A dense flood of monsters surged toward Tai'an City like a tsunami crashing against the shore.
"Prepare to meet the enemy!"
Kong Changxing's voice rang out clearly above the chaos, immediately taking command of the battle. Despite the rising tension, the soldiers on the city wall moved quickly and efficiently, falling into formation with practiced discipline. There was urgency in their movements—but no panic.
Every two meters along the city wall, there was a strategic notch. Within each notch stood a heavy-caliber charged cannon, each one over 200mm in diameter and mounted with precision.
"First volley! Target: two kilometers. Load with third-level demon cores!"
Kong Changxing's voice was steady, commanding. Soldiers snapped to action, working in unison to retrieve glowing cores from their belts and place them carefully into the energy chambers of the charging cannons.
"Roar—!"
The roar of the oncoming beast tide echoed across the plain, deep and thunderous. The monsters were close—very close now.
All eyes turned to the horizon. Dust rose in great clouds as the wave of beasts surged forward, a chaotic sea of claws, horns, and fangs.
Kong Changxing waited.
The moment the beasts crossed into range, his hand dropped.
"Fire!"
Sizzle!
From the mouths of the cannons, streams of energy condensed in an instant. Each demon core glowed violently as its energy was drained to power the shot.
Boom!
With a sound like thunder, the first volley of energy shells roared out. Each shell blazed through the sky like a falling star, streaking in glowing arcs before slamming into the beast tide.
BOOM—!
BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions lit up the battlefield like fireworks. Fire erupted across the monster ranks. Flesh and limbs flew in all directions, the sheer force of the blasts sending monsters careening through the air like rag dolls.
"Direct saturation attack! Don't stop!" Kong Changxing barked.
Boom! Boom!
The cannons roared in unison, again and again, unleashing a storm of fire and energy that lit up the landscape. The land outside Tai'an City was transformed into a hellish warzone of smoke, flame, and blood.
From the safety of the city wall, Smith watched the bombardment unfold with awe.
Even the much larger Huaihai City didn't have this kind of firepower.
The charged cannons might look simple in structure, but their destructive force was on par with high-level supernatural abilities—maybe even more devastating. A single shot could wipe out dozens of monsters. Any creature below Level Four didn't stand a chance. Even Level Four monsters couldn't withstand repeated hits.
"As expected of a city directly protected by the Holy Empire," Smith muttered, stunned. "Their defenses are on another level entirely."
When he first arrived, he had wondered how a place like Tai'an City—relatively small and led by a Fourth-Level City Lord—had survived this long in a world overrun by monsters.
Now he understood.
---
Under the overwhelming power of the charged artillery, the beast tide faltered. The monsters were pushed back, unable to break through the defense line established two kilometers outside the city.
But beasts weren't mindless.
The moment they realized they couldn't breach the ground defenses, they adapted.
Suddenly, the skies darkened.
A massive swarm of flying monsters rose from the forest, blackening the sky as they surged toward Tai'an City from above.
"Prepare the anti-aircraft cannons!" Kong Changxing ordered without hesitation.
He was clearly no stranger to this scenario.
Several soldiers ran to a nearby bunker and wheeled out a massive anti-aircraft cannon. Unlike the wall-mounted ones, this weapon had a wide, rectangular barrel and a caliber so large it looked like it could take down a mountain.
Kong Changxing personally loaded it, inserting five advanced third-level demon cores into the energy slots in rapid succession.
With calm precision, he aimed at the incoming swarm and pulled the trigger.
Buzz—BOOM!
A blinding light surged from the muzzle, radiating heat like a miniature sun. After a three-second charge, the weapon unleashed its payload.
Zzzzzzzt!
A searing beam of energy shot through the air, a glowing arc that sliced horizontally across the sky.
Wherever the beam passed, monsters were torn apart—cut cleanly into pieces. Their corpses rained down like broken puppets.
Zzzzzt! Zzzzzt! Zzzzzt!
Kong Changxing fired again and again—five shots in total—completely obliterating the lead wave of flying monsters. The weapon was brutal, precise, and terrifyingly efficient.
But those five shots also drained the demon cores completely.
Without pause, Kong replaced them and continued firing.
With just this one cannon, Tai'an City was able to hold its aerial defense line.
"What kind of weapon is this…" Smith whispered in amazement. "This is… far more effective than any superpower I've ever seen."
Back in Huaihai City, long-range defense mostly relied on bows and crossbows. Compared to these high-tech energy weapons, those old methods seemed like toys.
---
[Ding! Triggered Mission: Defend Tai'an City]
[Mission Reward: 5,000 Energy Points, Mangekyō Sharingan (Uchiha Sasuke Version)]
[Ding! Triggered Mission: Resolve the Beast Tide Crisis and Protect Huaihai City]
[Mission Reward: 5,000 Energy Points, Immortal Technique: Gate of the Underworld (Mingshenmen)]
[Ding! Triggered Mission: Investigate the Decline of the Holy Empire and Unlock the Royal City]
[Mission Reward: 5,000 Energy Points, One Random Prize Draw]
All of a sudden, a flurry of system prompts echoed in Smith's mind, nearly giving him a heart attack.
"What the hell? Three missions at once?"
This was the first time the system had ever done something like this. Three tasks—back to back—one right after the other.
"Protect Tai'an City, protect Huaihai City, and unlock the Holy Royal City? These don't even seem related…"
He rubbed his temple.
Among the three, the most immediate one was protecting Tai'an City.
But… looking at the firepower surrounding him, he began to question whether they really needed his help.
It wasn't like he could offer more protection than these cannons.
At least so far, both the air and ground assaults had failed to penetrate the city's defenses. Kong Changxing's leadership and the city's military tech had handled the monster tide impressively.
"Do they really need me?" Smith muttered.
Just as he was beginning to think the system's mission was redundant—
BOOM!
A flash of purple light erupted from the forest behind the beast tide and struck the city wall without warning.
Crash!
A gaping hole was blasted into the defensive wall. Several of the cannons stationed nearby were instantly destroyed.
"What the—?!"
Kong Changxing turned sharply toward the source of the attack—and saw it.
A massive, silver-white Thunder Bull King stepped out of the forest, electricity crackling around its body. Its eyes glowed with fury, and its mouth was already glowing with another surge of energy.
"It's the Thunder Bull King!" a soldier shouted.
"Activate the City Barrier!" Kong roared.
Without delay, another team rushed to the top of the wall and activated the defensive array.
WHOOSH!
A shimmering golden barrier spread out over Tai'an City, creating a dome of protection just as another bolt of purple lightning shot from the Thunder Bull King's mouth.
BOOM!
The attack slammed into the barrier.
BZZZZZT!
The dome shuddered and rippled violently but held strong—for now.
"That's not just any monster," Smith muttered as he focused on the beast.
This was no ordinary creature. It was one of the Demon Kings from the infamous Starfall Forest—a Fifth-Level Advanced monster known as the Thunder Bull King.
"Wait a minute… are they coming after me?"
For a moment, Smith genuinely wondered if this whole beast tide had been summoned to chase him down. After all, he had stirred up quite a mess back in Starfall Forest.
But then he shook his head.
No way. He wasn't important enough to trigger a full-scale beast invasion. Right?
Xu Yue suddenly appeared beside him, pale-faced and wide-eyed.
"This is it," she whispered. "The true start of the Great Beast Tide…"
Her voice was almost lost in the wind.
Smith turned his eyes back to the battlefield.
So it wasn't over yet.
The real fight had just begun.
Ãdvåñçé çhàptêr àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn (Gk31)