Chapter 325 – The Generals of Tianyuan

“My god, what is that! I even saw over a dozen Bone Dragons!”

“Is this living faction… the undead?”

In the past, the undead were enemies to most living beings. Both the Elven Empire and the Holy Radiance Empire had launched campaigns against the undead.

However, times had changed. Later, under the threat of Filth and monsters, the undead were also classified as part of the ‘broadly defined living beings.’

Tilly wasn’t born during the Elven Empire era. She didn’t particularly like the undead, but she didn’t have an innate aversion to them either. However…

“If this faction is undead, then what’s with the treants?”

She couldn’t understand!

At the foot of Wolfhead Mountain, two black tides soon clashed.

Although the number of undead still couldn’t compare to the monster tide, they had reached a scale where they could confront it head-on.

The monsters’ eyes were filled with bloodshot red, fearless of life and death, but the undead were even more reckless. Even if half their bodies were torn apart, even if only their heads remained, they could still leap up and bite the monsters.

In the monster cosplay competition, monsters could only take second place.

An Abomination transformed into a flesh ball, rolling into the monster horde. The thick fat covering its body had been slashed open, its hook-armed appendages broken off and devoured by monsters. More and more monsters pounced and bit onto its body, leaving the Abomination almost immobile.

It felt no fear, no pain. It merely split its mouth wide open, stretching to its ears, letting out a sinister, bizarre laugh.

The next moment—

BOOM—!

The Abomination self-destructed. The violent energy tore apart the monsters clinging to its body, while a large amount of highly corrosive acid showered the surroundings like a curtain of rain. For a moment, sizzling sounds continuously erupted as one monster after another, still charging forward, howled and rolled on the ground before gradually falling silent.

A high-intelligence Gnoll, relying on his extraordinary combat power, charged into the undead tide. He could often cleave a Skeleton General blocking his path in half with a single slash of his Saber. But suddenly, his legs were grabbed. Several bisected skeletons and Ghouls clung to him desperately, while more undead clattered and clacked as they lunged at him.

Faced with the choice between a fight to the death and a temporary retreat, the intelligent Gnoll hesitated.

He possessed intelligence, and thus had more fear and a stronger will to survive.

The undead around him, regardless of whether they were low-tier or high-tier, were all fearless, all aiming to trade their lives for his.

“Is this reasonable?!”

“Shouldn’t… living beings be the ones afraid of us?!”

Before his consciousness sank into darkness, the intelligent Gnoll’s mind was still filled with incomprehensible thoughts.

Compared to the entire monster tide, the number of undead was actually much smaller.

This time, using the ‘Death Legion,’ Mu Yuan and Deadbone had prioritized quantity. Most of the summoned undead were only at the first or second tier. Even the dozen or so very conspicuous Bone Dragons were merely at the third tier.

But the undead didn’t need to face the entire monster tide at once. With their backs to Wolfhead Mountain, they only engaged the front lines of the tide where they made contact. The two forces entangled and fought, turning the entire battlefield into a meat grinder.

Within the undead tide, there were also a few figures—scarce in number but massive in size, making them particularly eye-catching.

Forest Guardians!The Forest Guardians of the Nature Faction were actually fighting alongside skeletons and ghouls—a sight that would have made countless people’s eyes pop out of their sockets centuries or millennia ago. Unfortunately, monsters paid no heed to such distinctions; whether it was treants or skeletons, they were all the same in their eyes.

Very few observers remained outside the monster horde.

The combination of the undead tide and the Forest Guardians firmly held back the onslaught of the monster waves. Meanwhile, on Wolfhead Mountain, the light shield formed by the Thousand-Prism Mirror remained bright, deflecting the sporadic long-range attacks from farther away.

Within the shield, arrows and energy beams shot out whooshing, slamming into the high-tier monsters that had revealed themselves in the monster tide.

With the monster tide unable to breach the defensive line, the various city defense weapons now demonstrated astonishing lethality.

Previously, the commander of Jackal Fang had disregarded these defenses, believing that the waves would surge up Wolfhead Mountain in just a few hundred seconds. By then, the minions under their control would have completely destroyed the delicate yet fragile weaponry of the living forces.

In a few hundred seconds, no matter how powerful these city defense weapons were, they couldn’t eliminate too many lesser monsters.

But now,

the undead tide and the Forest Guardians had stifled the momentum of the advancing waves, while the various long-range weapons on Wolfhead Mountain continued their relentless bombardment. If the ammunition reserves of this living force were sufficient, they might even gradually eradicate the ordinary monsters outside Wolfhead Mountain.

Mu Yuan’s ammunition was naturally abundant.

Although the Energy Well constructed at the territory’s headquarters didn’t have much surplus capacity, Lord Mu had directly prepared an energy reserve of over 1,500 Soul Crystals.

As for the Thunderflame Cannons, which couldn’t be recharged with Soul Crystals, the ammunition production by Master Li’s team was limited by time constraints… So Mu Yuan purchased several hundred crates of Thunderflame Cannon ammunition through the Secret Realm.

After all, this was a relatively common war weapon in Taixuan, and ammunition for this model could be procured to some extent.

If not for the time pressure, Mu Yuan would have prepared thousands of crates.

Ammunition was the last thing he lacked.

“However…”

He did not show any signs of relief, “the monster tide is merely the first wave of Jackal Fang’s assault. A prestigious overlord force like theirs surely has more than just these tactics.”

Jackal Fang indeed had more tricks up their sleeve.

Soon,

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ground trembled even more violently as one colossal figure after another emerged from the depths of the monster tide.

These were enlarged versions of Gnolls, but their entire bodies were covered in striking crimson fur, as if they had just been pulled out of a Blood Pool. The flesh beneath the fur on their torsos, arms, and other parts writhed slowly as if alive, a sight that inspired dread.

This was only the beginning.

As these giant Gnolls emerged, monsters around them began pouncing onto the colossal Gnolls. The monsters clung to the giant Gnolls, their flesh quickly dissolving and merging into the bodies of the enlarged Gnolls.

The flesh of these giant Gnolls writhed even more rapidly, their already massive bodies swelling and stretching taller and taller.

In the blink of an eye, war monsters standing dozens of meters high, barely recognizable as Gnolls, loomed imposingly.

The smallest of these war monsters stood over thirty meters tall, while the largest exceeded seventy meters.Some war monsters had several gnarled, giant arms stretching out from their backs;

Others had tendrils wildly whipping around their bodies, tearing apart any ordinary monsters blocking their path;

There was also one war monster with rows of blood-red vertical eyes growing across its torso. Hundreds of pupils opened simultaneously, and wherever their gaze fell, countless undead creatures fell into chaos, turning on each other.

These war monsters charged directly into the tide of undead, advancing step by step. The undead along their path were utterly powerless against these colossal beings. Even high-ranking undead like Abominations or Bone Dragons could not halt the war monsters’ progress.

Whoosh—

A replicated explosive Star Arrow shot from a tricky angle, piercing into a war monster’s eye socket and shattering it violently.

Wisps of dust rose into the air.

The war monster’s massive head was blown apart, half of it completely destroyed.

Yet, such an absolutely fatal injury seemed to have little effect on the war monster. It continued advancing relentlessly, with flesh buds wriggling, growing, and intertwining rapidly within its shattered skull.

In mere seconds, the war monster’s entire head restored itself to perfection.

On Wolfhead Mountain, weapons like Arrow Towers and Thunderflame Cannons continuously poured out firepower, yet they too struggled to eliminate these enormous war monsters with their formidable regenerative abilities.

While enduring the Thunderflame Cannons’ sustained bombardment, these war monsters even underwent evolution.

Flesh proliferated continuously on their arms, instantly forming thick shields of flesh and blood. The war monsters, now wielding these massive shields, steadily pressed forward.

In the distance,

An elf observing everything through her sentinel Warhawk couldn’t help but sigh in despair.

“This faction is already incredibly powerful, yet this kind of assault seems nearly unstoppable.”

The undead simply couldn’t hold them back.

The treants could potentially block them, but they couldn’t match the war monsters’ speed.

These war monsters were generally at Third or Fourth Order Rank, yet on this battlefield, their impact was disproportionately massive. A Fourth-Order Expert could eliminate a Third-Order war monster given sufficient time, but they couldn’t stop them through direct confrontation.

“We giants aren’t afraid of these war monsters, but…”

They couldn’t withstand the overwhelming tide of monsters and would be completely overrun!

Meanwhile, this faction could hold back the tide and resist long-range attacks, yet they couldn’t stop the war monsters’ advance.

If they could start over, if Boulder Mountain Ridge had cooperated with this living faction, would they have had a chance to withstand the overlord’s assault head-on?

Unfortunately, there were no second chances.

“War monsters aren’t only stoppable through sheer size. If a sufficiently powerful expert strikes, tearing apart the monster’s body and shattering its core in a short time, they can be eliminated completely. However, ordinary Fourth-Order Experts would find this extremely difficult to achieve.”

Elf Tilly pondered.

Even as a peak Fourth-Order Expert like herself, she could only quickly eliminate Third-Order war monsters. While capable of killing Fourth-Order war monsters, doing so swiftly would involve significant risk, with serious injury a real possibility if she made the slightest mistake.

To reliably and quickly destroy Fourth-Order war machines would require someone beyond the ordinary peak of Fourth Order.

But such supreme experts were exceedingly rare in Nature’s Garden—only one or two existed at most.As she pondered, a deafening dragon roar erupted from Wolfhead Mountain in the distance. A colossal, majestic figure far larger than the Bone Dragon, radiating an aura of icy stillness, suddenly descended.

Its Dragon Breath instantly froze and shattered countless monsters.

It pounced on a war monster, its Dragon Claw shrouded in black mist while countless skeletal spikes erupted from the ground, gripping the flesh giant before it.

Sario’s dragon form trembled with resonance as his black mist-wreathed claw tore through the monster with a sizzling sound. He cast a deathly gaze upon the exposed core at the monster’s center.

Crack—

The flesh core shattered.

The flesh giant, which had been continuously sprouting and spreading tendrils, immediately began to rot and soften, collapsing into a pile of lifeless pulp that rapidly disintegrated.

“It’s… an epic lifeform, the Frost Dragon!!”

The elf’s eyes widened.

The giant’s platter-sized eyes bulged.

They quickly turned their attention elsewhere.

There, a crimson dragon was charging across the battlefield, her Dragon Claw pinning a giant monster as she dragged it over a hundred meters, spewing extreme orange-red flames from her maw.

“It’s… an epic lifeform, the Red Dragon!!”

In the distance,

On the other side of the mountain.

“In the name of the Fearless Great Mountain Divine Venerable, eradicate the enemy.”

A golden Giant Spirit God enveloped in brilliant radiance, larger than the war monsters, swept forward with a spear resembling the Pillars of Heaven.

The flesh monster’s body was violently blasted apart, along with its blood core within.

Both elf and giant drew sharp hisses of breath, making outstanding contributions to reducing the world’s Filth Qi.

On the battlefield, aside from these three super-standard powerhouses, several exceptionally massive treants swung their branches, effortlessly intercepting and restraining the war monsters.

Other strong fighters also worked together to confront and eliminate the war machines one by one.

The highest kill count belonged to the Frost Dragon.

In just a short while, it had destroyed four war machines, including one Fourth Order monster.

After all, it was a Dragon.

The Frost Dragon was inherently a super-standard powerhouse, possessing both massive size and formidable strength, making it perfectly suited to combat these equally enormous war monsters.

“Hahahahaha—”

“This lord is indeed invincible!”

“Who else? Who else? Is there no one who can put up a fight?”

Before the final “else” could fully leave his mouth, suddenly, eerie lights shot from the monster tide nearby, striking Sario.

「Curse: Advanced Slow!」

「Curse: Mental Confusion!」

「Curse: Wing Shackles!」

Three Fourth Order spellcasting monsters had simultaneously unleashed their attacks.

Sario felt his entire body become incredibly sluggish, his wings weighed down by heavy shackles. Even with strenuous effort, his whole form felt somewhat powerless.

At that moment, a leader-level monster struck, tearing his wing apart in one swift move.

Sario crashed to the ground.

High-level monsters emerged from all around, revealing their forms.

It was a trap!

A trap targeting top-tier powerhouses.

If the elite fighters didn’t intervene, the war monsters would gradually advance, providing more space for the monster tide. If they did strike, the high-level monsters lying in ambush would seize the opportune moment to deliver a fatal blow.

This was the overlord faction’s ‘combined arms’ tactic.

Even Legendary Realm experts couldn’t simultaneously rescue multiple powerful allies trapped in such encirclements.

“Boss, save me!”

At the brink of life and death, Sario’s dragon roar shook the heavens.However, Deadbone was not here.

In Deadbone’s absence, the contingency arranged by Lord Mu was in effect.

Three Fourth Order Gnoll priests exploded one after another with loud bangs, leaving not a single bone behind. Only Uta’s afterimage flickered between heaven and earth.

“Uta!”

“Brother Uta! Big Brother Uta! Save me!”

No words were needed – Uta had already made his move. By merely loosening his Flesh Shackles slightly, he had already surpassed the limits of the Fourth Order.

Ordinary Punch!

A Fourth Order Gnoll commander’s head caved inward, shattering with a bang.

Serious Punch!

The sword blade held horizontally by the Fourth Order Gnoll Great Chieftain shattered. His eyes widened in shock, and when he looked down, his entire chest had been pierced through. Behind him stretched a three-hundred-meter-long white Qi wave that carved a long ravine into the earth as it passed.

Elsewhere, Xiliu was also in crisis, her scales shattered and her entire dragon body covered in wounds.

Suddenly,

“Ding ling ling~”

“Ding ling ling~”

One, two, three… the high-level Gnolls surrounding her froze in place one by one.

“Illusion sound technique?” A Gnoll cursecaster narrowed his eyes. “Don’t panic, we outnumber her. A single illusion won’t affect us for long.”

But when did you get the illusion that you were only under one illusion?

And when did you get the illusion that you had just fallen under the illusion?

Ghost market shadows flickered in and out of view, with numerous ghostly pupils beginning to glow.

Xiliu let out a fierce roar, “It’s time for my hunt!”

…

“In the name of the Undaunted Mountain Divine Venerable!”

A more brilliant and divine golden giant spirit appeared behind Lu Liu, even more magnificent than before.

Together with him, it raised its spear… and swept horizontally!

Numerous high-level monsters were sent flying backward, bleeding in mid-air, with several dying on the spot.

…

Boom—

The tree realm spread in all directions as thick, tough roots broke through the soil to entangle the war monsters’ bodies and burrow into their flesh.

The monsters’ flesh continuously proliferated and regenerated.

But the roots constantly drained their nutrients, and at a faster rate.

The flesh monsters gradually withered and thinned.

Meanwhile, the tree realm rapidly expanded and grew stronger. At the center of the lush tree realm, a massive, ancient tree that reached toward the heavens like a towering pillar was unfurling its increasingly enormous form.

At the center of its trunk, an ancient human face slowly emerged.

…

In the blink of an eye, the numerous high-level monsters lurking around the war weapons transformed from hunters into prey.

The intelligent Gnolls stared at the massive, invincible, terrifying figures before them, their fear taking root in their hearts like seeds and rapidly sprouting.

Elf Tilly and Giant Qiang Er also stared with wide eyes.

In their view were numerous super-powerful beings of different races, each incredibly strong.

These powerful figures shared a common title.

Named, the Tianyuan Generals.

(End of Chapter)