Chapter 629: Intertwined Paths

Shen Hao felt a sense of regret. Cultivators of the Profound Sea Realm fighting to the death—this kind of scene was extremely rare.

But Yuan Qingyun avoiding the battlefield was actually quite understandable. Just listen to the thunderous roars from the distant places beyond eyesight, and the terrifying tides of True Qi sensed, stirring Heaven and Earth Energy until even the elements seemed to tremble—just a sweep of the aftereffects could turn swathes of soldiers on the battlefield into flying ash.

After Yuan Qingyun left, the siege battles on the three sides of the military camp entered a fever pitch.

On the fortress walls, soldiers fought so fiercely that flesh and blood rolled. The Barbarian Race began to commit stronger individual units, teaming up with the agile Rat Race, causing immense trouble for those atop the walls. Often, after stabbing down a Ratkin, a Wolf Race creature would immediately leap alongside, not aiming to kill but smashing forward with its body, striving to topple the Large Shield and give the Ratkin climbing behind them a chance to throw Gray Snake Grass Poison Sacs.

Moreover, even several-zhang-high walls could not withstand heavy assaults for long. Though arrays empowered the walls, making them hard to break, the height was limited—unlike the lofty Zhuo Huo Pass. So, as intense fighting dragged on, it inevitably led to thick piles of corpses below the fortress walls.

A hundred or so corpses might not matter. But once it reached over a thousand, there was an issue—it could offset half a zhang of the wall’s height.

Don’t underestimate this height. It could let an agile Ratkin shave off two breaths’ worth of climbing time, and Wolf Race and others shave off three to four breaths, directly ramping up pressure for defenders atop the walls.

And as the battle continued, the pile under the walls would only grow taller. Not asking for it to be leveled—just filling half of it meant the wall was almost as good as nonexistent.

“Command Flag! Throw oil bombs!” Cheng Jinhou, still unruffled, spotted this problem on the battlefield and immediately gave orders.

The experts of the army stepped up. For example, Wu Kai, who had been held back in the parade ground until now, along with dozens of his Personal Guards.

Wu Kai possessed Post-God-Gathering Realm Cultivation, and most of his Personal Guards were cultivators themselves, both at the Initial and Middle Stages of Qi Refining. They were split up, with all three sides of the wall now needing their support.

“Take these! Light them up only when close, don’t spill any, and don’t throw them high—smash them right against the wall as you drop!”

By Wu Kai’s side, apart from his three Personal Guards, were a dozen more “experts” drawn from the same batch. At the foot of the wall, men from the Supply Battalion handed out one jar after another—these were oil bombs, thin ceramic jars, breakable with just a bit of force. Sealed with mud, each had a small opening plugged with an oil-soaked cotton strip connected inside.

Wu Kai had seen these things back in the Hai Xia Garrison, knew they were vicious, but was using them in real combat for the first time.

Each jar was a bit smaller than a human head, with a rope for grabbing. Wu Kai took twenty jars. He had a Storage Bag, and his Cultivation was the highest among them, so the army’s quartermaster placed great hope in him.

“Ready! Go!”

Forming ranks, Wu Kai took the lead—fifteen men responsible for twenty zhàng on the north wall, left and right. They didn’t dare expose themselves after ascending, instead hiding behind the lancers, waiting for the Shield Soldiers and Decurion upfront to give commands.

As the lancers thrust their spears in unison, the Decurion shouted: “Oil bombs! Go!”

Ignite! Charge forward, stretching hands out to drop the jars right against the wall during the opening made by the spear thrusts.

“Bang!”

With an explosion, heat surged up from below. The flame from a single oil bomb could reach halfway up the wall and scatter in all directions! If the burning oil splashed onto someone, it was nearly impossible to extinguish.

There were unlucky ones, too. Someone stretched out a hand only to have it chopped off by a quick-eyed Barbarian below, screaming as their teammates dragged them off, leaving their oil bomb for the men behind to keep tossing down.

Some Barbarians tried to catch the oil bombs, but the jars were so thin—no matter how gentle their grip, they’d crack instantly and erupt in flames. Whoever caught one died first.

Wu Kai moved quickly. His Perception allowed him to know exactly what was on the other side of the wall without looking, so he could always time it perfectly.

The thirty jars in his Storage Bag were half gone in the blink of an eye. Wherever fire broke out, the Barbarians’ climbing assault slackened instantly, making it easier for those behind to keep throwing jars and intensify the blaze.

No need to worry about the wall. Even ten times more fire couldn’t burn through the array-enforced fortress walls; it only turned the corpses below and any Barbarians still trying to climb into flying ash.

This was exactly why Cheng Jinhou had ordered the oil bombs.

Too many corpses amassed below—the siege too fierce and prolonged. The Barbarians fought like mad, disregarding death, but the military camp couldn’t afford to do so.

The high heat and the oil fire’s resilience gave the fortress soldiers a brief chance to rest. Crossbowmen could finally bandage their fingers cracked from over-straining their bows.

At the same time, the corpses—once burned dry and brittle—lost their shape and lost their ability to bear weight, no longer serving as stepping stones for Barbarians climbing up from behind.

Everyone understood the logic, but executing it was far from easy. The Barbarians, wary now, watched every hand reaching out. Their ranks included cultivators and experts, too, so tossing oil bombs was extremely dangerous. Sometimes, a stone thrown like a hidden weapon could hit an exposed hand or an oil jar, and then…Bang! The man atop the wall would be swallowed in flames as well.

The smell of roasting flesh wafted through the air once again.

Wu Kai relied on his Perception to stay lucky—until a Ratkin wearing Face Armor slipped past his senses and struck his wrist with a knife.

Luckily, always on high alert, his True Qi reacted on its own—instantly tautening a True Qi Protective Shield around his wrist, blocking most of the blow’s force. Even so, a deep cut down to the bone was unavoidable.

Fortunately, it was the back of the hand, otherwise the sinews would’ve been severed for sure.

Relying on skillful wrist movement, Wu Kai managed to toss the oil bomb down anyway, not stopped or smashed mid-air. As he withdrew, the Ratkin leapt up after him.

“Swoosh swoosh swoosh…”

As he climbed, the Ratkin flung razor-sharp Black Stone shards like blades, pinpointing the gap left by the “oil throwers” among the shield bearers, felling a swath of lancers about to climb up and thrust.

Then, with a flip of both hands, two one-foot-long Three-pronged Forks appeared. One thrust at Wu Kai’s face, the other at his left chest—ferociously attacking as Wu Kai had not yet regained his footing after retreating.

Wu Kai raised his knife one-handed to block, kicking at the opponent’s waist at the same time.

“Clang!”

The twin forks caught Wu Kai’s blade, twisting it away so he couldn’t maintain his grip—shocked at the strength of his foe, clearly superior to his own.

Wu Kai understood—this Ratkin with Face Armor was a Barbarian Body Cultivator whose Cultivation was not inferior to his.