The Siege

Outside the city of Hudu, the sky was dark and gloomy, like iron.

The raging tide of millions of Mutated Beasts, like pus and blood flowing from the decaying earth, darkly engulfed the horizon and stretched to the very edge of sight.

They roared, surged, and Trample each other, their sounds merging into a continuous, deafening low-frequency roar, like the wailing of millions of wronged souls in the depths of hell.

The rising dust obscured the sun, turning the afternoon sky into a murky twilight.

The city wall trembled slightly under the terrifying sound and vibration, as if it might collapse at any moment.

On the wall, every soldier was pale-faced, gripping their weakened firearms or melee weapons tightly, their knuckles white from the effort.

Fear, like solid ice water, seeped into their very bones.

A veteran carried a huge explosive charge and buried it at a pre-arranged location. A new recruit beside him trembled violently and asked, shaking uncontrollably:

"Brother... can we survive?"

"Live my ass! There are more Mutated Beasts than people. Do you think you can beat even the weakest Mutated Beast?"

The veteran took the Ignite cigarette from his mouth and chuckled.

"But... but isn't His Highness still here?"

The new recruits looked up with admiration at the aloof and independent beauty standing on the city wall.

"Can you kill so Mutated Beasts?"

The veteran suddenly started pulling out a lighter he had hidden in his crotch.

"Besides, even if His Highness were a celestial being descended to earth, capable of cleaving all monsters in two with a single sword strike, we cannon fodder wouldn't survive."

The veteran finally found a lighter, took it out, and lit a cigarette with a snap.

The recruit stared at him in shock.

"You... you're insane? Smoking next to a pile of explosives?"

"Get lost, kid! I hope you die like a man."

The veteran waved to shoo away the new recruit, and after he was out of sight, he slowly lay down, resting his head on the explosive charge, the cigarette in his hand sparking.

"Whew, that's exciting." The veteran was satisfied; he'd wanted to do this for a long time.

A violent explosion was heard outside the city, causing a stir among the crowd.

Only one person remained upright, like a pine tree.

Di Yubing stood alone atop the wall, his plain white robe fluttering in the bloody wind.

Her face was stunningly beautiful, yet at this moment she was as cold as ice, her brows and eyes showing no sign of panic, only a calm and resolute demeanor akin to martyrdom.

Her very existence was like a Sea God, barely maintaining the morale of the defending troops who were on the verge of collapse.

The wind began to swirl around her.

It is not the wind of nature, but the wind element that gathers gently under the guidance of her will.

A cyan light flickered around her, tracing mysterious paths. She slowly raised the longsword in her hand, the blade humming, its clear, melodious cry briefly drowning out the noise from below the city.

Su Luo would be drooling if she saw this. The Wind Element she had previously transformed didn't dissipate into the surrounding environment; instead, it hovered affectionately around her.

It's like having an extracorporeal element library with an absurdly large capacity.

"Uh--!"

A Class S-rank flying Mutated Beast with a wingspan of over five meters, resembling a rotting giant eagle, broke through the dust first. Its sharp Screech gleamed with a dark, poisonous light, and with a piercing shriek, it swooped down like a flesh Bomb, heading straight for Di Yubing.

Di Yubing slightly raised her head, turning her sword around.

The Wind Element swirling around him suddenly Berserk, condensing into several invisible yet incredibly sharp Wind Blades that struck first, crisscrossing and slashing past!

The arrogant S-class Mutated Beast suddenly stopped in mid-air, and then its massive body was as if cut by an invisible blade, instantly disintegrating into seven or eight huge pieces of black blood, which crashed down below the city, causing chaos.

Clean and crisp, almost like art.

After a brief silence on the city wall, cheers erupted.

"Your Highness is mighty!"

The Di Yubing.

Below the city, the seemingly endless Beast Tide stirred slightly, with even more flying Mutated Beasts rising from it, like a swarm of locusts ascending.

She took a deep breath, held her longsword horizontally in front of her, closed her eyes slightly, and slowly merged with the grand guidance of the World Will. Even more powerful elements began to converge on her, her clothes fluttered without wind, and her aura rose steadily.

Deep underground, three Mana Conversion Devices were operating at full speed, and the Mana they generated was drawn by an inexplicable, invisible force, surging towards the top of the city wall like rivers flowing into the sea.

Sensing the pure Mana, the flying Mutated Beasts pounced on Di Yubing with even greater frenzy.

The Beast Tide surged across the ground, rushing towards the city walls, accompanied by a series of explosions.

Soon, the first line of defense, composed of a large amount of explosives, collapsed.

The Beast Tide was completely unaffected and continued its advance, closing in on the city.

The loud crashes continued, and the city walls trembled violently, as if they were about to collapse at any moment.

Countless Mutated Beasts of various shapes surged and tore at the defense line like a black tide, climbing up like a human pyramid.

The defenders roared and unleashed their firepower, releasing all sorts of Superpower. Gunshots, explosions, roars, and screams mingled together in an instant. Every second, humans and Mutated Beasts fell, and blood quickly stained the earth red.

But how can one man, one sword, and one city possibly withstand this tide of destruction?

In the far distance, Dongli Cang was leisurely watching the Beast Tide attack the city through his laptop, a playful smile on his lips.

But when he saw Di Yubing, alone with his sword, barely manage to block the overwhelming onslaught, his smile froze instantly.

"System, what's going on? Wasn't she not awakened yet?"

After recalling for a long time, Dongli Cang realized that he had specifically instructed the system not to allow Di Yubing to obtain any Legacy Core.

"System? System?!" Dongli Cang called out in his mind for a long time.

After a long delay, the system, which had been silent for several days, finally arrived belatedly.

[Di Yubing indeed did not obtain any Legacy Core.]

"Then? Where does she get her power?"

The system remained silent for a while.

[Analysis suggests it is a Martial Dao system left over from a previous extraordinary era in this world.]

Dongli Cang was somewhat worried, fearing that things would spiral out of his control.

[No need to worry. According to analysis, she has an extremely high compatibility with the X-level core. After becoming stronger, she will be able to support the only X-level Legacy Core.]

Dongli Cang felt slightly relieved and picked up his wine glass.

Once we get the core, won't we be at his mercy?

"Tsk, really... ****." He took a sip of wine, gazing at Di Yubing's peerless and independent figure on the screen, yet clearly revealing helplessness, his eyes flashing with a mixture of greed and admiration.

"Look at this sword dance, how beautiful! Look at that figure, how proud! Feel this despair, how breathtaking!"

"Princess..."

"Struggle, fight, let your beauty bloom to its fullest in despair... Then, I, Dongli Cang, the savior, will personally pull you from the Abyss and give you New Life..."

He seemed to already see Di Yubing collapse from exhaustion, opening her grateful and dependent eyes in his arms.