Chapter 56: Ability First Shown·Sheer Cliff a Thousand Ren

Chen Wen stood like a boulder before the broken city gate, his sixteenfold senses catching every subtle change across the whole western wall battlefield.

Behind him, the door bolt teetered on collapse and the terrified breaths of the townsfolk inside.

Before him surged the enemy like a tide again, though they hesitated momentarily from the shattered ram and the instant deaths of their comrades.

But under the officer's shouts, more soldiers rushed forward with bloodshot eyes.

Trying to flood and drown the lone "monster" blocking the gate.

Cannot retreat, not a single step!

But Chen Wen knew, relying on just himself and his blade!

Perhaps he could slay dozens or hundreds, yet he could not stop every fish that slipped through from striking the gate!

Nor could he attend to the fierce fighting still raging on the wall.

The key to breaking the stalemate was to make the whole line "live," to strengthen it!

Focusing his mind on that invisible "force field" in his mind, he again felt those swaying "candle flames"

—each defender still struggling on the wall.

This time, his target was no longer just a few, but the entire precarious western wall defense line!

Broad Bestowal—target, all defenders of the western wall!

Effect, roughly twofold!

A wave more diffuse than when granting Zhang Cheng and the four, yet covering an extremely broad area, centered on Chen Wen, spread like mercury across the ground, quickly engulfing the whole western wall segment.

This power was gentle yet firm, quietly infused into each blood‑fighting militiaman's body.

In an instant, the battle situation atop the wall underwent a subtle yet noticeable change!

A militiaman locked in blade‑to‑blade combat with an enemy soldier, his arm sore and numb, nearly powerless, suddenly felt a warm current surge from his soles, his fatigue greatly eased.

His arm, about to be overwhelmed, regained strength; he roared, actually knocked aside the foe's blade, then thrust forward, killing the enemy!

He stared blankly at his own hand, unable to believe it.

Elsewhere, a young militiaman faced the vicious chop of an enemy veteran.

Previously he could only dodge clumsily, but now he felt the opponent's movements seemed a hair slower.

This let him barely block, even finding an opening to counter!

Strength, endurance, reaction speed—the defenders' basic qualities all received a comprehensive, slight boost at this moment!

Though far less astonishing than the fourfold enhancement Zhang Cheng and the others received.

But this average twofold increase, for ordinary militiamen straining and on the brink of collapse!

It was like sweet rain after a long drought!

The formerly wavering line, as if injected with a tough sinew, instantly steadied considerably.

Amid the cries, more enemy shouts of astonishment began to mix in.

"Brothers! The chief is helping us! Kill!"

A clever militiaman reacted first, shouting loudly.

That shout ignited the fire in every defender's heart!

They truly felt the change in their bodies, and credited this miraculous power to the figure fighting alone against the horde below the city!

Morale, that invisible yet vital thing, surged wildly at an unprecedented speed!

"Kill!"

The defenders unleashed the neatest, loudest roar since the battle began, their weapons swung with greater force, and their coordination inexplicably grew a bit more practiced.

The situation that had been retreating step by step was actually held firm, even beginning a local counter‑push!

Meanwhile, Chen Wen below the city felt his pressure suddenly increase.

The mental energy consumed by Broad Bestowal far exceeded that of Focused Bestowal; he felt a slight dizziness, as if fatigue from several sleepless nights washed over him.

Yet his eyes remained sharp; his sixteenfold personal strength let him face the surging enemy and still hold an overwhelming advantage.

He no longer sought deadly blows with fist or foot, but kept the combat rhythm under his control.

His long blade turned into a swimming dragon, mainly used for blocking, pulling, and disrupting enemy formations.

His purpose was to block the gate, to delay, to buy time for his brothers on the wall!

An enemy squad saw Chen Wen's blade seemed less fierce than before!

Thinking he was exhausted, they sneered and brought men to flank him from the side.

Chen Wen caught it in his peripheral vision, snorted coldly, flickered like a ghost, dodged the overhead chop, and struck the squad leader's wrist precisely with the back of his blade.

"Crack!" rang out the clear sound of a broken wrist bone.

The squad leader screamed, dropping his weapon; Chen Wen followed with a kick, sending him flying, knocking over several behind him.

He did not pursue, but turned with a swipe, deflecting several spears aimed at him, his steps agile, always firmly pinned to the spot by the gate opening.

Above and below the city, the battle fell into a brief stalemate.

But the initiative was quietly shifting.

On the wall, the defenders who had received the twofold enhancement grew braver the more they fought.

And Zhang Cheng, the fierce general who had obtained the fourfold enhancement, became an even more crucial piece to break the balance!

His chest arrow wound, under fourfold self‑healing, no longer bled.

Although still painful, it no longer hindered his movement.

He, together with three other militiamen likewise given fourfold enhancement, formed a true spearhead.

The four, as if of one mind, specially sought out enemy concentrations climbing the wall or officers' locations to launch assaults.

Zhang Cheng's single slash, with tremendous force, could actually cleave enemy soldiers and their shields in half!

The other three were equally unstoppable, sweeping all before them.

Where their four-man squad passed, the battlements were swiftly cleared, greatly easing the pressure on other sections.

Hand the gate over to the leader! We'll clean up all the debris on the wall!

Zhang Cheng spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, his eyes burning with fighting spirit and near-blind trust in Chen Wen.

Chen Wen maneuvered back and forth beneath the wall while diverting his attention to sense the situation above.

He gradually gained a deeper understanding of the use of Ability Granting.

Broad granting suits stabilizing the overall situation, enhancing overall resilience.

Focused granting can forge a spearhead, used to break the situation and behead.

Only by combining the two methods can maximum effectiveness be exerted.

Growth Progress Bar...

In a lull in the battle, Chen Wen noticed the newly appeared, faintly glimmering progress bar in his mind, which seemed to have solidified a bit more than before.

【Growth Progress Bar: 3%】

Is it because successfully using Ability Granting stabilized the front line?

Or is it due to the rise in the defenders' morale?

Chen Wen had no time to investigate further, but he understood that this new path was far broader than merely accumulating WP values, and also more challenging.

The city wall of Jiao Tu Zhen had once been on the verge of collapse.

But now, under Chen Wen's Ability Granting link, it seemed to truly become a wall of ten thousand ren, gathered by collective will and indestructible.

Liu Du Tou's army's offensive, for the first time, showed signs of exhaustion.

The scale of victory began to tilt.