A brutal battle

After receiving news of the invasion of the Supreme Demon Domain Ancient Pool Village, Lin Yi did not immediately return to the Ancient Domain to provide support. Instead, he first brought Gu Chenghu, Gu Man, and others to the Spirit Vine World, then activated the Activation Code and returned to Blue Star.

Upon arriving on Blue Star, Gu Chenghu, Gu Man, Tian Xiaoye, and the others were naturally incredibly curious, and they longed for the world of the Descendant.

However, Lin Yi didn't have time to settle them down right now, so he had Ginger Frost, Little Monster, and others take them along to familiarize them with the lifestyle and rules of Blue Star.

Next, Lin Yi searched the entire Linhe City for traces of the Mage and the Zun Sheng, and even used the Jade Token Spirit Treasure to contact Wu Shi, but the two may have already left Blue Star and there was no response.

With no other option, Lin Yi had to return to the Heavenly Initiate World and planned to go to the Second Tong Pass alone to provide assistance.

However, as soon as he logged on, Lin Yi saw several urgent messages left by Zi Shanshui in the Jade Token Spirit Treasure.

"Gentlemen, we urgently need reinforcements. The Supreme Demon Domain has over a hundred Heaven-Piercing Demon God this time. A few hours ago, Qian Xuan, the Tong Pass Guardian, sacrificed himself..."

Did Qian Xuan sacrifice himself?

Upon hearing this news, Lin Yi frowned slightly.

Although Qian Xuan and he were at odds and could be considered enemies, Ru Yan couldn't help but feel a little emotional when he learned that Qian Xuan had perished while resisting the invading Heaven-Piercing Demon God.

Moreover, the death of the Tong Pass Guardian is a great tragedy that has not occurred in the Ancient Domain for tens of thousands of years.

It seems that the Supreme Demon Domain's surprise attack this time was serious.

Zi Shanshui's voice, slightly weak and weary, came again. "If the Monster attacks slow down, I still have thirteen Eight-Realm Martial Saint left, but all of them are injured... Among them, the Envoy-level Demon God of the Supreme Demon Domain has not shown up. I suspect that the Supreme Demon Domain's surprise attack on Tong Pass must be part of a grand conspiracy..."

"I estimate that the Second Tong Pass will fall within half a day at most. If you can arrive before then, that would be best. If not, then abandon the support and wait for the Ancient Domain to launch a counterattack..."

"However, I, Zi Shanshui, will surely live and die with the Second Tong Pass!"

In the Jade Token Spirit Treasure exchange group, only Yu Ye, the Deputy Prefect Yu Ye the Western Guard, has replied, "Deputy Prefect Zi, rest assured, I have summoned the forces of the Yutong Tongguan Prefecture and they will definitely arrive within half a day. You must hold on. The Ancestral Saint is also on his way."

There was no response from Qiu Heming, the Deputy Prefect the Southern Guard, in the group chat. Lin Yi guessed that he might be refining something from the ' Hidden Wind ' he obtained from the Black Abyss Cave and was still in seclusion.

But relying solely on Yu Ye's support is probably not enough.

Thinking of this, Lin Yi replied, "I'm on my way too, Deputy Prefect Zi, please hang in there."

At this moment, the attacking Monster at the Second Tong Pass temporarily retreated.

Countless Monster corpses lay scattered beneath the city walls, their pungent blood spreading and staining the surface in large patches, emitting a nauseating stench under the sunlight.

The tattered flags of the Second Tong Pass fluttered helplessly in the wind. The once bright flags were riddled with holes and scorched black by the flames of the Monster. The city emblem embroidered on them was also blurred and difficult to discern.

Below the banner lay several mutilated corpses of the city's defenders, their armor shattered, limbs twisted, and flesh and blood ripped from their wounds—a gruesome sight.

"Finally, we've withdrawn..."

Some seventh realm Martial Saint helped each other down from the towering, broken city wall.

The remaining soldiers guarding the city listlessly collected the bodies of their comrades, but few of them remained intact; most had been devoured by the Monster.

At this moment, Zi Shanshui was covered in Monster Blood and looked disheveled, with several cracks and gaps appearing in the Treasured Armor armor on his body.

But she had no time to embellish herself; instead, she summoned several Martial Saint Adjutant from the Second Tong Pass to inquire about the casualties.

"Reporting to Deputy Prefect Zi, in the battle to defend the pass just now, of the 13,000 soldiers of the Second Tong Pass, more than 1,000 were killed, and more than 400 went missing. Among them, a Martial Saint Adjutant was killed in action, as was the Qian Zhenshou..."

Upon hearing of the devastating casualties at the Second Tong Pass Prefecture, with more than half of its personnel lost, Zi Shanshui remained silent for a moment before saying, "Qian Xuan is not bad, as expected of someone from the Qian Family. You all did a good job just now as well."

Several Martial Saint Adjutant sighed. They had all witnessed Qian Xuan single-handedly blocking the Heaven-Piercing Demon God from stepping onto the city wall, thus buying time for the large number of soldiers defending the city to escape.

Perhaps they had some resentment and dissatisfaction with this Garrison Commander with the Qian Family background before, but after the battle just now, they only have admiration for Qian Xuan.

After all, the person is dead; all we can do is admire and remember them.

Zi Shanshui then asked, "What were the casualties of the seventh realm Martial Saint who came with the omen?"

Elder Qiu of Martial Saint City: "Of the thirty-two seventh realm Martial Saint, we have lost several. As for the Eight-Realm Martial Saint Ancestor, some have also perished in battle; two of them have died..."

Upon hearing this, an Eight-Realm Martial Saint sighed, "Two of them have actually died. According to historical records, during the last attack on the Ancient Domain by the Demon Domain, none of the Eight-Realm Ancestor of our Ancient Domain died."

Another Eight-Realm Martial Saint said, "The Supreme Demon Domain's attack was hasty this time, and it took advantage of the absence of the Tongguan Prefecture's high-ranking officials. Otherwise, our reinforcements would have arrived long ago."

"There are just too many Heaven-Piercing Demon God, who are pestering us like mad dogs. Otherwise, we could kill as many of those low-level Monster King as there are."

Tai Shang Zhou head of the Tai Shang Family, chimed in, "On this day, I think Tongguan Prefecture will bear a heavy responsibility!"

Seeing everyone's gaze turn towards him, he continued, "Not only is the Prefect of Tong Pass absent, but even the Central Guard Deputy Prefect is nowhere to be found. If they can arrive in time, what difference does it make if there are many invading Heaven-Piercing Demon God?"

Clearly, he wanted to shift the blame for the unfavorable outcome of the battle onto Tongguan Prefecture.

Zi Shanshui took a deep breath. The responsibility for Qian Xuan's death and the large number of soldiers defending the city being devoured lay entirely with Tai Shang Zhou.

That old bastard Ruyi actually tried to turn the tables on us; how hateful!

However, considering the overall situation, she did not expose Tai Shang Zhou's shortcomings in public. Instead, she said in a deep voice, "The Supreme Demon Domain will definitely launch a second attack in a short time. Everyone, do not forget our previous promise. We will fight to the death and never retreat."

Elder Qiu gritted his teeth and replied, "Fine, we'll fight to the death!"

"Since you are not afraid of Monster, we old folks who have lived for hundreds of years are not afraid of Monster either. We will fight to the death and perish with Tong Pass!"

"I will fight to the death and never retreat!"

Seeing that the Eight-Realm Martial Saint present all expressed their determination to fight to the death and not retreat, Tai Shang Zhou could only reluctantly echo their sentiments.

At this moment, Zi Shanshui looked at him and said, "Brother Taishang, I have heard that your Tai Shang Family is irreconcilably opposed to Monster, and that the Tai Shang Family's ' Milky Way ' Domain, combined with the Sunset Glow Sword Art, can slaughter ten thousand demons. Next, the great task of guarding Tong Pass will probably be entrusted to you."

Tai Shang Zhou looked troubled. Wasn't this sending him to the front?

What a ruthless woman, taking revenge on him like this!

"I..."

Before Tai Shang Zhou could reply, several Eight-Realm Martial Saint nearby spoke up one after another:

"It will be no problem to hand this over to Elder Brother Taishang. As long as we can kill the demon, there will be no cowards in the Tai Shang Family."

"Indeed. I heard that the first ancestor of the Tai Shang Family swore an oath to exterminate all the Monster in the world. Brother Taishang is a hero of the Tai Shang Family. When it comes to killing demons, they will definitely be at the forefront."

Seeing that many powerful elders were putting him in a difficult position, Tai Shang Zhou grew increasingly angry, but he had no way to refute them.

If he dares to say he doesn't dare to kill demons today, when he returns to his clan, the Nine-Realm Ancestor will probably slap him to death.

After all, the face of the Tai Shang Family is more important than anything else.

The Supreme Being's extermination of demons is the foundation of their family's existence.

He could only say resentfully, "Please stop provoking me. It's just about blocking the Monster in front, right? I'll take that!"

Zi Shanshui stared at him for a moment and transmitted his voice, "I hope that you will not desert your post again, otherwise my gun may be stained with the blood of your own people."

Tai Shang Zhou said irritably, "Don't worry, I still have my pride, but once the demon plague is over, your Tongguan Prefecture will certainly not escape its responsibility!"

After everyone rested for half an hour, the second wave of Monster attacked the pass again.

Smoke billowed from the city walls, drums thundered, and beneath the thousand-foot-high walls, a tidal wave of Monster surged forth.

Compared to the first time, this time the Monster attacked the pass with more strategy. Low-level melee Monster King served as the front line, while Monster with ranged abilities served as firepower in the back line.

In the sky, dozens of Heaven-Piercing Demon God hovered and stood, their demonic aura permeating the air and blotting out the sun, responsible for controlling the high-end combat power of the Ancient Domain.

"Follow me to meet the enemy and slay the Monster!"

Zi Shanshui charged forward again, spear in hand, and was the first to break through.

Its Annihilation Domain unfolded, filling the surrounding space with a chilling aura, and its spear power instantly increased several times over.

Several Heaven-Piercing Demon God also rushed up in unison, unleashing their respective Demon Domain to resist Zi Shanshui's Domain.

"Kill her! This woman is hateful. Today we will surround her and kill her. I've already decided to take her head!"

"I want that body!"

"Hiss, I don't need much, I just want its limbs..."

Zi Shanshui snorted coldly, her killing intent overflowing. "If you want to eat me, leave your lives behind first!"

On the other side, many Eight-Realm Martial Saint Ancestor and more than twenty seventh realm Martial Saint also faced off against their respective Heaven-Piercing Demon God.

However, this time there were more Heaven-Piercing Demon God, and as soon as the battle broke out, many Eight-Realm Ancestor were at a disadvantage.

Some Eight-Realm Ancestor were even chased and killed by five or six Heaven-Piercing Demon God, and had no power to fight back at all.

It should be noted that the realms of Monster are different from those of the Ancient Domain martial arts. In terms of combat power, even the weakest Heaven-Piercing Demon God is roughly comparable to the mid-stage of the seventh realm Martial Saint.

The more powerful Heaven-Piercing Demon God can fight against the Eight-Realm Ancestor without being at a disadvantage.

Moreover, the Heaven-Piercing Demon God that appeared this time are Supreme Demon Domain, and their combat power is no less than that of the Five-Clawed Dark Dragon.

Under the siege of these powerful Heaven-Piercing Demon God, some Eight-Realm Ancestor who were not good at fighting were naturally forced to retreat one after another.

Above Tong Pass, although the many Eight-Realm Ancestor were at a disadvantage, the Tai Shang Zhou who had joined the defense of the city were fighting extremely well.

It was only because it secretly concealed its presence on the thousand-foot city wall that it suddenly appeared after a large number of low-level Monster King attacked the city.

In just a few breaths, he unleashed the ' Milky Way ' Real Domain, combined with the Tai Shang Family's Milky Way Sunset Sword Art, to wipe out dozens of Monster King in the surrounding area, greatly relieving the pressure on the defending soldiers.

This scene caused many Heaven-Piercing Demon God to curse loudly.

"Despicable humans, disregarding the rules, slaughtering the weak."

The Eight-Realm Martial Saint Ancestor retorted, "Hmph, weren't you Monster the same way before? You still have the nerve to talk about rules?"