A Compendium of One Hundred Demons: My Path to Immortality in a World of Demons and Monsters

At the end of the Yin hour, the sky is about to brighten but not yet light.

On the city wall of Qingyang County, Xu Yuan and Chen Hanchuan stood side by side, watching the flames spreading across the northern horizon.

Those were campfires in the Xiongnu vanguard camp, scattered like stars, stretching for miles, roughly estimated to number no less than five thousand.

"The scouts report that the Xiongnu vanguard is led by Commander-in-Chief Tuotuo Buhua, with five thousand elite cavalry." Chen Hanchuan's voice was deep. "Tuotuo Buhua is a notorious villain who has won three battles in the northern border and slaughtered thousands of my Great Qian soldiers."

Xu Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly as his gaze fell on the seemingly peaceful wasteland outside the city.

The Yin Sha Formation had been set up and the oil traps were in place, but he wasn't sure if they could withstand the onslaught of the Xiongnu cavalry.

"General Chen, how is the morale of our defending troops?"

"Not high." Chen Hanchuan said honestly, "After all, the disparity in troop strength is huge, and everyone knows that this battle is likely to end badly. If it weren't for strict military law, there would probably already be deserters by now."

Xu Yuan remained silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Then let this battle be the first one to boost morale."

As they were talking, Shen Qingyi also climbed up the city wall.

She changed into a set of practical clothes, tied her long hair up high, wore a short sword at her waist, and carried a bulging talisman bag on her back.

"The four early warning arrays have been set up," Shen Qingyi said. "As long as the Xiongnu enter within a hundred-zhang radius, the arrays will issue an alert. In addition, I have set up three 'Golden Light Talismans' at the city gates, which can release strong light when necessary to interfere with the enemy's vision."

"Thank you for your trouble, Miss Shen." Xu Yuan cupped his hands in greeting.

Shen Qingyi walked to his side and said softly, "Young Master Xu doesn't look well. Did setting up the formation take a lot of energy?"

"It's alright." Xu Yuan shook his head. In fact, setting up the Yin Sha Formation did not consume his blood and qi, but rather his spiritual power. If it weren't for the support of the Chang Gui Diagram, he probably wouldn't have been able to complete it successfully.

At the beginning of Chen Shi (7-9 AM), the sun rises from the east.

Almost at the same time the sunlight illuminated the city walls, a deep horn sounded from the north.

"Waaaaah!"

The sound of the horn was like the roar of a wild beast, long and chilling.

Then war drums sounded, their deep beat striking everyone's heart like a heartbeat.

The Xiongnu army has marched out of their camp!

Thousands of cavalry surged out of the camp like a black tide, approaching Qingyang County.

Sunlight shone on the armor, reflecting a cold, icy light. The sound of horses' hooves, like muffled thunder, grew closer and closer, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

The leading general was eight feet tall, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, wearing golden armor and wielding a ten-foot-long wolf-tooth mace; he was none other than Tuotuo Buhua, the Xiongnu commander of ten thousand men.

He was riding a jet-black warhorse, with a blood-red battle flag hanging beside the saddle. The flag was embroidered with a ferocious wolf's head, making it extremely conspicuous among the Xiongnu army.

"Listen up, you on the city walls!" Toghtogbuhua's voice boomed like a bell, spoken in broken Chinese, "Open the city gates, offer up provisions and women, and you may be spared! If you dare to resist, after the city falls, you will be massacred for three days, leaving no one alive!"

The city was deathly silent.

Chen Hanchuan walked to the crenellations and said coldly, "Tuotuo Buhua, Qingyang may be small, but it has three-foot-high walls and over a thousand brave soldiers. If you want to breach the city, you'll have to pay with your lives!"

"Hahahaha!" Tuotuo Buhua roared with laughter. "A thousand brave warriors? I think they're just a thousand two-legged sheep waiting to be slaughtered! My men, raze this little town to the ground!"

"Waaaaah!"

The bugle sounded loudly.

A force of over a hundred Xiongnu cavalrymen immediately broke off their horses and charged on foot, carrying makeshift ladders and battering rams, towards the city wall.

The remaining cavalrymen began to fire arrows from their horses for cover, and arrows rained down on the city walls.

"Raise your shields!"

The wooden shield was erected, and the arrows struck it with a dull thud. A few arrows still managed to pierce through the gaps, accompanied by screams of agony.

"Archers, prepare!" Chen Hanchuan immediately gave the order.

The archers on the city wall drew their bows taut, the arrows pointing diagonally to the sky.

"put!"

"Whoosh whoosh!"

A hundred arrows were fired simultaneously, arcing through the air and landing among the charging crowd. More than ten riders were immediately struck and fell to the ground, but for the massive Xiongnu cavalry, they made no difference. More Xiongnu continued their charge.

Xu Yuan did not move. He stood on the city wall, holding the Ghost Cry Bow, his eyes scanning the battlefield like a hawk.

He was waiting, waiting for the Xiongnu vanguard to step into the range of the Yin Sha Formation...

Soon, the hundreds of Xiongnu infantrymen at the forefront reached the edge of the wasteland. At this point, their speed slowed down. They saw the scattered dry grass and branches on the ground and smelled a faint smell of kerosene, but they did not pay attention to it—the Han people often used fire attacks to defend cities, so this was not unusual.

The cavalry that followed to cover the siege also stepped into the wasteland one after another, but they also failed to notice anything unusual.

Just as they stepped into the area within thirty feet of the wasteland, a sudden change occurred!

"Buzz—!"

An invisible wave instantly spread out.

A faint black mist was silently rising from the wasteland.

The black mist was extremely faint, almost invisible in the sunlight, but all the Xiongnu soldiers who stepped into it felt a strange chill.

Immediately afterwards, headaches, dizziness, nausea... all sorts of discomforts rushed into my mind.

Some soldiers even hallucinated, as if they saw their former dead comrades waving to them.

"Something's wrong!" a Xiongnu centurion roared. "Retreat!"

Unfortunately, it was too late.

The more than 800 Xiongnu soldiers who rushed into the wasteland were all affected by the Yin Sha Formation.

They staggered, their formation in disarray, some clutching their heads and screaming in agony, some staring blankly, and some even starting to hack and slash at each other.

"Now!" Xu Yuan's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he took out the array plate. The Statue of the Ghostly Encyclopedia shone brightly, and the power of the Yin Souls was poured into it frantically.

"Yin Sha Formation—Full Power Operation!"

In an instant, the array patterns lit up brightly, and the black mist suddenly became several times denser.

The Xiongnu soldiers trapped in the formation felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave, their souls pierced by countless needles, and they cried out in agony.

"Launch rockets!" Chen Hanchuan seized the opportunity and shouted the order.

Arrows rained down from the city walls, and the Xiongnu soldiers, now without the protection of their formation, fell like wheat being harvested.

At the same time, the rocket also ignited the fuse that Xu Yuan had arranged in advance—the fuse that connected to the oil trap.

"boom---!"

On the wasteland, the oil was instantly ignited, flames shot into the sky, dry grass and withered branches burned rapidly, and the fire spread extremely quickly, turning the entire area of ​​the formation into a sea of ​​fire in the blink of an eye.

The screams echoed through the sky!

The Xiongnu soldiers trapped in the formation were already mentally and physically damaged, and when they were attacked with fire, they were powerless to resist.

In no time at all, more than 800 people perished in the flames!

From afar, Tuotuo Buhua's eyes widened in fury, and he roared, "Retreat! Retreat now!"

The remaining Xiongnu cavalry retreated in haste, leaving behind more than eight hundred corpses, before fleeing back to their own lines in disarray.

In the first round of attack, the Qingyang defenders achieved a great victory!

On the city wall, all the soldiers erupted in a deafening cheer.

"We won! We won!"

"We held on!!!"

"Young Master Xu is incredibly resourceful!"

Chen Hanchuan walked up to Xu Yuan and patted him heavily on the shoulder: "Good lad! Well done!"

Xu Yuan's brows relaxed slightly, but his expression remained grave. He said, "General Chen, this is just the beginning. The Xiongnu have suffered a great loss this time, and their next attack will undoubtedly be even more ferocious!"

"I know," Chen Hanchuan nodded, "but at least we bought time, and this battle severely damaged the Xiongnu vanguard; their morale will definitely be affected!"

Shen Qingyi walked up to the city wall, looked at the raging fire outside the city, and said softly, "The Yin Sha Formation has been broken, and the fire will soon be extinguished. What follows is the real test."

Xu Yuan looked north.

In the Xiongnu camp, Toghtoa Bukha was reorganizing his troops, clearly preparing for another attack.

Xu Yuan gripped the Ghost Cry Bow tightly, a cold glint in his eyes.

But the real bloodbath has only just begun.