Free Web NovelChapter 293: Chapter 293: Siege King’s First Step
The Thunder Herd Siege King moved at dawn.
Until then, it had remained behind the beast army like a storm mountain. When the first pale light touched the plain, the massive creature rose fully.
It was enormous.
Its body resembled a bull, a dragon, and a thundercloud given flesh. Four horns curved from its skull, each covered in storm runes. Its hide was black-blue, layered like storm-forged armor. Its eyes burned white. Around its hooves, lightning crawled through mud like living roots.
The Tower panel appeared even from the fortress wall.
[Thunder Herd Siege King]
[Level Equivalent: 76]
[Type:
Siege beast sovereign / storm herd commander]
[Abilities:
- Thunder Herd Command
- Wall-Breaking Charge
- Storm Armor
- Command Node Rebirth
- Lightning Root Trample]
[Warning:
Direct frontal collision not recommended.]
Qin Mo stared at the warning.
"Not recommended. The Tower has become polite."
The Siege King took one step.
The plain shook.
Every remaining command node pulsed.
Then something unexpected happened.
The two destroyed nodes’ locations sparked.
Qin Mo’s face changed.
"Node rebirth!"
Storm bones began reforming from the mud.
Qin Yuheng’s eyes sharpened.
So the destroyed nodes could return unless the Siege King’s authority was interrupted.
Commander Lei Shuo slammed his fist on the battle map.
"If the nodes revive, we cannot hold."
Qin Yuheng looked at the battlefield.
Three active nodes.
Two reforming.
Siege King advancing.
Eastern wall at fifty-one percent stability after repairs.
Defenders exhausted.
Civilian shelters stable but strained.
This was the true battle.
Qin Yuheng did not immediately rush the Siege King. Direct attack would likely fail. They needed to prevent node rebirth and destroy the remaining nodes while delaying the king.
A large-scale defense plan formed.
"Commander Lei, prepare all wall artillery. Target the reforming nodes, not the Siege King."
Lei Shuo frowned. "The king will reach charge distance."
"Yuchen and fortress shield teams delay the first charge at the outer trench."
Qin Yuchen nodded.
"Lian, third node. Take scouts. Do not destroy it alone. Mark its rebirth core."
"Understood."
"Mo, can you stop node rebirth?"
Qin Mo looked like he wanted to be somewhere else.
"With the right sample and enough time."
"You have neither."
"Then partially. I can create a Node Death Seal if you bring me core fragments from one active node and one reforming node."
Qin Yuheng nodded.
"I will get them."
Qin Mo stared.
"That was not a suggestion for you personally."
"It is now."
The Siege King roared.
Thunder beasts surged forward.
This was no longer a series of strikes. It was a full siege.
The eastern wall shook under waves of beasts. Qin Yuchen stood in the outer trench with shield teams and spear lines. His role was brutal: delay without dying.
He shouted commands clearly.
"Angle shields! Ground horns! Rotate wounded!"
He was no longer only Qin Yuheng’s teammate. He had become a battlefield leader in his own right.
Qin Yuheng saw that and felt satisfaction.
Roads that trust themselves.
The first reforming node was near the previous mist zone. Qin Yuheng moved alone with extreme speed. He used Void Thunder Shadow Step to cross gaps, then suppressed thunder output before beasts could surround him.
A reforming node was weaker than a full one but unstable. Storm bones spiraled around a central seed.
He cut through three guarding beasts, reached the node, and extracted a core fragment with the False Destiny Mirror Blade as a prying tool.
Lightning burned his palm. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
He ignored it.
Next, he needed active node material.
Qin Lian had marked the third node: located behind a ridge of storm stones, guarded by winged thunder beasts. Qin Yuheng joined her strike team mid-battle.
"Fragment first," he said.
Qin Lian nodded.
This node controlled aerial beasts. Destroying it would help the walls, but Qin Mo needed its active core structure.
Qin Yuheng fought through winged lizards and storm hawks. A huge Thunderwing Drake descended, claws shining.
[Thunderwing Drake]
[Level Equivalent: 67]
It attacked from above, releasing lightning feathers.
Qin Lian cut through its shadow-wing joints but could not fully ground it.
Qin Yuheng leapt.
His Blood Thunder Emperor Battle Step struck the air itself, using thunder rebound to rise. He met the drake midair and drove his sword into its chest. The drake crashed into the ridge.
He landed beside the third node.
This time, he did not destroy it.
He cut a piece of active crystal from the node while it screamed with storm feedback.
Then he withdrew.
The node remained active, but damaged.
Qin Lian’s scouts covered retreat.
By the time Qin Yuheng returned to Qin Mo, his sleeve was burned, his palm blackened, and his breathing heavier.
Qin Mo took the fragments.
"You look terrible."
"Can you make the seal?"
"Yes. Probably. Maybe."
"Mo."
"Yes."
Qin Mo worked frantically.
He combined the reforming core fragment and active core crystal with formation ink, storm-grounding powder, and a diluted resonance from the Sovereign Cycle Transition Heart—not to preserve the node, but to force its cycle from command to collapse.
The result was a rough talisman.
[Temporary Node Death Seal]
[Grade: A+ unstable]
[Effect:
Prevents Thunderstorm Beast Command Node rebirth within limited radius.
Duration:
One battle phase.
Warning:
Requires placement on Siege King’s command pulse or central node root.]
Qin Mo looked apologetic.
"It has to be placed near the Siege King."
Qin Yuheng looked toward the battlefield.
The Siege King had reached the outer trench.
Qin Yuchen’s shield line was about to face its first charge.
Qin Yuheng took the seal.
"Then I place it."
Qin Mo grabbed his wrist.
"This is insane even for you."
Qin Yuheng looked at him.
"Standards need walls. Walls need warriors."
Qin Mo let go slowly.
"And warriors need reasons."
Qin Yuheng nodded.
"My reason is in that fortress."
He moved.
The Siege King lowered its horns.
The first wall-breaking charge began.
