Chapter 734: Consolidated Defense

At midnight, three li outside the north gate of Haozhou.

The black-armored troops halted.

Three hundred gray-blue silhouettes stood still like a forest in the night, their eyes glowing with a faint blue light that merged into a sheet, casting the wasteland in an eerie bluish-purple hue.

Behind them were over five hundred Yuan infantry—most in ragged clothes, wielding poor-quality spears and swords, their faces fearful.

"What are they waiting for?"

On the city wall, Xu Da lowered his monocular and frowned.

Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang) stared at that sheet of blue light.

"Too neat."

The three hundred black-armored soldiers had held their formation for more than half an hour, not moving a muscle.

Even as the Yuan infantry began to stir, they remained motionless.

"Waiting for the signal."

Liu Ji's voice came from beside him.

He held a simple south-pointer in his hand, its magnetic needle spinning wildly.

"The magnetic poles here are in chaos."

"A large-scale dark energy field is forming."

Just as he finished speaking,

a column of azure light shot up from the northern night sky.

The source of the column was the direction of White River Town.

The column lasted three breaths, then dissipated.

Below the city, the three hundred black-armored soldiers all lifted their heads.

The blue light in their eyes flared.

"Here they come."

Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang) gripped his sword hilt tightly.

The formation of the black-armored troops began to shift.

The front hundred raised their shields.

The middle hundred leveled their spears.

The rear hundred simultaneously raised their right arms—

their palms split open, revealing blue crystal spikes.

"Scatter! Take cover!"

Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang) bellowed.

The defenders on the wall quickly dropped low.

Almost at the same moment,

a hundred blue lances tore through the night sky, aimed at the wall.

Hiss—hiss—

the sound of stone corroding came thick as a sudden rain.

Battlements, parapets, arrow towers—wherever the blue light struck, white smoke rose and the stone surface quickly turned to sand and peeled away.

After one volley, the wall was a mass of wounds.

Three defenders who failed to dodge were grazed by the blue light; amid their screams, their limbs rapidly rotted.

"Archers! Return fire!"

Xu Da roared.

A rain of arrows poured down.

But ordinary arrows striking the black armor bounced off.

Only the dozen or so heavy arrows tipped with exotic iron could pierce the shields and lodge in the black-armored soldiers' bodies.

Those hit merely staggered a step, then kept advancing.

"Aim for the eyes!"

Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang) seized a crossbow from a nearby archer and fitted it with an exotic iron bolt.

He held his breath.

He aimed.

He released the string.

The bolt left the string, tore through the night, and pierced precisely into the eye socket of one black-armored soldier.

The black-armored soldier fell backward and lay still.

"Effective!"

Morale on the wall surged.

But fewer than fifty exotic iron bolts remained.

Meanwhile, the black-armored troops had advanced to the edge of the moat.

"Dump the oil! Light it!"

Tang He shouted hoarsely.

Scaling hot oil was poured down from the wall.

Fire arrows followed close behind.

Boom—

Flames rose along the moat bank, forming a wall of fire.

The black-armored soldiers stopped.

The flames seemed to affect them—the front-rank soldiers who had been splashed with fire oil showed violent blue-light fluctuations on their bodies, and their movements grew noticeably sluggish.

Fire works!

Xu Da's eyes lit up.

But the next moment.

The rear-rank black-armored soldiers raised their hands in unison.

The crystal spikes in their palms flared with bright blue light.

The hundred blue beams, instead of shooting at the city top, now targeted the flames in the moat.

Sizzle—

When the flames met the blue light, they quickly dimmed and extinguished as if doused with ice water.

Within a few breaths, the wall of fire vanished.

Only scorch marks remained on the ground, emitting white smoke.

This…

Tang He's face turned pale.

Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang) stared at those crystal spikes.

Energy weapons.

And they are energy weapons capable of neutralizing fire.

Rolling stones! Logs!

He gave the order.

The prepared huge stones and logs were hurled down from the city top.

The black-armored soldiers raised their shields to block.

But under the tremendous impact, the front shield formation was still broken open.

Several black-armored soldiers were pinned under the stones, unable to struggle.

Now!

Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang) looked toward Xu Da.

Xu Da understood, waving the command flag.

The side gate of the walled city suddenly opened.

Chang Yuchun led the charge ahead, taking fifty elite cavalry and bursting out like a spearhead.

They wielded uniform strange-iron longswords, and their horses were draped in hemp cloth soaked in strange-iron powder.

Their target was clear—straight for the gap in the black-armored soldiers' formation.

Kill!

Although Chang Yuchun's eyes were blindfolded, he located by sound, and his blade traced a silver-gray arc.

Two heads flew into the air.

The cavalry crashed into the gap, blades flashing.

The black-armored soldiers' formation instantly fell into chaos.

But the rear black-armored soldiers quickly adjusted, turning their crystal spikes toward the cavalry.

Retreat!

Chang Yuchun bellowed.

The cavalry struck and withdrew at once, unwilling to linger.

By the time the blue light came, they had already retreated into the walled city, and the side gate slammed shut.

Only over twenty headless black-armored soldier corpses remained on the ground.

And the front rank, whose formation had been completely disrupted.

Well done!

Cheers erupted from the city top.

But Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang) did not relax his brow.

He saw that the fallen black-armored soldier corpses were rapidly melting.

Blue viscous fluid seeped into the soil, turning the ground gray-blue.

Further away, the Yuan infantry had begun filling in the moat.

Archers and crossbowmen, suppress the infantry!

Keep rolling the stones, don't let them approach the wall!

The battle entered a stalemate.

The black-armored soldiers, wary of the strange-iron weapons and cavalry raids, no longer advanced rashly.

The Yuan infantry suffered heavy casualties under the arrow rain, and the moat-filling progressed slowly.

But Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang) knew this was only the beginning.

Chief.

Liu Ji hurriedly climbed the wall, holding a freshly decoded secret letter.

Urgent report from the Eagle's Beak Ridge garrison scout.

Toward White River Town, another large force has appeared, heading for Haozhou.

How many?

Smoke and dust obscure the sun, at least... two thousand.

Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang) felt his heart sink.

There's more.

Liu Ji lowered his voice.

The scouts said, in that troop, there were over ten huge prison carts.

The carts are covered with black cloth, but something is bumping against the cages underneath.

What drips along the way... is all blue slime.

Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang) looked toward the northern night sky.

The second azure light pillar is slowly condensing.

Pass the order throughout the city.

He turned, his voice stern.

All the elderly, weak, women, and children, immediately retreat to the cellar of the Moat God Temple south of the city.

All able-bodied adults go up onto the walls, taking turns on guard duty.

Bows and crossbows, rolling stones, and fire oil — recount them, and allocate rations for up to three days' consumption.

He paused.

Also tell Chang Yuchun.

His cavalry, from now on, is not allowed to leave the city.

Let them rest and build up their strength.

Wait until the final moment——

He looked toward the patch of azure light outside the city.

I want them killed with a single blow.

The orders were conveyed.

The city, in the night, like a giant beast awakening, began to operate at full capacity.

And to the north.

The second azure light pillar finally shot up into the sky.

Its light is thicker than the first.

Brighter.

Lasts longer.

When the light pillar faded, the earth transmitted a faint tremor.

As if something heavy is approaching.

The bricks and stones on the city walls began to shed dust.

They're here.

Liu Ji stared at the south-pointing chariot.

The magnetic needle had stopped rotating.

It pointed straight north.

Motionless.

As if seized by some force.

Firmly locked.