Time seemed to freeze in that single moment.
Back in the underworld. Qin Ye abruptly shot to his feet as soon as he saw the incredible sight. His eyes glistened brightly, and he clenched his fists tightly.
Has a general… managed to break into the Mechanical beast?
And even take control of it?!
Countless thoughts immediately surfaced in his mind. First of all, the armies of Hell couldn’t be deployed within the inner city from the onset. After all, that would cause them to end up becoming surrounded on all sides by an army of 800,000 troops. Such difference in numbers would immediately be felt in a qualitative, rather than a quantitative manner. Even though 100,000 soldiers of Hell could theoretically stand toe to toe against a million Qufu soldiers, there were still a multitude of other variables that could tip the scales against Hell’s forces. He wasn’t going to risk everything like that. It was imprudent to leave something of such importance to be decided with the toss of a coin.
And since that was the case, then there would naturally be two locations where Hell’s forces were going to show up - within the outer city, or on the city walls.
That said, there were way too many Yin spirits residing within the outer city right now. If Hell’s forces entered the city without doing any damage to Qufu’s forces at all, then there was possibly even a chance that they could mobilize the general populace to rise up as militia to resist the approach of Hell’s forces! The situation could potentially be far worse than if Hell’s troops were deployed within the inner city to begin with!
Furthermore, if Hell’s forces were deployed directly within the outer city, then this would necessarily mean the city walls were still under Qufu’s control. If they didn’t care about preserving the lives of the Yin spirits within the city, they could even employ carpet bombing techniques. The sheer thought of the defenses erected on the city walls sent shivers down Qin Ye’s spine.
This left one last possibility.
The city walls.
Capture the city walls. Firstly, they would be able to cease all operation of the weapons of mass destruction from the top of the city walls. Secondly, they would be able to secure a path of retreat. Finally, they could even draw Qufu’s attention away from the inner city. That said, neither he nor Yang Yanzhao had ever thought of seizing the defenses for their own use to begin with!
After all, the defensive armaments situated on the outer city walls were fixed in place, and each of them were easily located thousands of meters apart from the other. They neither had the ability nor the time to remove and reposition these weapons.
However, these considerations were naturally only limited to the Winstrike Ballistae. There was yet another defensive armament that had completely slipped their minds. It was none other than the Mechanical Beast!
It was massive. So large that it fell outside of their considerations, just like how a target was hidden right underneath the radar. Who could have thought that someone would take the initiative to siege the Mechanical Beast, and actually succeed at that?
Shouldn’t there be a large number of Yin soldiers defending the Mechanical Beast?
How did they succeed?
No… Now’s not the time to consider these things. Such opportunities are fleeting! Qin Ye’s eyes instantly reddened with excitement, and he bellowed with all his might, “Prepare to move out!!”
“All glory to Hell!!” An earth-shattering roar echoed after him. The Yin soldiers behind him had already picked up their shields and formed up in their ranks.
Everyone knew that they were the final 20,000 troops in the reserve of Hell’s forces, yet they still shouted back with great gusto, almost as though they were but a part of millions of troops marching to Qufu in an instant.
Qin Ye’s body trembled. How is this possible? I’m supposed to be a coward. When did such a stirring scene of war cause my adrenal glands to soar like that?
But… I’ve got to say that this feels rather good.
He had watched Hell grow from absolute nothingness. Bit by bit, Hell grew stronger under his patient nurturing, and his efforts finally culminated with today’s determinative war. The sense of achievement, pride, satisfaction and even identity was undeniable at this point in time!
His eyes stared transfixed at the screen of Yin energy. This counter-attack… would undoubtedly have dealt them a devastating psychological blow!
Unleash the ultimate attack of the Mechanical Beast with no hesitation, blast one of Qufu’s most powerful forces to smithereens, and let Qufu tremble in fear!
“Are you really going to let things go on as they are?”
“Are you not going to release the reserves of your forces to deal with the devolving situation at hand?”
An electrifying sensation coursed throughout Qin Ye’s entire body, and his hair stood on end. He knew full well that the single moment of opportunity that he had been so painfully waiting for, and the very same opportunity that the 80,000 troops were fighting so hard for, was soon about to arrive…
Keep at it! Two more attacks! That will be sufficient to draw out the last of Qufu’s reserve forces!
I’m waiting for you.
I’m waiting for the sound of your triumphant horn.
……………………………………………..
On the ninth level of the interior of the Mechanical Beast, Ugly Bull. Pshk… Li Linfu stared at Mu Guiying with great disbelief. Copious amounts of Yin energy were pouring out of every orifice of his body, and he trembled as he slowly retreated into a corner of the room.
A large part of Mu Guiying’s body, from the left shoulder to her waist, had been completely eviscerated from her body. It was a fatal blow. However… she still remained standing!
Why isn’t she falling?!
On what basis is she still standing before me?!
Li Linfu fervently suppressed the urge to cry out in horror. This doesn’t make sense! Injuries like this should have reduced her to a cloud of Yin energy by now, so how could she possibly still be alive?!!
A single lady had plowed through nine whole floors of defenses within the Mechanical Beast. Countless spots of netherflame drifted about behind her. The casualty count was well over a thousand Yin soldiers. The remaining guardsmen dressed in black robes retreated from Mu Guiying in unison. None of them dared to make any sneak attacks against her. In fact, none of them even dared to move in front of such a terrifying existence.
This was the power of conviction.
An immovable conviction in the path that she had chosen.
It was also a manifestation of her undying loyalty to Hell, so much so that she would even place Hell’s purposes before the importance of preserving her own life!
She exuded an incomparably tyrannical aura in that very moment.
Although Mu Guiying was fatally wounded, these injuries did nothing to militate the escalation of her imperious disposition.
“Mercy… MERCY!!” Li Linfu finally broke down under the stifling pressure that bore down on him. Unfortunately, a spear lashed out even before he could finish his pathetic plea and plunged straight through his throat.
Kukk… He wasn’t even able to scream in pain. Li Linfu’s scarlet pupils suddenly shrank, and then, flames suddenly erupted violently from his body, rising several feet high into the air. His hands trembled profusely, almost as though he was attempting to hold onto something on the ground, yet the spear that was still stuck right through his throat prevented him from uttering even a single word.
He wanted to ask why.
I’ve begged you for mercy, so why didn’t you spare my life?
And you’re in a worse shape than me, so why aren’t you dead yet?!
Unfortunately, he wasn’t given the chance to do so.
One second later, he vanished amidst the brilliant conflagration, as his entire being was reduced to nothing more than a cloud of Yin energy.
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The entire room was filled with silence. Mu Guiying appeared to be oblivious to all feelings of pain. Then, she slowly turned around. Her appearance was still that of a lady, but to the eyes of all Yin soldiers around, she looked no different from a hellish asura.
“The second salvo…” Her voice was as hoarse as it got. Yet, even then, she slowly pointed the tip of her spear across all of the Yin spirits around, “Strike the target of my choice with the second salvo.”
“Any objections?”
Obviously, there was none.
Annals of the New Hell: Year 001 of the New Hell. General Mu Guiying successfully took the western walls of Qufu City’s Shanhai Pass and seized control of the Mechanical Beast, Ugly Bull. This was a key turning point of the Qufu siege.
………………………………………………………..
BOOM!!!
A black pillar of light tens dozens of meters across in diameter burst forth in an instant. It engulfed all sources of light around, and even consumed the stars. Scarlet bolts of lightning crackled all around it as it shot straight towards the Lord of Huayin, interrupting his confrontation with Hua Jieyu.
How is this possible?!
This was the first reaction in his mind. He stared blankly at the black beam of light, opening his mouth slightly with great trembling and shock.
This doesn’t make sense…
The citizens in the vicinity peeked out from their homes, staring stiffly at the all-consuming beam of light.
Time appeared to freeze in this very instant.
The might of such a devastating attack stripped all measures of logical thought from everyone’s minds.
The destruction that ensued was an unforgettable sight. Bzzt… The black beam of light covered the remaining distance to the residence in the middle of the street in just an instant. The ground crackled, debris floated into the sky, while the veils of the residence was thrown to the sides with a loud bang.
The death beam that was rapidly bearing down on the Lord of Huayin caused him to snap back to his senses. He screamed and darted out of the palace, screaming at the top of his voice, “Protect me… PROTECT ME!!”
He flailed his about frantically, causing the dark threads connected to the skeletal puppets in the air to fly right back before him in an instant with a shrill whistle.
Clatter, clatter, thud! Layer upon layer, tens of thousands of skeletal puppets suddenly wrapped around him like an impregnable fortress. And then, destruction arrived.
There was no sound.
Yet it felt like a deafening silence. Whether Yin soldiers or citizens alike, every single person shut their eyes at the moment of impact.
There was light.
Boundless light.
The explosion of the pitch-black light filled every single crevice in the vicinity. The ultimate attack of the Ugly Bull was at least equal to the combined attack of dozens of advanced Infernal Judges. In fact, the power it contained vaguely resembled an attack of an Abyssal Prefect.
Crack… clatter… The ground began to crack and fissure. Countless houses were torn off the ground by the gravitational pull of the beam, before disintegrating completely.
It was only after an inordinate amount of time that the Yin spirits around finally lowered their arms and took a peek at where the Lord of Huayin’s residence originally was.
A massive pit had appeared right where the residence was. Hua Jieyu was standing right merely ten meters away from the edge of this hole.
The pit was at least three hundred meters from end to end, and the surface of the ground was completely smooth and empty.
It wasn’t more than a dozen seconds ago that the entire street was still arrayed with tens of thousands of Qufu’s soldiers in preparation for their confrontation against Hell.
Ah--... To be exact, the army was still around.
A paper crane that had already been burnt to a crisp drifted down from the sky. Moments later, puppets began to clatter as they fell lifelessly onto the ground, only to reveal the battered body of the Lord of Huayin.
He was still alive.
But his entire body was already covered with cracks no different from that of a shattered porcelain vase. Copious amounts of netherflames were spewing out of these cracks. His body trembled as he turned around slowly to scan his surroundings.
Alive?
I’m still alive?!
“I’m still alive… I can’t believe that I’m still alive…” Seconds later, he trembled as he glanced at his hand, before turning abruptly to Hua Jieyu, “Screw you… SCREW YOU!!”
“It’s all because of you… bitch… you deserve death!!”
As he shrieked, his entire body transformed into a nethergale, and he began to move once more. But just then--… BOOM… Another earth-shattering sound erupted from the western walls again.
To be exact, it came from the mouth of the Mechanical Beast, Ugly Bull.
It had just turned its head, and its target this time… was clearly Qufu’s inner city!
Whoosh! A soft nethergale began to sweep through the land once more as Ugly Bull began to gather Yin energy once more. They could all sense that the concentration of Yin energy was far weaker than before, but it was undoubtedly getting stronger with each moment that passed.
Back on the sixth floor of the building located at the heart of the inner city. Tap, tap… Lai Junchen subconsciously took a step back. His expression was pale from the sheer horror of what had just transpired. If not for the fact that there was an attendant holding him up now, he might well have even collapsed to the ground weakly.
But he wasn’t the only one. The other two Infernal Judges who were just confronting him moments ago were both completely dumbfounded.
That’s got to be a lie… This was the first thought that occurred to them.
How did we end up with friendly fire?
But they were soon jolted back from their reverie by a hand that grabbed each one of them by the chest of their garments. Lai Junchen stared at them manically with widened eyes, and ferocious netherflames raging from all seven apertures on his face. Even his voice had grown hoarse in an instant.
“Move out…”
“Huh?” The two other Infernal Judges were still trying to process the situation, but Lai Junchen promptly shook them back to their senses with a ferocious hiss, “Move out! MOVE OUT!!! Mobilize everyone you can!! Leave only 100,000 skeletal puppets here!!”
“I want you to kill them… I want you to kill them all!!!”
His entire body was trembling as he supported his own weight with the railing nervously, “This is the place where the Mythic Palace of Reflections is located… If we let them fire the next blow, the consequences are going to be completely unthinkable!! And… if the rest of the invading forces are going to follow suit, Qufu is going to be razed to the ground in an instant!!”
“You’re all too green around the ears. You don’t know a thing at all! Do you know what awaits us great sinners if we’re captured by Hell’s forces? We’d be banished to an eternity of punishment in the abysses of Hell!!”
“Move out at once… And no matter the cost, take back the Mechanical Beasts!!! We take this battle back to them!!”