parentshiftbook Chapter 10: Alliances in Turbulent Times, the Magistrate's Choice; Disaster Strikes the City, J
Chapter 10: Alliances in Turbulent Times, the Magistrate's Choice; Disaster Strikes the City, J
Even after seeing off the Demon Suppressor, Ji Lin was still shaken and felt very uneasy.
So he incorporated almost all the skilled men in the manor into the night patrol and vigorously recruited all kinds of experts to join.
At this point, some people bypassed the recruitment booths and went directly to the Ji residence to apply for jobs.
"Please announce my arrival; I'm here for a job interview," the man said to the swordsman at the door.
"Come to the recruitment booth," the swordsman said solemnly.
The system detected an awakened individual:
[Awakened One: Tang Wu]
[Rank: Soldier]
[Skill: Demonic Appearance - Entanglement]
Upon hearing the system notification, Ji Lin immediately jumped up from his chair.
They were the awakened ones that day!!
He rushed to the gate of the Ji residence and saw a man in a black short shirt, wearing a black cloak and with his face covered by a black cloth standing outside the gate.
It's him, it's him!
"Young hero, are you here to apply for the job?" Ji Lin greeted him with a smile, and before he could respond, he took his hand and started to walk into the mansion.
"That's right!!" Tang Wu followed Ji Lin into the mansion.
When the two arrived in the living room, Ji Lin ordered someone to prepare tea and pastries for him to enjoy.
"Xiao Hei, we need someone like you!" He blurted out the name Xiao Hei when he saw Tang Wu dressed all in black.
"Little Black??"
"But could you tell us why you chose to join us?"
Ji Lin was very interested in him; this control skill played a huge role in the water mirage incident.
Tang Wu pondered for a moment: "I've thought about it seriously. My attack methods are insufficient, and I can hardly deal with anomalies alone. I need someone to cooperate with me... I think you are rather cunning... no... clever, capable of accomplishing things."
Ji Lin gave an awkward smile, then thought of a solution: "Could we add some poison or spikes to it?"
"No... absolutely not, that thing is inside me."
The two chatted happily, and Tang Wu officially joined the team. Ji Lin decided to let him lead a team of night patrols on his own.
At this time, the night patrol had expanded to over a hundred people, with Huang Yu and Tang Wu each leading more than fifty men.
He had just finished arranging affairs in the manor when he saw the county magistrate rushing over.
"It's terrible! There's a riot of refugees outside the city, and they're planning to storm Xiong'an City. Please, Lord Ji, send reinforcements immediately."
"Pfft!! What did you say, sir? A refugee riot?" Ji Chang'an spat out the tea he had just drunk.
The three realized the situation was serious.
Ji Lin immediately mobilized the night patrol guards to assemble on the city wall and guard the city together with the county officers.
The group hurried to the city gate.
Many people volunteered, forming groups of two.
The soldiers and civilians worked together to move defensive weapons such as bows, arrows, stones, and Molotov cocktails onto the city walls.
"One, two, three, go!" the crowd shouted energetically, drenched in sweat.
The logistics team was well-organized, carrying supplies up one side of the stairs and down the other.
Ji Lin stood on the city wall, observing the enemy situation. Below the wall stood a dense crowd of people, their clothes tattered, numbering over ten thousand, seemingly mixed with low-level demons infected by an anomaly...
Ji Chang'an and the county magistrate both understood that, given the current situation, relying on the strength of one side alone was no longer sufficient to protect the entire Xiong'an County. At this point, they should no longer distinguish between themselves; only then could they truly form an alliance.
"roar!!!"
The roars that seemed to come from nowhere below the city signaled the official start of their siege.
The army, composed of tens of thousands of refugees, stretched as far as the eye could see, with the crowd reaching to the sky and the earth.
They first sent out a group of men to carry huge, thick logs and ram them against the city gate.
Then the others piled up wood, mud, stones, and corpses they had collected from elsewhere under the city walls, gradually raising the ground level.
"Bang bang bang!!"
The dull thuds of impact mingled with shouts of battle, deafeningly loud.
"Fire the arrows!!" The county magistrate and Ji Lin gave the order simultaneously.
In an instant, arrows rained down, and the refugees in the front rows fell in droves, with almost nothing to block them.
The more refugees died in front of the city, the higher the pile of corpses became below the city.
"Molotov cocktails!!"
After the archers finished firing a few rounds and retreated, the second rank of soldiers marched forward carrying torches and Molotov cocktails.
The footsteps were synchronized.
"ignition!"
Dozens of Molotov cocktails were quickly ignited, and the smell of kerosene and thick smoke filled the air, pungent and unpleasant.
"Throw!!"
With a powerful throw from dozens of soldiers, the sound of shattering ceramics below the city walls echoed like the clatter of a table tennis ball, followed by a raging fire and screams of agony.
The intense heat of the fire did not deter the refugees; in this bitterly cold winter, fire represented warmth...
After several rounds of this, the refugees' offensive weakened.
Suddenly, a black giant over ten feet tall emerged from the crowd, followed by a dozen or so strange creatures of various sizes, and walked towards the city gate.
All the soldiers on the city wall were startled and immediately focused their arrows on it.
The black giant showed no fear, casually deflecting the incoming arrows.
"Oh no! If they breach the city gates, Xiong'an County will be in grave danger, and the people in the city will be doomed!!" The magistrate said through gritted teeth and stamping his feet.
Ji Lin's heart tightened, and his pupils shrank sharply. He sensed that there was far more than just this one demon.
For him, the real enemy was never these refugees, but the monsters lurking beneath.
Without saying a word, he leaped forward and instantly revealed his demonic form.
Then, a massive object, over two meters tall, slammed heavily onto the black giant.
"BOOM!!!"
After a loud bang, the monster died on the spot.
System notification: [Anomalies +2]
The remaining monsters no longer hid and rushed towards Ji Lin.
At this point, his agility had increased from 30 to 50, and with the activation of the Demonic Form skill,
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle!!"
Four or five monsters fell one after another.
[Anomaly +2]
[Anomaly +1]
[Anomaly +2]
[Anomaly +3]
......
"Add more, add more!!"
Agility: 60/50
"Knock knock knock!!!"
"Young Master Ji is mighty!!"
The sounds of drums and shouts echoed from the city wall.
With his senses and perception, Ji Lin quickly cleared away all the demons from the crowd.
【Ding! 】
[Successfully absorbed the abnormal substance, obtaining the Catastrophe-level Disaster - Blood Locust, which can summon a small swarm of insects.]
He was overjoyed; he had actually obtained a summoning-type anomalous substance this time.
Ji Lin immediately activated a small swarm of insects; thousands of blood locusts swarmed in, driving the refugees away...
Upon seeing this, the soldiers and civilians on the city wall immediately cheered and rushed towards Ji Lin, opening the city gates.
It seems that this demonic form has become less frightening.
"Young Master Ji!!! So majestic!!!"
After this battle, Ji Lin's reputation soared.
This has sparked intense controversy within Xiong'an County.
His reputation among the people was complex; some said he was the savior of an abnormal era, while others, unaware of the truth, called him a monster.
Some people in the city began to secretly admire him and joined the Night Patrol he founded.
However, Ji Lin didn't care about any of that. He firmly believed that only strength mattered...
a few days later.
The magistrate excitedly entered the Ji residence and exclaimed, "Young Master Ji, this is wonderful! The capital has invited you to participate in the Demon Suppression Division's trials!!"