Within one of the shelters in Ellora City, the over ten thousand people huddled within trembled every time the shelter tremored. Fant cracks formed on the ceiling as dust and tiny fragments of crystals fell after every tremor.
It only terrified them. The gazes of most were on a large crack that extended for more than thirty metres, the largest in the shelter's ceiling. This crack formed after the recent wave of attacks, most of which slammed into the ground above the shelter.
The shockwaves ended up reaching the shelter ceiling and damaged it. The corrosive properties within the artilleries only ended up amplifying the scale of damage.
"Will we survive?"
"Doesn't it seem hopeless?" Two girls huddled close to the corner talked in fear.
"Are you idiots?" Suddenly, the girl who had been sleeping like a log for two whole days woke up and chided them, "City Lord is very strong. He'll send the Pranic Beasts packing before long. You don't even realise this is part of his plan, damn idiots."
"Hey, that's rude of you!" One of the girls snapped in anger, "You were asleep for two whole days. As if you know any better."
"Oh, I know. That's why I was peacefully asleep." The arrogant girl chiding the two was, of course, Inala. Upon seeing that he had gained the attention of many others due to the silence within the shelter, he increased the volume of his voice a bit more and chuckled, "Has any of us died? No, right?"
"So why are you afraid? Our soldiers are stronger than you dumb idiots give them credit."
"This…girl!" The girl near Inala wished to argue but was unable to do so, as what Inala said made sense. Though the shelter tremored from time to time, none within had died. Rather, they were perfectly safe, having more than enough rations to last for the next three months.
"Now you understand?" Inala snorted and hugged his large pillow to return to sleep, "So, just shut up and sleep. We'll win this war, but the city will be damaged. It'll be our turn to contribute to the city's repairs once the war ends. We'll have to take care of the injured soldiers, so maintain yourselves at optimal states."
There were rounds of discussions that had been sparked by Inala's chiding. Overall, the expressions of the people eased up as they had optimistic gazes.
But in contrast, Inala listened to the tremors closely, acting like he was sleeping as he was focused on the battle outside, 'They're gradually losing.'
As the volley of attacks continued at a frequency of once every eight to ten minutes, casualties accumulated. There were only three dead during the first volley. But as the Centingers gradually closed the distance between them and the city, the potency of their attacks increased.
The casualties continued to increase at a steady incline. And the more that died, the greater the pressure on the remainder to pick up slack. As a result, many artillery spikes flew past the defences on the wall and even slammed into the buildings of the city, gradually decimating the place.
Inala continued to listen to the sounds, eventually understanding the reason for the increased number of attacks making their way into the city, 'The Centingers have surrounded the city.'
As a result, the soldiers on the wall had to spread themselves thin. That made their defensive lines weaker.
After two hours of observation, Inala made a mental map of the direction in which the attacks were the most violent. He calculated accordingly, 'Three more days and the city will be breached. This shelter will collapse once that happens.'
Since there was still enough time, Inala closed his eyes and resumed his sleep. He was still tired and hadn't fully recovered yet. Besides, once he takes action, he'll be fighting nonstop for many days without rest.
Therefore, it was best to get as much sleep as possible when the chance presented itself. In the meantime, the situation outside was a mess.
"Just die!" A cultivator at the 3-Life Stage rushed forth with a team of elites and attacked a Centinger. A leafy chakram revolved around him as he sent it hurling at the Centinger, grunting upon seeing it bounce off the latter's hard shell. "Fucking turtle!"
The centipede upper body of the Centinger slashed at him as the cultivator had a vine coiled around a boulder farther away. He tugged at it with force and used it to quickly evade the attack. In response, he sent his Spirit Weapon flying at the Centinger.
Tata-Tat-Tata!
The scuttling legs of the centipede upper body slammed repeatedly into the leafy chakram and shattered it. It then shot hundreds of spikes at the cultivator.
"Leader!" One of the elites bellowed and activated his Human Avatar in full swing, fully transformed. He was at the peak of the Body Stage. He clapped and unleashed a shockwave, causing the projectiles to slow down.
Seeing that it wasn't enough, he clapped repeatedly, stopping after the fifth clap to see the projectiles drop to the ground, having lost all their momentum. His ability was similar to the Shock Lizards' Primary Nature of Prana Shock.
His ability was unleashed through the air and hence the range was limited. But in a close-ranged fight, it was potent, a reason why their team could continue fighting.
"It's on us to kill this bastard!" The 3-Life Stage cultivator—the leader of the raid team of ten—bellowed, leading his ten subordinates as they continued to attack. As long as they continued to pressure it, the Centinger wouldn't be able to target the city.
That would reduce the burden faced by the city. At present, all the Life Stage cultivators had rushed out and engaged with a Centinger each.
Theoretically, a Pranic Beast that had reached maturity was on the same level as a human cultivator at the peak of the Body Stage. As long as both were from the same Grade, they ought to be equal.
But the reality was otherwise, and this difference stemmed from their bodies.
The Centinger had a large body that was protected by a tough carapace while most of its vital organs were encased by a shell. And every swing of its large body was akin to a powerful ability.
In contrast, the human body was very weak. Their cultivation barely strengthened their bodies. The level of reinforcement was limited at best. Therefore, despite having similar cultivation levels with the Pranic Beasts at the Body Stage, a solid hit to their bodies and they were dead.
Their body was the weakness of human cultivators. It was why even a cultivator at the 3-Life Stage that had a human avatar created with a Silver Grade mineral was struggling against the Centinger when in theory, he was supposed to be at least thrice stronger.
"Keuk!" The leader grunted at the force of wind resulting from the Centinger's centipede upper body that lashed around once. The ground quaked from the impact while the generated winds sent them flying.
Following that was a rain of spikes that melted through everything they touched. The Centinger then used the couple of free seconds to unleash an artillery strike on Ellora City, eliciting screams from the soldiers that were injured as a result.
The humans were gradually losing.