Chapter 40: Chapter 40: "Clang!
No explosions were heard.
But in their peripheral vision, they could clearly see eerie green fireworks blooming in the air.
Meat Worm Ghosts are spherical Ghost Objects. They have no way to move or control their own bodies, drifting wherever the wind takes them. They’re also quite light.
The wind was strong tonight.
These Bamboo Pole Ghosts had taken an advantageous, upwind position, from which they hurled one Meat Worm Ghost after another at the City Wall.
Their plan was to destroy the City Wall and then charge into the heart of the camp.
Under this assault, Chen Fan and his men had little room to fight back. They did their best to hide behind the battlements, avoiding the viscous green liquid splattering everywhere. The rest was up to the Arrow Towers.
This assault was exceptionally ferocious.
Some of the Bamboo Pole Ghosts were tasked with hurling the Meat Worm Ghosts.
Meanwhile, another group of Bamboo Pole Ghosts was already charging the City Wall, with a horde of Mantis Ghosts, Monkey Head Ghosts, and other Ghost Objects in tow.
"Arrow Rain Storm!"
"Arrow Rain Storm!"
A Level 3 Arrow Tower relentlessly launched massive volleys of Crossbow Arrows into the sky, striking the Ghost Objects that charged into the camp with deadly precision. Countless Ghosts were soon dead or wounded. The remaining ten Level 2 Arrow Towers also fired continuously.
Each Crossbow Arrow was like a soul-reaping demon from Hell, claiming lives with unerring accuracy.
"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"
The ground began to tremble. From within the black fog, a Bamboo Pole Ghost leader, much larger than the others, slowly strode into the camp. The earth shook with its every step.
Though it was also a Bamboo Pole Ghost, this leader’s limbs were clearly far stronger. It casually snatched two nearby Mantis Ghosts, took a short running start, and flung them over the City Wall into the heart of the camp. It then repeated this process over and over.
One after another, Mantis Ghosts soared over the City Wall.
The Mantis Ghosts that crashed down inside the camp quickly scrambled to their feet. Screeching, they raised their Mantis Arms and charged up the stone steps toward Chen Fan and the others on the City Wall.
Meanwhile, many Bamboo Pole Ghosts had reached the base of the City Wall. They grabbed nearby Mantis Ghosts and, using their sharp Mantis Arms as battering rams, began striking the wall with all their might in an attempt to breach it.
In an instant, the entire camp was in peril, with enemies both inside and outside the walls.
They had been plunged into an extremely dangerous predicament.
...
"Every man for himself!"
After roaring the order, Chen Fan quickly scanned the situation outside the walls. The Meat Worm Ghosts were all gone. Though this section of the City Wall was corroded and battered, it hadn’t collapsed.
Numerous Bamboo Pole Ghosts were now focusing their assault on this weak point.
The Level 3 Arrow Tower, enhanced with the Fire Element, was now taking precise aim at the High-Level Bamboo Pole Ghost that had entered the camp. The power of a Level 3 Arrow Tower was nothing to scoff at; Crossbow Arrows rained down like hail.
One to the forehead.
Two to the eyes.
Three to the abdomen.
It stumbled forward only a few more steps before collapsing to the ground, utterly dead.
With their living catapult gone, no more Mantis Ghosts were thrown over the walls.
After taking out the High-Level Bamboo Pole Ghost, the tower turned its attention to the group of Ghosts at the base of the City Wall. It began picking them off one by one, and with support from five of the Level 2 Arrow Towers, they quickly cleared the Ghosts from the wall’s edge.
The other five Arrow Towers were busy killing the Mantis Ghosts that had landed inside the walls.
Meanwhile, the other Level 3 Arrow Tower, continuously activating its Arrow Rain Storm skill, was mowing down the large horde of Ghosts charging into the camp.
The whole camp seemed like a small boat in a tempest, about to be overwhelmed.
But in truth, it was rock solid.
Their job was simple: stay alive. They just had to avoid the few Mantis Ghosts that had made it into the camp and let the camp’s City Defense Buildings handle the rest!
Just then—a Mantis Ghost burst from the shadows. It leaped into the air, its twin blades raised, and screeched as it hacked down at Chen Fan and his men.
In a flash of lightning, Chen Fan could even see the fine hairs next to the corner of the Ghost’s mouth.
Ghastly and unsettling.
"CLANG!"
Lame Monkey, wielding the Godslaying Spear, was the first to react. He raised the spear and blocked the blow. The immense force of the impact slammed him to the ground, but he had successfully thwarted the Mantis Ghost’s surprise attack.
The next instant, a Crossbow Arrow sliced through the rain—a direct hit.
The Mantis Ghost, given no chance for a second attack, froze in place and collapsed onto the rain-slicked City Wall.
...
Mere moments later, the battle was over.
The ground outside the walls was littered with Ghost Corpses. One section of the wall looked ready to collapse, but inside the camp, not a single living Ghost remained.
"..."
Chen Fan quickly scanned his men, then looked back inside the walls.
No one was injured.
Zhou Mo, who had been sleeping, was now awake. He stood in the rainy night, panting, Big Saber in hand. Blood seeped from the web of his thumb where he’d gripped his weapon, and he was looking up at Chen Fan.
’He’d never fought a Mantis Ghost head-on before.’
’A single, well-aimed Crossbow Arrow from a Level 2 Arrow Tower could instantly kill a Mantis Ghost.’
’But... I just saw Zhou Mo barely hold his own after exchanging a few blows with a Mantis Ghost. Even then, the repeated impacts made his hand bleed. A Level 2 Cultivator, armed with an Exotic Treasure, couldn’t even defeat a cannon-fodder Mantis Ghost in a direct confrontation.’
’Ghost Objects... they aren’t something humans can fight head-on.’
’It’s difficult even for Cultivators.’
’And this is inside the camp, where there’s light.’
’Out in the Eternal Night, surrounded by thick darkness with zero visibility, Zhou Mo wouldn’t have survived three moves against its blades.’
Chen Fan’s gaze shifted to the sedan chair in the gray fog outside the camp.
At this point, all the Ghost Objects that had surrounded the camp tonight had been wiped out. Only the sedan chair remained.
’Is it going to retreat?’
Chen Fan frowned as he watched the blood-red sedan chair slowly retreating into the gray fog. ’This female ghost is too intelligent. She’s big trouble. If I let her get away this time, she’ll definitely come back with even more Ghosts.’
’But there isn’t much I can do.’
’I can only watch it leave. The Arrow Towers can only attack targets within the camp’s perimeter.’
The next moment—the four Bamboo Pole Ghosts carrying the sedan chair, after retreating several meters, suddenly turned and charged toward the camp. They picked up speed, rushing straight into the camp with the sedan chair on their shoulders. The instant they crossed the threshold...
The sedan chair exploded violently,
shattering into countless shards that embedded themselves in the ground.
The four Bamboo Pole Ghosts carrying it were also blown to pieces.
"AHAHAHA!!!"
A piercing, unhinged laugh instantly enveloped the entire camp. A completely naked female ghost stood barefoot on the ground, her gaze fixed on the figures on the City Wall.
Her cheeks were as pale as snow, not the face of a living person.
Her features were exquisite, like a masterpiece carved by a master artisan.
Her eyes held no pupils, only a chaotic, inky blackness, yet her lips were an exceptionally vivid red.
Her jet-black hair cascaded past her waist, ending at her calves.
’So beautiful.’
That was Chen Fan’s first impression. She was so beautiful she didn’t seem like a Ghost Object at all, but more like an otherworldly enchantress.
’A completely nude woman doesn’t actually possess much aesthetic beauty; it’s often the suggestion of clothing, the half-hidden form, that truly accentuates it.’
’But—’
’—this female ghost before me is utterly without clothing, laid bare to the world.’
’Yet there isn’t a hint of vulgarity about her. She exudes an aura of noble, icy detachment.’
