The Fifth Wave
In the regional channel, many of the profile pictures on the list of survivors who had chosen to challenge the fourth wave had gone completely dark, with no further sign of life.
Most of those who had dared challenge the fourth wave had reached level 2 and were confident in their own strength. They had believed their Sanctuary would be enough to withstand the strengthened monsters.
What they hadn't expected was that the fourth wave would consist of one level 2 monster leading five level 1 monsters and ten level 0 monsters.
The monsters also displayed a far greater ability to coordinate than expected. They often pinpointed the weak spots in a Sanctuary and tore it apart in short order.
One survivor who had chosen to continue the challenge ultimately fell before the entrance to his shattered shelter.
His eyes remained wide with terror even in death, the piercing shrieks of three bloodthirsty demon bats still lingering in his ears. The blood that had flowed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth had already congealed.
For a time, curses and complaints about miserable circumstances multiplied in the regional channel.
Su Luo replied to Qin Lang's brief greeting, confirming that he was unharmed. By then, his mana had also fully recovered.
He leaped lightly down from the stone pillar and secured the precious [Mana Potion] and [Stamina Potion] on his person. Then he manipulated the earth, sand, and stones to bury the remaining supplies he didn't need for the moment deep underground, keeping them safe from damage in the coming battle.
Once he had finished, he returned to the top of the stone pillar, closed his eyes, and concentrated, bringing himself into peak condition.
[The fourth wave has ended]
[Survivors enter a 10-minute rest period]
[Based on the Sanctuary's condition, survivors receive a minor buff]
[The fifth wave of attackers is about to arrive]
[Survivors, prepare to meet the attack]
[Elite units will begin appearing this round]
Su Luo slowly opened his eyes. The fireballs around him, which had dimmed slightly, brightened once more. He could clearly sense that these "guests" were on an entirely different level.
The darkness was suddenly swept aside like a curtain!
At the head were four level 3 elite monsters, each different in form but all radiating a terrifying aura:
A [Bone Mammoth], its enormous skeleton like a small mountain on the move. Rotted flesh hung from its jagged bone spurs, and every step sent a faint tremor through the earth. Its trunk was assembled from countless vertebrae and whistled through the air as it swung.
A [Wraith Weaver], its lower body a mass of roiling black mist and its upper body a twisted female form. All ten fingers twitched incessantly, spreading visible pale threads through the air that radiated an aura of mental assault and restraint.
A [Plague Butcher], its fat, swollen body covered in festering sores. It dragged an enormous meat cleaver, rusted and caked with filth, while green plague clouds swirled around it, making the ground sizzle wherever it passed.
A [Shadow Leopard], sleek and pitch-black, with only its eyes glinting with pure malice. It stalked soundlessly at the very front, as though it were a moving shadow itself.
Close behind came fifteen level 2 monsters. They were no longer a disorganized rabble, but formed a tight formation—the shield-bearing [Decayed Guardians] held the front, [Skeleton Archers] and [Skeleton Throwers] occupied the middle, and [Gale Wolves] and [Piercing Beetles] prowled along both flanks.
Su Luo drew a gentle breath. His expression changed, replaced by one of pure composure.
The battle erupted in an instant!
The [Shadow Leopard] was the fastest! It vanished like a ghost, then slipped around the stone wall and appeared right in front of him the next instant, climbing the stone pillar with claws that carried a soul-rending chill!
At the same time, the [Wraith Weaver]'s pale threads descended like a spiderweb, attempting to entangle and restrain Su Luo's movements and mana.
The [Bone Mammoth] unleashed [War Stomp], raising a massive skeletal foot and slamming it into the ground. A powerful shockwave reached him from far away, threatening to interrupt his spellcasting.
The [Plague Butcher] spewed out a great, dense cloud of plague mist that slowly advanced, threatening to swallow Su Luo whole.
Ranged attacks from the rear ranks poured down like rain!
Faced with this near-certain death, Su Luo remained calm and unhurried.
A ring of intensely scorching, blindingly bright flame suddenly expanded outward from him!
Countless miniature fireballs exploded violently across the ring. Amid the roar, it instantly burned through the mental threads reaching for him and forcibly drove back the shadow leopard that had pounced right in front of him.
That was only the beginning!
Su Luo's mental power danced at incredible speed, and the matrix of fireballs around him responded, abruptly changing shape!
Under his intricate control, wind and fire began to mingle. Small fireballs intertwined with surging flames, instantly forming several raging fire tornadoes!
Like living pythons of flame, the tornadoes spun and moved wildly, filled with small and medium-sized fireballs. They generated tremendous suction and, like deadly vacuum cleaners, mercilessly devoured and shredded everything within reach!
At the same time, the ground within thirty meters of him did not collapse. Instead, it churned and surged violently as though it had come alive, forming rough but effective stone pillars.
The Shadow Leopard was trapped in a stone cage that suddenly rose from the ground. It quickly recovered and shattered the cage with one swipe, sending sand and stones flying before continuing its charge at Su Luo.
Su Luo's ten fingers flew, and the array of fireballs around him shifted in an instant.
The next moment, Su Luo's firepower erupted in full!
The flames filling the sky seemed to gain minds of their own, dividing into four scorching torrents with vastly different properties and clear targets. Each rushed toward one of the four elite monsters:
Against the [Shadow Leopard] came several tightly contained, extraordinarily fast fireballs. They pursued it relentlessly, forcing it to dodge again and again, unable to close in.
Against the [Wraith Weaver] came several intensely bright fireballs that constantly erupted with gushing flames, specifically burning away the threads formed from condensed mana.
Against the [Bone Mammoth] came more than ten immensely heavy [Flameburst Heavy Hammers] with an unparalleled speed effect. They slammed into its leg bones and trunk, making it stagger.
Against the [Plague Butcher] came dozens of rapidly spinning small fireballs. Rather than attacking directly, they spun violently, forcibly dispersing and igniting the plague clouds around it to reduce the threat.
The Fireball spells Su Luo cast varied in form, function, and effect, having long since transcended the single description in the system's skill panel.
When other survivors raised the level of Fireball through the system, they might randomly gain one additional effect at a particular level, such as "burning" or "bursting."
But Su Luo was different. He had long since studied and thoroughly understood the principles of every derivative spell model and every possible variation of its effects recorded in the skill book, integrating and mastering them all. Now he used them at will, each one the optimal solution for exploiting a weakness.
Meanwhile, the enormous wind-and-fire tornadoes had swept into the level 2 monsters' battle formation like scythes wielded by the god of death!
Explosions, splintering bones, shattering shells, and the dying monsters' wails rang out all at once. The tight formation proved unable to withstand the strange, blanket firepower. It was quickly torn apart and reduced to charred remains scattered across the ground!
The entire battlefield seemed to have become a purgatory of rampaging elements. Flames soared skyward, sand and stones flew, and explosions roared without end. The scene was chaotic to the extreme, yet an unsettling rhythm ran faintly through it all. Everything was under the precise control of Su Luo's mental power.
Su Luo's mental power and mana were being consumed at an unprecedented rate, and sweat beaded on his temples, but his gaze remained calm.
Finally, the [Bone Mammoth], the toughest of them all, let out a furious roar as a series of fireballs struck its joints with precision, smashing its leg bones to pieces. Its massive skeleton collapsed with a crash and was swallowed by a fire tornado that followed, and the battlefield gradually fell quiet.
The fifth wave was over.