Misty Rain of the Old Times

In the distance, the earth trembled and roared, billowing dust and smoke, as if a gale was sweeping up sand and fallen leaves. Giant trees shook and collapsed, like a raging tide threatening to destroy everything, accompanied by countless roars and howls.

Upon hearing this sudden turn of events, the mournful horns from within the giant city grew even more urgent. The giants outside the city changed their expressions drastically, their faces filled with panic and solemnity. They couldn't spare any time to negotiate with Chen Xuan and the others, and each of them strode back towards the giant city.

"Return to the city quickly! The beast tide is coming. This time it's quite large, at least city-breaking level. We don't know how many warrior-level beasts are among them. It seems we're going to suffer heavy casualties again."

"Run faster! The drawbridge is rising, the city gates are closing, we're doomed if we get stuck outside!"

"Damn beasts, they attacked the other side of Sun City just two days ago, how come they're attacking on such a large scale again today?"

"There are too many people from our tribe. Why have so many come to watch this spectacle? How could something like this happen? Those of you in front, hurry up!"

"Notify the city that this beast tide is ferocious and may very well breach the city walls. The elderly and weak should stay at home, or better yet, seek refuge in the cellars."

"You don't even need to tell me that. The people inside the city discovered it before we did, and they've already sounded the call to arms."

"Damn it, how many warriors are there in the city today? Can we possibly stop them?"

"I don't know, they just got back. There's only Luo Ke here; they destroyed all the weapons they used in the weapon-sparring match with the guests from Tianwaitian."

"How many times do I have to say it? Luo Ke hasn't fully mastered her bloodline power yet, and she hasn't passed the warrior test. Oh well, it's not important. There are reserve weapons in the city; hopefully, she'll slay more beasts."

"By the way, guests from beyond the heavens, please come into the city with us quickly. It's not safe outside; the beast tide is coming, it's very dangerous. We need to fight to protect Sun City, so I'm afraid we can't take you to see the Sage for the time being."

The giants, solemn and tense, were saying all sorts of things. Despite their panic, they weren't too chaotic. They seemed to have experienced similar situations many times before. While not exactly orderly, they didn't cause any disturbances either.

From their chaotic words, Chen Xuan, with his senses wide open, took in all sorts of information, quickly analyzed and organized it, and obtained several key pieces of information.

First, the danger from afar is caused by beast tides, which are very large in scale. The giants are used to this kind of thing, and it happens every few days, or they are constantly attacked by beast tides.

However, why would the beast tide attack this giant city for no apparent reason? Since it's called a beast tide, it's not a single group of wild beasts; it's definitely a mixture of various ferocious beasts. Normally, they wouldn't unite to attack the same target unless something attracted them. After all, different creatures also fight each other in a law of nature, where the strong prey on the weak. This is the same everywhere.

Based on this, Chen Xuan guessed that there must be something extraordinary in this city that was attracting wild beasts to keep attacking it.

Secondly, the city is called Sun City, and the name itself is significant. It might even be the royal city or imperial capital of the giant race.

Next is the keyword "warrior," which seems to have a special meaning among the giant race. It is clearly a synonym for the strong, just as Chen Xuan had guessed before. They have mastered a special blood endurance power, which can greatly enhance the strength of the giants.

The female giant who competed with the cuckoo before is a good example. I heard from other giants that her name is Loko. No wonder she was admired by so many giants. It wasn't because of her appearance, but because of her title as a warrior.

Luo Ke is not a true warrior yet, having not undergone any assessment; at best, she is a reserve officer. Although she has not fully mastered the so-called bloodline power, her strength is already no less than that of Du Juan, a master of innate cultivation. If Du Juan hadn't resorted to trickery, defeating her would definitely not have been so easy.

If Loke, who hasn't even fully mastered her bloodline power, already possesses such strength, then what kind of strength does the giant speak of in the true warrior? Is it comparable to the upper-middle or even top-tier of the Innate Realm? Could it reach the combat power of a Grandmaster?
What puzzled Chen Xuan the most was that there were clearly many powerful warriors among the giants, but judging from their tone, those warriors didn't seem to be guarding their homes in the city normally. As a result, ordinary giants had to unite to resist the beast tide. So where did those warriors go? Could their location be related to the beast tide's attack on Sun City?

In fact, ordinary giants are not weak in combat. After adulthood, their physical strength is enough to overwhelm ordinary innate giants. However, their agility is a weakness, and they have not practiced martial arts. To put it bluntly, they do not know how to convert their physical advantages into combat power several times or even ten times.

Of course, everything in this magical underground world has become incredibly huge, so violent confrontation is enough. Techniques are often not that important. Moreover, the giants have mastered bloodlines, a means to enhance their combat power. It's impossible to compare which is better, martial arts training or ordinary people's martial arts training. What suits you best is the best.

In a flash, many thoughts raced through Chen Xuan's mind. Suddenly, an unexpected turn of events occurred. He reached out and pulled Du Juan, who hadn't yet gotten close amidst the chaos, to his side. He then leaped up with them, disregarding politeness, and landed on the giant's shoulder where he had been negotiating, saying, "Meeting with you wise men isn't urgent; we can do it anytime. Let's deal with the immediate crisis first."

"Well, let's go into the city first to resolve the current crisis before I take you to meet the wise man. I told you you should stand on my shoulders. I lost you all in the chaos. Ancient legends say there is a heaven beyond heaven, and this is the first time I've seen visitors from there. I can't let anything happen to you," the giant said with a slight tilt of his head, looking at Chen Xuan and the others on his shoulders. He was clearly relieved and very simple.

"We really are standing on the shoulders of giants," Chen Xuan thought with a smile. He looked back and saw the beast tide rapidly approaching Sun City. He could already see countless enormous figures, mostly beasts, including many birds of prey.

The countless enormous beasts were mostly ones Chen Xuan had never seen before. Almost all of them were over ten zhang tall. There were giant pythons with fleshy wings, but those wings weren't enough for them to take flight; they could only glide along the ground for a short distance. There were also bovine creatures over thirty zhang tall at the shoulder, as large as small mountains, with four pairs of enormous horns on their heads that looked particularly ferocious. Their massive hooves caused huge tremors when they stepped on the ground. There were also wolf-like creatures, over twenty zhang long, but covered with smooth, keratinous exoskeletons like plates. And there were octopus-like, eerie blue creatures with huge, chain-like tentacles that flickered with eerie blue electricity…

There were far too many. Limited by his knowledge, Chen Xuan could only use the creatures he knew to roughly describe their appearance, which was incredibly huge.

Various enormous creatures raced across the land, jostling and trampling each other, occasionally attacking one another. Every now and then, a creature would scream and howl as it was crushed into a pulp, only to be eaten by other creatures that passed by.

Within this massive, almost boundless beast tide, the most numerous creatures were the six-legged beings, who made up the majority and appeared like mere foot soldiers in the tide.

Compared to the terrifying beast tide before them, in terms of both scale and oppressiveness, the six-legged creatures that Chen Xuan and his group attacked at the entrance to this underground world last night were nothing compared to this; they were less than one percent of the total.

Witnessing this, Chen Xuan, standing on the shoulders of giants, pondered and asked, "It seems you frequently encounter such beast tide attacks?"

It was obvious, but the giant still nodded in response, "Yes, they come every few days, sometimes for several days before they leave. You can see the traces of battle everywhere outside the city; some places haven't been completely cleared. But usually, the scale is small, and this one is one of the few I've ever experienced."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuan nodded and said, "Excuse my boldness, but why do these beast tides keep attacking your city? There can't be no reason. If this question is offensive, just pretend I didn't ask."

"I don't know either. When you meet the wise man, he should be able to answer your questions," the giant said, shaking his head. He was clearly unwilling to talk about it, rather than not knowing. It seemed to involve a taboo for giants like them, but it didn't seem to be something that couldn't be told. It was just that only people of a certain level were qualified to talk about these things.

Chen Xuan wasn't one to act without discretion, so he didn't press the matter further. Instead, he said, "Having spoken with you for so long, I still don't know how to address you. My name is Chen Xuan. This is my first time visiting this world, which is incredibly vast to us. The place I've come to is most likely what you call the Outer Heavens. I'm not very familiar with your customs, so please forgive me if I've inadvertently offended you."

"You people from the Outer Heavens always speak in a rather awkward way. Actually, we don't have so many formalities. You don't have to be like that. Just be casual. Oh, by the way, my name is Remo. I'm the captain of a hunting team. I'm usually responsible for leading my people out to hunt and gather food. Although we don't lack food due to the constant beast tides, we can't always eat meat," the giant replied. He was very talkative. They just looked simple-minded; they weren't stupid or mute.

Once communication became possible, the contact between different civilizations sparked countless curiosityes and a desire to understand, but the current situation did not allow for a calm and peaceful exchange. As they spoke, the giants hurried along, finally managing to enter the abyss-like city gate. Passing through the long archway, as the drawbridge was raised by a winch, the gates fell, and the inner gate of the city wall opened and closed, isolating the outside world from the mountain-like walls.

After entering the city, Remo, wielding a bone knife, rushed up the tall stone steps to the city wall and said, "Chen Xuan, guest from the Outer Heavens, I need to hurry up and lead my hunting team to fight the beast tide. This battle will be very dangerous, and I have no time to spare for you. You'd better find a safe place deep inside the city to hide. No offense intended, but actually, given your size, it's quite easy for you to find a place to hide and escape this crisis. This time, the city may very well be breached."

"You all go about your business and don't worry about us. We won't cause you any trouble. Although we're not as tall as you, we're not without fighting power. We might even be able to lend you a hand," Chen Xuan said calmly, without smiling. They were in a crisis, and it wouldn't be appropriate for him to smile at this time.

Recalling the strength Du Juan and Luo Ke displayed in their previous contest—even Luo Ke, a near-warrior, had been defeated—Lei Mo knew Chen Xuan and his companions must possess unique abilities. Therefore, he stopped worrying about their safety and nodded, saying, "Then please go ahead, be careful. I won't worry about you anymore."

As they spoke, they had already climbed the city wall. Remo surveyed the area and shouted, "Where are the Beast Fang Team members? Ride over here, take up your weapons, and prepare for battle! Defend Sun City to the death!"

"Boss, I'm here."

"Before I die, those damned beasts will not be allowed to enter the city and slaughter my people..."

While the giants gathered and prepared for battle, Chen Xuan tactfully led Du Juan and the others away from Remo's shoulder and to a corner of an observation hole on a parapet at the edge of the city wall. Compared to the giants' exaggerated size, they were inconspicuous and did not affect the giants' actions in the slightest.

The situation was urgent and dangerous. No matter how curious the giants were about these visitors from outer space, they had no time to pay attention to them. At most, they would glance at them occasionally, gritting their teeth and staring at the outside of the city with unwavering determination.

Reaching the city wall felt like standing on a mountaintop. Chen Xuan had observed that the width above the city wall exceeded two hundred zhang, paved with solid rock, and even higher than the city wall itself. Otherwise, the giants wouldn't have been able to move around freely.

The city was filled with the desolate and urgent sound of horns and the thunderous beat of war drums. Giants, armed with weapons and clad in leather armor, surged up the city walls from all directions. No one retreated. These giants, even if they were single, possessed formidable fighting power once they reached adulthood.

However, riots were breaking out everywhere in the city, with screams and shouts filling the air. No matter how powerful the giant race was, there were always the old, the young, and the weak who were always afraid of the brutal war.

In this short period of time, as far as the eye could see, tens of thousands of giants climbed the city walls and stood ready for battle, while more and more were still gathering from all directions.

However, the giants did not just wait for the beast tide to approach. Many of them were moving and preparing combat supplies, such as bows, arrows, spears, rolling logs, rocks, and some huge tanks containing unknown liquids.

Overall, this method of preparation was not much different from the city defense battles that Chen Xuan had learned about, the only difference being that everything was incredibly huge, which made it quite incongruous.

The beast tide outside the city was rapidly approaching, an overwhelming force that stretched as far as the eye could see. The vanguard was already less than three miles from the city, even closer than Chen Xuan and his group had come to the land of the giants.

The scene was incredibly oppressive and chilling. If ordinary people were to face it, many would probably be scared to death. Not to mention the exaggerated size of such a ferocious beast, many people have been scared to death by tigers alone.

"Master, can this really stop it?" the little maid asked, her expression tense and her face pale, clearly frightened.

Chen Xuan calmly said, "Although the beast tide is massive, don't underestimate the giants' fighting power. They've stood here for countless years and definitely have a wealth of experience in dealing with such situations. Besides, they also have so-called warriors, though we haven't seen any yet. In the distance, there seem to be some auras emanating from the beast tide that I sense are dangerous, probably comparable to the strength of a Grandmaster. Normally, in such a confrontation, the giants would have to sacrifice many lives. Of course, in such a large-scale battle, individual strength doesn't play a crucial role. Just like last year when Jiang Yuan and his group stormed the palace, Jiang Yuan was powerful, right? But he was still dealt with by a group of Dark Dragon Guards at the Innate Realm."

"I hope these giants can hold out and repel the beast tide," the little girl said nervously. She was genuinely scared, but she didn't say anything discouraging. Her master's expression was calm, which made her relax a little as well.

Although Du Juan was a master of innate martial arts, she was still shocked by this scene. After hearing Chen Xuan's words, she asked in a daze, holding a short sword, "What is a warrior?"

Chen Xuan learned the giants' language, but she couldn't understand it, so she had no idea what Chen Xuan had said to the giants before.

Chen Xuan quickly explained, "They are powerful figures among the giants, like the female giant you fought before. They possess special bloodline powers that enhance their combat strength. However, I heard from the giants that the female giant named Loko cannot yet be called a warrior. And judging from the current situation, those so-called warriors have their own special missions, so they probably won't easily show themselves to participate in this siege battle."

“I see. We’re new here, and there’s so much about the giants that we don’t know,” Du Juan said thoughtfully, not dwelling on it too much. If she hadn’t come with Chen Xuan, she would have had almost no chance of getting in touch with the giants.

At this moment, the forefront of the beast tide was approaching the city gates. Chen Xuan reached out and said, "Sister Juan, hand Mo Yu to me. Since I've already brought it, let's use it. After all these years, it's finally going to be useful. It's been gathering dust for so long. It cost a huge sum of three thousand taels of silver to make it."

The longbow Moyu, which Chen Xuan personally commissioned Wu San Niang to forge in Mo City, originally belonged to Xiao Gao. When Chen Xuan moved last year, the Gao family sent it to him again. Chen Xuan didn't even notice it until the little girl discovered it while checking the storeroom. He took it with him on this trip, never expecting it would actually come in handy.

Back when he was studying at Yushan Academy, the teacher taught the Six Arts of a Gentleman. Among those children, Chen Xuan was undoubtedly the best in riding and archery. Although he was not as good as Gao Jingming and Zhou Yu in academics, his martial arts talent was unparalleled. However, at that time he was living under someone else's roof and kept a low profile, so he did not try to show off.

Du Juan immediately took off the black-feathered bow, quickly assembled it, and handed it to Chen Xuan. Holding the longbow, she did not immediately nock an arrow. Chen Xuan gently stroked the bowstring and recalled, "When we first got this bow, Young Master was reckless and injured himself. Since then, it has been gathering dust. Time flies; eight years have passed in the blink of an eye."

"Young Master Gao is a scholar, a gentleman, gentle and refined. I never imagined he was so reckless as a child," Du Juan said in astonishment, imagining a handsome child baring his teeth and trying to draw his bow, only to end up hurting himself.

Chen Xuan immediately laughed and said, "Xiao Gao was a lot of fun when he was little. I could talk about him for three days and three nights and still not finish. In the eyes of the world, he is indeed a gentleman, but in fact, his martial arts skills are quite good. He has hardly ever fought anyone because I've done all the fighting. Alright, the battle has already begun. Let's keep an eye on things and lend a hand. Don't leave my side."

So Du Juan and the others stopped talking and moved closer to Chen Xuan without affecting his distance.

"The beast tide is coming! Fire arrows! Kill!"

When the beast tide appeared on the other side of the moat, the giants on the city walls, who were on high alert, immediately ordered an attack.

The crossbows, which seemed enormous to Chen Xuan and his companions, emitted a sickening sound as pillar-like arrows whistled out and flew towards the beast horde, tearing through the sky with explosive roars. Even larger javelins and spears rained down on the beast horde.

Upon seeing this, Chen Xuan was immediately stunned and speechless. These giants all seemed to be fighting each other in a chaotic manner, without any understanding of coordination or targeted attacks on specific parts of the beast tide. They had absolutely no strategy whatsoever.

Is this what you call war? I bet these giants never even studied the art of war.

Chen Xuan also drew an arrow that matched the longbow's black feather design; compared to that, it was practically indistinguishable from a toothpick… (End of Chapter)