The Fourth Wave
The others faced groups of three Level 1 monsters and five Level 0 monsters.
Song Shige stood atop his Sanctuary wall, yawning as he looked at the shattered bones scattered outside.
The third wave?
The monsters had been smashed by the burning stones he threw before they even had a chance to approach his wall.
He had even found time to post a message on the forum encouraging everyone.
Ye Xu lay on the sofa in his Sanctuary, drinking juice. The Automatic Ballista Tower outside the wall hummed, then fell silent a moment later.
The third wave had been cleared. He was now trading insults with people in the regional channel and showing off his results.
Gao Fu scowled as he killed the monsters that had charged into his shelter with a machete. Afterward, he stopped challenging the next wave and paid no attention to the damaged wooden wall.
He found something at random to block the door, then lay back down on the bed and fell fast asleep.
Han Song panted as he looked at his chipped axe and the corpse of the last Corpse Bat outside the door, breathing a sigh of relief.
The third wave had already been a hard fight for him. Fortunately, the Sanctuary's experience bonus had just helped him level up.
Having survived the ordeal, Han Song slowly slid down against the door to his knees and began considering whether to put his newly gained attribute point into Constitution or Strength.
Wails rang out everywhere, and many people had died. Su Luo saw that the number of people online had dropped by more than half.
[Third wave ended]
[All survivors have entered a 10-minute rest period]
[Based on Sanctuary status, survivors receive a small buff]
[Continue to challenge the next wave?]
[Note: difficulty increases significantly starting with the fourth wave]
[Yes/No]
Su Luo clicked "Yes" and remained standing on the stone pillar, waiting.
[Fourth wave of attackers approaching]
[All survivors, prepare to face the attack]
In the darkness beyond, the roars and sounds of crawling were no longer a chaotic clamor. They had become a reverberation of heavy, unnerving footfalls and beating wings, as though a well-trained miniature army were marching to the battlefield.
Su Luo slowly opened his half-closed eyes. The fireballs floating steadily around him were reflected in his calm, untroubled gaze.
At the front was a giant insect as large as a small car, its shell covered in vicious bone spikes. Its mouthparts opened and closed continuously, dripping corrosive mucus.
[Burrowing Impaler]
It let out a low-frequency hiss that made his chest feel tight, its six compound eyes flashing Bloodthirst-red.
Close behind it were five Level 2 monsters of different forms.
Two [Shadow Stalkers], their gaunt bodies like melted shadows, gliding swiftly along the ground and difficult to lock onto.
One [Spear-Throwing Skeleton], thick-boned and holding a bone spear wreathed in ominous black energy, poised to throw it.
One [Frenzied Corpse Tiger], its muscles bulging and drool streaming from its mouth, giving off a powerful stench of decay.
One [Screeching Banshee], floating in midair, its translucent body emitting silent mental shocks that disturbed the mana in the air.
Behind them was a skirmish line of ten Level 1 monsters, including swift [Corrupted Hounds] and constantly shrieking [Enhanced Corpse Bats].
[Appraisal: unknown target]
[Assessment: your level is 3, the target's level is 3, your Appraisal level is 5...]
[Assessment passed, you have obtained the target's complete information]
[Burrowing Impaler]
[Level: 3]
[Strength: 10.5]
[Spirit: 6]
[Constitution: 8]
[Skills: burrowing, Self-Destruct]
The monster horde surged into the area illuminated by the fireballs like a tide of death, its icy killing intent almost tangible.
Facing the oncoming flood of monsters, Su Luo didn't retreat half a step. Instead, he raised both hands, his ten fingers tapping lightly in the air as though playing an instrument.
The dozen or so basic fireballs revolving around him suddenly brightened, then split! One became two, and two became four!
In the blink of an eye, dozens of fist-sized, white-hot fireballs filled the air before him, packed tightly together like soldiers in formation.
First, he dealt with the most threatening airborne and ranged units. With a slight movement of his mind, a dozen fireballs shot toward the [Screeching Banshee] and [Enhanced Corpse Bats] from different tricky angles, trailing flames like precision-guided missiles.
The banshee let out a piercing shriek, trying to deflect the fireballs with a mental shock. But the mana structures within the fireballs were extremely stable. They slowed only slightly before striking its translucent body one after another!
Like red-hot branding irons plunged into ice water, they burned several holes through the banshee's body in an instant. It evaporated and dissipated in a silent distortion.
Before the distant [Enhanced Corpse Bats] could gather together, the fireballs that followed accurately blew them apart. Flames splashed out in an instant after the explosions, engulfing the bats along with several nearby Level 1 monsters.
Meanwhile, on the ground, the two [Shadow Stalkers] had already crept beneath the stone wall and were about to climb over it.
Su Luo lightly stamped his toe. [Earth Collapse Spell]!
The ground at the base of the wall instantly softened and caved in, turning into a sticky mire of quicksand. The two stalkers sank as though trapped in asphalt, their stealth forcibly interrupted as they struggled.
Immediately afterward, two fireballs landed precisely on target. Rather than simply exploding, they bored into the mire like high-temperature drills and detonated inside!
A muffled boom came from underground. The ground bulged abruptly, then fell silent.
At that moment, the Level 3 [Burrowing Impaler] had already launched a roaring charge. Like a heavily armored tank, it burrowed straight through the stone wall and charged at him!
The [Spear-Throwing Skeleton] behind it had already hurled its bone spear wreathed in deathly energy straight at Su Luo's face. The [Frenzied Corpse Tiger] followed close behind, charging through the stone wall and racing toward him.
Facing this nearly perfect coordinated attack from multiple directions, Su Luo's gaze remained calm.
He pressed his left hand forward, and a "wall" formed from instantly compressed wind flashed into existence and vanished. Though it failed to fully take shape due to insufficient control, the highly condensed wind still formed a brief barrier.
[Raise Shield]! [Gale Step]!
The wind instantly knocked the bone spear off course, sending it flying into the distant darkness.
His right hand swept upward. Three fireballs that had long been ready instantly fused, changed shape, and stretched out! They became a pillar of fire that swept downward across the distant Corpse Tiger!
The Corpse Tiger let out a short wail and died like a dog.
And facing the Burrowing Impaler head-on were the special fireballs Su Luo had prepared for it!
More than twenty of them didn't fire out in a scattered volley. Instead, they attracted one another and fused in flight, then compressed!
In the end, they formed a bright yellow energy fireball only the size of a basketball, yet radiating a terrifying fluctuation that made the soul tremble!
It silently met the charging Burrowing Impaler.
The highly compressed energy core erupted! Dazzling white light instantly swallowed the Burrowing Impaler's massive body, and a powerful shock wave tore its heavy shell apart piece by piece.
The aftermath even engulfed the few remaining Level 1 monsters behind it.
When the white light faded, all that remained was a huge scorched crater and scattered, burning remains.
The skeleton warrior that had thrown the bone spear hadn't even had time to pull a second one from its body when two fireballs shot from who knew where, precisely piercing its skull and chest. Its soul fire went out instantly, and it fell apart on the ground.
From the start of the fourth wave to the moment all the monsters had been reduced to char and shattered bones, the entire process had taken less than two minutes.
After repairing the stone wall in the distance, where the [Burrowing Impaler] had made a large hole, Su Luo entered a state of meditation once again.