novellaaa Chapter 57 was quite fruitful.
Chapter 57 was quite fruitful.
A bloodstained longsword was stuck in the ground in front of him, and the blood quickly soaked the ground.
Zhao An took a Qi and Blood Pill made by Meng Wanyi. This pill can quickly replenish the Qi and Blood that has been consumed in a short period of time, making up for the large amount of energy consumed by the body.
It is also sold in the market, but most of them are of medium to low quality, not as good as Meng Wanyi's superior blood and qi pills.
Take deep breaths continuously to regulate the internal energy circulation.
He had heard that some major sects had internal energy cultivation techniques that could accelerate the return of qi and restore internal energy.
This kind of internal skill is very useful right now, but it's a pity that Zhao An doesn't have it.
Another half hour passed, and the horn sounded again outside the city.
They thought it was another enemy charge signal, but soon after, cheers came from the city walls.
"The troops have withdrawn!"
"The enemy has retreated!"
"We've won! The county town has been defended!"
Upon hearing this, Tao Heng felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders, and his previously tense expression finally relaxed.
He could no longer contain himself and climbed the city wall steps, heading straight for the top of the city wall.
Outside the city, corpses lay strewn across the fields, and piles of bodies stretched endlessly beneath the city walls.
Most of them were the corpses of the Moon Clan Iron Skin Men, and a few were the corpses of soldiers and generals who were defending the city.
The pungent smell of blood lingered in the air, carrying a chilling coldness, because frost had formed on many parts of the city walls.
There were even many corpses of the city guards that had been frozen into human stumps.
Looking around, the massive army of the Moon People outside the city had indeed withdrawn.
The siege came quickly and ended quickly, lasting less than half a day in total.
"My lord, although we have won this battle, we must not let our guard down. That Moon Clan army still has fighting power and may come back at any time!" Tao Jinyi's face showed no joy at winning the battle, but he reminded Tao Heng in a deep voice.
"Alright, you continue to oversee the overall situation. The most urgent task is to quickly clean up the battlefield, repair and reinforce the defenses, and properly care for the wounded," Tao Heng nodded.
Tao Jinyi agreed.
At a corner of the city wall, Zhao An met Xu Hong.
"Brother Zhao." Xu Hong sat leaning against the corner of the wall, covered in blood and with his head hanging low. When he saw Zhao An, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Zhao An's gaze then fell on his right shoulder.
Below the shoulder, the entire right arm was gone, leaving only a bloodied, torn sleeve.
For a moment, Zhao An didn't know what to say.
"It's alright. It's just a matter of losing my right hand. I still have my left arm and both legs, that's enough!" Xu Hong smiled with relief.
"There are many one-armed heroes in the world; why can't I become one of them!"
Zhao An nodded; this man was indeed magnanimous.
"You have done a good job in defending the city, and I'm sure the magistrate will reward you handsomely."
"My achievements are nothing compared to yours," Xu Hong said, shaking his head.
After a day of rest, the Moon Clan army disappeared without a trace and did not attack the county town again.
However, the surrounding villages and towns suffered a disaster; their supplies were looted, and the villages and towns were burned to the ground.
Tao Heng was furious, but he was helpless because the county's military strength was limited.
Defending the city is already difficult enough; pursuing them outside the city is absolutely impossible.
It wasn't until the next day, when troops from the prefectural city arrived, that things took a turn for the better.
That morning, before the mist had dissipated, the city gates were wide open, and a force of several thousand cavalrymen entered the county town.
The cavalry were well-trained, their ranks were orderly, they wore uniform black armor, swords were at their waists, bows hung on their backs, and long spears pointed diagonally to the sky, their sharpness fully revealed, exuding a chilling aura.
The battle flag of the prefecture city flies high in the sky, exuding a magnificent aura!
This is a truly capable and elite army, a battle-hardened force, far superior to the weak county soldiers of the county town!
The people of the city were overjoyed to see the arrival of this cavalry force from the prefecture.
When the Moon Clan attacked the city, the entire city was filled with fear and unease, and even after their victory, it was difficult to breathe a sigh of relief.
After all, even if we win this battle, there's no guarantee we can win the next one.
Now that the cavalry from the prefectural city have arrived to provide reinforcements, the people have gained great confidence.
A small courtyard outside the city.
[Soul slave Pan Feng's five-year enslavement period has ended. Shall we collect the karmic reward?]
[Soul Slave Li Dan, your five-year period of enslavement has ended. Do you wish to collect your karmic rewards?]
【Soul slave...】
"extract."
After a hearty meal, Zhao An swallowed two Earth Origin Pills like candy and continued to collect the cultivation results of the Soul Slaves.
Now that he has mastered all nine grades of martial arts, Zhao An has basically entrusted the cultivation of higher-grade martial arts realms to those martial arts master soul slaves.
Ordinary soul slaves themselves cannot understand the content of these high-level martial arts, so Zhao An simply let these ordinary soul slaves focus on internal energy cultivation to increase his internal energy.
Three ordinary soul slaves, if put together, could squeeze out ten more strands of internal energy for him.
It may not seem like a lot, but Zhao An's number of soul slaves is considerable.
At this rate, it wouldn't be difficult for him to condense a thousand strands of internal energy within his body, and he could achieve it in no time.
Now, after the battle to defend the city, the number of soul slaves in his soul pool has exceeded one hundred and fifty!
Among them, there are more than forty martial arts masters who have cultivated internal energy!
This contents consist mostly of the spoils of the massacre that took place outside the city, including those martial arts prisoners who escaped from the jail, as well as remnants of Black Wind Stronghold and some of the former generals of the county magistrate.
More than forty martial arts soul slaves can all participate in the cultivation of his eighth-grade hard skills, movement techniques, and the Heavenly Profound Meridian Intercepting Finger.
If they work in a relay fashion, he won't have to worry about running out of soul slaves for a long time!
"Fortune truly favors the bold; the bigger the storm, the easier it is to slack off..."
As Zhao An pondered this, he absorbed the ten extra strands of internal energy within his body. After circulating through his body once, they, like the other nine hundred strands of internal energy, dissipated throughout his body, nourishing his muscles and strengthening his physique!
In addition to these warriors and the soul slaves of the Wumanzi series, Zhao An also acquired sixty-five Moon Clan soul slaves!
However, he had already tried it. Although this Moon Soul Slave could help him practice martial arts, it was quite difficult and the efficiency was extremely low. It was a clear case that his profession was not a good match for him.
The combined efforts of several Moon People's Soul Slaves over more than a decade are still less than the progress of a single Martial Arts Soul Slaves in a year.
Therefore, he later decisively abandoned the idea of having the Moon Clan's soul slaves practice martial arts.
【Soul Slave: Xuan Si Du】
[Period of enslavement: 9 years]
【Trait 1: Moon Clan (Able to practice Moon Clan techniques)】
[Trait 2: Blue Blood Moon Rabbit (Increased efficiency when practicing ice-attribute spells)]
[Trait 3: Substitute Death (Any soul slave can passively die in place of its master when the master is injured!)]
Judging from the stats of this Moon Soul Slave, it's clear that he needs to practice the Moon Clan's own techniques and spells.
However, two problems still need to be solved for Zhao An.
First, he lacked the Moon Clan's techniques and formulas to feed the soul slaves; second, it was still unknown whether he could cultivate and use these Moon Clan techniques and formulas.
If he can use the techniques of the Moon People, then these Moon People soul slaves are still usable.
If he is not compatible with the Moon Clan's cultivation system and cannot use their techniques, then these Moon Clan soul slaves are useless. At best, they can only be placed in the soul pool and used as substitutes for death.
"I need to find a way to get my hands on the cultivation methods of the Moon People..." Zhao An thought to himself.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door from outside the courtyard.
As soon as Li Gou'er opened the door, a minor official ran in and bowed respectfully to Zhao An.
"Greetings, Zhao Wusheng. I am a servant in the county magistrate's office. The county magistrate requests your presence here."
"What is it?" Zhao An asked.
"Good thing, it's a good thing," the clerk said with a smile.
"Regarding the reward, the magistrate says you distinguished yourself in the defense of the city and deserve a separate reward!"