Chapter 1284

"Han brother, your Jin Gang Sutra isn't just cultivated to the third layer, is it?" This question came from the scar-faced man's mouth.

"Why does Brother Zhang ask such a question?" Han Li's eyes flashed, and he calmly countered without changing his expression.

"Nothing much, just feeling that the third layer of the Jin Gang Sutra seems unable to repel even a single demon wolf. It appears Han brother truly has a bright future ahead!" Zhang Kui said this with deep meaning, then immediately turned and left, having no intention of continuing.

Han Li watched the scar-faced man's back, rubbed his chin, and the corner of his mouth also curled into a faint smile.

This person seems to have hidden meaning in his words!

Not long after, a large number of An Yuan City soldiers and able-bodied youths, under the leadership of another low-ranking officer, climbed onto the city wall. The people from the Dongdong Trading House were finally able to descend from the wall.

However, they naturally could not return to the inn, but were instead arranged to rest in a group of stone houses near the square where they had gathered that day.

Upon entering the stone houses, most people immediately lay down and fell asleep without bothering with anything else.

Although Han Li felt no fatigue at all, he also had no intention of going out to cause trouble in such a chaotic situation. He immediately sat cross-legged on the bed, regulating his breath, and continued to silently contemplate the Jin Gang Sutra's technique.

Nothing happened all night, and in the blink of an eye, it passed.

Early the second day, the thunderous rumbling sound suddenly rang out again, the wolf howls responded in the distance, and soon after, shouts of killing rose from the city wall direction, launching the beasts' second assault on the city.

This battle seemed even fiercer than yesterday's, the sounds of slaughter lasting from morning until night, as reserve soldiers and able-bodied youths were occasionally pulled from the stone houses and hastily hauled up onto the wall for support. In just one day, the square where Han Li was located saw three or four batches of people pulled up onto the wall.

It was not until night fell again that the beast herd finally withdrew and retreated.

When Han Li felt a stir in his heart and walked out of the stone house, he saw on the square the personnel who had been rotated down from the city wall.

With so many people supporting the front, only about two or three tenths remained. Most were covered in blood, missing limbs, in a state of severe injury.

Compared to Han Li and the others who had guarded yesterday, they seemed much more miserable.

Not only Han Li, but many people near the square also walked out of the stone houses. Seeing this scene, they were also greatly startled. Someone immediately went up to inquire about the details of today's battle.

Only then did they learn that among the attacking wolf beasts today, a kind of small wolf resembling a civet cat had appeared. Not only were they light as swallows, but the wolf fur on their bodies actually shot out like porcupine quills. And these hard quills carried deadly poison; a single strike would cause loss of combat ability in moments, and without treatment, death would follow.

This kind of small wolf had never been heard of before; it might be a new mutant variant of the blue wolf beast. Such occurrences in beast tides are not common, but neither are they too rare.

However, every time a new mutant beast appears, it naturally inflicts heavy casualties on the human side. But this new mutant beast type will soon be eliminated and disappear. Otherwise, the mutant wolves in the current wolf pack would not be just one or two simple kinds.

But now, the large-scale appearance of these mutant small wolves has immediately caused heavy casualties among the unprepared defenders. If not for the commander, who mobilized large numbers of reserve personnel without regard for casualties, and that "spirit team" lending aid several times, today's battle would have been extremely dangerous.

Hearing the answers from those who had withdrawn, the hearts of those present grew heavy.

Everyone secretly felt that this beast tide seemed more ferocious than rumored. As for whether they could defend this city, they began to feel a few shakes of doubt.

Han Li narrowed his eyes, stood at the door for a while, then silently returned to the stone house without another word, his face remaining calm and undisturbed.

He indeed felt no emotion toward all of this in his heart.

Even if An Yuan City were truly breached, relying on his skills and the two Extinction Immortal Pearls on his person, breaking out of the beast herd would not be difficult.

As for the other people in the city, even if he wanted to save them, he now lacks the strength despite his will, and naturally would not plan anything beyond his capabilities.

However, given how fierce the beast herd is now, the first batch of defenders withdrawn probably cannot truly rest for two days; they might be called up again tomorrow.

Han Li's prediction was indeed correct. On the morning of the third day, as soon as a sun appeared in the sky, someone loudly shouted outside the door, ordering the Dongdong Trading House guards to all come out and gather in the square.

When he calmly appeared in the square, he found that besides the Dongdong Trading House people, there were also several hundred other fierce individuals standing there. Among them, nearly half were body cultivators, and not a few wore "spirit rings" and "spirit bracelets," possessing spirit tools. There were also those riding bear-wolf beasts, all mounted on their steeds, lined up beside them.

These people were obviously the elite of this place.

Han Li frowned slightly, then walked unhurriedly into the crowd.

After a moment, nearly a thousand people had gathered on the square, at which point a person appeared before the crowd—exactly that silver-armored middle-aged man.

His face grim, he said a few words, roughly meaning that the defensive line in another direction was strained and needed their reinforcement, then he waved his hand and set the troops in motion.

This news naturally startled everyone present.

They had only known these past two days that the blue wolf beasts were tough to deal with, not expecting the situation on the other side to be even worse. Fortunately, those gathered here were people of extraordinary insight, so they did not argue endlessly; after a brief commotion, most people simply climbed onto a beast cart and headed straight for the other side of An Yuan City.

Aside from some patrolling knights, there were no pedestrians moving on the streets.

Thus, as the beast carts sped along, after more than an hour, they arrived at the other side of An Yuan City's wall, and then everyone disembarked from the carts.

Nearby, more than ten officers had long been waiting. Upon seeing Han Li and the others arrive, they immediately swarmed up, after a brief argument divided them up cleanly, and then immediately led them to various city towers.

Thus, the people of the Dongdong Trading House were naturally scattered as well, except for seven or eight ordinary guards of the Dongdong Trading House who followed him as deputy leader, Zhang Kui and Du Xiao were all separated.

Leading Han Li and the others was a middle-aged officer with a large beard; from his iron armor, he appeared to be of the same rank as the Xiao-surnamed officer.

This officer was especially kind to the body cultivators like Han Li, particularly since three of them in this group each carried spirit tools, making him especially courteous to these three. His tone also carried a sense of reliance.

As for Han Li's abilities, aside from those from the Dongdong Trading House who knew a bit, others naturally would not know the slightest detail, so naturally they did not draw special attention from the bearded officer.

Han Li naturally would not boast of himself; he simply said nothing and followed the crowd as they climbed onto the wall they were responsible for guarding.

The result of what met their eyes made everyone's faces change dramatically.

The battlements and city towers on the wall, which should have been neat and smooth, were now all broken and ruined, none intact. Even more strangely, the originally bluish-white ground had turned into patches of black, emitting waves of foul, rotting odor that made one want to vomit.

"This is snake venom," a man wearing a "spirit bracelet" said, staring closely at the blackened ground, speaking in a deep voice.

"Indeed, it is snake venom. My subordinates have lost combat strength numbering four or five hundred because of this." The bearded officer heard this and gave a bitter laugh.

"Did I misremember? Are red python beasts not poisonous?" Another old man similarly wearing spirit tools, however, had his eyes flickering with confusion.

"Li brother did not misremember; ordinary red python beasts are indeed non-poisonous, but among this batch of mutated pythons, a kind of mutated winged flying python has emerged. This python, though similar in size to ordinary red pythons, can fly short distances using its wings, and can spit this black-colored poison mist from its mouth. This poison mist, if it touches the skin even slightly, will immediately cause flesh to rot and skin to split; even splashed on stone, it can penetrate three inches. I have already had people wash the city wall with clean water several times; otherwise, just the poison gas lingering in the air would make people unable to endure for long." The bearded officer explained.

"These are troublesome. Originally, the mutated pythons each had infinite strength, and now they also have poison-spitting ability, making defense difficult." Someone in the crowd immediately said with concern.

"If it weren't for the red python beasts being so hard to deal with, why would the superiors have sent you all here? I heard that on the blue wolf beast side, there also seems to have appeared a new mutant wolf beast." The bearded officer stroked his beard, his expression becoming extremely solemn.

"Blue wolf beasts are also not easy to deal with. Why haven't we seen those cultivators make a move? Cultivators are most skilled at large-scale killing techniques; against these two beast hordes, they have always been the main force." Someone couldn't help but ask this.

"Don't forget, the leopard-bird beasts have not shown their faces since the beast tide began until now. Those cultivators must be saved to deal with this more troublesome demon bird. Otherwise, once their magic power is exhausted, if this demon bird suddenly appears, our An Yuan City will surely fall." The bearded officer sighed lightly and replied.

Hearing the reply, others couldn't help but stare at each other. It seemed the prospects for An Yuan City were indeed not optimistic.

"Alright, you all need not worry too much. That poison-spitting flying snake can only spit poison mist once, after which it must rest for a period. And after the battles of the past two days, this mutated flying snake has basically lost its offensive power. The superiors' intention in assigning you all here is actually still to use you against that mutated giant python. This giant python beast, aside from body cultivators, ordinary soldiers find it hard to injure. The damaged sections on the city wall are precisely caused by this giant python. As long as you all can restrain the mutated giant python, ordinary red pythons I still have confidence in dealing with." Seeing the crowd's expressions were off, the bearded officer spoke again to encourage them.

"Hehe, no need for the lord to instruct us; since we've come here, we naturally won't stand by idly. However……" The man wearing the spirit bracelet, still wanting to say more, suddenly heard from the horizon beyond the city wall a series of strange cries—neither beast nor bird, neither bird nor beast—that made people's blood surge and feel extremely uncomfortable.

The man's words stopped abruptly, his face immediately turning ugly.

Not only him, but others who heard this cry also had their expressions change greatly.

"Leopard-bird beasts, they have finally appeared!" A body cultivator gazed at the distant sky, muttered, and unconsciously gripped his weapon a few degrees tighter.

At this time, Han Li stood alone in a corner of the city wall, idly playing with a low-grade spirit stone, his expression extremely relaxed, as if he had not heard the previous cries at all.

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