On the city wall, Chu Tian gazed into the distance.
"Who told me that the Scorpion-tailed Sand Badger was a creature without brains?"
Chu Tian's eyes widened.
This included Old Yang, Hao, and Inu Gorou.
As for Qian Qian, Nie Yun, Dian Dian, and Xiao Kong Kong,
They had been taken away by clansmen called by Hao.
Chu Tian was quite relieved about this.
Those clansmen of Hao had witnessed Hao's entire evolution process through the Divine Contract.
Now, they were extremely respectful upon seeing Chu Tian.
Outside the city walls, the pack of Scorpion-tailed Sand Badgers was slowly advancing.
Ahead of them were fleeing masses of people.
There were humans, demons, and mixed-bloods among them.
Their direction was towards Wan Shou City, whose four gates had already been closed.
Could it be that their previous retreat was to drive all the nearby tribes over here?
Otherwise, how could there be so many people?
Even though it was the Wan Shou Festival, it was impossible for so many people to attend.
Ordinary tribes would only send a few people to try their luck.
Chu Tian estimated that on the entire western side, there were seventy to eighty thousand people being driven by the Scorpion-tailed Sand Badgers.
If all four directions were like this, then combined, there would be at least two to three hundred thousand people.
Although most of them were mixed-bloods, they were still living beings.
What would Wan Shou City do?
Refuse to open the gates, or let these people in?
If the city gates were opened, it was believed that the Scorpion-tailed Sand Badgers behind them would surely accelerate.
At that time, those entering the city might not necessarily be humans.
The speed of the Scorpion-tailed Sand Badgers could instantly surpass these fleeing masses.
Once they reached the city gates,
It would be difficult to close the gates again.
Not opening the gates meant the death of hundreds of thousands.
Opening the gates meant the city would be breached, and the death toll would be immeasurable.
Even if Chu Tian had to make the decision, it would be a difficult choice.
Chu Tian did not know that behind them, on the towering city gate tower,
Old City Lord Wei Du was also frowning.
And the person behind him, known as Elder Priest Gou,
Was precisely the uncle of the priest named 'Gou Bi' whom Chu Tian had killed.
Their Gou family had three priests.
Gou Bi was one, and another was his uncle, 'Gou De'er'.
The third was Gou Bi's sister, 'Gou Dingding'.
It had to be said that the Gou family was indeed formidable.
Priests, who could sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, were extremely rare in the Sea of Death.
Gou Bi was even more remarkable, not only being a priest but also possessing the talent of a beast tamer.
From a young age, he could communicate with beasts telepathically, much like Dian Dian, and also Qian Qian.
However, this Gou Bi was too unlucky to have encountered Chu Tian.
He thought he had used his trump card, a soul attack, intending to turn Chu Tian's brain into mush.
Instead, he died from his most confident attack, his own head exploding.
Creak...嘎嘎嘎...
Suddenly, the city wall vibrated, and the sound of mechanisms turning echoed.
"Chu Tian, they're opening the city gates!" Old Yang shouted, looking down in disbelief.
When he was in the City of Oblivion, he had experienced being besieged by beasts more than once.
There, it was called a beast tide.
The City of Oblivion was located in the northernmost region of the Sea of Death desert.
To the south of the City of Oblivion was a desert, but to the north was an ice field.
It was situated on this boundary line.
Logically, they should not have lacked water there.
Instead, it should have been an area with abundant water sources.
But on the contrary, the melted ice from that ice field was something no one dared to drink.
Legend had it that the area was originally a polluted land, a swamp rampant with plagues.
For some unknown reason, it turned into an expanse of ice and snow overnight.
This transformation, however, sealed the plague's toxicity underground.
Digging ice from there and melting it for water was equivalent to seeking death.
Many types of monsters lived on that ice field.
Every few years, they would be driven to attack the City of Oblivion.
They did not genuinely intend to capture the city, but rather to consume.
Because, whether humans died or their own kind died,
Their corpses would be collected by them and stored as food.
Therefore, Old Yang was shocked that the City Lord of Wan Shou City would open the gates for these people outside.
This was a very foolish act.
However, Chu Tian's thoughts were the exact opposite of Old Yang's.
He looked down at the Scorpion-tailed Sand Badgers, which had already begun to accelerate, and smiled.
"The City Lord of Wan Shou City is quite humane!"
"Nonsense... This not only won't save the people below, but it will also endanger everyone in the city."
Old Yang completely disagreed with Chu Tian's statement.
Chu Tian did not refute him. The laws of survival in the Sea of Death were different from those on Blue Star.
At this moment, on the city tower, City Lord Wei Du stood at the edge.
The few people behind him had unsightly expressions.
Before the city gates were opened, these old fellows had unanimously expressed their opposition to opening them.
But their City Lord had insisted on going his own way.
"Four Directions City Guard, deploy cloud ladders and descend to block the demonic beasts!"
Suddenly, a voice echoed throughout the entire city.
Wei Du held a square seal, the size of his palm.
This was the City Lord's Seal of Wan Shou City, also known as the Wan Shou Seal.
It was not just a magical artifact, but also the core of the entire Wan Shou City's formation.
He spoke into the Wan Shou Seal, and through the formation's transmission,
He directly issued commands to the Four Directions City Guard.
As he spoke, the four old men behind him changed their expressions.
"City Lord, this is unacceptable!" One of them stepped forward.
"Oh? What is unacceptable?" Wei Du turned around and looked at the other party expressionlessly.
"This..." The man hesitated, unable to utter a word.
However, the other three old men beside him also stepped forward and said, "Please, City Lord, withdraw your command, otherwise the Four Directions Guard will suffer heavy losses!"
"Oh? Feeling heartache?" Wei Du's lips curled up.
"Does City Lord not feel heartache? Those are the foundations of Wan Shou City!" The old man who spoke first gritted his teeth and stared at Wei Du.
"Oh? Is it the foundations of Wan Shou City? Or the foundations of your Four Generals?"
After speaking, Wei Du no longer paid attention to the four of them and turned back to face the outside of the city.
At this moment, countless cloud ladders flew out from the city walls.
Although the Four Directions Guard had not received their direct orders, who would dare to disobey when the City Lord used the Wan Shou Seal to issue a command?
"City Lord... the way you put it, isn't it inappropriate?" Elder Priest Gou De'er suddenly said.
"How else should I put it?" Wei Du did not turn back.
Gou De'er stared at Wei Du's back and asked, "May I ask why the City Lord's Central Army Guard is not going out?"
"Central Army Guard? That's right, I almost forgot if you hadn't mentioned it." Wei Du turned around and looked at Gou De'er.
He continued, "I followed your suggestion and sent the Central Army Guard to support your nephew. They still haven't returned.
I don't know what their harvest will be, whether they can bring back a Level 4 demonic beast?
If the Central Army Guard were here, I would have sent them out to rescue them last night.
It wouldn't have come to this where Shen He of Qingshui City was violated by Long Yang. If they don't bring back a Level 4 demonic beast,
And we also offend Qingshui City, we'll be losing the battle and suffering collateral damage!
At that time, who will be held accountable for this debt?"
Gou De'er was stunned by Wei Du's words, his eyes narrowed, and he said, "City Lord, when did I suggest you send the Central Army Guard to support Bi'er?"
"Oh... you didn't? But your niece personally came to find me, saying it was the request of the Great Priest."
"Am I correct, Priest Dingding!"
After Wei Du finished speaking, he turned to look at the exquisitely pure woman standing behind Gou De'er.
She stepped forward and came to Wei Du's side, saying.
"Yes, City Lord, it was indeed my uncle, Elder Priest Gou De'er, who asked me to report to the City Lord.
He said that my brother Gou Bi had discovered a Level 4 demonic beast, the [Fire-Eyed Gu Chan], which was about to give birth, but he lacked sufficient manpower to capture it.
The Elder Priest suggested that the City Lord dispatch the Central Army Guard to cooperate with my brother in the capture.
Given the strength of a Level 4 demonic beast, the Central Army Guard was deployed in full force and has not returned to this day!"
As Gou Dingding spoke, Gou De'er's eyes gradually widened.
Slowly, his gaze turned cold, and the goatee on his chin trembled.
"Good... good... good..." He repeated the word "good" three times.
Then, he flicked his sleeve and turned away.
All of this was witnessed by the several people on the city wall.
Wei Du maintained a smile throughout.
Gou Dingding, seeing her uncle storm off, gradually relaxed her tensed body.
Sweat trickled down her brow.
"City Lord..." she raised her gaze and looked at Wei Du.
"Mm... From today onwards, you will follow by my side!
This old man has been wanting to take an apprentice recently and, being old, wishes to find someone to attend to my daily needs!"
Wei Du said calmly, but in this situation, it was equivalent to solidifying Gou Dingding's status.
"Disciple pays respects to Master!"
Gou Dingding's eyes flickered, and an inexplicable thought arose in her mind.
However, she quickly bowed down.