"Did I ever say it was built by human hands?" Sun Fuping scoffed. "Seamless, indestructible, erected amidst war, and capable of withstanding the stomping of thousands of troops and siege engines—only divine abilities could achieve such a feat."
The bridge had been conjured by divine abilities? Everyone looked down at the roadway beneath their feet, profoundly shaken.
"Earth-element divine arts come in many forms. This might be a variation of the Mountain Moving Technique, executed by at least fifty spellcasters working in unison." Sun Fuping tapped the bridge deck with his foot, eliciting a metallic ring. "Mmh, at no small cost."
The quality was superb as well, remaining undamaged after more than a century.
Situ Han asked in a low voice, "Didn't they say divine abilities are ineffective in wartime?"
Before anyone else could speak, He Lingchuan hushed him with a dismissive hiss. "Half-baked knowledge! Divine abilities are only weakened against an army, but no one ever said they can't be used in war. What's wrong with paving roads and building bridges?"
Rubbing his chin, he remarked, "Looking at it this way, this bridge before Panlong City's southern gate was probably destroyed and rebuilt, then rebuilt and destroyed again over countless cycles. The reason this particular one survives to this day is likely because the allied forces won the final victory?"
"That should be so," Sun Fuping agreed with his assessment. "In ordinary times, Panlong City needed this bridge to connect with the south, but whenever a major battle loomed, they would certainly cut it first to block approaching enemies."
Nian Songyu kicked a watermelon-sized boulder beside his feet into the chasm. Only after a good while did they hear the echoing thud of the heavy object hitting bottom.
"Very deep. If we fell, we probably wouldn't survive either." Peering down into the depths from the edge of the bridge, he said, "This was originally a moat, wasn't it? I see chisel marks down there, so they must have deepened it."
Panlong City already commanded a natural chasm, yet they had meticulously improved the moat before their gates to make the water deeper and more torrential, further raising the difficulty for enemies trying to scale Chipa Plateau by force.
At the very least, an army couldn't climb up.
During those thirty-two years, Panlong City had spared no effort on city defense and security.
A brief commotion stirred at the rear.
Ever since they stepped onto the bridge, the possessed puppets had struggled all the more violently, desperately trying to flee backward and even lunging to bite. Blood streamed from one guard's left hand.
The consequence of their antics was only harsher subjugation. In the end, they were practically carried across the bridge.
And so the party arrived beneath the main southern gate of Panlong Ancient City.
In truth, the outer wall of this legendary city was not as magnificent as He Lingchuan had envisioned. It stood only five zhang tall, circular like a barrel. The outer wall could hardly be called smooth, patched all over with mismatched brick colors—evidently repaired countless times.
The wasteland was too arid for moss to grow along the base of the wall, but like the bridge deck, it was covered in dark stains that over a century of wind and sand had failed to blow away.
Those were the scars of war.
Along the wall were rows of small apertures, slightly larger than pomelos—too narrow for a person to squeeze through. With a single glance, He Lingchuan knew there were garrison chambers and passageways on the inner side of the wall. These small holes provided ventilation, allowed observation of enemy movements, and could be used to shoot arrows, hurl spears, or stab enemies attempting to scale the walls.
Yet these were standard measures for any city wall. With its drab grey exterior, Panlong City's outer wall seemed nothing out of the ordinary.
Only when they looked further up did they discover its ferocious nature—
The exterior of the battlements was bristling with black wooden spikes of varying lengths, arranged in a jagged, crisscrossing pattern pointing in every direction.
Zeng Feixiong let out a low gasp. "Iron fir! Crocodile-tooth stakes!"
He took part in Blackwater City's defense as well. As the Yuan Kingdom's vanguard to the west, that vital border city naturally possessed a vast array of defensive fortifications. Yet mounting crocodile-tooth stakes on city gates had become obsolete for nearly a century; this was his first time seeing it in person.
Siege warfare often required scaling ladders to deliver ground troops onto the enemy's ramparts. But with the crocodile-tooth stakes blocking the way, the tops of the siege ladders could only rest against the spikes, forcing soldiers to climb over the stakes themselves before they could leap onto the parapet.
Needless to say, these "crocodile teeth" were completely rounded, and before battle they would be slathered in oil to ensure a treacherous footing where no one could gain purchase. If that weren't enough, the defenders would toss up a few torches to roast human flesh.
The iron fir used to craft the long spikes was impervious to fire, but mortals certainly were not.
To describe this city wall as "armed to the teeth" seemed quite literal.
Situ Han's eyes went wide as well, and he muttered, "I-it truly is like that!"
"Let us enter." Sun Fuping was the first to tear his gaze away, leading the party through the outer wall.
Of the outermost iron fir gates, one wing hung half-open while the other lay flat on the ground, having clearly suffered violent abuse back in the day. The wood bore vivid scars of blade cuts, axe strikes, and scorch marks.
To see iron fir, harder than steel, battered to such a degree was truly an eye-opener for He Lingchuan.
Yet passing through the gates, he still let out a stunned "Oh."
Behind the outer wall lay a mere two hundred zhang of open ground, followed by...
A second towering wall!
He Chunhua could not help remarking, "This is the first time I've ever seen such a tall barbican."
This second city wall was another five zhang taller than the outer wall! Furthermore, whatever fortifications the outer wall possessed were duplicated here in full.
He Lingchuan even spotted several catapults atop the gatehouse.
Sun Fuping shook his head. "Who said this is the barbican?"
Passing through the second set of city gates, everyone took a closer look and fell utterly speechless.
They were looking at a third wall!
This wall was another five zhang taller than the second, reaching an astonishing height of fifteen zhang—over forty meters!
Three gates, three walls. Panlong City was truly armed to the teeth.
"This is the real barbican!" Situ Han sucked in a breath of cold air. "Any enemy fighting their way here must have been furious." After going through immense hardship to cross the chasm and breach two layers of walls, the invaders, having torn through the prey's tough hide, expected to feast on tender, fatty meat—only to bite down and crack their teeth on yet another layer of thick scales beneath.
To fight this far only to face yet another high wall would drain nearly all of one's initial momentum and resolve. It would leave a bitter taste in anyone's mouth.
He Lingchuan felt whoever built this city must have had a truly vicious streak.
However, he also spotted scorch marks around the ventilation holes of this third high wall, showing that the allied forces had indeed fought their way here back in the day.
The ferocity of that battle went without saying.
Passing through the three sets of gates, the party finally entered the interior of Panlong City.
Spreading out before their eyes was an immense plaza, or open ground, capable of holding at least two thousand people. Now, with a party of only two hundred placed inside, it felt exceedingly spacious.
Turning around, they saw a massive relief carving of a serpent-like creature embedded into the barbican wall.
This serpent sculpture resembled a snake or python with vividly defined scales, yet it had horns on its head, whiskers beneath its jaw, bulging eyes, and a protruding snout.
He Lingchuan recognized it: this was the origin of the city's name—the Coiled Dragon.
In truth, however, it was not a true dragon, but a flood dragon.
Beneath the black flood dragon totem stood a long stone altar table for residents to make offerings and tributes. Beside it, tribute pagodas and censer urns stood nearly a zhang tall, quite imposing—though naturally devoid of incense smoke now.
At the far end of the plaza was a large pool, though it was bone-dry now. After more than a century, it remained largely intact, missing only a few chipped edges. Situ Han rapped on the rim of the pool. "What was this pool used for?"
Sun Fuping replied, "The ancient cities of the Panlong Wasteland all shared a tradition: drinking water and taking an oath before marching out to battle."
Chapter 32