Mu Hanyan, the fifth prince, and a group of soldiers from aristocratic families who were guarding the city gates were still firmly guarding the city walls, refusing to let the strange beasts get out of line.
The thundering sound of war drums could also be heard from Qingyang Pass opposite, but Tan Taixuan and others standing on the top of the city wall were filled with ecstasy.
When the huge herd of beasts began to appear, they were really sweating, but then they found that something was wrong.
The vast majority of the alien beasts attacked Beining Pass, with only about a tenth or twelve actually attacking Qingyang Pass. Like Beining Pass, Qingyang Pass also had catapults and cloud-piercing stone-breaking bows. Under the relentless onslaught of boulders and arrows, the fewer than two thousand alien beasts were killed or wounded before they reached halfway. The casualties were even more severe, and ultimately only a few hundred reached the pass. These beasts didn't surge forward all at once, but rather sporadically in groups of three or five, never numbering more than a hundred at a time.
Although Tan Taixuan's team suffered heavy casualties in the previous battle, there were only about 900 young men from the five major families who were still able to fight, and only about 70 of the more than 100 elites of the Holy Court he brought with him were left, but together there were more than 1,000 people, and there were more than 1,000 soldiers at Qingyang Pass, plus those cultivators temporarily recruited from the people, all together there were still about 3,000 people.
With only three thousand men against a hundred exotic beasts, and defending the city, they certainly had the upper hand. Tan Taixuan finally found his chance to show off, leading the others in a flurry of attacks, ultimately slaying every exotic beast that reached the pass.
It must be said that, as a deacon of the Holy Court's Outer Court, Tan Taixuan truly possessed exceptional qualities. While his strength was only at the Ninth Rank Sword Master level, significantly inferior to Mu Hanyan's, his swordsmanship, inherited from the Holy See, was incredibly refined. If he let go of his fear and unleashed his full strength, his combat power was truly astonishing, surpassing even other masters of his level, and even his own elite young Ninth Rank Sword Masters, by a significant margin.
In this battle, most of the strange beasts died at his hands, and his achievements were equivalent to those of dozens of other people.
"Hahahaha, it turns out these strange beasts are just like this, they can't withstand a single blow." The depression that had been pent up in his chest for a long time was swept away, and Tan Taixuan laughed out loud.
At this time, his body was covered in blood, and his hair danced in the wind as he laughed wildly, which made him look quite heroic.
"Yes, a few days ago, my lord, you thought that God was merciful and gave them a chance to live, but they didn't know what was good for them and dared to offend my Qingyang Pass. They really asked for their own death." Mo Yanhong said flatteringly.
"Brother Yanhong is right. Lord Tantai has finally let go of his compassionate heart. This is a good thing. Now that he has shown his divine power, I don't think those strange beasts dare to cross my Qingyang Pass even a single step!" Changsun Yian said, shaking the broken folding fan and pretending to be shrewd.
Behind him, Fang Zihe almost vomited. Anyone who was not blind could see that the reason why they defended Qingyang Pass so easily was because the main force of the alien beasts all attacked Beining Pass. They could even say such shameless words. Do they have any shame?
Not to mention him, even the soldiers guarding the pass blushed.
"Lord Tantai, the situation at Beining Pass is critical. Why don't we allocate some of our manpower to give them a helping hand?" Fang Zihe said.
"How could you tell that the situation at Beining Pass is critical? I saw that they were handling it easily, didn't they?" Tan Taixuan frowned and said unhappily.
"Yes, Young Master Mu is a great swordsman, and he also has superb skills in taming beasts. Haven't you seen the sword pets of Yan Yi and He Qingzong? They are so powerful, do they need our help?" Mo Yanhong said sarcastically.
"Zihe, don't say any more. Our mission is to defend Qingyang Pass. We must not act rashly. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, can you bear the responsibility?" Changsun Yian knocked the broken folding fan in his hand and said heavily.
"Fang Zihe, I think you should just take care of yourself. You're actually meddling in other people's affairs like Mu Hanyan. You're overestimating yourself." Song Yu and the others also chided Fang Zihe with sarcasm.
Fang Zihe's face turned pale. Although he wanted to lend a helping hand to Mu Hanyan, he was powerless to do anything alone. If he led his men to attack without authorization, he would inevitably be ostracized by the other four great families, and would probably end up in a situation where he was neither accepted nor respected. After careful consideration, he could only retreat, but he was no longer willing to see the dirty faces of those people.
"Lord Tantai, in my opinion, what Young Master Fang said makes some sense. Although Beining Pass seems to be able to be defended at this moment, the number of strange beasts is too large. If it drags on for too long, it will be disadvantageous to Beining Pass. As the saying goes, if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. If Beining Pass is lost, our Qingyang Pass will not be able to hold on. While the strange beasts are attacking Beining Pass in large numbers, we can send some people to attack from behind. We can attack when we advance and defend when we retreat. Maybe we can kill these strange beasts in one fell swoop..." The general guarding Qingyang Pass couldn't stand it anymore and spoke out.
"General Chen, if you think we are in the way, the worst that can happen is that we withdraw from Qingyang Pass. Then you can do whatever you want." Before he could finish his words, Tan Taixuan said coldly.
General Chen was so choked by him that he couldn't even speak. He didn't have the status of the Fifth Prince, so how could he dare to offend the Holy Court Deacon? What's more, although Tan Taixuan and the elite children of the five major families had performed poorly in recent days, it would be very difficult for these defenders to hold Qingyang Pass without their help, so he didn't dare to offend him.
Seeing that Tan Taixuan was determined not to take action, he could only swallow his words of persuasion.
Thus, a strange effect unfolded on both sides of the canyon: on one side, Beining Pass was engulfed in flames, while on the other, Qingyang Pass was peaceful. Tan Taixuan, Changsun Yi'an, Mo Yanhong, and the others gazed at the bloody battles at the opposite pass, a cold smile on their lips.
Just as General Chen said, although Beining Pass seemed to be defensible at the moment, the situation was getting worse as time went on.
No matter how high-spirited the Fifth Prince and other soldiers guarding the pass and the children of the aristocratic families were, and no matter how well they cooperated, they were, after all, flesh and blood, and would eventually tire.
Time and again, they put all their strength into breaking through the monster's naturally defensive scales. The energy in their bodies was rapidly consumed. Seeing that their companions were about to be exhausted, the companions who were recuperating behind them hurried forward to replace them. After they had a short rest and recovered some energy, they stepped forward again to replace their companions.
After repeating this several times, everyone in Beining Pass was almost exhausted, even the sword pets whose endurance far exceeded that of humans were exhausted.
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