Chapter 244: 237 Substituting the Peach for the Plum

Enemies are attacking outside the city!

At this moment, Tang Zhao was exceptionally clear-headed and had fully reacted.

In this great battle, the main point of attack was not the Demon Cave at all, but the city gate.

Although the Demon Cave brought disaster, only the very first wave was the most harmful; even if it were dragged away entirely afterward, it would merely be the loss of a sum of resources. What kind of major event would that be?

Although the two people from Qingtian Temple spoke disgustingly, from a broader perspective, there was some twisted logic to it—compared to the city gate being breached and the city defenses collapsing, even if a Space Storm erupted inside the city, what did the deaths of a few hundred people matter?

One must know that once the city gate collapsed, Xun City would be like an egg with a broken shell, completely exposed and extremely dangerous!

At the very least, the great army of the Turtle Bandits could drive straight in and trample the common people!

Previously, the walls of Xun City were towering, and with the Land Inspection Division sitting in command, the powerful Spirit Officials of the Turtle Bandits' side could not enter the city at all, and the forces they prepared could not cross the line of defense. They could only rely on the people of the Demon Sect to act as their inside agents.

It is funny to say, the Holy Moon Sect is a great enemy of the Imperial Court and is shouted at by everyone, but the city walls did not have special defenses against them; the Turtle Bandits had disappeared for many years, yet the newly renovated city walls still made restricting Spirit Officials the top priority.

Who is the true enemy and who is the false enemy is clear at a glance.

However, it was difficult for the Turtle Bandits to make a move, and relying solely on the power of the Demon Sect—especially these fools who turned into wolves and only had a bit of strength—might be fine for beating the drums for the Heavenly Demon, but how could they destroy the city tower?

Thus, someone thought of utilizing the Demon Cave. Or rather, utilizing the space power that erupted when the Demon Cave descended.

Only an unsolvable Natural Disaster like a space riot could destroy a city wall built by human labor in an instant.

The space riot destroyed the city tower and naturally also destroyed the Demon Sect followers who were close at hand; no living creature could survive in the center of such a storm, and I fear even their corpses could not be found. These were true suicide soldiers—from this point of view, this really was a Demon Sect follower; the Demon Sect was full of such suicide soldiers, or rather, lunatics.

What was slightly more fortunate was that their plan also left a glimmer of survival for Tang Zhao and the others. If that Demon Sect follower had not moved the lion away, but instead let the lion explode on the spot, with the Space Storm blooming right in the face of the Land Inspection Division, not one of them, including Tang Zhao, could have escaped—after the space was disordered, space Sword Art would also fail.

Now, it was just a collapsed city tower... that was all.

Seeing the city gate teetering, Tang Zhao's heart was unsettled, and he could only think—what is to be done?

The most urgent matter is that the city tower must be rebuilt. No matter how many enemies are outside, as long as the city tower is still there, there is still room to maneuver and wait for a turning point; otherwise, if the city is broken, it will be total destruction!

How to repair it?

The Kun Sword?

The civil engineering capability of the Kun Sword is unquestionable, but the most useful protection for a city wall is not built from dirt; the truly essential Rune Formula cannot be constructed by the Kun Sword. Moreover, having lost the main body of the Kun Sword, he certainly could not use the Sword Momentum, and the power of his Sword Technique would also plummet; I fear he could really only do civil engineering.

At this critical moment, a figure leaped onto the city wall and shouted:

"Sword Technique—Substitute the Peach for the Plum!"

In mid-air, a large fruit tree grew, its canopy like clouds, shielding the sky above the city gate; the tree was laden with fruit, half peaches and half plums.

It was the Sword Image of the Fangfei Sword!

As Mai Shiyu pinched the formula, the plums on the large fruit tree shriveled and withered one by one, falling like rain; finally, half of the treetop was empty, leaving only half of the peaches still plump and bright red.

As the plums fell to the ground, the city gate tower stopped collapsing and instead began to repair itself; the bricks and stones not only did not fall, but gradually rose and returned to their places, as if a semi-ruin was being repaired by countless skilled craftsmen, glowing with new life bit by bit.

Finally, that towering city gate stood before the city; although it might not have recovered its full appearance, it was already brand new, free from the precariousness of teetering before.

At the same time, the old residence of the Feng Family, a family that had stood for hundreds of years in the city, collapsed with a crash, turning into a pile of powder.

Substitute the Peach for the Plum, a Sword Technique that can transfer the destruction and negative effects suffered by the target to another object.

"Hoo—"

Mai Shiyu of the Fangfei Sword let out a long breath, cold sweat streaming down her forehead; half was from fear, and half was from exhaustion. She had only become a Sword Guest a few years ago, and performing such a massive Sword Technique had exhausted her full strength, consuming almost a year's worth of her accumulated Sword Essence.

She was simultaneously relieved and resentful. Standing on the city tower and seeing no one around, as if it were a ghost tower, she could not help but become increasingly angry, knowing that the soldiers who had originally guarded the city had already been shredded by the Space Storm; the Substitute the Peach for the Plum could not save them. The current city tower was already a display piece with no one guarding it.

Not only that...

"The repair of the city tower is not perfect, at most eight or nine tenths. A portion of the front wall is blank; although it cannot be seen from the outside, it is actually rotten at the core, the Rune Formula is malfunctioning, and it is extremely easy to be breached. Not to mention that most of the equipment piled on the city tower is also damaged. Damn it, couldn't the Feng Residence have been built more sturdily?"

The reason the repair could not be completed was partly because she was, after all, only a novice Sword Guest with limited Sword Essence and could not perform Sword Techniques without restraint, and on the other hand, the substitute object she chose, the Feng Residence, had already turned to powder and could no longer transfer any more misfortune. Thus, the Substitute the Peach for the Plum had to terminate.

There was no help for it; Mai Shiyu had only set one substitute point beforehand, which was the Feng Residence that had been confiscated for colluding with the Demon Sect. As a member of the Land Inspection Division, she could not harass innocent private residences.

"Since they came to destroy the city wall, it is naturally to enter the city. Shen Yi, go up and take a look, who are the people coming from outside?"

Jiang Shenyi found it strange why she called him first, but it suited his wishes. With a flap of his wings, he already flew up, a pair of wings pulling out two streaks of white and blue light, and he shouted: "Leave it to me!"

Only then did Mai Shiyu send a signal to the people of the Land Inspection Division to rearrange the formation, saying solemnly: "Azhao, go and seal the entrance to the Demon Cave."

Tang Zhao understood; the range of the Demon Cave's birth was inside the city, and the space entrance hung high in the air, easy to defend but hard to attack. No one knew what was inside the Demon Cave; there might be a Heavenly Demon, or there might not.

But regardless, they could not ignore the Demon Cave. If outside enemies invaded and some Heavenly Demon or Phantom crawled out of the Demon Cave to launch a sneak attack from the rear, it would be terrible to be attacked from both sides. Tang Zhao knew that now was not the time to enter and check what was inside, nor was it the time to relocate; he would first seal the entrance of the Demon Cave and wait until the enemies outside the city were repelled.

This task was not difficult for Tang Zhao. He had studied several plans at Xuanji Lou, all of which could seal a space. So when Mai Shiyu asked if he needed help, Tang Zhao said directly: "One person is enough," and flew into the sky.

Mai Shiyu trusted Tang Zhao very much; letting him go to deal with the Demon Cave alone was equivalent to entrusting her back to him, while she herself took her trusted aides to keep watch for the enemy situation on the city tower.

This was the South City Gate, opening to the north, which was the direction away from the sun. At dawn, the area outside the city was dim. Mai Shiyu only saw an endless, vast wilderness. Looking up, Jiang Shenyi's two wings drew dazzling trajectories in the air, piercing straight into the firmament.

She had the intention to move the flower tree outside the city to block the weak points of the city tower, but she was worried about exposing her own shortcomings and revealing the weak points of the city wall to the enemy.

At this moment, Mai Shiyu was very anxious; the loopholes in the city wall were the loopholes in her heart, and she could not help but feel restless.

When it came down to it, Mai Shiyu was just a professional Sword Guest of the Land Inspection Division, not a professional city-guarding general. In specialized fields, there is mastery; what kind of city could she guard? Not to mention she was still so young.

If only the Town Guardian were here. Any Town Guardian would do.

Xing Ji had experience in military training, and Town Guardian Feng Zhilie was very old and had rich experience; it was said he had served in various offices, so he should have a way to deal with this, right?

This thought flashed by and vanished. Mai Shiyu immediately shook her head and told herself: Mai Shiyu, pull yourself together. Usually, you are high-spirited, pointing here and there, but when things happen, you fear difficulty, shirk responsibility, and rely on others—do you want to become like those two fools from Qingtian Temple?

Thinking this, she waved her hand, and the petals of the flower tree drifted down, scattering all over the ground outside the city, as if laying a carpet.

Sword Technique—Falling Red Forms an Array.

The Sword Technique was performed as smoothly as flowing clouds and water. Mai Shiyu stared at the red and white petals, her mood gradually calming, and she said solemnly: "Everyone listen. Battalion Commander Zhou."

Battalion Commander Zhou stepped forward to receive orders. Mai Shiyu said: "You take men to guard the east section of the city wall. Battalion Commander Gu, you take men to guard the west section. The four of you—Zhang, Cheng, Liu, and Wen—take men and leave immediately to check the enemy situation at the other city gates. If there is any news, send a signal at any time. Manage your own city gates well; do not let them divert manpower over here. Xiaochi, you take men to notify the remaining officers at the Garrison Commander's office and tell them to mobilize the remaining troops in the city to come and reinforce us quickly. Also, have all the yamen runners in the government office go out onto the streets to patrol the city and maintain order; if there are any suspicious persons, lock them up immediately, and those who resist are to be executed without mercy. As for the front city gate..."

"Leave it to me."

She had only made these arrangements for the time being, and then said: "Go quickly."

Battalion Commander Zhou said softly: "The city gate is wide, how can the Deputy Envoy alone..."

Deputy Envoy Mai smiled and said: "Do not underestimate the power of a Sword Guest. A single body fighting three thousand miles, a single sword can block a million soldiers. That is talking about us! At this very moment, I will hold the line first. If I cannot hold it, who can? If you are worried, go quickly and mobilize the forces. Naturally, it will be even more foolproof."

Battalion Commander Zhou had nothing more to say, and the group took their orders and left, the city tower becoming quiet for a moment.

Mai Shiyu's expression was solemn as she looked out toward the city again.

Because of the Demon Cave, Xun City had been sealed for over a month; apart from the Land Inspection Bureau, the city was indeed empty, and the force guarding the city was barely sufficient, while the garrison was outside the city and would not be able to return for a while.

On the eve of the sunrise, in the thick Shadow that had yet to disperse, one could not know how many ghosts and monsters were hidden, only that they had not yet crawled out from the mire.

When would they attack?

It certainly could not be too early; after all, the Turtle Bandits could not get close to the city wall, and they could not let people know their target was the city wall, otherwise, once the Land Inspection Bureau was prepared, the plan would surely fail. Therefore, their ambush must be at a distance from the city wall.

It also could not be too late; if it dragged on too long, allowing the Land Inspection Bureau or others to repair the city wall, or allowing the reinforcements outside the city to return, the variables would become even greater.

Yes, reinforcements; not to mention the nearby garrison, half of the Land Inspection Bureau was outside the city. That was led by the Town Guardian in person, with half of the elites accompanying the army, and their combat power was even greater than the half led by Mai Shiyu; they had been out of the city to exterminate the Demon Sect for several days already, and counting the days, they should have succeeded and be returning to the city soon, right?

Once they arrived, manpower would be much more abundant, and the Town Guardian's ability was also...

Thinking of this, she suddenly shuddered, realizing what she had overlooked.

Just as she was thinking urgently, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her.

Mai Shiyu tensed up, her hand pressing on her sword hilt, and when she turned around and saw someone coming upstairs, she said in astonishment, "You..."