Chapter 871: Chapter 299: Yin Soldiers Attack the City_2
They bobbed up and down in the river, poised for action.
Above the army formation, a multitude of Skin Stripping Ghosts hovered in the sinister wind. They draped their peeled skin behind them. The skin caught the wind, like kites or parachutes, allowing them to glide through the air.
Don’t be fooled by their leisurely pace; once engaged in battle, their speed is terrifyingly swift, emitting sharp piercing sonic booms. They can perform repeated low-altitude dives and ascents. During previous Ghost Tides, these kinds of ghosts inflicted the most damage on the cultivators on the walls.
Behind the Skeleton Army Formation was a troop of towering, headless ghost riders clad in charred and tattered armor.
They and their skeletal warhorses both burned with a ghastly green Ghost Fire. The flames on their necks particularly outlined a vague human skull shape.
The Ghost Fire licked at the charred bones and armor, occasionally emitting crackling sounds and billowing black smoke that twisted the sight. Their mere presence conveyed a terrifying strength, and no one in White Paper Immortal City wished to witness their reckless charge within the city.
Each army formation was guarded by a Nascent Soul Level Ghost Cultivator, leading many Golden Core Level Ghost Generals.
Luo Si had already arrived in the Mortal World, presiding over the overall situation.
The vanguard generals, Flying Spear Ghost General, White Bone Crocodile Demon, Xie Sichao… even Sun Lingtong mingled among them.
Beyond the four major army formations corresponding to each city gate, the gaps were filled with a vast array of ghost creatures.
These ghost creatures, of various kinds, were intentionally collected by the Yin Soldiers’ army from previous Ghost Tides, a result of continuous accumulation.
Little Head Ghost, Big Head Ghost, Ghost Mother, Hanged Ghost, Drowned Ghost, Lantern Ghost, Soul-Hooking Gecko, Ghost Yasha…
The most striking among them was the Dead Bone Giant Spirits.
These were gigantic monsters woven and stitched together from countless black and dark gray bones. Each bone was robust, weathered, and worn, corroded by Yin Qi and time. The tall city walls barely reached their necks.
In the Ghost Tide, their combat power could reach Nascent Soul Level.
Now with the army attacking the city, though not a Ghost Tide, these Dead Bone Giant Spirits were still formidable, nearing Nascent Soul strength!
On the walls of White Paper Immortal City, numerous City Guard Army, hired Black Marsh cultivators, and squads of cultivators from several major superpowers stood with solemn faces.
The City Guard Army Commander Tie Guzheng was undoubtedly the core figure in the defensive battle.
Myriad Images Sect’s Yang Sanyan, Complete Book Pavilion’s Zhou Wenyang, and Soul Devouring Sect’s Bone Tomb Taoist each led a team of cultivators, stationed on the other three sections of the wall.
Within the city, the City Lord’s Paperman Avatar and Wen Ruanyu primarily held the frontline.
At the deepest part was naturally the White Paper Immortal City itself.
Undoubtedly, just from a military standpoint, whether in terms of cultivator numbers or high-level combat, White Paper Immortal City was significantly outmatched by the Netherworld army. The disparity between the two sides was quite apparent.
The White Paper City Lord previously sought reinforcements but didn’t break convention; the recruited cultivators were all Golden Core Level, not reaching Nascent Soul Level.
Even Yang Sanyan, despite possessing Nascent Soul Level combat power, only had Golden Core Cultivation.
The White Paper City Lord relied, of course, on White Paper Immortal City!
With the Immortal City, it had a great geographical advantage, easy to defend and hard to attack.
Could the disparity in military power negate this advantage? The answer to this question might very well decide the outcome of this siege defense battle.
The commander Luo Si remained silent, merely waving the Order Flag in his hand.
The Order Flag pointed directly at the front city gate.
The next moment, the battle flags in the army waved, war drums thundered, inciting the mass of ghost creatures to charge toward the walls of White Paper Immortal City like they were crazed.
Big Head Ghost blew sinister wind, while Little Head Ghost, Ghost Yasha, Ghost Bat, and others rushed towards the top of the wall.
Ghost Mother lay on the ground, continuously spawning ghost creatures.
Hanged Ghost and Soul-Hooking Gecko climbed the city walls.
…
Tie Guzheng immediately activated the city defense orders, causing the White Paper city wall to emanate brilliance, scorching all ghost creatures that came into contact, burning countless to death instantly.
The cultivators on the wall, following the military order, began attacking in batches.
Various Magic Artifacts and Spells were unleashed, vanquishing ghost creatures in mid-advance.
Luo Si and other commanders sat steadily on their skeletal ghost horses, while Xie Sichao stroked his beard, his gaze continuously scanning the city defenses.
Reports of the situation kept arriving in the hands of Luo Si and the other commanders.
After roughly half a tea’s time of frenzied assault, Luo Si let out a sound, issuing a second military order.
Thus, the war drums ceased, bugles sounded, and at the sound, most ghost creatures began to retreat, leaving only a few still immersed in battle who were eventually annihilated by the city defenses.
Tie Guzheng exhaled a breath of stale air, his tension eased.
The enemy’s first probe was over, and under his command, White Paper Immortal City’s defense was excellent, showing no flaws and performing perfectly.
Luo Si acknowledged the information about Tie Guzheng in his mind, recognizing inwardly: “Indeed a top-notch defensive general.”
The Yin Soldiers’ army had been long planning, and White Paper Immortal City was similarly well-prepared.
The first wave of attack was perfectly repelled by White Paper Immortal City, with the defensive lines on all four sides and the command system functioning smoothly, giving Luo Si no openings.
No opportunities? Then create them!
If the ghost wave didn’t penetrate, then commit the main forces.
Luo Si decisively issued new military orders.
The grey-white ghastly Skeleton Army Formation marched with heavy and orderly steps, advancing steadily. Each time a bony foot stomped the ground, the grating noise of thousands of joint friction was taxing on one’s spirit.
The cultivators on the wall immediately began attacking.
However, these assaults landed in the Skeleton Army Formation with little effect. Despite their frail, tattered grey-white bones appearance, they were far tougher than most ghost creatures.
“This is a regular army!”
“They undergo rigorous training and grooming.”
“Before this army deployed here, it was reinforced with numerous Military Arts blessings.”
The cultivators of the Mortal World were filled with dread, redoubling their efforts in attack.
But soon, Tie Guzheng ordered them to halt.
“Do not get entangled in battle, quickly retreat to rest and perform Breathing Control, fully restore your Mana!” Tie Guzheng’s voice echoed on the city wall.
The cultivators suddenly realized, recalling the pre-battle instructions, they turned and descended the wall, replaced by another group of cultivators.
However, many of them still launched an attack on the Skeleton Army Formation below the city wall before leaving.
Tie Guzheng, witnessing this scene, felt helpless, inevitably thinking of Qing Jiao Army, of their Command and Prohibition among the three military systems.
“We are ultimately not a Cultivation Army.”
“This is a sign of insufficient training.”
The City Guard Army might have originally achieved this, but now the city’s defense forces included too many outsiders.
Achieving this level was already the limit of Tie Guzheng’s capability.
“After all, my expertise is in defensive warfare, not training troops.”
“Ah, if only I had a military system, everything would be much easier!”
Tie Guzheng secretly envied Qing Chi greatly.
After the first batch of cultivators descended from the city wall and reached the temporary military camp, they immediately received assistance from Medicine and Array, swiftly healing injuries and restoring Mana.
The second batch of cultivators ascended the wall, immediately launching their respective attacks, yet again achieving little effect.
The Skeleton Army Formation seemed merely to shed a layer of skin, its main body approached the wall and began climbing on one another, constructing a human ladder!
This wasn’t simple climbing.
Crack, crack…
Bones continually disassembled and reassembled, tightly building together, the base of the lowest bones expanding wider, very stable footing.
The bone bridge above was quickly being constructed.
The cultivators, seeing the human ladder rapidly approaching, turned pale and attacked fiercely, still to no avail.
Boom, boom, boom!
Suddenly, massive fireballs exploded at the base of the wall.
In the intense explosions, one bone bridge human ladder directly collapsed.
The cultivators, witnessing this, were greatly encouraged; this was the most significant success since the engagement began.
Many eyes turned to the cultivator who struck, discovering it was a yellow-faced youth.
It was Jiao Ma (Ning Zhuo)!
Tie Guzheng also knew of Ning Zhuo’s identity, and he wasn’t surprised.
Ning Zhuo continued to strike, cycling through Five Elements Magic, combined with Five Internal Organs Blessing, and without depleting Qing Jiao Army’s Military Power, he still cleared the nearby enemies.