Real Mount and Blade Game

The deafening roar of the propulsion surge drowned out the howls of the abyssal wreckage.

After undergoing a brutal baptism before the final judgment, the iron torrent of humanity, under Shen Mu's will, finally crushed the last resistance at the entrance to the ancestral tomb and stepped into the heartland of the jackal people's faith, which was surrounded by the ruins of Longcheng.

We walked through the broken passageway, pushing aside the lingering filth and dust.

The scene before me was jarringly disconcerting. All around me were the crumbling, gray-white ruins of modern skyscrapers, their twisted steel skeletons grotesquely piercing the polluted sky, silently recounting the glory and utter destruction of a bygone civilization.

In the heart of this concrete jungle, a completely different entity forcefully occupies the view.

Covering an area of ​​over 4,000 square meters, the entire structure is made of huge, rough, and unpolished primitive boulders, carved with rugged and primitive totems—mostly scenes of jackals tearing at prey or roaring to the sky in various forms.

The massive rock was stained with dark brown, almost black, bloodstains that had accumulated over countless years, emitting a nauseating stench of rust and decay. The entire structure appeared rugged, savage, and primitive, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding cold, modern ruins, exuding an aura of barbarity and ferocity.

This is the ancestral tomb of Yenogu, an alien altar about seven or eight meters high, seemingly forcibly moved from an ancient battlefield and pressed into the center of the ruins of modern civilization.

At this moment, the entrance to this altar—a dark portal as deep as the maw of a monster—is frantically spewing out the power of the abyss.

The thick, impenetrable black mist, like viscous asphalt, churned and writhed, shimmering with ominous, purplish-red light that resembled countless tiny eyes.

What's even more chilling is that the black mist wasn't still; it was frantically "producing" itself.

Countless twisted, low-grade "inferior remains" composed of pure, filthy energy and bone fragments were vomited out, like defective products on an assembly line.

But these wrecked remains were not the end. As soon as they landed, they were enveloped, devoured, kneaded, and fused by the denser black mist around them.

All that could be seen were those hunched, incomplete skeletons emitting shrill, invisible screams in the churning black mist. Flesh and bones were forcibly reorganized, filled, and strengthened, and in just a few breaths, they swelled and deformed into burly, fanged, and deathly-flaming "Abyssal Necromancer Gnolls"!
Their speed and efficiency far exceeded any previous observations by the human legion.

As soon as those abyssal undead gnolls were "born," their purplish-black evil cores throbbed violently within their chests, absorbing the pure resentment and filthy divine power emanating from the ancestral tomb.

Before they could even fully adapt to their "new" bodies, they were immediately driven by an invisible will deep within the ancestral tomb, letting out hysterical roars filled with endless resentment and destructive desire, and rushing towards the human alliance that had just stepped into this killing square.

Batch after batch, group after group, like an endless tide, surged out of the ancestral tomb entrance, quickly converging in the square to form a ferocious, roaring sea of ​​death.

The air was thick with the stench of rotting corpses, ozone burning, and the sulfurous stench unique to the abyss.

The roars converged into a torrent powerful enough to shake the soul, assaulting the eardrums and nerves of the human soldiers.

Wielding massive bone blades or decaying claws formed from necromantic energy, they charged recklessly, determined to tear these invaders, who emanated an aura of "holy light" that they instinctively loathed and craved to devour, to pieces, using their flesh and souls as the final sacrifice for the resurrection of the Yenogu gods!
Faced with the mountain of corpses, faced with the ancestral tombs spewing death like the gaping maw of an abyss, faced with the overwhelming, destructive abyssal gnoll legion—

Standing at the forefront of the Barrier Assault Group, Shen Mu's face was as cold and stern as an ice-covered mountain, and his eyes were as sharp as a blade of dawn cutting through the darkness.

The powerful winds from the Abyss Undead Gnoll's frenzied charge whipped his blood-stained battle robes, but they failed to budge him in the slightest.

The nauseating pressure from deep within the ancestral tomb crashed down like a giant wave, causing the thorny barrier behind Shen Mu to tremble slightly, releasing specks of purifying light to counteract it.

He simply raised his head slightly, looking at the menacing tide of death that seemed poised to devour the heavens and earth.

Without the slightest hesitation, without any retreat.

The hand holding the sword swung forward firmly and straight! The movement was concise and powerful, carrying an undeniable majesty, like the prelude to the fall of Pangu's giant axe that cleaved through chaos.

"Array—forward pressure!"

The command was instantly transmitted through the Tallinn core network to every corner of the army, as clear as if it were ringing in the ears of every soldier.

"Target—the core of the ancestral tomb! Crush them!"

This command was the spark that ignited the powder keg. The human alliance, already poised and ready, like a bowstring stretched to its limit, erupted in a battle roar as powerful as a collapsing mountain and a tsunami!
"For order! For the bulwark!"

"Holy Light Purification!"

"kill--!"

The remote strike cluster was the first to respond to the command!

The Rhodok Heavy Radiant Burst Crossbow Array, consisting of dozens of massive ballistae resembling steel fortresses, had already been cooled and loaded.

The instant Shen Mu gave the order, the position commander waved his command flag and roared: "First volley—volley fire! Coverage attack! Fire!"

"Creak—Buzz!!!"

The tooth-grinding, heavy bowstring trembling and the sound of energy accumulating merged into a destructive sonic wave.

The next second, dozens of giant beams of light, even more dazzling than the sun and trailing fiery white tails, shot out with a roar!

They did not travel in straight lines, but rather followed parabolic trajectories, like thunderbolts hurled by gods, precisely striking the densest reserve area of ​​the abyssal undead gnolls.

“Boom, boom, boom, boom—!!!”

That was the sound of purifying lightning exploding in the filth of the abyss! The moment the Radiant Burst Crossbow struck the ground, a blinding white purifying shockwave spread out like a blooming white lotus.

The abyssal gnolls that were directly hit didn't even have time to scream before they were completely melted away like ice and snow under the absolute light energy, turning into wisps of foul-smelling black smoke that drifted away.

Wherever the shockwave reached, large swaths of rotting flesh and blood on the outer undead gnolls were evaporated, their hard bones were blasted to pieces, and the purplish-black core in their chests flickered violently, dimming and even going out completely in an instant.

With just one volley, dozens of shocking blank areas were carved out of the surging gnoll "tide," the ground littered with melted black bones and charred remains, as if washed by molten iron.

Following closely behind the Rhodok Bursting Crossbow was the Vaegir Ice Arrow Archer Phalanx.

These sharpshooters from the northern snowfields had eyes as cold as frozen lakes, and their movements were perfectly synchronized.

"Elevation angle seventy degrees—projectile coverage! Fire!"

The commander's order had just been given.

"Buzz—hiss!"

Thousands of magical arrows, wrapped in cold, white frost energy, soared into the sky like locusts, tearing through the ashes-covered heavens with sharp, piercing whistles.

Arrows wove a vast and precise net of death in the air, bypassing the charging Abyssal gnoll vanguard and covering the middle and rear of their formation.

"Pfft! Pfft! Sizzle—!"

A dense cacophony of sounds—the pounding of flesh and bones, the cracking of metal—and the freezing of metal mingled together.

The frost arrow pierced the gnoll's tough but decaying flesh, and the low-temperature runes inside instantly erupted! Extreme cold air spread wildly from the wound.

The charging gnolls suddenly became stiff and sluggish, as if bound by invisible chains of frost.

Their high-speed running caused them to lose their balance and fall to the ground one after another. Those hit in vital areas or at the energy core were frozen into ferocious ice sculptures, still in their charging and roaring poses, before being either smashed into ice shards by their breezy counterparts or simply disintegrated on the spot.

In the frost-covered areas, a thick layer of blue-white frost quickly formed on the ground, greatly reducing the speed and agility of the gnoll follow-up troops' charge, and the battlefield seemed to have instantly entered a harsh winter.

Just as the long-range suppression began to take effect, Shen Mu pointed his sword forward again, aiming at the front-line gnolls whose formation had been disrupted by the frost.

"Spear and shield—forward!"

"Push forward! Crush them! Swadia—advance!"

The cornerstone of the human alliance, the Swadian heavy infantry phalanx, as solid as an iron wall, finally began to move slowly but steadily forward, accompanied by the resounding bugle calls and heavy war drums. The soldiers roared war songs in unison, their steps perfectly synchronized, like the heartbeat of a giant, heavily striking the earth, resisting the howling waves of the gnolls.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

With each step, the clanging of heavy armor colliding with the roars of the infantry merged into a deafening sound.

The fortress of spears was pushed to the front. Soldiers in the back row placed their four-meter-long, gleaming steel spears on the broad shoulder blades of their comrades in the front row.

The layers upon layers of spear tips, tilting upwards like a hedgehog, shimmered with the faint light of purifying runes, forming a moving, deadly jungle of steel thorns.

The heavy steel tower shields were tightly joined together, their edges interlocking with tenon joints, and their edges shimmered with reinforced rune light, like an insurmountable wall of sighs.

"Ho-ga—!"

Enraged and driven by instinctive greed, the abyssal undead gnoll vanguard charged forward madly, even though it was partially slowed by the frost!
The bone blade, glowing with a foul black light, and its claws, gleaming with a purplish-black evil energy, slammed fiercely into the steel wall.

"Bang! Bang! Crack—!"

The sound of the impact was deafening!
Sharp bone claws scraped against the heavy tower shield, leaving blinding sparks, deep white marks and cracks. The purification runes on the shield's surface flickered violently, counteracting the corruption of the fel energy.

The immense impact caused the heavy infantry at the front to stagger violently, their feet sinking deep into the gravel ground beneath their feet. But the tower shield formation remained as immovable as a rock!
"prick!"

The roar of the junior sergeant pierced through the shield wall.

In the next instant, countless cold and precise steel spears shot out like venomous snakes emerging from the top of the shield, the gaps in the shoulder sockets, and the pre-drilled holes at the bottom of the shield!
The timing is precise, striking the gnolls the moment they recover from their attack, or the instant they lose their balance due to being blocked by their shields.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!..."

The loud thuds of impacts were replaced by dense, muffled sounds that pierced through flesh, bones, and decaying torsos.

The tough bodies that the Abyssal Necromancers were so proud of appeared so fragile before the steel spears infused with the soldiers' full strength and blessed with holy light runes.

The spears pierced precisely from the angle at which they pounced, penetrating their throats, eye sockets, and the pulsating purplish-black core of their hearts, stabbing into their abdominal cavities to shred their internal organs, or directly piercing their hard ribs... Those gnolls who charged the fiercest seemed to have deliberately run into a meat grinder!

A heart-wrenching scream, a mixture of pain, shock, and death-defying despair, echoed across the battlefield!
The gnoll's body, pierced through, stiffened abruptly, and foul black blood gushed forth like a fountain from the horrific wound, splattering onto the tower shields and the armored masks of the shield-bearing soldiers, emitting a sizzling, corrosive sound. Their charge momentum came to an abrupt halt, pinned to the spot, or staggered backward by the powerful impact.

As the spear was retracted with lightning speed, large amounts of filthy blood, broken internal organs, and rib fragments were carried out and sprayed onto the cold, gray earth.

The piercing holes left below the shield wall are even more insidious, precisely piercing the skull or neck of gnolls who are trying to bend down to attack their lower body, with dirty blood and brain matter flowing out of the holes.

The infantry in the rear would immediately push the bodies of the fallen or dying enemies forward with their shields, or use their spears to stab them again to ensure a kill.

The spear formation moved forward steadily, slowly, and irresistibly, like a cold and efficient slaughtering machine, accompanied by the "thud" of spears piercing and being pulled out and the dying screams of jackals.

The Swadian soldiers' chants turned into a heavy "Push! Thrust! Retract! Advance!" Each step trampled over the piles of still-twitching gnoll corpses. In front of the shield wall and underfoot, a path of death quickly formed, paved with severed limbs, broken bone blades, and filthy blood and mud, the stench of blood so thick it was almost tangible.

On both flanks of the battlefield, signs of chaos began to appear on the flanks and rear of the Abyss Jackal horde.

Like a ghost, the experienced Khergit horse archer, moving at high speed among the distant ruins, made his move.

"Free Scatter - Target! Flanking Spellcaster Undead and Warlord Node!"

The leader of the mounted archers brandished his scimitar and gave the order.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The well-trained Khergit knights drew their bows and nocked arrows as they galloped, their fingers as steady as rocks.

Arrows wrapped in radiant energy shot like meteors toward the larger "Abyssal Corrupted Giant Gnolls" who were directing the low growls behind the gnoll horde, or the elite individuals who were trying to gather corrupted energy to cast spells.

The radiant arrows pierced precisely into the target's eyes, throat, or vital organs near the core of the chest cavity! The purifying power of light clashed violently with the power of filth, resulting in an explosion.

"Ouch——!"

The elite gnolls let out painful and furious howls as their spellcasting was forcibly interrupted, the energy backlash causing even more severe damage, or their command signals were disrupted.

The mounted archers did not stop, quickly skimming the edge of the battlefield, continuously harassing the enemy while on the move.

Their presence greatly distracted the Abyss army, forcing them to divert their forces to pursue these elusive knights, thus relieving the flank pressure on the frontal infantry phalanx.

Whenever a gnoll pack attempts to flank, Khergit horse archers unleash a dense barrage of arrows from a distance, creating an invisible barrier of harassment.

The main battlefield was locked in a brief stalemate and bloody attrition as the steel spear formations clashed with the corpses.

The abyssal undead gnolls continued to surge forward in droves, suffering heavy losses, but empowered by the ancestral tomb, they remained fearless in the face of death.

Shen Mu sat firmly at the command center, overlooking the entire battlefield through the [Tallinn] network, like a meticulous chess player.

The time has come! His consciousness is linked to another waiting force.

"The Holy Tree Knights! Major Caranzo!"

"For judgment—! Spear of Judgment array, purify advance!!" The Holy Tree Knights commander, Kalanzo, already fired up and clad in emerald armor, drew his greatsword, which was burning with holy flames, and roared thunderously.

"The sacred tree is eternal! Purified by light!"

The knights let out a holy war cry, and their emerald green, wood-textured heavy armor burst forth with a rich, purifying light.

They were not heavy cavalry, but elite warhammer paladins. Now, forming a diamond-shaped assault formation, with Kalanzo at the tip of their spears, they seemed to be infused with new life, suddenly wedging themselves fiercely into the horde of Abyssal gnolls through the gaps left by the infantry phalanx, or those just torn open by their spears!
"Boom!"

The Holy Tree Knights, imbued with the power of holy light, wielded steel warhammers and heavy weapons, carrying immense power and divine purifying energy, as they slammed them down upon the gnolls who were being knocked off balance by the infantry phalanx or were about to regroup for their attack.

"Thump! Crack! Thud—!"

The warhammer shattered skulls as easily as cracking an egg; the holy light flail swept across, and hordes of gnolls fell, howling as they were consumed by the purifying smoke; the greatsword imbued with holy light could easily sever the gnolls' thick bony arms or even split them in two!

Every swing of the knights carried the will to judge the filth, and every stomp brought forth deep purple blood and bits of flesh.

Emerald green purifying flames bloomed and spread amidst the gray-black horde of corpses. Wherever they went, the corrupting power of the abyssal undead gnolls crumbled rapidly like snow being poured on boiling water, their bodies being ignited and purified along with them.

The Holy Tree Knights acted as a powerful engine integrated into the infantry formation. Their forceful intervention exacerbated the already precarious situation of the Abyssal Gnolls, forcing them to retreat step by step, with the area of ​​collapse visibly expanding.

The entrance to the ancestral mausoleum in the entire city center square has been transformed into a giant meat grinder.

On one side is an ancient altar, rugged and menacing, constantly spewing out filthy creations.

On one side is a human coalition with an iron will, impeccable order, and coordinated operations.

The corpses of the abyssal gnolls were piled up like mountains, their filthy blood flowing into viscous streams that soaked through the rubble and stone slabs. The air was filled with a suffocating stench, a burnt smell, and the unique aura of purifying light burning away evil.

The roars, screams, the clash of weapons, the explosions of light, and the angry shouts of knights mingled together, creating a tragic and cruel war scene on the eve of the apocalypse.

Shen Mu remained standing at the forefront, his gaze piercing through the bloody smoke, firmly fixed on the bottomless entrance to the ancestral tomb.

He knew that this brutal massacre was only the beginning. The real final judgment would be delivered when the dark core deep within the ancestral tomb—the "false divine abomination"—emerged, its rhythm growing faster and stronger, sending shivers down one's spine.

But his army, stepping over the corpses and pools of blood of the enemy, marches resolutely toward that ultimate goal! (End of Chapter)