The strange, piercing howls echoing from the battlefield, along with the rumbling of the earth, caused the Eternal Night Legion to stir with agitation. Like a surging beast tide or a wave of troops, they charged fiercely at the war cities, laying siege with overwhelming force. Each war city was soon surrounded, impenetrably sealed.
"Should we send out a legion to deploy the Eight-Gate Golden Lock Formation to slow down this wave?"Yao Yue, standing beside Yi Tianxing, furrowed her brows slightly and voiced her suggestion.
The Eight-Gate Golden Lock Formation had proven itself in previous battles, yielding remarkable success time and again. When deployed just outside the cities at the start of hostilities, it effectively delayed the enemy hordes, significantly depleting their strength. Not only did it yield generous amounts of merit points, but the fallen enemies' corpses were also sent into the Heavenly Emperor's Pagoda, accelerating the internal growth of the tower's space—literally expanding the foundation of the artifact.
Seeing the battlefield now boiling with madness, Yao Yue's first instinct was to use the formation to buy time, thin the horde, then rely on the city walls' powerful defenses to suppress the remaining forces—just as they'd always done.
However, Jia Xu shook his head subtly."The Eight-Gate Golden Lock Formation might not have a decisive effect now. The horde is advancing too quickly. Besides, there's something new happening on the battlefield."
In this situation, setting up formations was secondary. Relying on the city walls' defenses was the optimal choice.
Suddenly, a deafening roar echoed across the battlefield.
A terrifying black tide surged forth, so densely packed it instilled instinctive dread in any who saw it.
"Bugs! Those are bugs!"
"Are those even insects?! Their legs are as sharp as spears, their mouthparts grotesquely exaggerated. If that stabs into a body, one suck and all the blood would be drained!"
"What are those things? They look like beasts, but they have wings and scythe-like claws. So grotesque—are they really Zerg? They're totally different from any we've seen before!"
"A Zerg tide… damn it. Don't tell me a Zerg Plague is erupting on the Battlefield of Gods and Demons!"
On the city walls, many human cultivators who had been rescued turned pale as they cried out in horror.
Insects—countless insects—were flooding the land like a tsunami.
These were unlike any Zerg seen before. Previous ones still resembled insects, just larger and deadlier. But these… were complete abominations. The first glance was enough to tell—they were pure destroyers.
Some looked like beetles, but with clawed limbs and an eerie greenish-blue exoskeleton. Crawling at alarming speed on the ground, they were more horrifying than any beast.
"Zerglings, Mutalisks, Banelings... It really is the Zerg."Yi Tianxing's eyes narrowed gravely.
Others may not recognize these creatures, but he did. These were unmistakably the Zerg from pre-Cataclysm games—now summoned by Eternal Night as a devastating army. A chill spread in his heart.
There were just too many of them.
A single bug wasn't scary—but an ocean of them? Even powerhouses could be torn apart and devoured to the bone when caught in such a swarm.
And these Zerg weren't weak either. They possessed terrifying abilities. Together, they were a nightmarish threat.
"Pass this down—the Zerg are highly destructive. Watch for those green beetles. They're Banelings—they explode on contact. Snipe them before they get close!"Yi Tianxing took a deep breath and issued a firm command.
"Ballistae, fire!!"
The soldiers atop the walls, already prepared, responded without hesitation. As soon as the enemy entered range, they loosed their bolts.
Massive bolts shot out with bone-shattering power.
These ballista bolts were now forged from bone materials, engraved with runes and refined into Runic War Bolts. Compared to other materials, bone was the most accessible in war. Every battle yielded piles of corpses, and apart from the finest bones reserved for top-grade materials, the rest were processed using the Omni-Printer, turning them into mountains of war bolts.
This innovation ensured that Da Yi's armies were never short on ammunition. In fact, after every major battle, their reserves increased exponentially.
This endless supply allowed the soldiers to unleash their full power without restraint. As long as their true essence held, the arrow storms continued unabated. Unless the enemy's defense vastly exceeded the bolts' penetration power, no foe could ignore the volley.
BOOM! BOOM!
Within the Eternal Night horde, puppet warriors of various races were torn apart by the immense ballista bolts. The hail of arrows reaped enemy lives like wheat, pinning corpses to the ground and painting the earth red.
But the Zerg tide was faster than expected.
The first to catch up with the Eternal Night soldiers were the Banelings. These suicidal bugs didn't even pause upon colliding with their Eternal Night allies. Upon impact, they instantly swelled like overinflated balloons—glowing with green-blue light—then exploded.
BOOM!
With every detonation, toxic green-blue liquid sprayed everywhere, instantly melting nearby puppet soldiers. Some died on the spot; others screamed as they dissolved.
The explosion power rivaled that of Runic Bombs, and there were countless Banelings. Wherever they passed, it was just:
Boom. Boom. Boom.
No discrimination between friend or foe. Any life-form in their path was blown up, poisoned, or melted.
This clearly revealed the true, destructive nature of the Zerg.
"As expected—they self-detonate."Jia Xu and the other generals looked grim.
If those Banelings reached the walls, the damage from a point-blank explosion would be disastrous. The combination of blast and poison was lethal.
The soldiers didn't need further orders. Ballista bolts rained down on the Banelings with chilling precision.
BOOM! BOOM!
The bolts struck true. Each hit triggered another explosion, and the splatter killed nearby Zerg as well. The air filled with screeches and death.
"Throw the runic bombs!"
Runic bombs joined the fray, exploding simultaneously with the Banelings, amplifying the devastation.
But the Zerg had more than just Banelings.
Mutalisks swooped down from above, firing devastating beams of light from their tails—each beam like a deadly war bolt, faster and more destructive.
"Shields!!"
Shields were instantly raised, forming a barrier. Golden light pulsed and merged, creating a shining golden shield wall. The light beams slammed into it with thunderous crashes.
Next came the Hydralisks, closing in and firing needle-like spines like flying spears—dense and fast, raining down like a storm onto the shield wall.
The golden light dimmed visibly under the sustained assault. Their power was immense.
"Water Spirit Talismans—Shields!!"
On cue, shield-bearers slapped blue talismans—Water Spirit Talismans—onto their shields. A shimmering blue glow emerged, weaving together into a watery shield wall that deflected the attacks, causing spines to bounce harmlessly away.
These shields were specially designed to accept enchantment talismans, allowing situational upgrades in battle.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
But Da Yi's troops weren't pushovers.
As more Mutalisks charged in, the archers retaliated with relentless arrow storms. Mutalisks were pierced through and dropped from the sky like ragged kites.