Chapter 56: Aid from All Directions

Subsequently, Gu Laosi, Lin Yi, and the others continued on toward the southern city wall.

However, upon arriving there, they spotted from afar that the base of the wall was surrounded by a hundred or so small black monkeys.

These diminutive monkeys were roughly the size of golden snub-nosed monkeys from Blue Star, but their entire bodies were covered in pitch-black fur, with only a tuft of white eyebrows above each eye. They were known as white-browed poison monkeys.

The white-browed poison monkeys averaged around level 7, and their claws possessed potent venom. They were considered a very intelligent and troublesome variety of demonic beast.

Although Gu Chenhu had previously introduced this creature to Lin Yi, Lin Yi recalled that the habitat of the white-browed poison monkeys was a valley quite far from Gutan Village. Why were so many of them appearing here now?

Despite their large numbers, none of the white-browed poison monkeys dared to attack the city wall at the moment. Instead, they gathered fifty meters outside the wall, chattering away as if discussing something.

Looking down from the ramparts, it felt like being in a zoo, with a horde of black monkeys holding a convention down below.

Lin Yi glanced over and found no traces of battle; it seemed the white-browed poison monkeys had not launched an attack at all.

"You're here? How is the western city wall?"

A disheveled old man with withered hair and a short staff suddenly appeared. This man was none other than Gu Yun, one of the three senior elders of Gutan Village, and also the only professional in the village who had inherited the path of the wizard.

Lin Yi scratched his head. Elder Gu Yun was dressed like a beggar, entirely different from the image he had envisioned.

Gu Chenhu hurriedly asked, "The west has been secured, but Elder, what on earth is going on? Why haven't these monkey demons below attacked? And how are the defense lines on the east and north walls?"

Gu Yun stroked his beard. "With a professional-grade wizard guarding here, naturally they wouldn't dare attack. After all, these monkeys aren't stupid. As for the east and north, I estimate there shouldn't be any major issues; I haven't seen any distress signal flares fired from those directions."

After a pause, Gu Yun continued, "As for what is happening, I suspect the Village Chief is about to make a breakthrough. The aura leaking out has unsettled the demonic beasts, so a demon king is driving the horde to assault the village and test our strength..."

Hearing this, Gu Laosi blurted out in surprise, "The old man is breaking through? Does that mean my dream of becoming Village Chief is still nowhere in sight?"

Gu Yun glared at Gu Laosi but said nothing. After all, this brat Gu Laosi had been jointly raised by the Village Chief and the three of them, and he had always been thoroughly unruly.

It could only be said that a tree grew crooked, and no amount of bending could straighten it.

Gu Chenhu said, "Then Elder, we'll go check the situation at the other walls. Sorry to trouble you to keep guarding here."

Gu Yun yawned and said, "No problem. I haven't been out in a long time; it's a good chance to stretch my muscles. Off you go."

Lin Yi stood among the crowd, noticing that Elder Gu Yun gave him a beaming smile.

Lin Yi was not surprised; the Village Chief should have informed the three senior elders of his identity. He nodded in acknowledgment to Gu Yun and then followed the others away.

Next, they arrived at the eastern city wall. No battle had broken out here either, with only Elder Guyuan and two level-eight militiamen standing atop the ramparts to deter the demonic horde.

Below was a group of water buffalo demons, averaging around level eight.

The water buffalo demons were strikingly attractive demonic beasts, similar in build to black cattle, adorned with a pair of horns, and covered in purplish-blue fur.

Under the sunlight, the fur of the water buffalo demons even shimmered with multicolored light.

However, this herd of cattle possessed formidable combat strength. Their abdomens could store a large amount of acidic substance, which they projected during attacks as watery acid blades whipped by their powerful tails.

This acid not only possessed intense corrosive properties but also delivered terrifying cutting power under high pressure.

Gu Chenhu had told Lin Yi about these water buffalo demons, but he had merely mentioned that their meat was exceptionally delicious, saying little about their dangerous nature.

Yet Lin Yi had read an introduction in the official manual sent to him by Liu波, which stated that water buffalo demons were exceptionally intelligent, gregarious demonic beasts with strong territorial awareness and intense aggressiveness.

In a one-on-one fight, even a heart-devouring wolf would be no match for a water buffalo demon; it usually required multiple heart-devouring wolves joining forces to deal with just one.

Normally, water buffalo demons would not leave their territory, but if driven by a more powerful demon, that would be another matter entirely.

Right now, below the city wall, about a dozen water buffalo demons were sprawled out.

These water buffalo demons showed no intention of attacking the village, acting as if they were just putting on a show, looking thoroughly leisurely.

Lin Yi even spotted a bull within the herd climbing onto the back of a cow and starting to hump...

Talk about an eyesore!

Since there was no danger at Guyuan's post, the group prepared to head toward the final wall defense line.

However, when Lin Yi and the others arrived, they discovered that fierce combat was underway outside the wall.

Below the ramparts, a massive horde of phantom demons was frantically scaling the wall, clashing with the defending militiamen.

There were not many militia members stationed here—only a dozen or so—yet Lin Yi spotted non-militia elites like Gu Yongqiang and Butcher Li among the defenders.

In addition, some newly arrived transcendents were stationed in the rear, transporting supplies and evacuating the wounded.

Although the phantom demons' assault was fierce, virtually no casualties could be seen among the city defenders, and each person was equipped with a defensive talisman.

Despite the village holding the advantage, Gu Chenhu and the others grew anxious and directly joined the defense.

After a moment of thought, Lin Yi did not draw his shimmering silver saber. Instead, he retrieved his long-neglected bear-sinew grand bow, stood upon the city wall, and used Star-Tracking Archery to pick off the phantom demons below.

Phantom demons were a very peculiar variety of parasitic demonic beasts.

Their true forms were extremely small, roughly the size of an infant, pitch-black all over, endowed with eerie green eyes, and exceptionally agile.

Once they found a host, however, they could devour its flesh and blood to grow into their complete forms.

The phantom demon Lin Yi had first encountered in the village had sneaked in and successfully consumed a living human to reach its complete form.

Depending on the host, the appearance of a fully matured phantom demon varied widely.

The phantom demons attacking below were mostly around level 7. Some possessed rabbit ears, while others took the shape of black bears, looking thoroughly eclectic.

Weaker phantom demons grew into complete forms by devouring ordinary animals, while powerful ones used certain demonic beasts as hosts for parasitism.

Of course, the phantom demons' favorite hosts remained human flesh and blood. It was said that phantom demons who grew by consuming human flesh and blood qualified to become demon kings.

Lin Yi spotted a powerful, wolf-headed phantom demon among the horde. Judging by the aura it emitted, it was likely a level-ten great demon.

Yet this level-ten phantom demon remained extremely cautious, lingering on the perimeter to issue commands without approaching the city wall.

Soon, after a fruitless charge that left behind a batch of corpses, the phantom demons began to retreat in succession.

Gu Chenhu asked in puzzlement, "Are the phantom demons retreating?"

A nearby militiaman expertly cleared the battlefield and explained, "Captain Chenhu, don't lower your guard. These phantom demons have already charged several times; I reckon they'll attack the village again after taking a breather."

"Are these phantom demons out of their minds? They lost so many of their own kind and still dare to attack the city? By the way, where is Elder Gu He? Why don't I see him?"

"The Elder is refining talismans in the tent below the wall. The talismans we're wearing were all distributed by him..."