The giant beast seemed to sense that something was wrong too. It let out a thunderous roar and spewed a torrent of freezing yin wind from its mouth.
The arrows hurtling toward it were caught by this wind and not only sent tumbling off course but also instantly coated in a layer of glistening black ice. Before they could even touch the beast's body, they plummeted to the ground.
As for the heavier spears and the like, although they had managed to pierce the creature's massive frame, the ferocious wind had sapped much of their killing force, leaving only superficial wounds. This only served to send the beast into an even greater frenzy.
In its rage, all four of the beast's eyes flashed crimson. With a sharp crack, the coarse bristles along its neck stood rigidly on end, giving it a truly terrifying appearance.
From his vantage point on the rooftop, Han Li saw this and felt a jolt of surprise. Before he could even begin to fathom the creature's intent, the beast lowered its massive head, and the upright bristles transformed into countless streaks of black light that shot like a storm of needles toward the stone wall.
The people on the wall seemed to have anticipated this particular attack. Though every face was taut with tension, they let out a coordinated shout and raised an array of heavy shields before them in unison.
A crackling volley of impacts hammered against the shields like a downpour.
The black spikes buried themselves several inches deep into the shields, but the majority were successfully blocked. However, a few individuals whose defenses had gaps were pierced clean through. They immediately crumpled and fell from the wall, their fate unknown.
No one had time to check on the fallen. At a shouted command, another volley of spears and arrows arced through the air, but the beast's yin wind blew down more than half of them once again.
Still, it seemed the creature could only launch that bristle attack from its neck. Although the spears jabbing into its back made it howl in pain, it could only struggle desperately to rise. It had no other means of retaliation.
Meanwhile, the tentacles formed from the purple mist held fast to its legs, refusing to loosen their grip for even a moment.
After five or six rounds of this ranged assault, the freezing wind from the beast's mouth finally dwindled to a fraction of its former power, no longer the devastating gale it had been.
Now the bows and spears on the stone wall intensified their barrage, peppering the beast's body until it resembled a pincushion bristling with shafts.
Yet even in this state, the creature appeared little harmed. It continued to roar in a frenzy, its massive black club swinging ceaselessly, pounding the surrounding ground into a cratered mess.
Watching this, Han Li felt a chill run through him at the beast's thick hide and extraordinary strength.
The villagers, however, seemed to have long since developed their own method for dealing with such creatures.
Immediately, a squad of men—agile and powerfully built—raced up onto the stone wall. They carried nothing but enormous spears, each three or four zhang long, tucked under their arms. The moment they reached the top, they hoisted the spears, took careful aim at the beast's sprawling body, and hurled them with everything they had.
The piercing whistle of the spears cutting through the air made Han Li's expression shift. Every one of these men possessed remarkable internal strength, hurling the massive spears as though they were stalks of grass. The force behind each throw was comparable to that of a powerful crossbow.
In an instant, blossoms of blood the size of bowls burst open across the beast's body. Not a single spear missed—every last one buried itself in the creature, effectively pinning it to the ground. The savage menace it had displayed moments ago vanished without a trace.
Cheers erupted across the stone wall as relieved looks spread across every face. The purple mist tentacles that had been binding the beast's legs finally dissipated into nothing.
Some of the villagers, caught up in their excitement, hurried to lower the wooden gate, blades in hand, eager to finish off the beast. Others turned to tend to their wounded companions.
But before the gate had been fully lowered, the beast—which had appeared to hang its head in defeat—suddenly rallied as if granted a final burst of life. It threw its head back and unleashed a heaven-shaking roar, then swung its arm with all its might and hurled the massive club, over ten zhang long, straight into the sky.
The club soared in a wide arc, hurtling toward the very center of the village with terrifying momentum.
Below it stood only women and children who had rushed out in jubilation, believing the beast was about to die. As seven or eight villagers were about to be crushed into pulp, the rest of the crowd turned pale and cried out in horror.