Real Mount and Blade Game

On the scorched earth battlefield west of the fortified stronghold, the smoke of battle had not yet dissipated, and the winds formed by distorted energy were still howling.

Shen Mu's order—that resolute "Withdraw"—was transformed into a concrete action signal amidst the horns of the Swadian heavy cavalry and the whistles of the Holy Tree Knights.

However, the expected pullback trajectory did not continue.

Just as the elite troops began to orderly shrink their formation, and the giant shields of the Swadian infantry phalanx turned inward to form a mobile barrier, the data stream deep in Shen Mu's pupils suddenly accelerated.

His "vision" pierced through the thick necromantic gray fog and abyssal black barrier above the battlefield, firmly locking onto the depths of the ruins of Long City—the core area of ​​the abyss that was throbbing wildly.

The energy warning was like a drop of water dripping into boiling oil, exploding in his consciousness with a sharp whistling sound.

"Stop!" Shen Mu's voice was like the clash of metal and stone, instantly drowning out the noise of the battlefield.

The heavily armed garrison, which obeyed orders without question, seemed to be held back by invisible reins, and all its advance came to an abrupt halt.

His sharp gaze swept towards the heart of the battlefield.

The skeletal giants of the Seventh Dynasty and the giant mutated gnolls newly summoned by the Abyssal Wolf Shadow are locked in a devastating battle.

The skeletal axe, imbued with the power of hatred, tore through space with each swing, while the giant claws, burning with abyssal flames, retaliated with filthy corrosion, resulting in a series of energy explosions.

But as Shen Mu had discerned, this was not intended to destroy the opponent. Each shattering of bones, each extinguishing of abyssal fire, transformed into an invisible yet perceptible torrent of energy, flowing like rivers into the sea, and was frantically drawn in by the violently pulsating core of the abyss!
The black light in the core area grew increasingly deep and solid, like a demonic egg about to hatch, and the destructive will brewing within it caused dangerous scarlet ripples to appear on Shen Mu's system interface.

He had initially judged that retreat was the key strategy to avoid sacrificing himself to the abyss, but now he saw a fleeting, deadly opportunity that was both risky and promising.

Elder Legolas, the wood elf standing nearby, suddenly changed his expression drastically. His withered fingers pressed tightly to his temples, and his voice trembled with an indescribable chill: "Lord! That dark realm... it's 'transforming'! The energy from the battle between the undead and the abyss is pushing it across a certain... divine threshold! Once it stabilizes..."

Kalanzo gripped his greatsword tightly, the gleaming silver spine reflecting his anxious eyes: "Lord, isn't this a trap set by the Abyss's main force? Retreating is the best course of action!"

"Quite the opposite." Shen Mu's voice was icy cold, yet contained a storm within it. "The Abyss's entire 'focus' is reaching its peak in this devouring. It's gambling everything on its ultimate evolution. This is precisely its most vulnerable moment, its most vulnerable and defenseless! It's also the moment when it must reveal its coordinates!"

He turned to Erian, who had not yet completely vanished and remained silent, and said, "Tell your 'Black Emperor' that the prey is at his mouth. Will you join forces to share it, or continue to let the Abyss devour it all?"

Ariane's empty, eerie green eyes flickered, and her greyish-white lips opened and closed silently, as if conveying some invisible signal.

A moment later, his emotionless voice rang out: "His Majesty responded: 'As you can see, the rationing begins.'"

"boom--!"

Almost the instant Erien finished speaking, the enormous skeletal shadow in the distance suddenly unleashed a soul-shaking shriek that shook the entire battlefield.

It abandoned its entanglement with the giant gnolls, and its massive skeletal body suddenly turned around, leading the remaining remnants of the Black Iron Skeleton Legion behind it in a resolute, life-or-death charge, enveloping the sky in a cloud of ashes and death mist, like a giant gray spike, fiercely stabbing towards the pulsating core black domain where the Abyss Wolf Shadow was located!
The target was crystal clear—that vortex that devoured all the energy of those who died in battle!

At the same time, an even colder force field of will, carrying a thousand years of pent-up resentment, emanated from the depths of the ruins of Longcheng, as if the remnants of the Seventh Dynasty's undead army had been given a unified will and direction anew.

All the skeletal soldiers struggling in the scorched earth and battered by the abyssal wreckage simultaneously abandoned their immediate enemy, like iron filings drawn by an invisible magnet, merging into the gray torrent stirred up by the skeletal giant shadow.

The Abyssal Corpse, having lost its target, appeared somewhat bewildered before being smashed to pieces by the desperate turning charge.

"The time has come!" Shen Mu's eyes flashed with a blinding light. He looked no further at anyone, standing tall on the command platform, his voice piercing through the entire Bastion Assault Group: "All units—adjust course! Target—the core of the Abyss Wolf Shadow Black Domain! Advance with full force! In my name, 'Thorn Bastion'—deploy!"

"Woo-hum-hum!"

A vast and pure light suddenly spread out from Shen Mu! Countless chains made of holy light runes extended from the command platform beneath his feet, instantly connecting every soldier in the Bastion Assault Group.

The heavy plate armor of the Swadian heavy cavalry, the mithril greatswords of the Tree Knights, the spear tips gripped by the Khergit bandits, the bowstrings and arrows drawn by the Wood Elf hunters, and even the heavy crossbows in the hands of the Rhodok crossbowmen... were all covered by a flowing, incandescent white light, like liquid crystal!

This is precisely the core strength of the deeply rooted barrier – an extended projection of the Holy Light Tower Forest network rules!

The "Thorn Barrier" is not a physical city wall, but a collective blessing field constructed with the power of rules! At this moment, all the soldiers and weapons covered by it become mobile miniature "Holy Light Towers," and the power of purification is highly concentrated and activated!
"Target locked, Abyssal Wolf Shadow Core!" Bandak's icy voice echoed on the arrow tower. The Vegia Archer's frost power seamlessly merged with the holy light, and the arrow tip shone with a dazzling interplay of ice blue and blazing white.

"Khergit—replace the 'Radiant Tail' with the whistling arrow! Maximum range coverage!" the Khergit scout commander shouted sternly.

"Swadia—Heavy Cavalry, advance on the left flank! Holy Tree Knights, protect on the right flank!" Kalanzo raised his greatsword, which shone brightly.

"Senmu Fortress—saturate the way and clear the path for infantry and cavalry!" roared the artillery position.

"go ahead!"

With Shen Mu's command, this torrent of steel, imbued with divine radiance, abandoned its original retreat and instantly turned into a giant sword of light radiating purifying power, charging fiercely towards the location of the Abyss Wolf Shadow in the core area of ​​the Longcheng Ruins!

The pulsating black light in the core area of ​​the abyss seemed to have sensed a deadly threat.

A wolf howl, filled with extreme rage yet tinged with barely perceptible panic, ripped through the sky!
"Ouch——!!!!!"

The sound waves, carrying a tangible impact, swept across the entire battlefield in an instant. The black light trembled and expanded violently! The abyssal fog, like a colossal beast awakened, surged wildly. Then, a number far exceeding the previous numbers, the abyssal undead gnolls, like a black torrent bursting its banks, roared forth from every shadowy corner of the core black domain and the ruins of Long City!

Even more chilling is the new variant mixed in with it—the Abyssal Corrupted Giant Skeleton Gnoll!

These monsters are generally over ten meters tall. Their bodies are not flesh and blood, but huge skeletal structures pieced together from countless abyssal wrecks, human skeletons, and even rotten siege weapon fragments!
Thick, asphalt-like abyssal demonic fire burned in the gaps between its skeletons, and eerie green soul flames danced in the eye sockets of its enormous skull.

With each stomp of their giant claws, they left footprints of burning, foul-smelling slime; with each swing of their arms, they kicked up billowing, highly corrosive black smoke!

Their power was astonishing; every step they took caused the earth to tremble. Their enormous skeletal bodies wielded burning hammers and twisted siege pillars as they madly charged toward the Seventh Dynasty's skeletal legion, which was advancing toward the core!

"Boom! Crack!" A corrupted gnoll from the abyss crashed violently into the equally massive skeletal shadow!
The twisted giant claw burning with abyssal flames clashed violently with the skeletal giant's battle axe forged from an unknown black metal!
The space groaned under the strain, and a powerful shockwave swept out, shattering large areas of surrounding buildings into ruins.

The colossal skeletal figure let out a silent, soul-stirring roar, swinging its arm to block. Its heavy skeletal battle axe sliced ​​through the air, leaving a trail of blinding sparks and corrosive black smoke on the opponent's abyssal demonic body, but failing to destroy it instantly. The two colossal beings were instantly engulfed in a primal, brutal battle of power!
At the same time, a large number of ordinary abyssal undead gnolls overwhelmed the Black Iron Skeleton Legion's infantry phalanx.

Their claws tore at the sturdy skeletal shields, and the acid they spewed corroded the cold, metallic skeletons. Abyssal magic also raged, with clusters of dark green "soul-corroding spheres" exploding behind the skeletal army, instantly clearing an area.

The situation seemed to tilt towards the abyss in an instant! The skeletal giant was unable to provide effective support due to its battle against the corrupted giant skeleton, and the advance of the entire undead army was severely hampered!

However, at the critical moment when this torrent of the undead seemed about to be blocked or even turn against them—

Shen Mu's bastion assault group, that steel army shining with the light of holy purification, has already plunged into the waves of abyssal wreckage like molten lava!
A bizarre and shocking scene unfolded!
The abyssal undead gnolls, which had already turned around and were about to pounce on the abyssal undead blocking Shen Mu's troops, let out an extremely painful, instinctive scream just before they were about to crash into the wall of blazing white light!

Their bodies resembled wax figures close to the sun, the black smoke on their surfaces rapidly evaporating. The limbs, composed of inferior remains, quickly became unstable and cracked under the holy light! Some of the lower-level inferior remains even turned directly into scattered blue smoke!

There was no fierce clash as expected. No battle broke out when the two sides met.

The surging army of abyssal wrecks, as if encountering an absolute natural enemy, instinctively turned and split up when they were still tens of meters away from the blazing white light!
They preferred to gnaw on the cold bones of the Black Iron Skeleton Legion, even if shattered, rather than easily approach the area of ​​light that burned their very souls. The Abyssal Undead were chaotic and greedy, but they possessed a primal fear of "purification." The rule-level "Thorn Barrier" granted Shen Mu's troops an almost sacred "non-contact deterrence aura"!
Meanwhile, the Black Iron Skeleton Legion of the Seventh Dynasty, with its cold and silent necromantic will, under the coordination of Erien and the projection of the "Black Emperor's" will, clearly conveyed to every soldier: "Target: The Abyss Core. Allies: The Light of the Living. Avoid."

Ignoring the Holy Light troops that were right next to them, radiating an alluring aura of life, they stubbornly and silently charged towards the corrupted giant gnolls burning with abyssal flames, using their skeletal bodies to build a shield wall and a destructive torrent of skeletal arrows to overwhelm the beasts' weak points and joints.

A bizarre scene unfolded at the heart of the battlefield: Left: the Seventh Dynasty's skeletal legion—a cluster of abyssal wrecks—Middle: Shen Mu's blazing holy light legion—Right: a small group of abyssal wrecks that attempted to approach the edge of the holy light legion but were dispersed.

The three are advancing almost side by side!
Shen Mu's Holy Light Legion was in the center, like a river of purification, carving out a relatively "tranquil" passage in the chaotic battlefield, squeezing the clash zone between the Abyss and the Undead to the sides.

There was no fighting, no stray bullets, only the three forces, driven by their own will and trajectories, rapidly approaching the same destination—the pulsating core of the abyss—driven by the massive battlefield engine!

The roar of the abyss, the silence of the undead, and the brilliance of holy light created a suffocating dynamic balance on this scorched wasteland.

There were no slogans, no pledges, only the shared goal of eliminating the core of the abyss and respect for each other's power rules, which maintained this brief and unusual peace army!

The will of the abyss clearly could not tolerate this situation continuing.

The pulsating core of the black domain erupted with even deeper resentment and venom, and a powerful shockwave, carrying a filthy will, spread outward like an invisible tide!

At the same time, from the thick fog of the abyss, several exceptionally large "Abyss Overlord-level Corrupted Giant Skeleton Gnolls" with skeletal structures even flashing with dark runes were forcibly catalyzed out!

Their target was the greatest threat they faced on their journey—the blazing white holy light legion that moved at an extremely fast pace and made the forces of the abyss extremely uncomfortable!

One of the largest gnolls, with a twisted demon skull embedded in its shoulder armor, let out a roar that shattered the rubble. Ignoring the attacks from the skeletal legion on its flank, its massive bone feet, burning with lava-like crimson flames, slammed into the ground. With speed far exceeding that of ordinary gnolls and an unstoppable destructive momentum, it charged straight toward the right flank of the bastion forces like a burning meteorite!

Its gaping maw was brimming with a deep breath powerful enough to melt through city walls!
Kalanzo's pupils contracted: "Holy Tree Knights, prepare for a group charge and stop it!" The Holy Tree Knights on the right immediately spurred their mounts, their mithril greatswords wreathed in holy light, preparing to use a sacrificial charge to block this terrifying blow.

"No need to get close!" Shen Mu's icy voice rang out, carrying an unquestionable command.

Just as the Abyss Overlord-level giant gnoll was still three hundred paces away from the right flank formation—

"Vegia! Frost Arrow - Covering Rapid Fire!"

"Rhodok! Heavy Radiant Burst Crossbow - Lock onto the Giant's Head Joint!"

"Kujit! Unleash a rain of radiant arrows—retard its left and right sides, forcing it to advance in a straight line!"

"Wood Elf - Weakness Sniping, Target: Breath Core!"

Bandak's voice, like the click of a precision instrument, instantly transformed Shen Mu's will into precise tactical instructions.

“Swish, swish, swish—!”

"Boom! Boom! Boom——!"

The sky was suddenly torn apart!
The first wave was a volley from the Vikya sharpshooters.

Hundreds of long arrows, their tails wreathed in icy blue light patterns and their arrowheads blazing white like stars, transformed into a waterfall of light, precisely covering the area in front of the giant gnoll's charging path!
The extreme cold instantly froze the ground and air, and countless sharp ice crystals condensed and exploded wildly under its burning bone feet and around its leg joints!
The combination of the power of ice and the purifying power of the blazing holy light caused a violent energy conflict and a stagnation effect!
The giant gnoll's sprinting pace suddenly faltered, and it let out an angry roar as abyssal flames surged towards its legs, attempting to melt the solid ice.

Just as its speed suddenly decreased—

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A series of deep, thunderous roars followed one after another!
The Rhodok heavy crossbow position has erupted!

A specially made giant ballista, its body wrapped with holy light runes, fires short, heavy bolts that are half a person's height!

These crossbow bolts were not simply designed for piercing; the moment they were fired, their tips expanded into an extremely compressed sphere of light, shimmering with regular runes! The compressed sphere of holy light energy erupted violently the instant the crossbow bolts accurately struck the relatively vulnerable shoulder, neck, and skull joints of the giant gnoll!
A blinding white flash exploded like a miniature sun! Terrifying purifying energy transformed into a destructive storm that swept over its enormous skeletal skull!

“Ouch——!!!”

The Abyss Commander let out an unprecedented scream of agony! The abyssal flames burning on its head were extinguished by more than half in an instant, and the ghostly green soul fire that formed its eye sockets shook violently and dimmed!
The sturdy skull showed obvious charring and spiderweb-like cracks under the pure, abyssal "true damage"! The brewing abyssal breath was directly interrupted and out of control, exploding in its mouth, causing its jawbone to twist and crack!

Immediately afterwards, a downpour of "rain" began!
The Kujit bandits used their mobility to complete a high-speed circling launch!

As dense as stars, arrows with white flames burning at their tails traced perfect parabolas, covering the entire massive body of the giant gnoll and the surrounding hundreds of meters!
These arrows may not be as powerful as heavy crossbow bolts, but they have the advantage of sheer quantity and the ability to spread the purifying power over the widest possible area!

The rain of arrows was like a curtain of light, continuously scorching and destroying the black smoke and abyssal aura rising from the giant jackal's body, as if continuously applying a combined effect of "bleeding" and "purification" to a ferocious beast!

Finally, like the whisper of death—

"Puff puff!"

A few barely audible yet extremely precise vibrations of the bowstring.

Several long, slender wood elf arrows, shimmering with different elemental radiance and enveloped in an outer layer of holy light, pierced through the cracks in the giant gnoll's oral armor—which had been briefly opened due to the backlash of its breath—at the most opportune moment, and were deeply embedded in the core node of its throat and chest where abyssal energy was brewing!

These specially made demon-slaying arrows became the last straw that broke the camel's back!
Under the combined attack of Shen Mu's "Thorn Barrier" providing rule-level enhancement and Bandak's precise tactical deployment, this Abyss Commander-level Corrupted Giant Skeleton Gnoll, which was capable of causing a devastating impact on the Legion, froze completely when it broke through the barrier cluster's line of defenses and was less than a hundred paces away!

The numerous abyssal wrecks and contaminated skeletons that make up its body can no longer maintain their structure and power source under the continuous, regular "true damage".

The massive skeleton emitted a series of groans of unbearable strain, like rotten wood breaking, before its enormous head suddenly exploded!
The eye sockets, which had been burning with filthy flames, were completely extinguished!
The massive wreckage, over ten meters tall, collapsed with a deafening roar, kicking up clouds of burning black smoke and dust!
The massive amounts of abyssal contamination energy that had escaped were purified into nothingness by the intense holy light field nearby before they could be absorbed by the pulsating abyssal core in the distance!

The entire process was lightning fast; from the moment the giant launched its attack to its complete disintegration, it took no more than twenty breaths!
The Right Wing Holy Tree Knights haven't even officially launched their charge yet!
Caranzo's tense nerves relaxed, and he looked at the figure on the high platform, his eyes filled with pure respect and determination.

Shen Mu didn't even glance at the fallen giant corpse. His gaze pierced through the fog of the battlefield, looking toward the approaching core black domain. Data streams flashed rapidly deep within his pupils as he calculated the best breakthrough path.

"Obstacles cleared. All troops—speed up!" His command was concise and powerful.

Without such a huge individual threat blocking their way, coupled with the natural deterrent effect against the Abyssal Corpses, Shen Mu's bulwark assault group increased its speed dramatically!

The troops, bathed in holy light, were like a red-hot blade piercing frozen oil! The iron hooves of the Swadian heavy cavalry trampled across the scorched earth, crushing any stray pieces of debris that dared to stand in their way.

The Holy Tree Knight's mount galloped on all fours, its mithril greatsword ready to slay any approaching enemy.

The long-range firepower cluster moved methodically alongside the main force, its eyes scanning the edges of the battlefield where the abyss and undead were locked in fierce combat, acting like a moving "purification beacon," clearing large "safe zones" for the troops' advance. (End of Chapter)