4179 Slaughter
As they spoke, the nine-headed monster bird had already descended directly above them, its massive wings flapping with a whooshing sound, and its grim, small eyes gleaming with an incredibly ferocious light.
Qiao Mu was shielded behind Mo Lian, her eyes cool and indifferent as she stared at the nine-headed monster bird overhead.
This creature was enormous, and the wind stirred by its flapping wings was like a vortex, blowing the crowd below every which way.
The spectators, the "melon-eating masses," cried out in terror and panic, scrambling and falling as they rushed towards the exit.
The arena quickly devolved into chaos, with many trampled, and screams of fright constantly echoing amidst the pushing and shoving.
The nine-headed monster bird above suddenly let out another shriek. The piercing sound instantly caused many ordinary people's heads to buzz, and they coughed up blood.
From the hundreds of carriages it dragged, many stiff-bodied, greenish-purple, grotesque corpse puppets suddenly emerged.
They hovered in the air, a sight that made people's hair stand on end.
The nine-headed monster bird shrieked again, a long, drawn-out sound.
The corpse puppets, as if receiving a command, suddenly opened their eyes in unison and stomped their feet, descending as if along an invisible, transparent ladder.
The depths of their dark pupils showed no trace of white.
"High-level corpse puppets," Qiao Mu lowered her hand slightly, and a dark Wulian Crossbow emerged from her sleeve.
"Ah, ah!" Strange roars filled the entire arena.
Dense swarms of corpse puppets descended from the sky, each holding an iron rod, smashing at anyone they saw, their eyes filled with savagery.
The ordinary crowd was instantly terrified out of their wits, breaking into a panicked flight.
Qiao Mu's eyes narrowed, and she sharply commanded, "Everyone, stop! Don't run around recklessly!"
Dozens of jade talismans shot from her fingertips, swirling around the nearest few dozen spectators and covering them.
The light from the jade talismans flickered, and a defensive barrier instantly appeared before them.
A young scholar standing closest watched wide-eyed as a pale-faced corpse puppet, its eyes bloodshot, leaped onto the defensive barrier and slammed its claw with a "thump" against the transparent shield.
For a moment, the young scholar's heart threatened to leap out of his chest.
But then he saw the ferocious corpse puppet struck by a blue light, shattering into pieces before him.
"Everyone, put on protective gear. Do not let these things scratch you," Mo Lian calmly instructed.
Behind him, hundreds of black-clad youths had appeared at some unknown point.
Hearing his words, they swiftly retrieved protective gear from their internal realms, donned it neatly, and chorused, "Yes!"
Qiao Mu's talismans flew from her hand, countless jade talismans fluttering out like flowing wind.
One by one, they constructed an indestructible, square defensive shelter below the spectator stands.
The panicked commoners naturally turned red-eyed with urgency, surging into the defensive barrier.
The Purple Forest Guards were all in motion, each armed with specially modified crossbows, firing rapidly at the approaching corpse puppets.
From the sky came a tremendous roaring sound like rolling gravel.
Suddenly, large rocks were hurled down by the winged humanoids, crashing into the crowd with a thunderous clatter.
The commoners inside the defensive barrier were safe, huddling together with pale, terrified faces. They only saw the moment the rocks fell before being pulverized into fragments by a layer of blue light on the defensive barrier.
As for some who were still running towards the defensive barrier, some were directly crushed into a bloody pulp by the falling rocks.
Others were smashed head-on beneath stones, only their legs twitching outside the rock before falling silent.