Every guard atop the gate tower flinched.
Through the gray, snow-laden wind, billowing clouds of snow rose at the far end of the land.
They blotted out the sky and sun, with a black mass of beasts beneath them stretching farther than the eye could see.
"So many? Are they all demon beasts? How are we supposed to hold them off?"
Some of the newly recruited soldiers on the walls began to tremble.
In the past, these men had risked their lives fighting even ordinary wild beasts when they went hunting in the mountains.
Even the lowest first-tier demon beasts were far more vicious than tigers and wolves, liable to swallow people alive or tear them apart.
Now, before the horde had even drawn close, its immense demonic aura surged skyward, gathering into dark clouds overhead.
What ordinary person could still find the courage to hold a saber before such a sight?
Chaos immediately broke out atop the gate tower, and some men seemed ready to flee.
Liu Qingcang's gaze turned cold and fierce. With his hand on his saber, he strode to the front of the tower and barked:
"Anyone who deserts his post will be executed!"
"All noncombatants, get off the walls immediately! Everyone else, prepare for battle with me!"
At his thunderous command, the elderly and weak laborers who had been helping reinforce the battlements hurried away.
Behind them, the new recruits tightened trembling hands around their spears and could only grit their teeth and step up.
Seeing this, Xiao Tang hastily tugged at A-Ning's sleeve from behind and urged:
"My lady! We should go too!"
A-Ning pressed her lips together and took one last look beyond the walls.
The beast tide was surging toward the town, snow billowing across the sky. There was no sign of