Chapter 88: Defending the City

“Why even bother with us when we have the rune cannon?” Fang Congzhi mused, leaning back against a wall as he swallowed a healing pill.

The charging beast horde had been pummeled by the rune cannon, leaving only scattered remnants near the city walls—the initial onslaught had been completely neutralized.

“The rune cannon relies on accumulated spiritual energy,” Mr. Zuo explained with a shake of his head. “Once we’ve depleted our reserves, it won’t be able to keep up such indiscriminate attacks!”

If the rune cannon could truly launch endless assaults, humans would have long since unified all realms under their rule. Instead, they’d built this massive city near the spatial gateway within the demon nation, focusing primarily on defense.

Sure enough, the intense barrage from the rune cannon didn’t last long. Though the second wave of beasts was mostly cleared, some still managed to approach the city walls.

“It’s our turn to act now,” Mr. Zuo instructed firmly. “Focus on magical attacks and recover your spiritual energy once you’ve expended half of it!”

Due to the spirit vein activation, every corner of Tianchang City’s grand formation now brimmed with remarkably potent third-tier spiritual energy. In this environment, Qi Refining Stage cultivators could swiftly restore their full spiritual energy reserves with just a moment’s rest.

Li Zhen casually unleashed a fireball, which streaked through the void and landed precisely among the three monsters. The fireball detonated, hurling all three beasts away.

His Fireball Spell had surpassed the stage of ‘Understanding Magic’, allowing him to effortlessly control its power.

In that single cast, he had infused extra spiritual energy, achieving such devastating effect.

The Fireball Spell Li Zhen released startled Mr. Zuo, who was in the midst of casting his own spell.

In this battle, Mr. Zuo couldn’t risk using more powerful spells, so he too chose the potent Fireball Spell. But before he could even release it, Li Zhen had already cast his.

The difference was barely half a breath, but in battle, that half-breath often meant the difference between life and death.

“What a monster!” Mr. Zuo suppressed his mounting astonishment and launched his fireball.

At that exact moment, Li Zhen loosed his second fireball.

Advancing to higher realms of magical technique required cultivators to gain profound insights into the essence of their spells. Mr. Zuo found himself at a loss for words.

For Li Zhen, this rare opportunity allowed him to freely employ the Fireball Spell. With each cast, his understanding and mastery of the spell deepened. This was his chance to refine his skills.

His understanding of the Fireball Spell primarily came from the High-Grade First-Order Fireball Talisman, which the Dragon Heart Space had consumed. This granted him insights similar to those of a talisman maker.

However, the dragon heart within him was also influential. With each casting of the Fireball Spell, it aided his comprehension and mastery of the spell.

Standing atop the city wall, he felt relatively safe. This allowed him to focus fully on attacking the beasts with the Fireball Spell without any reservations.

Soon, his spiritual energy levels dropped to about half. Without hesitation, he sat down cross-legged and began to recover.

Third-Order spiritual energy rushed into his body. He had to carefully control the influx, ensuring the surging energy wouldn’t overwhelm his qi passageways.

It was hard to believe that in his early years, training in a First-Order spirit vein environment, he had only wished for more spiritual energy to flow into his body faster.

Now, he had to guard against taking in too much. The spiritual pressure from the Third-Order spirit veins required meticulous control over the spiritual energy entering his body.

After what felt like mere minutes, his spiritual energy levels fully recovered.

He cast the Fireball Spell again, quickly depleting his spiritual energy once more.

The cultivators along the city wall were in a similar state. With the abundant spiritual energy, they performed their spells as if casting cost nothing.

Under these circumstances, the second wave of beasts was swiftly eliminated.

The flying monster beast was struck down by a rune-tipped spear before it could even approach the city walls, sparing the cultivators atop them from attack.

Tianchang City had rich experience in dealing with such beast swarms. Until now, except for the initial phase when beasts first gathered outside the city, no cultivators had been lost during the defense.

Li Zhen watched reluctantly as the final creature perished, then dissipated the fireball in his hand.

Though the battle had been brief, his understanding of the Fireball Spell had deepened. He could now cast more potent fireballs while consuming less spiritual energy.

“Tianchang City misjudged the situation!” Mr. Zuo muttered, frowning as he stared into the distance.

Li Zhen, with his superior eyesight, spotted the third wave of beasts.

It was clear that this assault was far more intense than anticipated. Tianchang City had indeed made an error; otherwise, they wouldn’t have activated the rune cannons prematurely.

These rune cannons were formidable weapons, yet they had been employed against the second wave of beasts.

“What’s going on? Didn’t the scouts report that only monsters within a 100-kilometer radius would attack?” Brigadier General Zhang barked angrily.

The decision to use the rune cannons was based on the scouts’ intelligence. By employing these powerful weapons, the city hoped to minimize human casualties.

Most infuriating was that monsters beyond 300 kilometers became significantly more powerful.

“Immediately request reinforcements from Tianchang City and initiate Level 1 combat readiness!” Major General Zhang commanded with a wave of his hand.

Staff members sprang into action: some dispatched new scouts, others sent runners back to the Immortal Nation’s Tianchang City, and a few contacted Foundation Establishment cultivators within the city.

A shrill siren blared, casting an even more oppressive atmosphere over the already tense Tianchang City.

“Level 1 combat readiness—everyone, be careful. The battles to come won’t be easy!” Mr. Zuo said, his face grave.

In silence, Li Zhen produced several mid-grade ‘Diamond Talismans’ and handed one to each person.

Wang Rushi, and everyone else for that matter, had already depleted all their talismans. Li Zhen would not have used these mid-grade Diamond Talismans if it weren’t for concern for their safety.

These talismans were custom-drawn by Li Zhen himself, using low-grade first-order talisman paper, which made them much cheaper to produce.

“Huh!” Wang Rushi caught sight of something peculiar about the mid-grade ‘Diamond Talisman’ she held.

“Which master craftsman made this?” she couldn’t help but ask Li Zhen.

Her curiosity was understandable; why would a master of talismans waste their energy on low-grade symbol paper? Setting aside the success rate of creating mid-grade talismans with low-grade paper, even the focus of a master artisan could be better used on higher-quality materials. That way, the value of the talismans produced would be significantly greater.

Li Zhen’s ability to ensure success in crafting mid-grade talismans with low-grade paper stemmed from his mastery of the peak state of the talisman-making master’s understanding.

It was as if Li Zhen was constantly imbued with the most brilliant moments of that master craftsman. Naturally, this allowed him to guarantee the success rate of crafting mid-grade talismans with low-grade paper.

“They’re just practice pieces!” Li Zhen insisted with a series of dismissive hand waves.

Wang Rushi looked at the mid-grade ‘Diamond Talisman’ in her hand with disbelief, then glanced at Li Zhen. She couldn’t fathom how he could possibly possess such mastery of talisman-making.

Mr. Zuo also examined the mid-grade ‘Diamond Talisman’. Even he rarely encountered such talismans made from low-grade paper.

“Li Zhen, your talent for creating talismans is truly astonishing!” Mr. Zuo’s voice was filled with admiration. Talismans…

At this moment, they recalled Li Zhen’s various talents: spiritual root talent, swordsmanship talent, magical talent, and now talisman-making talent. Each one surpassed their wildest dreams.

“With such a talent for creating talismans, you must nurture it. You’ll be able to provide for your own cultivation resources!” Mr. Zuo said, his words tinged with envy.

Li Zhen nodded. This was precisely why he had embarked on the path of talisman-making.

“Martial fighter armor!” Fang Congzhi exclaimed.

A contingent of soldiers donning martial fighter armor had leapt onto the city walls. These soldiers emanated the aura of the late Qi Refining Stage, and their number was as high as three hundred.

Li Zhen’s scalp tingled with shock. The simultaneous appearance of three hundred late Qi Refining cultivation cultivators was startling enough, but to see them all decked in martial fighter armor was even more astonishing.

Each of these three hundred martial fighter-armored soldiers boasted strength exceeding the peak of Qi Refining, equivalent to half-step Foundation Establishment.

Such an army could easily dispatch even second-tier monsters, let alone first-tier ones.

But what truly set this scene apart was the environment—the air around Tianchang City was rich with third-level spiritual energy.

In this ambience, motorsuit users barely needed to worry about energy consumption, allowing them to fight without restraint.

A fully powered martial fighter armor was an entirely different beast from one operating without access to spiritual energy.

Every time Li Zhen engaged his armor, he had to keep a constant eye on his energy reserves, meticulously planning each attack.

If circumstances permitted, he’d love nothing more than to strap on his armor and experience the thrill of boundless combat.

As he gazed upon these military marvels, Li Zhen couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy. These state-of-the-art martial fighter armors were far superior to his humble Police A30 model. After all, his gear was designed for law enforcement, not large-scale military operations.