Human Clan Defender

Outside the city.

Arrows rained down furiously.

The soldiers on the city wall all raised their shields to fend off the attack, while others organized troops to retaliate with a hail of arrows simultaneously.

Those with sharp eyes could see countless oily green glows behind the rain of arrows, as densely packed as stars.

Soon, those oily green glows stepped out of the darkness, revealing their true forms.

They saw tigers and leopards emerge, with riders on their backs. Clad in beast skin armor and wielding bows and arrows, they continuously shot arrows, clashing with the defending army.

Following that, huge apes, standing two zhangs tall, burst forth, rushing towards the city walls. With black fur covering their bodies and thick, tough flesh, not even the arrows shot directly at them could break through their defenses.

"Those are Great Strength Apes! Quick, bring out the siege crossbows!"

A general's complexion drastically changed upon seeing those giant apes.

Great Strength Apes! The Barbarian Clan's siege weapon. Not only are they tough and nearly impervious to swords and spears, but they also possess astonishing Divine Power. If they were allowed to attack, the city wall would not have much of a problem, but the city gate would definitely be breached.

A surprise attack at night showed that the Barbarian Clan was well-prepared.

As long as the city gate held, their side could still take advantage of the city's geographical position to counter the Barbarian Clan's offensive. If the city gate were breached, it would lead to endless troubles.

Quickly, a few people pushed a gigantic crossbow onto the city wall.

Following that, someone carried a massive arrow—as thick as two men could embrace and sharpened on one end—placing it upon the crossbow.

"Let me do it!"

The general approached the crossbow, the True Qi in his Dantian stirring. After adjusting the crossbow's angle, he aimed at a Great Strength Ape. He then forcibly pulled back the bowstring, as thick as his arm, locking it in place on the catch.

Immediately after, he pressed hard, and the catch released.

The bowstring snapped back with force, and the arrow tore through the air, striking a Great Strength Ape in an instant. The nearly thousand-pound arrow, coupled with the powerful impact, was too much even for a Great Strength Ape's rugged hide to withstand.

THWACK—

The arrow penetrated flesh, and blood splattered.

A Great Strength Ape was sent flying by the immense force, and then the arrow impaled it, nailing it to the ground.

"The Centurion is mighty!"

"Good shot, well done!"

The soldiers on the city wall erupted into cheers. Taking down a Great Strength Ape with a single arrow was undoubtedly a huge morale booster.

The Centurion wiped the sweat from his forehead but did not make another move, letting others take over instead.

"Focus fire on the Great Strength Apes, and don't let them get close to the city wall. Also, prepare the oil. Don't shoot your arrows randomly; aim properly to avoid waste," he ordered.

For the Centurion, he was merely a Martial Artist of the Pulse Condensation Realm. The crossbow's bowstring normally required five or six strong men to barely pull it back. He had forced it open by himself, already consuming a lot of his True Qi. Now that morale was high and the desired effect achieved, the rest was up to the other soldiers.

Crossbow bolts thundered down.

Some of the Great Strength Apes were impaled directly on the ground, while others were gravely wounded. Yet others, seizing the bolts from the ground, swung them with force, colliding with incoming bolts.

In the end, both bolts exploded. The terrifying force caused the Great Strength Apes' palms to split open, but they didn't suffer severe injuries.

Immediately after, some Great Strength Apes reached the vicinity of the city walls, swinging their massive fists, causing the city gate to creak ominously.

Following that, a large number of Barbarian Clan soldiers, using the Great Strength Apes as cover, advanced towards the city wall. Some set up ladders, climbing towards the city wall. As the ladders were being set up, soldiers on the city wall poured down oil and set the ladders ablaze.

Great fires erupted. Many Barbarian Clan soldiers were engulfed.

In response, the Barbarian Clan soldiers, fearless in the face of death, continued their relentless onslaught against the city walls.

「In the rear of the Barbarian Clan.」

Several tall beasts carried a few people on their backs.

One held a human bone scepter, his face painted with strange, colorful patterns, his back hunched with an appearance of old age. Another was clad in beast skin armor. He was larger than the average Barbarian Clan member, and a commanding presence radiated from him as he sat there. As for the other two, they were also in beast skin armor, but compared to the former, they were relatively slighter in build.

"Priest, do you think we can break through Ningshan City tonight?" asked the tall one, watching the siege unfold before him, his expression calm as ever.

Upon hearing this, the Priest bowed slightly, his voice serene as he replied, "Ningshan City has always been Great Wilderness Prefecture's border stronghold and is heavily guarded. It is said that one hundred thousand troops are garrisoned within, including fifty thousand from the Black Tiger Army. Though our offensive is strong, breaking through Ningshan City in one night is no easy task."

After he said that, the man's expression seemed to darken a shade.

Seeing this, the Priest grinned slightly and added, "However, with Lord Kurzan leading us, our clan's conquest of Ningshan City is just a matter of time."

"My only fear is that delaying too long will give Great Qin time to react. Once the powerhouses of the Demon-Subduing Division arrive, our offensive will surely be hindered," Kurzan shook his head and spoke calmly.

Upon hearing this, the Priest laughed. "Lord Kurzan can rest assured. Within the territory of Great Qin, Demon Evils are causing chaos, and the Demon-Subduing Division cannot spare any hands. Even if we attack Ningshan City for a few more days, it's not certain that reinforcements will arrive. The Emperor of Great Qin has grown old and no longer possesses the vigor to subjugate the Eight Desolations. Our clan is destined to become the master of that land."

"Indeed, our clan will definitely become the master of that land!" Kurzan nodded in agreement, his gaze fixed on the horizon as if he could see right through Ningshan City to the scenery within the territory of Great Qin.

That was fertile land the Barbarian Clan had never possessed. For hundreds of years, they had longed to become masters of that land.

"Great Qin has occupied that land for over three hundred years! Why should the Qin People enjoy such fertile land while our clan can't have the same treatment? Every year, tens of thousands of our clan members starve to death. In the end, it's because the heavens are unjust. If the heavens are unjust, then our clan shall go against the heavens! Today we have taken Liang Mountain City, and in the future, we will march into the Central Plains! All Qin People will become slaves, and only our clan will reign forever!" Kurzan was impassioned.

He seemed to have seen the day when the Barbarian Clan would rule the Central Plains and truly become kings. At that time, all members of the Barbarian Clan would no longer have to endure hunger or the bitter cold and could revel in enjoyment.

Upon hearing his words, smiles appeared on the faces of the others present. What Kurzan had said was also what they desired deep in their hearts. To rule the Central Plains. To expel the Qin People. That was the lifelong goal of all members of the Barbarian Clan.

Watching the situation on the battlefield, Kurzan turned to the Priest, "The siege seems somewhat troublesome. To prevent our clansmen from suffering too many losses, I ask for the Priest's assistance."

"No problem." The Priest smiled, then waved the human bone scepter while closing his eyes, muttering something.

A black power, its origin unknown, began to circle around the human bone scepter.

An ominous aura spread through the air.

About fifteen minutes later, the Priest suddenly opened his eyes and swung the human bone scepter forward.

"Go and slaughter!"

"Drain all the Essence Blood of the Qin People and carve out territory for our clan!"

The black power swept out like a fierce wind and instantly bombarded the city walls.

At that moment, the defenders affected by the black power screamed in agony. Their Essence Blood was stripped away, and they fell to the ground like dried corpses, devoid of any signs of life.

All their Essence Blood was drained. In the horrified eyes of the other defenders, the Essence Blood seemed to turn into a pool of blood, devouring the remaining defenders.

"Fall back! That's the Barbarian Clan's sorcery!" a Centurion who saw this scene immediately shouted loudly.

Sorcery! It was a powerful method of the Barbarian Clan, not something ordinary people could withstand.

While shouting, the Centurion, long knife in hand and his True Qi bursting forth, slashed fiercely into the pool of blood. The long knife entered the pool without causing any ripples. Not only that, from the pool, two hands made of blood reached out to grab the Centurion.

"Damn it!" The Centurion's expression changed. He was about to abandon his long knife and retreat, but the blood hands grabbed him first, forcibly pulling him into the pool.

A couple of breaths later, a dried corpse fell to the ground, and the pool of blood grew stronger.

For a moment, chaos erupted on the city walls. Many members of the Barbarian Clan took this opportunity to scale the walls and engage the defenders in combat.

BOOM—

A long spear tore through the air, dispersing the pool of blood.

Immediately after, a middle-aged man stepped through the air, long spear in hand. He now stood atop the city wall, his authoritative gaze steadying the hearts and minds of all the defenders.

"The general has arrived!"

"With the general here, the Barbarian Clan is doomed!"

The morale of the defenders soared.

The middle-aged man gripped his long spear and instantly pierced several Barbarians who had climbed the walls. With one flick of the spear, their bodies shattered and were flung off the walls.

"As long as I stand, Ningshan City will not fall! Any Barbarian Clan member who steps onto these walls will be slaughtered!" His authoritative voice spread far and wide.

For a moment, the defenders began to clear the Barbarian Clan from the city walls.

As the middle-aged general appeared, Kurzan's face grew cold. The defender general of Ningshan City, Cui Yue!

The Barbarian Clan had attacked Ningshan City several times, and he was quite familiar with Cui Yue.

"Since Cui Yue has shown up in East City, we can inform the other clansmen to start attacks on the other city walls!"

The attack on East City was just a probe. Its goal was to attract the city defenders' attention. The other city walls were where the Barbarian Clan's real strength lay.

Upon his command, the already prepared Barbarian Clan immediately launched their offensive from all sides.

In an instant, Ningshan City was besieged from all sides, appearing completely isolated and without help.

Feeling the movements on the other fronts, Cui Yue couldn't help but become stern. Very good! It seems the Barbarian Clan is truly intent on breaking through Ningshan City this time!

But he was not afraid. As the defender of Ningshan City, his duty was to stand as long as the city stood; if the city fell, he would fall with it.

"Kill!"