Upon the towering battlements of North Pass, Lei Dong surveyed the fortifications with a calm expression. The defensive fortress of North Pass was ingeniously designed in the rough shape of a gourd. At the forefront, only a gate section spanning several li wide and rising a hundred zhang high remained. Unlike mortal fortifications, this wall possessed no gate. Beyond that, the ramparts were inscribed with numerous runes and magical script, clearly intended to reinforce the defensive capabilities. Beneath the walls, countless spikes and mechanisms made traversal difficult.

This was fitting for the handiwork of cultivators; the wall itself was over ten zhang thick. Forts were built upon it, allowing the defending cultivators places to rest, heal, or directly launch their spells in the confined spaces. Furthermore, slightly behind the main wall, ten or so turrets had been erected at some unknown time, each armed with a menacing cannon barrel.

Lei Dong was no stranger to these magical cannons. Both the former Netherworld Battleships and the current flying vessels were equipped with one. Generally, such magical cannons utilized intricate arrays of runes carved into the barrel, powered by spirit stones, ultimately unleashing a spell comparable to the full-force strike of a Golden Core cultivator.

A mere two thousand years ago, such things as magical cannons did not exist.

It was the Mechanism Sect of Kangzhou that, two millennia prior, drew inspiration from the earthen fire cannons used by mortal nations for siege and defense, combining it with ancient mechanical arts. They designed something that resembled a magical treasure but belonged to an entirely different system. In a short time, this technology slowly spread even to regions like Zhaozhou. Of course, in terms of the proliferation of magical cannons, Zhaozhou was far behind Kangzhou. At the very least, the majority of flying vessels were not equipped with them. In a place like Zhaozhou, deploying more than ten magical cannons at once was quite an extravagant measure.

Not long after the alarm of the alien race invasion sounded, many cultivators from Beilan Mountain were already positioned on the wall. The City Lord Li of North Pass stood with his hands clasped behind his back, arrogantly gazing into the distance, his brow carrying the unmistakable air of a Golden Core cultivator. This City Lord Li was already at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm. His cultivation was considered the highest within this defensive city.

It was he who had called Lei Dong and his group down and implored Lei Dong and the others to assist in defending the city. Lei Dong agreed immediately and generously, without hesitation. His swift agreement was not because Lei Dong was some sort of humanitarian; theoretically, the complete annihilation of all Zhaozhou would not have concerned him in the slightest.

The reason was simple: Lei Dong’s current subordinates were all people of Zhaozhou. Although the vast majority of them were now fiercely loyal to Lei Dong, and although they had killed many Zhaozhou people, when faced with the invasion of their homeland by an alien race, they would certainly not wish to see alien invaders run rampant and wreak havoc across Zhaozhou territory.

Lei Dong understood this sentiment perfectly. If he forcefully tried to move them away, perhaps most would comply. But from that moment on, his standing in their hearts would plummet catastrophically. Currently, they were only in the nascent stages; Lei Dong did not want to lose the greater for the lesser. Furthermore, since aid was to be given anyway, it was better to honestly and cheerfully earn goodwill than to be hesitant and annoying.

As expected, Lei Dong’s prompt response, even laced with words expressing intense indignation towards the alien race, won the gratitude of everyone. City Lord Li realized that Lei Dong was the true leader of this contingent, and he highly praised Lei Dong’s straightforwardness, even stating that if Lei Dong ever needed anything, he should approach him, and within his capabilities, he would never refuse. In essence, City Lord Li immediately owed Lei Dong a favor.

Under normal circumstances, North Pass would maintain a significant garrison. However, the alien races had seemingly remained docile and quiet for several decades, refraining from launching attacks on Zhaozhou for a long time. Consequently, the garrison had slowly grown lax. Currently, North Pass only held two Golden Core cultivators, over twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators, and perhaps a hundred cultivators in the Qi Refining stage.

It was estimated that, apart from the Golden Core experts, the vast majority of the rest were those who couldn’t make headway in their respective sects, having been demoted or dismissed to this desolate region with little profit to be made.

Therefore, Lei Dong’s group, possessing three Golden Core cultivators, was a considerable draw for City Lord Li. Fortunately, City Lord Li did not demand that Lei Dong and his group remain for the entire duration of the defense. As soon as reinforcements arrived, Lei Dong and his people were free to leave or stay as they pleased.

The black smoke and strange light serving as the beacon had dissipated, and through the haze, the alien army began to appear within the range of everyone’s divine sense. Lei Dong’s expression suddenly stiffened; it was unexpected, truly too unexpected. As his divine sense swept out, the detection range was almost entirely filled with enemies. About eighty to ninety percent of them were running on the ground. And what were those things? As the feedback returned to Lei Dong’s divine sense, those entities were roughly the size of a bucket, seemingly possessing numerous pincers or legs. Their speed was incredible, covering several zhang in the blink of an eye. To a mortal eye, perhaps even their shadows could not be captured. This speed alone meant that ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators could not match it. Lei Dong judged that without using the Asura Wings, relying only on Ghost Shadow Evasion, he could only achieve this level of speed and reaction.

“What are those things?” Lei Dong exhaled, a faint sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. Of course, the sheer terror of these individual creatures was likely far inferior to that of a Golden Core level demonic beast. But was their number not terrifyingly excessive? A single sweep of Lei Dong’s divine sense registered hundreds within his perception range.

City Lord Li was astonished by the strength of Lei Dong’s divine sense, finally seeming to grasp why this young man was the leader of the group. Such divine sense intensity probably rivaled that of an early Golden Core cultivator! At this, City Lord Li became even more courteous toward Lei Dong, gravely explaining, “Those are a very terrifying type of insect from the Great Desolation Desert; the alien race calls them Swift Shadow Insects. Individually, they may not pose much threat to a Golden Core cultivator. However, a swarm of just a hundred of them, if a Golden Core cultivator were caught within, might prove difficult to survive. They cannot fly, so they are not restricted by anti-air formations, but their climbing ability is excellent. Let us hope there are not too many; otherwise, they will be extremely difficult to handle.”

Qian Luo and the others exchanged glances. Soon, everyone’s expression turned grim. The insect swarm was drawing closer, now only ten or so li away. Yet, they did not launch a rash attack; instead, they halted about ten li out and arrayed themselves as if forming a battle formation—a perfect insect array. Like meticulously trained soldiers, they were lined up with uncanny order.

The numbers seemed unexpectedly vast. Looking down from above, the dense swarm seemed endless. Each one of these Swift Shadow Insects did not look easy to deal with.

City Lord Li took a deep breath and burst out cursing, “Damn it, have these barbarians gathered every Swift Shadow Insect from the entire Great Desolation Desert? Over thirty thousand of them! A full thirty thousand Swift Shadow Insects! And how can creatures like the Swift Shadow Insects, who only know killing, line up in formation?” His face was exceedingly pale.

“Boss, the situation looks bad,” Shangguan Hong secretly transmitted via sound transmission, “According to our clan’s records, the most ferocious invasion by the alien race only mobilized a little over ten thousand Swift Shadow Insects.”

Lei Dong’s expression shifted slightly, and he transmitted back, “What happened during the time of just over ten thousand?”

“The pass was taken, and virtually no one defending survived,” Shangguan Hong’s voice trembled slightly. “This was recorded by our ancestors. That incident alarmed the Ancestors of many great sects. They had to join forces to drive back the alien race.” Almost simultaneously, everyone transmitted similar concerns to Lei Dong.

Faced with this situation, Lei Dong pondered for a moment, then transmitted his thoughts to the group: “No matter what, retreating before the battle is fought is unreasonable. We will do as much as we possibly can to contribute to Zhaozhou. If this pass truly cannot be held, we will not play games of co-destruction with this place.”

Upon hearing Lei Dong’s words, the subordinates from Zhaozhou collectively breathed a sigh of relief and felt a renewed wave of gratitude and admiration for Lei Dong.

As the group was communicating, the Swift Shadow Insects began to move. This initial advance involved nearly a third of the total swarm, yet even so, looking down from the heights, one could clearly feel a massive torrent of insects, an unstoppable flood, rushing toward the pass.

“Everyone, do not be afraid,” City Lord Li finally began to rally morale, his voice firm and resonant carrying across the entire area. “Although the Swift Shadow Insects are fierce, our walls are no longer what they were originally designed to be. Also, the Fire Dragon Magical Cannons are awaiting orders; aim at the swarm and prepare to fire.”

A dozen or so Foundation Establishment cultivators operated the magical cannon turrets, loading high-grade spirit stones into their mechanisms.

Lei Dong felt the surging, imposing nature of the insect swarm; the impact of over ten thousand ferocious Swift Shadow Insects charging forward was truly a breathtaking spectacle. The sharp roar of the insects felt like barbs, fiercely stimulating every nerve.

“Everyone be careful, don’t spread out too much,” Lei Dong transmitted in a low voice, immediately beginning to summon his puppets and Ghost Generals. In a short time, the insect swarm had closed the distance to a few li.

Almost simultaneously, more than ten Fire Dragon Cannons simultaneously spewed forth blazing scarlet tongues of flame several zhang long, bathing the sky in a brilliant red. Massive deep-red fireballs, each almost a zhang in diameter, shot out, streaking toward the swarm at incredible speed. They looked like meteors carving across the sky, a truly spectacular sight.

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