Chapter 361: Thunderbolt Strike

The crisis at the left wing walled city was temporarily lifted.

Shi Dun and his personal guards' burst of valor was like a shot of adrenaline, stabilizing that nearly collapsed defensive line.

But the price Chen Wen paid was clearly visible.

He leaned on the battlements, his knuckles whitening from exertion, barely managing to support his slightly swaying form.

His chest and abdomen roiled with qi and blood, a metallic sweetness constantly rising in his throat, which he forcibly swallowed down.

That mouthful of blood that spurted out was like a cold warning, branded into his perception.

"The Balance of Fortune Momentum… is this direct."

He felt a chill in his heart, gaining a deeper, more visceral understanding of this power that transcended common sense and the backlash it entailed.

The thirty‑twofold concentrated bestowal, covering dozens of people, consumed far more than before, and its impact on himself was even more savage.

However, the battlefield allowed him no respite.

The False Song army's offensive did not halt due to the destruction of a "Nether Bone" and the setback on the left wing.

On the contrary, pressure on the central and right wings surged.

More Divine Martial Army soldiers, like tireless puppets, surged onto the city walls along the ladders and ropes under the officers' driving.

Although the defenders' morale had risen somewhat, they still fought with extreme difficulty under the absolute disparity in strength and massive consumption.

At every moment someone fell, and every crenel was engaged in a brutal struggle.

"Your Majesty!"

Zhao Lao Nian, covered in dust and grime, ran up from a "Ghost‑Dispelling Crossbow" that had just finished firing, his voice hoarse.

"Crossbow bolts are being used up too fast! Fewer than a hundred "Repel Ghost" rune arrows remain! Moreover… moreover, those black‑armored soldiers and skeletal frames seem to be guarding against our crossbows better, and the effect isn't as good as before!"

Chen Wen lifted his pale face and looked toward the base of the city.

Indeed, the remaining Nether Bones and those Divine Martial Army soldiers paid more attention to protecting vital points as they advanced.

They even used ordinary soldiers as meat shields, making the precise sniping of the Ghost‑Dispelling Crossbow ever more difficult.

Meanwhile, ordinary bows and crossbows posed only a limited threat to them.

We must change our tactics.

We must deliver a heavy blow capable of shaking the entire enemy army's morale.

His gaze slowly swept over the city walls.

Besides those thirty Ghost‑Dispelling Crossbows that require special bolts, the city walls also have many bed crossbows and strong bows.

The arrows fired by these conventional ranged weapons, although difficult to penetrate the Divine Martial Army's heavy armor,

but they still pose a considerable threat to the following ordinary False Song infantry and to the operators of siege engines lacking armor protection.

An idea quickly formed in his mind.

Since limit bestowal at high multiples comes at such a great cost,

then, as a fallback, would limit bestowal at lower multiples, covering a broader range, for a coordinated strike?

Sixteenfold.

Extensive Bestowal sixteenfold!

This multiple is somewhat smaller than thirty‑twofold, theoretically imposing a lesser burden on oneself.

But this is still hovering on the edge of the limit!!

But its effect, if it can cover enough attack units, is capable of forming an unprecedented firestorm!

The target is no longer a single strong point.

but the area below the city where the enemy is most densely packed and their assault fiercest!

He intends to carry out a covering saturation strike!

"Issue the order…" Chen Wen's voice was somewhat hoarse, yet carried an indisputable resolve.

"All Ghost‑Dispelling Crossbows, and all bed crossbows and strong bows of three stone or more, hear my command!"

"Target, straight ahead below the city, the enemy's main assault concentration!"

"All bows and crossbows, fire at full strength!"

"Ready… volley!"

The order was swiftly conveyed down via flags and messengers.

The crossbowmen and archers on the city walls hesitated slightly, then immediately understood Your Majesty's intent.

This is to unleash all ranged firepower for a decisive suppression!

The soldiers operating the Ghost‑Dispelling Crossbows pushed the last precious special bolts onto the crossbow tracks.

The bed crossbow operators strained to wind the bowstrings, fitting giant arrows as thick as a child's arm.

The strong bow archers drew armor‑piercing heavy arrows from their quivers, nocking them and ready to release.

Everyone's gaze turned toward the main city tower, awaiting that signal.

Chen Wen drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his weakness and discomfort.

He closed his eyes, and his mental power spread like an invisible tide, enveloping the hundreds of crossbow and bow positions on the city walls.

Nearly three hundred attack units lit up like stars in his perception.

This time, he no longer pursued the ultimate limit of individual enhancement, but instead dispersed the limit of power, seeking the utmost extent of range!

【Extensive Bestowal — sixteenfold!】

An invisible wave of power burst outward from Chen Wen as its center!

In an instant, all the crossbowmen and archers on the city walls who had received the order and were ready felt a warm, potent force surge into their limbs!

Arms grew steadier, vision sharper, and judgment of wind speed and distance more precise!

Especially those operating the bed crossbows and Ghost‑Dispelling Crossbows, whose previously enormously heavy windlasses now turned much more swiftly!

Fire!!

Almost at the same moment the power descended, Shi Dun exerted all his strength and let out an earth-shattering roar!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Hum——!

Thirty Soul-Banishing Crossbows first let out a deep, muffled roar!

Nearly a hundred bed crossbows followed close behind, the thick bolts' release sounded like thunderclaps exploding!

Over two hundred strong bows vibrated at once, the rebound of their strings merging into a deathly buzz!

Nearly three hundred arrows, among them thirty specially-made crossbow bolts trailing faint light tails, all left the walls of Xiongzhou at the same moment!

They were like a suddenly rising cloud of death, and also like a whip of punishment wielded by a heavenly deity.

Carrying the enhanced initial speed, precision, and penetrative power of a sixteenfold limit, they swept down upon the densest enemy assault formation below the city!

This arrow rain was completely different from any before!

Faster speed! Wider coverage! More accurate impact! And the power is also at the limit!

Pfft-pfft-pfft-pfft——!

The dull thud of arrows piercing flesh instantly replaced the previous shouts and clashing of metal, becoming the battlefield's main theme!

Those False Song infantry who had followed behind the Divine Martial Army, thinking they were at a relatively safe distance, suffered a devastating blow!

Armor-piercing heavy arrows easily tore through their leather and even iron armor, felling them in swaths to the ground!

The massive bolts of the bed crossbows were like spears, often piercing through several people in succession, raising showers of blood!

And those thirty specially-made bolts of the Soul-Banishing Crossbow, enhanced sixteenfold, had an astonishing effect!

They seemed to have eyes, precisely striking the Divine Martial Army soldiers who couldn't dodge in time, as well as the relatively slow-moving Netherbone!

The runes were triggered, energy burst forth!

Although theoretically a single bolt's power is not as devastating as when empowered to the thirty-twofold limit.

That is a range I can no longer endure!

Yet at the sixteenfold limit's enhanced initial speed and precision, hit rate and power also greatly increase!

Moreover, this is a sweeping strike! And it is the hardest limit strike Chen Wen can currently employ!

A Divine Martial Army soldier had just blocked an ordinary arrow with his armor, when a following specially-made crossbow bolt struck the gap in his visor, and he cried out as he fell.

A Netherbone waved its arms to block two arrows, but the third struck its knee joint, causing it to stagger and kneel.

The surging assault below the city stalled for a moment!

It was as if an invisible wall had smashed the False Song's attacking wave against the city walls!

Corpses littered the field, wails rose everywhere!

……

Under the high-raised dragon banner of the False Song's central command.

On Zhao Kuangyin's originally gloomy and hate-filled face, all color instantly drained away.

He watched helplessly as the deadly arrow cloud fell, watching the Divine Martial Army and ordinary troops he had high hopes for fall like wheat being cut.

He watched the seemingly victorious assault collapse in ruin under a sudden, far-beyond-normal volley from the enemy.

The power, speed, and range of those arrows completely surpassed his comprehension.

This is absolutely not the strength the defenders of Xiongzhou should have!

There is only one explanation……

That man, the man who stole his kingdom and took everything from him.

Once again he used that damned power that does not belong to this world!

"Chen…… Wen……"

Zhao Kuangyin forced those two words from between his clenched teeth, his eyes blood-red, his whole body trembling violently.

Extreme anger, mixed with an indescribable sense of defeat and a hint of fear he himself refused to admit, burned his entrails like poisonous fire.

He seemed to see that black-armored figure standing on the city wall, coldly looking down on all this, looking down on his struggle, his futility.

"Pfft——"

Flame of anxiety attacks the heart, blood and qi flow upward.

A mouthful of scalding blood spurted from Zhao Kuangyin's mouth, staining red the imperial case before him and his dragon robe.

His vision went black, the world spun, and his body went limp as he fell backward.

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty!"

The eunuchs and generals beside him instantly fell into chaos, panicking as they rushed forward to support him.

……

On the walls of Xiongzhou.

After Chen Wen unleashed that wide-ranging empowerment, his body swayed again, a strong vertigo washing over him.

Operating at the edge of the limit, a feeling of weakness spread through his whole body, as if the very source of his life had suffered a heavy blow, his vitality seemingly drained by half.

He let out a muffled groan, the hand gripping the battlements trembling slightly, his face paler than before.

Although the individual consumption of the sixteenfold empowerment is somewhat less than that of the thirty-twofold, covering nearly three hundred targets with that sixteenfold limit still makes the total load astonishing.

It seems the world's rules do not allow such a large-scale appearance of sixteenfold or greater empowerment, suppressing Chen Wen's ability.

He felt a deep fatigue, as if even his spiritual strength had been partially drained.

But when he saw the enemy below suffering heavy casualties and their formation suddenly falling into chaos.

Seeing the obvious commotion in the False Song's central command, he knew this strike was worth it.

This thunderous strike, condensing nearly three hundred arrows, finally temporarily seized the throat of the False Song's frenzied assault.

For this tottering Xiongzhou defense line, they secured a precious breathing opportunity.

The price has already been paid.

His body also thus incurred a lasting ailment!

But the battle's gains must be firmly held.