Chapter 219 Tianshu Formation

Beneath the city gate, the ground was densely covered with the corpses of ice bees and Ice Spirit warriors.

The Tian Shu Great Array had already been activated, but the three armies outside the city walls failed to withdraw completely.

After estimating the distance of the bee swarm and the activation progress of the Tian Shu Great Array, the Wizards' Guild was the first to retreat, followed by the faster Snow Wolf Guards. However, the ice bees arrived too quickly. It was already quite an achievement that no chaos occurred as thousands of people entered the city through the single open gate. By the time the ice bees reached the city gate, many of the large shields were abandoned on the ground, piled up in layers. These shields were the lives of the shield soldiers, who from their first encounter with them were taught that as long as the shield stood, so did they; if the shield fell, they would perish.

Despite this, not all the soldiers could be saved.

The ice bees had reached the city gate, yet over three hundred shield soldiers still hadn't made it inside.

"Close the gate! Close the gate!"

"Sto, don't let my mother go hungry!"

"Don't let anyone bully my son, that little coward!" They shouted frantically, tears in their eyes, laughing as they pulled the city gate shut from the outside. Many ran out to pick up the discarded large shields, spontaneously forming a temporary shield wall to protect the gate position, buying those last few crucial seconds for the final closure.

Creak, creak, creak, creak...

The city gate was closing.

Through the rapidly narrowing gap, one could see the ice bees fiercely charging, slamming into the last line of defense formed by the shields. Hundreds of soldiers pushed with all their might, but the gate was tall, and the three-meter-high shields couldn't cover all the gaps. In an instant, ice bees flew over the top, bypassing the large shields and diving down viciously, turning the soldiers into bloody pulp.

Boom!

The city gate finally closed, sealed tightly. Golden energy quickly filled the gaps, protecting the gate within the range of the Tian Shu Great Array.

"Hold on! Hold on!"

"Brothers, give it everything we've got! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Damn you to hell!"

Outside the city gate, a brief and frenzied shout echoed, but it lasted no more than seven or eight seconds before being drowned out by the relentless, buzzing wings of ice bees and the booming impacts against the Tian Shu Great Array's protective shield.

Inside the city gate, beneath the wall, a solemn silence prevailed. All the warriors clutched their weapons tightly, yet they were powerless, a fate they had long accepted.

Xue Cangbo on the city wall took in everything with his eyes.

Outside, the sky was filled with a dense swarm of bees, no longer a distant aurora but a true cloud-covering darkness. The silver light reflected from their icy armor was no longer visible; instead, the sky was now a vast expanse of blackness, as if the eternal winter of Bing Ling had descended upon them.

The only sound that remained was the terrifying, incessant buzzing, which had already drained the morale of the defenders during the previous wave of ice bees. Now, many eyes reflected despair, fixed on the overwhelming darkness outside.

If heaven wishes to destroy Bing Ling, the end of the world could not be any different.

Xue Cangbo's hand trembled slightly on the hilt of his sword, his once ruddy complexion now pale, and his temples suddenly streaked with white hair, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

Bang, bang, bang, bang...

The city wall began to reverberate with a continuous, dull thudding.

The Tian Shu Great Array, like a transparent water mirror, rippled with each impact from the ice bees, leaving concentric circles of disturbance on its surface. Despite countless ice bees dying, those behind them showed no fear of death.

This was the power of forbidden beasts.

With the nation's full strength, using soul crystal resources, the defensive array was built to be impregnable. Yet, the golden water mirror was now covered in a dense web of ripples, with the Tian Shu Great Array enduring billions of attacks per second, ceaselessly and without end.

The entire array hummed, like a dirge of the apocalypse!

Could it hold?

Silence fell over the city gate, and everyone watched anxiously as a clear voice rang out: "Report! The Tian Shu Array is damaged, with ten percent of its energy consumed!"

"Report! Twenty-five percent of the Tian Shu Array's energy has been consumed!"

One report after another, it was evident to the naked eye that the Tian Shu Array was being continuously weakened and eroded, while the replenishment of soul crystals could not keep up.

The entire city gate fell into a dead silence, despair spreading rapidly like the dark sky that covered everything in an instant.

......

Several miles away, at Ten Mile Slope.

Snow Wolf lay on one side, his eyes darting around, looking restless and uneasy, while Old Wang was fiddling with the oil lamp in his hand.

It looked and felt like a single piece, and Old Wang had spent a long time examining it without finding any mechanism. Recalling how Oscar had slowly rubbed the object in the cave last time, Old Wang imitated him, gently rubbing the bottom of the oil lamp with his palm.

At this moment, he thought of Aladdin...

Unlike Oscar, who made it light up with just a touch, Old Wang rubbed for a long time, almost wearing his skin raw, before the oil lamp slowly began to glow. Then, a familiar sensation resonated within him, his soul rejoicing as if yearning for the Heavenly Soul Pearl inside the lamp, which could soothe and nourish the human spirit.

Old Wang rubbed even harder, the lamp growing brighter, and a faint clicking sound came from within, as if something inside was opening. Soon, the spout loosened, and the scent of the Heavenly Soul Pearl wafted out.

At this moment, Wang Feng's heart was burning with excitement. He knew all too well the value of the Heavenly Soul Pearl; one pearl was worth a life!

In a place like this, what could be more wonderful than having an extra life?

Wang Feng happily infused his soul power, and a deep blue pearl floated out of the spout.

This is...

Damn it, Old Wang suddenly felt a toothache. This isn't... the Celestial Soul Pearl, damn it, this is a "Dragon Ball."

Good stuff, indeed, it's the inner core of a dragon-level beast, a top-notch treasure for soul beast masters, but it pales in comparison to the Celestial Soul Pearl.

Putting the Dragon Ball inside, sure enough, the aura of the Celestial Soul Pearl appeared again.

What the hell is this trick???

I've been duped!

Old Wang felt a bit helpless and amused; this was clearly something crafted by a top-tier blacksmith. The oil lamp is a soul beast device, similar to a soul beast card, using a Dragon Ball to impersonate a Celestial Soul Pearl?

Wang Feng felt like he had been trolled by Oscar.

Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz~~

The sound of the distant swarm grew louder and more frenzied, a cloud of bees darkening the sky as they surged forward.

Old Wang finally stood up, looking at the increasingly agitated swarm in the distance.

Should I save them or not? It’s a bit risky.

To be honest, Old Wang has no interest in being a hero, and with Karida's skills, even if she were really trapped in Bingling, she would surely find a way out.

Old Wang hesitated for a few seconds, remembering Xue Zhiyu's gentle smile, Xuecai's fidgety voice, and all the warm-hearted people of Bingling.

More importantly, he had borrowed quite a bit of money from the two sisters.

Are the Wang brothers the type to borrow money and never pay it back?

"Two Bamboo!" Old Wang shouted at the Snow Wolf King, who looked utterly bewildered, completely unaware that he was being addressed. Such a middle-school level nickname certainly didn't fit the title of a Snow Wolf King.

He used to have a dog named One, and now, with a wolf, he had progressed to Two Bamboo.

"Report! The Tian Shu Array is damaged by fifty percent!"

"Report! The Tian Shu Array is damaged by sixty-one percent!"

The endless, dense ripples continued to spread, the array began to tremble, and the range of the swarm's attack expanded from the initial mile-long front to cover over ten miles of the city's defenses.

As the energy of the Tian Shu Array rapidly depleted, the once quiet city gate began to stir slowly. Even the strongest warriors were human, and humans could break down.

"Whimpering..."

"We're finished..."

"Shut up! Grip your weapon tightly!" someone roared, "Even if we die, we'll take a few scum with us!"

Xue Cangbo also gripped his Frost's Sorrow tightly. He saw despair on everyone's faces, but also defiance. Despite the cries and shouts on the city walls, not a single warrior abandoned their post to flee in panic.

After all, the people of Bing Ling had their pride.

At this moment, the image of Xue Zhiyu flashed through his mind.

"Have you found Her Highness?" He no longer cared to hear about the energy depletion of the Tian Shu Array and asked a nearby attendant in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, Princess Zhiyu is clearing out the Nine Gods' remnants in the bell tower."

Xue Cangbo was slightly taken aback... Perhaps it would be better if she left. Well, the people of Bing Ling will live or die together!

The Frost Sorrow in his hand was suddenly raised high.

Perhaps the fall of Ice Spirit City could no longer be prevented, but this did not mean that the Ice Spirit Kingdom would vanish from this world. Zhiyu still lived; she could carry on the flame of Ice Spirit, and one day, she would avenge the three hundred thousand souls of Ice Spirit City!

A faint red light, like a last flicker of life, appeared on the aged face of Snow Cangbai, restoring some color to his cheeks.

"Prepare!"

He bellowed, his voice carried far and wide by surging soul power.

Everyone immediately turned their attention to him. The overwhelming cold aura of Frost Sorrow spread across the city's peak, glowing with a white radiance, like a lighthouse guiding the way through the darkness.

Snow Cangbai said no more, only lifting his head proudly to gaze at the dense cluster of peaks in the sky.

The nearly shattered morale and spreading despair seemed to halt in that moment.

The previously chaotic city gate suddenly fell silent. Everyone tightened their grip on their weapons, just as the king did, and looked up at the dense swarm of bees ahead.

"The Tian Shu Formation is damaged by over eighty percent!"

"...Over eighty-five percent!"

Not only the soldiers on the city gate, but also the transport troops and civilians who were still delivering supplies, all stopped their frantic activities. They all looked up at the swarm of bees that obscured the sun and the damaged Tian Shu Formation.

Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz...

Bang bang bang bang bang...

The protective barrier felt increasingly thin and transparent.

Gurgle... A soldier swallowed hard.

Puff!

The Tian Shu Formation rippled slightly, and an unusual wave of disturbance spread out forcefully in all directions, unstoppable.

An ice bee had actually penetrated the outer layer of the protective shield but was stuck there, firmly immobilized.

Everyone saw it clearly.

It was about the size of a palm, entirely snow-white, with two wings as thin as cicada wings. Though trapped inside the shield and unable to move, its scythe-like mandibles were continuously clenching and unclenching, the upper and lower jaws bristling with cold, bright serrations that clicked together with a resounding thud, as if declaring its boundless vitality and endless rage against the Bing Ling people.

More followed closely behind.

Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!

Rustle!

Everyone involuntarily raised their weapons.

Crack!

A sharp sound of cracking, followed by—

Rustle...

At the front of the city gate, where the impact was most severe, a ten-meter square hole suddenly burst open. A massive swarm of bees poured in like a silver tide from that spot, and the opening continued to expand rapidly.

"Kill!"

Xue Cangbo roared hoarsely, his ice sword swinging. After several rounds of assault, he was also exhausted.