Chapter 359: Northern Border Blood Battle

Behind the False Song army's formation, the low horn sounded again.

That sound was bleak and long, piercing the earth‑shaking shouts and clashing weapons, carrying an undeniable resolve.

With the horn blast, the False Song infantry that had been surging like waves against the wall suddenly split apart like a receding tide.

It opened a wide passage.

At the end of the passage, that silent blackness stirred once more.

The remaining Divine Martial Army, together with those several hulking Nether Bones, began to march forward.

Their steps were heavy and uniform, striking the ground with a muffled 'thud…thud…', as if a giant hammer struck each defender's heart.

The wall, which had just been barely held back by ordinary infantry risking their lives, was instantly replaced by the oppressive pressure of this newly committed reinforcement—or rather, this monster legion.

Damn it, the real tough guys have arrived!

Shi Dun spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva; just moments before he had personally led men to extinguish a battlement on the verge of breach, adding a deep slash to his arm armor.

He stared fixedly at the advancing black torrent, his eyes full of fierce courage, yet also hiding a subtle gravity.

Chen Wen drew a deep breath, suppressing the slight dizziness from repeatedly using his ability.

He knew the test had only just begun.

Earlier, the sixteen‑fold boost had repelled a single Nether Bone—spectacular in appearance, but it consumed enormous energy and was highly sudden.

Now that the enemy is prepared, achieving such a result again is doubly difficult.

Issue the order: prioritize the Dispelling Gloom Crossbows to aim at the Nether Bones' joints and eye sockets!

Archers, switch to armor‑piercing heavy arrows, cover the rear ordinary troops of the Divine Martial Army to block their advance!

Rolling logs, boulders, fire oil—ready!

Shi Dun issued a string of orders; the defenders on the wall, like a taut bowstring, readjusted their response.

The Divine Martial Army's advance suddenly sped up!

They no longer walked slowly; instead they emitted a low, beast‑like roar and began to charge!

Their pitch‑black armor, as they ran, seemed to scrape the air, producing a grating, teeth‑on‑edge sound.

Their speed was extreme, far beyond human—tens of zhang covered in the blink of an eye!

Even more alarming, they did not charge blindly without order.

While running, they naturally formed several sharp triangular assault formations, each spearhead a ferocious Nether Bone!

Fire arrows!

Shi Dun roared.

Specially made armor‑piercing heavy arrows fell like a swarm of locusts, clinking against the Divine Martial Army's armor, with little effect.

They could only occasionally delay a step, or luckily pierce a joint, causing limited casualties.

And at this moment, the roar of the Dispelling Gloom Crossbows sounded again!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several specially made crossbow bolts shot toward the Nether Bones leading the charge.

However, this time these monsters seemed to have learned.

They either blocked with their thick bone‑capped arms, or slightly turned their bodies to bear the impact with their thickest chest and shoulder plates!

When the bolts struck, they burst into clouds of white light mixed with azure arcs, shattering the bone armor, making the bodies sway, and halting their charge.

Even one Nether Bone was hit in the knee, letting out a painful howl and dropping to one knee.

But that was all.

The one‑shot kill miracle was gone.

They struggled, even digging their hands into the ground to keep crawling forward stubbornly; the scarlet eyes still held undiminished madness and will to destroy.

Meanwhile, the Divine Martial Army following behind them seized the moment when the defenders' fire was drawn to the Nether Bones and surged forward to the base of the wall!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

One after another, grappling‑hook‑tipped lines were hurled from the Divine Martial Army soldiers' hands, precisely latching onto the battlements.

They actually discarded the cumbersome ladders, intending to scale the wall directly with personal valor and special gear!

Cut the ropes! Push down the rolling logs!

The officers shouted hoarsely.

The defenders' soldiers strained to slash the unusually tough grappling lines with their blades, or shoved the massive rolling logs down the wall.

Yet the Divine Martial Army soldiers' strength was astonishing.

They often pulled the rope with one hand, bodies agile like monkeys climbing upward, even able to withstand the falling logs, merely swaying a few times before continuing up!

Occasionally a log struck its mark, hurling the soldier down, but soon another soldier would take his place.

At the wall's base, it instantly looked as if countless black ants had clung to it, dense and spreading upward.

The brutal storming of the wall instantly entered a fever pitch.

Stop them!

Shi Dun's eyes nearly burst; he personally seized a battle axe, rushed to a battlement, and fiercely chopped down at a Divine Martial Army soldier just showing his head!

The axe blade struck the pitch‑black helmet, emitting a piercing metallic clang.

The tremendous recoil numbed Shi Dun's arm.

That Divine Martial Army soldier merely jerked his head back, not dying instantly, but let out a low roar, grabbed the battlement with his other hand, and scrambled upward desperately.

Die!

Shi Dun's beard and hair bristled, his qi and blood surged, and he raised the battle axe again, pouring all his strength into a horizontal slash!

This time the axe blade finally pierced the armor's defense, sinking deep into the neck!

A black, foul‑smelling liquid spurted out.

The soldier's motion stopped abruptly, and he crashed heavily to the ground below the city.

But Shi Dun had no time to catch his breath; at another crenel nearby, a Shenwu Army soldier had already leapt onto the battlement, his peculiarly shaped saber whistling with a mournful wind as he swung straight at an ordinary soldier nearby who was shoving the siege stone.

It looked as if that soldier was about to be cut in two by a single blow!

Chen Wen's eyes narrowed.

He joined his fingers together like a sword and pointed again.

【Conferred Focus—Sixteenfold!】

An invisible force instantly crossed space and descended upon that seemingly ordinary soldier.

The soldier felt an unimaginable surge of power erupt from his limbs and bones, his reaction speed and bodily strength instantly jumping several levels.

Faced with the saber's lightning‑fast chop, he almost instinctively twisted and rolled, narrowly avoiding a vital spot.

At the same time, the iron pry bar he held for levering the siege stone was thrust out with all his strength, almost unconsciously.

Pu!

With the sixteenfold power bolstering it, this ordinary iron pry bar became like a divine weapon, piercing precisely through the gap in the Shenwu Army soldier's visor and straight into the back of his skull.

The soldier's body stiffened, his saber clanged to the ground, his massive frame shuddered, and he toppled backward.

The fortunate survivor slumped to the ground, staring at his blood‑stained hands and the iron pry bar, his face full of disbelief.

Ten thousand victories!

His comrades around him burst into a cheer of having survived the ordeal, and their morale rose.

Chen Wen, however, frowned slightly.

His complexion grew paler still.

Such a small‑scale, precise sixteenfold bestowal likewise exacts a huge toll on the mind and spirit.

Moreover, it's like a cup of water to extinguish a cartload of fire—utterly insufficient.

At this moment, as many as ten or more sections of the northern wall are in dire straits.

Wave after wave of fearless Shenwu Army soldiers successfully scale the wall and engage the defenders in bloody melee.

These monster‑like soldiers possess extraordinary individual strength; often it takes several, or even ten or more elite defenders fighting in formation, paying a heavy price, to slay one.

On the battlements, severed limbs and broken bodies fly about; blood quickly dyes the bricks red, gathering into thin streams that flow down the drainage outlets.

The air is thick with an unbearable stench of blood, mixed with gunpowder smoke and a medicinal‑like foul odor that makes one nauseous.

Shrieks, clashing weapons, and the death‑rattles of the dying rise and fall in succession.

Here, it has become a hell on earth.

"Your Majesty! The left wing's third wengcheng section is under the greatest pressure! Commander Shi, please give your order!"

A messenger, drenched in blood, rolled and crawled his way to Chen Wen's face, his voice trembling with sobs.

Chen Wen snapped his head toward that direction.

All that could be seen was the wengcheng protruding from the main wall, now bearing the brunt of at least two "Minggu" and over a hundred Shenwu Army soldiers' focused assault.

The defenders on the wengcheng, under the command of a junior officer, fought to the death without yielding, but suffered appalling casualties.

The arrow towers have been destroyed, and the parapet walls have collapsed in multiple places.

Most terrifying of all, a "Minggu" is wildly battering the wengcheng's relatively thin wall with its intact massive arm and another arm reduced to a bony stump by a bolt explosion.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

Each impact makes that section of wall shudder violently, sending pebbles rattling down.

On the wall's surface, faint cracks have begun to appear, and they are steadily spreading.

At this rate, that section of wall will be smashed down—it's only a matter of time.

Once the wengcheng is breached, the main wall will be laid bare to the enemy's blades, and the integrity of the entire Xiongzhou defense line will face a mortal threat.

"Qian Gui!"

Chen Wen's voice was low, carrying an indisputable resolve.

"Take your men, together with my personal guards, and reinforce the left wing wengcheng at once!"

"No matter what, hold it for me!"

"Your servant, I receive the order!"

Qian Gui showed no hesitation; a flash of ruthlessness crossed his face as he swept his hand down.

Dozens of silent guards from the Jing'an Si who had been protecting Chen Wen behind him, plus over a hundred elite armored soldiers, like swords drawn from their scabbards, surged swiftly toward the left wing wengcheng.

Chen Wen stood where he was and slowly closed his eyes.

The Fortune Momentum vortex within him spun at an unprecedented speed, mighty power surging and roaring through his meridians.

His mental power spread like a spiderweb, enveloping the entire gruesome battlefield.

He was sensing, calculating, seeking that most critical—and also most dangerous—balance point.

Frequent use of the sixteenfold bestowal has already made him feel a heavy burden.

Vague reports from some southern prefectures about abnormal weather and minor tremors also lingered in his mind.

That is the price one must pay for wielding such power and shaking the Fortune Momentum.

"The Balance of Fortune Momentum..."

He silently recited those four words in his heart.

On one side lies the precarious city defenses before him, the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers, and the gateway to Great Chen's northern borders.

On the other side lies the potential heavenly disaster and human calamity that could be triggered by over‑expending Fortune Momentum, affecting the entire dynasty.

This weighing of options is as heavy as a mountain.

But he had little time to think.

From the direction of the left wing wengcheng came an even more violent roar, like a mountain collapsing and the earth splitting.

Accompanied by the terrified shouts of the defending troops, and the increasingly excited roar of the "Netherbone".

Chen Wen abruptly opened his eyes.

His gaze like lightning, piercing the pervasive smoke and blood mist, he locked onto the section of the urn city wall that kept trembling, its cracks spreading like a spiderweb.

He knew he could no longer hesitate.

The blood and fire of Heroic Prefecture had already burned to their most intense moment.

And he, amidst this blood and fire, must find the path to a bitter victory, a road bristling with thorns.