Upon hearing Zhang Kui’s words, Han Li’s heart churned with unease.
“Silver wolves”—this naturally reminded him of Silvermoon from years past. That woman’s true form was a massive silver wolf, and she had claimed to hail from the Silvermoon Wolf Clan. He couldn’t help but wonder if these silver wolves were her kin.
However, whether this speculation held any truth or not, it seemed irrelevant to his current predicament. He quickly dismissed the thought.
“If these were just ordinary wolves, no matter how numerous, they wouldn’t pose much of a threat to us humans as long as we hold the high city walls. The real danger lies in the fact that beast tides are usually led by low-level demonic beasts that have awakened their intelligence. Among them are also many mutated creatures, neither fully ordinary beasts nor true demonic beasts. While these mutants don’t possess the bizarre supernatural abilities of demonic beasts, they are still far more formidable than their ordinary counterparts—exceeding them in size, strength, and speed. Even a low-level body cultivator would struggle to take one down in single combat,” the scar-faced man said gravely.
“That troublesome? Are these mutated creatures common in the beast tide?” Han Li frowned.
“Roughly one in a thousand beasts undergoes mutation,” Zhang Kui replied after a brief pause, though he didn’t sound entirely certain.
“One in a thousand?” Han Li’s gaze swept over the distant sea of green wolves, and he couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.
Even if he couldn’t accurately count their numbers, there had to be at least several million. With such staggering figures, the number of mutated wolves would easily reach several thousand, if not tens of thousands. In a city without Core Formation cultivators, such a force would indeed be deadly.
“Let’s move on and inspect the other beast groups,” Zhang Kui sighed after a while, his tone suggesting he wasn’t optimistic about the city’s chances.
“What’s wrong, Brother Zhang? Worried the city might fall?” Han Li followed him down the towering wall but couldn’t resist asking with a smile.
“I do have my concerns. In the past, the cities that fell to beast tides were all newly established settlements like Anyuan City—less than ten thousand years old. They were overwhelmed during major beast tides, often due to insufficient preparation. This time, there are even aerial demonic beasts like the Leopardhawks. Though their numbers are small, every one of them is born as a first-tier demonic beast. If we can’t defend against them from the air, the danger will be immense,” Zhang Kui said, his expression troubled.
“Leopardhawks? Are they truly that fearsome?” Han Li’s eyes flickered with skepticism.
“Individually, Leopardhawks aren’t the strongest among flying demonic beasts, but they naturally exude a deadly poison. Ordinary humans die instantly upon inhaling it, making close combat impossible. The only way is to shoot them down from afar. But these creatures are agile and swift. Without sufficient anti-air defenses, it’s nearly impossible to stop them. And Anyuan City’s aerial defenses are its weakest point,” Zhang Kui explained slowly.
“How could the city’s defenses be so lacking? Doesn’t the city lord realize the severity?” Han Li was taken aback.
By now, he knew that in human cities, all secular authority rested in the hands of the city lord.
“Knowing doesn’t help. I heard the city suffered heavy losses in the last beast tide, depleting its reserves. Rebuilding its current defenses has already stretched the city lord’s resources to the limit. Rumor has it he even borrowed weapons and soldiers from neighboring cities. There was simply nothing left for aerial defenses,” Zhang Kui said with a helpless shrug.
Han Li fell silent.
Soon, Han Li and the scar-faced man stood atop another section of the wall, where a crimson tide of massive snakes slithered below—even more intimidating than the green wolves.
The only silver lining was that these serpents weren’t venomous and couldn’t spew toxic mist, making them slightly easier to defend against.
Yet when Han Li spotted the occasional gargantuan serpent—several times larger than its kin—his heart sank again.
These coiled mutants stretched over thirty feet long, rivaling even a Flood Dragon in size. Any ordinary human caught in their grasp or swallowed whole would meet a gruesome fate. And given the sheer size of the red serpent horde, the number of these mutated giants was even greater than that of the wolves.
After observing the two beast tides, Han Li was disappointed not to see the Leopardhawks Zhang Kui had mentioned.
According to the scar-faced man, these demonic birds typically hid in secluded spots and wouldn’t reveal themselves until the attack commenced.
“Why are the beasts waiting? Why haven’t they attacked yet?” Han Li asked, watching the distant serpent swarm.
“With intelligent demonic beasts leading them, they won’t charge blindly. They’re likely coordinating with the other two beast groups to launch a synchronized assault, preventing us from focusing our defenses. Usually, this takes about a day. Let’s go. Our Tian Dong Trading Company should have received mobilization orders by now. In a battle of this scale, we’re just a drop in the ocean. All we can do is our best. If we’re lucky enough to break through bottlenecks or gain insights in the midst of battle, then this risk will have been worth it,” Zhang Kui said with a cold laugh before leading Han Li back into the city and returning to their inn.
Sure enough, the inn’s guards had already received orders from Anyuan City to assemble at a designated location immediately.
The golden-robed man and the other Golden Jade Sect cultivators had already been summoned ahead of them.
Without hesitation, Zhang Kui issued commands, and the Tian Dong Trading Company’s two hundred guards marched out of the inn in formation.
Outside, the streets were filled with other private forces and body cultivators being mobilized. Few, however, matched the Tian Dong Company’s numbers or ferocity—most groups consisted of just five or six, with a few dozen at most.
Han Li’s group naturally drew attention, especially the fifty-plus riders atop massive one-horned wolves.
These mounts, known as Suan Wolves, were among the few war beasts humans had managed to tame in the Spirit Realm. Each was raised from infancy, its wild instincts meticulously suppressed to ensure perfect coordination with its rider. Their price was exorbitant—only a wealthy organization like the Tian Dong Trading Company could afford so many.
The crowd was directed to a vast plaza near the section of the wall facing the green wolf tide.
Already, tens of thousands of unarmed civilians and scattered groups of body cultivators had gathered. A handful of them also rode Suan Wolves, but even combined with the Tian Dong Company’s riders, there were barely two hundred in total. Around the plaza stood Anyuan City soldiers, fully armed and maintaining order.
At one end of the plaza stood a middle-aged man in silver armor, conversing with a scholar and a monk—clearly the commanding figures.
Han Li’s eyes narrowed in recognition—this was the same gate captain he’d encountered upon entering the city. The monk and scholar were the two cultivators who had inspected their group earlier. He wondered how the silver-armored man had managed to retain their services under such circumstances.
Seeing that the crowd had mostly assembled, the silver-armored man raised a hand without preamble.
A soldier with a booming voice stepped forward and began reciting a series of prearranged orders.
First, all mounted riders were separated to form a cavalry unit. Then, a fleet of tortoise-drawn carts rolled in, unloading crates of weapons and a handful of armor pieces to be distributed among the civilians.
The body cultivators, naturally disdaining such ordinary arms, stood by indifferently.
Meanwhile, another group of soldiers began organizing the armed civilians. The private forces and independent body cultivators were left temporarily unattended.
Just as murmurs of confusion began spreading among them, a long, piercing wolf howl erupted from beyond the walls—fierce, maddened, and filled with bloodlust.
Before Han Li could process it, thousands of wolves joined in, their collective roar shaking the heavens like rolling thunder.
The body cultivators merely paled, but the ordinary men trembled, feeling as if the world had been reduced to that deafening cacophony.
And this was only the beginning.
From another direction came hissing and strange, guttural cries. Though not as overwhelming as the wolf howls, these sounds sent chills down the spine, as if death itself were whispering in their ears.
Then, the bronze gongs mounted along the walls clanged in unison.
A calm yet clear male voice echoed from above, reaching every ear in the plaza:
“Be alert. The beasts are advancing on the walls!”
A Foundation Establishment cultivator in gray robes stood atop a flying sword, broadcasting the warning. He wasn’t alone—similar figures hovered above every section of Anyuan City, their voices merging into a citywide alert.
Instantly, the city stirred into action.
Prepared troops marched in disciplined waves onto the walls, while massive ballistae were manned and readied for firing…
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