Chapter 35: High Walls and Deep Chasms

"Did I say it was built by human hands?" Sun Fu snorted. "Sturdy and seamless, built during wartime, and having to withstand the trampling of thousands of people and siege engines—only supernatural power could accomplish this." This bridge was formed by supernatural power? The group looked down at the road, feeling deeply shocked.

"There are many Earth-element supernatural techniques; this might be a variation of the Mountain-Moving Art, and it was likely cast by at least fifty sorcerers working in unison." Sun Fu kicked the bridge deck, producing a metallic ring. "Hmm, the cost was not small."

The quality was also excellent, remaining undamaged after a hundred years.

Situ Han asked in a low voice, "Isn't it said that supernatural power is ineffective during wartime?"

Before anyone else could speak, He Lingchuan hissed at him: "Half-baked knowledge! Supernatural power is only weak against armies, but no one said it couldn't be used in war. What's wrong with paving roads and building bridges?"

He pinched his chin and said, "Looking at it this way, this bridge in front of the South Gate of Panlong City has actually been destroyed and rebuilt, rebuilt and destroyed again, countless times, right? The reason this one is still standing today is probably because the coalition forces achieved the final victory?"

"That should be the case." Sun Fu agreed with his point of view. "Panlong City usually needs this bridge to connect with the south, but when a great war arrives, it must be the first thing to be cut off to block the incoming enemy."

Nian Songyu kicked a watermelon-sized stone from the edge into the deep chasm. It took a good while before the group heard the echo of the heavy object hitting the bottom.

"It's very deep; if we fell down, we probably wouldn't survive." He looked down at the bottom of the chasm from the bridge. "This was originally a moat, right? I see traces of chiseling at the bottom; I imagine it was deepened."

Panlong City was already built on a natural chasm and had also meticulously improved the moat in front of the gate, making the water flow deeper and more turbulent, further increasing the difficulty for enemies trying to climb onto the Chifeng Plateau.

At least, armies couldn't get up.

Over those thirty-two years, Panlong City had spared no effort in terms of city defense security.

A slight commotion arose at the back.

Ever since getting on the bridge, the possessed puppet had struggled more violently, constantly trying to run backward, even opening its mouth to bite people; one guard had his left hand streaming with blood.

The consequence of doing so was receiving even more powerful suppression. In the end, they were almost carried across the bridge.

The group arrived at the main South Gate of the ancient city of Panlong.

In fact, the outer wall of this legendary city was not as magnificent as He Lingchuan had imagined; it was only five zhang high, cylindrical in shape, and the outer wall could not be called smooth, with patches of different brick colors everywhere—it had clearly been repaired countless times.

The wilderness was too dry for moss to grow under the wall, but like the bridge deck, it was covered in stains that a hundred years of wind and sand had not blown away.

Those were the traces of war.

The wall was lined with many small holes, a bit larger than a pomelo, too small for a person to crawl through. He Lingchuan knew at a glance that there were hidden soldier chambers and passages inside the city wall; these small holes could both provide ventilation and observe enemy movements, and could also be used to project arrows and spears to stab enemies climbing the wall.

But these were standard city wall operations, and the outer wall of Panlong City was just gray and plain, nothing special.

However, looking further up, the group discovered its ferocious side—

The battlements were studded with black wooden spikes of varying lengths, arranged in a jagged, interlocking pattern, pointing in every direction.

Zeng Feixiong let out a low cry: "Iron-fir wood, Crocodile-Tooth Spikes!"

He also participated in the defense of Heishuicheng. As the vanguard of the Yuan Kingdom against the west, that border stronghold naturally had a pile of defensive fortifications on its walls. However, the method of using Crocodile-Tooth Spikes on city gates had been extinct for nearly a hundred years, and this was his first time seeing it.

Siege warfare often required the use of scaling ladders to send ground troops to the enemy's wall top. But with the Crocodile-Tooth Spikes blocking the way, the head of the siege ladder could only be propped on the spikes, and soldiers had to personally climb over the Crocodile-Tooth Spikes to jump onto the city wall.

Needless to say, these "crocodile teeth" were completely round, and before battle, they would be greased, ensuring they were slippery and that a person couldn't stand on them at all. If that wasn't enough, the defenders would throw a few torches up to roast the human flesh.

The iron-fir wood used to make the long spikes did not fear fire, but humans certainly did.

Using "armed to the teeth" to describe this city wall seemed perfectly appropriate.

Situ Han's eyes also went wide, and he muttered, "It, it really is like this!"

"Let's go in." Sun Fu was the first to withdraw his gaze and led the group through the outer wall.

Of the outermost iron-fir wood gate, one leaf was half-open, and the other lay on the ground, clearly having been subjected to rough treatment in the past. The marks of blades, axes, and fire on the door were still vivid.

Seeing the iron-fir wood, which was harder than steel, so scarred and battered, He Lingchuan felt his eyes had been opened.

But after passing through the gate, he still let out a shocked "Oh."

Behind the outer wall, there was only two hundred zhang of open space, and then...

A second high wall! He Chunhua also couldn't help but say, "This is the first time I've seen such a high barbican."

The second city wall was five zhang higher than the outer wall! And whatever defensive fortifications the outer wall had, this one had another set just the same.

He Lingchuan even saw several catapults on the city gate.

Sun Fu shook his head: "Who said this was a barbican?"

The group walked through the second city gate and looked closely, unable to speak.

They saw a third wall! This wall was another five zhang higher than the second, which already made it fifteen zhang (over forty meters) in height!

Three gates, three walls; Panlong City was truly armed to the teeth.

"This is the real barbican!" Situ Han gasped. "The enemy who attacks to this point must be very unhappy." After going through all the trouble to fly over the natural chasm and then breaking through two city walls, the invader tears through the prey's tough outer skin, expecting to feast on the tender, fatty meat, only to find that one bite hits teeth—there's another layer of thick scales underneath.

Fighting to this point and having to face a high wall again, the resilience of a single burst of energy would be mostly drained, and no one would feel good about it.

He Lingchuan felt that the person who built this city was also quite vicious.

However, he also discovered traces of fire near the air vents of the third high wall, showing that the coalition forces had indeed reached this point back then.

The peril of that battle went without saying.

Crossing the three gates, the team finally entered Panlong City.

What met their eyes was a huge square, or a flat area, capable of holding at least two thousand people. Now, with a team of two hundred people placed inside, it was still very empty.

Turning their heads, a huge relief of a long serpent was embedded in the barbican wall.

This serpent sculpture looked like a snake or a python, with vivid scales, but it had horns on its head, whiskers under its jaw, bulging eyes, and a protruding mouth.

He Lingchuan recognized that this was the origin of the city's name: Panlong (Coiling Dragon).

However, this was actually not a real dragon, but a flood dragon.

Below the black flood dragon totem were long stone offering tables for residents to make offerings. The offering towers and incense burners on the side were nearly one zhang high and very grand, though of course, there was no incense smoke now.

At the end of the square was a large pool, but now it was, of course, dry and waterless. After more than a hundred years, it was still intact, missing only a few pieces. Situ Han knocked on the edge of the pool: "What was this pool used for?"

Sun Fu said: "Ancient cities on the Panlong Wilderness all have a tradition of drinking water and taking an oath before sending out troops."

(End of chapter)