"""
After the formation of the cannon, a red glow began to gather visibly at the muzzle.
The Awakeners present felt a massive energy accumulating at the cannon's mouth. They were secretly alarmed, as such an energy, once exploded, would certainly obliterate anything nearby without a trace.
The brilliant red light spewed from the muzzle, arcing high across the sky like a meteor, and smashed down into the Demon Tide with a roar.
At this moment, the Demon Tide had reached halfway up the mountain, only about one or two kilometers from the Sanctuary. The red light crashed down, accompanied by violent tremors and booming explosions, resonating in every ear. Orange-red flames blossomed within the Demon Tide, like stamens leaping in lava.
Beautiful, yet deadly.
The Demonized Beasts at the very center instantly turned to black ash, without a trace remaining... Tang Yu felt a pang of regret, as the materials from Demonized Beasts were at least worth some money.
The high temperatures, shockwaves, fiery damage, and immensely powerful energy that exploded in an instant cleared a large hole in the black, oppressive Demon Tide.
Although the cannon's firing speed was not fast, after a few shots, the entire Demon Tide seemed like a tattered cloth. The once suffocating pressure it imposed on the survivors now seemed not so terrifying.
Of course, the survivors knew this was only a temporary illusion, or perhaps, Director Tang's abilities were too formidable. Such a casually gathered cannon could inflict such casualties on the Demon Tide.
Among them,
those like Chen Haiping, who had experienced the Demon Tide and survived by luck, understood all too well.
Many Sanctuaries destroyed by Demon Tides caused less damage to the Demonized Beasts until their final moments than this single strike did.
The crisis was far from over, as Demonized Beasts had already leaped onto the small plaza, only a few hundred meters from Tang Yu, with numbers still staggering.
A humanoid Demonized Beast with blood-red wings and a horned head emerged from the Demon Tide, moving at extraordinary speed, covering tens of meters with a single flap of its wings.
Ordinary survivors did not understand, but the Awakeners on the city wall wore grave expressions. From this winged Demonized Beast, they sensed an extremely formidable aura.
This was a team destruction-level Demonized Beast.
Often a whole team composed entirely of Awakeners, encountering such a level of Demonized Beast in the wild, would be completely annihilated, with no survivors.
All Awakeners, whether part of the Patrol Team or not, knew in their hearts that even if they all joined forces, they might not be a match for this Demonized Beast. Although the cannon was powerful, its speed was ultimately slow. With the speed of this team destruction-level Demonized Beast, it was nearly impossible for the cannon to hit it.
Swish——
An ear-piercing sound almost pierced their eardrums, and the Awakeners were stunned to see a hazy cloud of blood mist appear in the field.
Blood mist?
Where was the team destruction-level Demonized Beast?
What the f*ck happened? How did this team destruction-level Demonized Beast disappear in the blink of an eye, leaving only a cloud of blood mist slowly dissipating?
Their minds stalled, and then another sound arose. Some sharp-eyed Awakeners saw a black shadow flash by in the air.
The black shadow pierced through layers of obstacles, leaving a barely visible white streak in the air. At the end of the black shadow, a relatively powerful Demonized Beast at the forefront of the Demon Tide exploded into blood mist.
The speed was too fast for even the eyes of the Awakeners to see clearly.
Someone was watching closely at the nearest Demonized Beasts and finally captured a glimpse of the scene.
An arrow pierced the head of a Demonized Beast; under the effects of strong penetration and compression, the entire Demonized Beast was first deformed and then completely shattered, turning into a cloud of blood mist.
This feeling was as if a Demonized Beast was just a balloon.
One poke and it burst!
The ordinary survivors were left speechless, mouths agape, air rushing in and choking them uncomfortably, yet they still watched intently. None of them ever imagined that a Demonized Beast could be dealt with so easily!
In front of the city walls,
Tang Yu was feeling a pang of regret again, wondering if they could conserve some energy, or leave some spoils of war for them!
.......
The most terrifying aspect of the Demon Tide lay in its numbers.
Although the Arrow Towers and cannons were extremely powerful, the Demon Tide continued to inch closer to the city walls.
Tang Yu retreated to the edge of the city walls, choosing a spot and constructing an Arrow Tower beneath his feet.
As the Arrow Tower rose, Tang Yu was lifted up, then lightly leaped onto the city wall.
Luo Zhe also leveraged himself onto the city wall. Left below, besides the few Awakeners, were only a few basic Puppets.
The few people turned pale instantly.
Boom!
The Demonized Beasts surged onto the small plaza halfway up the mountain, roaring, rapidly colliding with the city walls.
The survivors were terrified, fearful that the walls might not hold.
Someone half-covered their eyes, peeking down, "Thankfully, these walls are solid."
"No, wait." Someone sharp-eyed shouted, startling their companion.
Pointing below, they said, "Not only are the walls fine, but the Demonized Beasts' claws are broken from the impact!"
So many Demonized Beasts, they had been worried whether the walls could withstand them. It was known that the Demonized Beasts had sharp claws and sturdy bodies, capable of toppling a building, so these tall walls might not be very secure.
But who would have thought that as the Demonized Beasts crashed into the walls in succession, the city walls remained unscathed, while some Demonized Beasts were injured, others dazed from the impact. The scene turned chaotic, resulting in beasts trampling over each other.
This seemed to be... a stampede.
Tang Yu felt lingering fears, grateful he was up there. Just before, staying in the front lines was more about absorbing some soul energy!
As Lord, he could absorb the soul energy of the Demonized Beasts killed by the defensive structures, albeit in smaller quantities—perhaps only ten to twenty percent—but that was quite sufficient.
Atop the walls, Chen Haiping began organizing Patrol Team members to retaliate.
Firearms were distributed, and although these individuals had poor shooting skills, aiming was unnecessary under such circumstances.
Rat-tat-tat——
Muzzles spat flames, and bullets ripped into the Demonized Beasts, causing spurts of blood.
Lu Xiaopeng was surprised, "So these Demonized Beasts really have very thick hides."
Having just seen the Arrow Tower effortlessly blowing a Demonized Beast into blood mist with a single arrow, he thought these beasts were relatively weak, but now it seemed otherwise.
Dealing with a regular First Layer awakened Demonized Beast, unless hitting a vital point, the beast might not die even after emptying a clip, given its life force.
If it were a Second-tier or third layer Demonized Beast, it would be even more daunting, with only sniper bullets being relatively effective.
Lu Xiaopeng glanced aside, seeing Chen Haiping setting up a sniper rifle. With a single shot, a powerful Demonized Beast had a bowl-sized hole blown in it but, without hitting a vital point, continued struggling instead of dying.
He then looked to the other side, where the Arrow Tower was continuously firing, each arrow taking a Demonized Beast down. Occasionally, some that were tougher needed another arrow at most.
The Arrow Tower not only packed a mighty punch but could also aim for vital points. This was just... Lu Xiaopeng struggled to describe it, but such an ability seemed outrageous, leaving no room for survival.
In the Demon Tide, some powerful ones leaped onto the city walls, almost causing casualties. Luckily, on the wall, Luo Zhe and two Puppet Guards each defended a section of the wall, swiftly focusing on and eliminating any strong Demonized Beasts that managed to leap over.
Relying on the wall for defense, with Arrow Tower and cannon firing, the Demon Tide, capable of destroying the Sanctuary, was being gradually depleted.
The survivors collapsed to the ground, weak from relief.
Patrol Team members, limbs weakened, leaned against the parapet. Looking at the Demonized Beasts' corpses spread below, they still found it hard to believe.
The Demon Tide... was resolved just like that.
"""