Chapter 35: High Walls and Deep Chasms

"I said, was it built by man?" Sun Fuping snorted, "Sturdy and seamless, built during wartime, and having to withstand the trampling of thousands of people and siege engines—only divine power could accomplish this." This bridge was formed by divine power? Everyone looked down at the road, feeling deeply shocked.

"There are many earth-based divine power methods; this might be a variation of the Mountain-Moving Technique, and it was likely cast by at least fifty cultivators working together." Sun Fuping kicked the bridge surface, producing a metallic sound, "Hmm, the cost was not small."

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

Boss Situ Han asked in a low voice: "Didn't they say that divine power is ineffective during wartime?"

Before others could speak, He Lingchuan hissed at him: "Half-knowledge! Divine power is only weakly effective against armies, but no one said it couldn't be used in war. What's the problem 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 Panlongcheng has actually been destroyed and rebuilt, rebuilt and destroyed, 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 Fuping agreed with his point of view, "Panlongcheng usually needs this bridge to connect with the south, but when a great war comes, it must be cut off first to block the incoming enemy."

Nian Songyu kicked a watermelon-sized rock from the side of his foot into the deep chasm. After a long while, everyone heard the echo of the heavy object hitting the ground.

"Very deep, I'm afraid we wouldn't survive if we fell down." He looked down at the bottom of the chasm from the edge of the bridge, "This was originally a moat, right? I see traces of excavation at the bottom of the chasm; it must have been deepened."

Panlongcheng was already entrenched in a natural chasm and had also refined the moat in front of the gate, making the water flow deeper and more turbulent, further increasing the difficulty for enemies trying to climb the Red Silk Plateau.

At the very least, an army couldn't get up.

In the thirty-two years since, Panlongcheng had not spared any effort in city defense and security.

There was a bit of a commotion behind.

Ever since they got on the bridge, the possessed puppets had struggled more violently, trying to run backward, even opening their mouths to bite people; one guard's left hand was bleeding profusely.

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

The group arrived at the south gate of the ancient city of Panlong.

Actually, the outer wall of this legendary city was not as magnificent as He Lingchuan had imagined; it was only five zhang high, cylindrical, the outer wall couldn't be called smooth, and it was covered with patches of different brick colors, obviously repaired countless times.

The wilderness was too dry, so no moss grew under the wall, but like the bridge surface, it was covered with stains that a hundred years of wind and sand hadn't blown away.

Those were the traces of war.

The wall was lined with many small holes, a bit larger than a pomelo, which a person couldn't 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 ventilate and observe the enemy situation, and could also be used to project arrows and spears to stab enemies climbing the wall.

But these were all standard city wall operations, and the outer wall of Panlongcheng was gray and plain, nothing special.

However, looking up further, everyone discovered its ferocious side—

The battlements were also stuck full of black wooden spikes of varying lengths, in a staggered, dog-tooth shape, pointing in all directions.

Zeng Feixiong gasped: "Iron Fir Wood, Crocodile Tooth Spikes!"

He also participated in the defense of Black Water City. As the vanguard of the Yuan Nation against the west, this frontier fortress naturally had a lot of defensive works on its city walls. However, the method of using Crocodile Tooth Spikes on city gates had been extinct for nearly a hundred years, and it was his first time seeing it too.

Siege warfare often requires the use of scaling ladders to send ground troops to the enemy's wall top. But with Crocodile Tooth Spikes blocking, the ladder head could only be placed on the spikes, and soldiers had to climb over the Crocodile Tooth Spikes themselves before they could jump onto the city wall.

Needless to say, these "crocodile teeth" were round all over, and they had to be oiled before battle, ensuring they were slippery and that people 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 didn't fear fire, but humans certainly did.

Using "armed to the teeth" to describe this city wall seemed to be no problem.

Boss Situ Han also stared, muttering: "It, it really is like this!"

"Let's go in." Sun Fuping was the first to withdraw his gaze, leading the crowd through the outer wall.

The outermost Iron Fir Wood gate had one leaf half-open and one leaf lying on the ground, obviously having been subjected to rough treatment back then. The traces of blades, axes, and fire on the gate were still visible.

Iron Fir Wood, harder than steel, could be scarred like this; He Lingchuan felt he had seen something new.

But passing through the gate, he still gave a shocked "Oh."

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

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

Compared to the outer wall, the second city wall was another five zhang higher! And whatever defensive works the outer wall had, this one had a set too.

He Lingchuan also saw several catapults on the city gate.

Sun Fuping shook his head: "Who said this is a barbican?"

The crowd 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 was already fifteen zhang (over 40 meters) high!

Triple gates, triple walls; Panlongcheng was armed to the teeth.

"This is the barbican!" Boss Situ Han gasped, "The enemy who attacked here must have been very unhappy." After all the hard work of flying over the chasm and breaking through two city walls, the invaders tore open the prey's hard outer skin and should have been able to feast on the tender meat, but who knew that one bite would break their teeth—there was another layer of thick scales underneath.

Having to face high walls again and again, the resilience of one's initial momentum would be leaked out seven or eight times over; no one would feel good about it.

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

However, he also found traces of fire on the air vents of the third high wall, showing that the coalition forces had indeed reached here back then.

The danger of that battle went without saying.

Crossing the triple gates, the team finally entered Panlongcheng.

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

Turning their heads, a huge long-worm relief was embedded in the barbican wall.

This long-worm sculpture looked like a snake or a python, with clear scales, but with 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 (Coiled Dragon).

But this wasn't a real dragon, but a jiao (flood dragon).

Below the black jiao totem were long stone offering tables for residents to offer gifts. The offering towers and incense burners on the side were nearly a zhang high and very magnificent; of course, there was no incense now.

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

Sun Fuping said: "Ancient cities in the Panlong wilderness all have the tradition of drinking water and swearing an oath before sending out troops."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 36 =====