Chapter 196: Chapter 145: Life Exchange_2
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Suddenly, in the sky above the official residence, the air seemed to be torn apart like fabric. One terrifying arrow after another ripped through it, piercing and creating air currents that covered the large group of Demon People from Peace Path advancing on them.
The continuous drawing of the Divine Force Crossbows filled the air with sounds like ghostly wails and wolf-like howls. Within a single breath, a dozen arrows could be shot in a line, their passage through the air exploding like a thunderous downpour!
Hiss! This is the Divine Force Crossbow!!
Above the City Defense Forces, Chen Ku, transformed into the Flower Fox Mink, hid under the eaves, feeling the power and speed of the Divine Force Crossbows.
What kind of terrifying weapon is this? Each of these City Defense Forces members only has the Thousand Jin Force, but with this Divine Force Crossbow, they can shoot arrows with the speed and power equivalent to two to three Ten Thousand Catties Power. It directly boosts the lethality of each City Defense Forces member by more than tenfold!
Chen Ku could sense the terrifying force of those arrows the moment the City Defense Forces released them. It seemed each Divine Force Crossbow had a draw weight equivalent to ten thousand catties.
What kind of concept was this? Humans possessed only Thousand Jin Force, yet they could draw a bow requiring ten thousand catties. This wasn’t due to the person’s impressive prowess, but the unique nature of the Divine Force Crossbow. It seemed to allow a user to conserve tenfold their strength and exert power far exceeding their own by ten times.
Just imagine, over a hundred City Defense Forces members pulling Divine Force Crossbows would be like over a hundred Divine Archers, each with the Power of One Elephant, shooting their bows simultaneously.
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!!
Within a breath’s time, these ten Divine Force Crossbowmen pulled their triggers, shooting out a swath of arrows that pierced them like skewers of candied haws. From over three hundred zhang away, they penetrated a large number of Demon People from Peace Path!
BANG! BANG! BANG!...
Those Demon People who were hit by the crossbow bolts, the moment they were struck, their entire bodies were sent flying backward by the bolt’s terrifying impact.
Yes, sent flying backward!
In the blink of an eye, the first volley of several hundred bolts struck the Demon People from Peace Path rushing towards the official residence, claiming the lives of half of them!
The Divine Force Crossbow! It was like a divine weapon designed for reaping lives on the battlefield!
This sight also made Chen Ku’s scalp tingle, especially the power of the Divine Force Crossbow. How exactly was this Divine Force Crossbow forged?
He found it hard to imagine what sort of materials were used to make a Divine Force Crossbow that allowed a person with only Thousand Jin Force to draw what was effectively a bow of ten thousand catties power.
At this moment, he truly understood why the Daji Dynasty held such terrifying suppressive power over the Martial Sects of Jianghu.
This was true not only for Chen Ku, who currently possessed the Qi Power of the Third Realm. Even if he reached the Fourth Realm, he would have no chance of surviving if suddenly targeted by ten of these Divine Force Crossbows. A volley of hundreds of Iron-piercing Stone-breaking Arrows would be overwhelming!
I have no idea how many Divine Force Crossbows are in the Baojiao County Yamen in total. Currently, I can only see ten. With one hundred and fifty City Defense Forces members, it seems not everyone is equipped with one. This implies that the conditions to forge these Divine Force Crossbows must be very strict...
Just as Chen Ku was making his astonishing appraisal of the Daji Dynasty’s Divine Force Crossbows, he suddenly saw that in the distance, the hundreds of Demon People from Peace Path who had been pierced by a swath of Divine Force Crossbow bolts and had fallen to the ground, began to eerily rise. Though the impact sites were now bowl-sized holes, they got up, one after another!
What devilry is this?
Chen Ku had thought that even if he reached the Fourth Realm, he surely wouldn’t survive facing a volley of hundreds of Iron-piercing Stone-breaking Arrows shot simultaneously by ten Divine Force Crossbows. But the sight of those shot Demon People from Peace Path astounded him.
However, under the observation of Chen Ku’s Golden Eyes Hundred Li, he quickly saw the key to the problem. He noticed that those Demon People pierced by Divine Force Crossbow bolts, though still able to rise, were each drenched in blood. Talisman Paper glowed on their bodies, seemingly forcing them to cling to life.
This scene astonished Chen Ku. It also caused the expressions of the one hundred and fifty City Defense Forces members to change drastically.
But soon, a loud shout from their leader, City Gate Colonel Ouyang Lie, echoed out:
"These Demon People’s Evil Skills might prolong life, but they cannot escape death! I’ve never heard of anyone truly immortal; they’re merely clinging to life through wicked arts. Continue firing! Kill as many as you can. When they get close, we’ll strike with the blade formation!"
It turned out just as the City Gate Colonel had predicted.
Some of the Demon People, even with their intestines spilling out from their pierced bodies, continued charging forward, seemingly unresponsive, for over a hundred zhang. Then suddenly, a few of them dropped stiffly to the ground, lifeless, never to awaken!
Upon seeing this, the ten Divine Force Crossbowmen no longer doubted and continued to load their bolts!
And so, they unleashed two or three more volleys at the approaching horde of five to six hundred Demon People, felling two-thirds of them. Now, seeing the horde draw within ten zhang.
"Prepare for combat!!"
With Ouyang Lie’s loud command, he was the first to draw his saber and charge at the oncoming army of Demon People.
In a flash, over a hundred City Defense Forces members inside the official residence, along with another hundred Government Officials who had accompanied them, all drew their sabers and charged.
Chen Ku watched as the two groups were poised for a brutal hand-to-hand battle. Yet, he strangely sensed a hint of danger.
This sense of crisis stemmed mainly from Chen Ku’s understanding of the Peace Path Demon People. What’s going on? Snake Fish Town is Yao Wensu’s Incense Altar. How come hundreds of Peace Path Demon People are out attacking the official residence, but I haven’t seen a trace or sensed the presence of Yao Wensu and the other Peace Path Incense Masters and leaders?
An odd feeling stirred in Chen Ku’s heart.
Subconsciously, he activated the "Hundred Li Tracking Technique," searching for the scent of Yao Wensu and the other Peace Path experts from the courtyard he had tracked before.
In an instant, as the scents flooded his mind, allowing him to capture all movements within a hundred li—though he didn’t need to search that far—Chen Ku detected the scent of Yao Wensu and other Peace Path leaders. They were at their branch Incense Altar in Snake Fish Town, on a small mountain four or five li away.
Immediately, he gazed over with his Golden Eyes Hundred Li.
To his shock, on that mountaintop, looking down from their high vantage point, stood six people. Leading them was Yao Wensu, the Peace Path Incense Master who had set a bounty on him at Grey Clothes Tower and whom he had framed.
Through his Golden Eyes Hundred Li, Chen Ku could clearly see Yao Wensu standing there, looking in this direction...
Especially at the moment when the City Defense Forces were about to engage with the five or six hundred Demon People.
Chen Ku saw the corner of Yao Wensu’s mouth twitch into a slight smirk.
That smile... Could it be... This is bad!
A chill ran down Chen Ku’s spine. Instinctively, without hesitation, he leaped up from the eaves!
But just as Chen Ku took to the air, only a few breaths after he had left that vicinity, and at the very moment all the City Defense Forces became entangled with the Demon People, a chorus of voices, unnervingly synchronized, rang out from those Peace Path Demon People, most of whom had already been pierced by the Divine Force Crossbow bolts:
"Yellow Heaven sustains the fertile earth, the Virtuous Master descends upon the universe, bestowing blessings upon all people, and ensuring peace protects our homeland..."
Suddenly, on each and every one of the five or six hundred Peace Path Demon People, regardless of whether they had been struck by arrows, the Talisman Paper on their bodies burst into light!
BOOM! BOOM! RUMBLE!!
An immense firelight and explosion instantly overwhelmed the numerous City Defense Forces members and Government Officials.
Damn it! Holy shit!!
Even though Chen Ku had leaped away in advance, clearing the blast zone, looking back at the scene still left him utterly shaken, his heart pounding in his chest. These Demon People! They’re truly a demonic organization!
At that moment, how could he not understand? This wasn’t an attack on Snake Fish Town by the Peace Path. They had clearly cultivated a group of Peace Path disciples as suicide warriors, fearless and ready to trade their lives for those of the Imperial Court’s City Defense Forces!