eurekapd Chapter 335 The sun and moon are obscured, heaven and earth are blocked.
Chapter 335 The sun and moon are obscured, heaven and earth are blocked.
The sun and moon are shrouded in darkness, and an ominous atmosphere obscures the sky. (Note)
On the border of Yongzhou, a dark mass of people, their bodies consumed by the smoke, were like puppets pulled by an invisible force, relentlessly pressing towards this place.
Among the crowd were soldiers of the Great Qian Dynasty, clad in iron armor and wielding weapons, as well as ordinary civilians from the border town, dressed in plain clothes and unarmed.
Regardless of age or gender, no one was spared; they all drifted aimlessly forward, as if something ahead was drawing them in.
Although the defending general closed the city gates and tightened the defenses immediately.
But standing on the city gate, looking at the endless black crowd, the soldiers couldn't help but feel a chill.
Although there are occasional frictions between the Great Qian and the Great Xia on the border, there are very few major battles with real swords and spears.
Now, this boundless crowd is pressing in, making every defender of the city feel fear.
The adjutant steeled his resolve and asked, "General, shall we fire the arrows?"
Although his voice was not loud, it could be clearly heard on the silent city wall.
Upon hearing this, all eyes on the city wall turned to the only person who could make the decision, and rows of archers subconsciously placed their hands on the bowstrings, the arrows already prepared.
They couldn't just stand by and watch so many people invade the city.
Even though many of them are unarmed civilians, innocent people controlled by demonic energy, once the front line of Yongzhou falls, countless others will suffer as a result.
The consequences would be unimaginable; the general was already covered in sweat.
He would rather fight on the front lines than slaughter the innocent, but he had to be responsible for this pass and for the people behind him.
Finally, he took a deep breath, as if swallowing all his hesitation, and then slowly spoke, his voice firm and powerful: "Fire a volley as a warning!"
The archers moved at the command, drawing their bows taut in perfect unison.
Immediately afterwards, whoosh whoosh whoosh—
The sound of arrows piercing the air was incessant, like a dense rain of arrows cascading down onto the open ground in front of the crowd.
However, the people corrupted by the demonic energy seemed oblivious, continuing to walk forward numbly.
Their eyes were vacant, their steps faltering, like bodies ripped from their souls.
People were jostling and trampling each other; in this chaotic surge, countless vibrant lives were silently lost.
Where they went, they left behind pools of glaring blood and rows of cold corpses.
Silence fell once again on the city wall.
Scouts had already reported that these people were controlled by the smoke columns in the sky, turning them into mindless zombies, unable to communicate, unaware of pain, and utterly numb.
But seeing it with my own eyes brought a completely different feeling, one that was both infuriating and heartbreaking.
What a nightmare it would be if they actually invaded the city!
Countless people, oblivious to pain and unafraid of death, surged forward unstoppable. Even an army of 100,000 would find it difficult to defend the city against this sea of people.
Anyone who has been in a war knows that the most terrifying thing is not the enemy's superior equipment or clever tactics, but their fearless and insane frenzy.
The adjutant's face grew paler and paler. He couldn't bear to imagine what the scene would be like after the city fell, what a catastrophe it would be.
He lowered his head and said, "Use fire. Perhaps only in this way can we stop them."
Even the biggest traps cannot stop so many people from attacking the city at once. It seems that this is the only way forward.
The general watched everything before him with tension, sweat pouring down his face, yet he could not easily give an order.
But seeing that the crowd had already approached within a hundred feet and the situation was extremely dangerous, he still had to speak up: "Continue to disperse the people and block the streets and alleys. Even if we have to burn down this city, we must not let these people pass through this pass!"
The adjutant was slightly taken aback, as if he hadn't expected the general to be even more ruthless and decisive than himself.
But he soon realized that annihilation was the only solution, and what worried him even more was that even if the city was destroyed, there would be no way to stop the endless throngs of people…
The adjutant dared not think any further and immediately replied, "Yes, sir!"
He immediately turned around and directed his soldiers to evacuate the civilians, while collecting flammable materials such as kerosene and linen, in preparation for the impending fierce battle.
The people in the city were filled with fear, but they had no choice but to obey the military orders, pack their belongings, and evacuate the city with their families.
Stepping out of another city gate, people discovered that war was raging in the distance.
At the same time, the borders of Jizhou, Yongzhou, Liangzhou, Jingzhou, Yangzhou... were all in dire need of attention!
Although the Great Xia withstood the onslaught of demonic smoke pillars, it also became the sole target.
The puppets instinctively headed towards this pure land.
At first, it was just people from nearby villages and towns making scattered attacks, but now more and more people are being controlled by that invisible force, converging into unstoppable torrents.
The situation is out of control.
Faced with the horde of puppet troops, many of the soldiers defending the city were caught in a deep dilemma.
Not everyone has the same boldness as the General of Yongzhou; most people are unable to bring themselves to issue orders when faced with ordinary people.
Moreover, their relatives and friends may be hidden among them.
However, it was this hesitation that led to the fall of border cities under the onslaught of the puppets.
In particular, Yangzhou, which had enjoyed peace for a long time and was lax in its defenses, fell almost overnight. The tide of puppet regimes had even spread through Yangzhou to Xuzhou and Yuzhou, penetrating deep into the heart of China.
They neither robbed nor stole, neither killed nor slaughtered; their goal was clearly to destroy everything related to the divine way.
As temples were destroyed and statues were toppled, the divine net in the heavens suddenly dimmed.
Even though the Nine Cauldrons are incredibly powerful, they are still interconnected by fate; their fortunes are intertwined, one prospers and the other suffers.
Unmanned, they stand silently atop their respective prefectures, protecting the land from demonic corruption, yet they are powerless against the human flesh that has poured in and become puppets.
They were not demonized, but their souls were seized by the statue of the plague god, turning them into puppets without their own consciousness. Therefore, immortal methods were useless against them, and apart from destroying the statue, they could not be awakened.
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Note: The sun and moon are shrouded in darkness, obscuring the sky with ominous clouds. — (Han Dynasty) Wang Yi, "Nine Thoughts"