Man on the ark, forced to become king

The golden tree seedlings are different. To put it nicely, they are a medium; to put it bluntly, they are a nail. Placing such a thing at the extremely important Yumen border must have been carefully considered from many aspects. It's not something that can be planted just like that.

Even though the Celestial Master held a very high position and had enough influence, he could not force things forward on his own and ultimately had to consider the court's reaction.

They hadn't set up the checkpoints properly, so Lin Lu had no choice but to walk over.

As for driving over...

The geographical conditions in Yumen are quite complex, so it's not as fast as on the plains, and you might encounter a lot of trouble. If you're looking for speed, it's better to just walk in a straight line on foot—provided that the person using this method is strong enough and fast enough.

Without a doubt, Lin Lu and Ling are both strong individuals capable of achieving speeds comparable to those of high-speed off-road vehicles.

With the constant replenishment of the golden power, the physical exertion required for travel is almost negligible.

They set off from Longmen in the morning and saw the shadow of Yumen before evening.

And...the deep shadows further away.

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At Yumen Pass, soldiers clad in armor stood solemnly atop the city walls, methodically guarding their respective positions. In the distance beyond the pass, dark clouds loomed, and looking ahead, it seemed as if an abyss lay ahead, obscured and indistinct.

A general in full military uniform stood atop the city wall, his face solemn. The entire Yumen seemed to be filled with an oppressive atmosphere, as if a storm was brewing.

Deng Deng Deng!

The sound of hurried footsteps grew louder as they approached. Yumen's garrison commander, Zuo Xuanliao, looked in the direction of the sound and saw a group of martial arts practitioners dressed in various styles of clothing rushing up the city wall despite the soldiers' obstruction. Led by an old man carrying an iron hammer, they were heading straight for this city.

"..."

Zuo Xuanliao waved his hand, signaling the soldiers not to stop him any longer. He turned around, closed his eyes, opened them again, and took a barely perceptible breath.

"Charging into the enemy formation? What are you trying to do?"

His voice was strong and authoritative, yet tinged with a hint of weariness.

The demons launched a massive attack on the city, something that hadn't happened in a century. Although, apart from the first wave of attacks, the monsters hadn't launched another large-scale invasion in the past few days, but had instead lingered in the sandstorms outside the city, the immense pressure was still almost suffocating the defending general.

Not only are there external enemies ahead, but a storm is brewing.

Furthermore, he knew that no reinforcements would come from Yumen.

Ordinary armies are of little use against evil spirits, and may even have the opposite effect. The court's experts are also hampered by domestic chaos, and the talented people in the martial arts world cannot be gathered overnight.

For a long time to come, Yumen will have to fight alone.

As the garrison commander of Yumen Pass, Zuo Xuanliao understood better than anyone what this meant.

A lone city, fighting against evil alone, without reinforcements or supplies, how long can they hold out?

The evil spirits are unpredictable and impossible to eradicate, yet the soldiers will die or be wounded.

When the defending troops suffer heavy casualties and run out of supplies, the city will fall.

The majestic pass that has stood in the desert for thousands of years may soon face destruction.

This time, it was neither a natural disaster nor a man-made one. The majestic Yumen Pass, and the surrounding area of ​​dozens or even hundreds of miles, became a dangerous place fraught with peril, and no one could remain unscathed.

Faced with this great calamity, the only thing he could do was seize the opportunity and send the Yumen garrison to escort the civilians out of the city and back to Yan Kingdom.

However, the garrison firstly had a limited number of transport vehicles available for use, which was insufficient.

Whenever Zuo Xuanliao thought about what would happen if Yumen were breached, he felt as if a huge stone was pressing on his heart, making it hard to breathe. Every time he opened or closed his eyes, all he saw was rivers of blood and corpses strewn across the fields.

These are demonic beings, and they never reason with people.

"General Zuo, it's been a long time."

With the soldiers no longer blocking their way, the old man leading the group of martial arts practitioners approached, stared at them for a moment, and then slowly spoke.

"Meng Tieyi! Do you know what you're doing?!"

Zuo Xuanliao, who usually kept his emotions hidden, was truly enraged this time. His words were filled with fury, and he was like a tiger about to pounce, exuding an imposing aura.

"General Zuo, we're here to defend the city."

Meng Tieyi's expression remained unchanged, and the martial arts figures behind him nodded in agreement.

"Defend the city? Yumen has its own garrison."

Zuo Xuanliao's chest heaved as he calmed his anger, and he said in a loud voice, "I have already issued a military order that civilians, especially the elderly and weak, in Yumen City should be given priority to leave the city with the army and return to their hometowns. Why do you not listen to this order and instead cause trouble here, disrupting military affairs!"

"General Zuo, how can we possibly return home?"

Meng Tieyi did not speak. Behind him stepped a slightly old Felin tribesman, whose open clothes revealed a hideous scar that ran from top to bottom, almost splitting the man in two.

He stared at Zuo Xuanliao, his words not urgent, but carrying an unwavering tone.

"This is our home. If others can leave, why can't we? Where can we go?"

"Given the current situation, even if you, General Zuo, intend to conceal it, do you think you can fool everyone?"

"This Yumen City was defended by us old folks and our old comrades with our fists and feet. So much blood was shed before we achieved the peace we have today."

"With a formidable enemy at our doorstep, how can we abandon the city and flee? Even if we die, we must die within the walls of Yumen City!"

"Meng Tieyi, you think so too?"

Zuo Xuanliao clenched his fists tightly behind his back, veins bulging, and stared at the old man leading the group, questioning him in a deep voice.

"..."

Meng Tieyi did not answer, but the expression on his face said it all.

Instead of retreating, he stepped forward, and the crowd behind him followed suit.

On the city walls, neither side would retreat, and the atmosphere became tense.

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"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

Above the desert, dust filled the air. A dozen soldiers, armed with steel guns and fully armored, stood back to back, black and red blood dripping from the tips of their guns.

Their armor was badly damaged, and bright red blood was seeping out; their heavy breathing echoed through the air.

Around them, corpses were covered in sand and dust, including soldiers in armor and grotesque monsters.

Many wolf-like creatures with wriggling black tentacles surrounded the area, whimpering softly, seemingly searching for a suitable opportunity.

"Woo..."

The pack of wolves surrounded them, and after a tense standoff lasting several seconds, a low growl was heard, and the wolves swarmed forward.

"Ow!!!"

Suddenly, a high-pitched dragon roar resounded, and a clear blue light spread out for more than ten meters. A blue dragon shadow emerged from within the light, and with a flick of its tail, it swept away all the wolves that were pouncing on it.

"Is everything okay?"

A blue dragon appeared atop a dragon's head, white boots descended, and Ling, holding a dragon-patterned lantern staff, stepped forward, bowing his head to inquire.

"No, nothing."

Seemingly startled by the sudden appearance of the dragon's shadow, the soldiers stammered and shook their heads.

"That's good."

Ling nodded slightly, waved his lamp staff, and a dragon shadow coiled, its dark shadow spreading along the ground. With a stretch and a twitch, it swept up the pack of wolves that had been swept to the ground. The dragon's mouth had somehow caught a giant blue-white sword. With a flash of sword light, the mutated wolf pack, which was entangled in flesh and blood, was all cut in half.

"As far as I know, Yumen Pass should be closed by now. What are you doing here?"

The dragon's shadow dissipated, and Ling landed on the ground. He glanced at the horrific scene and sighed almost imperceptibly.

"My lord, we were ordered to escort the civilians of the city back to their hometowns. When we got here, we were attacked by a horde of mutated beasts. We fought and retreated. After the caravan broke through the encirclement, a few of us stayed behind to cover the rear."

The soldiers exchanged glances, and one of them, who seemed to be the leader, stepped forward, clasped his hands in salute to the commander, and gave an explanation.

This answer startled Ling, who then looked at the hazy city silhouette in the distance.

Sending civilians back to their hometowns is hardly a good omen.

This action implies that the person who gave the order already knew that Yumen could not be defended, which is why they sent the civilians out of the city ahead of schedule.

"Isn't the commander of Yumen afraid that doing this will cause panic within the city?"

Lin Lu walked out of the sandstorm, casually tossing a huge creature, several times larger than the other mutated wolves, onto the ground, somewhat puzzled.

“In the whole world, any city needs to worry about whether it will cause panic, but Yumen does not.”

Ling shook his head, as if explaining, or perhaps sighing.

"The vast majority of people who stayed at Yumen Pass were either the original defenders of the city, their descendants, or wandering knights-errant."

"Stepping onto Yumen means you are already prepared that if the city falls one day, Yumen will fight to the last man."

“What this gentleman says is correct.”

The leading soldier removed the shattered visor and tossed it aside. He bent down and dragged the body of the dead warrior out of the wolf carcass, muttering as he did so, "The general didn't say anything, but who can't see what's going on here?"

"There are some things that everyone knows but no one says. Among the civilians we escort, most are the elderly and the weak; not many young and strong men are going."

"Everyone is holding their breath, and with a powerful enemy at our gates, how can we possibly retreat without a fight?"

"As long as we live, the city will stand!"

"Good! As long as one person is alive, the city will remain!"

Lin Lu gave them a thumbs up, gently raised her hand, and an invisible force swept the wolf corpses together. A flash of fire appeared, and the orange-red flames instantly burned the pile of corpses to ashes.