Real Mount and Blade Game

The frigid air stagnated inside and outside the fortified walls, and beneath the murky smoke and filth, a cruel drama unfolded that defied all expectations.

Before the fortress, the holy light curtain burning in Tallinn, having absorbed the surging power of faith transformed from the "blood of God," shone with golden light and was so solid it was suffocating.

Like an invisible wall burning with the devout faith of billions, it kept out the suicidal charge of the Abyss gnoll demons. Any evil that stepped into the light barrier rapidly crumbled and vaporized under its intense purifying power; even approaching and clinging to it became a luxury. The Abyss's fiercest claws crashed into this wall of light, shattering into pieces, achieving nothing but wasting their own numbers and creating ripples of filth.

On the west side of this dazzling wall of light, amidst the surging abyssal black mist and the stagnant ashes of the dead, another, more primal and brutal blood feud is erupting.

The grayish-white mist, like the final shroud of the dead, was completely torn apart amidst the deafening, invisible shrieks of the souls.

Those silent, arrayed legions of black iron skeletons were once the last glorious mark of the Seventh Dynasty of Longcheng, but they were devoured and ravaged by the abyss as nourishment.

Now, their last echoes, buried deep beneath the ashes, have been rekindled by some inexplicable, venomous will, reigniting their cold, ghostly green soul fire, and crawling out of the "dead ground" that the abyss thought it had long since digested!

The decaying black iron shields reformed into a forest-like array, the rusted spears pointed directly at the enemy, and countless longbows made of bones were silently drawn to their full extent.

The giant skeletal commanders, their eye sockets burning with extreme cold, their soulfire piercing across the scorched earth, nailing themselves to the chaotic, disorganized abyssal gnolls who had their backs to them—it was these abyssal minions that crushed them, trampling their will into dust!

*Pfft!* *Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!* The eerie green rain of death arrows, silent yet carrying a soul-chilling hatred, swept fiercely into the flanks of the army of abyssal wrecks like a storm of millions of green poisonous bees!

This sudden betrayal was devastating.

The gnolls were in a state of confusion and frenzy due to their failure to launch a frontal assault on the fortress. Most of their attention was focused on the light screen of the tower and the enraged shadow of the End Wolf above, leaving their rear guard almost completely unprepared.

The skeletal arrows easily pierced their relatively fragile carapaces. The eerie green flames of resentment clashed and annihilated the raging dark red abyssal demonic flames within their bodies, like mortal enemies. Each annihilation was accompanied by the mournful cry of shattering bones and a small-scale explosion of soul corrosion.

The Abyssal Gnoll army was as if cleaved in two by a giant scythe of death, its rear ranks instantly descending into chaos and collapse. The horrific scene was branded into the hearts of every soldier who witnessed it.

Within the fortified walls, a strange stillness prevailed.

Shen Mu stood atop the watchtower, every edge of his mithril heavy armor seemingly absorbing all the surrounding light, reflecting only a cold, dark luster.

He did not issue orders to attack or rescue either side.

Beneath the visor, the gaze was like a frozen glacier, sweeping across the hellish scene of frenzied carnage below without a ripple.

“Unbelievable… They… They started fighting each other!” Caranzo wiped away the ash that had splattered onto his visor, his rough voice filled with barely suppressed astonishment and excitement that followed a tremor.

The chilling feeling of being watched by the shadow of the End Wolf had not completely dissipated.

"The backlash from the abyss..." Legolas's voice was dry and weary, his emerald eyes reflecting the ancient gray mist and eerie green arrows that soared into the sky. "They devoured too many things they shouldn't have, accumulated too much hatred... The resentment of the Seventh Dynasty's undead has not completely dissipated, but has lain dormant and coalesced in the core filth of the abyss... This land is rebelling against its true master!" The information conveyed by the will of the forest confirmed his guess; those eerie green soulfires carried the pain of the earth being desecrated.

Bandak remained silent, his sharp eyes fixed on the chaos on the flank of the battlefield, his hands constantly fiddling with the tactical rangefinder crystal, silently calculating the rate at which both sides were losing strength.

"My lord, this is a golden opportunity!" the Rhodok heavy infantry commander exclaimed. "Let the heavy cavalry launch a surprise attack..."

"Silence." Shen Mu's icy voice interrupted him, offering no explanation but carrying an undeniable air of authority.

His gaze slowly swept over the key generals around him. "The more ruthlessly they kill, the less cost we will incur when we take action."

He turned to the fierce battleground outside the city, the battlefield a three-way struggle, and delivered his orders in a low but clear voice: "Order: Vaegir archers, Rhodok heavy crossbowmen, and Forestwood Fortress ballista positions. Maintain long-range firepower density, lock onto targets—anyone who crosses the warning line, whether Abyssal wrecks or Seventh Dynasty undead, kill them on sight! No mistakes allowed!"

"Understood!" The order was quickly relayed. On the city wall, the archers and gunners immediately recalibrated their targets. The aiming lines of their arrows and crossbows, like invisible death rulers, drew a deadly red line at the boundary between the light of Tallinn and the battlefield outside.

The soldiers' eyes were tense. They hadn't fully processed the shock of the three sides attacking simultaneously, but the lord's cold command brought them to the point of focus before the battle—to hold this line and prevent any side from stepping into the "safe zone" in front of the ramparts.

"Caranzo." Shen Mu's voice turned to the valiant knight commander. "Your subordinate is here!" Caranzo immediately straightened his chest.

"All Swadian heavy cavalry, including the reserves that were just withdrawn, immediately assemble around the Holy Tree Knights, at the inner side of the main gate and the two backup exits on the left and right. Don your armor, prepare yourselves, feed your horses, and take turns resting. Await... the final assault order." Shen Mu's wording was very precise; it was "final assault," not a simple defense or counterattack.

Caranzo's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "My lord, do you want to...?" He was thinking of reaping the rewards.

“Bandak.” Shen Mu did not answer Caranzo directly, but turned his gaze to this experienced battlefield commander.

"The ballista positions should maintain deterrent fire, and bolts should be used sparingly. All operators should take turns resting to ensure that the artillery crews can provide the fastest possible suppressive fire when the final assault order is given!"

Bandak immediately understood that Shen Mu was gathering strength, and nodded vigorously: "Understood! It will give the lads a breather, and they'll keep their knives drawn."

"Legolas." Finally, Shen Mu looked at the elven captain, "Raise the Sentinel's Eye to maximum intensity. Cover the entire northwestern battlefield, focusing on monitoring the changes in the wolf shadow's condition at the core of the Abyss, and... the movements of the Seventh Dynasty's Skeleton Legion's core command node. Report immediately if any side shows obvious signs of weakening or large-scale collapse!"

"Yes, my lord! The Eye of the Forest will pierce through that darkness!" Legolas' spirits lifted, and he immediately closed his eyes. Emerald light flowed around him, merging with the power of the ancient wood that had been revitalized throughout the entire barrier. The invisible perception was like the finest probe, piercing the chaotic core.

All instructions revolve around the same core strategy: sit back and watch the tigers fight.

Shen Mu turned his gaze back to the heart of the battle.

After suffering a brutal backstab, the Abyssal Gnoll finally realized what had happened.

A group of berserk demon soldiers turned around and roared as they pounced on the "corpses" that had suddenly appeared behind them. Black demonic flames and ghostly green soul fire clashed fiercely, countless bones were smashed by giant claws, and some gnolls were pierced by spears and burned to ashes by the flames of vengeful spirits.

The Seventh Dynasty's skeletal legions silently and efficiently resisted, their heavy black iron shields forming a moving wall, their spears thrusting out like a forest, and their skeletal archers continuously hurling deadly rains of death.

They seemed to completely ignore the direction of the barrier, their eyes fixed only on these wretched remains of the abyss.

Above, the black and red pillar of light supporting the Shadow of the End Wolf twisted even more erratically, and the rage in the giant eye seemed to have gained a hint of anxiety.

Its immense will was frantically suppressing the churning gray mist, attempting to regain control, but it clearly couldn't immediately withdraw all its power to deal with the Seventh Dynasty's sudden backlash. A cold and eerie balance had formed both inside and outside the fortified walls. On one side, a brutal, boiling struggle between black and white; on the other, the holy light's sharp blades were poised to strike.

The soldiers held their breath, watching the silent pile of corpses and blood outside the city, feeling the faint tremors of the ground beneath their feet. In addition to the smell of gunpowder and blood, the air was filled with a suffocating silence before the great battle.

Shen Mu's head, covered by a mithril visor, turned slightly, his gaze finally sweeping over the heavily armored cavalry below, ready to charge, before settling back on the chaotic, turbulent battle to the west, like a hunter waiting for its prey to tear each other apart until they are exhausted.

"Hurry up and recover. Stay vigilant. Their victory or defeat..." Shen Mu's icy voice rang in the generals' ears like a declaration, "is our warplane."

The fortified "ring of thorns" is slowly sharpening its thorns beside the vortex of death.

On the heavily fortified command and observation platform, the air was so heavy it seemed as if it would drip water.

Shen Mu stood at the forefront like a cold statue forged from mithril. His unwavering gaze, hidden beneath his helmet, pierced through the turbulent energy currents ahead of the barrier, projecting with crystal clarity onto the brutal, meat-grinding battlefield to the northwest.

The dark red demonic flames of the Abyss's inferior remains clashed fiercely with the ghostly green soul fire of the Seventh Dynasty's skeletal legion, annihilating and exploding.

Each impact was accompanied by a tooth-chilling crack of bones and a piercing hiss of annihilating energy. The skeletal archers unleashed a dense, eerie green storm of death arrows, relentlessly sweeping through the chaotic rear of the abyssal army; while the gnolls, burning with abyssal power, wielded corrosive black iron scimitars, cleaving breaches in the black iron shield formations and smashing spear-wielding skeletal soldiers to pieces. Soldiers from both sides fell continuously at the edge of the battlefield, their remains piling up like mountains.

Shen Mu just watched.

Watching the Abyssal Gnolls be caught between two forces: the gray mist of vengeance and the golden walls of holy light; watching the black and red pillar of light supporting the Shadow of the End twist and undulate violently; watching the Abyssal minions and the undead reap each other's lives above the ruins of Long City, with hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of death essences dissipating every second, absorbed by the writhing, greedy, scorched earth below the battlefield, only to be drawn back by some deeper force...

He was waiting. Like the most patient hunter, he waited for the moment when the two tigers would fight and both would be severely injured.

Inside the fortress, his orders were being executed efficiently—the heavy cavalry were resting, the crossbowmen were on alert, and all forces were lying dormant under the restraint of his cold will, like a bowstring being slowly pulled taut, all for that final, fatal blow.

However, his mental network—a perception that covered the entire battlefield like the most sophisticated detection instrument—captured an unusually intense "pulse" emanating from the depths of the core black domain.

It wasn't an angry roar, but rather... a kind of almost anxious "hissing"!
"Whoa ...

Suddenly, the terrifying wolf howl originating from the very core of the ruins of Longcheng, seemingly emanating from the abyss itself, resounded through the sky once more! But this time, the will contained within the howl was entirely different!
It was no longer the brutality, destructive desire, or cold calculation of before. This howl was so penetrating it sent shivers down one's spine, containing within it... a kind of violent anxiety born of deep offense!

It's as if a supreme predator has discovered that its carefully raised "food," which it considers part of itself, has been crawled out by a deadly venomous insect that dares to devour its master!

Accompanied by this earth-shattering howl, a visible, jet-black gale containing the will of the abyss suddenly erupted from the core black domain!
This wind was not a natural wind; it was composed of countless tiny, howling streams of dark energy, like the tongues of billions of venomous snakes, carrying a bone-chilling cold and extreme corrosiveness, violently rushing towards the thick gray fog that shrouded the skeleton army!
Alas--!!!
The howling wind crashed into the stagnant, coffin-like wall of gray mist.

Violent shaking!
Large swaths of gray fog were violently torn, blown away, and peeled off, like a tattered shroud!
The countless fragments of bones piled up on the battlefield were swept up by this black gale, flying through the air like sand before being instantly corroded and destroyed. The decaying dust that had been sealed for thousands of years was wildly stirred up, and the visibility on the battlefield dropped sharply.

however……

Legolas snapped his eyes open, his face deathly pale with disbelief: "My lord! The core of the gray fog... hasn't dissipated! The wind only tore open the outer layer!"

Shen Mu's icy gaze had already locked onto his target.

Sure enough, deep within the gray mist that had been violently torn apart by the abyssal winds, in the core area where countless eerie green soul flames converged, the gray-white aura not only failed to dissipate, but instead seemed to become... even more concentrated! Even heavier! under the "cleansing" of the abyssal will!

Right at the very core of that deepest, churning gray fog—

An enormous, indistinct black shadow slowly and irresistibly... emerged!

It resembles a mountain-like hill of bones, or the remains of a giant supporting the decaying sky.

Its height even faintly surpasses the skeleton of the abandoned building on the edge of the battlefield!
Thick, grayish-white mist flowed around its body like blood, while countless eerie green soul flames flickered on its surface or deep within its torso, like stars embedded in the skeletal mountain.

It could only be barely discerned that it had a human-like outline—a huge, hunched torso, a head that looked like a broken mountain topped with a twisted crown, and... a lower limb that was stuck down into the gray fog earth like the base of a mountain.

This enormous skeletal shadow stood silently in the center of the gray fog, yet it exuded a hatred and stillness a hundred times more intense and a thousand times colder than all the previous skeletal commanders combined.

Its hollow "gaze" seemed to pierce through layers of gray fog and gale, landing directly on the End Wolf shadow that was violently distorted and fluctuating in anger above the core black domain!

It is a kind of ultimate revenge obsession that comes from being buried for thousands of years, having its tendons and bones pulled out, and being completely devoured as nourishment!
The final wolf shadow let out an even higher and more frenzied roar! The rage in its pair of abyssal blood diamond giant eyes almost burst forth as solid flames!

The howling winds from the abyss grew even fiercer, tearing at the battlefield and whipping up countless shattered bone fragments and burning sulfur dust.

The enormous gray-mist skeletal shadow swayed slightly under the impact of the gale, its surrounding mist churning and boiling, but its roots deep within this decaying earth remained unmoved.

The gray fog only became more turbulent and condensed, like the protective miasma of a giant shadow.

On one side are the foreign predators who occupy the core and control the power of the filthy abyss, while on the other side is the remnant of the native will, which was "fed" and nurtured by the abyss itself from the depths of this land and formed from endless death and hatred!

Two deadly forces, powerful enough to distort reality, clashed in the most primal and brutal confrontation on this ravaged wasteland, under the watchful eye of the Holy Light Barrier!
Beneath Shen Mu's helmet, the corners of his mouth seemed to form an extremely cold arc.

The game was more...interesting than he had expected.

The raging torrents of the abyss, instead of crushing the obstacles, have instead forced out an even deeper darkness upon the land of Longcheng. At the center of this vortex of death, a terrifying variable is being born that even the Lord of the Abyss could not have foreseen.

He gripped the hilt of the mithril knight sword at his waist, and his mental network brought the entire barrier's prepared power to its highest level.

The fisherman is still waiting, but the enormous creature underwater has already revealed only the tip of its iceberg.

At the heart of the storm, an all-consuming end is brewing.

And this fortified stronghold, like a nail driven into the storm, must seize every fleeting opportunity. (End of Chapter)