Siege Beasts Descend; Defend the City Walls

On the morning of the sixth day of the seventh month, Luo Zhou got up and tidied himself.

He packed Spirit Stones, dry rations, water, clothes, shoes, medicine, thirteen Dragon-Slaying Thrusts, and a bundle of Spirit Birch Wood into his Qiankun Bag.

At home, he hid what needed hiding and locked away what needed locking.

Truthfully, Luo Zhou's home was bare as bare could be. Apart from the iron pot he used for cooking, there was nothing of value.

He had no time to check on his pets. If the hired hand from the Flower, Bird, and Insect Market came to care for them, he'd keep them.

If the hired hand didn't show, Luo Zhou decided he'd set them all free when he returned that night, and let each go its own way.

He dressed, tied a yellow headscarf around his head, slung three Eyebrow-Level Staffs over his back, and gripped a tempered copper staff.

The Eyebrow-Level Staffs concealed Dragon-Slaying Thrusts inside. He was heading into a fight to the death. At a life-or-death moment like this, he couldn't afford to worry about whether his secret would be exposed.

After locking the front door, Luo Zhou let out a long breath. He didn't know if he'd make it back.

He headed straight for the east gate.

Early in the morning, the streets were full of cultivators like him, swords and sabers slung across their backs, all hurrying along.

The sea beasts were certain to attack the city today. The government had summoned the cultivators, and the neighborhood heads had spread the word. Everyone was hurrying to their assigned units.

Ordinary mortals would also be mobilized for all kinds of logistical work: lighting fires and cooking, delivering supplies, and transporting the wounded.

Doctors from every clinic gathered together, ready to treat the injured.

Every street and alley was being refitted. People piled up barricades and laid traps in case the city fell and the fighting turned into street warfare.

The City Lord's Mansion was being heavily reinforced. If the city fell, it would become the final defensive stronghold.

There was an underground hall in the City Lord's Mansion. When the time came, all the women, children, elderly, and young of the city would shelter there.

Along with them, there were piles of firewood and barrels of oil.

If the City Lord's Mansion truly could not hold out, they would set the pyres alight. Everyone would die in the flames!

They would perish together, sacrificing themselves with the city!

That was better than being captured and eaten by the Sea Race!

Luo Zhou arrived at the east gate and checked in. Someone directed him where to go.

"Luo Zhou from Ping'an Quarter? A martyr's family? And still a kid?

"Thirty-seventh squad, gather at embrasure 238 atop the wall!"

Luo Zhou climbed the wall. Squads had already gathered all along its length.

The embrasures ran from north to south, each numbered to make it easier for people to assemble.

Luo Zhou ran over. More than fifty people had gathered at embrasure 238.

Three were at the Qi Refining Realm; the rest were Body Tempering cultivators.

More than thirty of them had reached the peak of Body Tempering. They were all in their thirties or forties.

They were students from Daoist academies who had once participated in the Ascension Ceremony. Each had awakened only an acquired spiritual nature.

They had failed the Ascension Ceremony, but their spiritual nature had saved their lives.

However, having lost that spiritual nature, they could only reach the peak of Body Tempering in this lifetime. They couldn't advance to the Qi Refining Realm.

In fact, the Dragon Fang Troop's Cheng Wanli, Zhang Chuan, and Lu Yue were all in the same situation.

The squad leader was a Qi Refining cultivator. His protective qi shimmered in five colors—a sign that it possessed a special attribute.

Luo Zhou recognized him.

He was the man the old Crocodile Dragon had sucked into its mouth and chewed twice. Back then, Luo Zhou had cursed the beast as a Curse Master, paralyzing it long enough for the man to crawl out alive.

The two of them had even been sent to the same clinic for treatment.

It had only been a few days, but his injuries had already healed.

Luo Zhou went over to report in.

"Luo Zhou from Ping'an Quarter, reporting for duty!"

The cultivator glanced at him. "A Daoist academy student?"

"Third class at Xianya Hall!"

"That tempered copper staff looks heavy. What realm are you at, and what spiritual nature do you have?"

"Eighth level of Body Tempering. Overturning Rivers and Seas Force User, with the Divine Might of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers!"

"Good. You're a tough one!"

The cultivator was Cheng Peng, and his true qi had the special attribute of Starry Light Energy.

The other two Qi Refining cultivators were He Yongqi and Liu Jing. Neither had mastered a special qi attribute; they were ordinary Qi Refining cultivators.

However, Liu Jing held the immortal office of Talisman Master and had mastered the Eight Sceneries and Twenty-Four Talismans.

Everyone gathered there to assemble and get acquainted.

Government runners pushed over a cart. Inside were all kinds of weapons, armor, and shields.

Liu Jing called out, "Come pick your gear.

"Don't take plate armor. It's too heavy and makes it hard to dodge. You'll suffer for it."

"Anyone good with bows and crossbows? There's a three-jun Iron Chang bow here. Come pick one out."

Luo Zhou looked things over and picked up a suit of chainmail, putting it on.

He wore a yellow headscarf, which could transform into the Overturning Rivers and Seas Force User Golden Armor. It wasn't much use, but something was better than nothing.

"Anyone who knows battle formations, get over here!

"Three-Talent Formation over here, Four-Phase Formation on this side. If you know the Seven-Star Formation, over there!"

Luo Zhou had studied these at the Daoist academy, so he went over to fill a spot.

But he was soon sent away. Most of the people there knew one another, and his strength was so great that he threw off the balance of the formation.

Cheng Peng said, "Kid, stick with me. You can be my deputy. I'll protect you!"

"Thanks, Uncle Cheng!"

As everyone was getting ready, someone suddenly shouted:

"The water's here! The water's here!"

Water silently appeared on the ground.

It surged all around them, springing up from the flat earth. It defied the laws of nature, flowing uphill as it rushed toward Green Ridge City.

A flash of light erupted from the City Lord's Mansion and instantly became a Qi Shield, expanding in every direction until it surrounded all of Green Ridge City.

Beyond the city wall, it also enclosed a space three to five li wide.

Within this space, the surging waters receded, but the ground was already muddy, with a foot or two of dirty water remaining in some places.

Figures rose into the air. There were about eleven of them, including City Lord Fang Daoqi and Luo Zhou's teacher, Headmaster Zhao.

Luo Zhou watched in amazement. Cheng Peng said, "These are the eleven Foundation Establishment cultivators of Green Ridge City!

"In the very center is City Lord Fang Daoqi. That's Headmaster Zhao from the Daoist academy beside him, and nearby are the heads of the city's three great lineages: Zhang, Chen, and Liu.

"The three people to the northeast are the Fire Crow Army's three commanders. The bald old man is Guo Yingxin, commander of the Sea Police Camp. The immortal maiden in white is the owner of the Spirit Workshop..."

From the memories of the many Woodworm Devils, Luo Zhou already knew who they were. Now he could match each name to a face.

"But they aren't our last line of defense. Green Ridge City's old Attendant, Master Yujing—that's the guardian deity of our city."

Cheng Peng deliberately raised his voice to rally everyone.

Luo Zhou immediately played along and asked, "Master Yujing? A Golden Core True Person?"

"A Golden Core True Person. Master Yujing commands the Yin-Yang Five-Element Thunder Arts.

"But the old True Person is near the end of his lifespan. He won't act unless he has to. He only needs to control the grand formation and keep the third-tier sea beasts out."

Master Yujing was an elderly Golden Core True Person whose lifespan was nearly over. He had settled in Green Ridge City to await his death.

He rarely acted, only laying down a spirit qi formation to keep the powerful sea beasts out.

As long as the powerful sea beasts couldn't enter the city, they would have survived more than half the calamity.

But the spirit qi formation could only stop powerful sea beasts. First- and second-tier beasts, on par with the Body Tempering and Qi Refining Realms, could pass through it.

They would seek out the formation's crucial rune nodes inside the city and destroy them.

If too many were destroyed, the formation would fail. Then the powerful sea beasts could storm the city, and its people would perish.

That was Luo Zhou and the others' task: stop the first- and second-tier sea beasts from destroying the formation nodes.

Foundation Establishment cultivators guarded against attacks by third-tier sea beasts. They wouldn't lightly intervene against first- and second-tier ones.

"Don't be afraid, everyone."

Cheng Peng started pumping them up again.

"As long as we hold the city for seven days, the water qi will dissipate, and the sea beasts will leave on their own."

Someone asked, "Will the commandery send reinforcements?"

Cheng Peng fell silent. After a long while, he said:

"There's no way. The sea beasts are attacking the city, and water qi has us surrounded. No one can break through except a Nascent Soul True Lord.

"Besides, all eleven coastal cities in the commandery are under siege by sea beasts at the same time. The commandery's forces are limited. Don't count on them."

Luo Zhou was speechless. He had thought Green Ridge City was the only place under siege by sea beasts.

He hadn't expected all eleven coastal cities in the commandery to be surrounded.

The Jellyfish Saint's guardian really was a bastard!

Suddenly, someone shouted, "They're here! They're here!"

The spirit qi shield encircled the whole city, with another three to five li of space beyond the walls.

Sea beasts began burrowing through the spirit qi shield and entering that space.

There were two kinds of sea beasts. One kind had the form of fish and beasts: Crocodile Dragons, Siege Crabs, Death-Claiming Turtles, sea elephants, sea lions, giant octopuses, giant sharks...

Though there wasn't much water in the space, some unknown force buoyed them up, letting them swim freely as if they were underwater.

The other kind were humanoids: Fishmen, Naga, Sharkmen, Whale Men, Hippocampus Men...

Sea beasts were numerous and humanoids were scarce, but the humanoids were all leaders who commanded the beasts as they surged in from every direction.

Cheng Peng roared, "Everyone, our families are right behind us! For Green Ridge City—fight!"

With that, he leaped into the air and jumped down from the wall first.

The others followed, leaping from the wall and charging into battle.

Those with battle formations formed up. Those without fought on their own, while archers and crossbowmen began drawing and firing.

Luo Zhou swung his tempered copper staff and charged into the fight with them!