Human Clan Defender

True Qi erupted, and the long spear froze in mid-air. Chu Ding's arms shook violently; the streak of golden light finally paused, revealing its true form before helplessly falling from the sky. He retracted the spear and turned around. His feet, which seemed rooted to the city wall, finally moved a fraction.

PHEW!

His chest heaved slightly, and sweat was faintly visible on his forehead.

"Is the General alright?" It was only now that Wen Ce reacted. Seeing Chu Ding with sweat on his forehead, his expression couldn't help but change drastically.

After a long moment, Chu Ding moved his sore shoulders and shook his head slightly, "I'm fine!"

As he spoke, his gaze was already on the Barbarian Clan's camp in the rear; even in the darkness, he could see Mairba holding the great bow.

"Mairba is indeed worthy of being a Barbarian Clan General. Despite the great distance, he was able to shoot arrows of such caliber. If he were any closer, I might not have been able to catch them!" Chu Ding's expression was grave. He had just had a long-range fight with Mairba.

If one had to describe it in a few words, it was: a crushing defeat.

The opponent was too strong, completely beyond what Chu Ding could contend with.

That one arrow. Thinking back on it now, he still had palpitations.

Upon hearing this, Wen Ce's expression was one of concern. "With Mairba's strength so formidable, should he take direct action, our side's pressure will surely increase enormously!"

"There's no choice. Jincheng lacks a Grandmaster to defend it, so this disadvantage is normal. However, with the two armies now engaged, the power of a single Grandmaster also cannot truly sweep away everything. Powerful as Mairba may be, we can still hold our ground for the time being."

After saying this, Chu Ding seemed to think of something. "Where is Lord Shen? Why haven't I seen him appear?"

In Jincheng at present, the strongest was not him, but Shen Changqing. If Shen Changqing were here, let alone dealing with Mairba, it would also give our side a bit more confidence.

Wen Ce said in a deep voice, "Lord Shen is in seclusion; it seems he is about to make a breakthrough!"

"Breakthrough!" Chu Ding's eyes shone with a sharp light. "Are you saying that he is about to break through to Grandmaster level!"

He gripped the long spear tightly in his hand, his spirits somewhat affected.

A breakthrough to Grandmaster. This was not something an ordinary person could achieve.

However, if the current situation afforded an additional Grandmaster, the chances of defending Jincheng would become much greater.

"It's not clear, but I would guess that he is indeed breaking through to Grandmaster level!"

"Good!" Chu Ding nodded. He did not order people to forcibly summon Shen Changqing from his seclusion, because there was no need. From the current state of the battle, a Martial Artist at the Innate Outer Gang stage would find it difficult to change anything. But if they had a Grandmaster, it would be a vastly different situation. Therefore, rather than having Shen Changqing come out to save the day now, it would be better to let him break through; perhaps he might succeed soon.

「On the other side.」

Mairba, after seeing Chu Ding catch his arrow, also nodded in approval. "His strength isn't bad, to actually be able to catch this arrow!"

In this world, there weren't many who could catch one of his arrows. At least since the invasion of the Great Wilderness Prefecture began, among the Qin People, those qualified to catch one of his arrows could be counted on one hand. Now, there was another: Chu Ding.

"But— That's all there is to it!" Mairba's smile vanished, and his face turned stern. He took two more arrows, drew the bow, and shot them out in an instant. Two streams of golden light broke through the sky, like two Golden Dragons soaring in the night, with the sound of dragons tearing through the air, sending chills down one's spine.

"Kill!" Chu Ding roared in fury. As he danced with his long spear, Gang Qi transformed into seven blossoming spear flowers. As each one bloomed brilliantly, it contained infinite murderous intent. The spear flowers blossomed; the golden light was engulfed. In an instant, the spear flowers withered, and the Gang Qi shattered inch by inch. Chu Ding's feet were grounded, his long spear trembling furiously as he fought against the two streams of golden light.

In the end, the golden light hit the ground. His arms turned red, the webbing of his hand gripping the spear tore, and blood flowed unceasingly.

At this moment, more golden light came tearing through the air. Chu Ding's mind went on alert. His body only had time to dodge the vital points, followed by a sharp pain as a long arrow penetrated his left shoulder.

"General!" Chu Ding was injured, and Wen Ce's face changed dramatically.

"It's nothing!" Chu Ding shook his head, clenched his teeth, and forcefully pulled out the arrow from his shoulder, causing a surge of fresh blood. His fingers moved at lightning-fast speed, pressing on several acupoints around his shoulder to stop the bleeding from the wound.

"Keep the golden arrow safe; I'll surely return it to him another day!" Chu Ding's face was slightly pale, but his aura remained undiminished, standing tall on the city wall with a long spear in hand.

He could see that after shooting four arrows, Mairba had run out of arrows to use. The two were separated by hundreds of feet; not just any arrow could be shot that far and still possess such formidable force. Apart from Mairba's own formidable strength, the specially-made arrows were also indispensable. Now that Mairba had no more arrows in hand, he posed no threat for the time being.

「On the other side.」

Mairba lowered the great bow in his hand, his complexion also rather unsightly. "Fine! Being able to withstand four of my arrows and not die, I'll remember you. When the day comes that Jincheng falls, I will personally behead you!"

Just as Chu Ding had thought, he no longer had any arrows left to use. Those specially crafted arrows each incurred a significant cost to produce. The Barbarian Clan was already impoverished, so crafting such arrows was not an easy task in itself. When setting out for the campaign, Mairba did not bring many arrows, but during the days of the siege, they played a powerful role at crucial moments. Sometimes, the arrows could be recovered after breaching a city, but other times, they were lost. Now, he had no arrows left to use. Unless he could retrieve those four arrows, there was temporarily no way to threaten Chu Ding again. After all, the distance between them was too great. If he used ordinary arrows, even if they could reach the city wall, they would not be able to cause significant harm.

"Pass on my command! Attack Jincheng with all our might! I want to breach the city tonight!" Mairba ordered angrily.

Suddenly, the Barbarian Clan Army hastened their siege. From a high vantage, the Barbarian Clan Army could be seen surrounding Jincheng completely, attacking all four sides of the city walls. Fortunately, the Black Tiger Army had made preparations early. When the Barbarian Clan launched their offensive, they mounted an effective resistance immediately.

BOOM!!

The city walls trembled. Great Strength Apes braved the rain of arrows, their massive fists pounding against the city walls, producing a deafening noise.

"Don't let the Great Strength Apes attack the walls!" a Centurion's face suddenly changed. The walls might look sturdy, but the attack of the Great Strength Apes was terrifying. If their assault was left unchecked, it could very well cause the walls to collapse.

Quickly, oil was poured down, followed by torches thrown to ignite it. Fierce flames blazed up, directly burning the black fur of the Great Strength Apes. A rich, roasting scent drifted from the flames.

"ROAR!!" The fire burned fiercely. The intense pain caused the Great Strength Apes to let out angry roars, and they rolled on the ground non-stop, trying to extinguish the fire on their bodies.

At the same time, other members of the Barbarian Clan were attacking the city gates. Dozens of Barbarians carried sharpened wooden stakes, slamming them against the city gates and making a screeching noise. Behind the city gates, the Black Tiger Army was fiercely resisting, preventing the Barbarian Clan from breaking through. Falling stones crushed many Barbarians attacking the gates. But just as some were killed, more quickly filled their places.

"Fire arrows!"

"Fire arrows!"

Behind the city walls, the Black Tiger Army's neat volleys of arrows continuously wounded the Barbarian Clan. Meanwhile, the Barbarian Clan responded with their own rain of arrows, causing casualties on both sides.

Beyond that, some of the Barbarian Clan switched to fire arrows. Flying over the walls, these directly hit buildings inside Jincheng, setting the commoners' structures ablaze. The fire rose high, illuminating the city with towering flames.

Chu Ding's expression was grim. "Order some men into the city to extinguish the fire; do not let the flames spread."

"This subordinate obeys!" Wen Ce acknowledged the command and withdrew, leading a portion of the Black Tiger Army to fight the fires.

Spears were bloodied, and arrows pierced flesh. After two hours, the Barbarian Clan's siege offensive hadn't paused for a moment. The frontline Black Tiger Army was replaced batch after batch but continued to defend against the attacks relentlessly.

「In the rear of the Barbarian Clan.」

Mairba, watching the staunch resistance of the Black Tiger Army, turned his head to look at the Barbarian Clan Priest at his side. "I ask the Priest to make a move to help our clan break through Jincheng!"

"No problem!" The Barbarian Clan Priest nodded and then started chanting some incantation. A force like black mist emanated from his body, shrouding him completely. The Scepter waved, and all the black mist gathered around it. Within the mist, it seemed as if countless human faces appeared, emitting agonizing and piercing screams.

"Go!"

"Slaughter them!" The Barbarian Clan Priest shouted loudly. As the Scepter pointed forward, the black mist flew towards Jincheng.

Quickly, a Black Tiger Army soldier was touched by the mist. His Essence Blood was instantly drained, his body visibly dissolving, turning to Baigu in the blink of an eye. The black mist surged, like the mournful wails of a woman. In an instant, the mist transformed into a giant, decaying female head with disheveled hair, lunging to devour the remaining Black Tiger Army.

"Demon Evils causing trouble, you're seeking death!" Seeing this, Chu Ding roared in anger. His shoulder wound had already been bandaged. Grasping the spear firmly in his right hand, a daunting cold light erupted as he charged towards the decaying head.

The air exploded. The spear thundered forward. The decaying head spewed black mist, attempting to engulf Chu Ding. In the next moment, countless flashes of spear light burst forth, instantly tearing through the black mist. Then, the spear's relentless attack pierced straight into the decaying head.

"AHH—" The decaying head let out a miserable wail as it was forcibly torn apart by the spear and dissipated like smoke.

With the decaying head gone, the Barbarian Clan Priest's body jerked slightly, but he did not halt his actions. Instead, he muttered some more words and shook the Scepter. Several more Demon Evils transformed into black mist and flew out towards Jincheng.

Upon seeing this, Chu Ding immediately roared, "All those at Pulse Condensation Realm and above, focus on purging the Demon Evils!"