C13 Sorcerer

The night passed without incident.

For two consecutive days, the barbarians had launched their attacks at dawn and retreated by midnight. Isynlenor stood resolute, its villagers holding fast amidst grief and anger.

The barbarians relentlessly hunted down nearby villagers to aid their assault, steadily depleting Isynlenor's combat strength.

Beneath the towering walls, the ground was littered with bodies. Trenches deep enough for a man were now filled with the dead. A ghastly blanket of white spread as far as the eye could see, a testament to the brutality of the conflict.

In the midst of a sweltering heatwave, if the barbarians did not withdraw, the uncollected corpses would soon decay, likely giving rise to a rampant plague.

By midday, the sun's fierce rays scorched the earth. The barbarians were amassing at the village entrance.

After the morning's onslaught, the villagers were spent. The barbarians were regrouping, preparing for a direct assault. Inside Isynlenor, Xia Ren's forces had finished tallying the battlefield's toll.

Over half the crossbow bolts were gone, the majority of the firewood consumed. Fifty of the village defenders were casualties, four were driven to madness, and the villagers' morale had plummeted, leaving them listless and disheartened.

"The barbarians are attacking!" the sentries cried out, alerting the villagers.

The true challenge was upon them.

"Kill!" bellowed the barbarian chieftain, as arrows rained down like locusts upon the high wall!

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The barbarians spared no expense of arrows, bombarding the defenders on the wall with a relentless volley. Seizing the moment, they surged forward, scaling ladders to breach the city.

"Charge!" Chu Hen shouted, leading the charge alongside Han Meng with Isynlenor's finest and a contingent of village guards, clad in armor and brandishing their weapons.

"Sha Sha... Sha Sha..." A barbarian leader decapitated a village warrior, his triumphant cries ringing out. Chu Hen leapt down, using the lay of the land to his advantage as he swung his sword.

The steel blade sliced through the air with a menacing whistle. The barbarian leader, in his hubris, showed no fear—until Chu Hen brutally severed half his arm, then, with a backhand stroke, disemboweled him. The leader collapsed, lifeless on the ground.

"Eliminate a ten-man captain and you'll be rewarded with 100 Contribution Points!" The prompt echoed in his mind, yet Chu Hen fought on, seemingly oblivious to the announcement.

What use were these grandiose numbers when his life hung by a thread?

"Whoa!" A wild cry erupted from behind. Chu Hen spun around to see a towering figure clad in military armor, brandishing a steel mace and charging through the barbarians with the ferocity of a wolf among sheep.

It was Xia Shouli.

Chu Hen glanced at his own leather armor and inwardly sighed. Indeed, there was nothing like going into battle with family. This must be the treasured heirloom of the Xia family.

He observed the barbarians on the opposite side. Accustomed to wandering the deserts and wastelands, they were desperately short on supplies, relying solely on the might and savage fearlessness of their cavalry. Their equipment was rudimentary at best, with some of the ten-man captains bare-chested, wielding bows and arrows crafted from wood and bone.

Empowered by the formidable True Essence of the fifth level of the mortal realm and superior equipment, Xia Shouli cut and swept through the barbarians effortlessly, as if he were a deity walking the earth. In an instant, the barbarians' morale was crushed, and they scattered, leaving behind their dead as they retreated in disarray.

The barbarians' hasty retreat invigorated the local militia, who erupted into cheers and leaps of joy, regarding Xia Shouli as nothing short of a divine being. From afar, Xia Ren stroked his thinning beard, a look of satisfaction spreading across his face.

But the smiles on their faces soon turned to expressions of concern.

The retreating barbarians halted at the village entrance and quickly arranged themselves into an eerie formation, advancing slowly toward the high wall.

"Hmm?" Chu Hen steadied himself against the battlement, peering intently. He noticed a shaman-like figure had emerged among the barbarian ranks, her head adorned with bright feathers and a skull mask, exuding an air of profound mystery.

The shaman plucked a feather and gently cast it to the ground, her lips murmuring an indecipherable chant.

Abruptly, she spewed a mouthful of blood skyward, which met the wind and dispersed into a mist of blood.

"Sha'rah... Wuu... Wuu..."

The shaman's incantations irked the crowd, causing Chu Hen to slightly furrow his brow before his face turned stern.

"Bestow upon your children the power to heal, O God!" she cried out, arms raised to the heavens.

"Sha'rah... Sha'rah... Sha'rah..." The barbarians' cheers were unceasing. Those who were gravely wounded and bleeding saw their bleeding halt abruptly, their countenances improving. Those with minor injuries, previously disheartened, were now invigorated and rejoined their ranks.

"Damn! The shaman's healing magic." Chu Hen cursed silently. Xia Shou Li, with eyes shut tight, cried out in anguish, "A shaman among the barbarian forces, oh heavens! How long will the calamity of Isynlenor persist?"

"The lambs granted by the gods are before you. Kill!" The bloodthirsty gaze peered through the dark voids of the bone mask. Suddenly, a fog-like green glow descended, and the barbarians surged forward with frenzied vigor, a sight most horrifying.

In stark contrast, the morale of the soldiers atop the high wall plummeted to its nadir.

A battle of bloodshed ensued.

The nightmarish siege around the high wall began anew.

By sunset, the barbarians had launched three assaults. Despite the valiant resistance led by Xia Shouli, Chu Hen, and Han Meng, the high wall nearly succumbed.

As the stars took their place in the night sky and the barbarians withdrew, the trio was utterly spent. Xia Shouli, who fought most fiercely, was drenched in blood—mostly that of the barbarians, with little of his own.

"Both of you, the barbarians have assaulted with their full might today, and our local forces have suffered greatly. Even I am spent... allow me a moment to recuperate," Xia Shouli gasped, removing his armor. "Should any issue arise, alert me at once, and I shall be there." With that, he seemed to make a weighty decision, solemnly entrusting his ancestral armor to Chu Hen.

"Rest assured, with us here, we shall never let the high wall fall!"

Today's conflict was dire, with the barbarians launching an all-out attack. Xia Shouli, akin to a guardian deity of the village, fought with unmatched ferocity, felling numerous foes with his staff. Chu Hen, receiving the armor, couldn't help but feel a deep sense of solemnity.

"Alright, I entrust Isynlenor to your care." After the blood-soaked battle, Xia Shouli's true nature as a man of valor was increasingly apparent. At this moment, his sense of trust was evident in his words.

Once Xia Shouli had departed from the high wall, Han Meng stepped forward with an uncharacteristic understanding. "You should get some rest too. Miss Lianxiang has prepared a fine tea for you. Brother Chu Hen, you're quite the fortunate one, aren't you?" he said with a sleazy nod before going about his business.

Unwarranted kindness is often a sign of ulterior motives.

Below the high wall, Chu Hen shook his head as he watched Han Meng's retreating figure, his expression quickly turning icy as he walked away.

...

With a soft puff, Chu Hen extinguished the candle and approached the window to ensure there were no spies in the courtyard. Turning with a sigh, he mused, "Han Meng has made his move. He grasps the concept of survival but fails to comprehend its true significance."

"Choices are crucial, but he's far too naive. The Barbarian Soldiers would never give him a chance." In the darkness, only the twinkling stars illuminated Lianxiang's graceful face, her fragrance a stark contrast to the grim surroundings.

"Young Master... are you saying Han Meng truly intends to go through with it?" Lianxiang looked up at Chu Hen, her face close to his, still struggling to believe.

"He believes that by opening the gate, he'll win the Barbarian Soldiers' favor, oblivious to the fact that they, who disregard all morals, would never appreciate an outsider," Chu Hen said with a scornful chuckle. "The fact that we've managed to defend the wall until now is a stroke of luck. And let's not forget the wizards among the Barbarian Soldiers. The strong and the weak are well understood by those with insight."

"You mean to say that even Xia Ren and his son..." Lianxiang's eyes widened in shock. "But... this is their homeland!" Moreover, they should be aware of the barbarians' complete disregard for humanity, yet they still lack wisdom.

"They may not have surrendered, but they likely have an escape plan," Chu Hen suggested, gesturing to his own armor.

Heh! To secure his position, he's even willing to abandon his ancestral armor. What else wouldn't he sacrifice?

"However, they definitely won't be able to leave tonight."