Chapter 58: Out of Place?

But no one expected that the Great Wind Army, now undead, could still employ such tactics.

Clearly, they had calculated that no matter how powerful the Heavenly Thunder Array was, it would have its limits. By using ordinary vengeful spirits to deplete the Heavenly Thunder's power, once the array failed, these living people would be nothing but meat on their chopping block.

The Season of Raging Sands had just begun, and as undead, they had virtually infinite time.

The living people's faces turned grim. The undead could wait, but they could not. After enduring the impact of several hundred vengeful spirits, the runic array's electric glow was noticeably less vibrant than before, clearly indicating a limit to how much power could be borrowed from the heavens.

And the Great Wind Army was testing how much of that limit remained.

Once this batch of vengeful spirits was exhausted, the Great Wind Army immediately sent forth over a thousand more. In the current Dragon Coiling Desert, there was no shortage of them.

The living people's vision blurred with despair, and they lost their composure. A confidant muttered hoarsely, “My Lord Commander, I… we…”

If this happened again, would the array be broken directly?

“Calm yourselves! The more you panic, the faster the array will break!” He Chunhua bellowed. “As long as the Imperial Preceptor obtains the Great Square Vase, our predicament will resolve itself!”

Amidst the chaos, someone muttered under their breath, “How much longer will that take?”

He Chunhua suddenly turned, and with a single sword stroke, severed half of the man's ear. “Do you want to kill your comrades? Disrupt morale again, and I’ll execute you without mercy!”

The sight of blood made everyone considerably calmer.

Another few hundred vengeful spirits, driven by the Great Wind Army, crashed into the Heavenly Thunder Array and were obliterated.

At this point, He Chunhua also felt a bit dizzy. Looking back at the staff in the array, the State Altar Token held in the beast's mouth had faded in color, and its green light was weakening, a sign of the constant drain on morale.

But the blood-filled pool only rippled faintly, with no other movement.

The Great Wind Army itself incurred no losses, only sending cannon fodder to the front. At this rate, how much longer could they hold out?

He Chunhua sighed inwardly, realizing he had ultimately fallen into the Imperial Preceptor's trap.

The heroic spirits of Dragon Coiling City had resisted invasion in their lives, and were especially sensitive to the aura of foreign armies. Furthermore, He Chunhua had used the State Altar Token, making these hundred or so living people like bright lamps in the dark night. It would be difficult for the Great Wind Army not to notice them.

Hmm? But speaking of auras…

He Chunhua recalled something, and suddenly his spirits lifted.

The South Gate was there. Whether they hurried or took their time, they would eventually reach it.

Now, the South City Wall became increasingly clear in their vision. After another two or three *li*, they would reach the South Gate.

The buildings in the southern part of the city were intact; Nian Songyu had not yet made his move.

Dragon Coiling City's geographical location was unique, with its defensive focus entirely on the south. Therefore, during this period, aside from the South Gate, the city walls in the east and west were rudimentary and lacked any military equipment. The north side, in fact, had no gate at all.

The only location from which large-scale, rapid fire could be launched into the city was the South Gate.

Coincidentally, the main residential area of Dragon Coiling City was also in the south, with over sixty percent of the city's homes concentrated there.

He Lingchuan looked at the South Gate, thinking that Nian and Sun probably also felt that setting fires in the other three directions wasn't the priority, which was why they left the southern buildings untouched, waiting for the four of them to regroup.

Waiting to regroup?

He Lingchuan still felt that something was amiss.

At that moment, they were about to bypass a large mansion by the stream.

After passing through a theater building, they would reach the main street, and then proceed straight to the South Gate.

Maotao was already drenched in sweat. He squatted down and scooped a handful of water to wash his face.

The water in the illusion couldn't be drunk, but its touch was very real, and it was effective for cooling down and calming nerves.

“Let’s go.” He got up and strode forward.

He Lingchuan, however, grabbed him by the back of his collar. “Wait.”

“What is it?”

He Lingchuan didn’t speak. He jumped onto the mansion's outer wall, and in a few quick steps, climbed into the corner tower.

Within a few *li* radius, this was the tallest building, offering an unobstructed view.

Maotao didn’t bother with that effort. He walked through the main gate into the courtyard, and then climbed the stairs.

When he found He Lingchuan, the young master was staring intently southward, muttering repeatedly, “Out of place, out of place!”

Maotao quickly asked, “What’s wrong? What’s out of place?”

His attitude towards He Lingchuan was becoming increasingly humble, unlike his initial habit of merely flattering the capricious young master.

He himself hadn’t realized this change.

He Lingchuan kept his eyes fixed on the South Gate, and pointed with a hand. “Do you see the totem?”

“Ah, yes, I see it.” The large black dragon totem carved into the city wall was so prominent, it would be hard to miss, wouldn’t it?

“The triple walls we saw in the desolate city in the great desert, on the innermost barbican wall, also had this black dragon totem, exactly the same.”

Maotao thought hard and nodded. “Yes, I remember that too.”

“Don’t you think there’s a problem?”

Maotao looked even more bewildered. “What problem? Young Master, please explain clearly, don’t be like Imperial Preceptor Sun.”

He Lingchuan slowly turned to him. “The best play performed by the Blackwater City opera troupe, and everyone’s favorite, is called ‘Dragon Breaks the Army Array,’ you’ve heard of it, right?” Everyone had heard of it! “It sings about the guardian beast of Xiluo Kingdom.”

Maotao: “And it says, the Golden Ox, guardian beast released by Xiluo Kingdom, was invincible—”

Oh, why was he singing?

“Xiluo’s guardian beast is the Golden Ox, right?” He Lingchuan jutted his chin towards the South Gate. “But on the city gate, there’s a black dragon! Look, in front of the relief, there’s an offering table, and a large three-legged bronze censer with a phoenix holding a ring. Such reverence isn’t something a minor deity can command; Dragon Coiling City must be worshipping it as a national or city guardian beast!”

“But the desolate city outside also worshipped a black dragon, this—” A sudden thought flashed in Maotao’s mind, and his eyes widened. “That’s odd! This is Dragon Coiling City in peacetime; even if they worshipped a guardian beast, it should be the Golden Ox!”

“There are established customs for the worship of divine beasts in all kingdoms, and border towns cannot violate them. Otherwise, it would be a grave offense, and if discovered, there would be great trouble,” He Lingchuan said. “Dragon Coiling City should originally have worshipped the Golden Ox, like the rest of the kingdom. Perhaps after years of prolonged war and isolated struggles, they became increasingly disillusioned with their homeland, and, coupled with their conversion to the Mirrormoon God, they changed the relief to a black dragon.”

“Logically, Dragon Coiling City in the illusion shouldn’t have this flaw. But as the Great Square Vase is the Mirrormoon God’s treasure, things the owner doesn't acknowledge cannot appear here. Therefore, this inconsistency has been preserved.” He Lingchuan shook his head. “But it’s simply too big, standing there so overtly, that even if living people entering see it, they won’t think much of it.”

Ultimately, Xiluo Kingdom perished over a hundred years ago. People today only know about it through records, and are not as keenly aware of its details as they are of their own nations.

Maotao exclaimed, “No wonder Tao Bo said in his notes that there was a spot here that was out of sync with reality! Young Master, what sharp eyes you have! We must report this to the Imperial Preceptor immediately!”

He leaned out the window, about to jump down, but then his neck felt tight, as He Lingchuan grabbed him by the back of his collar again. “What’s the rush?”

“Aren’t… aren’t we reporting it?” Maotao was momentarily stunned.