Chapter 1958: Countering the Ambush

Just as they were returning, the war drums outside started beating again, and this time they were ten times faster.

"Enemy attack!"

The members of the Sharp Blade Corps all recognized this as the drum rhythm of an incoming assault.

Wu Qingcheng, Lei Ming and others, as well as the Tiger Might Mercenary Corps, gathered on the plaza in front of the mountain stronghold's gate.

Ye Tiandao came over and told Wu Qingcheng and the others, "Our master sent word: five thousand half‑beasts are advancing on us under cover of night and will arrive before dawn.

At that time Su Miaoyin will launch the first wave of musical attacks, coordinated with Huo Wu's illusion, while the others charge.

Wu Qingcheng, with Zhu Que, Lei Ming, Long Nv, Bai Hu, Xuanwu and the Tiger Might Mercenary Corps, will guard the stronghold and are not allowed to go into battle.

Xuanwu remains hidden on guard.

Everyone else follows me out to meet the enemy; the monster beasts must reveal their true forms and are not allowed to take human shape.

Huo Wu, burn the whipping pillar and surrounding bloodstains from last night cleanly, leaving no trace.

Ye Tiandao hands Zhu Que over to Wu Qingcheng to take charge, then orders the gate opened and leads the Sharp Blade Corps and the others out of the stronghold to set up the defense.

After Huo Wu cleans the bloodstains, Lei Ming shouts to Huo Wu, "Huo Wu, use your whip to lash those mongrels hard and avenge us!"

Huo Wu makes a clear gesture and rushes out of the stronghold with the squad.

Xuanwu then vanishes, staying hidden.

Wu Qingcheng immediately orders the Tiger Might Mercenary Corps: "Close the gate and set up defenses on the barricade wall."

Ye Tiandao also leaves thirty archers with Wu Qingcheng.

"Everyone, ready your bows and crossbows."

The Tiger Might Mercenaries have no bows or crossbows, so they can only wait for close combat, and Wu Qingcheng assigns them to disperse around the archers.

Soon, the stronghold falls quiet.

After Ye Tiandao positions the formation outside, everything is dead silent.

Before long, everyone feels the ground trembling.

It must be the half‑beasts drawing near.

The Tiger Might Mercenaries also become tense.

After all, they are three hundred against five thousand.

If things go badly, a single charge could be broken through by the half‑beasts.

These half‑beasts have one advantage: the beast tide.

They surge forward together, and almost no one can stop them.

Clearly they intend to strike the mountain stronghold directly.

The ground's shaking grows more violent.

As the sky just begins to brighten, Wu Qingcheng and the others on the wall can only see a hazy plume of dust swirling in the distance.

Su Miaoyin's melodious flute sound also rises now, carrying far across.

Ye Tiandao also releases a Mega Rhino Puppet and a Barbarian Ox; on the other side of the rhino are a Unicorn and Shi Yuan, while the Dragon Eagle siblings soar into the air ready to cooperate with the rhino puppet's impact.

Huo Wu jumps onto the rhino's back, preparing to cast illusion.

The half‑beasts' tide already emits a deafening rumble.

From the wall, Wu Qingcheng and the others can only see a mass of black shadows charging toward them.

Soon, the half‑beasts' charge is affected by Su Miaoyin's flute, and their speed gradually slows.

"Charge!"

Ye Tiandao gives a command, and the rhino puppet charges out first.

Barbarian Ox, Unicorn and Shi Yuan flank it, forming an arrow formation that rushes into the half‑beasts' tide.

The Dragon Eagle siblings coordinate their strike from the air.

Huo Wu simultaneously casts illusion on the front half‑beasts and controls a fire snake whip to strike them down.

Then Man Shu, Yu Er and Xiao Lanbing follow closely, releasing Ice Power toward the front.

After that, Ye Tiandao, Feng Wanru and others, leading fewer than three hundred Sharp Blade soldiers, charge forward.

From the wall, the Tiger Might Mercenaries clearly see a massive half‑beast front, while the Sharp Blade side is like a single steel blade thrust into it.

Even though they are few, not a single one flinches.

The half‑beasts' tide, already slowed by Su Miaoyin's influence, further reduces speed.

Moreover, the front beasts, affected by Huo Wu, immediately stampede, causing chaos at the front line.

Seizing the moment, the rhino puppet collides and tears a gap open.

The half‑beasts behind are frozen piece by piece, soon becoming a tangled mess.

The beast tide here has just calmed slightly, but everyone notices the ground's tremor hasn't ceased.

"Roar!"

A massive beast roar, sounding like a mix of ox and lion, comes from the battlefield flank.

A mass of pitch‑black demon qi, riding the ground tremor, thrusts straight into the half‑beasts' camp.

"Kill!"

From behind the half‑beasts, shouts of killing erupt suddenly.

"What is happening?"

Cao Meng asks Wu Qingcheng in confusion.

"Our reinforcements have arrived!"

Wu Qingcheng replies, ordering the archers to fire arrows to intercept some of the half‑beasts that slip through.

Lei Ming and Long Nv also draw gilded divine bows, helping to shoot down the charging half‑beasts.

In the sky, a demon kite suddenly appeared, and Ye Liuyun stood on its back, dropping soldiers from above.

Then the demon kite disappeared again, reappearing in a different position, as Ye Liuyun dropped large numbers of soldiers.

"Haha, this is divine soldiers descending from heaven!"

Lei Ming saw the soldiers killing down from the air and repeatedly exclaimed in amazement.

The members of the Tiger Might Mercenary Group were even more dumbfounded!

Nobody had ever seen fighting like this, nor imagined that Ye Liuyun carried so many people with him.

But afterward, Ye Liuyun did not immediately return to the city; instead, he vanished instantly from the battlefield.

The demon beasts merely scattered the half-beasts' troops, then charged toward the half-beasts' base, disappearing from everyone's sight.

Ye Liuyun dropped a total of two thousand soldiers, enough to wipe out this group of half-beasts.

The soldiers first killed from the inside out, then encircled these half-beasts.

Finally, they killed them until only over a thousand remained, surrounded them completely, and then they surrendered totally.

However, Ye Tiandao merely confiscated their storage rings, armor, and weapons, then released them directly.

The people inside the mountain fortress could not understand why, after hard-won captives, they were just let go.

When these half-beasts came, they were mighty; when they fled back, they also kicked up a trail of dust.

Ye Tiandao then led the troops back to the city.

They were all covered in blood, and they also carried the corpses of over two hundred soldiers.

"How did they all get away?"

Wu Qingcheng also asked, puzzled, Ye Tiandao.

"The master's order!"

Ye Tiandao didn't say more, replied with that, then began arranging for the troops to station and defend the city.

Now with sufficient manpower, she also sent out scouts beyond the mountain stronghold.

Others asked Ye Tiandao, and she only said it was Ye Liuyun's order, knowing nothing else.

But at this moment, a half-beast werewolf covered in blood appeared at the rear of the half-beast troop, following and mixing into the half-beast clan.

This is the half-beast form transformed by Ye Liuyun using the Thousand Illusion Technique.

The clone also smeared itself with half-beast blood to mask its scent, donned an invisibility cloak, and mixed in with Ye Liuyun.

The two of them each controlled several half-beast minor leaders, using them as cover.