Chapter 2789

He Lingchuan at this moment found himself missing Qing Shudi Jun even more. If it were here, a few of his specialty old trees and mixed vines could bind all these miscellaneous things.

However, before this batch of black moth larvae climbed to the top of the wall, dense plants sprouted from the cracks in the wall surface, spreading from the base of the wall to cover the entire city wall in just over ten breaths. These plants had vines as thick as pythons, their surfaces covered in thorns. The black moth larvae were entangled and strangled after just a few steps.

Man-Eating Vines.

As the second line of defense for Panlongcheng Wall, they are only now making their appearance.

Being products of the Secret Realm, these Man-Eating Vines are stronger and more ruthless than their real-world counterparts. Hundreds of black moth larvae were drained to mere husks in an instant. Perhaps finding the taste unpleasant or hard to digest, they tossed the husks down to the city below.

Bai Zhantian saw this, gave a cold smile, turned his head, and ordered:

"Release the corpse puppets."

The Geng Yue God behind him took out a cloth bag, personally untied the red silk string at the mouth, grabbed the bottom and shook it a few times, and poured out several hundred corpses from inside the bag.

This was extremely abrupt; corpses piled up layer upon layer, and before his eyes immediately rose a pointed mound of corpses.

He Yue on Panlongcheng Wall saw this and immediately clenched his fists: "That... that's our fallen soldiers!"

As if sensing his gaze, Geng Yue God looked up and met his eyes, his smile full of malice.

These corpses were precisely the allied soldiers who had just sacrificed while ambushing several demon squads. The demons had actually collected them all—surely not with good intentions.

Everyone felt an ominous premonition.

Sure enough, Geng Yue God lifted his foot and stomped the ground, exhaling: "All rise!"

What followed made the people on the city wall feel their hair stand on end:

Geng Yue God.

As his words fell, the corpses on the ground began to move—initially stiff, as if just waking from a deep sleep, but within a few breaths they could sit up. They all turned their gazes toward Geng Yue God, as if awaiting his command.

Geng Yue God smiled satisfactorily, pointed at Panlongcheng Wall, and said: "Forward! Kill them all!"

These dead people immediately turned and ran toward Panlongcheng Wall.

They had died in various ways—some disemboweled, some missing hands or feet, some covered in knife wounds from head to toe, others half-burned... Basically, aside from corpses with smashed heads, the demons had brought over anything usable. But they felt nothing unusual; as long as they could move, they would follow Geng Yue God's orders, charging toward Panlongcheng, toward their former comrades-in-arms!

They walked with unsteady steps, far slower and less agile than the black moth larvae. Yet strangely, the little ghosts released by the Blue-Faced Great Ghost ignored them; the black dragon statue did not breathe upon them—

The two city gate beasts actually acknowledged their existence.

Even the stone men and stone beasts released by the Earth Mother's incarnation did not attack them. Aside from being hit by battlefield artillery and crossbow bolts, these dead people encountered almost no obstacles on their forward path.

The demons adjusted their strategy, ordering large numbers of black moth larvae to hide behind the corpses and advance toward the city gate. The black dragon statue turned its head several times toward this spot, but upon seeing the allied corpses, it turned away again, breathing nothing.

The officers and soldiers on the city wall felt a chill down their spines while also being utterly perplexed.

Why... why is this?

Ling Jinbao also asked the little stone figure: "Why aren't they attacking!"

The little stone figure's eyes flashed red: "Don't attack our own."

"They aren't..." Ling Jinbao began, but He Lingchuan interrupted him: "They were already identified as friendly forces earlier; the Earth Mother Plains and this Secret Realm cannot distinguish their status!"

He had already realized: these soldiers, while alive, had frequently entered and exited Panlong Secret Realm and Earth Mother Plains, being judged as friendly by both places. After death, they were driven by the demons, but Earth Mother Plains and Panlong Secret Realm could not tell them apart—only knowing they carried the aura of allies, thus they could not become attack targets!

This is the trouble caused by the absence of the Earth Mother and the true form of the Nine Nether Great Emperor.

He Lingchuan quickly shouted to the soldiers on the city gate: "Shoot them, quickly!"

The allied forces hesitated for a moment; even the usually decisive and swift Black Armor Army showed a hint of hesitation.

These bloodstained walking corpses below were originally their comrades—just yesterday they had shared a big pot of rice, and an hour ago they had fought side by side; some were even childhood friends or close relatives. Faced with these familiar faces, suddenly having to turn their blades against them, even if their reason was sound, they truly, truly could not bring themselves to strike.

"They are no longer living; they are corpse puppets driven by demons, regarding all living things as enemies!" Pak Chohai shouted loudly, "Fire arrows quickly, otherwise they will show us no mercy!"

Ling Jinbao also roared: "Strike! Record this debt on the demons!"

He Yue turned over a siege crossbow, gritted his teeth, aimed at the few corpses rushing fastest to the base of the wall, and forcefully pressed the trigger. One of them was his deputy, who had stood by his side loyally for eleven years in life and had also died bravely in the recent demon battle.

Now, He Yue had to personally destroy his corpse!

The heavy arrow shot out with a "pop," blasting these few corpses into minced meat, blood splattering everywhere.

With him leading, even though the officers' hearts ached, they all turned their bows and cannons, eyes red as they launched attacks against their former comrades.

But by now, several dozen corpses had already led black moth larvae to the base of the wall and were climbing up.

The Man-Eating Vines indeed did not attack the corpses; the soldiers watched familiar faces draw ever closer, could only grit their teeth and thrust their weapons to push them down.

Meanwhile, below the city, the four Yinling Divine Generals were finally blown apart by the Blue-Faced Great Ghost and the Black Dragon Stone Carving, scattering into a pile of rubble. The azure flames on their bodies had not yet burned out; Jia Lou Tian waved his hand, and a faint green light emerged from the rubble, lining up and flying into the heart of the last Yinling Divine General beneath the city gate.

This fellow, having received the empowerment, shrank rather than grew in size, his giant hammer emitting a dense green light as if it had substance. He let out a heaven-shaking roar, then launched a three-hit combo at the city gate, each strike fiercer than the last.

The force of the siege hammer was not even one percent of his; Panlongcheng's thick, hard gate was shattered into flying debris. All three strikes hit the same point; after the explosion, the gate was actually gouged out a hole the size of a millstone!

For such a towering city gate, this small hole was hardly noticeable.

But its appearance held great significance for both offense and defense.

The allied forces watched, their scalps tingling and backs chilled; the demons were overjoyed:

They had found out!

They had tested the strength of Panlongcheng Gate!

This is the baseline. So as long as they increase force on this foundation next, they can break through the gate!

Yang Sheng quickly ordered the entire army: "Gather behind the gate, prepare for battle!"

(End of Chapter)