Real Mount and Blade Game

The agonizing screams and the cracking sounds of bones breaking together formed a symphony of death.

Deep within the ruins of Longcheng, before the dilapidated entrance to the Yeno Ancient Ancestral Tomb, the leaden gray mist representing the order of the dead and the filthy black mist symbolizing the pollution of the abyss, were locked in a fierce struggle, like two giant serpents driven to madness, tearing and devouring each other.

Shen Mu stood behind the shimmering core light screen of the Thorn Barrier, his gaze piercing through the layers of energy storms and churning mist, calmly watching this ultimate feast of mutual destruction between those of the same origin.

Opportunity, like a precious mineral vein hidden beneath a poisonous swamp, slowly and clearly emerges as both sides exhaust themselves to the utmost.

Countless undead skeletal soldiers, following the war imprints of the ancient dynasty, wielded rusty swords and decaying spears, silently and clumsily charging forward.

Their core consists of long-cold ashes and the remaining imprints of order; their movements are stiff, and their strength relies mainly on the scale of their group operations and the concealing effect of the ash mist.

However, their adversaries—the undead gnolls utterly corrupted by the abyss and steeped in the mad ravings of the "Shadow of the End"—displayed a completely different face. The filthy black mist was not only their defensive barrier, but also the engine driving their madness.

They moved on all fours, as swiftly as real jackals, leaping and darting among the broken rubble and collapsed beams.

Thick, black substance clung to its fangs and claws, each bite carrying with it a powerful suction of the soul and a taint of the rules.

The Legion of the Abyss's Worst Corpses has transformed into a hysterical horde of demons driven purely by a desire for destruction.

"Keep an eye on things!" Caranzo's voice came through the [Tallinn] network, trembling slightly. "The 7th Army's right flank! It's been breached again!"

Several exceptionally strong, joint-reversed Abyssal Corrupted Gnolls used the complex terrain to suddenly crash into a defensive line composed of heavily armored skeletal knights from the side.

The Skeleton Knight's charging momentum was rendered ineffective by absolute speed and tricky angles.

The abyssal gnoll nimbly crouched and slid past the side of the skeletal knight, its claws, glowing with a filthy light, precisely plunging into the gaps between the skeletal knight's ribs and chest, fiercely seizing the core of the soul fire within—this was not a mere physical attack, but a direct desecration and devouring of the abyssal power.

The skeleton knight's movements froze instantly, and his soul core, as if thrown into a block of ice with strong acid, emitted a sizzling sound, and was quickly enveloped and digested by the black mist.

The gray mist thinned at a visible rate, swallowed up by the black mist. Each time an undead skeleton soldier shattered and fell, it meant that a wisp of the rules of the dead was torn apart and assimilated by the abyss.

On the battlefield, the gray zone representing the undead legion is rapidly disintegrating and retreating.

“As expected…” Bandak clenched his fist, the sights of his Radiant Heavy Crossbow trembling restlessly. “These abyssal scum have increased in strength, speed, and ferocity after devouring the core divine dust of the Anhe Legion! The undead… can’t hold them off!”

Legolas's green eyes were fixed on the battlefield, his voice low and menacing: "They are burning with their last will, but... they are merely moths drawn to a flame. The Abyss is using this carnage to accelerate its transformation!"

Within the thorny fortress, behind the defensive line constructed by the radiant purification power, human soldiers held their breath in concentration.

What unfolds before us is a final battle between the abyss and the dead, more real than any terrifying legend.

The silent, collapsing skeletal soldiers, the black mist greedily absorbing ashes and soul fire, and the increasingly clear, increasingly insane divine power emanating from the depths of the ancestral tomb... every step treads on the edge of survival and destruction.

"Hold your ground! All units maintain their current defensive posture! Keep energy output at peak!" Shen Mu's clear and calm command echoed through the [Tallinn] network, like a stabilizing force, suppressing the anxiety in the hearts of all the officers.

"Holy Tree Knights, Holy Light Resonance Array power increased by 10%, shield nodes locked onto the aftershocks of the Ancestral Tomb entrance. Rhodok Heavy Crossbows, prepare 'Destructive Piercing' solid ammo, mark and strike immediately upon confirmation of 'Abyss Lord' level targets!"

He didn't need to explain further. Years of fighting side-by-side had made his judgment instinctive for the entire legion. The officers suppressed their doubts and swiftly carried out the orders.

The light of the Radiant Barrier became more solid, like a golden reef standing amidst the tide of destruction.

On the battlefield, although the Abyss Corpse Legion's advance was fierce, its outward strength was clearly exposed by Shen Mu's precise data vision.

Those abyssal gnolls seemed invincible, frantically tearing apart the undead skeleton soldiers, but their own forms were quietly undergoing unsettling changes.

Their bodies writhed in the black mist, and thick, tar-like blood seeped from their joints. Some of the individuals that had devoured too many even began to swell and burst into countless small, filthy worms. These worms then frantically pounced on their uncontaminated companions in the abyss or on the scattered fragments of divine dust on the ground.

"Look! The Abyss forces are collapsing internally!" the sniper keenly observed. "The energy they've absorbed is far too vast and complex! The very rules of the Abyss are turning against them!"

“The core rhythm… is changing rapidly!” Bandak stared at the energy spectrum diagram provided by [Tallinn]. “That ‘End Wolf Shadow’ is forcibly integrating and suppressing all the incoming power! It is attempting… to forcibly complete its final transformation! This will inevitably cause violent fluctuations and instability in the peripheral forces!”

Shen Mu's cold, icy data vision was firmly locked onto the depths of the ancestral tomb's entrance. A torrent of energy, like a runaway flood, surged wildly towards the filthy black core.

But the core is like an airbag that has been forcibly stretched to its limit. Every greedy sucking is accompanied by more intense internal conflicts and backlash from the rules.

While the power of the abyss devoured the divine dust of the undead to gain power, it was also stung and disturbed by the imprint containing order, like forcibly digesting a thorny block of iron in excruciating pain.

This is what Shen Mu was waiting for—the critical point when the abyss reaches its limit in its greedy devouring, like a satiated giant python whose mobility is reduced to its lowest point, making it the most vulnerable moment to an attack on its core!

The Abyss Legion on the periphery is the "peripheral nerve" that the "End Wolf Shadow" forcibly activated, resulting in a mixture of powers and enormous energy consumption in order to maintain the core transformation.

The undead army was finally breached and scattered once again.

The last squadron of skeletal giants, composed of enormous skeletons and mimicking Anhe's silhouette, was slammed to the ground by a dozen or so abyssal corrupted gnolls, their forms twisted to their extremes. The banner symbolizing the realm of the dead was trampled to pieces. The last wisp of substantial ash mist, like a candle flickering in the wind, was completely extinguished and assimilated by the surging black fog.

The gray area representing the Black Emperor's will has completely disappeared from the chaotic battlefield at the entrance to the ancestral tomb.

Only a few scattered sparks of soul fire struggled and flickered in vain within the black mist, before being extinguished.

Deep within the ancestral tomb, the divine core rhythm, filled with resentment, longing, and extreme chaos, suddenly surged to a terrifying frequency!

Rumble——!
The entire ruins of Longcheng were shaking!

A thicker, more condensed, and almost pitch-black pillar of filthy light shot into the sky from the center of the ancestral tomb, its surface writhing with countless struggling gnoll heads and twisted divine runes! An oppressive force that froze the soul, congealed the blood, and drove the mind mad instantly swept across all directions!

"Awooo—!!!!" It was no longer a wolf's howl, but more like the irrational screams of countless crazed divine fragments in extreme conflict.

That was the prelude to the birth of a false god!

The light barrier of the Thorn Barrier trembled violently, emitting a groan of unbearable strain! Behind the light barrier, all the soldiers, including the resolute Holy Tree Knight and elven heroes like Legolas, felt an immense fear stemming from their very life force, as if they would be swallowed up by that pure filth and madness at any moment.

However, at this desperate peak, just as the Abyss believed it was about to complete its transformation and turned its gaze to the final obstacle—the human defense line, Shen Mu made a move.

Without the slightest hesitation, he raised his right hand, not pointing at the terrifying, filthy pillar of light, but steadily pointing at the vanguard of the Abyss Corpse Legion in front of the entrance to the ancestral tomb. The legion appeared powerful, but was actually severely depleted by internal conflicts and core suction, making it unstable and even beginning to self-destruct!

"The opportunity has arrived!"

"implement!"

His voice was as cold as ancient ice, yet it contained absolute power and unquestionable authority. The command instantly reached the nerves of every soldier and the core operating system of every weapon through the [Tallinn] network!

The next second, the human legion, which had been silent for a moment, suddenly erupted in a battle roar that was more shocking than any howl from the abyss!
The Rhodok Heavy Radiant Burst Crossbow array, which had already been adjusted and positioned, was the first to roar.

“Buzz—Boom!!”

Dozens of thick, solid crossbow bolts, highly compressed from holy light energy—"Destruction Piercing"—with long, blazing white tails, pierced through the churning black mist like spears of divine punishment!
They weren't firing randomly; instead, they precisely targeted the Abyssal Corrupted Giant Skeleton Gnoll Leaders, who had become bloated, unstable, and had abnormally bright energy nodes due to absorbing too much power, and the areas around them with the most concentrated energy!

Boom boom boom——!!

A deafening explosion erupted amidst the Abyss Vanguard, unleashing a massive orb of holy light! The ultimate purifying power, like concentrated sulfuric acid, instantly annihilated and purified the filthy, murky matter!
Those powerful "Abyss Overlord" level giant gnolls, like powder kegs that had been lit, let out painful howls, their massive bodies collapsing and disintegrating from the inside in the white light!
Before the dissipating abyssal pollution energy could spread, it was completely wiped out by the following holy light aftershocks!
Immediately afterwards, the icy arrows hurled by the Vaegir archers formed an ice-blue curtain, covering the area beyond the ballista explosions and the ruins on both sides of the battlefield. The extreme low temperature wasn't for killing, but for slowing down!

The light arrow exploded upon landing, and the frost aura instantly spread, freezing countless abyssal undead gnolls who were trying to reinforce the front line or outflank the enemy to the ground!
Their agile movements were frozen, their charging momentum was forcibly interrupted, and they became live targets!

"For the glory of the Holy Tree—Charge!!!" Kalanzo's voice was like thunder in a storm! He and the entire Holy Tree Knights were already poised to charge! The knights were clad in radiant heavy armor that shone with intense holy light, and their warhorses were also imbued with holy energy, emitting sacred neighs.

As Kalanzo raised his radiant longsword, the entire knightly order was like a torrent of light awakening!
The rule amplification, already switched to "Thorn Garden - Offensive Stance," covers it! Thorn patterns flow across the light shield, transforming it from a purely defensive form into highly aggressive thorn spikes!

The Knights' vanguard seemed to be covered by a layer of burning holy thorns! They did not charge directly into the densest enemy ranks, but rather, like a meticulously forged blade, they slashed fiercely along the edge of the stagnant area created by the icy light arrows!
"BOOM—!!!!" The torrent of steel crashed into the flank of the Abyss Corpse Legion, which had been slowed down and thrown into chaos by the killing of its leader!

The purifying spear, imbued with the power of rules, was like the light of dawn piercing through the darkness, easily penetrating the filthy bodies of the frozen or sluggish gnolls!

A holy radiance erupted within the abyssal monsters, igniting and purifying them from the inside out!
The powerful impact shattered the fragile gnoll into pieces!
The Khergit volley troops followed closely behind, unleashing a dense rain of radiant arrows like a torrential downpour. They no longer needed to target specific points, but instead indiscriminately covered both sides of the gap torn open by the Knights!

The goal is to prevent the gap from closing!
Countless abyssal gnolls, frozen or deterred by the knights' charge, turned to ashes in the scorching rain of purifying arrows.

Meanwhile, the Swadian heavy infantry formation, serving as the spearhead of the frontal assault, launched the "Iron Wall - Sharp Edge Advance" with a deafening roar under the precise cover of Rhodok crossbowmen and Vaegir archers!
Huge, square shields, gleaming with the light of reinforcing runes, were linked together to form a steel wall that moved forward!

Spears burst forth like a forest from the gaps in the shields!
Instead of defending in place, they coordinated with the flank knights' assault, like giant battering rams, slamming into the Abyss Corps's already vulnerable central vanguard area, which had been weakened by the core extraction and the initial onslaught!

The wreckage of the abyss in front of the infantry formation fell in swathes like withered branches and fallen leaves crushed by a road roller, under the torrent of steel and the dense forest of spears!

The Wood Elves' precise strikes are like those of invisible assassins on the battlefield. From high vantage points and moving at high speed, their sharp eyes search for minor leaders attempting to reorganize their lines, or Abyssal beings whose energy flows indicate an impending harmful mutation.

Arrows, gleaming with a deadly cold light, were shot out silently, accurately hitting the core positions of these key nodes and nipping them in the bud!
Legolas himself moved like a green lightning bolt, swiftly traversing the perimeter of the battlefield, his elven longbow opening and closing rapidly. He not only sniped key targets, but his specially crafted arrows were also imbued with the "Withering Elf Spell," specifically designed to disrupt the energy regeneration abilities of abyssal monsters, causing them to rapidly decay after being wounded.

On the entire battlefield, the human alliance instantly transformed from a brief defensive posture into a highly coordinated, well-structured, and extremely offensive destructive wave!
Holy light, ice, steel, elven arrows, and the rules of war merged perfectly, forming an invincible torrent representing order and purification. With unprecedented speed, it resolutely crushed all the filth in its path, advancing towards the core area of ​​the ancestral tomb, which was still churning, shaking, and attempting to complete its final transformation!

The Abyssal Corpse Legion, which had been frantically tearing apart the undead skeleton soldiers, was now crumbling and disintegrating like a paper wall in the face of a sudden, perfectly coordinated attack from humans. Its seemingly formidable exterior proved utterly fragile before the perfect opportunity of "limit saturation" and "rule conflict" that Shen Mu had precisely seized.

Shen Mu's cold gaze pierced through the chaotic battlefield, firmly locking onto the increasingly unstable and terrifying black core deep within the ancestral tomb.

The final judgment is inevitably approaching with the surging offensive of the human army! (End of Chapter)