Real Mount and Blade Game

Erien reveals that the "Shadow of the End" is the core of the corrupted Yenogu god's remains from the abyss, and both of them simultaneously sense the divine secrets and become enraged.

The surging abyssal undead gnolls charged through the boiling black mist, while the skeletal giants led even more skeletal legions to crush the battlefield.

Just as a new round of chaotic fighting was about to erupt, Shen Mu suddenly noticed abnormal data fluctuations—the Abyss's true target was actually the massive amount of divine corpses that had solidified on the battlefield! He coldly ordered a retreat: "If we continue fighting to the death, we will all become 'ingredients' on their table!"

Ariane's neither-life nor-death head was slightly raised, the decaying wood grain wrapped around his deathly white skin, and the dark patterns flowing on it twisted slowly as if they were alive.

His eerie green vortex eyes stared intently at Shen Mu, as if trying to imprint every word he was about to utter into the other's mind: "The Shadow of the End... its core is the resentment of the ancient god Yeno's remains and the shattered divine essence... the abyss twisted it, and it has become a mad god's shadow that thirsts to reignite its divine throne!"

The last word had barely fallen when, "BOOM—!"

It wasn't the sound of an explosion, but a terrifying silence where sound was completely suppressed and erased by a larger and more ferocious being!
An invisible, overwhelming pressure, capable of shaking the entire scorched earth, crashed down without warning. The hearts of every living creature on the battlefield seemed to be gripped tightly by an invisible hand, convulsing violently.

Behind Shen Mu, Caranzo's hand gripping the sword was so hard that his knuckles turned white, and a heavy gasp came from under his mask.

The heavy crossbow that Bandak was adjusting made a slight metallic crackling sound.

The elven captain Legolas's body trembled involuntarily like a twig in the wind, his long silver-gray hair danced wildly without wind, his soul perception was violently impacted, and visible pain welled up in his eerie green eyes.

The source of this terror is the viscous, black, oily area in the center of the battlefield—the core of the abyss!
"Roar!"

A wolf howl, filled with indescribable rage, a deep-seated curse, and a hint of panic and rage as if its most hidden core had been pierced, tore through the brief silence.

This sound could not be emitted by any beast in the material world; it was more like the final scream of countless dying vengeful spirits being forcibly compressed and twisted together, bursting out with materialized sound waves!

chi chi chi...

Wherever the sound waves touched, the black mist boiled and churned violently, like an ocean of ignited oil.

The thick darkness expanded, rose, and compressed at a speed visible to the naked eye!
The thin mist that had not yet completely dissipated at the edge of the battlefield was instantly swallowed up, and new black mist rolled out from the cracks in the broken and scorched earth, carrying with it a strong smell of sulfurous burnt and rotten blood, rushing towards us.

"Hiss...ga...ga...roar..."

A chilling, agonizing sound, like metal scraping against bone, echoed from the depths of the boiling black fog.

The mist was torn apart by sharp giant claws, and figures far more twisted and enormous than ordinary abyssal undead gnolls rushed out from it!

They are over three meters tall, their already twisted bodies covered with a slate-like keratin layer, and their gaping mouths are filled with interlocking sharp teeth like a jungle of daggers, dripping with a deep purple corrosive slime.

The flames burning in his eyes were no longer two will-o'-the-wisps, but churning dark red magma, exuding endless, violent killing intent!
The Abyssal Necromancer Gnolls—an elite variant whose numbers have surged dramatically, like a raging torrent of filth, trampling the repeatedly corroded scorched earth, with only one target—any living being that stands in their way, and that gray mist barrier that gathers the skeletal spirits of the dead!
They rushed into the battlefield, and the front line of the Seventh Dynasty's Black Iron Skeleton Legion, which was already teetering on the brink of collapse in the fierce battle, was instantly torn apart like a rotten wooden fence hit by a high-speed train!

"Giggle...giggle..."

The sickening sound of densely packed bones cracking was like hail falling. The shield wall formed by the skeletal heavy infantry couldn't even hold for a moment, collapsing under the ferocious onslaught of the mutant gnolls.

One by one, the skeletal warriors that once shone with the luster of black iron were smashed by ferocious claws, had their spines bitten off by giant mouths, and were scorched and corroded by the hot, molten saliva that sprayed and corroded them, turning them into broken bones and flying bone dust!

"Maintain defensive posture!" Shen Mu's voice rang out suddenly amidst the chaos, crystal clear. He remained completely calm, as still as a frozen lake, his longsword slightly raised, its tip pointing towards the defensive node at the rear of the formation rather than towards the surging enemy tide.

The massive kite shield at the front of the Holy Tree Knights sank half an inch in response, its root patterns shimmering with a faint emerald light.

The Swadian heavy knight stood like a statue, his cold eyes fixed on the front through the gaps in his visor.

The Khergit riders quickly adjusted, their lances pointing diagonally, forming a second, more agile and swift line of defense.

Legolas endured the stinging pain on his soul level, clasped his hands together, and fine elven runes sprouted from his fingertips, quickly merging into the protective shield of his formation, causing it to ripple with a semi-transparent emerald green, desperately resisting the mental shockwaves caused by the terrifying wolf howl.

Almost at the same time as the black fog expanded and the abyss launched a fierce counterattack, the relatively quiet, all-encompassing thick fog of ash suddenly "came to life"!

Om-!
A muffled hum of energy emanated from the depths of the gray fog, drowning out the clamor of the battlefield.

The grayish-white mist swirled violently, as if a huge, bottomless vortex was forming at its center.

At the edge of the vortex, the mist was rapidly compressed, condensed, and layered, forming towering, jagged walls of skeletons covered in sharp bone spikes and contorted, wailing faces. From the cracks in these walls, countless skulls, flickering with eerie green soul fire, writh, piled up, and stretched out in dense, overlapping mass…

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A heavy stomping sound, like the war drums of giants, came from the depths of the vortex. The gray mist churned violently, accompanied by a teeth-grinding sound of massive bones grinding together, as a huge bone foot covered with cracked bronze plates slammed out from the edge of the vortex!
The mere stomp of that bone foot caused visible ripples and vibrations in the ground, with dust, bone fragments, and freezing air exploding violently in all directions!

Then came the second one, a colossal leg like a pillar of heaven... The silhouette of a skeleton, far larger than imagined, slowly rose and took shape amidst the swirling mist and flying bone fragments!
Giant Skeleton Shadow!

It was much larger and more terrifying than everyone had imagined when Irene revealed it!
Its main body is not humanoid, but more like the skeleton of a prehistoric behemoth that has been forcibly pieced together and resurrected. Its ribs are like jagged ancient trees, and its spine is as thick as a stone pillar cast in steel. Layer upon layer of broken, thick, rusted bronze armor plates cover it. Beneath the ribs, there is not an empty space, but a slowly flowing vortex of dark blue ghostly energy that exudes an eternally frozen chill.

Instead of arms, two "forelimb" bones extend from the scapula, formed by the compression, twisting, and fusion of countless giant beast remains. The ends of these bones resemble tree stumps forcibly broken from giant trees.

Its skull is difficult to describe precisely, but one can vaguely discern features that are a fusion of those of a giant lizard, a mammoth, and some kind of bird. A soul fire, a mixture of ghostly blue and pale white, burns and leaps wildly within it, like an inextinguishable furnace of hell! Two broken and twisted giant horns point diagonally toward the sky, entwined with congealed black blood and cursed patterns.

"Roar--!"

The colossal skeletal shadow roared silently toward the Boiling Abyss! It was not a sound, but a visible, gray-white wave of energy, carrying with it deathly coldness and endless hatred!

boom!
The surging tide of elite abyssal gnolls was instantly swept away by this invisible impact imbued with the power of the law of death.

The mutant gnolls in the front row suddenly stopped moving, their rapidly healing wounds instantly frozen!
The boiling black mist was forcibly torn open, and icy gray mist rushed in, instantly freezing dozens of elite mutants along with the rotten, scorched earth beneath their feet!
Frozen within the ice were the grotesque forms of their previous ferocious charge. A massive skeletal arm rose, its stump-like end slamming down!
Boom!
A dull, chilling thud accompanied the tremors of the earth. A whole area of ​​mutant gnolls, along with the ground beneath their feet, was instantly crushed and flattened by an irresistible force!
Bone fragments, flesh, mud, and gravel exploded in a radial pattern, like an insect nest that had been carelessly trampled by a naughty child!
The appearance of the skeletal giant was like a huge signal! With each movement of its massive body, the ground trembled.

The grayish-white mist surged even more violently from beneath its feet and from the deeper cracks in the earth! Within the mist, more dark figures coalesced, rose, and crawled out!
Not only were heavily armored skeletal infantrymen wielding bone swords and giant shields filling the gaps, but giant skeletal beasts, comparable in size to battering rams, also appeared in the mist. Even high in the sky, skeletal dragons, formed from the remains of countless birds and flapping their tattered wings, began to circle and blot out the sun, their empty eye sockets flashing with ominous phosphorescence!
These newly emerged skeletal legions are a mixed bag of troops, far exceeding the size and strength of the frontline remnants who were routed by the surprise attack, carrying with them the suffocating, deathly military might of the Seventh Dynasty at its peak!

Led by the skeletal giants, they silently and resolutely launched an unstoppable counterattack against the area occupied by the abyssal black mist!
The colossal skeletal shadows led the way, acting as a devastating battering ram, while the newly emerged, highly skilled skeletal phalanxes, like massive millstones, steadily advanced and crushed it from behind! The abyss surged with boiling energy, and the skeletal army launched a fierce counterattack!
The vast battlefield, like two dormant volcanoes blasted with endless explosives, was instantly ignited and erupted completely! The black tide and the gray-white torrent collided violently!
The newly deployed elite Abyssal Necromancer Gnoll variants, with their twisted power and corrosive properties, frantically tore at the bronze armor plates on the skeletal giant's legs, while more variants fearlessly charged at the well-organized square formations behind the skeletal giant.

The skeletal soldiers retaliated with absolute discipline and the silence of the dead.

Black flames and icy breaths clashed, bone blades collided with corrosive giant claws, and the energy shock of self-destruction and the death aura activated by the bone array annihilated and squeezed each other.

Broken bone fragments danced wildly in the air like gray snowflakes, while mutilated limbs burning with black flames fell like raindrops.

The filthy, foul-smelling mixture of black blood and dark blue ice crystals that had frozen cursed spirits flowed rampantly across the scorched earth, creating a horrific, bloody battlefield.

The frenzied roars of the soul, the chaotic whispers corrupted by the abyss, and the silent shrieks of countless skeletal souls intertwined to form a symphony of destruction that enveloped the entire battlefield!

"Something's wrong!"

Just as the battle was about to erupt, and the violent forces were annihilating and clashing, almost dragging everyone into the center of the vortex of destruction, Shen Mu's unique, cold, and pure voice, like an icy sword piercing through the chaos, clearly pierced the eardrums of everyone in the core command circle behind him.

Kalanzo whirled around, his bloodshot eyes peering through the gaps in his visor at his lord. A profound confusion momentarily overwhelmed his boiling fighting spirit: "My lord?! The Abyss and the Bone Shards are fighting desperately! An opportunity..."

"Data link breakpoint scan initiated! Scan range: core combat zone! Key markers: anomalous energy accumulation points and flow directions!"

Shen Mu didn't pause, nor did he intend to explain. Deep within his pupils, countless subtle yet extremely precise streams of data began to operate frantically, like the most sophisticated computer instruction set!

A point of pure, dazzling white light suddenly appeared between the eyebrows, then vanished in an instant.

But in his personal perspective, the entire composition of the world has changed!

No longer is it smoke, magical effects, and shattered bones everywhere; everything has been analyzed, stripped away, and reduced to the most basic "information"!
Before him, the raging battlefield, the boiling black mist and swirling gray mist, and the enormous skeletal shadows and abyssal monsters that were like moving mountains were instantly stripped of their physical form in his field of vision!
Instead, a three-dimensional energy landscape composed of countless fine grids has been created!

The background color of the energy diagram is a pale gold defensive field representing the barrier of the living, but at this moment, this pale gold is being frantically squeezed and eroded by two violent and surging "color blocks"!

On one side is a boiling, churning abyss of black tide, constantly oozing a polluting, viscous, bloody color.

On the other side is the gray death realm, solidified and cold, constantly emanating a frost-like aura that corrodes the soul.

These two purest "information blocks" are fiercely entangled and collided at the core of the scorched earth! Each collision causes large areas of pixels to disintegrate on Shenmu Vision's energy map!
However, this devastating collision, under Shen Mu's highly focused attention at this moment, showed a completely different direction!
The forces that were forcibly torn apart, crushed, and obliterated—whether it was the twisted fragments of the soul from the abyss, the filthy flesh and blood energy, or the pure icy death energy of the skeletons and undead—did not dissipate into the world as usual, nor were they purified by holy light or diluted by the environment!
In his view, these fragmented and dissipated energies were being powerfully attracted by an invisible black hole!
Centered on the most intense battleground—roughly the area at the feet of the skeletal giant—where freezing and corrosion intertwined in chaos, countless invisible, extremely fine yet incredibly dense "energy filaments" formed!
These threads converge into a net, then into streams, and finally, like rivers flowing into the sea, they rush towards the northwest—towards the collapsed core black domain deep within the ruins of Longcheng!

Even more bizarrely, as the intensity of the battlefield's destruction suddenly increased, and as lives were continuously transformed into "resources" from the battlefield debris, the "signals" fed back from the black vortex node in the distant northwest appeared in Shen Mu's data vision with a brief, abnormal, and extremely greedy "pulsating" frequency! It was as if it was enjoying a sumptuous feast!
【侦测到高强度死亡、混乱、深渊本源复合能量流‘逆流’现象！流向坐标：深渊核心黑域(N34°12.8' W118°32.5')。核心信息熵正在高速增长！熵值上升速率：0.37%/s……警告！能量逆流规模超出战场熵增阈值！熵值上升速率：0.42%/s…0.49%/s…0.51%/s！】

The cold system notification echoed sharply in Shen Mu's mind like an alarm bell!
Accompanied by the notification sound, in the direction of the deep, dark core in the northwest, a blindingly blood-red area representing the collapse of extremely dangerous "negative entropy" flashed violently on the energy map in his field of vision!

"Everyone, listen to my command!" Shen Mu's voice was firm and unwavering, instantly drowning out the roar of the battlefield. "Abandon engagement! Provide cover! Retreat—!"

"retreat?!"

This order was like a boulder thrown into boiling oil!

Caranzo practically roared, the air emanating from beneath his visor carrying scorching sparks.

He lunged forward, his broadsword instinctively pointing at the chaotic heart of the battlefield, his voice distorted with utter bewilderment: "My lord! They're locked in a fierce battle! The Abyss's momentum is about to be suppressed! This skeletal giant can definitely fight the End Wolf Shadow to a standstill! Retreat now?!"

Bandak's thick fingers clenched the heavy crossbow, making it creak, and the muscles on his weathered face were taut.

Although he didn't object as vehemently as Caranzo, his narrowed eyes were fixed on Shen Mu, burning with disapproval—this was tantamount to giving up the easy profits!

Even Legolas, the elven captain who had been calmly coordinating the defensive barrier, showed a clear look of surprise and hesitation.

He could feel more clearly the chaotic magical fluctuations, the impact of deathly cold air, and the corrosive force field of the abyss intertwining in their most primal form, like two giant beasts tearing and gnawing at each other, their flesh mangled and bloody.

“Commander,” Legolas’s voice trembled slightly, “the power of that skeletal giant… though it hates the cold, it is indeed suppressing the expansion of the Abyss… Is it time to retreat…”

"Timing?!" Shen Mu turned around abruptly. His face, illuminated by the hellish light and shadow in the distance, was as cold as polished jade.

The rapidly flowing data light deep within his eyes suddenly faded, but the remaining sharp penetrating power became even clearer and more captivating.

His gaze was like lightning, sweeping over Kalanzo's fiery eyes, Bandak's hand gripping the crossbow, and finally settling on Legolas's pale face filled with astonishment.

"They're fighting fiercely? Who are they fighting for?" Shen Mu's voice was deep and clear, each word like an icicle piercing the frozen air. "Abyss? Bones? Wrong!"

His sword suddenly rose, not pointing at any physical enemy, but rather at the void—the core area of ​​the battlefield, which was like a giant meat grinder, rolling with debris, energy, and destruction.

"They're desperately acting as the best sustenance! They're desperately dragging us all to the slaughterhouse of the abyss's table!" Shen Mu's voice suddenly rose, like a sharp blade piercing through the smoke of gunpowder. "What does the Necromancer Emperor Anhe want? The Shadow of the End?! Or the millions of bones and jackal souls crushed on this battlefield?! Is the abyss boiling? It's greedily devouring these readily available 'nourishments'!"

He paused, his cold gaze falling on the thick darkness in the distance, which was faintly visible but in his perception clearly pointed to the northwest.

"Continue to get involved?" Shen Mu's lips curled into an extremely cold smile. "We're working for that gaping maw of abyss! If we keep fighting to the death, every one of us, along with this blood-stained rampart beneath our feet, will become the most delicious tonic on their plate!"

"Knights of the Holy Tree! 'Root Severance' cover formation deployed! Target the southwest corner! Isolate the impact energy!" Shen Mu's commands rained down like a mountain collapsing. "Swadian Heavy Armor! 'Rock Solid' Formation! Alternately cover the vanguard! Khergit Bandits! 'Poisonous Bees Return to the Nest'! Use your shortbows to cover the flanks! Block scattered pursuit! Hurry!!!"

This order was like pouring a bucket of ice water on a burning engine!
Despite their doubts and soaring fighting spirit, Caranzo, Bandak, and the others were all silenced by Shen Mu's penetrating shout and unyielding pressure.
The trust built up over years of fighting side by side, and the experience of being saved countless times by Shen Mu's unpredictable decisions, overwhelmed the temptations and impulses before them.

"The Holy Tree Knights—!!" Kalanzo suppressed the violent turmoil in his heart, turned around abruptly, and roared.

The core contingency plans, which had been prepared long before the battle, were instantly activated. (End of Chapter)