Chapter 152: Golden Armor Filling the City, Endless Until Death

The four fierce tigers of the northwest fully underwent beastification, transforming into four distinct beasts with different elemental attributes as they charged toward Jiang Pingchuan. Meanwhile, the million-strong army rushing out of the border city charged at the beastmen with weapons in hand.

The beastmen opened their bloody mouths and lunged at the soldiers, tearing and biting relentlessly. Facing the four tigers before him, Jiang Pingchuan slowly took a breath, unable to shake off the final scene that had just flashed before his eyes.

The four tigers in front of him could merge into a single entity. It was precisely because he had failed to anticipate this that Jiang Pingchuan had nearly suffered a violent backlash when the black dragon was shattered moments ago. Clutching the Asura Spear tightly, he charged straight toward the skeletal tiger.

In Jiang Pingchuan's eyes, the skeletal tiger posed the greatest threat. If he did not engage the skeletal tiger—whose abilities were the most inscrutable—first while his vital energy was still at its peak, he feared he might fall victim to a stealthy ambush by it later on.

Seeing Jiang Pingchuan brandish the Asura Spear and charge directly at it, the skeletal tiger slightly parted its jaws, unleashing a powerful wave of death aura toward him. Jiang Pingchuan's eyes instantly turned silver, and the silver robe on his body blazed with intense silver light, fluttering violently against the howling gales whipped up by the skeletal tiger.

"Kill..."

"Roar, roar..."

The border guards showed not the slightest hint of retreat in the face of beastmen much larger than themselves. With eyes bloodshot and every ounce of strength summoned, they threw themselves desperately into the raging tide of beastmen. Some were trampled into pulp beneath the heavy feet of the oncoming beasts, while others braced their longspears and slammed them fiercely into the enemy.

A beastman's massive palm struck a soldier's helmet, shattering the seemingly indestructible battle armor as if it were made of paper. Blood stained the gravel before the gates of the border city, and scattered fragments of armor littered the ground.

Warhorses neighed as they dragged chariots into the enemy ranks. Dense volleys of arrows rained down from the city, targeting the beastmen. Soldiers fell, and beastmen died with wide-eyed stares at the hands of the troops. This was a battle of vastly unequal strengths.

They had never known that the northwestern troops possessed the ability to transform into beastmen. In all previous wars, the northwestern army had never displayed such a capability. Yet today, they had transformed directly into beastmen to assault the border city. It was clear that the barbarian king had escalated his offensive, determined to use his beastman army to capture the border city in a single stroke.

The Asura Spear in Jiang Pingchuan's hand was struck fiercely by the skeletal tiger's paw, the impact cracking the webbing between Jiang Pingchuan's thumb and forefinger. He quickly retreated and steadied his footing, gazing at the creature before him. The skeletal tiger's deep, dark-red eyes flickered, seeming to lure him into their gaze.

Looking into the tiger's eyes, Jiang Pingchuan saw within his own silver pupils the three other figures attached to the skeletal tiger—the fire tiger, the lightning tiger, and the wind tiger were all manifesting upon it.

Jiang Pingchuan was no longer fighting a single tiger; the four of them had completely merged into one. Only now did he truly feel their combined strength. Much like the barbarian king after his own beastification, their overall power had increased exponentially. Coupled with the cumulative abilities of all four tigers, Jiang Pingchuan felt danger for the first time as his Asura Spear trembled slightly in his hand.

"Roar, roar, roar..."

Suddenly, amidst his apprehension, a familiar roar echoed from behind. Jiang Pingchuan turned his head to see Wang Man standing atop the city gate, roaring up at the sky. Having completed his beastification, Wang Man stood there in the form of a scarlet qirin, staring with bloodshot eyes at the skeletal tiger before Jiang Pingchuan.

The skeletal tiger noticed the scarlet qirin on the ramparts, and a distinct flash of hesitation crossed its eyes. Gripping his Asura Spear, Jiang Pingchuan unleashed two black dragons once more and thrust the spear straight toward the skeletal tiger.

The scarlet qirin leaped fiercely from the gate tower, landing beside the other three tigers standing behind the skeletal tiger. It lashed out with its claws at the fire tiger, wind tiger, and lightning tiger. These three tigers had originally been in a state of wandering spirits, attaching their souls and abilities to the skeletal tiger. Jolted awake by the sudden charge of the scarlet qirin, they scrambled away in panic.

Jiang Pingchuan could clearly feel that as the three tigers withdrew their abilities, the skeletal tiger's combat effectiveness dropped significantly. Seizing the moment, Jiang Pingchuan thrust the Asura Spear fiercely forward.

Yet, just as the spear pierced into the skeletal tiger's body, the beast showed not the slightest sign of pain; instead, it smiled mockingly at him. Jiang Pingchuan's heart skipped a beat as he tried to withdraw his weapon, only to find that his entire body seemed bound by an inexplicable force.