radicalducati Page 225
Page 225
"We can't hold them off, retreat! Retreat with the people at the high ground outpost!" Zhao Kai knew things were going badly, swung his giant axe, smashed a boulder that was hurtling towards them, and decisively gave the order.
This is a force they cannot withstand.
Defeat became inevitable.
The two remaining armies reunited and fought a retreat, relying on their familiarity with the terrain to constantly use the rubble and tunnels to avoid the aftermath of the natural disaster, while the number of casualties continued to rise.
Behind the army of water ghouls, the old priest's eyes gleamed with an eerie light, and his bone staff paused slightly.
The black vortex in the sky slowly dissipated, the water dragon lost its support and crashed down, and the tornado gradually subsided.
It let out a sharp screech and swung its bone staff forward.
The remaining water ghouls and the army of black snakes surged up again, like a flood bursting its banks, launching a frenzied pursuit of the retreating humans along the breach torn open by the natural disaster.
……
In the distance, within the Biyun gathering area.
Through Xuebing's shared view, Han Ning was able to take in everything that was happening at the high ground outpost.
His expression turned extremely serious.
"Even the high ground outposts couldn't stop them? The water ghouls can even trigger natural disasters."
He muttered to himself, his heart sinking.
The water ghouls have captured the high ground outpost; who will be their next target? The answer is obvious.
That must be their gathering area.
"Chairman Wu, Zhao Kai and his men have been attacked, and the high ground outpost has collapsed. The army of water zombies may soon turn around and come towards us."
Han Ning's voice, amplified by his mental power, resonated throughout the entire cavern of the settlement area.
"Everyone, listen to my command! Enter the highest level of combat readiness! Everyone, proceed immediately to the outer perimeter of the forest according to the pre-arranged plan! Hurry!"
"Received!" Responses came from various departments throughout the cave.
The order was relayed, and everyone in the settlement got to work.
All combat personnel immediately dropped what they were doing, picked up their weapons, and rushed to their designated defensive positions as quickly as possible.
Non-combat personnel, under the organization of the logistics team, transferred supplies into the depths of the cave in a tense but orderly manner.
Without the slightest hesitation, Han Ning soared into the sky, transforming into the form of a Starry Osprey. His wings stirred up a storm as he flew at top speed toward the highland outpost.
Things had gone somewhat beyond his expectations. He had to go and meet Zhao Kai and his group, and ideally... hold off the pursuers as much as possible to buy more time for the gathering area to prepare.
……
On the road to defeat, Xu Ming, Zhao Kai, and the awakened ones from the high ground outpost, including Deputy Leader Qian, were all in a sorry state.
Fortunately, the overall strength of the Highland Outpost is stronger than that of Iron Tiger.
When the water ghouls attacked, ordinary people and weaker awakened individuals had already been arranged to evacuate.
Currently, those nearby are all awakened individuals with a certain level of combat capability.
The water ghouls pursued them with incredible speed, seemingly unaffected by the terrain.
More and more wounded soldiers who had fallen behind were swallowed up by the dark green tide.
Everyone watched helplessly as their hard-earned homes were attacked by the black serpent monster, and their faces turned extremely grim.
"This won't do, we'll all be worn down here!" Liang Shu said anxiously as people kept getting caught up.
Zhao Kai cleaved a fast-moving water ghost that had approached the retreating group ahead of time with his giant axe. His eyes swept over the increasing number of enemies around him, and his heart grew heavier.
This is incredible! Is this the power of the Kuroshio Current...?
Just as the withdrawal zone was being gradually compressed by the enemy's army.
"Wow!"
The high-pitched chirping of birds rose from the sky.
A golden and red streak of light fell from the sky like a meteor, crashing down between the pursuers and the retreating personnel!
boom!
The earth trembled, and shockwaves mixed with scorching sparks swept outwards, igniting and sending the dozen or so water ghouls and dozens of black snake monsters at the forefront flying.
"Boss!" Zhao Kai, Xu Ming, and the others couldn't help but shout with delight upon seeing the newcomers.
As the sand and gravel fell, Han Ning slowly stood up, surrounded by starlight, his eyes coldly fixed on the surging monster tide ahead.
Without turning around, he quickly said, "Take everyone and continue retreating. Leave this to me."
“You’re all alone…” Deputy Chief Qian blurted out instinctively.
"Let's go!" Han Ning interrupted him, her tone leaving no room for argument.
Zhao Kai gritted his teeth and roared, "Biyun's men, follow me and cover the retreat of the people at the high ground outpost!"
Xu Ming, who was in mid-air, shouted, "Bee Knights, cover the main force's retreat!"
With a leader in mind, the two teams merged and accelerated their retreat towards the northern part of the mountains.
Han Ning faced the surging, strange tide alone and took a deep breath.
The faint mycelial-like patterns deep within his pupils suddenly lit up.
He raised his hands, palms facing the ground in front of him, littered with the corpses of water ghouls and black snakes, as well as the wounded monsters that had been temporarily repelled and were struggling to get up.
hum~
Silently, countless pale sacs, barely perceptible to the naked eye, emerged like a thin mist and quickly seeped into the mutilated corpses.
[Master's Will] Full Power Activation!
The next second, a chilling scene unfolded.
Those water ghosts and black snakes that were already dead or critically injured suddenly began to convulse violently.
The extinguished glimmer of light in their eyes rekindled, but in its place came a hollow, lifeless pallor!
"Crack...knock..."
The ear-piercing sound of bones twisting and rubbing together filled the air.
One by one, the mangled corpses, swaying and in an extremely unnatural posture, stood up again.
Some were only half-body, crawling forward by pawing at the ground with their paws.
Some heads drooped to one side, yet their mouths, filled with sharp teeth, remained open.
Even worse, with their entrails dragging on the ground, they still fearlessly lunged at their former companions.
These spore-like golems caught the water ghoul pursuers completely off guard.
They completely ignored the pain and death, and frantically attacked any living creature that came near.
Many water ghosts were pounced on and torn to pieces by their suddenly "resurrected" companions before they even understood what was happening.
The pursuing formation immediately fell into chaos.
"Ah?!"
In the distance, the aged water ghost priest was clearly not prepared for this strange change and let out a startled and uncertain hiss.
Han Ning naturally wouldn't let this opportunity slip by.
"Snow cake!"
"Roar!!"
The snow giant, which had been lying in wait, let out a deafening roar and slammed its thick claws into the ground.
Rumble~
The earth began to churn like waves.
Thick, hard rock walls rose up from the ground, layer upon layer, forming a high and thick rock wall on the mountain path, further hindering the pursuers' progress.
After Han Ning broke through to level 15, Xuebing also gained experience and reached level 13.
Moreover, those water spouters who "signed" under his name also gained very little experience.
However, his total energy was so large that even a small amount of energy helped those squirting melons gradually level up to level 7 or 8, becoming the backbone of a group of squirting melons. They are currently being deployed to the outer perimeter of the Biyun gathering area's defense line to protect their homeland.
After advancing to level 13, Snowcake's control over the earth element greatly increased. These rising rock walls were not only thick and heavy, but also covered with a hard mineral shell, making them difficult to destroy quickly with ordinary attacks.
The spore golems are turning against us and causing chaos, while the earth barrier is blocking our way.
The pursuit of the water zombie army was finally brought to a halt.
They had to stop, first clear out the frenzied spore golems, and then try to destroy the rock wall.
Han Ning stood behind the last rock wall, his mind completely immersed in the spore world.
Releasing so many spores at the same time, planting them in the enemy's corpse, and maintaining their existence also consumes a huge amount of his mental energy.
He knew this could only buy him a temporary reprieve.
After all, there were too many enemies, and it would be difficult for him to handle them alone.
That old priest certainly didn't only have these tricks up his sleeve.
He had to buy enough time for Zhao Kai and his men to retreat and for the defense of the settlement area to be prepared.
Releasing so many spores at the same time, planting them in the enemy's corpse, and maintaining their existence also consumes a huge amount of his mental energy.
Seeing that the only people blocking the way were a man and a lizard, the old water corpse ghost's eyes gleamed with an eerie light.
"hiss!!"
It brandished its bone staff, ordering its army to continue pursuing the retreating humans.
At the same time, they raised their bone staffs, and black mist carrying the destructive aura of the Black Tide surged forth from all directions.
This time, instead of summoning a cataclysmic attack, the mist concentrated on a dozen or so water ghouls, whose bodies mutated after being infused with the black mist.
“Jie!!”
Accompanied by a chilling roar.
Their scales burst open, their dark green skin turned into a charcoal-like black, their muscles bulged and twisted wildly, their limbs transformed into longer claws, their joints bent backward, and white bone spurs protruded from their backs.