Huh?!
Chen Yu saw the Filthy Descendants surging like a black tide. His entire gel body shuddered violently, and he snapped completely awake.
Although he had long suspected a demon might be backing the Goblin Army, he had not expected those cockroach-like things.
So disgusting…
No, such evil creatures do not belong in Zeyarila.
“Beet, send them back to wherever they came from.”
Beet buzzed in response, hovering on the city wall as the Blood Legion on the ramparts flashed with sanguine light again, draining the remaining blood energy in the area.
Blood Frenzy
Blood Molding
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
Explosions chained together, fire and bloodlight braided through the air, and from time to time Filthy Descendants were blown away by blast waves, shells cracking and juices flowing everywhere.
However, unlike the fragile-skinned goblins, these Filthy Descendants wore thick black carapaces—essentially heavy-armored knights. The explosions and corrosive damage from the blood globules did not injure them as lethally as they did the goblins.
More importantly, there were a lot of them!
After only a brief moment of chaos and slowdown, the Filthy Descendants reformed and surged past the guardian knight statues in one motion, the black tsunami slamming against the wall beneath the thorn outpost.
“Boss, leave the lower part to me!”
Seeing this, Yano gently set the Slime from his shoulder onto a safe spot on the parapet.
He inhaled deeply, then clasped hands with the Heart-Stealing Shadow.
In the next instant his entire body was wrapped in dense shadow energy and hurled like a black meteor straight down from the wall, crashing hard into the chaos below.
Thud—!!
After the dull impact, spiderweb-like cracks spread out from Yano’s landing point across ground already ravaged and weakened by acids and explosions.
Dust and blood mist billowed as Yano, draped in a shadow cloak and wielding a knightly broadsword, stood tall and unbowed.
With a simple sweep, his immense strength and the broadsword sent a dozen Filthy Descendants attempting to pounce flying like ragdolls.
Several Poison-stinger Wasps circled Yano, shredding their carried Magic Leaves. Translucent shields bloomed instantly, blocking corrosive acid and flames splattering in from all directions.
Sword Hum
Yano snarled sharply. The broadsword in his hands seemed injected with life;
heavy afterimages swirled around the blade and it emitted a low hum.
He swung again. The blade tore through the air with a shredding momentum, easily cutting through several Filthy Descendants’ thick carapaces.
Sssss—
Corrosive green ichor spouted from the wounds, splattering the ground and hissing white smoke, the acid sizzling as it burned.
He stood alone amid the endless black tide, the cleared patch beneath his feet like a reef standing firm against the wild sea, utterly unmoved by the filthy waves.
This was Yano’s first battle after completing the Knight and Shadow Trial—truly worthy of his Elite Professional rank. His momentum even impressed Arthur a little.
Chen Yu puffed out his little gel belly in satisfaction.
Looks like his character development was going pretty well.
He was about to praise Yano when the usually cold, serious Yano sent a thrilled thought back.
“Boss, look at me! Isn’t this slash epic?”
Chen Yu: “…”
This guy never resists a compliment.
Nilly, watching from the wall, brightened as if an idea struck her and poked Chen Yu with a finger. “Hey, little lord, do you have more of those shield-casting wasps? Send me a few.”
Chen Yu bobbed his gel head, stretched out a tiny gel hand, and summoned a few Poison-stinger Wasps carrying Magic Leaves, motioning them to follow Nilly.
“See you later.”
Nilly waved and melted into an elongated shadow, slipping quickly into the chaotic battlefield below as if hunting for the ogre she had spotted earlier.
How could assassins from the Shadow Mountains be here?
Grumg, hiding at the rear of the battlefield, was startled by the pursuing shadow and scrambled backward, crouching his stout, rotund body low to avoid detection.
At that moment, a small glass vial with a faint phosphorescent glow was flung from the shadows and a dagger followed, striking the bottle.
Crack!
The vial shattered on impact, the glow powder inside instantly bursting like miniature fireworks and slowly drifting down through the air.
Although dim and unable to light a wide area, in this chaos and darkness it created a clear boundary of light and shadow.
For an assassin with Shadow Perception, that was all that was needed.
In that instant, Nilly felt the surrounding screams and explosions drop into muffled distance;
even flying droplets of blood seemed to linger sluggishly in midair.
Her eyes darted across the shifting light and shadow until they locked onto a stream of shadow moving a little differently from the others.
“Got you, big rat.”
The shadow enveloping her snapped in a new direction and, like teleportation, she appeared behind Grumg the next second.
“You—you’ve got the wrong ogre!”
Grumg backed away clumsily and flailed his staff, trying to fire a Corrosive Ray at the shadow, but the shields generated by the Poison-stinger Wasps deflected every attack.
“Yes, it’s you.”
Nilly, small and nimble, leapt from the shadow, her silhouette and the two black daggers in her hands seeming to fuse into one, flying toward Grumg like arrows loosed from a bow.
Swift Stab
The dagger tips pierced the dim air, cold light tearing through shadow, aimed straight at Grumg’s heart.
Panicked, Grumg grabbed a nearby goblin—frozen with terror—as a meat shield and shoved it before himself.
Squick!
The dagger plunged deeply into the unlucky goblin.
“Help! Save me!!”
As Grumg screamed, the surrounding Filthy Descendants were drawn in by the summons and swarmed, burying Nilly in the writhing black tide.
“Ouch!”
Nilly flinched and patted her chest. Thank goodness for the shields;
otherwise even if she escaped, her expensive enchanted leather armor would have been corroded to tatters by the acid.
She dove back into the shadows to chase Grumg again.
Before she could close in, changes in the light revealed Grumg had slipped into a massive shadow that was moving.
“Oh no, it’s a big one!”
Her heart skipped. She didn’t linger and slipped away immediately.
Right near where she had been seconds before, a jointed limb covered in sparse bristles slammed down like a battering ram.
Squish!
Several crunches sounded as Filthy Descendants that hadn’t dodged in time were instantly mashed into pulp.
A silver beam of light streaked by and fully revealed the beast that had just stomped down: a far larger war-type Filthy Descendant.
This special Filthy Descendant had abandoned the hit-and-hide tactics of its kin. It had a bulky, mound-like body, rock-hard carapace, and breathed acid like a wyvern.
Everything about it spoke of a creature born for war.
“Little lord, that’s a proper big one,” Nilly reported to Chen Yu as she returned to the wall.
Chen Yu listened, then ordered the Slimes to project several glowing Gray Gravel Crystals into the forward battlefield.
The lights fell like stars and briefly dispelled the darkness, letting everyone see the war Filthy Descendant that resembled a moving fortress.
Good grief, another oversized cockroach!
Evil, utterly vile.
No wonder they were called a calamity.
By comparison, even the undead—those white Skeletons—looked almost refined.
Soon Yano received the retreat signal. Using Shadow Traversal he slipped free of the tangle and returned to the wall.
He studied the massive creature below and gestured with his broadsword. “Boss, how do we deal with that big guy?”
That hulking brute looked tough to handle.
He suspected even a direct hit from a Goblin Ripper’s silver beam would only gouge a shallow pit on its thick carapace.
Its physical defense was maxed out.
And the Filthy Descendants kept streaming in, seemingly endless, pouring from the darkness.
After several rounds of spells, the Blood Legion had exhausted its stored blood energy.
Although spawning a new Blood Poison Wasp was not especially difficult, each needs nutrients equal to several months’ rations for an adult before it can fight.
Even with resources from the Dryad domain and the swamp, supporting such a legion placed significant strain on Chen Yu.
Losing even one was unacceptable.
During the lull he summoned back the remaining Blood Poison Wasps to the safe area, letting them use the last of their internal blood reserves to repair carapace damage.
To send them back to battle he would have to wait for supply wasps to fetch enough fresh blood.
For a moment, without the Blood Legion’s spell support, the defenses seemed at a disadvantage.
The surging black tide pressed on despite the battery array and scattered magic attacks, pushing toward the fortress walls.
Some of the shadow assassins on the wall couldn’t help but worry.
Chen Yu bounced a bit. “Don’t worry. I guessed these things wouldn’t be easy. That’s why I brought a secret weapon.”
“Secret weapon?” Yano asked with curiosity, and Nilly turned to look as well.
“Fardoern, time to move,” Chen Yu’s voice echoed through the gel network.
No sooner had he spoken than everyone felt a distinct tremor underfoot, and the source seemed to come from the rear of the fortress.
All heads turned instinctively.
The silver oak that had been standing quietly behind the training ground shifted, slowly pulling its deep roots free of the soil.
Its crown of silver leaves rippled, and the entire giant tree began to move!
Yano’s eyes widened. “Boss, how is your ornamental tree moving?”
“What’s strange about a tree moving?” Chen Yu replied casually, using Bat Wings to fly down onto one of Fardoern’s drooping branches.
The silver oak seemed to sense Chen Yu’s arrival. The trunk emitted a low hum, and all its silver leaves flared with brighter radiance as if honoring the creator who had given it new life.
Summon Lightning
Arcane energy gathered amid its lush branches. The air crackled as cyan plasma, like writhing lightning serpents, condensed and coiled at the tips of the highest boughs.
Several blinding bolts then leapt forth, striking the battlefield below.
Zap! Zap! Zap!
The plasma swept across and slapped the approaching war Filthy Descendant.
Powerful currents ran through its thick carapace, causing it to emit pained, furious shrieks as the massive body faltered.
Clearly, its magic resistance had not scaled with its size;
it could not compare to a true demon.
But because it had so much health, the lightning left large charred wounds yet did not halt its advance.
Enraged, the war Filthy Descendant opened its black maw.
Acidic Breath
Thick green acid blasted out, dousing the wall where Fardoern stood.
Ssssss—
The newly formed magic shields shattered instantly. The potent corrosive acid splashed and withered many of Fardoern’s silver leaves on the side facing the battlefield.
Some acid even splashed onto the ancient guardian knight statues, corroding large parts of their hard surfaces away.
Heal
Fardoern’s massive trunk glowed a gentle, life-filled emerald. It was as if a source of vitality flowed through every branch and leaf.
The corroded, withered leaves regrew at visible speed, restoring their brilliant silver sheen.
Against the war Filthy Descendant’s toughness, Fardoern’s Healing was ruthless too;
as long as its spiritual energy did not run dry, it was almost impervious to real harm.
“Let’s show it something nasty.”
Chen Yu pressed his tiny gel hand to Fardoern’s rough trunk.
All Plants as Soldiers
Hixiulong Part One
A faint world-tree silhouette radiating soft green light flashed above the silver oak.
As if answering a call from life’s root, Fardoern trembled violently. Every silver leaf erupted in moonlight-like brilliance.
Like a second rising moon, it illuminated the pitch-dark battlefield.
Rumble…
Its enormous roots writhed like awakened serpents, crossed over the wall, and slammed into the battlefield.
Then it swung its thick silver boughs, sweeping across the dense tide of Filthy Descendants below the wall.
Those struck by the boughs, large or small, were hurled away, leaving a vast cleared area in the roiling black sea.
“Charge!” Chen Yu commanded.
Now that was their blood-pumping combination move!