As long as one avoids being instantly killed, the moment for a counter-attack will always arrive.
Dot Mom seized this opportunity and began frantically producing a massive number of burrow mothers. These newly emergent burrow mothers either flew out to intercept the incoming arrows with their nets or produced even more Facehuggers. They spread out across a large area in the blink of an eye, multiplying like madly reproducing bacteria. The Facehuggers acted like miniature aerial combat vehicles, either actively colliding with the arrows or flying directly toward the enemy's territory.
Encased within the dense swarm of Facehuggers, the Eye Demon Lord once again carried a small Kobold and headed toward the city. Some small Kobolds even hid inside the Facehuggers' bellies, waiting for a chance to land. The moment for a pincer attack from both inside and outside the walls would come once just one small Kobold survived the delivery, found a relatively secure location, and performed a teleportation.
The Dark Beasts were well aware of Wei Huan's tactics. They knew perfectly well that the small Kobolds absolutely could not be allowed to enter the city, as their entry guaranteed defeat. However, facing such an array of elaborate tactics or overwhelming power, even though they knew defeat was certain, the Dark Beast Lords were still powerless to stop the coming of their doom.
This was exactly the situation at hand. The Pseudo-Divine Hero was indeed formidable; if only the Vehicle's defenses were available, even two or three more chariots would probably be insufficient to withstand her exceedingly sharp attacks. But the power of the Undead lay in that one simple concept: as long as you cannot kill me in a single strike, the initiative remains mine.
Dot Mom, functioning as a "weapon depot," came equipped with her own source of troops. Additionally, even as Dot Mom unleashed her own undead army, the eight Teleportation Gates on Wei Huan's side never paused for a moment. Through the cumulative bonuses of various equipment and titles, his attributes had been enhanced by a massive 100%. Combined with the unceasing "joint cultivation" he and Mu Zhong performed day and night, his Mana value was terrifyingly high, easily three to five times that of other magic-wielding professions.
The number of Undead he had accumulated up to this point could only be described as horrifying, truly achieving the scale of an "Undead Apocalypse." Moreover, to prepare for this very moment and to avoid frightening off the Dark Beast Royalty, he had kept nearly half of his forces hidden throughout the journey.
With this hidden half of his forces, combined with the troops he had already deployed, an endless wave of over 100,000 Undead creatures suddenly appeared, practically surrounding the entire territory and preparing to annihilate it. Dou Lin's "Judgment" and Mu Zhong's "Attribute Blessing" were applied without hesitation. Flying Apes and green light clusters were bound to the elite Undead, supporting their frenzied harvesting of enemies.
However, what rendered the Dark Beast Royalty even more helpless was the continuous bombardment of Netherfire Bombs that was still ongoing. Just how many Nether Flame Bombs had Wei Huan concealed? Those bombs were now exploding directly above its head; even the Lord's Hall was losing health. This unbelievably outlandish intelligence made King Yong so furious that it wished it could lash out with its tail and kill the Mind Parasitic Beast beside it.
The Mind Parasitic Beast was trembling and had not spoken for quite some time. If the communication within their species was viewed as an internal group chat, their internal group had completely fractured. Various pieces of real and speculative intelligence were intertwined, causing the estimates of that human Necromancer's true strength to constantly escalate. One point was undeniably clear: this human seemed to be able to destroy the territory they were currently occupying with absolutely no effort.
The thought of death echoed in the minds of every Mind Parasitic Beast. Although the deepest commands of their bloodline prevented them from resisting the orders of the Royalty, the inherent intelligence they possessed as high-ranking Dark Beasts still made them fear death. 'We will die... we will die... we will die…' The circuits meant for calculating intelligence were now jammed with this unwanted information, causing all the Mind Parasitic Beasts to react much slower than they normally would.
It was only after two more sections of the city wall were destroyed and the Lord's Hall had lost nearly half its durability from the continuous bombardment that a Mind Parasitic Beast finally spoke, saying, "My King, there are enough members of the clan within the territory; you can perform the sacrifice once more."
The agitated King Yong paused, took a long stride out of the Lord's Hall, and looked toward the city's exterior. It was only then that it realized its summoned reinforcements had already arrived from all directions, though it was unclear exactly when. The closest Lords drove all their recruited troops and Heroes, along with themselves, into a torrential flood that surged toward the small white carriage. From further away, a Two-Headed Hidden Demon, abandoning all caution, flew across the sky, then sharply turned back and collided with the Vehicle in what appeared to be a suicide attack.
Wei Huan was beginning to feel a little strained in his response. It must be said that a Pseudo-Divine-level Hero indeed has a massive impact on the battlefield. All the defensive forces he possessed were tied up by this Pseudo-Divine Hero, making it somewhat difficult to resist the reinforcements rushing in from other territories. Wei Huan's vision, with his commanding overview, meticulously directed his troops. His heart stirred as a small Kobold successfully entered the city, signifying that the assault force could now enter.
However, the continued and somewhat eerie silence from the Dark Beast Royalty made the "antenna" representing Wei Huan's combat intuition violently twitch. In the midst of this contemplation, a familiar black mist once again rose within the territory. This time, the black mist not only stayed inside the city walls but also spread outside them, covering the area where they were fighting.
When viewed up close, it was clear that the territory was not being enveloped by black mist; rather, it was that dense black mist was pouring out of the bodies of all the Dark Beasts and the troops they had recruited. It resembled a clump of condensed black ash, or perhaps souls being forcibly pulled from their skins, rapidly flying toward the city in a menacing, clawing fashion.
The familiar scene reappeared. Within the churning black mist, an even larger black dragon coalesced this time. Its head reached over 1,200 meters high, and its torso and two foreclaws were now fully formed. It stood like a boundless mountain, or like a god looking down upon the human world, gazing upon the small white carriage that was smaller than even one of its scales. Then, it opened its head and roared out black smoke, simultaneously swinging its claw with all its might.
Facing such a colossal entity, one truly felt the presence of a mighty life, discovering one's own insignificance, as if merely observing its existence could cause one's body and soul to be annihilated. The moment Wei Huan saw the black mist reappear, he finally realized what had been preventing him from issuing his next set of commands. It was his deep understanding and caution regarding the Dark Beast Royalty that stopped him from giving a misguided order.
Facing this reinforced Black Dragon, Wei Huan immediately and decisively gave the command: "Bloodlust!"
"Good," Mu Zhong responded. Without Wei Huan needing to say another word, Mu Zhong seemed to read his mind and knew exactly what he wanted. A crimson light appeared on the body of the enormous Burrow Beast, which he had been cautiously using and on which he had never even applied an Attribute Blessing. Dot Mom's body suddenly doubled in size, and then its abdomen once again spilled forth a large number of Burrow Beast Mothers.
But this time, the newly summoned Burrow Beast Mothers did not fly up to meet the Black Dragon in the sky. Instead, they dropped down, like clumps of high-strength cement, tightly wrapping around Dot Mom's eight legs. In a short time, they formed a massive Bone Fortress. The "Bone Fortress" had not appeared for a long time; in a way, it could be considered a "combination skill" of the Burrow Beast Mothers lineage.
Dot Mom was fixed to the ground. The white bones under its feet both bound it and acted like deep-rooted tendrils, continuously supplying it with energy. A green light climbed along its legs and ascended. Finally, the dense energy converged on Dot Mom's back, where a massive net was woven onto its carapace.
The Black Dragon finally concentrated all its power into that single swing of its claw, bringing it down from the great height in the sky. Simultaneously, the massive green net on Dot Mom's back was completed and shot high into the air. The green net collided with the Black Dragon's claw, tightly wrapping around it. The green net seemed to be made of thread that ruthlessly bit into the Black Dragon's flesh, while the dragon's scales sharply sliced into the net.
This scene was nothing short of a battle of gods, leaving observers stunned and filled with yearning. Could it be that when humanity evolved to its limit, it could finally stand shoulder to shoulder with the gods? Yet, this was merely a Tier-5 level battle. Or rather, it was a battle between Tier-5 and Tier-4 combatants, capable of reaching such a magnitude of world-shaking chaos and diverse phenomena.
Truly, the disparity among humans always existed. Some were like gods, others merely transcended the ordinary, and the rest were endless ordinary people who could only look up in awe at this moment.
Ultimately, the Giant Dragon of the Dark Beast Royalty proved to be slightly superior. Even though Dot Mom had gained Bloodlust and used a combination skill, its green net still snapped inch by inch after a tenacious confrontation. The black Giant Dragon's claw continued straight down, striking the Bone Fortress that the Undead had constructed.
White bones burst outward, shattering into snowflakes across the sky. With just that one claw strike, the Bone Fortress was easily destroyed, and countless Undead returned to the Great Tomb, unable to emerge for a short time. Was Wei Huan, who had always been invincible in battle, about to lose?
No, he would not. Everyone in the carriage knew this was not the full extent of their Captain's power. He was merely fighting cautiously as a contingency plan. If he were to apply Bloodlust to all 100,000 Undead, even two or three more Black Dragons like this would not matter. The Captain surely had a plan. They were certain to win. Humanity was certain to win.
Indeed, those who believed Wei Huan had a contingency plan were not mistaken. After all, even though the sacrifice of Dot Mom and her lineage had failed to completely block the dragon's attack, the Black Dragon's most powerful, fully charged attack had been entirely expended on the Bone Fortress. For a Summoner, damage to a summoned creature was perfectly normal. As long as the Summoner themselves remained unharmed, they could easily continue the fight.
As the black Giant Dragon raised its claw after shattering the Bone Fortress, black mist was already dissipating from its body, and it seemed to have shrunk slightly. The fusion technique of the Dark Beast Royalty was incredibly powerful, but because it was so powerful, it could not be used as a regular combat method. It followed the principle of "power declines with repetition." It was all over if the first attack could not be withstood, but if it was endured, the subsequent attacks were simply less fearsome.
The Black Dragon did indeed raise its claw again, but this time Wei Huan commanded the Vehicle to actively move forward to meet it. A protective shield with purple currents flowing around the outside of the carriage was incredibly conspicuous on the battlefield, like a small purple glass sphere actively rolling toward the bottom of the Giant Dragon's immense body.
However, in a rare display, this seemingly mighty Giant Dragon flinched backward when faced with the purple glass sphere. Only because there was no way to avoid it did it reluctantly strike down.
"Bang!"
The dragon's power collided with the protective shield. With a crisp sound, the shield shattered again, seemingly unable to withstand the attack. But simultaneously, a tremendous force of attack shot out the moment the shield broke, striking the dragon's claw. The terror of a Level 6 attack was immense. To this Tier-5 world and this Tier-5 Dark Beast Royal, it was like being fiercely whipped.
"Crack!"
The entire arm of the dragon, from the claw to the shoulder, vanished.
"Hoo-hoo-hoo!"
A mournful shriek rang out once more. This time, it could be confirmed that the sound had come from the Dark Beast Royal itself. Then, a fierce, malevolent glint appeared in the eyes of the Black Dragon, which seemed to have suffered immense pain. It lunged toward the Vehicle again, with an air of self-destruction.
This time, the counter-attack came in the form of multiple beams of magic light. One Wind Blade was particularly striking, thirty to fifty meters long, slicing toward the Black Dragon's neck like a Grim Reaper's scythe. Also, a dual-elemental Fire Dragon, combining ice and fire, surged and coiled as it flew straight into the sky. Countless attacks rained down on the Black Dragon's nose, face, and eyes, erupting in plumes of black smoke.
Where the Wind Blade scythe had passed, the Black Dragon's neck gushed forth rolling black mist, as if it were spraying blood. Finally, the dragon's mouth fell, biting down hard on the Vehicle. This final bite was, after all, an arrow at the end of its flight. The Vehicle's outer shell suffered less than 30% damage, but the Black Dragon seemed to have bit down on a stone that cracked its teeth, with the damage spreading out from its mouth. Then, like foam, it dissipated even faster than it had coalesced.
The Black Dragon vanished once more, and the shadow that had been cast over them disappeared. When they looked again at the Dark Beast Lords who had rushed to aid King Yong, they were all weak and listless, as if recovering from a severe illness. The Two-Headed Hidden Demon that had lunged toward the Vehicle and intended to crash into it suddenly went slack in the wing, dropping to the ground, and had to struggle to crawl back up. The troops recruited by these Dark Beast Lords had simply vanished from the spot. Even their Heroes melted away like snow exposed to the morning sun.
The formation that had initially surrounded and caused them some trouble now broke apart on its own. It seemed the Dark Beast Royal had "drained" the energy of the Dark Beasts that came to its aid, disregarding their survival, to leave behind a contingency for its own territory. None of the defending troops on the city walls were missing, and the Hero units, including the Pseudo-Divine Hero, were only slightly weaker in aura but still able to fight.
No sooner had the Giant Dragon been scattered than the Pseudo-Divine Hero drew her bow again and fired. A sharp arrow once more flew toward the Vehicle. This strike did indeed hit the Vehicle's exterior, which had just lost its protective shield and had no time to generate a new one. It directly reduced the durability by 3%.
The Pseudo-Divine Hero was about to fire another arrow when she suddenly froze, as if someone had pressed the pause button. She and the Hero units around her all stopped moving. A few seconds later, those closer would notice that sand was beginning to fly off their faces. This was the exact appearance of Heroes recruited by a territory turning to sand along with the territory after it had been destroyed.
Mu Zirui, who had exerted his spirit energy and unleashed a Wind Blade Scythe, leaned on the balcony and struggled to stand up after not hearing the sounds of battle for a long while, only to witness this scene. The Heroes on the city wall were turning to sand? "What happened?" He knew what this meant, but he did not understand why it was happening now.
No one beside him answered, all equally bewildered. But inside the carriage, the melee assault team was already celebrating with hugs.
"We won!"
"Brilliant!"
"Hahaha, we destroyed the Dark Beast Royal's territory!"
"A great victory! What a triumph!"
Beside their mutual celebration, small Kobolds were linking hands and smiling with narrowed eyes. As the Dark Beast Royal transformed into the Black Dragon to contend with Wei Huan, Wei Huan had simultaneously commanded the melee assault team to move out and fight. Xu Qingqiang, transformed into a demon and riding Moji, had precisely located the Lord's Hall amidst the dense black mist.
The crimson, ominous light of ten-times-enhanced Bloodlust glowed on Xu Qingqiang. He gave a chilling, "Heh-heh-heh," laugh and charged toward the Lord's Hall. "Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!" "Heh-heh-heh!" "Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!" "Heh-heh-heh!"
With just a series of clawing, scratching, and biting attacks, the badly damaged Lord's Hall collapsed with a loud boom. The Lord Core was easily shattered with one swipe of Xu Qingqiang's claw, definitively ending this territory battle against the Royalty. Once the Lord Core was destroyed, everything in the territory would cease to exist. Even the Dark Beast Lords would die. Only the Dark Beast Royalty was different, possessing multiple means of self-preservation, so it would not die instantly.
However, having lost its territory and its populace, even a Tier-5 Dark Beast Royal would face only one fate when confronted with Wei Huan, who could easily dominate a Tier-5 foe.
Before the territory completely vanished, Wei Huan ordered his Undead army to search for the Dark Beast Royal. He firmly believed the Dark Beast Royal was still there and must have transformed into some inconspicuous creature, hoping to escape with its life. Wei Huan did not overlook any suspicious target. Rats were killed, yolks were scrambled, and even underground earthworms were dug up and sliced in half vertically.
Finally, in a patch of mud that had not yet completely dissipated, they found a monstrous-looking black fish. It resembled an alligator gar, with a long snout and messy fangs, looking utterly hateful and in need of immediate execution. This alligator gar gave up resistance, allowing itself to be stabbed by the Undead seven or eight times, believing the Undead would then leave it alone. To its surprise, Gut-Bro, pushing past the Undead to get closer, led the Swift Wolf in a coordinated attack, one biting the head, one the fin, another the belly, and finally Gut-Bro bit the rear end. They intended to tear it apart and dismember it.
"Vicious!"
The Dark Beast Royal, who had attempted a feigned death, could no longer endure it. It flipped over and jumped up, transforming into a pure black great penguin with wings, and tried to fly into the sky. The Eye Demon Lord swooped down from above, and a rapid succession of "swoosh-swoosh" black beams of light rained down on its head and face, forcing the Dark Beast Royal back to the ground. Unable to escape either above or below ground, the Dark Beast Royal finally rolled on the spot and transformed into a ferocious black evil dragon, the kind only seen in the legends of the Blue Star. With hard teeth, sharp claws, and a shell like armor, this black evil dragon, about 10 meters tall, roared and lunged toward the Undead.
"Heh-heh-heh!" "Hoo-hoo-hoo!"
Facing the true form of the Royal, Xu Qingqiang and Moji did not retreat but advanced, pouncing forward like two ravenous, ferocious wolves. Moji and Xu Qingqiang's fighting styles were too similar; they attacked like two maniacs, fearlessly scratching and clawing at the Royal's body. Scales were lifted and ripped off, discarded on the ground like garbage, along with flesh and blood.
King Yong shook with pain, continuing to use its Royal ability to summon Dark Beasts to its aid while struggling to fight fiercely. Without a territory and subordinates, a Tier-5 Dark Beast Royal's strength was equivalent to a Gold-level monster. Of course, Xu Qingqiang and Moji alone could not kill it. However, it only took the man and the beast to engage it long enough for the main Undead army to rush over.
Those with large numbers but insufficient individual strength were placed on the periphery, tasked with blocking the continuously arriving Dark Beast reinforcements. Those with sufficient individual strength immediately swarmed King Yong in a group attack. This was a truly cruel process. A member of the Royalty, an existence the Dark Beasts regarded as supreme, was being slowly torn apart right before their eyes, dripping with blood. Yet, due to its tenacious vitality, it would not fall easily, making the process excessively bloody.
"Ahhh! I can't die, I can't die, I can't..." The filthy mass of blood roared with a heart-wrenching shriek.
This was the sight King Lie saw. He personally witnessed King Yong's death, with the ceaseless complaints of another Royal member ringing in his ears.
"...I told you we should leave. Now what? We're stuck in the fight! Our territory is only Tier 3, and we sacrificed so much to build the Wonder. That useless idiot, he couldn't even stop a human!" "...We're going to die here! No! I can't die here, I don't want to die, think of a way, quickly!" "...Lie, this is all your fault. You called me over. Are you trying to kill me? If I live, I will report the truth to the King. You idiot!"
The Royal member next door had been cursing and complaining for a long time. King Lie had only replied to it a couple of times at the beginning before falling completely silent. As the images transmitted to his mind by the Mind Parasitic Beast showed King Yong gradually losing the ability to resist, with only a flicker of life remaining, King Lie walked to the door of the Lord's Hall and looked up at the Ghost Crows in the sky that were persistently dragging him into the battle.
This human Necromancer had a very deep understanding of their Royalty. Nearly all of their secret arts were not secrets to him. At this moment, only one way remained for survival.
"Fall," King Lie said. "We are not his match. The only way is to escape. May the best one get out alive and let fate decide."
"What? What do you mean?"
King Lie stopped speaking. He walked to the center of the Lord's Hall and pulled out the palm-sized Lord Core. He held it in his hand and did not hesitate to shatter it. With the fragmentation of the Lord Core, the laws of the challenging world descended simultaneously. A terrifying force eroded his body, reaching all his organs, intending to kill him instantly. However, the life-saving talisman, purchased for a million points, proved its worth at this moment. A faint glow emanated from his body, repelling this legalistic power. The painful, near-death feeling instantly vanished.
King Lie cared little that he had used the life-saving talisman just like that. A hundred billion Dark Beasts existed for the sake of the Royalty; their points were all his. He could easily purchase dozens of similar talismans. Then, King Lie dropped his empty hand and looked around. The Lord's Hall he was in was disappearing like burned ash, the falling grit glowing before dissolving into nothingness.
Finally, his claw dug at the ground, scooping up the mud and sand on the floor. After a brief charge, he shot away like an arrow released from a bowstring, disappearing from his spot. His territory was likewise vanishing into dust and smoke. The limited populace stood still like wax figures, maintaining the exact posture they were in when the Lord Core was shattered, some of them already mostly dissolved. The protective shield that had been blocking the Ghost Crows was gone. The flock of Ghost Crows swooped down and immediately spotted the furiously galloping King Lie. They followed him closely.
King Lie was a speed-type Dark Beast Royal. He had perpetually disguised himself as a Roman Horse, an image that offered both combat power and the ability to run. Having maintained this form for a long time, he was exceptionally skilled at running. Reaching speeds of a thousand kilometers per hour was not difficult. He executed a few agile leaps, finally stepping off the Wonder he had spent all his energy building, and with a jump, he flew out of the city walls.