Chapter 1055: Pulled Fate

"Alright," Zhao Linyang agreed, then suddenly pointed straight ahead. "Bug demon!"

He Lingchuan turned to look in the direction he was pointing.

Zhao Linyang straightened his back, opened his mouth, and something shot out, aiming for He Lingchuan's back neck!

This thing resembled both an octopus tentacle and a large worm, with razor-sharp rotating teeth at its tip, and it launched faster than an arrow from a bowstring.

The two were only two feet apart, and He Lingchuan was unprepared, seemingly with no chance to escape.

But a cold light, even faster than the segment of tongue, sliced it off from bottom to top without a sound!

Green pulp splattered.

The severed half of the tongue fell to the ground, still wriggling like an oversized earthworm.

Yet, He Lingchuan felt the cut was rough, as if sawing through ox bone.

Zhao Linyang didn't even have time to scream before turning and fleeing.

Once his ambush failed, he made a quick escape, refusing to engage He Lingchuan in a prolonged fight.

But how could He Lingchuan let him go? He snatched a long spear from a guard, inverted it, and threw it butt-first directly at Zhao Linyang's back.

He specifically infused it with elemental power, causing the entire spear to glow red.

Zhao Linyang had barely run two steps before he was hit, falling forward.

Even without the spearhead, He Lingchuan's force was something an ordinary person could not withstand.

As soon as Zhao Linyang hit the ground, he vomited, and a dark, grotesque little bug shot out of his mouth.

It had wings but looked like a scorpion, with a long tail that pointed downwards rather than upwards, lacking a stinger but possessing several antenna-like soft barbs at its tip.

Upon leaving the human body, it quickly shrank and became round.

He Lingchuan pulled out a flying knife and swiftly threw a few at it.

However, this elusive creature was incredibly fast, making S-turns one moment and sudden stops the next, causing the thrown knife tips to miss by mere millimeters.

For a tiny bug, its evasive maneuvers and anticipation were remarkably skilled.

Suddenly, with a rustle, a swarm of black armored bugs emerged from the base of a nearby wall.

These were the same creatures that had previously controlled ordinary people to assault the city gate. He Lingchuan hadn't expected them here and his heart sank.

The black armored bugs were there to meet the strange bug, and as soon as they merged, it was like a drop of water in the ocean; it was impossible to distinguish where the strange bug was.

He Lingchuan unleashed a "Wave Cut," and seven streaks of blade energy instantly twisted through the insect swarm.

The swarm seemed to understand the danger, buzzing as they scattered in all directions.

Still, hundreds were cut down by the blade energy.

No one's face showed relief, however, because hundreds more black armored bugs immediately flew out from nearby, replenishing their numbers.

Were these creatures endless?

Even Zhu Erniang's offspring couldn't sustain such losses.

The swarm seemed to recognize He Lingchuan's prowess, remaining airborne, more than ten zhang (around 100 feet) above the ground.

If He Lingchuan and his subordinates wanted to attack, they would have to use throwing knives, arrows, or a few divine abilities, none of which could inflict widespread fatal damage on the swarm.

Whenever they prepared a powerful attack, the swarm would immediately disperse, preventing a concentrated annihilation.

These things were truly difficult to deal with.

He Lingchuan decided to ignore them and bent down to examine Zhao Linyang on the ground.

The city guard Zhao had been dead for a while, with a finger-thick circular hole at the back of his skull, though it was covered by hair and his hat, making it inconspicuous to others.

The shape of this circular hole matched the bug tongue that had fallen to the ground.

That object had dried into a withered skin bag within moments of hitting the earth.

He Lingchuan blindly guessed that this was likely... the bug's proboscis?

The strange bug had just ambushed Zhao Linyang, then burrowed into his head, controlling his body's movements. It could walk and talk, showing almost no flaws except for its expressionless face.

Adults usually didn't make excessive expressions anyway. In such chaotic times of war, who would specifically pay attention to his demeanor?

But once it started running long distances, it became less effective. He Lingchuan speculated that the corpse was beginning to stiffen, making control difficult.

The monster's initial target was Wen Daolun, but after He Lingchuan intercepted, it had no choice but to attack He Lingchuan.

It even knew to target the leaders of Yuheng City.

Now that Zhao Linyang was dead, if either Wen Daolun or He Lingchuan died, the situation in Yuheng City would easily spiral out of control.

And let's not forget, the battle at the south gate was the main focus.

Where had Fu Shanlie found this insidious creature?

The swarm in mid-air suddenly made a sound:

"How did you see through my disguise?"

Bugs had no vocal cords, but through peculiar wing vibrations and resonance, they could astonishingly simulate human speech.

He Lingchuan stood up. "What living person would have pupils that dilated?"

Although the monster could control Zhao Linyang's every move, it was powerless over subtle human physiological reactions. Zhao Linyang had been ambushed in a dark alley; his pupils had dilated at the moment of death. But in these streets, the fluorescent spores provided extremely high illumination, so a person's pupils should have constricted accordingly.

This was just a small flaw, but He Lingchuan always had a habit of looking at people's eyes first, and this observation immediately revealed something was wrong.

The strange bug asked again, "Why did you turn back midway?"

If He Lingchuan hadn't returned, Wen Daolun would have been pierced through the skull and killed long ago!

Then the East City would have fallen into chaos.

As long as Yuheng City was thrown into disarray, He Lingchuan, a single individual, would be utterly incapable of managing the entire city when the Imperial Nectar and the ravages of war arrived simultaneously. This would give Jin Tao and Fu Shanlie another opportunity.

He Lingchuan did not answer the question. He stood up and rushed north, his elite guards following closely behind.

Matters were prioritized.

After its failed ambush, the strange bug still wanted to delay him further. How could He Lingchuan allow it to succeed?

At this moment, the most important thing was the battle at the south gate!

Fu Shanlie had not appeared in the East City, which meant he had gone to ambush the South City.

As for the strange bug's question, He Lingchuan had actually had no idea it would appear. It was merely an instinctual feeling that Wen Daolun's deadly peril had not yet passed.

This was a sudden impulse, a premonition, inexplicable in words.

So, even though time was pressing, he had stayed, watching from the shadows for a bit longer.

This observation revealed the problem.

If he hadn't intervened at that critical moment, Wen Daolun would have almost certainly been ambushed and killed.

He had previously found a way to get Wen Daolun away, yet at this strange juncture, at this specific moment, Wen Daolun had almost lost his life again!

It was as if a force was pulling him towards his destiny.

He Lingchuan's heart was heavy.

He had previously been fixated on changing Wen Daolun's outcome.

But instead, Zhao Linyang, the new city guard who had taken over Yuheng City, was the one who died.

The Old Water Lizard's testimony vividly echoed in his mind: "The Yuheng City guard died violently"!

After going in circles, had the wheel of history rolled back?

Was the power of fate also beginning to manifest in the Panlong World?

This was truly not good news for He Lingchuan. He had originally hoped that through his own efforts, he could rewrite the tragic fate of Panlong City.

Could this wish still be achieved?

If not...

He pressed his lips together tightly.

Hong Ming broke the Thousand-Strand Grass Knot. Fu Shanlie, leading seven hundred men, waited in the darkness for a signal to act.

He chewed on a blade of grass, his heart secretly anxious.

His forces had no foothold in Longchuan; tonight's operation was their final gamble.

If they could "bathe Yuheng City in blood," Lingxu City might be satisfied with the results he presented, and he would be able to remain in Xiji.

But if they failed...

So, had his year spent in the Longchuan bandit den been "a waste of time," as the Lingxu Royal Court had claimed?

That fellow surnamed He was truly a tough nut to crack.

Originally, his plan was subtle and unremarkable, slowly aiming to exhaust Yuheng City. But this kid surnamed He suddenly appeared from nowhere, constantly playing dirty tricks against him.

However, the combat power of the Longchuan bandits was indeed low. Although he had over two thousand six hundred subordinates in Longchuan, he could only bring a mere seven hundred, consisting mainly of his own elites from Beijia and the remnants of Xiji forces that had resisted Panlong City; there were very few actual bandits among them.

The remaining numbers were to be supplied by Jin Tao Kingdom's troops.

Currently, the forces besieging Yuheng City's East Gate were the Jin Tao army.

Ultimately, regular armies were regular armies; their will to fight in the face of Imperial Nectar was not comparable to that of a motley crew of bandits.

Before his thoughts could fully form, red smoke erupted and alarm bells rang at Yuheng City's East Gate.

They're here!

Fu Shanlie's spirits lifted, and he raised his arm, shouting:

"Charge!"

The Imperial Nectar stirred people's hearts. These nine hundred soldiers had long been restless, eager only to draw their blades and kill. At Fu Shanlie's command, they fired arrows, then charged forward with earth-shattering battle cries.

The infiltrators Fu Shanlie had sent into Yuheng City were elites who had followed him through countless battles in Beijia. He normally wouldn't even let them participate in ordinary raids, but this time he had to reluctantly sacrifice them as suicide soldiers.

The thirty men attacking Yuheng City's East Gate would fight to the death and would most likely not make it out. But their stand and sacrifice would draw the city's garrison eastward, buying time for the second hidden team to breach the South Gate!

Yes, the suicide squad inside the East Gate and the army outside were feints. The South City Gate, the primary target of the second hidden team, was Fu Shanlie's true objective!

Tonight, He Lingchuan had led away the main force of the Yuheng army. As long as Fu Shanlie's strategy was executed properly, with coordinated internal and external attacks, the city's fall was imminent!

The second hidden team was larger in number, stronger in combat, carried more talismans, tools, and explosives, and was also aided by black armored bugs. They were guaranteed to catch the city defenders off guard.

Once the Imperial Nectar arrived, movement within the city would likely be difficult for horses. Yuheng's troop deployment capabilities would be limited, preventing timely reinforcement of the South City Gate.

In a flash, the group reached the moat.

In early spring, the snowmelt had not yet fully thawed, and the moat's current was gentle. The Xiji puppet army threw pre-prepared ice-forming agents, quickly freezing the river's surface.

The Xiji puppet army crossed over the ice, reaching the city wall, where they immediately threw grappling hooks.

Rope ladders were attached to the hooks, allowing people to climb.

The guards on the city wall immediately rushed to pull them down or cut them.

Arrows rained down from both above and below the wall.

Fu Shanlie's urgent order to assault the city was also to relieve the pressure on his internal infiltration team trying to open the gate.

He wouldn't place all his hopes for opening the city gate on the infiltration team. After a few whistles, three gigantic rhinos charged out from the dark jungle.

These massive creatures had crossed the national border directly, charging all the way from Jin Tao Kingdom. The fodder they preferred grew on Xuan Iron veins; eating it not only prevented metal poisoning but also made their hides as hard as iron, leaving no mark when struck by ordinary arrows.