“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
Suo Lun’s movements did not stop. He fired another volley of arrows.
These arrows traced a straight line through the air, instantly flying several hundred metres.
At this moment, one could see the difference of a top-tier great clan. The moment Suo Lun’s second round of arrows was fired, the Tu Ling clan’s warriors immediately protected Tu Lingduo completely, swiftly carrying her back into the army’s formation.
As for the guards of Tianye City Lord Ji Gang, they first froze for a moment, then dragged Ji Gang and swiftly retreated.
“Thud, thud, thud, thud…”
All of Suo Lun’s volley arrows struck Ji Gang, piercing through his head and chest, blood gushing wildly out.
Originally merely unconscious, Ji Gang was now dead beyond any doubt.
Meanwhile, the Tu Ling clan’s warriors were extremely decisive, not pausing for a moment. Several hundred cavalry protected Tu Lingduo as they galloped madly eastward, heading to the nearest Dragon God Temple for treatment.
All of this had happened far too quickly. It was only after Ji Gang was completely killed that everyone fully reacted.
Had everything just now not been a dream?
Lord Ji Gang had actually died just like that? He was the uncrowned king of Tianye City, having served as city lord for well over ten years.
Although Tianye City’s annual profits gave Ji Gang only fifteen percent, not even as much as Yan Yan. But Ji Gang also commanded several merchant caravans. In terms of wealth, no one could compare to him.
Although his martial arts were not considered top-tier, he had the most money and the most soldiers, so he had unquestionably become the leader of the allied army.
Now, he had actually died just like that.
The most astonished person at this moment was Yan Yan beside him. Regarding Suo Lun’s cultivation, the instant he fired the arrow, he could clearly sense that it was at best the level of a mid-rank warrior archer.
This level was completely incapable of killing Ji Gang and Tu Lingduo, yet Suo Lun had truly shot Ji Gang dead.
How had he done it? The arrow he fired had clearly been chopped away, so how could it still have knocked down Ji Gang and Tu Lingduo?
…
The entire scene fell into a silence like death!
Ji Gang was dead, Tu Lingduo’s fate unknown.
Instantly, the forty thousand allied troops outside the Yellow Springs Ancient City were left without a leader.
Suo Lun shouted loudly, “Where are the other ten elders of Tianye City?”
No one showed themselves, because Suo Lun’s arrows were too terrifying. In truth, they did not know that the radiation energy devoured by the Demon Star was almost exhausted. From now on, Suo Lun’s arrows no longer held much power. Any high-rank warrior could easily block them.
“What is it?” someone shouted loudly from within the enemy camp.
“Ji Gang is dead, Tu Lingduo has fled. What meaning is there in your remaining here? Withdraw your troops.” Suo Lun said.
A silence fell within the enemy ranks. A moment later, a middle-aged man’s voice rang out, “We cannot withdraw.”
Suo Lun asked, “Who are you, sir?”
“Ou Wuyang!” that person said.
Ou Wuyang, the leader of Tianye City’s third largest power.
Suo Lun said, “Lord Ou Wuyang, why can you not withdraw?”
Ou Wuyang said, “This great battle has already cost us nearly a hundred thousand gold coins, not to mention the incalculable losses to our trade routes. If we withdraw, we will gain nothing.”
Suo Lun said, “Is the share left vacant by Ji Gang not enough for you?”
Ou Wuyang said, “Not enough. Add the Silver Wolf’s share and it would be about right. In any case, the Silver Wolf Legion is already as good as dead, so we might as well finish them off together. And if we do not destroy the Silver Wolf Legion today, they may rise from the ashes and make a comeback. When that day comes, it will be everyone present who is finished.”
Suo Lun was startled. Indeed, clever and ambitious figures could be found everywhere.
“Lord Ou Wuyang, are you not afraid that the fish will die and the net will break?” Suo Lun laughed coldly.
Ou Wuyang said, “You number less than a thousand. We have tens of thousands. Lord Suo Lun, those few arrows of yours looked truly terrifying. But they are of no avail. How many people can you shoot dead? The Silver Wolf Legion at this moment is at its most vulnerable, its easiest to destroy. Miss this opportunity, and it will never come again.”
Hearing these words, Suo Lun knew that although he had killed Ji Gang, the matter still could not be settled peacefully. The allied army still had ten leaders. Making them withdraw was still impossible.
At this moment, Yan Yan was about to step forward and throw off his cloak.
Yan Yan was the king of the wolf pack, possessing extremely high prestige. With Ji Gang dead, he believed he could intimidate some people.
But Suo Lun prevented Yan Yan from revealing himself.
The remaining Tianye City magnates were each ambitious and hungry. If the Silver Wolf Legion were at full strength, they could naturally suppress these people. But the current Silver Wolf Legion was already a dead tiger. No matter how formidable Yan Yan was, he was still only one man.
Moreover, Ou Wuyang was right. Now was the easiest time to destroy the Silver Wolf Legion. Once this chance was missed, there would never be another like it.
And at this moment, a rider suddenly galloped forth, shouting loudly, “My master says that the two arrows Suo Lun fired made use of an evil object within the Yellow Springs Ancient City, and are not to be feared. Leaders of Tianye City, whoever kills Suo Lun first shall become the lord of Tianye City.”
The master this rider spoke of was undoubtedly Tu Lingduo. She had indeed not died.
The moment these words were spoken, the hearts of the Tianye City leaders present burned with fire, stirring with restless ambition.
Ou Wuyang roared loudly, “The Silver Wolf Legion is doomed to die today. All crossbowmen, advance two hundred paces, press close to the Yellow Springs Ancient City, and shoot everyone inside dead with random arrows. Rest assured, all of you, as long as you do not enter the city, you will not die. And even if you enter the city, you will not die.”
The archers present still wore hesitant expressions. After all, the reputation of this Yellow Springs Dead City was too terrifying. Even not entering, merely drawing near was quite frightening.
Ou Wuyang shouted loudly, “All crossbowmen, whoever presses close to the Yellow Springs Ancient City shall receive two extra gold coins.”
Under heavy rewards, there will surely be brave men.
Instantly, the first column of troops began to advance, slowly pressing towards the Yellow Springs Ancient City.
Then, more and more advancing troops followed. The tens of thousands of troops behind, although not crossbowmen, also pressed forward in perfect formation.
Watching the tens of thousands of troops gradually press closer, like a ferocious beast.
Suo Lun and Yan Yan exchanged a glance. Once the enemy’s crossbowmen drew near the walls to fire arrows, then the entire Yellow Springs Ancient City would have no safe blind spot whatsoever.
Under this dense rain of arrows, there would certainly be massive casualties.
Moreover, the moon could reveal itself again at any moment. That terrifying Yellow Springs Lake could at any moment become a terrifying demonic light, killing everyone within the Yellow Springs Ancient City.
Yan Yan glanced at Suo Lun and said, “Go wake Nai’er. The two of you break through and escape.”
Suo Lun said, “Then what about you and the Silver Wolf Legion?”
Yan Yan said, “Fight to the bitter end. Kill one and we break even, kill two and we profit.”
These were originally Gu Yin’s words, yet now they were spoken by Yan Yan.
With that, Yan Yan directly returned to the Yellow Springs Ancient City and began to assemble the surviving Silver Wolf Legion, preparing to engage in a final battle to the death against the tens of thousands of troops.
At this moment, there truly was no path of retreat whatsoever.
Yan Yan returned to the drill ground and ordered, “Take up your weapons. Form ranks. Charge out.”
Instantly, the remaining several hundred Silver Wolf warriors rose in perfect unison, drew their greatswords, and under Yan Yan’s leadership, marched towards the city with measured steps.
Not a single person roared, not a single slogan was shouted.
But everyone’s eyes were filled with the will of death.
…
At this moment, because the wood had all burned out, most of the great fires had already been extinguished. The city gates were also burned down to only half remaining, and parts of the city walls had collapsed.
Suo Lun stood just inside the city gates, gazing at the vast and mighty enemy army outside.
Column after column, dark and pressing, densely packed, drawing nearer.
Tens of thousands of allied troops, like a tidal wave, seemed about to swallow the Yellow Springs Ancient City whole.
In comparison, the Silver Wolf warriors led by Yan Yan numbered merely a few hundred.
Several hundred against tens of thousands.
One side cut off from water and grain, covered in wounds. The other side rested and waiting, strong soldiers and sturdy horses.
This kind of face-to-face battle would hold no suspense whatsoever, even for the most elite mercenaries in the world.
Moreover, the enemy army had at least several thousand crossbowmen. Merely a few volleys would be enough to shoot these less than a thousand Silver Wolf warriors dead, clean and thorough.
It was true that Yan Nai’er could indeed take Suo Lun and break through to escape. Given Nai’er’s martial arts, this would not be difficult to accomplish.
But Yan Nai’er would certainly be unwilling to abandon the Silver Wolf Legion and escape alone. Moreover, once the Silver Wolf was completely annihilated, then Suo Lun’s journey here would have been entirely in vain.
He had just saved Yan Yan’s life, only for him to die in battle amidst thousands of troops and horses. What meaning would any of this have?
But how could he save the Silver Wolf Legion now?
Both armies were like arrows upon the bowstring, with no choice but to fire.
The time left to Suo Lun was less than a quarter of an hour.
Suo Lun knew that because both Ji Gang and Tu Lingduo had fallen, the allied army’s morale was also extremely low at this moment. It would only take a single powerful shock to scatter them in all directions.
But in the enemy’s eyes, the Silver Wolf Legion was already a dead tiger. They did not even need to engage in close combat. Merely a few volleys would be enough to kill them clean and thorough.
Very soon, the two armies had already come face to face.
Although the Silver Wolf warriors numbered only a few hundred and were covered in wounds, their movements were as perfectly unified as a single person. Facing tens of thousands of troops, they still resolutely pressed forward.
The distance between both sides was merely a few hundred metres, gradually closing.
“Halt!” At Ou Wuyang’s command.
The enemy formation to the south all halted.
“Prepare.”
The several thousand crossbowmen of this formation all drew their bows and nocked their arrows, pointing obliquely at the sky. The moment the Silver Wolf Legion entered range, they would immediately fire ten thousand arrows as one.
“Raise shields!” At Yan Yan’s command.
Instantly, over a hundred shields were raised in perfect unison. Then they continued to advance, neither hurried nor slow.
At the same time, the surrounding Tianye City allied troops gradually converged.
The Silver Wolf Legion’s shields were far from sufficient. They could not block this volley of ten thousand arrows. This battle was too one-sided, doomed to annihilation.
He had to stop the Silver Wolf Legion’s destruction, or everything would be in vain.
But how? How?
Suddenly, a scene flashed through Suo Lun’s mind.
Several hours ago, when he had taken out the Dragon Flame Seal, not only did that terrifying undead within Yan Yan’s body fly out, but dozens or even hundreds of undead ghosts within the mourning hall had all flown out together, like moths to a flame, charging madly towards the Dragon Flame Seal.
It was as if this Dragon Flame held an infinite attraction for the undead.
Although this Dragon Flame holy light would cause all undead to be utterly annihilated. But just like those moths, what they loved most was to hurl themselves into the flame.
This Yellow Springs Ancient City was a century-old dead city. Who knew how many people had died within this ancient city? At least no fewer than tens of thousands, and these people had all died violently for no apparent reason, unable to find peace, becoming terrifying undead ghosts.
In other places, undead would automatically be annihilated. But the Yellow Springs Ancient City was a place of utmost yin. How many undead lay hidden beneath the ground?
So if he took out the Dragon Flame Seal at this moment, how many undead could it attract?
Several thousand, tens of thousands?
The appearance of countless undead armies would likely cause everyone to flee in terror, their souls scattering in fear.
However, if he attracted an undead army, Suo Lun would be in extreme danger.
The last time at the Blood Shore Lost City, he had been attacked by countless undead, his entire body wrapped in deathly aura. If not for the Demon Star, he would have died a thousand times over. And even with the Demon Star, he had nearly died violently. Fortunately, Jiang Xue had saved him.
But at this moment, Suo Lun had no other choice. He could not watch the Silver Wolf Legion be destroyed with his own eyes.
Gritting his teeth fiercely, Suo Lun pulled out the box and opened it slightly. The Dragon Seal ruin within released a golden holy light.
This holy light was indeed a fatal attraction to the undead.
Suo Lun could clearly sense movement beneath the ground. Then, the earth split open with a crack.
An undead ghost appeared. Then a second, a third, a fourth…
Everyone witnessed a scene that made their hair stand on end, a sight they would never be able to erase for the rest of their lives.
Dozens, hundreds, thousands of undead emerged one after another from beneath the ground.
After these undead emerged from the ground, they first trembled, as if at a loss.
Then, their hollow eyes all fixed upon Suo Lun.
Then, countless undead, like a tidal wave, converged towards Suo Lun, madly pouncing upon him.
Instantly, the temperature in the air dropped by several dozen degrees.
Throughout the night sky, there came waves of ghostly wails and wolfish howls.
Seeing this scene, everyone was utterly stunned. Even in their deepest nightmares, they had never witnessed such a sight.
Suo Lun suddenly roared loudly, “All undead armies, heed my command. Completely devour all enemies before you, dragging them into hell!”
Then, he began to run madly.
And the countless undead behind him chased after him in frenzy.
From the look of it, it was as if thousands of undead armies, obeying Suo Lun’s command, were madly charging towards the Tianye City allied troops.
At this moment, not merely ordinary soldiers, but even Ou Wuyang was utterly stunned.
This, this Suo Lun could actually command countless undead armies? This, this was completely an ability that transcended gods and ghosts, too astonishing!
The soldiers in front first froze completely in place, unable to move a muscle, even directly wetting their trousers from terror.
Too, too terrifying!
“Run…”
Then, someone was the first to come to their senses, directly throwing away the weapon in their hands and turning to run madly.
“Father, mother…”
“Run, run…”
The entire allied army formation was completely terrified into wetting themselves by these thousands of undead. They no longer heeded the commands from above, turning and scrambling to flee, only hating that their parents had not given them two extra legs.
They were merely mercenaries and wandering warriors, come to earn gold coins.
They had thought that fighting the Silver Wolf Legion was merely killing a tiger. They had not expected that Suo Lun would be so heaven-defying, actually summoning countless undead armies.
How could humans fight undead?
In an instant, the tens of thousands of allied troops collapsed like an avalanche, fleeing clean and thorough in an instant, fearing only that they were too slow and would be caught by the undead.