel were still the strongest in the group.

Now, the 'bait' in their hands had become a soft spot that prevented them from acting rashly.

Jin Hua Hai was secretly relieved that they hadn't forced their way through the Seven Mile Gorge. Otherwise, the demons wouldn't have needed to confront them directly; with this attack, the hollowed-out cliffs would have collapsed on a large scale.

Not only would there be an aerial bombardment, but also a large-scale collapse of the cliffs, the consequences of which were terrifying to contemplate.

Clang... Clang Clang...

Suddenly, a series of intermittent sounds came from the mountains, and Jiang Yinan quickly listened.

Jin Hua Hai recognized the sound of bowstrings and asked, "Have your people found a target?"

He was puzzled because the thick fog made it impossible to see far, so how could they shoot without a clear target?

Jiang Yinan snorted coldly, his expression fierce, and his eyes filled with killing intent, but he did not answer.

In the mountains, the fire was growing larger.

Hearing the continuous cries from the bombed areas, and guessing that the escort forces were struggling, several black-robed figures emerged from their hiding places to fight the fire, trying to prevent a devastating forest fire.

This was a reflection of the nature of the demon cultivators.

However, as soon as their figures appeared in the firelight, ghostly figures emerged from the deep fog, rushing towards them.

Sharp arrows arrived first, followed by the whistling sound of the wind, showing how fast the arrows were. The great archers' bows were truly extraordinary.

Faced with such terrifying attacks, those with insufficient sensory abilities and reaction speeds had no chance to dodge.

Thud, thud, thud... The arrows instantly pierced several black-robed figures, none of the arrows remaining in their bodies, all piercing through and embedding in the ground or tree trunks.

The black-robed figures all trembled violently, some falling, others not immediately killed.

They were all demon cultivators, transformed into human form, and their vital organs might not be in the same places as humans. Different types of demons, when transformed into human form, had different vital points. If they were not hit in a vital area, they would not die.

Upon being hit by arrows, the survivors, in fear, tried to flee, but some fell as soon as they jumped, and others trembled and swayed as they tried to run.

Thud, thud, thud... Blood spurted from their bodies, and their heads and bodies were riddled with blood holes.

They were hit by several more arrows, and their vital points were eventually struck.

The black-robed figures fell one after another, the arrows that killed them coming from multiple directions, and they were hit by crossfire.

Others who had come out to fight the fire met the same fate, and many of them died without fully understanding how they were killed.

They had underestimated the great archers' abilities. The fog could make it difficult for the great archers to see their targets, but with the firelight, they could see the vague outlines of figures moving in front of the flames.

Finding a target under complex conditions was the foundation of archery, a skill that great archers trained for and had to master, such as shooting in low light.

Jiang Yinan naturally knew this, so he immediately ordered his men to shoot flaming arrows, which was one of the reasons he set the mountains on fire.

The demon cultivators hiding in the shadows were shocked and no longer dared to come out to fight the fire, watching helplessly as the fire in the mountains grew larger.

Some quickly withdrew to report.

Upon hearing the news, He Yunxiao urgently said, "Quick, inform all the brothers in hiding not to go fight the fire!"

"Yes!" The messenger quickly left.

However, soon he returned with bad news. While informing the others, he also learned of some casualties. Over ninety brothers had already been shot dead.

The black and white couple stared with wide eyes, hearts aching. They had deployed over three hundred people, and without even engaging in direct combat, over ninety had been silently killed? Nearly a third of their attack force had been eliminated?

Terrifying! They had always heard about the great archers' fearsomeness, but today they had experienced it firsthand.

He Yunxiao looked up at the sky, faintly seeing the giant eagles completing another round of bombing and retreating.

His position was on higher ground, and the tree canopy was not completely obscured by the fog, allowing him to see the situation in the sky clearly.

"Ten rounds, the stones should be almost gone. It's time for Old Rat to make her move," He Yunxiao said, his gaze returning from the sky to his wife, Bai Lan. "Tell her to make sure her 'army' doesn't miss the trees. They must force all the great archers out. It would be best to take them out while the others are distracted. These people are limited in close combat."

He was afraid of the great archers' cold arrows and was concerned about his wife's safety with them around.

Bai Lan nodded and left. Her husband was responsible for coordinating and commanding here, and she was going to lead the men into battle.

"Be careful," He Yunxiao suddenly warned.

Bai Lan turned back, gave him a charming smile, and leaped away...

The sound of stones hitting the ground seemed to have stopped.

Listening for a while, Jin Hua Hai and Jiang Yinan exchanged glances. The latter said, "It's unlikely they would just stop after one round of bombing. The real frontal attack is about to begin. Your Sining Mansion personnel need to prepare for direct conflict."

"Agreed," Jin Hua Hai nodded, fully understanding. He called over some people and ordered them to inform the survivors to prepare.

Jiang Yinan also ordered his men to inform the surviving escort forces to prepare for battle.

Fu Zuoxuan, the escort official, was hiding under a tree, his face covered in blood, and had been in a state of panic for a long time, unable to speak.

The pause in the attack seemed unusually long, and the candidates trapped in the cages also noticed the abnormality. Compared to previous pauses, this one was indeed much longer.

"Is the attack over?" someone asked tentatively.

"It seems to be over."

Joyful voices gradually mixed together.

Yu Qing glanced at the group of dusty, chattering candidates and did not comment. He had realized that the initial wave of attacks was over, but the real ground attack was about to begin. After all, their heads were still on their necks.

In other words, the real action to take their heads was about to start.

This time, Yu Qing really couldn't stay still. He didn't want to sit here and wait to die. He shook the iron bars, but they wouldn't budge. He needed to find the key.

His gaze fixed on the dead Sining Mansion guard, focusing on the outline of a key on the man's belt.

He wasn't sure if he was seeing correctly, as the fog had thickened, and he couldn't see the other cages nearby. He had to carefully identify and even use the Word Observation Technique to confirm, as he couldn't afford to be careless. The opportunity to get the key might only come once, and missing it could mean being trapped in the cage like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

Once out of the cage, he wouldn't be afraid. The fog might be a problem for others, but for him, it was like being in his element, the best cover for him. If he wanted to escape, he doubted anyone could stop him.