Victory

Lin Xu frowned deeply as he watched the dungeon monsters pour like a tide through the gaping breach in the city wall.

The battle had already shattered his plans. The defenses that should have been impregnable had been torn open in two places in mere moments, and the defense of the city had been forced into a street fight!

What a pity. Wang Yue is an NPC and can't bring out the power of the formation at all... he thought regretfully, and the Bright Light Lamp suddenly blazed.

A line of fire shot from the Bright Light Lamp, sweeping toward the Dark Lady lurking in the shadows, waiting for a chance to launch a sneak attack.

The line of fire writhed through the air like a serpent, then rapidly swelled into a roaring python of flame.

"Bzzzt~"

Sensing danger, the Dark Lady raised her left hand. Brilliant arcs of electricity suddenly wreathed her cold, gleaming claws, about to form a lightning bolt to meet the oncoming fire python.

"Whoosh~"

But in that instant, an invisible mental force converged on the Dark Lady.

The Dark Lady abruptly froze, as though a binding spell had been cast on her. The horror in her eyes froze in place, and the arcs of electricity quietly dissipated.

It was Paralyzing Gaze!

Although the paralysis was dispelled by magic in the next instant, it was too late.

The fire serpent coiled around the Dark Lady, enveloping her.

"Ah..." Her piercing scream echoed as dark magic dispersed the searing flames. The Dark Lady's once fair skin had turned black as charcoal.

Her outer skin had been roasted half-cooked, and her blood-red hair, which had stood defiantly upright like a sword thrusting into the sky, had also been scorched. As the Dark Lady thrashed violently, great clumps fell off and crumbled into ashes.

But for a mid-tier professional like the Dark Lady, those injuries were only minor.

As her dark magic circulated, her charred skin gradually began to recover.

But she had no time left. While the Dark Lady was still immersed in the searing pain of the burns and the prickling itch of her healing flesh, a violent soul shockwave spread outward with her at its center.

Soul Shock Blast!

This powerful mental spell wielded by the Evil Eye Dharma Protector had become Lin Xu's most threatening and explosive means of attack.

Struck hard, the Dark Lady's vision went black. She fell to the ground and lost consciousness.

The other Dark Lady hiding in the shadows was terrified by her companion's miserable state. When Lin Xu looked toward her, he was astonished to find that she had already passed through the breach in the wall, shielding the monsters who fought alongside her behind her.

Seemingly alerted by the Dark Lady's movement, the Dharma Protector Wronged Soul's illusory shadow flickered like a wisp of smoke, crossing a hundred-odd meters in a breath as it pursued the fleeing Dark Lady.

With no time to concern himself with the Dark Lady's hasty escape, Lin Xu focused his attention on the battlefield.

Surrounded and attacked by the Dao soldiers, the two Dark Warriors had fallen into a disadvantage, and the outcome would soon be decided.

The militia squad, despite having the greatest numbers, was instead losing ground.

Even with several outer disciples supporting them with fire talismans, the Dark Elf archers far surpassed the human archers in the militia squad in both number and quality.

Arrow after arrow sliced through the air, striking the attacking militiamen in their vital spots. In a short time, more than a dozen militiamen fell to the ground.

Several Evil Eyes in the sky released beams of mental force, knocking militiamen to the ground one after another.

Swift Demon Flies darted over the battlefield, diving whenever they spotted an opening and leaving wound after wound on the militiamen.

Two or three elf archers had even fixed their sights on the watchtower where the Daoists stood and were shooting at them.

From time to time, a Daoist releasing fire talismans was forced to stop fighting and dodge the arrows.

The fire talismans they casually sent back in retaliation were deftly evaded by the archers. For a time, the Daoists' ability to support the battlefield was greatly diminished.

Lin Xu's gaze sharpened. The Bright Light Lamp in his hand shone, and a brilliant light suddenly flashed. It was as though a sun had appeared on the spot, illuminating the entire battlefield.

It was a grandmaster-level Light Mantra!

"Ah~" Several Dark Elf archers screamed and covered their eyes, rubbing them, but tears kept streaming out.

The intense light faded, and the inner disciple seized that fleeting opportunity, releasing fire talismans with both hands at once.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~"

As though venting all the frustration of having been pinned down by arrows, the inner disciple released more than a dozen fire talismans in a single breath!

"Boom, boom, boom..."

A series of explosions rang out, instantly engulfing the dazzled archers.

Seizing the opportunity, a squad of five Dao soldiers who had freed themselves joined the attack on the battlefield.

The Dark Mages who had been casting fireballs were forced to redirect their firepower to deal with the threat from the Dao soldiers.

But in the next instant, a gaze from the watchtower made the Dark Mages stiffen, held for a moment by the Evil Eye's Paralyzing Gaze.

By the time they came to their senses, halberds had swept down in arcs of light, killing the physically frail mages on the spot.

With the Dao soldiers joining the fight, the battle turned around in the space of a few breaths.

"Whoosh~"

A halberd swept past, slicing through the skulls of three skeleton soldiers wielding bone swords.

"Whoosh~"

An arc of light swept across a goblin attempting a sneak attack. Its green head flew backward, spilling white brains across the ground.

The monster archers, who had held the advantage, became priority targets. The Daoists swiftly counterattacked, using fire talismans to suppress the archers for the time being.

The heavily armored Dao soldiers strode forward, and the monsters making desperate last stands swiftly collapsed wherever they passed.

The monsters harassing them from the air had begun to flee as soon as the battle on the ground turned around.

In particular, after a Demon Fly was cleaved in two on the spot by a Dao soldier's long spear as it swooped down, the monsters, who bullied the weak and feared the strong, swiftly scattered.

With the aerial forces no longer holding them back, the militiamen's offensive went ever more smoothly.

A few breaths later, when Lin Xu turned a candle flame into a fire python that coiled around the last Dark Elf archer still resisting and burned the archer to a charred corpse, only two Dark Warriors remained on the battlefield, fighting like cornered beasts.

Mid-tier professionals like the Dark Warriors were individually powerful and possessed unyielding wills. Even surrounded on all sides by enemies, they continued to fight to the death, turning a deaf ear to Lin Xu's calls to surrender.

"Stubborn fools!" Lin Xu frowned, and with a thought, he focused the Evil Eye Dharma Protector's gaze on a Dark Warrior fighting a bloody battle.

Paralyzing Gaze!

The Dark Warrior swinging a greatsword froze, then broke free of the restraint in the next instant.

But that instant was enough. The next second, three halberds worked together to pin the greatsword, while two long spears struck the Dark Warrior's heavy armor. Their magically enhanced, razor-sharp edges tore through a crack in the helmet, and the spears sank almost halfway into the warrior's head.

"Clang~"

The greatsword fell to the ground, and blood from the fallen warrior spread across the ground.

When the last Dark Warrior's arm was hacked off and his throat pierced, the tumultuous battlefield finally fell quiet.

"Treat the wounded, clean up the battlefield, and tally the losses." Lin Xu looked over the battlefield, frowning slightly.