Chapter 77: Blazing Fire Spreads Across the Field
Hang Yu gazed into the distance at the battlefield.
He saw that the battle was about to erupt.
The territory defense war officially began!
More than seven hundred Undead led the way, nearly two hundred Yellow Turban Headless Fiend Soldiers followed closely behind, then thirty Luoshui Butchers and thirty Luoshui Demon Riders—such a luxurious lineup was simply a ruthless crushing force against the Fourth Calamity Army!
The Players, however, were quite cunning.
They knew very well that they were at an absolute disadvantage in both numbers and strength.
Thus, they made full use of the terrain and home-field advantage, using the large area of grassland in front of the camp to block the assault, hiding inside to launch sneak attacks and guerrilla warfare, successively eliminating forty to fifty Undead, a dozen Yellow Turban Fiend Soldiers, and several Butchers.
The Abyssal creatures were not to be underestimated either.
Players soon suffered over twenty casualties.
The Fourth Calamity Army was on the verge of collapse.
They decisively used their trump card: setting fire!
The Players had preemptively doused large amounts of fuel all over the grass, and when they saw most Abyssal creatures enter the grass, a single ignition instantly turned the area into a sea of flames, engulfing the majority of the Abyssal creatures.
For a moment, wails rose into the sky.
Once the Abyssal Undead fell into the flames, they could last at most ten seconds before collapsing.
The Yellow Turban Fiend Soldiers, in the fiery environment, also saw their health plummet rapidly, able to hold out at most one or two minutes, while the Luoshui Butchers and Luoshui Demon Riders, though having higher defense and health, were also severely affected.
Of course.
The Players also suffered.
But these old veterans feared death the least.
Sacrificing eighty of their own to kill three hundred enemies was a huge profit!
Hang Yu stared at the data panel, where all kinds of messages were madly flooding the screen.
【Player "Little Brother Ma" has died, Abyssal Essence Points +900!】
【Player "Niu Shisan" has died, Abyssal Essence Points +900!】
【Player "A Sword Comes from the West" has died, Abyssal Essence Points +1250!】
【Player "Artist Faction Leader" has died, Abyssal Essence Points +1600!】
【Player "Chimera Wraith" has died, Abyssal Essence Points +1250!】
【……】
Harvest!
A bountiful harvest!
Hang Yu shouted in exhilaration!
Because in just a short while.
The reserve Essence Points increased by nearly 50,000!
This large area of grass, filled with human-tall wild grass, burned rapidly and fiercely beyond expectations after being ignited with massive amounts of toad oil; soon, the Players experienced a complete wipeout once.
However, with their furious counterattack combined with the raging wildfire, the Abyssal creatures suffered even greater losses, with over half of the seven hundred Abyssal Undead perishing, and the survivors were all heavily wounded; the Yellow Turban Fiend Soldiers, Luoshui Butchers, and Luoshui Demon Riders also sustained various degrees of losses.
"Old Hei!"
"How's it going!"
"Our fire setting was flawless, right!"
"Hahaha, burned great, burned brilliantly, we made a killing this round!"
"……"
One by one, Players respawned at the resurrection point, quickly regrouping at the camp gate; in no time, almost all eighty people had gathered, reforming a defensive line to block the enemies charging out of the fire.
"Kill!"
Street Slayer, holding a Level 3 Yellow Turban Battle Knife in his left hand and a Level 5 Ghost Head Decapitating Blade in his right, leaped and slashed, cleaving a Luoshui Butcher in two, then successively killing five heavily wounded Undead and one Yellow Turban Fiend Soldier.
However, at that moment.
A Spell Wolf paralyzed him by pouncing on him.
A Demon Rider thrust a horse lance through him, killing him.
Just after killing Street Slayer, the Demon Rider was struck down from his warhorse by Chimera Wraith’s Level 9 Flame Arrow, and then finished off at close range by Lone Boat with a Level 7 Shadow Step assassination.
However.
More Abyssal elites emerged from the fire.
The Players’ defensive line was under tremendous pressure.
Hang Yu lightly waved his hand, and the militia of Hexi Village and the personal guards of the Personal Guard Corps lined up neatly atop the walls, swiftly drawing longbows and unleashing a rain of arrows, instantly easing the Players’ burden.
Two trebuchets continuously hurled massive rocks towards the Abyssal creatures; each stone was packed with Fire Crystal Powder, which exploded upon encountering high temperatures, causing considerable casualties like cannon blasts.
Thick smoke billowed!
Flames raged across the field!
The battle was far fiercer than expected!
Ma Yuanyi’s enormous, burly, twisted figure stood in the rear, his eyes composed of countless eyeballs coldly observing the battle ahead, while also scrutinizing the territory across the field.
The Four Great Fallen stood beside him, still yet to act.
Feng Xu rasped, "These Starsea people resist more fiercely than expected!"
Bao Hong sneered, "Just old tricks. Mere flames alone cannot stop us, especially with General Ma personally taking action!"
Ma Yuanyi clearly did not take the raging fire seriously, for someone of his level, bathing in such flames was no different from soaking in a hot spring.
He was merely curious.
Was this truly the main base of a Lord of the Stars?
Why did it look so shabby!
Although the base was so crude, the troops were exceptionally tenacious.
Of course, if this was all, it would be far from enough to stop Ma Yuanyi!
This Lord must have little backing; otherwise, it would be impossible to build the territory so shabbily, though he seemed to possess some rare treasure or an unusual talent, allowing him to revive his soldiers.
For now, it was unclear what heavy price this revival entailed.
But precisely because he had a force that was hard to kill, this Lord had a crack elite army disproportionate to his poor territory—yet it still did not pose a significant threat.
Finally.
Ma Yuanyi moved.
His colossal, giant-like body stepped into the fire, and the Abyssal energy flowing from his body continuously affected a radius of dozens to nearly a hundred meters; the flames extinguished instantly wherever the red tide enveloped.
In no time at all.
Ma Yuanyi personally led his subordinates close to the frontlines.
"Not good!"
"Ma Yuanyi!"
"This guy extinguished the fire!"
"Isn’t even fire enough to kill him!"
"Don’t be afraid, this is our home turf!"
"Activate Blood Sacrifice, activate auras, kill him!"
"……"
The Players had no retreat; behind them lay the territory, and if Ma Yuanyi breached it, the consequences would be unimaginable. They could only fight to the death!
Lord’s Aura!
Yellow Turban Blood Sacrifice Talisman!
The Players threw every tactic they could muster into the fray.
Little Bell fired a Flame Arrow at Ma Yuanyi, the explosion gouging a wound and dealing 32 points of damage, making her extremely excited!
Damage had increased!
The Abyssal Corruption emanating from Ma Yuanyi was neutralized by the Star Order radiating from the territory, so the Players’ attributes were no longer suppressed; coupled with the activation of the Lord’s Aura and Blood Sacrifice Talismans, they could inflict even higher damage.
"There’s hope!"
"Take him down!"
Everyone launched attacks in unison.
Although the attacks had noticeable effects.
Ma Yuanyi had enormous health, like a mountain of blood, and under the conditions of the Day of Ultimate Darkness, he could continuously absorb Abyssal energy to recover at incredible speed; thus, they could not threaten him in the short term.
"Mere ants!"
Ma Yuanyi lifted his hideous, massive Thousand-Skull Hammer, absorbing the surrounding blood-red energy into it; the weapon once again blazed with crimson flames, and he smashed it heavily into the ground.
History seemed to repeat itself!
Dozens of Players were instantly blown away.
Even some Abyssal creatures were not spared.
Under that hammer strike, half of the Players’ combat strength collapsed instantly.
Though the remaining Players were terrified, they did not abandon the fight but instead spread out to maintain distance.
Ma Yuanyi wielded the Thousand-Skull Hammer with both hands, charging into the fray, sending Players flying with ferocious sweeps and flattening others with violent hammer blows—the Players' resistance before this terrifying monster was utterly futile, like chickens and dogs.
"Lackeys of the Stars!"
Ma Yuanyi slaughtered all the Players.
And locked his gaze onto Hang Yu atop the wall.
Although Hang Yu’s equipment looked similar to the surrounding soldiers, Ma Yuanyi still instantly recognized his identity; after all, Lords of the Stars, as direct recipients of the Will of the Stars’ blessings, shone like beacons in the dark to the Abyss’ creatures.
"Today shall be your end!"
"Your Star Core shall belong to me, Ma Yuanyi!"
Ma Yuanyi’s chaotic, filthy, and frenzied roar echoed across heaven and earth!
Black-Eyed Rui Ge and other Players respawned at the Lord’s Hall, and when they heard this voice, their faces turned pale... something terrible had indeed happened, far worse than they imagined!
"Terrible!"
"Brother Yu is in danger!"
"Hurry and save the Lord!"
"Nothing must happen to him!"
The Players rushed into action, praying they would make it in time!