Sword-and-shield soldiers in front, spearmen behind, archers within.In an instant, a formation like an iron barrel was constructed.
"Kill them!!"
Most of the Scorpion warriors wielded pitch-black long sabers, glowing with a dark metallic sheen. These sabers were not ordinary—they were forged during their transformation, using parts of their own exoskeletons. Not only were they extremely tough, but the blades also emitted a deadly edge, inscribed with faint ancient runes.
These were Scorpion Sabers!
They could be infused with true qi, enhancing its power, enduring tremendous force. Sharp enough to cut through jade and gold, these sabers were comparable—if not superior—to divine weapons found in the mortal world.
The Scorpion Saber had a long blade, at least 1.5 meters in length. In the hands of these towering warriors, they seemed of normal size. Their height matched the weapon's bulk, allowing them to unleash its power to the fullest—wielded as naturally as an arm extension.
"Kill!!"
The Scorpion warriors obeyed without hesitation. Their eyes shone with a cruel gleam as they charged at the encircled 10,000 soldiers.
With the lower half of their bodies resembling scorpions, their multiple legs granted them incredible speed—no slower than Jackalwolves. Their sudden charges were nearly impossible to anticipate—lightning-fast and lethal.
"Loose!!"Yang Yanding's expression was solemn as he shouted the next order.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The archers were arranged in four rows. The front line loosed their arrows, then crouched. The second row fired, then crouched, followed by the third and fourth.By the time the third volley was released, the first row had already nocked new arrows and drawn their bows—ready to fire again.
This three-layered rotating fire allowed for a seamless barrage of arrows, forming a never-ending rain of death.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Despite launching volleys in all directions, the arrow density remained overwhelming. Scorpion warriors were fast—but the arrows were faster.Though they tried slashing arrows mid-air with their blades, the arrows weren't ordinary: each was a rune arrow, filled with destructive power.Dodging one or two was manageable, but stopping a flood was impossible.
Dozens, then hundreds of Scorpion warriors fell, pierced by these enchanted arrows. Even their armor was not enough. The glowing golden runes embedded in the arrows tore through them, impaling vital spots.The moment the rune energy entered their bodies, it wreaked havoc inside.
In just a single exchange, hundreds to thousands of Scorpion warriors lay dead in pools of blood.
It was a spectacle of carnage.
But the Scorpion warriors were too fast. As one wave fell, another had already closed in. Some even used the corpses of their fallen comrades as meat shields, blocking arrows by lifting the bodies and charging forward.
"Using their own kind as shields? That's inhuman... They all deserve to die. Switch to Flame Arrows!!"Yang Yanding's face twisted with rage. Such behavior—desecrating their own dead—was a sacrilege no true warrior would condone.
The previous rune arrows were designed to pierce armor. They lost power when blocked by corpses. Now, that changed.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Flame arrows, glowing with scarlet-red light, cut through the air. When they struck the corpses, they instantly ignited the bodies, flames roaring and sweeping across, forcing the Scorpion warriors to abandon their grisly shields.
But by then, they were already too close.
"Kill!!"
Throwing down the corpses, they swung their sabers at the raised shields. The black blade glimmered with deadly blade light—charged with true qi.
"Shields!!"
The human shields lit up with intense golden light, forming a connected wall of gold. As sabers crashed down, the walls rang with clear clang sounds, deflecting the attacks and rebounding the force.
These shields were enchanted with rune talismans, making their defense dozens of times stronger.The blades failed to break through.
Thrust! Thrust! Thrust!
From gaps in the shield wall, long spears shot out like venomous snakes. Before the Scorpion warriors could react, they were skewered—dozens fell, impaled through and through.
Over a thousand Scorpion warriors were wounded or killed in that instant.
"These humans in Xuanhuang Town... All of them must die. Every last one. Anyone who's human—kill without mercy."The Scorpion King Mo Xie stared coldly at the indomitable formation. In his eyes, it was just a matter of time before it fell—no matter how strong, it would be broken eventually.
But he wasn't just targeting the military.
His true goal was to attack the entire town of Xuanhuang—to massacre the civilians, throw the defenses into chaos, and force Yi Tianxing to shift focus.If he could lure soldiers off the walls, the outside armies could break through, collapsing the town's defense inside and out.
"Kill!"
His warriors obeyed, their faces twisted in cruel excitement.
In the town, thousands of civilians remained. Compared to trained soldiers, they seemed weak and helpless.
A Scorpion warrior charged, swinging his saber toward an old man who looked like a frail farmer.
But oddly, the old man showed no fear—instead, he growled:
"You think I'm just a farmer, easy to bully?! We people of Xuanhuang Town aren't cowards! Take my shovel!!"
Grinning with yellowed teeth, the old man gripped a massive iron shovel, slamming it down onto the incoming blade. It wasn't just any tool—it was forged from refined iron, heavy and durable, and infused with true qi.
CLANG!!
The tools collided with a deafening crash.The warrior—still freshly transformed and only at Spirit Sea Realm, second level—was matched in strength by the old man.
The blade was knocked aside!
Before the warrior could react, his vision went black—WHAM!!
The shovel struck his face like a steel slab. His head reeled, bleeding from all seven orifices.
"I'll smash! Smash! Smash again!!"
The old man swung again and again—like he was tilling soil, bashing the warrior's skull until it shattered, brain matter flying.
The scene was horrific.
"Are you kidding me?"Mo Xie twitched. His face burned with humiliation.
One of his warriors—albeit newly transformed—had been beaten to death by a farmer's shovel?! If word got out, his reputation would be in ruins.
Even more shocking—That old man had Spirit Sea Realm, second level cultivation as well.
What was this nonsense?
"Kill! We Xuanhuang folk aren't cowards! If you're gonna bully us, we'll at least bite a chunk off you before we die! Taste my hoe!"
"This is our home. We've run too long in the wilderness. Today, I won't run. If I die, so be it. But no one touches this place!"
"Brothers! Kill! Show these monsters that Xuanhuang's men have guts! Even in death, we'll go down fighting!"
Countless townsfolk, like that old farmer, rose in resistance.Fierce and unyielding, they picked up whatever weapons they had.
Shovels. Hoes. Hammers. Axes. Cleavers. Butcher knives. Even grinding stones.
It didn't matter.
These were tools they used every day—and in their hands, they became deadly.They fought with improvised styles, catching the enemy off guard. More and more Scorpion warriors fell, struck down by bizarre tools.
Even in death, their faces were filled with disbelief.