The first thing that met their eyes were rows upon rows of ironwood trees, densely packed with iron cages, each imprisoning large numbers of human civilians. Their numbed souls stirred slightly in response to the trembling of the earth. What followed stunned them—a massive Immortal City came surging forward like a warship, moving swiftly across the land. Most crucially, atop its city walls stood unmistakable human beings—humankind.
As if guided by fate, a ripple of hope arose in their hearts.
"An Immortal City—a moving Immortal City! We're saved, we're truly saved! This is the Great Yi Dynasty—our people's first Fortune Dynasty, a supreme empire! Only Great Yi has the ability to move Immortal Cities across the land!"
"Save us! Warriors of Great Yi, we are humans—we are your people! These creatures here are monsters—ghouls! They treat us like livestock, like pigs and sheep for slaughter!"
Many of those imprisoned had originally set out to seek refuge with Great Yi, only to be captured by ghouls en route and turned into slaves, or worse, flesh feed, raised only to be butchered at any time.
They had long heard tales of Great Yi, and now, seeing it with their own eyes, joy surged in their hearts.In the darkness, they saw a glimmer of light.
"They're humans—our people!"
"Imprisoned in cages and raised like livestock to be slaughtered? This is an unbearable humiliation!"
On the walls of the Immortal City, the soldiers of Great Yi were filled with overwhelming rage at the sight of their fellow humans imprisoned like animals—fattened up for slaughter. To treat humans as mere food was a cruel and profound insult.
Every soldier felt an intense sense of humiliation.Even if the ghouls had simply killed the humans, they wouldn't feel such burning anger. Murder was blood-debt and vengeance. But this—this was an assault on their very dignity and humanity.
It was intolerable.
"Humans, halt!!"
A voice rang out from the ghoul settlement. A figure appeared atop the city wall—it was the Ghoul Chieftain, Chi Wuwei.
Though the Immortal City continued moving forward, its speed began to slow. It did not halt immediately.
"Ghouls! The stench of rot on your bodies can be smelled from ten miles away. You dare enslave and feed on my people? That makes you the mortal enemy of Great Yi. Today, your tribe will be annihilated!"—Guan Yu, his red face burning like fire, roared with thunderous fury.
Still, the Immortal City did not stop.
"Hmph. You talk of extermination, but do you not fear for these humans? If you take another step forward, I won't guarantee their safety."Chi Wuwei sneered. Dozens of ghouls appeared in front of the cages, clearly ready to slaughter the captives at a moment's notice.
"Hmph. Great Yi has never bowed to threats, not once. Even if you use our people as hostages, we will never retreat. For every human you kill, ten ghouls will die in return. If you slaughter one hundred thousand of us, your entire tribe will be annihilated. Blood for blood. Until the last drop, we will never cease!"
Guan Yu drew a deep breath, then glared at the captives. His eyes closed briefly, then snapped open, issuing a firm and resolute order.
Great Yi does not yield to threats.
Accepting hostages as leverage would be a betrayal of the soldiers' lives. Yes, they would save the people if possible—but if diplomatic weakness crept in, Great Yi would no longer be able to expand or strengthen itself.If one tribe succeeded in using hostages, others would follow.
To deter all enemies, Great Yi had to project an unyielding stance, even if it meant watching its own people die. Only then would the surrounding tribes understand that such tactics were futile, and only then could human captives have a greater chance of long-term survival.
"Are you truly so heartless?!"Chi Wuwei's face darkened. He had heard tales before—Great Yi had once faced down a threat involving hundreds of thousands of human hostages. Yet their soldiers fired through tears, slaughtering the captives rather than yield.
"Why… why is this happening…"Some captives felt despair. It was hard to believe that the warriors of Great Yi would not try to rescue them.
But then—
"Well done! I no longer wish to live. Here, we're worse than animals—fattened up to be eaten! Death is a release! Warriors of Great Yi, avenge us! Kill every last ghoul!"
One prisoner, still possessing a spark of pride, laughed toward the sky. Death, to him, was freedom—especially if the ghouls died with him.
"Hmph. You want to break through my settlement? Then prove you're strong enough! We ghouls are not afraid of battle. If it's war you want—then war you'll get!"
Chi Wuwei narrowed his eyes, then shouted—
"Ghoul Devouring Formation!" (喰天大阵)
Suddenly—
A thick black mist erupted from the ghoul city, spreading wildly in all directions.
Clatter… Clatter…
Bone-chilling sounds of bones knocking together echoed through the mist. A terrifying presence seemed to awaken.
Guan Yu's expression remained cold and unmoved.
Within the swirling fog, a gigantic face emerged—it was the face of Chi Wuwei, scaled to immense size.
A single face, hundreds of meters tall—nearly a kilometer in height.
"Kill!!"
The massive mouth opened and unleashed a gale so fierce it uprooted trees and sent dust and leaves flying in all directions.
CRACK!
From the mouth burst a tide of skeletons.
"Skeletons!"
"Undead!"
Guan Yu's pupils narrowed as he recognized the incoming threat.
What came charging out were endless undead skeletons—not just human skeletons, but also werewolf skeletons, ratmen, bearfolk, and even skeletons of fierce beasts. Bone-white, with glowing sockets, they flooded the battlefield like a sea of death.
These were the remains of beings devoured by the ghouls—their bones now twisted into servants of the undead, manipulated by ghoul sorcery.
There was no counting them.
Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Millions?
They covered the land.
Many held weapons, others had razor-sharp claws.
"Kill!!"
Guan Yu's voice was like frost. Whatever stood in their path—even ghosts or gods—must die.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
From the city walls, Great Yi's archers and crossbowmen raised their weapons and fired into the oncoming undead tide with lethal precision.