Forty Millenniums of Cultivation Chapter 3516: Side Story: city of trapped beasts (Ⅳ)

No, it wasn't just Fierce Flame Rats.

The Black Armored Saber Mantis had also appeared—a massive, crustacean-type demon beast spanning over two meters in length. By swinging its pair of razor-sharp, blade-like appendages, it could effortlessly slice through the light armor worn by the Federation Army.

Then there was the Great-Horned Magic Boar, a creature of immense bulk protected by thick hide. Even utilizing the "extreme mode" of an explosive arrow gun, taking one down with a single shot was a daunting task.

These Great-Horned Magic Boars acted like living battering rams. With the massive horns protruding from their skulls, they could charge with enough force to flip the Federation Army's crystal tanks completely over.

Furthermore, even more ghosts and demons were converging on the location. Drawn by the death rattles of the Nether Wolves and the relentless thunder of storm bolters, they swarmed toward the noise.

Both Yang Yi and Ding Lingdang had reached their limits; their crystal cells were drained, and their ammunition was completely spent.

Yang Yi cursed under his breath.

Ding Lingdang, however, reached out and gripped his arm to pull herself upward.

"Uncle Yang, help me stand."

The young girl’s voice trembled slightly, yet it held the stubborn flicker of a torch refusing to die out in a freezing gale. "Mom said... she said we are proud humans. We have to stand tall, even—even if we are dying!"

Yang Yi offered a bitter smile. He had never imagined his journey would conclude in such a manner.

Nevertheless, he supported Ding Lingdang firmly while simultaneously reaching for the chainsaw sword hanging at his hip.

Before them, the Fierce Flame Rats and Black Armored Saber Mantises began to scatter in a frantic panic.

From behind, a Great-Horned Magic Boar—larger than a rhino and bristling with bone protrusions—was already mid-charge!

As the beast barreled toward them at high speed, the chainsaw sword in Yang Yi’s grip began to hum.

Ding Lingdang forced down her last bit of saliva, squeezing her small, round fist with every ounce of strength she possessed.

At that desperate moment, a streak of saber aura crackling with electricity whistled past them, striking the Great-Horned Magic Boar directly in the center of its skull!

Breaking the siege.

With a sharp crack, the boar was split from head to tail by a blade aura as thin as a cicada's wing. It didn't even have time to let out a sound.

The blade had been so swift that the creature’s momentum carried it seven or eight steps further before it finally fell apart into two halves, its internal organs and brains spilling across the pavement.

Simultaneously, the roar of gunfire erupted.

A metal storm of lightning and fire rose up behind Yang Yi and Ding Lingdang.

It poured down like a torrential rain upon the heads of the Fierce Flame Rats and the Black Armored Saber Mantises.

A Cultivator encased in a crystal suit descended through the chaos like a falling star, crashing into the beast tide!

"Reinforcements are here!"

A glimmer of hope ignited in the eyes of both Yang Yi and Ding Lingdang.

Judging by the volcanic eruptions of spiritual energy radiating from him, this Cultivator was at least at the Foundation Establishment stage.

He carried a monstrously large saber over his shoulder. Although the tip was snapped off, the remaining blade was over two meters long and wider than a heavy battle-axe. The edge, marred by nearly a dozen cracks, had transformed into a jagged set of saw-teeth.

Electric arcs danced between these teeth, which were clogged with the charred remains of demon beasts.

It was a gargantuan blade capable of cleaving the very earth!

The giant-bladed Cultivator let out a roar. Upon landing, he spun his saber in a full circle, launching every Fierce Flame Rat and Black Armored Saber Mantis within a dozen paces into the air, shredding them into smoldering ash.

"Which one of you is Ding Lingdang?"

The Cultivator turned, his voice echoing like thunder.

The sheer volume left Yang Yi and Ding Lingdang’s ears ringing.

They were equally stunned by the warrior's battered appearance.

It was clear he had been entrenched in the beast tide for a long duration.

His once-translucent crystal suit was now caked in gore and soot.

The critical sections of his armor were heavily damaged, covered in deep gashes and the pitted marks of acid corrosion.

A hole the size of a bowl pierced his midsection, likely a wound from a Great-Horned Magic Boar.

The most gruesome damage, however, was to his helmet.

One half had shattered, exposing a blood-soaked face. The flesh at the edge of his mouth was torn away, revealing his teeth and raw nerves.

The other half of the helmet seemed to have fused with his scorched skin under intense heat.

Despite this, his bloodshot eyes burned with a terrifying intensity, as if his gaze alone could dismantle any demon beast in his path.

"She is Ding Lingdang!"

Yang Yi spoke up quickly. "I am Yang Yi, a Hunter police officer. I am tasked with her protection!"

"Understood. We will hold this position. You must take Ding Lingdang and retreat immediately!"

The Cultivator didn't waste a second, speaking in a low, gravelly tone. "Someone will guide you to the southern district. We have assembled hundreds of survivors there and are preparing to break out of the city!"

Before his sentence could finish, a nearby section of compromised wall gave way entirely.

Thousands of demon beasts merged into a horrific black wave. Roaring and twisting in a frenzied dance, they surged forward!

"Block these monsters! Cover the civilians!"

The aura of war surrounding the giant-bladed Cultivator surged to a new peak of brilliance.

Like a ticking bomb ready to detonate, he marched toward the encroaching tide.

More Cultivators and Federation soldiers emerged from the burning wreckage. They surged past Yang Yi and Ding Lingdang, following the lead of the giant blade to form a rumbling wall of steel.

Many were in a state similar to their leader, wielding broken magical treasures and nursing wounds across their bodies. In some cases, their armor had melted directly into their flesh.

Yet, like the giant-bladed warrior, they stood with absolute resolve—living breakwaters against a stormy sea.

"This way, move!"

A lone, bandaged soldier assisted Yang Yi and Ding Lingdang in their retreat.

The brilliant light radiating from the giant-bladed Cultivator was burned into Ding Lingdang's memory.

The young girl was captivated by the sight, her feet feeling rooted to the spot as she resisted leaving.

"They... they are..."

Ding Lingdang gasped, tears welling in her eyes.

"We have to go!"

Yang Yi grabbed her, fleeing with the wounded soldier before the beast tide could swallow the street whole.

"Did they... did they come just for me?"

Only after they had moved two blocks away—the sounds of war, gunfire, and blades hitting bone still echoing behind them—did Ding Lingdang find her voice. She stammered, "W-why?"

"Because we are Cultivators and Federation soldiers, and you are a child."

Yang Yi paused, then added solemnly, "Children are the hope of the Federation. They are worth any sacrifice."

Ding Lingdang wasn't entirely satisfied by the answer.

But there was no leisure for contemplation.

More soldiers, Cultivators, and fleeing citizens appeared ahead of them.

They saw heavy hardware, including crystal suits and tanks.

This represented one of the final organized pockets of resistance in Leizhe City following the disaster.

Outside of this small perimeter, the rest of the city had been surrendered to fire and shadow.

"Break out! Head south and aim for the thunderstorm zone!"

A Federation major, his uniform shredded and his left arm missing from the shoulder, stood atop a crystal tank turret. "If we reach the thunderstorm zone, we might live! Stay here, and death is certain!"

Leizhe City was a new mining hub on the edge of the wasteland.

The concentration of soldiers and Cultivators here was higher than in the interior cities.

Even the civilians who lived here were hardy souls—adventurers and miners with superior fitness and combat experience. Many were veterans who had undergone military training.

Despite the city's ruin, the survivors remained disciplined, maintaining their formations as they moved.

Cultivators and soldiers continued to dive back into infested streets, searching for more people to bring into the fold.

Strangely, many of the rescuers seemed to recognize Ding Lingdang.

Or at least, they knew of her parents.

"You're Ding Lingdang? The daughter of Ding Qin and Jin Shenglan?"

As they moved, various soldiers and Cultivators would look at the sturdy young girl with peculiar expressions upon learning her identity.

Even those covered in blood would manage a wide grin and pump a fist in encouragement. "Don't be afraid, Ding Lingdang. We'll get you out of here!"

This special attention was enough to make even the thick-skinned Ding Lingdang feel uneasy.

"It appears your parents are quite significant," Yang Yi noted.

"No, my father is just a regular refiner for the army," Ding Lingdang replied, confused. "My mother is well-known at the Grand Desolate War Institution, but there's no way everyone in Leizhe City knows her!"

"Is that so?" Yang Yi’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing more.

The group struggled through the devastated city for hours.

In that time, the number of survivors grew to over a thousand. The group became loud and unwieldy, eventually catching the attention of aerial scouts.

When a Scorpion-tailed Gryphon shrieked as it dove through the clouds, the survivors felt a chill of dread. They knew they had been spotted.

Fortunately, the southern edge of the city was in sight!

"Just past those ruins and we’re out of Leizhe City! Cultivators, soldiers, hold the flanks! Fire at will! Protect the civilians and move!"

The one-armed officer’s voice was strained to the breaking point.

Suddenly, the beast tide hit them from both sides like a deluge.

The numbers of Fierce Flame Rats, Nether Wolves, and Magic Boars were ten times what they had faced before.

Stronger variants, such as Hell Wolf Kings and Gold Armored Saber Mantises, led the charge with terrifying speed.

Above, swarms of Scorpion-tailed Gryphons circled and dove in lethal formations.

The escapees surged forward as if driven by a whip.

Most of the able-bodied Cultivators and soldiers threw themselves into the fray without a second thought.

Some formed a wall of firepower, while others waded into the melee with chainsaw swords and vibration sabers. They burned their spiritual energy to the limit to buy the civilians a few more seconds of life.

Ding Lingdang watched as a soldier was swarmed by rats. The friction from his chainsaw sword ignited the grease on the beasts, turning the man and the monsters into a single, roaring pillar of fire.

The soldier did not retreat; he kept fighting until the end.

Another soldier, cornered by Saber Mantises and bleeding from dozens of wounds, simply smiled. He calmly triggered every crystal bomb on his person, vanishing in a blinding explosion that took the monsters with him.

A Cultivator, his torso torn open and his organs spilling out, ignored the pain. He ignited his life force, snapped the spine of a Magic Boar, and swung the massive carcass like a flail.

He crushed dozens of beasts before finally collapsing to his knees, dying with his eyes wide open as his last drop of blood hit the dirt.

A death trap.

"..."

Ding Lingdang felt a burning sensation in her throat and eyes.

Swept along by the crowd, she felt an urge to join the fight.

Her fists felt heavy, as if they were hammers ready to strike alongside the Federation's defenders.

Yang Yi, however, remained focused on their surroundings, his instincts screaming that something was wrong.

"Wait!"

Yang Yi suddenly stopped, pulling Ding Lingdang out of the rushing stream of people.

"Uncle Yang, what is it?"

They stood like rocks in a river as the crowd flowed around them. Ding Lingdang clung to him to avoid being separated.

"I have a bad feeling."

Yang Yi glared at the path ahead. The buildings on either side had collapsed, forming high walls of debris. A skyscraper lay across the road further up, creating a natural bottleneck.

The terrain looked exactly like a cage designed for slaughter.

"The demons are being too tactical," Yang Yi whispered. "Rats, wolves, mantises... these things usually lack the intelligence for coordination. They should be eating each other in a space this tight."

"But here, they are working together like specialized military units. They move and retreat with discipline."

"There is only one explanation."

"A commander is behind this—someone far more powerful than these beasts. Likely a Demon General or even a Demon King."

"The question is, if such a powerful entity is here, why let us get this far? Why haven't they crushed us already?"

"Look at the sides. They are whittling us down and pushing us forward, but they aren't trying to cut the line. They are herding us."

"Unless... this was the plan all along!"

"They allowed us to gather and flee to this specific spot. They've set a trap right in front of us!"

"H-how can that be?"

Ding Lingdang was stunned. Despite her talent, she was still just a young girl, and the horror of the day was overwhelming her.

Yang Yi wasn't looking for her input. He scanned every alley and crevice for an alternative exit.

Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the front of the line.

The lead crystal tank had fired its cannon, blasting a hole through the collapsed building blocking the road.

"The path is clear! Go! Everyone go!"

The one-armed officer’s voice was hoarse from screaming.

"Move out! Once we leave the city, we win!"

The survivors surged forward with renewed desperation.

But as the dust cleared and the reality of what lay beyond the building was revealed, a collective gasp of horror rose from the crowd. It was as if they had all stepped into a frozen abyss.