Chapter 1057: East City Alarm Bell

They raised torches in an attempt to drive the others away; after all, most mind-bewitching spells feared fire. Yet, the crazed commoners still stared blankly, even lunging to bite the arms holding the torches. Afraid of fire? Afraid of my foot!

"What kind of soul-bewitching method is this?" Wen Daolun muttered to himself, a wisp of true Qi on his fingertip, which he pressed onto the brow of another crazed commoner.

The latter let out a loud cry, fell backward, and stopped struggling.

Wen Daolun then heard Meng Shan shout: "There are bugs! They are controlled by bugs; knock them out and they crawl out!"

Bugs? Wen Daolun lowered his head to observe the unconscious man, only to see a black beetle the size of a fingernail crawl out of his nostril, flap its wings twice, and take flight.

Wen Daolun seized the opportunity to take out his spider-silk gloves and snatched it.

The bug struggled left and right in his hand, its strength surprisingly terrifying; Wen Daolun even felt he could barely keep his fist closed.

He prepared himself before opening his palm, and the beetle immediately flew toward his mouth and nose.

However, halfway there, it seemed to lose interest in Wen Daolun and turned to find someone else.

Wen Daolun followed it forward, seeing it fly straight into a small alley and find an ordinary household, trying to drill inside. Only then did he catch it again and release true fire to burn it.

The beetle squeaked in agony and died after ten breaths.

This was troublesome; not all warriors could control true fire.

At this moment, because the strange bugs were controlling the commoners, the city alleys also became chaotic. Added to the influence of the Emperor's Flowing Plasma, the sounds of scolding, screaming, and things shattering rose everywhere.

The East City Gate was under pressure.

The commoners controlled by the strange bugs were fighting over the gate's winch, showing no fear of blades or spears, lunging forward to twist it.

Once the winch was twisted open and the drawbridge lowered, the enemy army outside would charge in.

Although the city guards tried hard to push them back, they couldn't withstand ten, then dozens of people rushing here, each clutching the winch as if they had found solid gold, refusing to let go.

Meng Shan roared, leaped across a distance of four zhang, and landed with a loud bang, directly stunning seventeen or eighteen commoners.

The rest were left seeing stars.

Meng Shan grabbed two heads and knocked them together fiercely; both men fainted.

The beetles crawling out of their seven orifices could be crushed by city guards stabbing randomly with blades. But even if the commoners held awls, they couldn't stab them to death.

Meng Shan wasn't stupid; after watching for two seconds, he understood: "Yuan power, they fear Yuan power!"

Yuan power was almost the nemesis of all demons and monsters under heaven, the opponent of divine abilities and secret arts.

But the commoners had none.

Wen Daolun, who had just rushed over, also heard this. His footsteps paused, and he silently repeated the two words "Yuan power" several times.

These beetles were too numerous, occupying too many human bodies; how long would it take to expel them one by one? Could the guard team knock everyone out?

What about the battle under the city gate? What about the enemy army outside? Afterward, Wen Daolun saw the giant bell on the city wall's corner tower.

This specially made bronze bell was one zhang in diameter; the sentry had to use all his strength to ring it.

It was called the "Alarm Bell"; once it rang, it meant an enemy invasion.

Ever since Panlongcheng took Yuheng City, it had rung only twice in total.

The water bandit attack over a year ago, and today.

A thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately sprinted toward the city wall, followed closely by several guards.

Running to the bronze bell, he bit his index finger, drew several talismans on the bell with fresh blood, and then pressed his official badge onto the battering ram, saying to the guards behind him: "Ring the bell, quickly!"

Two guards stepped forward, hugged the battering ram, and slammed it fiercely against the bronze bell.

"Dang—" The resonant bell sound immediately echoed through the eastern part of Yuheng City.

Because of the blessing of Wen Daolun's official badge, the battering ram and the bell both glowed with a layer of shimmering green light.

The Yuan power took effect.

The bell rang one note after another, faster and more urgent.

Due to the influence of the "Amplification Spell" cast by Wen Daolun, the penetrating power of the bell sound became increasingly astonishing.

Healthy people felt their hearts sway upon hearing it, while the humans controlled by the strange bugs stopped their confused footsteps, pressed their hands to their ears, and lay on the ground, screaming loudly.

After screaming twice, they fainted.

The strange bugs crawled out of the humans' seven orifices, also looking as if they had been drugged, swaying crookedly, struggling to fly.

The East City guard team hurriedly went up to finish them off, stab, stab, stab, stab, taking advantage of their illness to end their lives.

Just then, a cluster of crimson fireworks suddenly exploded in the south.

Was the Nanchengmen also in an emergency? Needless to say, the enemy had split their forces.

Fu Fu Shanlie had truly gone all out this time, actually bringing so many troops. Wen Daolun glanced south, but no matter how anxious he was, there was nothing he could do.

He was stretched too thin and could only deal with the East City Gate before him first.

As for the Nanchengmen, with Liutiao and Huanggan guarding it, it should be safe for a short time.

Just at this moment, rumbling drum sounds suddenly rang out outside the Nanchengmen. The guard behind Wen Daolun poked his head out and was both surprised and delighted: "Reinforcements have arrived!"

They were all standing on the city wall. Wen Daolun turned to look, and sure behind the swarming Jin Tao army outside the city, a fresh force had indeed charged out.

"It's Cai Qiyong!"

Wen Daolun could recognize the general leading the charge at a glance; it was the young deputy general He He Lingchuan had promoted half a year ago, also less than twenty years old.

This was Cai Qiyong's first time holding the line alone, and He He Lingchuan had let him lead eight hundred men to charge the rear flank of the Jin Tao army.

Although the Jin Tao army numbered over two thousand, the sudden arrival of the Emperor's Flowing Plasma immediately disrupted their morale.

Fu Fu Shanlie, who came from the Between Beijia military, looked down on the Jin Tao army, disliking its average combat power, which was why he ordered it to attack the Yuheng East City Gate. This unit truly lived up to expectations; while the front-row soldiers were still attacking the city gate, those in the back stood in place, looking up at the sky, busy opening their mouths to catch the Emperor's Flowing Plasma.

Some even tore out extra pieces of cloth, licking them while catching it.

It was a pity they had followed the army too hastily this time and hadn't brought any containers.

The attraction of the Emperor's Flowing Plasma to living beings was like humans suddenly encountering a lake after three days of thirst; that desperate craving to bury one's head and drink deeply was hard for ordinary people to resist.

In extraordinary times, the quality of an army was immediately apparent.

The eight hundred Yuheng soldiers who had just rushed out from the shadows had firm footsteps and murderous intent, almost managing to ignore the spiritual plasma dripping from the sky, their eyes seeing only the enemies waiting to be slaughtered.

The two armies collided, the sounds of shouting shaking the heavens.

The Jin Tao army didn't expect an ambush from the rear; the generals in the army roared commands, but the soldiers were sluggish and panicked, turning very slowly.

Wen Daolun on the city gate felt his heart surging: "A good opportunity, quick, quick, charge out and coordinate from inside and outside!"

Although Zhao Linyang is in charge of internal affairs, he must also temporarily oversee the East City military affairs at this time; how could he ignore such a good opportunity when he encounters it?

Hundreds of warriors inside the gate were eager to try, waiting to charge out.

However, no one gave the order at the East City Gate, and no one opened the gate.

Where was Zhao Linyang? Wen Daolun looked left and right, but just didn't see the man. He made a prompt decision, standing on the city wall and shouting downward: "I am Wen Daolun! East City Army, obey my command: Open the gate, attack!"

He had diligently managed affairs in Yuheng City for over a year, and most of He He Lingchuan's subordinates recognized him. There was no officer with a higher professional rank on the scene, so his words were orders.

As soon as he finished speaking, the mechanism creaked, and the city gate opened outward.

Without waiting for the drawbridge to be fully lowered, hundreds of warriors shouted and charged out, coordinating with Cai Qiyong's unit from inside and outside to beat the Jin Tao army soundly.

For over a year, Jin Tao had always been harassing the border, with constant small actions. Yuheng City focused on its own development and usually ignored them.

But this didn't mean the Yuheng City soldiers had swallowed that anger.

Now that they could rightfully kill to vent their anger, which Yuheng soldier didn't want to swing their blade happily?

However, just as Wen Daolun was about to shrink his head back, the corner of his eye suddenly caught a shadow flashing by.

The guard beside him shouted "Careful," and both flew to intercept.

These two personal guards had followed him for over a year, from Yuheng City all the way back to Panlongcheng, possessing high martial skills and absolute loyalty.

Wen Daolun saw them fighting with several strange figures.

They seemed to be two mantises the height of a person, as well as three or four, uh, bees?

Those two monsters only possessed the mantis's iconic sickle-like forelimbs and upper body, but didn't have the mantis's potbelly; their hindquarters were like fleas, and a light leap brought out afterimages in the air.

The other few bees didn't know what breed they were, each larger than a human fist, their bodies yellow and black.

As soon as Wen Daolun saw them, he smelled a strange fragrance, and his head felt a bit dizzy.

He hurriedly pinched a Wind-Calling Spell to blow away the strange fragrance, while reminding: "The pollen on them is poisonous!"

The lethal weapons of these bees weren't just the needles on their tails; even the powder fragrance released by their rapidly flapping wings had intoxicating poison.

It was fortunate that all three had Yuan power to protect their bodies, otherwise this fragrance could have quickly knocked living people down.

Both guards were busy fighting and couldn't spare time to respond.

Wen Daolun cast divine abilities from the back to assist their counterattack.

Meng Shan on the ground also noticed the anomaly on the city gate and ran up quickly.

Good times didn't last; only five breaths later, one guard was caught in a flaw, and then his movements stopped.

Wen Daolun watched helplessly as a ferocious folding blade protruded from the back of his neck, and he didn't even bleed a few drops of blood.

The only remaining guard was struggling, facing danger at every turn.

Meng Shan had just rushed onto the city gate and was about to roar and charge up to assist, but heard a familiar voice in his ear:

"Steady your Qi, prepare to charge."

Meng Shan had long been obedient to the owner of this voice; hearing this, he stopped his footsteps without hesitation, his figure sank, and his hind legs kicked off the ground for leverage—

"Dang, dang," several loud bangs, and the alarm bell rang long again.

This time the bell sound was louder than all the previous times combined; let alone Yuheng City, even the Jin Tao city across the river could hear it clearly!

It was as if a muffled thunder from the horizon had suddenly exploded; Wen Daolun, despite having Yuan power to protect his body, was still left with ringing ears and a dizzy head, his heart swaying, almost spitting out a mouthful of old blood.

Those few bug demons were even worse, actually being shaken into double images.

The bees fell to the ground, and the mantises withered.

Wen Daolun turned his head to look, and a person had appeared beside the bronze bell at some point, able to lift the three-hundred-jin battering ram with one hand, ringing the giant bell with loud dangs.

The light on the battering ram and the giant bell was dark red, much thicker than the Yuan power Wen Daolun had attached.

Although Wen Daolun was also an official of Panlongcheng, he didn't lead troops in Yuheng City, and his Yuan power was far from reaching this level.

The bell ringing it triggered caused even greater damage to the bug demons.

Immediately following, Meng Shan made a charge, directly knocking a giant mantis off the city wall.

The figure beside the bronze bell also flashed over, stabbing a strange bee to death with one blade.

Wen Daolun was overjoyed: "Commander He!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1058 =====