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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 176: Wind Card Earth Pearl
When Ji Zichen returned to Wei Ye's side, Wei Ye's team had already reached the walls of Mountain Valley City, where a dark mass of Cult members appeared atop the fortifications.
Wei Ye frowned and said, "The color of this wall is different from last time."
The wall was a shade of blue, not the usual earthy color. Xia Lian glanced at it for a moment and remarked, "It's Royal King Gu Water. Royal King Gu Water can make the walls as solid as steel, and they have also splashed it on the city gates."
Wei Ye gritted his teeth in frustration. "We should have taken Mountain Valley last time; unfortunately, we gave them time to prepare. But no matter how fortified it is, we must breach it."
Wei Ye ordered the soldiers to prepare ladders, and the Ladder team began to set them up for the assault.
Seeing the soldiers erecting ladders, the Cult members on the wall started bringing large wooden barrels. Occasionally, flickers of phosphorescent flames could be seen escaping from inside; these barrels were filled with Ghost Scale Oil. The barrels were large and required two people to carry, weighing quite a bit.
At first, no one noticed these large barrels because everyone's attention was focused on the soldiers setting up the ladders. The Cult members rained down arrows to prevent the Ladder soldiers from getting closer. Although the arrows fell rapidly, they could not stop the sheer number of attackers. Soon enough, eight ladders were already against the wall.
Without needing anyone to report it, Wei Ye could see that many soldiers had already fallen. However, he had no choice but to press on; Prince Huixin wanted good news, not reports of casualties.
"As long as one ladder has someone on it, we have a great chance of opening the city gates," Wei Ye said, his eyes fixed intently on the movements of the Ladder soldiers.
Ji Zichen saw the Cult members beginning to pour Ghost Scale Oil down upon them. The boiling blue liquid drenched the unsuspecting soldiers above, who screamed in agony. This Ghost Scale Oil was not only scalding hot but also contained deadly toxins. Soldiers splattered with it fell from the ladders in a tangle, their bodies turning blue as they succumbed to death on the spot.
Wei Ye's expression turned pale with shock. "What are those...!" Ji Zichen shouted in horror, "Commander Wei! Quickly order them to retreat!"
In an instant, Ghost Scale Oil poured down like a torrential rain upon the climbing soldiers. Some who hadn’t yet reached the ladders scrambled for cover at the base of the wall, desperately trying to escape as chaos erupted within their ranks.
They could face enemy claws and blades bravely because those threats could be repelled with weapons. But against the Cult's scalding toxic oil, they were powerless.
Faced with this sudden crisis, Wei Ye felt helpless but knew they could not retreat; doing so would shatter their morale. Steeling himself, he ordered the drummers to beat their drums, signaling to the soldiers that retreat was not an option or they would face military punishment.
Seeing Wei Ye refuse to pull back his troops left Ji Zichen puzzled about his intentions as more and more soldiers fell. Suddenly seizing a horse, Ji Zichen dashed forward like an arrow released from its bow. The sounds of anguished screams echoed around him; this was not about showing off—under such circumstances, even his considerable abilities would be of little use. Ji Zichen rushed into battle because he spotted Man Chengwen amidst the chaos.
This time, being beside Ji Zichen allowed Man Chengwen to showcase his abilities, which caught Wei Ye's attention. Consequently, Wei Ye borrowed Man Chengwen from Zhang City Lord. Man Chengwen was appointed as the captain of one of the vanguard teams for this siege. It was his first time being entrusted with such a heavy responsibility, and he began leading his troops with confidence. However, now...
The scene before Man Chengwen extinguished all his fighting spirit. He sat frozen on his mount, as if turned to stone, watching helplessly as the grand battle plan crumbled into nothingness. He couldn't think of any actions to turn the tide of battle.
His subordinates and soldiers looked at their captain with helplessness, while the vice captain saw no hope on Man Chengwen's face. "Captain! Order them to retreat! Continuing like this will only lead to needless sacrifices!" the Vice Captain urged, his voice trembling.
"Did you not hear the drums of war?" Man Chengwen replied sternly. "No matter how many lives are lost, we must climb up! Prepare the ladder; this time we charge together!"
Despite knowing that this was undoubtedly a death sentence, Man Chengwen remained undaunted. He led a team with a ladder toward the city wall. The ladder was set against the wall, but before anyone could climb up, a torrent of Ghost Scale Oil poured down from above.
Most were splashed by it. The Vice Captain grabbed Man Chengwen's arm and shouted, "Retreat! This is impossible!"
Man Chengwen shook off the Vice Captain's grip and shouted back, "Let go of me! If you're afraid to die, then run away! I will not retreat!"
The Vice Captain stared at him in disbelief. "Captain! This will only lead to death!"
Fury surged within Man Chengwen. "Release me! Or I swear I'll cut you down!"
The Vice Captain realized he could no longer persuade Man Chengwen, but he also didn't want to flee in disgrace. He feared that if he ran away now, he would never find peace again. Yet if he stayed, he might lose his life. Just as the Vice Captain hesitated, Man Chengwen forcefully pushed him aside.
As Man Chengwen prepared to ascend the ladder, a large amount of Ghost Scale Oil suddenly poured down from above. In that critical moment, Ji Zichen leaped to his side and conjured a Wind Barrier, enveloping Man Chengwen and two nearby soldiers. However, the range of Ji Zichen's Wind Barrier was limited; while it protected Man Chengwen and a few others, the other soldiers were drenched in Ghost Scale Oil.
The Ghost Scale Oil melted armor and seared skin with excruciating pain that pierced deep into their bones, causing their bodies to sizzle. Ji Zichen quickly pulled them back; as they exited the area drenched in Ghost Scale Oil, Ji Zichen stumbled over a corpse that tripped her feet. They all fell into a pile of dead soldiers whose faces had twisted beyond recognition due to exposure and poisoning.
The surviving soldiers on the ground writhed in agony, their features grotesque as they screamed in terror.
Ji Zichen felt powerless to help them.
Casualties among the soldiers continued to rise without posing any real threat to the Cult on the wall. Only sporadic Feathered Arrows were shot toward the wall, taking down a few members of the Cult, but it was utterly ineffective; the overall strength of their forces had not been unleashed at all.
Ji Zichen was the first to crawl out from the pile of corpses. He shouted, "Chengwen! Don't act rashly! Even if you die, it won't change the situation!"
Man Chengwen stood before Ji Zichen, his eyes finally reddening. "But... but..."
Ji Zichen pondered for a moment and asked, "How many magical artifacts do you have right now?"
Man Chengwen didn't understand why Ji Zichen was asking this, but he sensed that Ji Zichen must have some plan. Suddenly, his heart raced, and he glanced at the still-living soldiers before responding, "Ten magical artifacts, specifically wind talismans."
That was far from enough, but it was better than nothing. Ji Zichen said, "Show me what those artifacts are."
Man Chengwen immediately issued orders for the Thunder Mage Soldiers to display the artifacts in their hands for Ji Zichen to inspect. As Ji Zichen scanned them, he noticed that the artifacts were all of the same two types: wind talismans and Earth Pearls. These were ordinary magical artifacts with limited range. Ji Zichen looked toward the city wall to gauge the distance.
At that moment, a soldier ran toward them, his eyes bloodshot. He called out, "The left-wing Ladder team has suffered heavy casualties! We can barely hold on! Our captain sent me to borrow some people from you." The soldier pointed to the left. "Our captain is injured, and the vice commander is in charge! Please send us some help!"
The Vice Captain shot a glare at the soldier. "If you need people, why don't you go find Commander Wei? We don't have anyone to spare for you."
The soldier looked troubled. "Our men haven't made it to the wall yet. If I go back now to ask for reinforcements, Commander Wei will have my head!"
Man Chengwen understood the soldier's predicament, but he truly had no one to give him. At that moment, Ji Zichen interjected, "You go back and tell your vice commander to pull back some men. I'll find a way up there. In five minutes, you'll hear commotion on the wall at Ladder."
The soldier was taken aback. "You can get up there in five minutes?"
Although Man Chengwen wasn't this soldier's commander, he scolded him, "You should do as he says! Hurry up! Otherwise, more lives will be lost!"
The soldier hesitated, casting a doubtful glance at Ji Zichen, but ultimately turned to leave.
Man Chengwen looked at Ji Zichen with renewed hope. "Do you really have a way to get up there?"
Ji Zichen wasn't entirely confident but replied, "I'll give it a try. Have the Thunder Mage Soldiers throw their wind talismans and Earth Pearls; that will give me a chance to ascend."
Man Chengwen still couldn't understand, "Why can you go up like this?"
Ji Zichen explained, "The earth turns to sand, and the sand is blown by the wind." Before Kiko could finish, Man Chengwen immediately exclaimed, "Then, the eyes will be dazzled!"
Kiko nodded, "Although the time is short, I should be able to make it."
Man Chengwen's surprise quickly turned to concern. "But the range of this artifact can't be too large..."
"I know," Kiko replied. "The range doesn't need to be too big; as long as it dazzles the Cult members on that Ladder, it will work."
Though this plan was risky, if successful, it could turn the tide. Man Chengwen decided, "Alright, let's do it!"
He instructed the Thunder Mage Soldiers to get ready. The Cult members on the city wall noticed they were quite far from the wall and could only remain on guard. Although the Ghost Scale Oil from the wall couldn't reach that far, they still used arrows to greet them. However, the arrows posed no threat to them. Ji Zichen and a group of soldiers charged toward the base of the wall. Once they calculated the throwing distance, they were the first to toss the Earth Pearl upward.
The Earth Pearl exploded on the city wall, scattering sand everywhere. The Cult members above were startled, but when they saw it was just sand being thrown up, they began to mock the soldiers below. The siege soldiers must have lost their minds—did they think they could kill someone with sand?
The ground on the right side of the wall was covered in sand. At that moment, a Wind Banner soldier tossed a wind banner into the air. Suddenly, a whirlwind of sand rose up from the right wall. The Cult members on the wall cursed loudly as their eyes were blinded by the sand. However, some Cult members realized something was amiss; even with their eyes squinted against the wind and sand, there were soldiers who managed to pour Ghost Scale Oil down. Regardless of whether their eyes were squinted or not due to the wind and sand, those below could only rely on the Ladder to ascend.
No matter what happened, they just needed to pour all the Ghost Scale Oil onto the Ladder.
If it were anyone else, this method would certainly fail to get them over the wall, but Ji Zichen was different. Kiko used a Wind Barrier to protect herself as she climbed up the ladder.
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