Real Mount and Blade Game

The Black Iron Legion, symbolizing the last resistance of the native undead of Longcheng, is melting away at an unprecedented rate, like solid ice thrown into a raging fire!

This fierce internal strife did not bring Shen Mu any joy.

His icy gaze pierced through the boiling battlefield, landing on the turbulent core of the dark domain.

The abyss is feeding at an accelerated pace!
The madness of the inferior skeleton and the resolute counterattack of the black iron skeleton both resulted in offering up even more of the forcibly "purified" energy torrents, which were more efficiently devoured by the core being. That darkness was like a bottomless black hole, greedily sucking up every bit of the essence of death and destruction on the battlefield.

The dark blue mist churned even more violently, and the invisible pressure emanating from its core was like the ever-rising tide of the abyss, heavily pounding against the walls of the Elf Forest. It even penetrated the sense of order brought by the Holy Light Corridor, planting a seed called "unknown fear" once again in the hearts of the soldiers.

On the ramparts, the brilliant holy flames atop the "Holy Light Torch Tower - Elf Forest Frontline Tower" encountered their first "physical" test from the core dark domain!
Several thick, asphalt-like, blackish-red columns of gas, emitting a pungent sulfurous stench, shot out silently from the core of the churning black mist, like deformed tentacles reaching out from the depths of hell. They did not attack the barrier in a straight line, but twisted and meandered strangely in the air, their target being the burning flames of the torch tower!

They seemed to come alive, clinging to the highly concentrated holy light of faith at the top of the tower, emitting a sickening "sizzling" sound of corrosion.

The golden runes flowing on the surface of the tower instantly burst forth with blazing light, and automatically activated purification rays rained down on the evil energy.

The dark red column of air was continuously purified and evaporated, emitting foul black smoke, and its corrosive momentum was forcibly curbed.

But everyone noticed that the time required to purify these energy pillars was far longer than the time required to remove a few inferior skeletons!
Moreover, this energy, projected directly from the core, carries a deeper, more chaotic will, and its corrosiveness far surpasses that of inferior skeletal crystal cores!
The light emanating from the tower underwent extremely brief and imperceptible changes in brightness.

"The core of the abyss... it is 'licking' the light!" Captain Legolas's voice was hoarse, his emerald eyes filled with solemnity.

Test!

The other party is using their own power to personally experience and evaluate the power of this newly born Holy Light Tower!

The battle resumed after a brief silence, but this time, the spearhead was no longer solely aimed at the fortress itself.

A larger squad of ten Abyssal Undead, with dark, intricate markings on their bones, suddenly broke free from the melee at the core's edge.

Unlike before, they no longer darted around wildly. Instead, guided by some inexplicable will, their goal was extremely clear—to sneak along the edge of the Holy Light Corridor and head straight for one of the medium-sized torch towers that was closest to the core and was also the first to be built!

This was not a blind charge. They used the terrain's shadows to move quickly, avoiding the sight of patrolling sentries, attempting to bypass the guarding infantry and crossbowmen, and strike straight at the tower's base!
At the top of the fortress, a wood elf mage responsible for the "Eye of the Sentinel" detection magic had a drastic change in expression.

"Sir! Target Torch Tower S-7, Abyssal Corpse Squad approaching! Number ten, high-speed stealth! Intending to attack the tower!" The voice was amplified and spread throughout the command center.

Shen Mu's eyes remained cold, without any hesitation.

hum!
The light atop the locked medium-sized torch tower blazed brightly once more!
Originally designed for area-of-effect purification and single-target automatic defense, the rune array is now operating beyond its capacity under preset commands!
The runic sphere atop the tower spun rapidly, focusing intensely!

The next moment!
A beam of holy light, only as thick as an arm but dazzlingly bright, trailing a fine golden thread, shot in with unparalleled precision from a tricky angle, like a spear of judgment hurled by a god!
It has no coverage area, concentrating energy to the extreme.

puff!puff!puff!
The ray flashed three times in quick succession at a speed that was difficult to detect with the naked eye!

Each flash precisely pierced the core of a stealthy wreck! There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a dull crackling sound.

The inferior skeletons that were hit were as if struck by an invisible giant hammer. Their entire bodies stiffened instantly, and a dense golden-white holy flame exploded at the crystal core, instantly purifying them from the inside out into flying burning bone fragments!
The whole process was lightning fast and completely silent.

The two remaining wrecked creatures were startled by the sudden and precise strike, and fell into brief confusion.

But the madness in their eyes ultimately overwhelmed the nascent "obedience," and they roared and pounced on the tower again.

What awaited them was an attack already prepared in the ground fortifications. The roar of Rhodok's heavy crossbows and the whistling of Vigiali arrows piercing the air followed...

Shen Mu's gaze never left the churning darkness at the western core. The attack on Torch Tower by the Inferior Corpse Squad seemed more like a probe, a feint. When the three deadly rays pierced through the Inferior Corpse, he clearly felt that the heart-pounding pulse deep within the core of the dark domain seemed to pause for a moment.

It wasn't astonishment, but rather... a brief pause after calculation. A cold, assessing gaze swept across space, past the barriers, past the torch tower that had just delivered the fatal blow.

On the ramparts, all the soldiers witnessed this brief but deadly exchange. Confidence in the Torch Tower's power was greatly boosted by the precise beams, but the invisible, assessing, and chilling gaze cast by the Abyss's core sent a shiver down their spines, as if a venomous snake's tongue had licked their skin.

It was not just a massive energy source; it was a thinking, extremely dangerous predator.

At this moment, the violent "internal strife" battlefield in the core black domain is gradually coming to an end.

The number of Abyssal Corpses continued to increase amidst the madness, pouring out of the darkness in an endless stream. Meanwhile, the Black Iron Legion, representing the local forces of Long City, finally showed signs of defeat after paying a heavy price.

The area where they had finally gathered was being rapidly devoured and swallowed up by a crimson tide, like a flood bursting its banks. The sporadic bursts of enormous, eerie green energy flashes, like the final flicker of a candle before it went out, were quickly engulfed by the surging crimson.

That symbol of the last stubbornness of the undead in Longcheng's old era is rapidly being extinguished.

The battlefield is rapidly becoming "purified".

The abyssal wrecks have become the absolute dominant force in the core area. They roam in groups, like schools of piranhas, greedily swimming among the thin gray mist and the newly formed black mist with slightly dark red edges.

As they looked eastward—towards the golden corridor piercing the darkness and the rock-solid fortress further on—for the first time, a profound hatred, stemming from the synchronization of their core will, was clearly emanating from the dark red soul light driven by pure destructive desire!

Within the fortified walls, the fleeting joy of victory was replaced by a deeper pressure. The soldiers gazed at the battlefield in the distance, gradually being uniformly tinged with dark red, and felt the increasingly heavy, malevolent gaze in the air, gripping their weapons tightly.

On the watchtower, Shen Mu's upright figure stood like a pillar of strength. His cold gaze swept over the battered yet still sturdy fortress, over the cluster of holy torches atop the towers, and finally settled back on the core dark domain in the west. The gray fog had become a thing of the past, compressed and transformed.

A deeper, thicker, and more viscous "abyssal black mist," resembling congealed blood with ominous dark red veins shimmering at its edges, was visibly devouring the remaining space and slowly spreading towards the Elf Forest...

It is moving.

It devoured its opponent and tasted the holy light.

Its gaze was now firmly fixed on the Elf Forest Barrier, at the intersection of the golden light and the steel forest.

The newly born will of the abyss has completed its final preparations.

The decisive battle is no longer far away.

The next tide of darkness will carry boundless abyssal flames and overwhelming deathly intent, crushing the wedge of light that pierced the eternal night with a completely unified and tyrannical will.

Everyone, both inside and outside the fortress, knew that the calm before the storm was over.

"Roar-!!!"

Just as the Black Iron Legion, symbolizing the last resistance of the native undead of Longcheng, completely collapsed and was swallowed and assimilated by the surging crimson tide—

From the deepest part of the Abyss Black Domain at the heart of Longcheng City, a shriek that defies description erupted!
That was not a sound, but the tearing of pure will, the roar of destruction, filled with the bloating sensation of devouring all things, the deep-seated hatred of light, and... the cold declaration of completing the transformation!

The next second, a thick, black and red beam of light, as viscous as congealed blood and as thick as a mountain, suddenly tore through the surging black mist and shot into the sky!

A pillar of light pierced the leaden sky above Longcheng, like a demonic pillar connecting to hell. It was not static; its interior was filled with twisting, churning shadows that seemed to flow with lava and asphalt.

A terrifying sulfur storm ensued!

The gale was no longer invisible; it carried intense heat that could scorch the skin, along with the pungent, nauseating stench of sulfur and the acrid smell of burning ashes, and surged forth violently from the depths of the core black domain like a stampede of ten thousand horses!

As the gale swept through, the remaining ruins groaned under the weight of the storm, corroding even faster. Bone dust from the ground was swept up like a sandstorm, mingling with tiny, dark red sulfur crystals the size of rice grains flying at high speed in the wind, creating a sharp "whoosh" sound as if countless tiny blades were scraping through the air.

On the fortified walls of the Elf Forest, the soldiers instantly felt immense pressure!
The gale pounded against the thick wooden walls, producing a dull rumble. The intense heat and stench seeped in through the gaps in the faceplates, making it suffocating. It felt as if countless scorching needles were pricking exposed skin in the air, and vision was blurred by the refraction of flying sand and dark red crystals.

"Hold your ground! Protect your faces!" the Rhodok sergeant roared, using his massive tower shield to protect the weaker crossbowmen behind him. The Vaegir archer squinted, braving the sandstorm to try and make out the distance.

Shen Mu stood at the very front of the watchtower, his mithril heavy armor gleaming coldly in the sulfurous wind. His cloak was whipped straight back by the gale, making a loud rustling sound, but he remained unmoved.

His icy gaze pierced through the raging sandstorm and the churning energy tides, locking onto the towering black and red pillar of light.

At the top of the pillar of light, endless dark energy, the pure death essence that was being devoured, and the tyrannical will emanating from the core of the abyss were converging and taking shape at an unprecedented speed!
A colossal, almost half-occupying silhouette of the city sky slowly coalesced at the top of the pillar of light!
The form of a jackal!

It was more solid and more terrifying than any previous projection!
Its body seemed to be constructed from flowing black and red lava and solidified shadows of the abyss, its thick limbs brimming with explosive destructive power. Where its head should have been, two enormous, deep pupils, like those of an ancient, frigid starfield, suddenly lit up!

This time, it was no longer a burning soul fire core mixed with abyssal demonic flames.

Those were two enormous, pure abyssal blood diamonds formed from the most evil essence!
The dark red light flowed, compressed, and spun wildly within, each flash radiating a tangible, chilling killing intent and an all-consuming greed. Just looking at it was enough to freeze one's soul!
This is no longer a tentative phantom.

It is the manifestation of the complete will of the creation of the Longcheng Abyss—the Shadow of the End!
"Ouch——!!!"

The final wolf shadow looked down at the territory it had devoured, its huge jaws opening and closing, letting out an abyssal roar that proclaimed complete domination and was filled with endless killing intent!

The roar was like an invisible giant wave, crashing against the barrier along with the sulfurous gale!

Boom!

The soldiers felt their hearts being squeezed tightly by an invisible hand, and even the sturdy wooden bodies of the Senmu Fortress ballistae groaned under the strain. On the frontmost watchtowers, two Vaegir archers were violently thrown overboard by the combined shockwaves and physical gusts of wind, and would have nearly fallen off the ramparts if they hadn't grabbed the railings in time.

“It…it’s coming!” Legolas gripped his longbow tightly, feeling the immense mournful cry and warning emanating from the forest’s will, his voice hoarse with barely suppressed pain.

As if in response to the howl of the End Wolf Shadow, a sudden and dramatic change occurred on the edge of the core black domain, on the battlefield where the "civil war" had just been quelled!

Countless abyssal skeletons, as if whipped by an invisible lash, abruptly ceased their chaotic wandering.

The crystal cores in their eye sockets, completely stained with dark red, erupted with an even more intense red light the instant the Will of the End Wolf descended! Countless tiny red dots instantly merged into waves of scarlet blood!
They twisted their ugly, contorted heads stiffly, their bones grinding together with a grating "crackling" sound. The next moment, the red light flashing from all the crystal cores pointed with unparalleled precision to the same target—

East! There stands the Elven Forest Barrier, burning so incongruously against the dim sky, and before it, the Holy Light Torch Tower, like golden fangs!

Pure, abyssal instinctual hatred erupted like a tsunami in the consciousness of all the inferior beings!
Slaughter! Devour! Destroy the light!
"Ho-ho-roar!!!"

The chaotic growls instantly transformed into a unified and fanatical battle cry! The boundless hordes of wreckage seemed to be infused with a ferocious military command; massive dark red waves surged and churned, converging into destructive torrents with overwhelming force! (End of Chapter)