In half an hour, the Awakened guarding the southern wall killed nearly ten thousand Living Corpses, their bodies piling up like mountains beyond the city wall.
But more than a hundred Awakened had also been killed or injured. Many wounded Awakened did not withdraw, instead receiving treatment in the rear before returning to the front as soon as they could fight again.
Five thousand people versus eighty thousand Living Corpses.
This was an immensely difficult challenge.
Even if the Living Corpses stood still, it would take several hours to deal with so many of them.
What was more, these Living Corpses were incredibly fast and charged madly. Several times, they had climbed onto the city wall. If not for Bai De and the other powerhouses reacting quickly and dealing with them in time, once their formation fell into chaos, it would have been a true catastrophe.
At that moment, Feng Laixian's pupils suddenly contracted.
His gaze locked onto a Living Corpse, and he said in disbelief, "It's... him!"
Several hundred meters away beneath the city wall, a Living Corpse staggered forward. With a stiff smile on its face, it approached at an unhurried pace.
"Hall Master, that is..." Bai De also spotted the familiar Living Corpse. He walked to Feng Laixian's side and said in shock.
Feng Laixian said gravely, "Yes. It's him—Lin Benshi, our senior brother!"
"Didn't Lin Benshi disappear thirty years ago? How could he appear among these Living Corpses? Could it be..." Bai De clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
Feng Laixian closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. He said softly, "No matter what, he was once the senior brother of our Beast King Fist Hall. This time, I'll be the one to send him on his way."
The Living Corpse below was named Lin Benshi. He had once been Feng Laixian's senior brother, as well as the father of Lin Kedi, captain of the Patrol Team.
Thirty years ago, Lin Benshi had been ordered to investigate a case involving missing Awakened, only to vanish without a trace. Mingzhu City had dispatched people to search for him many times, but they never found any sign of him.
In the end, Mingzhu City classified Lin Benshi as missing rather than dead.
Feng Laixian had never expected to see his senior brother again today in such a form.
The senior brother who had introduced him to the sect, treated him kindly, and possessed a gentle, easygoing nature had now become neither human nor ghost.
At that moment, blazing fury ignited within Feng Laixian. He had originally only intended to defend the city and concern himself with nothing else, but whoever was behind this had already enraged him.
"Hide well, you sewer rats. You'd better pray that I, Feng, never find out who you are!"
Feng Laixian narrowed his eyes, then leaped straight down from the city wall. The instant he landed outside the wall, he unleashed a terrifying roar.
Ahead of him, countless Living Corpses gradually twisted beneath the roar. Their bones were slowly shattered by the vibrations, leaving only heaps of rotten flesh collapsed on the ground.
Feng Laixian tore open his shirt, and the temperature around him rapidly began to rise.
Even the Awakened atop the city wall could feel a scorching heat rushing toward them.
"Senior Brother, your junior brother will send you on your way!"
Feng Laixian looked at Lin Benshi drifting toward him from afar and spoke solemnly.
In the distance, Lin Benshi still wore that stiff smile, green light gleaming from his eyes. In an instant, his speed surged. Both hands tore through the air as he attacked Feng Laixian with a piercing howl.
As the two clashed, Lin Benshi used the Phoenix Claw Form, while Feng Laixian used the Giant Crocodile Form.
Both were claw techniques, and the former was even an advanced form of the latter.
Yet the moment they exchanged blows, Lin Benshi's fingers were broken. At the same time, Feng Laixian's fingers "bit" several holes into the edge of his arm.
Twist!
Both men left the ground at once and spun through the air.
Feng Laixian was imitating a crocodile's death roll, while Lin Benshi followed the rotation to offset the attack.
After spinning once and landing, Lin Benshi suddenly opened his mouth. His gray tongue shot out fiercely, forcing Feng Laixian to release him and retreat.
"His combat experience remains... Is it bodily instinct?"
Feng Laixian watched Lin Benshi flick his tongue and silently considered it.
He remembered that Lin Benshi's ability was Body Mutation. It was an ability exceptionally suited to Beast King Fist. Through constant mutation, one might eventually even surpass humanity completely and become a true monster.
For instance, Lin Benshi's tongue could shoot out like a chameleon's, and its tip was covered in countless tiny venomous barbs. Once struck, one would instantly be infected with thousands of different viruses, making it extremely troublesome.
Lin Benshi's skin could also withstand high temperatures and even possessed functions similar to those of cold-blooded animals. Once the surrounding temperature became too high, his blood would cool, absorbing external heat to increase his own activity.
Several of Feng Laixian's attack methods were, in fact, countered by Lin Benshi.
But Lin Benshi had been dead for too long, while Feng Laixian was still alive and had trained for over thirty years longer than him. That was why Feng Laixian had suppressed Lin Benshi the moment they fought.
However, Lin Benshi's ability was simply too well suited to Beast King Fist. Feng Laixian wanted to use Beast King Fist techniques to give him one final send-off, but that would not be easy. "Again!"
Feng Laixian took a deep breath and roared.
His roar instantly killed the Living Corpses that had drawn near. Lin Benshi was also forced back several steps, but he suffered no damage; only his clothes were torn in many places.
In fact, Lin Benshi had already been a Top-Tier Awakened thirty years ago, and Feng Laixian was seventeen years younger than him.
Strictly speaking, Feng Laixian belonged to the same generation as Lin Benshi's son, Lin Kedi. It was only because Feng Laixian had joined the Beast King Fist Hall and become Lin Benshi's fellow disciple that they were considered of the same generation.
Feng Laixian stepped with Ape Step and arrived at Lin Benshi's right side in an instant. Both men threw punches at each other like tigers leaving their dens, but it was only a feint. Though they appeared to be attacking ahead, their rear legs secretly kicked toward each other's weak points.
They retreated after a single strike.
Feng Laixian frowned. Lin Benshi's foot could curve.
He had failed to kick Lin Benshi just now, yet Lin Benshi had kicked him. Fortunately, his physical body was far stronger than Lin Benshi's, so the kick meant nothing to him.
He drew a breath and shouted, "Senior Brother, let's do this again!"
Then he launched another attack. Lin Benshi seemed to have recovered some instinct from before his death. Whatever move Feng Laixian used, Lin Benshi used the same move, and the two continuously dismantled each other's attacks.
On the city wall, Bai De watched the battle below with rapt attention and unexpectedly felt that he had gained greatly from it. The Beast King Fist, which had not improved for a long time, seemed to have given him many new insights at this moment.
"Hall Master Feng is wasting his stamina like this. What if an even stronger Living Corpse appears?" An Awakened moved closer to Bai De and asked worriedly.
Bai De kept his eyes fixed on the battle below and replied, "The Hall Master has not used his full strength. Don't worry. He knows what he's doing."
More than anyone else, he understood Feng Laixian's strength.
Right now, Feng Laixian was only fighting Lin Benshi with pure Beast King Fist. He had not used any of his own abilities at all. Otherwise, if he used them, Lin Benshi's current strength would be reduced to ashes in an instant.
The Beast King Fist Hall had stood firm for decades. On one hand, it possessed the True Inheritance Secret Art; on the other, Feng Laixian's strength was sufficient to suppress all opposition.
In truth, Feng Laixian entering the battle against Lin Benshi was not without its benefits.
Many Living Corpses had their attention drawn to Feng Laixian, greatly reducing the pressure on the Awakened atop the city wall.
Most noticeably, the casualty rate plummeted. The medical staff could finally catch their breath and use the chance to eat compressed rations and recover their strength.