Chapter 328: Sudden Appearance of the Buddhist Sect

On the third day after capturing Cold Leaf City, Mu Yi enslaved the captured beastmen, turning them into a slave army; the beastman slaves who had nearly been wiped out in the previous assault were now fully replenished, even three thousand more than before.

A legion, accompanied by hundreds of artisans and bearing the camp's military orders, took up residence within Cold Leaf City.

After Mu Yi and his companions verified the other party's identification and the authenticity of the military order, they received a new military order.

"Military Order: Hold Cold Leaf City for fifteen days, cooperating with the artisans to construct the secret-method piles!"

"With Mu Yi as the overall commander of the campaign, the remaining officers shall fully cooperate with Mu Yi's actions!"

"Send someone to hand over Autumn Frost City to the human kingdom, allowing the human kingdom's garrison to enter Autumn Frost City!"

"This order……" Mu Yi frowned as he looked at the latest military order.

He understood the meaning of surrendering Autumn Frost City; it had been decided from the start, and he had previously mentioned it to the Iron Lion Duke.

However, Cold Leaf City should theoretically serve the same purpose as Autumn Frost City; how did it suddenly become a strategic stronghold?

A temporary change of plan? That's hardly a good omen.

If it weren't for the fact that his identity and the military order had been verified without error, he would suspect that someone was secretly meddling.

Just as Mu Yi was pondering what was going on, a commotion erupted outside the city.

"Report, General Mu, someone outside the city wishes to see you!" the signal soldier came running in, somewhat flustered, to deliver the report.

"Someone wants to see me? Who is it? Bring him in!" Mu Yi said offhandedly.

"No, it's not a person; anyway, you should go out and have a look!" the signal soldier said somewhat incoherently.

Mu Yi slightly projected his will, and the flustered signal soldier finally calmed down.

"Please, do go out and see for yourself!" the signal soldier, having regained his composure, nevertheless insisted that Mu Yi personally go out to inspect the situation.

Mu Yi flew up onto the city wall out of some curiosity, and instantly understood why the signal soldier looked that way.

Appearing outside the city wall was, surprisingly, a group of monks wearing robes.

Of course, this was not what left the signal soldier bewildered; what truly left him bewildered was the shadow behind these monks.

These monks in robes showed nothing unusual, but within the Buddhist light they jointly upheld, there was a figure radiant with golden light.

The golden, radiant figure was huge, its majestic form spanning heaven and earth, hands clasped together like mountain ranges, silently chanting the Buddhist sutras.

"Zongwang Prompt: Listening to the Arhat's chanting, you have undergone a spiritual cleansing, gaining deeper insight into the Buddhist Dharma."

"Zongwang Prompt: Listening to the Arhat's chanting, you have undergone a spiritual cleansing, gaining deeper insight into the Buddhist Dharma."

……

The solemn sound of Buddhist sutras rang in Mu Yi's ears; in a dazed instant, he broke free from the sutras' influence.

This is not mental bewitchment, but a true and proper propagation of the Dharma, a true and proper promotion of the Buddhist teachings.

However, some of the beastman slaves enslaved by Mu Yi, during this chanting, seemed to have been converted, sitting cross-legged on the ground with heads bowed as they followed the sutra recitation.

Mu Yi glanced at the situation on the city wall; the officers and soldiers under his command were basically still normal.

Most of them regarded the chanting as some sort of amusement.

Only those beastman slaves, perhaps due to the method of enslavement, had their spirits already controlled, which put them at odds with the balanced and proper Buddhist Dharma.

Some of the beastman slaves appeared to have put down their butcher's knives, feeling as if they had become Buddhas on the spot.

If he could still feel the bond of the slave contract, Mu Yi would suspect that these beastman slaves had already converted to the Buddhist Sect.

"What are you people!"

Mu Yi loudly shouted, the iron-blooded aura in his voice instantly dispelling the tranquil and peaceful atmosphere in the air.

"The poor monk, a disciple of the Diamond Meditation Monastery—Guang Jin, pays his respects to the venerable deity!" The leading monk, upon seeing Mu Yi, hastily bowed and performed a salute.

"Diamond Meditation Monastery?"

Mu Yi glanced at them; each one had a harmonious aura, being proper and orthodox disciples of the Buddhist Sect.

Mu Yi's impression of the Buddhist Sect was not good; even though he himself had studied a considerable portion of Buddhist sutras and Buddhist divine abilities, this did not hinder his overall view of the Buddhist Sect.

Even someone as great as Guan Sheng Dijun has been tightly schemed by the Buddhist Sect; if he, a mere shrimp, were truly drawn into the Buddhist Sect's scheming, whether he could escape would truly be an unknown.

It seemed that, sensing Mu Yi's hostility, Guang Jin gestured for the monks behind him to stop chanting; the Buddhist light began to withdraw and dissipate, and the Arhat figure within the light also vanished.

"Having seen the Heavenly Monarch Who Chases Demons and Sweeps Filth!" Guang Jin apparently found Mu Yi's information in his mind and hastily bowed again.

"What exactly are you here for?"

Mu Yi frowned, thinking these monks came with ill intent, though it didn't seem entirely so.

But saying these monks harbored good intentions is likewise not certain.

Mu Yi had not forgotten that all their current actions were merely laying the groundwork for the assault on the Great World; this ought to be an internal affair of the Military Strategists, and he did not know why the Buddhist Sect's disciples were being dragged into it.

"The venerable deity may not know, but we have come at the Buddha's command to assist the venerable deity in completing the task," Guang Jin said.

"What if I say I don't need it?"

Mu Yi's first reaction was to refuse; regardless of whether they came via orthodox means, he did not want to owe anyone a favor for something he could handle himself.

Moreover, this is an affair of the Military Strategists; what business is it for the Buddhist Sect to interfere?

However, one does not strike a smiling face; the Buddhist Sect's lowly posture surely hides some deceit.

"We have set up camp thirty li outside this place; should the venerable deity encounter any special circumstances, feel free to command us."

Guang Jin seemed to have anticipated Mu Yi's response; he showed no emotion, but instead smiled and performed a Buddhist salute toward Mu Yi.

Having said that, the monks again raised the Buddhist light, chanting the sutras in a low, solemn murmur, and then departed into the distance.

"What on earth are these monks here for?"

Mu Yi frowned even deeper; he could not believe that these monks had simply come to say hello.

But these monks really were just here to say hello; they came hurriedly and left hurriedly, doing nothing else.

"Brother Mu!" Yang Tiancheng landed beside Mu Yi from the other side of the city wall.

"What do you think of this matter?"

"There must be something fishy, but with too little information, we have no idea what actually happened!"

Yang Tiancheng's face also showed a deep puzzlement, just like Mu Yi; he also felt the matter wasn't that simple, but he couldn't pinpoint the problem.

"Pass on my order: double the personnel for patrols around the area, and simultaneously send people to scout farther away; report any problem immediately!"

After a moment's thought, Mu Yi still decided to heighten his vigilance.

The only thing certain is that Guang Jin seems to have decided they will seek help from the Buddhist Sect, so any problem that arises can only be Cold Leaf City.

They had just received the order to hold the position, to defend for fifteen days; if there is a problem, it can only be that Cold Leaf City is where the problem lies.

What could cause trouble for Cold Leaf City... the only things Mu Yi could think of were a beastman army coming to retake the city, or magical beasts in the mountains erupting in violence.

"Brother Yang, please personally lead people to investigate the mountains!"

The beastmen's tracks cannot escape the sentries sent out; Mu Yi naturally turned his gaze to the mountains near Cold Leaf City.

Based on his experience, a large-scale beast tide could also be a hidden threat to the city's safety.

"Understood!" Yang Tiancheng immediately grasped Mu Yi's meaning, received the military order, and led his own legion toward the mountains.

Mu Yi stood on the walltop, pondering for a while, then jumped down from the wall and walked to the place where the camp artisans were setting up the arcane pilings.

"What problems might arise during the setup of the arcane pilings?" Mu Yi got straight to the point, asking directly.

"Setting up the arcane pilings will cause a disturbance in the world's vital energy, possibly attracting a large number of wild magical beasts," the artisan in charge of construction said firmly.

"Can the construction period be moved up?"

Mu Yi pressed his temples, realizing where the problem lay.

"Impossible, the construction of the arcane pilings depends not only on the artisans but also on letting the arcane pilings fully absorb the world's vital essence; fifteen days is already the shortest possible time!"

"May I ask what effect it will have once formed?" Mu Yi asked tentatively.

"Sorry, this is absolutely secret; I have no authority to reveal it to you!" The artisan directly refused Mu Yi.

After learning where the problem lay, Mu Yi deeply realized this battle might be unavoidable; he just didn't know how many magical beasts would burst forth from the mountains.

If the number is small, it's fine; if it's too large, the pressure on the city defenses will be enormous.

Once he roughly figured out who the enemy was, Mu Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

For a Military Strategist, as long as you know who the enemy is, there will always be a solution.

But once Yang Tiancheng brought back the intelligence, Mu Yi couldn't smile anymore.

The arcane pilings were still in preparation, not yet officially activated.

But in the mountains, hundreds of thousands of magical beasts had already gathered.

Mu Yi immediately thought of it: this was Guang Jin's doing, after all, the Buddhist Sect lacks every means except the method of salvation.

A method that could let completely different races, even herbivorous and carnivorous animals, coexist peacefully seems to be nothing other than salvation.

Although for now it's just gathering these magical beasts together, once the arcane pilings are driven in, those gathered beasts will become a major trouble.

"Get ready for battle; we don't have much time!"

After learning the situation in the mountains, Mu Yi sighed and then began to bolster the city defenses.

Mu Yi had the houses in the city torn apart, yielding variously shaped stones and pieces of wood, which after simple processing became makeshift defensive equipment.

Against magical beasts it might not be very effective, but it's at least a preparation.

They fed back the situation they encountered to the Command Center, but the message vanished like a stone sunk in the sea, receiving no response.

This made Mu Yi's heart sink even further.

"What exactly does the Buddhist Sect intend to do?"

Mu Yi actually had already guessed part of the Buddhist Sect's plan at this moment: to put pressure on Cold Leaf City and force it to seek aid from the Buddhist Sect.

But what Mu Yi couldn't understand was what significance this had.

It seemed as if these Buddhist Sect disciples had come especially to solve their problems.

Boom—rumble—rumble!

The arcane pilings emitted a deafening operational sound, and Mu Yi also at this moment felt the so-called operating principle of the arcane pilings, like a vortex, with the world's vital essence continuously surging into the arcane pilings.

It is precisely this vortex that allows any Supernormal Being to sense the abnormal movements here.

Such a huge disturbance cannot be hidden from any Supernormal Being; as long as one is a qualified Supernormal Being, they can feel the flow of the world's vital essence.

But now they have no mind to deal with the Buddhist Sect's troubles, as the beast tide in the mountains has already erupted.

From the moment the world's vital essence began to flow, it seemed as if the arcane pilings had become the center of the world, with all magical beasts advancing toward this direction.

"What exactly are these people planning?" Mu Yi pondered in his mind while directing his subordinates to set up defenses.

No matter what, he could not simply abandon the city and flee; no matter how troublesome or tricky the enemy, he must try.

"It's begun!"

At a place thirty li outside Cold Leaf City, Guang Jin smiled faintly as he looked toward the mountains, where masses of crossbow snakes loomed; everything was under their control.

They even had a dedicated department for researching this advanced technology.

As various orders were issued, the atmosphere inside the entire city grew increasingly stern.

The beast tide in the mountains did not linger much; almost as soon as the arcane pilings began operating, the beast tide had already started surging toward Cold Leaf City.

Boom—rumble—rumble!

In the mountains rose a dull thudding of footsteps, accompanied by trampling sounds, and a beast tide kicked up thick clouds of dust as it ran.

"They came so fast!"

Although mentally prepared, when Mu Yi saw the beast tide approaching, his emotions were still somewhat hard to calm.

Within the beast tide, Mu Yi saw several Legendary creatures.

This reminded him of his past in Modeluosi, when facing a heavily wounded, dying Legend, he had to fight desperately just to exchange blows with the opponent.

But now, times have changed; he has achieved the title of Legendary Calamity by sacrificing the lives of over ten Legends.

A mere Legend is no longer his match.

Rolling clouds of dust accompanied by the galloping of countless magical beasts surged swiftly toward the city walls.

The once tall city wall now cannot provide even a hint of safety.

Sss!

In the onslaught, a giant serpent lifts its head and lets out a hiss toward the heavens.

Dozens of giant serpents beside it also raise their heads and hiss skyward.

Accompanied by the echoing hisses, the wind and sand begin to blow fiercely across the world, the howling sand carrying a primal Frenzy, whistling sharply as it rushes toward the city wall.

Within a few breaths, the howling sand grows even more Frenzy, pressing down onto the city wall as if it were a massive gaping maw ready to swallow the wall whole.

The sand spreads, and visibility between heaven and earth drops to rock bottom for a moment; the archers atop the city wall cannot lock onto the beast tide below, and can only rely on instinct for faithful shooting.

But the howling sand is highly disruptive, making normal attacks impossible.

Mu Yi hadn't expected that, even at the very beginning, they would already find themselves in a tight spot.