Chapter 3035: Worthless Thing

After only two breaths, the barrier of Baojicheng was restored once more, and Cangyan's arrows could no longer penetrate it.

This city's barrier is also special: ordinary barriers vanish after being breached once, but although Baojicheng's barrier ruptures when exceeding its limit, it can regenerate within just a few breaths.

For the attacking side, this is far too unfriendly.

The Red General lowered his bow and arrow, and through the eye spider said to He Lingchuan:

"Fortunately, I did not disgrace my mission."

"Well done!"

The city wall, blasted into pits and hollows, quickly restored itself, but the shattered armaments on the battlements lacked this ability and could only be hastily repaired or replaced.

Soon, the labor team He Lingchuan was part of sprang into action, needing to rush parts from the armory to the battlements.

There was nothing much to say about it—selecting parts, loading, transporting—he did all of it well while hidden in the crowd.

Not long after, the team reached the city gate, then unloaded and climbed the wall.

Undoubtedly, the guards before the city gate were strict; the most elite troops of Hao Ling Ducheng did not climb the battlements to resist the enemy but were stationed here to guard the gate.

The commander of Baojicheng was no fool, knowing that the strongest walls are often breached from within, so he defended the gate strictly, not allowing even a fly to enter.

On the high wall behind the city gate, sixteen rhombus talismans, each over a person tall, gleamed, perfectly forming the shape of a tortoise shell.

This is the foundation of the barrier, and also the armor plates of the Ba. As long as more than ten remain intact and sufficiently powered, Baojicheng cannot be breached.

What is most peculiar is that, being a gate guardian beast, its armor plates can slip away when attacked, rather than foolishly standing in place to continue taking blows. Given the Hao Ling army's encirclement, for the enemy to chase and strike it is nothing short of fantasy?

"What a beautiful tortoise shell." The Soul-Capturing Mirror in He Lingchuan's arms clicked a few times, "Looks not easy to shatter in one strike."

So He Lingchuan planned to take another route:

Open the gate directly.

Now, with divine assistance, the gates of all nations have been replaced with pulley switches, easy and effortless to operate.

Of course, the inner side of the city gate is the most critical priority of Baojicheng's defense. He Lingchuan, walking from over a hundred zhang outside the gate, could at least sense more than a dozen unhidden auras of immortals or heavenly demons.

Once someone approaches illegally, they will hesitate not to strike.

However, He Lingchuan had already scouted the terrain in advance, knowing there is also a Wengcheng behind this gate, with small doors on both sides, facilitating internal military and civilian retreat and remedial defense after the gate is breached.

He Lingchuan is extremely familiar with this terrain; he plans to make use of it here.

At this moment, he and several laborers were carrying armament parts up the city ladder to replace the damaged battlement ballistae. Just as he reached above the Wengcheng, the street corner diagonally opposite the gate suddenly collapsed, and from within rushed out a group of fire oxen, lowering their heads and charging toward the gate!

Each fire ox is two sizes larger than an ordinary yellow ox, with a sturdy frame nearly matching an elephant, plus bodies steaming with raging flames, making them appear even bulkier. They bear extraordinarily exaggerated horns; when lowering their heads forward, they resemble oversized pitchforks, and in their charge, whoever stands ahead would likely have their hearts torn out. They thundered toward the tortoise-shell talismans with earth-shaking steps, smashing through multiple civilian homes along the way, as easily as knocking over toy blocks on the ground. "Enemy attack!"

Immediately, three city gate guard detachments were dispatched to reinforce the talismans.

Seven or eight divine powers struck down from the gate, all hitting the fire oxen.

Indeed, the enemy intended to breach the city from within—how naive!

The street corner is less than two hundred zhang from the tortoise-shell talismans, and these fire oxen move at astonishing speed; when struck by divine power and arrows, they were still only about a hundred zhang from the target. Only a few puffs were heard, and upon collapsing, they turned into bursts of choking smoke.

Fortunately, the wind still blew toward the battlements; the garrison coughed a few times, and after waving away the smoke, they found no ox carcasses on the ground—only several charred wooden fragments! A puppet technique?

"Be careful of a feint to the east..."

The gate guard had not even shouted the word "West" when he suddenly sensed something behind him, and the soldiers cried out:

"Blocked! The Wengcheng is blocked!"

He turned and looked, startled until his back went numb, only to see a large mass of something emerging inside the Wengcheng—brownish, like mud yet like flesh, tending to swell continuously like a soap bubble.

From its inexplicable appearance, it took only a few breaths to completely seal the Wengcheng.

Most deadly is that it not only blocked the two small doors of the Wengcheng but also obstructed the view of the troops above toward the city gate!

The garrison on the wall was greatly alarmed, hacking at this mysteriously emerged swollen object with blades and axes, while immortals and demons alike unleashed divine powers, striking it with dull thuds like hitting rotten leather.

It was meaty and bulging, quite elastic, able to deflect many arrows.

It was not utterly indestructible—it could be moved by strikes, cut away, but in the blink of an eye, it would regrow.

A heavenly demon swung his blade, cutting off a large piece, and through the gap saw shadowy figures fighting below the city:

"The enemy has reached the city gate!"

Yes, as He Lingchuan hurled this "worthless thing," he himself had already leapt into the Wengcheng.

The defending officers and soldiers immediately rushed out to attack, while He Lingchuan casually threw out the spatial artifact Douke Garden, from which Mingke Immortal, Hu Min, the door plank, and over ten others jumped out to engage in battle.

The passage from the great gate to the Wengcheng is long and narrow; once blocked, enemies behind cannot advance.

This thing is also a demon puppet, an inferior product made by Dong Rui imitating the magic nest of the devourers, originally intended for disposal, but the Red General believed it might be useful in certain special circumstances, so he kept it and named it "Aduwu."

Now is its moment of application.

Although it cannot withstand long before the fury of the Hao Ling army, He Lingchuan originally needed only several dozen breaths, which was sufficient. During Hu Min et al.'s battle, two immortals of Hao Ling opened a gap in the Aduwu and slipped in.

Upon landing, they immediately unleashed killing moves.

The enemy's ability to intrude here is already a ten-thousand-fire urgency, with the city gate's opening just one step away.

Yet before them appeared a black-armored warrior, his cloak behind him as red as fresh blood.

He casually unleashed a stream of black qi; the Hao Ling immortal immediately flung out a flying wheel to block, but the wheel rolled over the black smoke as if touching nothing. This smoke resembled a spirit snake, coiling in midair before binding the immortal.

At the moment He Lingchuan knocked the wheel flying, the immortal also let out a miserable cry.

After he steadied his gaze, he saw the black qi had become a chain; a light tug caused unbearable pain. This pain originated from the soul, as if the fires of purgatory were scorching every nerve.

And before the other immortal could thrust his sword forward, the door plank and his subordinates immediately pulled the winch controlling the gate.

"Open!"

This is the true critical priority of this city-infiltration ambush. Other enemies have teammates blocking them; their task is only to open the gate—open it quickly!