Hearing Zhang Kui's words, "Silver Wolf" naturally brought to mind the Silver Moon of old. This female's true form was a massive silver wolf, and she also claimed descent from the Silver Moon Wolf Clan. It remained uncertain whether these silver wolves were indeed of the same lineage as the Silver Moon's. Nevertheless, regardless of whether this speculation proved true, it seemed to offer no practical benefit to his current situation and thus was soon set aside. "The man with the scar spoke seriously. "Such a serious challenge! Are there many such mutated beasts among the herd?" Han Li furrowed his brows. "Basically, one mutated beast appears out of every thousand." Zhang Kui thought for a moment, then said with some hesitation. "One in a thousand?" Han Li glanced again toward the distant sea of green wolves, and could hardly suppress a sigh. Even though he couldn't precisely count the number of these green wolves, he knew there were certainly in the millions. With such a vast population, even if the number of mutated wolves didn't reach ten thousand, there must still be several thousand. Such a large number of mutated beasts indeed posed a potentially lethal threat in a city where no cultivators of Dan-jin level existed. "Alright, let's go to other areas and check the condition of the remaining herds," Zhang Kui sighed after a while, clearly expressing his lack of confidence in the overall prospects of this beast surge. "Is there something worrying, Zhang brother, that we might not be able to hold this city?" Although Han Li followed the instructions and descended with the other party to the massive city wall, he still smiled and asked one question. "I must admit, I've been somewhat concerned. In the past several times when the beast armies breached and destroyed towns, they were all newly established cities—like Anyuan City, which has existed for less than a thousand years—and each time, the attacks coincided with the outbreak of the great beast tide. Moreover, these towns were often unprepared beforehand. This time, the beast tide includes the leopard-fowl beasts, which are aerial mythical birds. Such creatures are not numerous, yet each one born is already a first-tier beast. If the sky cannot defend against them, the situation would indeed be quite dangerous." Zhang Kui looked deeply worried. "The leopard-fowl beasts? Really that formidable?" Han Li's eyes flashed, as though he found it hard to believe. "While the leopard-fowl beasts may not rank among the top in individual strength among the flying mythical birds during the beast tide, they naturally emit a potent toxin from their bodies. This toxin is lethal to ordinary people—exposure can instantly kill them. For those who cannot get close enough to fight them, the only viable strategy is to strike them from a But this kind of mythical bird creature is particularly agile and fast—unless the city has strong aerial defenses, it's difficult to truly contain them. And precisely the city's aerial defense is its weakest point." Zhang Kui spoke slowly. "With inadequate aerial strength, how could such a situation arise? Does the lord of An Yuan not realize how serious this is?" Han Li was deeply surprised. Now he understood that in human cities, almost all secular power rested firmly in the hands of the city's lord. "Even if he knows, what good does it do? It's said that during the last wave of beasts, the city suffered devastating losses, depleting its reserves completely. The current level of defense is the result of the city lord's tireless efforts—reportedly, he even borrowed weapons and troops from neighboring cities. Naturally, his aerial capabilities are severely limited." Zhang Kui said this with surprising clarity. Han Li found himself at a loss. Not long after, when Han Li stood beside the scar-faced man on the opposite city wall, the vast red sea of serpents, each over ten zhang long, formed a sight far more imposing than the blue wolf pack. The only favorable news was that these serpentine beasts were neither venomous nor did they exhale toxic mist, making their defense considerably easier. Han Li sighed again upon spotting, at intervals within the serpent throng, several colossal serpents far larger than their peers—some exceeding ten zhang in length, not much smaller than a red dragon. For ordinary people caught in or swallowed by such giants, the outcome would be dire. Moreover, due to the greater number of these mutated serpents compared to the blue wolves, their numbers were naturally more abundant. After observing both groups of beasts, Han Li expressed some regret that he had not seen the leopard-fowl creatures mentioned by Zhang Kui. According to the scar-faced man, these mythical birds typically dwelled in secluded areas and only emerged when under attack. "What are the beast groups waiting for, and why haven't they launched an immediate assault?" Han Li suddenly asked, gazing toward the distant serpentine formations. "The beast groups are led by immortal beasts with awakened wisdom. They certainly won't charge blindly. They must first coordinate with the other two groups before deciding on a unified time to strike—something that will leave our human forces unable to maintain full defense. Typically, this coordination takes about one day. Let's go. I'm sure our Tian Dong Trading House has already received the city's orders to prepare and gather at a designated location. In such a grand conflict, we are merely a single grain of sand in the sea. We must do our best. If, by any chance, we manage to break through our current limitations or gain some new insight during the battle, then our journey here—this bold venture—will not have been in vain." Zhang Kui's final chuckle echoed as he turned and led Han Li back toward the city, eventually arriving at their inn. Indeed, the guards at the inn had already received the orders from the city, and were now ready to depart immediately to gather at a specified location. The other Jinpao cultivators from the JinYu Sect had already been summoned and taken away earlier. Zhang Kui gave no hesitation at all—immediately issuing a command, all two hundred and more guards from Tian Dong Trading House set out, marching proudly out of the inn. Only a merchant house as wealthy and powerful as Tian Dong could afford to purchase so many Suolan war beasts for its guard team. The crowd, along with the pedestrians on the streets, was guided to a large plaza near a section of the city wall—this particular section facing the group of Qing Lang beasts. There, thousands of young, unarmed men and various groups of individuals in different attire, as well as scattered body-builders, had gathered. A few of them rode on Suolan beasts, but even when combined with the knights from Tian Dong Merchant House, the total number of such beasts remained barely over two hundred. Soldiers from An Yuan City, fully equipped and maintaining order, stood along the perimeter of the plaza. A middle-aged man in silver armor stood at one end of the plaza, conversing with a scholar and a monk—clearly the leader. When Han Li saw him, his gaze sharpened, recognizing that this man was precisely the commander he had encountered at the city gate. The Buddhist monk and Confucian scholar beside him were naturally the two immortals who had been assigned to inspect their respective contingents. As for the middle-aged man in silver armor, it was hardly surprising that he could still hold onto these two under the current circumstances. At this moment, seeing that the crowd had gathered sufficiently, he simply waved his hand behind him without further words. A soldier with a strong voice immediately stepped forward and issued a series of pre-prepared orders. The first order called for all mounted knights on the field to be selected and assembled into a separate cavalry unit. Then, a group of turtle carts poured into the square, and soldiers unloaded large quantities of weapons and a few pieces of armor from the carts, distributing them to the young and able-bodied men. As for the body-builders, they naturally looked down upon these ordinary weapons, standing aside with cold eyes. Meanwhile, another group of soldiers began organizing and preparing the young men who had received the weapons. The private units led by Han Li and the scattered body-builders were temporarily set aside, seemingly ignored. As these private guards and body-builders grew puzzled, a long, piercing wolf howl suddenly echoed from outside the city. This howl was both high-pitched and desperate, radiating a strong sense of frenzy. Han Li narrowed his eyes, still without fully processing the sound, when suddenly, all the way beyond the city walls, thousands of wolves erupted into a unified, thunderous chorus of howls that surged upward, rolling like thunder. The body-builders remained composed, merely their faces turning pale, while ordinary citizens were left stunned—so overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the wolf cries that they felt as though the entire world had been reduced to that single sound. Yet this was only the beginning. From another direction, a series of hissing sounds and strange, eerie wolf roars began to rise. Though these sounds lacked the overwhelming power of the wolf howls, they nonetheless sent a deep chill down the spines of those listening, making their backs feel cold and damp. At that moment, the copper gongs mounted on the distant city walls were struck simultaneously, resonating with a steady, clear sound. Then, a deep, resonant male voice echoed through the air—though soft, it was distinctly heard by every single person on the square: "Be alert! The herd is beginning to move toward the city walls!" It was a gray-robed cultivator at the Foundation Stage, stepping on a flying sword and standing high above, delivering the warning. Yet this was not the only voice—almost every part of the city's sky hosted a cultivator hovering aloft, each one issuing a clear warning.