As expected, it was a massacre.
Feixiao barely lost any troops at all.
After retreating, Jean returned to Hu Tao's side, worry written all over her face.
"Hu Tao, be careful. The enemy's stats are extremely high."
"How high?"
Hu Tao didn't look concerned in the slightest.
I've got skeletons. What is there to be afraid of?
"Attack 41. Defense 39. And magic is sealed—you'll be fighting purely in melee.
Also… at the start of the battle, her army gains Advanced Prayer. Their stats will increase by another 8 points."
"…Huh?"
Hu Tao was stunned.
Did I hear that right?
How are her stats that high?
She subconsciously checked her own panel.
Attack: 21
Defense: 21
Mana: 11
Intelligence: 11
And that was after gaining +3 from the Cursed Armor.
Without it, her Attack and Defense wouldn't even reach 20.
Earlier, when she saw Feixiao's army, she hadn't felt much pressure.
But now…
Her heart started pounding.
The gap was huge.
How many skeletons would it take just to kill a single Archangel?
"Not afraid… not afraid."
She could only comfort herself internally.
"At least my Cursed Armor will reduce her stats a bit."
There was no other choice.
She could only brute-force it.
Fortunately, the sheer number of skeletons still gave her confidence.
Stepping into the arena, Hu Tao faced Feixiao.
"Let's go."
The scene shifted.
Feixiao's massive formation stood ready.
Hu Tao raised her hand.
Bone Dragons ×110
Dread Knights ×210
Liches ×300
Vampire Lords ×600
Skeletons ×170,000
"…That many?!"
Earlier, it was the Genshin side that was shocked.
Now it was Honkai: Star Rail's turn.
"What the hell is this?"
"Wait—what's with that 170,000?"
"The other units look normal—why are there that many skeletons?!"
"How do you even fight this? You'd die of exhaustion first!"
On the high platform, Valerius chuckled.
He loved watching them panic.
"Already can't handle it?"
Deciding to stir things up, he waved his hand.
The skeletons' stats appeared before everyone.
Skeleton
Attack: 5 (32)
Defense: 4 (31)
"…WHAT?!"
"That's a skeleton's stats?!"
"Is this really a Tier-1 unit?!"
"One swing of that thing could shatter mountains!"
"…Wait. I'm starting to think General Feixiao might not actually win."
Earlier, Feixiao's side had felt invincible.
High quantity. High quality.
But now that Hu Tao's army was revealed, it became clear—
They didn't have a numerical advantage anymore.
And the quality gap had shrunk drastically.
Even Feixiao herself was surprised.
In her estimation, Hu Tao shouldn't have more than 100,000 skeletons.
So where did all these extra ones come from?
"Where did you get so many skeletons?"
"Necromancy."
"…You can summon that many with Necromancy?"
"Did you notice something?" Hu Tao asked calmly.
"There are no Tier-2 or Tier-3 units in my army."
"…And?"
Feixiao didn't understand.
What did other tiers have to do with this?
Hu Tao chuckled.
"I'm the only one who chose the Necropolis. You probably don't know what's inside it."
She explained:
"Skeleton Conversion Yard.
A Necropolis-exclusive structure."
"I can convert any creature into skeletons."
"…You don't mean—"
Feixiao's eyes widened.
"You converted all Tier-2 and Tier-3 units…?"
"You're saying you killed your teammates' troops?"
"Of course."
Hu Tao didn't see the problem.
It's just a game.
Feixiao's eyelid twitched.
That's ruthless.
You slaughtered everyone's troops to turn them into skeletons—and didn't even consider your teammates' feelings?
But then again… knowing Hu Tao's teammates, they probably cheered her on.
"And not just my teammates' troops."
Hu Tao smiled sweetly.
"Yours too."
"…So that's why."
Feixiao finally understood.
"When you captured cities, you only recruited Tier-1 and Tier-2 units."
"She ignored everything else."
"So you were killing them all and bringing them back as skeletons."
Now the origin of those skeletons finally made sense.
Feixiao's expression grew serious.
The enemy's forces far exceeded her expectations.
Victory was no longer guaranteed.
"Let's begin."
Light descended.
Advanced Prayer triggered automatically.
With this buff, Feixiao was confident she could quickly wipe out Hu Tao's elite units.
As for the skeletons—
She'd deal with them later.
But then—
Something felt off.
After the light faded, a strange glow appeared on her army.
Immediately afterward, four debuffs slammed down.
Slow — All units' speed reduced by 50%
Misfortune — All units deal minimum damage, then −1
Bad Luck — All units' Luck −2
Weakness — All units' Attack −6
"…What is this?!"
Feixiao was shocked.
The enemy had automatic spells too?
Hu Tao laughed.
"You've got Angel Alliance."
"So why can't I have Cursed Armor?"
Hu Tao was ecstatic.
Slow drastically offset the speed boost from Angel Alliance.
Misfortune crushed the enemy's damage output—perfect for skeleton warfare.
Bad Luck and Weakness were just icing on the cake.
Advanced Prayer's effect was reduced by at least half.
So Cursed Armor may not give much Attack or Defense…
But it's damn useful.
"Charge!"
Hu Tao pointed forward.
No tactics.
No formations.
Skeletons didn't need strategy.
If they touched the enemy—
They'd drown them.
The undead tide surged forward.
"Flying units—take off!"
Seeing the skeleton wave roll in, Feixiao ordered all aerial units skyward.
Any slower and they'd be swallowed whole.
"Prioritize eliminating the other units!"
That had been her plan from the start.
Fighting skeletons head-on was pointless.
Better to clear out the special units first.
All flying units soared forward.
But the ground units—
Behemoths and Titans—
Were instantly overwhelmed.
At first, they relied on sheer strength to smash skeletons apart.
But as more and more climbed over them—
Clinging to limbs.
Crawling up torsos.
Within moments, their massive bodies were completely covered.
Bone piled upon bone.
So many skeletons that their original forms could no longer be seen.
Only endless white frames remained.
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