Chapter 753
Chapter 753
Inside Gunan Fortress.
The four thousand soldiers of the Nirvana Army were still in high spirits, but they had nearly exhausted their arrows. Less than three hundred thousand remained. Given the Nirvana Army’s frenzied volleys, their current supply was not even enough for one more battle. They had originally planned to venture outside the walls to retrieve arrows, but the cunning Zhong Yue had ordered his men to pull out every arrow stuck in the ground as they retreated. Any that couldn't be removed were broken, so the Nirvana Army could only recover a limited number. Now, the Zhong Clan had brought in an additional fifteen thousand modified warriors, so brave they disregarded death itself. In the coming assault, fifty-two thousand enemy soldiers would storm the fortress. With their severe lack of arrows, wasn't the Nirvana Army doomed?
But Jin Mulan’s brow, which had been furrowed throughout the battle, finally relaxed. As expected, her husband had been right again. After suffering successive defeats, the Zhong Clan couldn't hold back any longer and had sought aid from Mount Fudao, finally using a concoction similar to golden dragon blood. A truly astonishing and terrifying spectacle was about to unfold.
Shen Lang had long prepared for this. He even considered this moment the key to the entire battle. When it came to researching golden dragon blood, who had studied it longer than Shen Lang? Does everyone know that bravery and madness are separated by a razor's edge? While Mount Fudao's elixir could turn the Zhong Clan’s warriors into brave, invincible soldiers, Shen Lang could turn them all into rabid beasts—slaughtering machines that had completely lost their sanity, unable to distinguish friend from foe. Shen Lang had waited a very long time for this day.
*These beasts of the battlefield will slaughter your Zhong Clan army. Zhong Clan, your final day has come.*
***
The battle at Gunan Fortress entered an incredibly critical phase.
"Die! Die!"
The fifteen thousand modified warriors of the Zhong Clan had completely erupted. They could no longer control the desire to kill that raged within them, and an immense power seemed to burst forth from their bodies. Their ferocity was even greater than that of the palace guards who had taken the golden dragon blood. Mount Fudao's Nirvana Elixir was even more potent than Shen Lang's, activating a person’s primal nature to its absolute peak.
Last time, how Shen Lang and Gao Duhuan had agonized over calming the ten thousand frenzied palace guards. Just as expected, Zhong Yao was now also unable to control his fifteen thousand Berserkers. Even with his thirty-seven thousand other soldiers, he struggled to suppress them. Before the battle had even begun, the two Zhong Clan armies had already clashed dozens of times, beating each other to death until the casualties numbered in the hundreds.
The modified Zhong Clan Berserkers were too strong. Having been suppressed for days, their desire for slaughter had reached its limit. If they didn't fight now, this army would surely self-destruct. Their eyes, filled with bloodlust, were completely red.
"Uwoooargh!"
The fifteen-thousand-strong army pounded their chests ferociously, letting out bestial roars. They refused to wear armor and, even in the cold of winter, were desperate to tear off their shirts. Zhong Yue had ordered them all to hold their shields tightly in their hands.
*Thump, thump, thump, thump.*
The modified Berserkers pounded their shields with their blades. Finally, Zhong Yue shouted.
"Charge! Go and slaughter every last member of the Nirvana Army inside! Kill them! Charge!"
As soon as Zhong Yao's order was given, the fifteen thousand Berserkers surged toward the base of the fortress walls like a tidal wave. In an instant, they charged with astonishing speed, truly like wild beasts racing across a plain.
*Charge! Charge!*
The Zhong Clan’s Berserkers had only one thought in their minds: kill and destroy everyone inside.
Meanwhile, atop the walls, the Nirvana Army nocked their arrows and drew their bowstrings the moment the Berserkers charged.
"Fire! Fire!"
A hail of arrows rained down once more.
*Swish, swish, swish, swish.*
The sharp volley of arrows poured down on the Zhong Clan’s Berserkers. Normally, this would have resulted in severe casualties, as they disliked wearing armor and their defenses were weak. But after taking Mount Fudao's Nirvana Elixir, their perception and agility had increased dramatically. The moment they saw the arrows approaching, they raised their shields and blocked most of them, resulting in very few casualties.
The Nirvana Elixir was truly a remarkable thing. No wonder the Great Yan Empire sought to completely seal away all traces of the ancient civilization. This substance could make an army incomparably strong in a short amount of time.
"Fire! Fire!"
The Nirvana Army's second and third volleys rained down furiously, but to no avail. The Zhong Clan's Berserkers blocked every arrow with their shields. The shields they held weren't large, but they were reinforced with a layer of iron plate, making them incredibly sturdy.
The Nirvana Army’s powerful volleys were all ineffective. Seeing this, Zhong Yue felt a sense of relief.
*Finally, we're going to win.*
Mount Fudao's Nirvana Elixir was as incredible as promised. The Zhong Clan's decision to side with the empire was indeed the right one. Victory in this battle was assured. Once the Nirvana Army was eliminated, the Zhong Clan could establish itself as an independent nation. That moment was within reach.
"Kill! Kill them!"
The Zhong Clan's Berserkers charged ferociously and unimpeded to the base of the fortress. As soon as they arrived, they began scaling the walls using siege ladders. The thirty-seven thousand Zhong Clan soldiers in the rear watched, stunned.
*Is the difference really this great? How arduous was it for us to reach the walls before? The fields were littered with our dead. Every step forward cost many lives. In just over half a month, more than thirty thousand corpses have piled up at the base of these walls. But now, these fifteen thousand Berserkers have easily crossed the kill zone under the Nirvana Army's arrow fire and charged to the foot of the walls with such ease.*
***
Mulan looked down and saw that enough of the Zhong Clan's Berserkers had gathered at the base of the wall. It was time.
"Change arrows!"
At her command, the four thousand soldiers of the Nirvana Army methodically switched to special arrows. Each arrow had a unique vial tied to it.
"Fire! Fire!"
The Nirvana Army once again unleashed a frantic volley of arrows, which rained down upon the battlefield. The Zhong Clan Berserkers at the base of the wall, just as before, precisely raised their shields to block the incoming projectiles. But the moment the arrows struck a shield or the ground, the vials tied to the shafts shattered violently. With the explosions, clouds of smoke billowed out, and a strange fragrance filled the air. The scent was similar to the dark fragrance used in the assassination of the King of Chu, yet it wasn't exactly the same. In that short time, the Nirvana Army had fired tens of thousands of arrows, each tipped with about two grams of a peculiar drug concocted by Shen Lang.
The drug's composition was rather complex. Sixty percent was a mixture of various snake venoms, thirty percent was plant-based toxins from the Shaman Tribes, and the remaining ten percent was a substance synthesized by Shen Lang using various scientific techniques. While every component was a poison, once formulated into this drug, it acted not as a poison but as an extreme stimulant that drove people into a frenzy. This was similar to the trend of inhaling cobra venom in India. The venom could induce a bizarre mental state, and a single gram could cost as much as one hundred and fifty dollars. But compared to that, Shen Lang's creation was a true frenzy-inducing stimulant.
Shen Lang had created this stimulant by accident during his research. He had originally been trying to create a drug to enhance the effects of golden dragon blood, but the experiment had failed. When the two drugs were mixed, the test animal immediately entered a horrifying state. Shen Lang had used a relatively docile mouse for the experiment; upon injection with the mixture, it became incredibly violent, biting all its kin in the cage to death. It then thrashed about madly, trying to escape the cage, and eventually died a gruesome death after repeatedly slamming its own body against the bars until it was a mangled mess.
After that experiment, Shen Lang had sealed the drug away, never imagining a day would come when he would use it. He originally couldn't have obtained so much snake venom. But after his trip to the Shaman Tribes, he could acquire as much as he wanted, easily obtaining hundreds of pounds, so mass-producing the drug was no problem at all.
***
A captivating fragrance filled the air at the base of the fortress wall.
*What a scent. So fragrant.*
Suddenly, the Zhong Clan's Berserkers stopped climbing the walls and began to desperately inhale the spreading aroma. As they breathed it in, their minds entered a state of euphoria. After taking Mount Fudao's Nirvana Elixir, their strength, agility, perception, and mental fortitude had all increased severalfold, but at the same time, their sanity was teetering on the brink of collapse. Now, inhaling this strange fragrance was like pouring oil on a fire. The effects of the Nirvana Elixir coursing through their veins instantly exploded like a roaring flame.
Zhong Yue felt that something was wrong. Even he felt his body heat up and a sense of excitement after smelling the fragrance.
"Don't breathe this scent! Everyone, hold your breath! Hold your breath!"
Zhong Yue screamed frantically, but it was too late. The eyes of the fifteen thousand modified Zhong Clan Berserkers turned completely bloodshot, and their skin flushed red. Their breathing became incredibly rapid, and their pupils glazed over. Their already fragile sanity shattered in an instant.
"Aaargh! Ahh! Awooo!"
They let out a collective internal scream, and only one thought remained in their minds.
*Slaughter. Devour. Kill. Kill!*
Yet, despite this mental state, they still didn't move, continuing to indulge in inhaling the scent. The feeling was too euphoric. However, some of the Berserkers seemed unaffected by the fragrance and were still madly climbing the walls.
*Rumble.*
Numerous logs rolled down from the top of the wall, knocking the climbing Zhong Clan Berserkers off.
*It seems the drug's effect isn't strong enough yet. There are still some attacking the fortress.*
Mulan gave another order, and a volley of arrows rained down furiously, causing more vials to shatter and release an even thicker fragrance into the air. Finally, the Zhong Clan's Berserkers, already brimming with primal rage, were on the verge of completely losing their minds. They were about to enact a scene of gruesome fratricide, just like the mice in Shen Lang's past experiment, which had killed all their kin in the cage before mutilating themselves to death.
The eyes of more than ten thousand men were bloodshot, their breathing grew more and more rapid, and their gazes became increasingly unhinged. They resembled the infected in zombie movies from Earth, who, upon being infected by a virus, would become utterly violent and turn on their own comrades.
A strange silence fell over the battlefield. It was the calm before an explosion, a moment so tense it felt as though a single matchstick could set everything ablaze. Watching the scene, Zhong Yue's scalp tingled.
*Why? Why has it come to this?*
"What are you all standing around for? Attack the fortress!"
Having lost their reason, they could no longer follow the order to attack. The only thing left in them was the instinct to slaughter. Zhong Yue gave an order.
"Battle Supervisors, drive them to attack the fortress."
At Zhong Yue's command, three thousand cavalrymen quickly galloped toward the base of the fortress wall.