Seeing that morale was low, Liu Shousong could only force himself to appear calm, telling his subordinates that reinforcements were on their way and that the attackers wouldn't last long, spewing such nonsense.
Although the one or two thousand defending cultivators didn't believe these empty words, their caves, spirit fields, and families were all within this city. They dared not open the gates to surrender and could only defend to the death.
The cultivators surrounding Suxing City were dressed in various attire. Some wore expensive thousand-year-silk immortal robes, appearing as noble scions of prominent families.
Others were dressed plainly, like ordinary rogue cultivators, while some wore armor that made them look formidable.
These individuals were not united. They had gathered on their own or voluntarily to trouble the central court of the Great Jin dynasty.
The main reason they besieged Suxing City was for its vast resources.
Noble families, rogue cultivators, and rebellious cultivators had all set their sights on Suxing City, which had stockpiled a large amount of resources.
They all wished to ransack the city after its fall, stuffing their storage bags with as many resources as possible.
This was why they were attacking Suxing City, meaning these people were not of one mind.
However, Suxing City had not yet been conquered, so infighting had not erupted. But it was certain that they harbored mutual distrust and had their own hidden agendas.
Once Suxing City fell, it was uncertain what would happen between these cultivators over the unequal distribution of spoils.
Under the siege of over ten thousand cultivators, the city's protective formation trembled, as if a small blade of grass in the wind and rain, on the verge of collapsing at any moment.
At this moment, a deafening barrage of explosions resounded, followed by a violent shaking of the entire Suxing City, akin to a major earthquake. The protective formation was utterly destroyed.
Simultaneously, countless fine cracks appeared on the city walls of Suxing City.
Seeing this, Liu Shousong's expression changed drastically. With his knowledge, he could tell that this was the terrifying power that could only be unleashed by the simultaneous firing of at least ten treasure-grade war cannons.
...
With a surge of spiritual energy protecting his surroundings, Liu Shousong, a cultivator at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, looked up.
Under the pitch-black night sky, colossal fireballs with diameters exceeding a hundred feet blazed across the firmament, plunging directly into Suxing City and transforming into raging infernos that destroyed everything in their path, instilling a sense of dread.
Many cultivators and unrelated mortals perished in the sea of fire.
Liu Shousong's face turned pale. The terrifying offensive outside clearly indicated that the noble families had made their move, and it had been meticulously planned.
...
After all, treasure-grade war weapons were far more expensive than ordinary treasures. Common rogue cultivators couldn't afford them, let alone possess them.
Besides those noble families with equally profound backgrounds, who else could own so many treasure-grade war weapons!
At this moment, the one or two thousand defending cultivators who had been holding on also showed expressions of shock and uncertainty.
Liu Shousong's face was exceptionally grim.
He shouted, "Defend the city gates to the death! Believe me, reinforcements will arrive soon."
After speaking, Liu Shousong's aura surged to its peak, with several treasures hovering around him, indicating his readiness to fight to the death.
Amidst the incessant cannon fire, Suxing City gradually transformed into a living hell.
The city walls, originally hundreds of feet high, now bore gaping holes from the bombardment.
Black smoke billowed upwards, and the meticulously crafted gold walls turned scorched black. The edges of the holes had begun to melt under the intense heat.
Over ten thousand cultivators, with varied attire and ferocious expressions, charged at the breaches in the city walls, attempting to storm the city in one fell swoop.
The thousand or two hundred defending cultivators wielded their magic artifacts and treasures, desperately holding their ground and blocking the now-frenzied attackers.
However, the defending cultivators were at a numerical disadvantage. They had already lost nearly half their numbers, and the remaining ones were all injured.
Although they fought on bravely and selflessly for the sake of their homes and families behind them, they were still being pushed back step by step under the relentless assault of the enemy cultivators. The defensive line formed by their bodies was precarious, yet not a single cultivator chose to flee.
Outside Suxing City, on the flat plains, an elite army of cultivators stood ready.
A thousand cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage, clad in armor, wielding unified top-grade magic artifact blades, carrying talismans and arrows on their backs, and riding Crystal Earth Pangolins, formed a neat and solemn formation. Their chilling killing intent, reaching towards the heavens, was something one dared not look directly at.
These individuals were clearly intending to let the preceding cultivators act as cannon fodder, depleting the combat strength of Suxing City's defenders.
"The Pangolin Army of the Gongliang family, a second-tier family?"
Seeing the elite cultivator army that remained hidden and conserved its strength, Liu Shousong's expression turned cold, and despair gradually set in.
If it were just this mob of rogue cultivators, Liu Shousong would still have some confidence in holding out until reinforcements arrived.
But facing these disciplined elite cultivators who could form battle arrays, Liu Shousong felt utterly uncertain.
Forget it, the worst outcome was death. What was there to fear? He carried the blood of the Liu imperial family.
Without further hesitation, Liu Shousong let out a long roar, transforming into a streak of light and descending onto the battlefield, which was at its most intense.
Liu Shousong unleashed the full power of his several treasures and cast several first-grade divine abilities, sweeping through the enemy like a storm, slaughtering the ragtag group with ease.
Regardless, Liu Shousong was a mid-Nascent Soul stage cultivator, while most of the cultivators facing him were at the Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment stages. How could they withstand his full-powered attacks?
The nearly a hundred cultivators at the forefront were like fragile dolls, easily dealt with by Liu Shousong alone.
Liu Shousong displayed his might, crushing his foes with a few swift moves, causing the enemy to scatter and flee in terror.
Seeing their City Lord unleash his fury like a war god, unstoppable, the defending cultivators were greatly emboldened. They roared loudly and fought back fearlessly, actually forcing the cultivators who held a numerical advantage to retreat step by step.
Seeing this, Liu Shousong shouted, "A bunch of scoundrels! Dare to cause trouble in Suxing City, are you tired of living?"
"I'm in a good mood today, so I'll spare you. Hurry up and get lost..."
Seeing Liu Shousong in this state, many rogue cultivators began to waver, and some even turned and fled.
Indeed, the majority of the over ten thousand cultivators besieging Suxing City were seeking wealth. Now that they couldn't get their hands on riches and were risking their lives, it was truly not worth it.
With another divine ability unleashed, eliminating dozens more cultivators, Liu Shousong's eyes were fixed on the Gongliang family's banner.
Liu Shousong knew that the Gongliang family, who had remained inactive, was the most powerful force on this battlefield.
And the previous barrage of intense cannon fire was clearly released by them.
Witnessing Liu Shousong's mighty battle, slaughtering hundreds of cultivators in a short period, the Gongliang family's cultivators showed no panic or fear. Instead, a hint of mockery appeared in their eyes.
Just as Liu Shousong was engaged in his killing spree, a sense of unease suddenly arose in his heart.
A pair of eyes, flickering with cold light, stared coldly at Liu Shousong, like an eagle fixated on its prey on the ground.
Liu Shousong's hair stood on end. As expected, a giant axe light, tens of thousands of feet long, descended upon him. The force was so immense that it could cleave mountains and split peaks without issue.
Barely managing to block this strike, Liu Shousong's face turned extremely pale, clearly having suffered a slight disadvantage.
This was not the end. Following a mysterious fluctuation, a deep red blood-red sword, resembling congealed blood, shot towards the still-unprepared Liu Shousong at a speed faster than lightning.
Sensing the threat to his life, Liu Shousong slightly tilted his body. The blood sword grazed his heart and pierced a large hole in his chest.
Liu Shousong immediately spat out a mouthful of blood. Enduring the intense pain, he retreated to the side of his subordinates.
The one who had just ambushed Liu Shousong was Gongliang Yue, the current patriarch of the Gongliang family.
Gongliang Yue, like Liu Shousong, was also a mid-Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
Looking at the disheveled Liu Shousong and his group, Gongliang Yue let out a cold laugh and directly retrieved an extremely ancient horn from his storage bag.
He placed it in his mouth, channeled his spiritual energy, and blew into it.
"Woo woo woo..." The sound of the horn was deep and mournful, like a battle dirge.
Hearing the horn, Liu Shousong, who had just been heavily wounded, pushed away a few loyal subordinates shielding him, his expression becoming extremely grim.
He saw that the Crystal Earth Pangolins, with their massive bodies enveloped in a yellowish halo, were surging towards Suxing City like a broken dam.
A thousand Crystal Earth Pangolins charged forward, kicking up dust, appearing like a million-zhang earth dragon from afar, a truly terrifying sight. The ground itself trembled violently.
Seeing this scene, even the defending cultivators, who had already resigned themselves to death, turned pale and trembled uncontrollably.
The Crystal Earth Pangolins advanced rapidly, soon reaching within a thousand meters of the city gate breach.
The defending cultivators gathered their spiritual energy, their magic artifacts and treasures hovering, blocking the city gates, preparing for a death match.
At this moment, the aura of the Crystal Earth Pangolin army connected as one, and spiritual energy was released.
Over a thousand streams of spiritual energy merged, forming a battle array. Subsequently, a yellowish mist rose from the ground below, slowly solidifying into a deep yellow halo that protected them all.
Following this, over a thousand Gongliang cultivators drew their talisman bows and talisman arrows!