Chapter 15

Although Hua Xiajiu had gained a certain understanding of the general situation of this world, the cultivation methods he most wanted to know were not mentioned at all in these books.

In Hua Xiajiu's view, whether or not the problems of eating, drinking, and excretion could be resolved, making him appear like a human, depended largely on finding methods in so-called cultivation and alchemy, apart from the power of faith.

While thinking, Hua Xiajiu spurred his horse toward the headquarters of the Steel Fangs Legion.

At this moment, a sharp and piercing horn sound suddenly rang out, echoing throughout the entire River Dam City.

In the next moment, the people who had been walking leisurely on the streets and alleys began to run into nearby houses, shouting and screaming. Although they were panicked, they were not in chaos. Countless soldiers, under the orders of their officers, rushed to the city walls in a tense but orderly manner. Clearly, such scenes were not uncommon in River Dam City, even if they were not everyday occurrences.

Hua Xiajiu thought for a moment and realized that the demon race must have launched a large-scale attack on River Dam City, possibly as retaliation for the destruction of their weapon forging base by humans.

Sure enough, not long after, the ground began to tremble slightly, and the howls and roars from outside the city walls could be faintly heard. As time passed, the tremors and the sounds of the beasts grew stronger. A dark cloud in the northwest sky quickly approached River Dam City.

Without much thought, Hua Xiajiu turned his horse and galloped toward the city walls.

When Hua Xiajiu reached the city walls, the archers, spearmen, stone throwers, and heavy crossbowmen of the Steel Fangs Legion had already formed distinct battle formations. The two massive iron gates at the city entrance had also been lowered.

Hua Xiajiu looked out over the city walls and saw, about ten miles away, thousands of various beasts charging toward River Dam City in a desperate frenzy.

The beast tide—

Hua Xiajiu's eyesight far surpassed that of ordinary humans. The beast tide was a mix of fierce beasts, including herds of wild bulls, wolves, porcupines, and other social animals, as well as dozens of tigers, nearly a hundred bears, and leopards. There were also a large number of squirrels and venomous snakes. These animals, which normally could not coexist peacefully, were now running together without attacking each other, creating a bizarre scene.

In the sky, eagles, vultures, and other fierce birds darkened the northwest sky, screaming as they charged toward River Dam City, moving much faster than the beasts on the ground. They were now only about five miles away.

All the beasts looked extremely terrified, having lost their reason and becoming extremely agitated and aggressive. Yet, it seemed that something even more terrifying was chasing them from behind, driving them to run for their lives without attacking the beasts around them, even if they were natural enemies.

Hua Xiajiu's gaze swept past the beast tide to the distance, where thousands of demons with animal heads and human bodies, or human heads and animal bodies, followed closely behind, roaring to terrify the beasts.

The Steel Fangs Legion was clearly well-trained and experienced in combat. The preparations on the city walls were already in place. Countless military flags fluttered in the morning breeze, swords were drawn, spears pointed forward, bows were fully drawn, and heavy crossbows were loaded. Everyone was staring intently at the rapidly approaching beast tide, making the city walls eerily quiet. The sound of the beasts' hooves and their chaotic roars and howls were even more distinct, like chaotic thunder and the howls of death, overwhelming everyone's ears and hearts.

A cold, chaotic, cruel, and bloody aura rushed toward River Dam City.

In a dozen breaths, the eagles and vultures in the sky were already very close to River Dam City.

Five hundred meters... four hundred meters... three hundred meters...

Hua Xiajiu calculated in his mind.

"All archers and heavy crossbowmen, aim at the fierce birds and fire!"

About a hundred meters away, Xu Jianhong, with a fierce expression, gave the order.

Whistling sounds filled the air as thousands of arrows shot out, covering all the fierce birds. Hundreds of crossbow bolts, faster than lightning, pierced the bird flocks first.

The archers were clearly chosen for their strength and accuracy. The fierce birds, terrified by the nearby wolf demons, had reduced their agility and reaction time. At a distance of two hundred meters, most of the thousands of arrows hit their targets. Although the heavy crossbows were fewer in number, their immense power often allowed a single bolt to pierce through three or four birds before losing its force.

Thus, in the next moment, the fierce birds fell from the sky like dumplings into a pot, hitting the ground with a thud.

After this round of attacks, the number of fierce birds was reduced by more than half. However, the remaining birds were now only about two hundred meters away from River Dam City, and the beast tide on the ground was about five hundred meters away.

"Archers and crossbowmen, continue to attack the fierce birds. Prepare the catapults!" Xu Jianhong's steady and cold voice rang out again.

Whistling sounds and booming sounds filled the air as arrows flew and large stones, the size of heads, were launched over the heads of the soldiers, smashing into the beast tide. The weight of the stones, the force added by the catapults, and the gravitational potential energy from the highest point made the stones extremely lethal. Any beast hit, regardless of its defenses, was mostly killed on the spot. Even if a few beasts managed to avoid vital areas, they were crushed into meat paste by the following beast tide.

At this point, the archers had split into two groups, taking turns to shoot, ensuring that there was no gap in the attacks.

When the first round of arrows was fired, Hua Xiajiu took out his longbow and joined in the attack on the fierce birds. Since he had agreed to join the Steel Fangs Legion, he naturally would not stand idly by in such a situation, especially in a war between humans and demon beasts.

In a few breaths, many more fierce birds fell from the sky, and hundreds of beasts in the first wave of the tide were killed outside the city.

Hua Xiajiu, while the archers were shooting, had already fired five or six arrows, each one piercing the throat, with astonishing speed.

At this point, there were fewer than a hundred fierce birds left in the sky, but they were only about a hundred meters away from River Dam City. At their speed, they would reach the city in two or three breaths.

The next group of archers was ready and fired again. At such a short distance, the fierce birds had almost no chance to dodge. They fell to the ground with a thud, leaving only a dozen or so in the sky. However, they were now only about forty meters from the city walls, and a dive would allow them to reach the walls, causing chaos and casualties among the Steel Fangs Legion. The next group of archers had not yet completed their preparations.

At the same time, among the army formations on the city walls, dozens of low-ranking officers with sharp eyes and powerful auras, dressed differently from ordinary soldiers, drew their war swords, ready to leap.

In a flash, whistling sounds came from behind the soldiers, and arrows shot out at an extremely fast speed, with very short intervals, piercing three or four fierce birds in a blink. The arrows continued to fly, shooting down more than ten birds in one breath.

When the last fierce bird reached the city walls, it was also pierced through the throat and fell with a thud.

For a moment, the city walls were silent, and everyone, except those operating the heavy crossbows and catapults, looked at the place where the arrows had been shot.

"All the fierce birds were pierced through the throat—" a sharp-eyed officer whispered.

The situation on the battlefield did not allow the soldiers to dwell on anything other than the battle, so although they were amazed by Hua Xiajiu's archery speed, they only glanced at him before continuing to shoot at the beast tide below.

Not far away, Xu Jianhong gave Hua Xiajiu, who was expressionless and shooting at the beast tide below, a deep look, and thought to himself, "I didn't feel any energy fluctuations. Could it be just physical strength?"

Although the beast tide was vast and terrifying, with a large number of beasts, they were not acting on their own but were driven by the demons behind them, causing them to panic and charge forward. As they were killed by the human army and blocked by the sturdy city walls, with no way to go, the beasts' survival instincts gradually restored their reason. Despite the heavy casualties, they began to turn and flee to the sides, ignoring the fear behind them.

Although the beast tide had dispersed, the human army on the city walls became even more solemn, staring at the nearly ten thousand figures and the fierce wolf demons hovering above them, exposed by the dispersing beast tide.

Compared to the tens of thousands of beasts in the tide, the nearly ten thousand demons were few in number, but the killing aura they exuded was incomparably more intense and terrifying.

The demonic aura rose to the sky, and the killing intent spread like a tide, enveloping River Dam City.

Roar—

A deafening roar came from the rear of the thousands of demons.

The soldiers of the Steel Fangs Legion, hearing the roar, were shaken to their core, their hearts pounding like drums. This was a natural pressure that transcended racial rules, a kind of overwhelming aura that higher beings exerted on lower beings, a feeling like encountering a natural enemy.

The ordinary residents within the city, who were weak in strength and will, collapsed to the ground, their faces pale.

For a moment, except for a few high-ranking officers like Xu Jianhong, who, with their strong martial will, managed to dispel their fear, the other soldiers and low-ranking officers temporarily lost their combat effectiveness.

As the roar faded, the nearly ten thousand demons roared and charged toward River Dam City, transforming into their original forms as they ran.

In a moment, giant wolves over three meters long, tigers over five meters long, and apes over seven meters tall, all much larger than ordinary beasts, charged toward River Dam City.

The speed of the demons in their original forms was incomparably faster than that of ordinary beasts. In a few breaths, they had covered five hundred meters and were now less than a hundred meters from the city walls. At this point, the human army, stunned by the roar, gradually overcame their fear and, under the orders of their officers, raised their bows and spears and began to shoot at the demons below. The heavy crossbows and catapults also began to fire, but due to the exhaustion of the soldiers from the previous attacks and the impact of the roar, the power and accuracy of their shots were somewhat reduced.

Thus, the effectiveness of the attacks was minimal, which boosted the morale of the demon army, making their roars even more arrogant.

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