Turtle in a Jar

"Boom, boom, boom!"

A series of thunderous booms erupted, but the Dragon-Slaying Stone remained motionless, only vibrating violently. Judging by the dull sound, their combined strength couldn't budge it.

After striking twice more, they gave up. Golden Eagle Envoy Wang Zhen said in a deep voice, "No need to try. This Dragon-Slaying Stone is too thick; we can't break through it."

He turned and left, the others following suit. They passed through the city gate archway and entered the barbican. There, they saw densely packed soldiers with bows atop the barbican walls, aiming their cold, gleaming arrows at them.

The so-called barbican was a defensive structure found at the gates of important strategic passes. If an enemy, after suffering heavy losses, broke through the city gate and charged in, they would find a semicircular inner wall behind the gate, enclosing it. With the gate blocked, those inside would be trapped, like turtles in a jar, which is the origin of the idiom "turtle in a jar."

This barbican was about eight to nine meters high, equivalent to three or four stories. One had to look up to see the soldiers above. Golden Eagle Envoy Wang Zhen, with a grim expression, looked at Brigadier General Li, who was surrounded by generals atop the barbican, and said, "You betrayed us!"

"No, he didn't betray you."

Another voice sounded from the other side. A small section of archers parted, and a large group of armored soldiers emerged, escorting another general. At that moment, a scream was heard. A flash of light behind Brigadier General Li, and a head flew off, falling into the barbican.

The later general said coldly, "The rebel Dushan Fortress recently revolted. Li Zhao colluded with the rebel Dushan Fortress and is unforgivable. By order of the General of Shanhaiguan Pass, he is executed on the spot!"

His gaze then fell upon the people from Dushan Fortress within the barbican. He waved his hand, "Kill!"

Instantly, the sound of dense crossbows rang out. Countless arrows flew from above and behind the barbican. Who knew how many archers were ambushed here. Thousands of arrows descended like rain.

Lin Xiao had no time to be shocked by Dushan Fortress's rebellion. He watched the arrow rain falling from the sky, unable to dodge or evade. He could only gather his inner force throughout his body, stomp his foot, and his figure split into two.

"Thwack, thwack, thwack..."

The arrow rain filled the sky, and screams were incessant. More arrows missed and embedded themselves in the ground. Lin Xiao's phantom was shot and pierced by several arrows, while another phantom took two arrows, which were blocked by his powerful inner force.

Three waves of arrow rain were fired. After three waves, seven to eight out of ten of the several hundred-strong team were dead. The remaining survivors, except for a few masters, were all wounded.

At this moment, a strange sound came from atop the barbican. Lin Xiao looked up and saw ballistae being moved into position and aimed at them. His expression changed drastically. Golden Eagle Envoy Wang Zhen shouted, "This place is not safe! Break through immediately!"

He then leaped into the air and flew towards the city gate, seemingly intending to retreat. The surviving masters followed closely, and Lin Xiao also followed.

But just then, a row of archers on the barbican wall they had just exited suddenly retreated. Then a group of warriors in heavy armor carrying large shields emerged and swung them down.

Golden Eagle Envoy Wang Zhen let out a cold shout and smashed a falling shield away with a palm strike. However, his momentum was involuntarily halted. At that moment, the prepared ballistae fired simultaneously, and thirty to forty steel crossbow bolts, thicker than a thumb, shot towards them.

At this point, Wang Zhen displayed his supreme martial arts. He twisted his body in mid-air, roared, and transformed his hands into a golden embrace, twisting the void before him. The dozen or so powerful crossbow bolts targeting him suddenly paused and were forcibly redirected. His hair crown exploded on the spot, leaving him disheveled and appearing disheveled.

He alone redirected nearly a third of the crossbow bolts, causing them to go astray. Purple Elephant Dharma King roared, and the air around him expanded violently, shaking off several attacking crossbows. The remaining masters dealt with one or two crossbow bolts each, blocking them.

However, after this wave of crossbow bolts, except for a few masters like Golden Eagle Envoy, Purple Elephant Dharma King, and Dushan Envoy, everyone else was exhausted after taking the bolts and fell back down. Then the second wave of arrow rain descended. Within his field of vision alone, over a dozen people were shot dead on the spot.

With his exquisite Lightness Skill and perfected Flying Heaven Steps, he could nimbly maneuver even in the air. Two crossbow bolts aimed at him were directly dodged, requiring no direct confrontation. He became one of the few masters with the energy to charge onto the city wall.

It had to be said that organized, regular troops were indeed formidable. Their team, in terms of sheer combat power, could easily sweep through Linjiang Prefecture's Three Great Gangs, but here at the small Zushan Pass, they suffered heavy casualties with no room to fight back.

Even if a few of them could charge onto the city wall, it was mostly due to their powerful individual strength. But charging onto the wall was one thing; escaping was another, because... the army also had masters!

As a few of them broke through the obstacles and reached the city wall, several Black Armored Guards wearing black cloaks rushed over. As one of them swung his saber, a faint white light emanated from the blade, indicating his skill was no less than that of a top-tier martial artist.

These Black Armored Guards were similar to the Ming Dynasty's Embroidered Uniform Guard. Besides monitoring officials, they also monitored the martial arts world.

They seemed well aware of their identities and quickly found their opponents. The strongest among them, a Black Armored Envoy wearing black clothes embroidered with gold, intercepted the Golden Eagle Envoy. The Mo Dao in his hand extended three feet of blade energy, slashing horizontally. Even Wang Zhen dared not face it head-on.

Of course, the main reason was that they didn't have time to get entangled here. If they were held up for even a moment, a thousand-strong army would surround them, and even a Grandmaster could be killed.

The Golden Eagle Envoy's arms turned golden as he blocked the Mo Dao with his bare palms. He pushed back with his palms, sending a surge of powerful inner force that repelled the envoy. He leaped, intending to jump over the barbican wall into the city.

It was too difficult to get out of the pass, but jumping into the city offered a chance of escape.

However, the enemy had anticipated this. As he leaped, a shout of "Fire!" came from afar.

Immediately, dozens of archers who were ready loosed their arrows, which included two crossbow bolts.

Wang Zhen, in mid-air, brought down a palm strike. His powerful inner force deflected the arrows, but the two crossbow bolts mixed in shot towards him. He was greatly alarmed but still reacted, twisting his body.

But at that moment, a Black Armored Guard who was fighting another Dushan Envoy nearby suddenly ignored his opponent and grabbed a spear from a nearby soldier, throwing it backhand. He took a palm strike to the chest and fell from the city wall.

But his sudden, full-force spear throw caught Wang Zhen off guard, piercing his back. His powerful inner force protected him from being penetrated, but his body was uncontrollably thrown off balance and began to fall.

Before he could land, the second wave of indiscriminate arrow rain descended. The defending general seemed determined to kill them all here, especially the Golden Eagle Envoy, who held the highest status among them. Even the Black Armored Envoy who had blocked Lin Xiao turned and slashed at him, disregarding his own opponent.

Lin Xiao's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He leaped directly, his body twisting irregularly in the air like a swimming fish, seizing the opportunity to pass through the interception of several soldiers and reach the edge of the barbican wall.

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