"Alright." Casimir gave a slight nod, raising his pale hand. Crimson blood seeped from his fingertips, rapidly transforming into a palm-sized blood bat in the air.
The blood bat flapped its wings, flying over the city wall and emitting a soul-piercing shriek.
"Ah!!!"
The highly penetrating sound wave echoed over the desolate, deathly silent wasteland, instantly spreading across the entire stretch of the wall.
"Enemy attack!"
"They're here, get ready to act!"
"Quick, mages to your positions, archers ready your crossbows!"
The entire Graystone Bulwark instantly erupted into a frenzy. The mercenaries, who had seemed somewhat lazy just moments ago, now hurriedly ran between the walls and fortresses, holding torches.
Inside the fortresses, dozens of mercenary mages wearing robes of various colors were already standing at the preset magic nodes. They raised their staffs high and chanted obscure, ancient incantations in unison.
The entire Graystone Bulwark seemed to come alive, countless streams of purple Mana flowing across it, lighting up the cores of the magic formations on the pitch-black wall surface one by one.
Sheets of molded energy shields unfolded like giant petals in layers before the city wall, tightly protecting all the arrow slits and fortress entrances.
And before that heavy stone city gate, over a dozen overlapping, interwoven shields instantly lit up.
At the same time, over a dozen enchanted heavy ballistae on the city wall had been slowly drawn to full tension by the combined efforts of over a dozen strong mercenaries, accompanied by the creaking sound of winches.
The mercenaries strained to turn the giant ballistae, aiming the massive bolts on their tracks at the slowly advancing Magical Creature Army in the distance.
"Fire!"
"Let these Magical Creatures taste human might!"
"Twang! Twang! Twang!"
Steel bolts enchanted with "Armor-Piercing" and "Swiftness" lit up with dazzling magical brilliance in mid-air, tearing through the air with sharp shrieks. Then, enveloped in a gale, they erupted with an even more terrifying speed with a "whoosh," as if teleporting to the top of the Magical Creature Army in the blink of an eye.
On the Rubble Wastes.
Ten Arcane Ancient Trees served as the vanguard of war. They moved with their heavy root systems, like mobile fortresses, crushing over the ruins and rubble on the wasteland, even ignoring the Undead crawling out from the debris, continuing to advance forward.
Behind them, the buzzing of Poison-stinger Wasps was so dense it made one's scalp tingle. The Blood Legion was deployed at full strength, rising into the high sky, their dark red carapaces flashing with ominous bloody light in the darkness.
On Peachy's back, Chen Yu's plump gel body stood at the very front, wearing a small crown, his red cloak fluttering loudly in the wind. This regal demeanor made Little Ka and Beet behind him look on with admiration.
"My King, those are magical ballista bolts."
After Beet's reminder, he instantly transmitted the interception order to the Blood Legion through the Gel Cap on his head.
The swarm of wasps hovering in mid-air instantly erupted with a dense blood-red glow. The blood-red domain rapidly expanded, sweeping out like a crimson tide, dyeing nearly half of the sky a dark red.
[Blood Baptism]
[Blood Molding]
Blood spheres gathered before each Blood Poison Wasp, then crashed towards the magical ballista bolts falling like meteors.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"
Amidst the flashes of blood-red light, a continuous series of explosions rang out in the air.
The explosive power of the molded blood spheres was clearly insufficient to completely negate the terrifying kinetic energy of the enchanted bolts. However, the blood energy splattered after the spheres exploded possessed strong corrosive properties.
Before the magical bolts could even get close to the Magical Creature Army, the enchanting patterns on the arrow shafts and arrowheads rapidly dimmed.
Stripped of their magical enhancements, the bolts fell powerlessly from mid-air like birds with broken wings.
"Vampire clan magic?!"
"How did these Magical Creatures learn it?!"
"Damn it, they've stolen our proud power." The vampires' expressions all changed.
Even Dunlan, who had been quietly observing the battlefield, revealed a look of surprise in his eyes.
"Interesting."
"But I can't let you pass through here so easily."
As his words fell, the aura around him suddenly underwent a bizarre change. A cold, deathly chill spread out from him as the center, inexplicably making one feel a sense of palpitation and fear.
"Here it comes, again..." Casimir watched Dunlan's back intently.
He always felt that whenever this guy made a move, it didn't seem like he was casting a spell, but more like he was communicating with some existence and borrowing that being's power.
Dunlan brandished his staff inlaid with a skull, billowing his wide mage robes. Instantly, he unleashed a powerful Mana torrent completely disproportionate to his frail physique.
[Plague Insect Swarm]
Thick, black mist-like Mana gradually descended, as if possessing life, searching for something on the wasteland, seeping into every inch of soil and every crevice of rubble in the Rubble Wastes.
Only a few seconds passed before subtle movements began to sound from the ruins all around.
"Rustle rustle..."
"Squeak!!!"
Countless rats carrying the aura of plague, along with various centipedes and scorpions, as if stimulated by the black mist Mana, frantically burrowed out from the soil and rubble piles.
They spontaneously converged into a squirming black tide, emitting piercing shrieks, and charged towards the steadily advancing Magical Creature Army.
At the same time, the elemental torrents spewed by the magical ballistae and alchemical Magic Crystal Cannons, the fireballs and rays released by the mages, and the flaming arrows shot by the archers, were already pouring down onto the Arcane Ancient Trees that had entered attack range.
"Boom rumble rumble!!"
For a moment, the brilliance of magical explosions, the riotous colors of rampaging elements, the blazing flames... illuminated the Graystone Bulwark and the entire wasteland as bright as day.
No wonder even the regular army of the White Horse Kingdom could only halt before this bulwark. Just the defensive formation alone was terrifyingly immense.
Fortunately, Chen Yu had never underestimated his enemies either. Standing on Peachy's back, he waved his little gel hand.
"Let them taste the power of the Goblin Rippers."
A few seconds later, accompanied by the sound of wheels grinding over the ground, thirty Goblin Ripper Type I units were strenuously pushed forward by the Beetle Logistics troops.
The Metal Slime Artillery seated on the Artillery Emplacements solemnly raised their little gel hands in salute, then cooperated to activate the emplacements.
"Boom!!!"
The emplacements finished charging. Dozens of silver light beams instantly shot out from the gaps between the Arcane Ancient Trees, sweeping across the surging plague insect swarm. Each blast often cleared out a large swath of safe territory.
At the same time, over a hundred Slime Engineers responsible for formation setting, riding on Beetle mounts, found their respective positions within the moving formation. Together, they raised the prepared Talismans and giant Gray Gravel Crystals in their hands.
"Hum!!"
All the Talismans simultaneously emitted a faint glow, rapidly connecting the scattered Gray Gravel Crystals into a single network.
The next moment, dozens of dazzling silver light beams shot skyward from various nodes, converging in front of the army to form a massive, semi-transparent barrier.
If one looked closely, one could vaguely see golden portals circulating on it.
That's right, this was precisely the Kingdom's Shield originally planned for installation on the walls of the Slime King's city, which Chen Yu had dismantled and temporarily used on the battlefield.
Although carrying and setting up the Formation was quite troublesome, the Kingdom's Shield's performance on the battlefield was remarkably impressive.
Fireballs and bolts mixed together, landing on the barrier with a series of clinking and clanging sounds, all being blocked. Even if an occasional bolt passed through the "Life Gate," it would be intercepted by the Magic Leaves activated by the Arcane Ancient Trees and Poison-stinger Wasps.
The defense was practically maxed out.
The Undead and rats on the ground were directly crushed by the advancing "Death Gate," turning into a mess of bones and corpses, which were then sucked into Chen Yu's Abyssal Big Belly.
His stagnant health points once again surged dramatically, breaking through twenty thousand points and still continuously climbing.
"It's that composite magic formation from that night." Dunlan recognized the origin of this formation at a glance.
He stared at the circulating barrier portals, discerning that this magic formation possessed a certain specific pattern and method of solution.
But they had no time to study it. The only method now was to use absolute force to violently blast open this defensive formation.
That pitch-black Earth Elemental Giant and the two dark Artillery Emplacements were holding back, clearly the trump cards these Magical Creatures had prepared, specifically targeting the Graystone Bulwark.
If they were allowed to get close to the city wall, who knows what might happen.
The vampires could no longer sit still.
"Quick, activate the ancient alchemical cannon inside the bulwark. We can't let them get any closer."
"Ancient alchemical cannon?" Dunlan pondered thoughtfully.
"You never mentioned this to the teacher."
Casimir coughed lightly. "My dear Dunlan, please don't misunderstand."
"This ancient alchemical cannon is one with the entire Graystone Bulwark. It's a relic from ancient times. Every time it's used, it causes irreversible, severe wear and tear to the cannon body and the bulwark's structure."
He spread his hands, making a helpless gesture. "Over the past few hundred years, we've only used it four times in total. Today is the fifth."
"Usually, it's hidden deep within the bulwark. Very few vampires pay attention to or mention it."
Dunlan raised an eyebrow, interested. "How is this ancient alchemical cannon different from the current alchemical Magic Crystal Cannons?"
"More powerful." Casimir's expression became serious for the first time, even carrying a hint of awe.
"It's said that when it was first activated, it triggered a Mana riot on the Rubble Wastes, blasting a Golden-tier Hill Giant Lord to death with one shot."
"However, because it's truly too ancient, with components aging, the power of this alchemical cannon's shots has decreased with each use. Whether it can even be successfully activated now, and how much power it might retain after activation, we're not sure."
While he was speaking, the entire Graystone Bulwark suddenly emitted a dull vibration, as if some slumbering ancient behemoth was awakening.
On the city wall at the very center of the bulwark, the thick wall surface slowly peeled away, revealing a massive cannon barrel with a diameter of two meters.
At that moment, the vampires received good news relayed back by the mercenaries in the fortresses: that ancient alchemical cannon was still operational, and it had already finished charging.
"My King, it's a very powerful cannon." Little Ka, who had been scouting in the air, flew back.
"Is this also a relic left by an ancient civilization?"
Chen Yu felt a sense of wariness within and decided to proceed with caution.
He waved his little gel hand. The Poison-stinger Wasps draped with Magic Leaves in the rear army immediately converged into a square formation, flying above the army.
"Block them."
The vampires also gave the order. The blood bat in Casimir's hand let out another shriek, the sound wave reverberating across the entire battlefield.
The bat's sonic wave served as the firing signal. Both sides heard it.
The massive cannon muzzle began gathering violent, chaotic Mana. The light inside grew brighter and brighter, as if a multicolored sun was gestating within.
Simultaneously, under Beet's command, the Poison-stinger Wasps above the army bit through their Magic Leaves, activating magical shields one after another, forming yet another line of defense before the army.
Just as the tension of the standoff peaked, the Mana at the cannon muzzle seemed to have gathered to its limit, emitting a roar like that of a giant dragon.
"Boom!!!"
The cannon muzzle violently expelled a massive torrent of energy. Wherever the torrent passed, the air exploded with crackling sounds. The rubble and debris on the wasteland were directly vaporized, leaving a scorched black trench. Then it crashed against the barrier of the Kingdom's Shield.
"Crack, crack..."
Under the bombardment of the ancient alchemical cannon's terrifying torrent, the Kingdom's Shield only held for a few seconds before several cracks appeared on it. Then, like a dense spiderweb, they rapidly spread across the entire barrier.
"Bang!!"
The Kingdom's Shield finally couldn't hold on. Like glass struck by a boulder, it shattered with a crash, turning into a sky full of drifting light points that rapidly dissipated into the air.
The weakened Mana torrent continued forward, crashing against the magical shields activated by the Poison-stinger Wasps, but ultimately failed to break through the defense before dissipating, leaving only the lingering smell of charcoal on the battlefield.
As the Mana brilliance gradually faded, the Rubble Wastes was soon enveloped in darkness again, temporarily returning to calm.
"It's broken through!"
"That ancient alchemical cannon still works."
The vampires looked delighted, their confidence and morale boosted considerably.
On the Magical Creature Army's side, the Gray Gravel Crystals in the slimes' hands exploded one after another due to energy overload, turning into a ground full of sparkling powder, completely unusable now.
Chen Yu looked at that massive cannon muzzle still radiating residual heat, feeling somewhat surprised inside.
But his surprise wasn't about how powerful the alchemical cannon was. Rather, he felt its power seemed a bit... smaller than he had anticipated.
It looked and sounded impressive, but in the end, it only blew away one layer of the Kingdom's Shield, not even breaking through a single shield activated by a Magic Leaf.
It seemed the Goblin Ripper Type II could achieve a similar effect, possibly even stronger.
The Kingdom's Shield being forcibly shattered meant they had temporarily lost their most important protection. The army's formation was now exposed before the vampires.
But it was also at this moment that the massive Graystone city gate finally entered the attack range of all the Artillery Emplacements.
The moment for counterattack had arrived.
The pitch-black Earth Elemental Giant halted its earth-shaking steps. The small earth elementals inside resonated with the ground, connecting the colossal body to the land as one whole, as if it had become a pitch-black fortress standing on the wasteland.
It slowly raised its head, gazing at the magnificent high wall before it. A solemn aura washed over the vampires, making them feel suffocated.
The joints on the Earth Elemental Giant's body, which glowed with yellowish-brown Mana light, began to shine even more brightly, as if infinite power was brewing within.
In the seemingly oppressive atmosphere, the excited voices of the small earth elementals spread throughout the gel network.
"Wow! It's a city wall, a tall and huge city wall."
"Quick, shoot them with a blast, let them see our power."
"Aim properly, don't space out."
"Your daddy's here."