Wang Daoyuan had read quite a few books on Demon Beasts, yet he had never heard of any species possessing such bizarre spells. The beasts present were all common varieties, with no unusual breeds among them.
And this caravan seemed to have been stalling for time all along.
Though the caravan had far fewer people and was vastly outnumbered by the Demon Beasts, it held an absolute advantage in Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Yet the caravan's Foundation Establishment Cultivators had not used that advantage to launch an attack and relieve the pressure on their Qi Refinement cultivators.
During the Demon Beasts' first probing attack, the Foundation Establishment Cultivators had not acted at all. During the second probe, they had only helped after the beasts charged into the wagon formation. When the beasts scattered and fled, they had not stopped them.
As for the cultivators lying in ambush east of Returning Goose Valley, Wang Daoyuan alone had spotted over a thousand. Since the Demon Beasts usually hid in the dense forest west of Returning Goose Valley, there should have been even more cultivators lying in wait there.
If those people charged down directly, wiping out the Demon Beasts in the valley would have been effortless. Their continued inaction most likely meant they thought the fish were too small.
With too little information at hand, Wang Daoyuan could not infer much. He simply stopped thinking about it, carefully observed the battle, and waited for the moment the mystery was unveiled.
Within the valley, the Demon Beasts naturally refused to accept their second failure and began preparing a third attack.
The Black Eagle let out a shriek in the sky and dove straight toward the wagon formation, with more than a thousand Flying Beasts close behind it.
At the Flying Beasts' speed, they would reach the wagon formation in five breaths at most. Compared with ground beasts, avian Demon Beasts were faster and more agile. A volley from Spirit Crossbows could only hit a few, while Talismans posed no threat to them at all.
This time, the caravan's Foundation Establishment Cultivators stopped playing dumb. The moment the Black Eagle charged, they acted one after another.
Eleven Foundation Establishment Cultivators rushed forward. Then, eleven Flying Swords shot into the sky, weaving through the flock and raising blossom after blossom of blood.
Feathers of every color fluttered down from the sky, while bird carcasses of all sizes crashed to the ground.
In just one breath, over a hundred Flying Beasts became ghosts beneath the swords. The Flying Beasts were not fools either. How could they dare charge directly at Foundation Establishment Cultivators? They scattered in all directions, and the menacing attack was defused once more.
The several Second-Order Demon Beasts naturally could not stand by and watch. They roared and led all the beasts in a charge. The Black Eagle also regrouped the Flying Beasts to harass the caravan cultivators and cover the beast horde.
Seeing the Demon Beasts pour forth in full force, the caravan responded at once. The gray-robed cultivator faced the Black Eagle alone, while three other Foundation Establishment Cultivators split off to hold back the other three Second-Order Demon Beasts. Of the remaining seven, four continued slaughtering the Flying Beasts, while three attacked the ground-bound Demon Beasts.
The Qi Refinement cultivators were not idle either. They lifted the wagon canopies, revealing the great killing weapons inside—Giant Spirit Crossbows, identical to the Spirit Crossbows mounted atop Golden Goose City's walls. Immediately afterward, the Qi Refinement cultivators took out Mid-grade Spirit Stones and installed them into the Giant Crossbows.
Wang Daoyuan knew nothing of artifact refining and could not discern the grade of these Giant Spirit Crossbows. However, one thing was certain: these Giant Crossbows were at least second-order artifacts. With Mid-grade Spirit Stones added, they absolutely possessed the power to kill Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
There were more than twenty wagons, and thus more than twenty Giant Crossbows. If the Demon Beasts had surged forward as one, the wagon formation would certainly have been breached. But with these Giant Crossbows, the victor was still uncertain.
The Qi Refinement cultivators swiftly activated the Giant Crossbows. More than twenty pillars of light as thick as arms shot forth, streaking toward the beast horde.
In an instant, the light pillars crossed a li and plunged into the Demon Beast horde. Having learned from their first attack, the Demon Beasts did not cluster together, but spread out.
Yet more than two thousand Demon Beasts were gathered in a narrow valley. No matter how they dispersed, they could not possibly appear sparse.
As more than twenty light pillars came hurtling in, several hundred Demon Beasts stood in their paths. Seeing the pillars coming for them, those beasts immediately tried to dodge.
Unfortunately, compared to the light pillars, the Demon Beasts were far too slow. The foremost beasts had barely begun to evade when the pillars pierced through them. Only the agile beasts farther back escaped disaster.
The more than twenty light pillars bored over twenty channels through the beast horde. More than two hundred Demon Beasts died unnatural deaths, and the losses exceeded a tenth of the horde.
The only flaw was that not a single Second-Order Demon Beast had died. Still, even they were startled by the light pillars.
The one thing that gave the Demon Beasts cause for relief was that a single Mid-grade Spirit Stone could only support one shot from a Giant Crossbow. Once the light pillars were fired, the Qi Refinement cultivators immediately replaced the Mid-grade Spirit Stones.
Replacing the Spirit Stones wasted three breaths, and the Demon Beasts seized the chance to rush forward. At their current speed, the Giant Crossbows could fire at most two more volleys. After those two volleys, the beasts would be able to kill their way into the wagon formation.
Three breaths later, the second volley fired. The beast horde was too close now. Apart from the Second-Order Demon Beasts, none had time to react before dying beneath the light pillars. More than twenty channels were plowed through the horde again, and nearly four hundred Demon Beasts perished.
Together with those slain by the Foundation Establishment Cultivators' Flying Swords, fewer than two thousand Demon Beasts remained. The beasts trembled in fear, and some had already begun to flee. Yet under the roars of the Second-Order Demon Beasts, the fleeing beasts returned to the horde and charged onward with gritted teeth.
Another three breaths passed, and the third wave of light pillars arrived as promised. This time, the Demon Beasts suffered even greater casualties, with over six hundred falling. Only a little over a thousand land beasts remained, and the survivors were on the verge of collapse.
Three volleys of arrows had already blasted away the Demon Beasts' courage. Though they stood only a step away from the wagon formation, most still did not dare leap inside.
While the land beasts circled about without daring to enter, the Flying Beasts only grew more valiant. Whether Giant Crossbows, hand crossbows, or Talismans, none could pose a fatal threat to them. What the Flying Beasts truly feared were the Foundation Establishment Cultivators' Flying Swords.
However, after suffering a round of slaughter at the Foundation Establishment Cultivators' hands, the Flying Beasts spread out even more. Free from the constraints of narrow terrain in the air, more than a thousand Flying Beasts flew everywhere. Each pass of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator's Flying Sword through the flock could kill only one or two.
Relying on their advantage in speed and agility, the Flying Beasts easily killed their way into the wagon formation.
A peak first-order goshawk dove down. Its body shifted several times midair, successfully dodging several light arrows fired by small Spirit Crossbows and several Talisman attacks before pouncing on an old man.
Seeing the goshawk pounce at him, the old man threw aside his Spirit Crossbow and was about to take something out to fight. Alas, he was far too slow. The goshawk's claw seized him by the crown of his head.
The goshawk released its talon, kicked hard against the old man's skull, then beat its wings several times and soared back into the sky.
Four bloody holes appeared in the old man's crown, blood streaming all over his face. He seemed deeply unwilling to accept this, struggling several times before finally collapsing without strength.
Similar scenes played out constantly within the wagon formation. Seeing the Flying Beasts slaughter the caravan cultivators with no difficulty at all, the ground beasts regained a trace of courage and charged into the wagon formation to join the melee.
The overall situation had been decided. The caravan had no power to turn the tide. Under the combined aerial and ground assault of more than two thousand Demon Beasts, only death awaited them.
Before long, fewer than ten cultivators remained alive within the wagon formation. Even those still alive were all severely wounded. Three took out Earth Escape Talismans and fled underground. The other cultivators had no Earth Escape Talismans, and moments later, all died at the Demon Beasts' hands.
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