The heavy thud of the Sprawling Roots Bulwark's inner gate closing echoed like a hammer blow against the taut hearts of every defending soldier.
Outside the gate, an ink-like black mist surged, crashing against the ancient tree root walls that glowed with a faint green light, emitting a heart-pounding "sizzle" as if countless invisible decaying claws were scratching at them.
Inside, soldiers who had just endured a fierce retreat leaned against their comrades, panting heavily, their fine armor covered in scratches and grime, their eyes weary but burning with the fire of survival and wariness of the unknown.
Shen Mu dismounted, his mithril heavy armor gleaming with a cold luster under the flickering torchlight within the bulwark.
He did not tarry, taking a few steps to reach the highest central observation platform of the Sprawling Roots Bulwark, where Captain Legolas and the officers in charge of the ranged units were already waiting.
"Sir!" Legolas saluted, his emerald eyes gazing gravely towards the west, into the depths of the surging black mist, and said in a deep voice, "That thing... it's driving its minions here. I can feel the will of the entire Elf Forest wailing, that core terrifying will... it's closer to us than ever before! It's set its sights on this place!"
Shen Mu's icy gaze pierced through the thick black mist, as if he could feel that abyss-like stare.
Just as he expected, that awakened terrifying entity had not retreated due to the daytime purge; instead, it had been thoroughly enraged and followed closely, intending to bury this army, which had penetrated its heartland and destroyed its power, at the edge of this Elf Forest.
"It won't wait for us to rest," Shen Mu's voice, as if permeated with frost, echoed clearly within the noisy bulwark, "Prepare for engagement, highest combat readiness immediately!"
His command was like a spark igniting a fuse, and the entire Elf Forest fortress instantly erupted into an even fiercer clamor of war.
"All ranged units—to the top!" Shen Mu's voice was like clashing metal, "Rodok Sharpshooters, to the Forest Fortress Ballista positions! Vigia Sharpshooters, to the aerial platforms and outer ancient tree outposts! Wood Elf Twilight Rangers and Forest Rangers—to the treetops, vine bridge networks, and middle-level firing slits! I want every inch of the firing lanes covered by arrows!"
The soldiers roared in response, moving with lightning speed.
Heavy Rodok Sharpshooter crossbows were carried to reinforced firing positions next to the Forest Fortress Ballista emplacements, which were guarded by massive, gnarled tree roots.
Vigia Sharpshooters, like agile bobcats, swiftly climbed the vine rope bridges between the ancient trees to the aerial platforms hidden deep within the giant tree branches, these platforms connected to the treehouses built by the Elves, forming the upper firepower network of the three-dimensional defense.
Wood Elf archers, meanwhile, merged like shadows into every corner of the fortress—some concealed within the dense foliage of towering treetops, others spanning the natural vine bridges formed by massive intertwined roots, and still others occupying the honeycomb-like wooden firing slits in the middle level of the bulwark.
Below the bulwark, Rodok Sergeants and Swadian Infantry quickly consolidated the defensive line under Shen Mu's command.
Tower shields were deeply driven into the ground, and a forest of long spears slanted outwards from the wall, forming a flesh-and-blood defensive line outside the Sprawling Roots Bulwark, ready to meet any assault that might break through the ranged firepower.
Holy Tree Knights, as the final reserve and the most solid core of the bulwark, arrayed themselves around Shen Mu, their knightly swords propped on the ground, their cold gazes fixed on the outside of the high wall, the faint glow on their mithril heavy armor appearing exceptionally sacred and menacing under the black mist-shrouded night.
By this time, night had fully fallen.
There was no moon, only within the black mist, "Its" will became increasingly solidified, and an icy roar sounded on the soul level!
"Whoo—whoo-roar—!!!"
Like a war horn, a shrill, furious, and massive roar pierced through the thick black mist, striking directly at everyone's hearts!
Immediately after, the depths of that surging ink-like substance began to boil!
A tide!
A terrifying tide composed of countless Skeletons burning with dark red soul fire surged towards the Sprawling Roots Bulwark!
It was no longer the relatively "complete" Black Iron units encountered during the day.
This time, it was a thorough, destructive wave of death filled with endless malice and desire for annihilation! Mixed with extremely fast Black Bone Predators, self-detonating decaying corpses burning with dark green phosphorescence, gigantic Skeletons dragging massive iron chains attempting to smash the bulwark, and Skeleton Javelin Throwers hiding deep within the black mist, hurling bone spears wrapped in cursed black mist!
Most chilling of all were the shadows circling at the junction of the surging black mist—flocks of Winged Skeleton Archers!
They were no longer confined to high-rise buildings; they now had the boundless, dark sky!
Like a disturbed flock of bone-bats, they emitted piercing shrieks, weaving back and forth above the bulwark, seeking opportunities for dive-bombing attacks!
The true siege had begun!
"Fire arrows—!!"
"Free fire! Give them a head-on blow!"
Legolas's voice, mixed with the roars of officers, instantly ignited the bulwark's fury!
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The Vigia Sharpshooter's composite longbows emitted a dull thunder, and armor-piercing arrows transformed into streaks of meteors trailing faint white lines, tearing through the viscous night!
Whizz! Thump! Whizz! Thump!
The firing sound of the Rodok Sharpshooter's crossbows was like heavy hammers beating drums, steel crossbow bolts carrying terrifying kinetic energy, accurately blasting into the highest-threat, colossal targets within the Skeleton tide!
The head of a Black Bone Abomination that had just crashed into the tower shield defense line instantly exploded into a cloud of bone dust!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Wood Elf arrows were even more ubiquitous!
They flashed silently yet lethally from the shadows of towering treetops, from the gaps in the vine bridges, and from the firing slits in the middle level of the bulwark!
They precisely pierced into the eye sockets and joints of ordinary Skeletons, nailing a Predator attempting to climb the root wall mid-air!
The dense rain of arrows, like a torrential downpour, poured into the tide of undead with sharp whistling sounds.
The "crackling" of breaking bones merged into a continuous sound, and dark green soul fires extinguished in swathes in the darkness!
The leading edge of the tide seemed to have crashed into an invisible wall of thorns, instantly being shorn off a thick layer.
However, there were too many of them!
Skeletons, one after another, trampled over the shattered bones of their comrades, ignoring casualties and continuing to surge forward!
The Winged Skeleton Archers finally found their opportunity!
Using their aerial advantage, they bypassed some of the ground fire, circled to the relatively weaker defensive flank, and launched a deadly attack!
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Dozens of bone arrows, like black raindrops, descended from the sky with a shrill shriek!
Their targets were precisely the exposed firing slits and Wood Elves on the vine rope bridges in the middle section of the wooden wall!
"Shields up! Take cover!" an officer roared.
Thud! Thud! Thump!
Arrows struck the thick wooden wall and the vine rope bridge planks.
But several Wood Elf warriors on alert at the high vine bridge intersections reacted a little slower, and several painful groans instantly sounded!
One warrior's shoulder blade was pierced, and he fell from the vine bridge, only to be timely caught by a Rodok Sergeant on alert below; another warrior was shot in the calf, enduring intense pain and clinging tightly to the vine.
"Protect the Elves!" Shen Mu's icy voice rang out clearly amidst the whistling arrows.
Just as the Winged Skeleton Archers were preparing to launch a second, more lethal dive-bombing attack, Shen Mu, in the center of the fortress, moved.
He suddenly raised his left hand high, palm upward!
A vast, ocean-like Faith Power erupted, converging in his palm, instantly forming a dazzling golden orb of light!
"In the name of my God, grant sharp arrows, light of purification!"
Shen Mu's voice seemed to come from the heavens, resounding throughout the entire Elf Forest with a vast divine will!
The golden orb in his palm suddenly erupted with a myriad of lights, instantly spreading throughout the entire fortress!
The light did not continuously shine, but rather flowed like living water into every single ranged shooter—Rhodok Crossbowmen, Vigia Sharpshooters, Wood Elf Rangers, their bows, crossbows, and even the arrows in their quivers!
Hum—!
All arrows, whether nocked on the string or lying in the quiver, simultaneously ignited with a pure, platinum-gold holy flame flowing with divine runes!
The flame was not scorching, yet it emitted a purifying light that had an absolute restraining effect on the undead!
At this moment, every shooter felt their weapon become scorching hot and filled with power!
"Shoot!" Shen Mu's command transformed into conviction, no more words were needed!
The next moment, the counterattack on the bulwark suddenly escalated into a sacred storm of flames!
Boom—!
The first to erupt were the Forest Fortress Ballistas!
The tips of those giant Elven root spears, originally only inscribed with runes, now entirely ignited with roaring platinum-gold holy flames, and were hurled out by the force of giant winches like a fiery meteor shower!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The holy flame root spears, like the flaming spears of a war god, slammed into the densest areas of the undead tide!
Upon impact, not only did a fragment storm of physical impact explode, but also a visible platinum-gold holy flame shockwave spread out in a ring!
Skeletons and decaying corpses caught in the blast, regardless of their form, were instantly purified into dust with a piercing "sizzle"!
Even the black mist was temporarily dispersed in a section! This was a purifying bombardment comparable to area-of-effect magic!
Next were the heavy bolts of the Rodok Sharpshooters!
Adamantine crossbow bolts trailed long platinum-gold flame tails, like precisely guided holy light missiles, piercing through targets with deafening whistling sounds!
Whether the target was a small Skeleton Javelin Thrower or a thick-skinned Abomination, as long as it was hit, the holy flame would violently erupt from within!
Black iron-like bone armor melted and disintegrated in the platinum-gold flames like thin ice meeting a branding iron, and the core soul fire let out a desperate shriek and instantly extinguished!
Every hit was like igniting a small holy light bomb in the surging Black Tide!
The Vigia Sharpshooter's longbows became true holy light flamethrowers!
After the three-edged armor-piercing arrows left the string, they transformed into dazzling platinum-gold beams of light, easily tearing through the darkness!
They could not only precisely target and kill, but the holy flame stream emanating from the arrows could also carve a burning path of purification through dense undead groups!
Any undead grazed by the light beam would instantly ignite with unquenchable platinum-gold flames, turning to ash in agonizing rolls!
The most agile and lethal, however, were still the Wood Elves!
Twilight Rangers and Forest Rangers, already at home in complex environments, now with holy flame arrows, transformed into light hunters of the Elf Forest!
Their arrows shot out silently, yet illuminated their flight paths!
Every light arrow shot from the treetops, vine bridges, and firing slits was incredibly precise!
The Winged Skeleton Archers attempting to ambush from the flanks and dive-bomb became the most obvious targets!
When the holy flame-wrapped Elven arrows easily pierced their decaying bone wings and penetrated their cranial cavities, their boasted speed and aerial maneuverability instantly lost all meaning.
Amidst shrill wails, they fell from the sky, burning with roaring platinum-gold flames, like a rain of fire, crashing heavily into the sea of bones of their comrades outside the city wall, triggering an even more violent chain explosion!
Holy arrow rain, burning giant crossbow bolts, light beams that pinpointed kills, falling fiery meteors... the entire outer battlefield of the Elf Forest was instantly ignited into a platinum-gold inferno!
The black mist, before the light and purifying power of the holy flames, rapidly receded and evaporated like snow meeting the scorching sun.
Those elite undead of the Black Arrow Tower Seventh Dynasty, driven by a terrifying will—whether the fearless Black Iron Skeleton melee elites, the elusive Skeleton Javelin Throwers, or the once troublesome aerial assassins, the Winged Skeleton Archers—appeared so fragile before the destructive ranged firepower imbued with Shen Mu's Faith Power and holy flame!
They charged fearlessly like moths to a flame, but could only crash into that absolute death zone of holy light flames, tens to over a hundred paces from the Sprawling Roots Bulwark!
And then... silently turn into splashing burning bone fragments, their souls completely purified!
The ink-Black Tide was forcibly blocked, ignited, and evaporated by the platinum-gold flames!
Below the bulwark, the accumulated corpses quickly piled high, but these corpses also quickly turned to charcoal and dust in the embers of the platinum-gold holy flames.
Occasionally, a few stray Predators or Abominations that reached the tower shield defense line were quickly cut down and smashed by the heavy infantry and Holy Tree Knights, who had been holding back, roaring with excitement from the glorious results in the distance!
Outside the Sprawling Roots Bulwark, it had become a pyre of holy fire burning bones!
The crimson moonlight shone down, illuminating this zone of violent collision between light and darkness, with only the platinum-gold holy flames burning and spreading victoriously!
Legolas stood beside Shen Mu, watching this sacred yet cruel scene with awe.
Wood Elves are extremely sensitive to natural elements, and he could clearly perceive the vastness and righteousness of the Faith Power Shen Mu had mobilized, as well as its overwhelming destructive effect on necromantic laws.
This was not merely a defensive battle; it was more like... a sacred purification ritual!
Shen Mu's figure stood at the highest point of the observation platform, his gaze under his hood sharp as an eagle's, coldly surveying the battle, maintaining the output of Faith Power.
The terrifying will in the distance also seemed to sense this provocative holy flame power, and the invisible roar from the thick black mist became even more frantic and furious, like an enraged, wounded beast.
The bulwark, for now, stood as firm as a rock.
But Shen Mu knew that the terrifying consciousness deeply hidden within the core of Long City would never give up so easily.
The true test had perhaps only just begun.
His icy voice once again rang out: "Conserve Faith Power output, just maintain the holy flame effect. Stay alert, its counterattack... is coming." (End of Chapter)
