The powerful penetrating force of the ballista bolt exploded completely. After piercing through one skeleton warrior, it didn't stop—it continued to blast forward with a savage momentum. The skeleton army was densely packed, and under the assault of the bolt, the undead were skewered like candied hawthorn. One, two, three... Ten skeleton warriors in a row were blasted into shattered bone fragments.
As the energy was exhausted, a violent aura surged from the bolt, transforming into a crimson blaze that instantly engulfed several nearby skeleton warriors. The raging flames set the skeletons ablaze and burned madly, the fire's power utterly terrifying—it instantly incinerated the undead, extinguishing their flames of life, their soul fires, on the spot.
They turned into lifeless bone husks and scattered to the ground.
Some bolts didn't just turn into flame—upon shattering a skeleton, the flying bone shards were invaded by a domineering icy energy, forming frosty crystals on them, freezing the soul fires in an instant. In their final moments, the burst of cold froze several more skeletons into ice sculptures.
Other bolts flashed with golden light, erupting with blinding sharpness and penetrative power, blasting apart dozens of skeleton warriors in one go, sweeping through them like a storm. Rows upon rows fell.
The power of the ballista severely suppressed the skeleton army's charge—even their momentum was forcibly halted. Thousands of skeletons fell beneath the bolts. The sheer number was astonishing.
"Archers, fire at will!"
Yang Ye gave another command. He was overjoyed at the destructive power of the ballistae. This strength was truly overwhelming—especially since the bolts were infused with talismanic power, enabling them to shatter and kill the undead, who normally wouldn't be harmed by conventional means. Ordinary bolts could never inflict such devastation. This was the power of cultivators.
Swish, swish, swish!
Among the village's 5,000 troops, 1,500 were trained archers. Each had undergone rigorous training. After becoming cultivators, their arm strength increased dramatically, as did their vision. With true qi infused into their arrows, their power and accuracy became even more terrifying.
At the command, all 1,500 archers fired simultaneously.
They used standard talismanic arrows.
Once infused with true qi, the talismanic arrows emitted different glows:
Blazing arrows shone with crimson flame.
Frost arrows gave off icy mist.
Wind arrows glimmered with azure light.
Armor-piercing arrows sparkled with golden brilliance.
In an instant, streaks of glowing arrows cut through the air.
Though they fired freely, there was no need for careful aiming—the dense skeleton ranks were easy targets. As long as the direction was right, it was nearly impossible to miss. Each arrow was sharp and swift like lightning. When they struck skeletons, the power contained in them flung the undead backward or pinned them straight to the ground.
The talismanic arrows exploded with immense destructive power:
Some turned into flames and ignited their targets.
Others froze them instantly.
Some shattered the skeletons with sheer force and speed.
In mere moments, over a thousand skeleton warriors fell, either dead or disabled. The destructive force was no weaker than that of the ballistae—and arrows could be loosed far faster than bolts.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
After the first volley, the archers immediately fired a second.
One arrow!Two arrows!!Three arrows!!!
Arrow after arrow, a dazzling rain of glowing arrows filled the sky outside the village. This rain of arrows was like a violent storm, sweeping across the battlefield and annihilating all in its path.
With talismanic arrows combined with a full battalion of cultivator archers, the destructive force unleashed was simply too overwhelming.
The skeleton horde, previously fearsome, now fell like harvested wheat. The scene was incredibly visually stunning and terrifying. The supposedly fearsome skeletons dropped one after another, in great waves, never even getting close to the walls.
This was a slaughter in the tens of thousands.
"Good! The archers are mighty! After just one wave of arrows, those skeletons are falling in droves. If we keep this up, they won't even reach the walls before being wiped out!"
"Amazing attacks! Once the archers switched to talismanic arrows, their firepower skyrocketed! This is probably the most powerful offensive force in our army. And with the sheer number of talismanic arrows crafted by the village chief, there's no fear of running out. We can go all-out! The efficiency is unbelievable."
"But... I doubt this undead army will go down that easily. They're sure to counterattack."
On the walls, the villagers watched the archers' assault in awe and pride. Their power was proof of Xuanhuang Village's growing might—bold, overwhelming might.
With every breath, thousands more skeletons were slain beneath the rain of arrows.
If Xuanhuang Village had this kind of power in the past, even the Xiongnu cavalry would have been obliterated outside the gates before getting close.
However, even the archers couldn't completely suppress the undead horde.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The skeleton army began their counterattack.
These were seasoned undead warriors. As the arrow rain came down, the flames in their eye sockets flickered. They swung their weapons at lightning speed, and some even slashed the talismanic arrows out of the air. Even when hit by flames or frost, their deathly aura suppressed and nullified the elemental effects.
They kept charging forward, unfazed.
Some of the skeletons wielded grotesque bone longbows, pulling white bone arrows from the quivers on their backs. These arrows were made entirely from bone, and they radiated strange glows.
One skeletal archer drew his bow and loosed a glowing bone arrow straight at the village wall—without hesitation.
And he was not alone. These bone archers numbered in the tens of thousands, scattered throughout the undead army. They launched a full counterattack.
The volley of bone arrows they fired was just as overwhelming, forming a new storm of deadly missiles that darkened the skies. One by one, the bone arrows expanded in the villagers' vision as they approached, causing many to widen their eyes in horror.
"Shields!!"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Yang Ye's heart trembled. He hadn't expected the skeletons' counterattack to be so fierce. The sight of tens of thousands of bone arrows raining down was utterly terrifying. Even though this wasn't his first time facing an arrow storm, the power and sharpness of these bone arrows were on another level entirely.
Their roar as they ripped through the air shook the soul.
But Xuanhuang Village had prepared for such a scenario.
Soldiers on the walls stepped forward, raising unique shields before them—shields covered in beast hide on the outside and reinforced with iron within. The construction looked bizarre, like iron shields wrapped in animal skin.
One shield wasn't enough—a second and third were layered on top, creating a defensive wall of overlapping shields, positioned in front of both soldiers and civilians.
"Ha!!"
At the moment the bone arrows struck the shield wall, the soldiers let out a sharp shout, channeling true qi into their shields.
Flash!
Suddenly, golden light erupted from the shields. They began to shine like they were forged from gold, glowing with divine inscriptions. Each shield connected to the next, forming a brilliant golden wall.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The bone arrows collided with the golden shields. Some exploded on impact, releasing devastating power—fire, ice, wind. The onslaught was truly fearsome.
But the shield wall held firm, completely stopping the attack.
The shields shuddered violently, yet none broke.
However, the golden glow dimmed rapidly, visible to the naked eye.
These weren't ordinary shields.
They were meticulously crafted by Master Lu, just like the talismanic arrows. Unlike arrows, which were single-use, the talismanic shield inscriptions could be used multiple times, as long as the shield remained intact.
But the shields were made of refined iron—not indestructible. If damaged, the embedded talismans would become unstable and unusable.