Real Mount and Blade Game

The iron hooves of the fortified assault group crushed the last obstacle, the corrupted gnolls of the abyss. Data streams flashed in Shen Mu's eyes as he precisely assessed the battle damage and the speed of advance.

The light of the thorny ramparts flowed around the troops, coating the armor runes with a holy halo, forming a direct deterrent against the corruption of the abyss.

"Target—the core of the Abyss, the Black Domain! All troops—charge!" Shen Mu's voice pierced through the gunfire and roars, echoing in the hearts of every soldier.

A torrent of steel swept across the scorched earth, and ahead lay a tide of wrecked remains from the abyss.

Having lost the support of elite variants, they were left with only their numerical advantage, and they charged ferociously through the boiling black mist, driven by instincts twisted by the will of the abyss.

But when faced with Shen Mu's well-prepared elite troops, this pure madness seemed so weak.

"Remote sequence!" Shen Mu's thoughts were instantly transmitted through the "Tallinn" network.

As if they had been prepared, the formation at the rear of the marching column subtly changed.

"Vegia Frostwhisper Sequence - Frost Arrow, cover 150 to 300 paces ahead, maintain suppression!"

The Vaegir archers had already adjusted their angles while moving, and the runes on their special arrows lit up. With a command, a denser and more refined rain of azure arrows rose into the sky.

The arrow traced a cold parabola before plunging deep into the swarm of wrecked creatures.

The moment it touched the ground, the extremely cold energy exploded!

Frost spread instantly like a spider web, and the movements of the wrecked creatures within a range of more than ten steps suddenly froze. The dark slime on their bodies condensed into ice crystals, and their limbs made a teeth-grinding cracking sound.

This wasn't a fatal blow, but it was enough to make a dense charge feel like it was stuck in quagmire, greatly slowing down their momentum.

Immediately following, an even deeper, more deafening sound of crossbows reeling in the air rang out.

"Rhodok Shield Sequence - Heavy Radiant Burst Crossbow, short-range devastating strike! Target - congested area 60 to 120 paces ahead!"

The giant crossbow, heavily and steadily controlled by the Rhodok soldiers, suddenly shuddered, and the radiant crossbow bolts, as thick as a bowl and nearly ten feet long, flew out of the bowstring with a low whistle.

These siege arrows, crafted from special metals and infused with concentrated faith power and holy light runes, are devastating weapons against swarms of creatures!
They slammed into the swarm of wrecked creatures, which were slowed down by the ice, like heavy hammers.

The moment it touched a hard object, a blinding white light exploded like a miniature sun!

boom! boom! boom!
A powerful shockwave, carrying fragments of pure radiant energy, swept forward in a fan shape.

Those inferior remains that were directly hit instantly vaporized, while those a little further away were torn apart by the shockwave, their bones and internal organs turning into countless filthy fragments. Those on the outermost edge were scorched by the radiant energy, howling in agony, with corrosive black smoke rising from their bodies, and they collapsed in droves.

On the devastated ground, several huge, charred "craters" were instantly cleared out.

"Khergit Longbow Sequence - Unleash a Rain of Radiant Arrows! Indiscriminate coverage, 120 to 200 paces!" The Khergit horse archers ran along the flanks of their formation, steadily and quickly drawing their composite bows to their full strength, unleashing a volley of relatively light but denser radiant arrows that rained down like golden drops into the chaotic mass of wreckage.

Although its single-shot power is not as strong as the previous two, it covers a larger area, repeatedly clearing away any stragglers and injured targets in the area between "Vegia Ice Net" and "Rhodok Hammer" like a comb.

"Elves—Precision Sniping! Eliminate the energy node and the source of the threat!" Legolas's clear and precise voice reached the ears of every wood elf archer.

At relatively high vantage points or key points in the assault formation, they calmly draw their bows and nock their arrows. Their targets are not ordinary inferior wrecks, but those mutated inferior wrecks that occasionally condense small corrosive orbs or begin to sprout dangerous black bulges.

The emerald green light arrows shot out silently, precisely piercing the head, heart, or energy core, nipping the threat in the bud.

A rain of arrows—frost-like, explosive, dazzling, and precise—formed a three-dimensional and deadly long-range strike network.

Under the protection of the Thorn Barrier's rules, the holy light runes on all the arrows were greatly activated, resulting in an outstanding annihilation effect against the power of the abyss.

Under such a saturated and perfectly coordinated barrage of arrows, the surging tide of wrecked creatures ahead seemed to have crashed into an invisible, high-speed rotating wall of crushers. In an instant, flesh and blood flew everywhere, black mist dissipated, and the dense cluster was visibly thinned, torn apart, and collapsed!
"Infantry advance! The time has come!" Shen Mu gave the order sharply.

The Swadian heavy infantry phalanx, which could no longer contain their killing intent, erupted in a deafening battle roar!

"In the name of the Holy Light! Forward!"

"Shield Wall - Advance!"

Bang!

The heavy tower shield landed heavily, and the thorns and sacred tree runes engraved on its surface shone brightly under the blessing of the thorn barrier.

The infantrymen marched with heavy but orderly steps, like a moving steel wall shimmering with a purifying light, crushing the shattered remains of the soldiers, who were dazed and scattered by the long-range firepower.

The spear thrust out from the gaps in the shield like a venomous dragon, each withdrawal bringing with it a foul-smelling, dark green liquid.

Occasionally, a few inferior skeletons would crash into the shield wall, only to be immediately burned by the thorny light chains activated on the shield surface, screaming in agony, and then easily pierced by the spears thrust out from behind the shield.

Destroy everything!

The motley crew, lacking formation and command, and reduced to nothing but chaotic instincts, was as fragile as straw in the face of an elite heavy infantry force that was armed to the teeth, high in morale, and governed by rules.

Almost at the same moment Shen Mu unleashed his long-range firepower, an unusual light also appeared on the Seventh Dynasty's Skeleton Legion's position amidst the thick ash fog to the west.

Behind the skeletal formation, countless skeletal archers raised their giant longbows, crafted from an unknown black metal and bones.

Without the muscles of the living tensing up, it is all driven by necromantic energy.

With a silent command, a shadow, more somber and chilling than the black mist of the abyss, rose into the air—a rain of arrows composed of countless sharp bone fragments, pieces bearing the curse of decay and instant death, and black energy imbued with the pure hatred of the dead!
Bone Arrow Rain – the signature ranged attack of the Seventh Dynasty undead!

boom!
This gray-black "rain" fell precisely into the abyssal wreckage that was attempting to break through the front lines of the skeletal legion.

The resulting scene was far more bizarre and terrifying than the rain of holy light arrows on Shen Mu's side.

The wrecked creatures that were hit were not merely torn apart physically; their life essence seemed to be stripped away in an instant: their flesh withered and rotted, turning into ashes; their bones became fragile and shattered like sand under the curse of decay; and some, whose cores were pierced by energy arrows, melted rapidly into a pool of murky black water like wax figures.

Where the rain of skeletal arrows passed, all that remained was absolute silence and traces of utter decay!
What caught the attention of all the human soldiers was that this deadly rain of arrows from the land of the dead was deliberately extending and covering the edge of the cluster of inferior remains in front of Shen Mu's army while clearing away the inferior remains directly in front of the skeleton legion!

Puff puff puff!

Shen Mu advanced to the left flank of the front line, and a group of inferior skeletons attempting to flank them were exposed to the extended coverage of the skeletal arrow rain.

In an instant, the area was as if swept by the scythe of death, and hundreds of wrecked remains were instantly turned into silent dust and broken bones!
"Hiss..." Some of the new recruits in the fortified group couldn't help but gasp when they saw this scene.

This power was too sinister, completely opposite to our own holy light, yet it strangely cooperated with us at this moment.

Shen Mu's eyes flickered slightly.

It's Irene!

He saw the figure of the neither-living nor-dead "messenger" standing on a towering stone pillar in the ruins, facing the direction of the skeleton legion, seemingly conveying some kind of will.

Clearly, this was a directive from the Black Emperor Anhe – to completely clear the area, leaving no blind spots.

Holy Light and the undead, two forces that were originally absolutely opposed, have now formed a terrifying cooperative operation in order to eliminate their common enemy in the abyss!

The radiant purification and the decay of death, two completely different ways of annihilation, attacked the central area where black mist churned and the monstrous remains roared, from the east and west like a giant millstone.

This unprecedented coordinated strike effect far surpasses the combat capability of any single unit!
The numerical advantage of the Abyssal Corpses became meaningless under this double attack that covered the heavens and the earth.

The front row was blasted apart, purified, decayed, and annihilated by the radiance, while the back row was crushed by the steel walls intimidated by the thorny ramparts. They finally couldn't take it anymore!
The army of undead from the abyss began to retreat as a whole!

It surged backward like the receding tide.

They cannot withstand such devastating long-range firepower and frontal crushing in open terrain.

The remaining wreckage instinctively and frantically retreated deeper into the ruins of Long City—towards the towering, twisted, dilapidated buildings, collapsed building frames, a jungle of reinforced concrete covered in corrosive slime, and the crisscrossing, narrow streets and alleys filled with rubble and deadly traps.

They attempted to rely on the complex terrain for a final stand.

After retreating deep into the city ruins, the rebellious skeletons finally began to fight back sporadically.

In a window high up in a partially intact, twisted building, several gnoll heads engulfed in black flames suddenly peered out, spewing foul breath imbued with corrosive power; at a bend in a narrow alleyway flanked by sharp construction debris, a cunning squad of scavengers lay in ambush, pouncing as a Rhodok infantry squad rounded the corner, their claws tearing through steel; in other places, shattered billboards and broken load-bearing beams, affected by the forces of the abyss, collapsed with a deafening roar, crashing down upon the marching column…

These counterattacks did cause some minor trouble.

"Raise your shields! Three o'clock!" Squad Leader Rhodok reacted extremely quickly, raising his heavy shields instantly. The runes shone brightly, blocking the foul breath and making a "sizzling" corrosive sound, but the shield's light dimmed slightly.

"Enemy attack from the rear! Crossbowmen, clear the blind spots!" The Kujit bandits instantly pointed their crossbows at the corner of the alley, and several wrecked beasts that had just pounced out were accurately shot and pinned to the wall.

Watch out above!

"Holy Tree Knights - Root Entanglement, Hold on!" The Vaegir spellcasters or Holy Tree Knights activated their power, and amidst the flashing green light, the huge debris falling from mid-air was caught by the suddenly growing thorny roots, slowing its descent and giving the team below room to dodge.

Injuries are inevitable; there will always be soldiers who are left behind or whose lives are taken by sudden attacks.

However, thanks to Shen Mu's meticulous command network, the soldiers' high level of vigilance and coordination, and the all-round energy defense provided by the Thorn Wall, the casualties caused by these terrain-based counterattacks were reduced to an extremely low level.

Combat casualties were far lower than expected in conventional urban warfare. Almost every obstacle and trap was locked onto, countered, or evaded the moment it appeared.

The sporadic counterattacks from the Abyss Remains were like a few pebbles thrown into a lake, splashing a little water, but unable to stop the lake's overall flow.

Destroy any remaining resistance and continue the crushing advance!
The advance of the Barrier Assault Group did not stop in the slightest.

Under the command of the Vygian Frostwhisper sequence commander, the Holy Light Arrow Rain seemed to have eyes, continuously covering the firing points or ambush sites of the buildings ahead that might be hiding the wreckage, tearing apart those wreckage that were trying to hold on to the ruins in advance.

The heavy infantry phalanx, like the most solid rock, forced its way through the narrow streets, shields pushing aside obstacles and spears clearing every corner.

In the air, the elves never relaxed their vigilance, and any threat attempting to launch a sneak attack from above or the side was precisely sniped.

The Abyss Corpse's meager resistance, relying on the terrain, was utterly ineffective in shaking the iron-fisted advance of Shen Mu's army, nor could it deter their unwavering determination to advance deeper into the ruins of Longcheng.

Shen Mu's gaze pierced through layers of smoke and collapsed concrete jungle, looking into the darkest depths of the city.

A vast, foul aura, mixed with fragments of divinity and extreme resentment, acted as a giant anchor, drawing in all the negative energies on the battlefield.

On the "Tallinn" network crystal mirror beside him, the coordinates of a huge, constantly pulsating energy aggregation point that greedily devoured all the energy of those who died in battle were clearly displayed—right in that direction.

Just then, a gray-white figure silently appeared on the flank of Shen Mu's assault line, maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

It was none other than the undead messenger, Erien.

His deathly pale face and his swirling, eerie green eyes seemed to be gazing in the same direction.

“Lord Shen Mu,” Arian’s mental message traveled directly to him like a cool breeze, unaffected by the noise of the battlefield.

"Your judgment aligns with our perception. Those ants that stubbornly resist are struggling in vain; the spine of the abyss has been broken by us."

Arian paused for a moment, his gray and withered fingers pointing deep into the ruins, to the anchor point where energy converged, in the direction of the surging core black domain.

"The core they retreated to is not the entire source of the abyss's true power. Deep within the ruins of Long City, at the core of that cemetery complex that the Seventh Dynasty called the 'Holy Land of Burial'..."

His voice carried a chilling insight into the essence of things.

“Deep within that place lies the remains of a god whose essence was corrupted and exploited by the abyss—the ancestral tomb of the jackal god, Yenogu!”

"The ancestral tomb contains the last fragments of his lost divine remains, as well as the broken 'Hand of God' that retains the original will of his shattered divine essence. That is the fundamental breeding ground that nourishes the mad ambition of this 'Shadow of the End,' and the true core 'root' that allows the abyss to continuously distort the rules and endlessly extract corrupting power here!"

Arian's gaze seemed to pierce through the dilapidated city before him, looking towards that more ancient and darker existence.

"The true battlefield lies deep within that tomb. Only by destroying that defiled divine point that profanes death and life can the source of all this chaos be completely severed. The fundamental power of the End Wolf resides deep within the divine remains of that ancestral tomb, awaiting its fate—to be utterly destroyed, or... as His Majesty Anhe desires, to become the fuel that leads to the foundation of a higher throne."

Shen Mu did not turn around, but every word of Ereen's was like a precise coordinate pinned into his mental map.

“Ancestral tombs… divine remains… the very foundation of the final wolf shadow…”

This perfectly matches the confession of the captured Zhang Song brothers, and is also confirmed by the incredibly clear, filthy divine pulse on the battlefield at this moment.

The deepest part of Nalong City is the end of everything!

Without any hesitation, Shen Mu's powerful will instantly spread throughout the entire army via the "Talin" network.

"Target adjustment! Proceed to the core of the Longcheng Ruins—the coordinates of the Ancestral Mausoleum!"

"Long-range units, maintain suppression! Infantry phalanx! Advance and crush all obstacles in your path!"

"Speed! Crush it before it completes its final transformation!"

The pace of advancement suddenly accelerated!

Under the gleaming glow of the thorny ramparts, the steel torrent surged fearlessly through the ruined city streets.

Radiant arrows cleared a path through the ruins, crushing obstacles; heavy infantry and knights, like battering rams, forcefully smashed through narrow passages; Khergit bandits, like dragons, darted along the flanks, clearing out any remaining enemies.

To the west, the gray tide of the skeletal legion erupted with an even more ferocious surge. A rain of skeletal arrows, like a death hurricane, cleared away the remaining enemies in their own direction. Arian's figure flickered erratically, constantly issuing commands to coordinate the undead legion's attack direction, ensuring it remained parallel to Shen Mu's advancing axis—like two sharp blades thrust side-by-side into the heart of the abyss!

The deeper they went, the more bizarre the terrain became. The air was thick and sticky, filled with the stench of rotting corpses and sulfur.

Huge, twisted plant roots, completely tainted by darkness, broke through the ground and buildings, like giant black nets.

Thick, bubbling dark pus flowed across the ground. A bizarre, half-stone, half-flesh structure, twisted and modified by the power of the abyss, stood like a massive fortress blocking their path.

But whatever lies ahead!
Nothing could stop this destructive torrent of holiness and death advancing together!
They had a clear goal and a firm will—to storm the ancestral tombs!
Shen Mu stood at the forefront of the advancing ranks, his spirit and will sweeping across every inch of the treacherous land ahead like an invisible tide.

In his data-driven view, the filthy core representing the ancestral tomb was greedily absorbing every bit of energy from death and destruction on the battlefield, like a volcano about to erupt.

Above his head, the enormous halo of light, "Judgment of Faith," which had been formed by extracting battlefield energy from the data link and contained the power of judgment, was quietly rotating as the troops advanced triumphantly, and the power of rules accumulated within it was becoming increasingly terrifying!
"Speed ​​up! The ancestral tomb is just ahead!" Shen Mu roared, as if he could already see the ancient tomb gate constructed of black iron skeletons and blasphemous divine runes.

Ahead, the last line of defense in the abyss has been formed.

No longer a scattered mass of inferior remains, but a core guard composed of the previously crippled "Reapers" and newly emerged elite gnolls with even stronger auras, their bodies covered in ferocious bone armor formed from fragments of divine remains, and their claws wrapped with black and red lightning fragments!

They roared in desperation, clinging to the “wall of pollution” constructed of twisted plant roots and black boulders!
The prelude to the final battle reached its climax instantly before the entrance to the Gnoll Ancestral Tomb, the darkest and most filthy core of the ruins of Long City!

Shen Mu slowly raised his left hand above his head, and the rotation of the "Judgment of Faith" halo suddenly accelerated, emitting a deep hum, as if thousands of angels and rules were simultaneously chanting judgment! (End of this chapter)