"Th-this... this is clearly purgatory." Zichen covered her mouth and nose, murmuring.
"Damn it, disgusting!"
Li Wang spat, his face full of revulsion. But the next second, his gaze shifted and he faintly caught sight of the Dark Elves' figures, his expression changing: "I propose that for the ones that look human, we can hold back a little."
Wang Miaoyin stared blankly at the spider figure standing atop the giant boulder. Lord Bai Zhi's strength had once again shattered her understanding.
Perhaps influenced by the dense, evil aura surrounding her, her body inched closer toward the demon spider.
"Boss, boss, what should we do?"
Both Li Wang and Jianxin were stunned -- they had never seen such an enormous display before. They cast hopeful glances toward Gui Yu and Yinhe, since these two Secret Keepers held the highest rank right now, so they would naturally follow their lead.
Of course, since Gui Yu had performed poorly in the last operation to capture Wang Miaoyin, command authority for this operation to eliminate the demon spider had fallen to Yinhe.
"Elder Long." Yinhe looked toward Long Bingheng.
The latter gave a slight nod and from her mouth came obscure and mysterious witch-incantations.
Scurry, scurry, scurry...
Everyone turned around to see a dense, teeming horde of Gu Insects, like a counter-current flood tide, swarming toward the mountaintop!
Centipedes, ants, spiders, venomous snakes, scorpions, millipedes... and all manner of bizarre, unnamable insects of every strange shape -- these were precisely the Gu Insects driven by the Wu Gu Clan disciples!
The numerous Wu Gu Clan disciples did not need to directly face the source of the Anomaly and the dark creatures at the mountaintop. They merely needed to release their Gu Insects from the mountainside, after which Long Bingheng would coordinate them all with her witch-incantations.
At the same time, hundreds upon hundreds of silver-white robots also surrounded the demon spider!
And the dark creatures still hadn't moved yet, but their killing intent was already bursting forth from their sinister eyes.
"Honored master, it is a privilege to serve you."
Among the Dark Elves, the foremost, an exceedingly handsome male elf, bowed toward the demon spider high above and spoke reverently.
"Neigh..."
The Nightmare Beast let out a low cry, conveying its impatient mood.
Bai Jie had never summoned such a large number and variety of dark creatures before. Its heart could not help but surge with excitement and fervor.
For it, there was already no escape. Only by risking everything on a desperate, decisive gamble could there be a thread of survival. Let those robots and the Wu Gu Clan's Gu Insects test the strength of these summoned beings.
"Kill them. Leave none alive."
As the noble, cold command was transmitted into the consciousness of every dark creature in the battle formation,
the next moment,
a thunderous rumbling shook the ground, dust and smoke billowing everywhere. Countless bizarre feet stamped the earth, producing a deep, resounding boom like the beat of war drums.
"Roar!"
The several hundred dark creatures directly charged toward the vast, sweeping horde of Gu creatures and the mechanical army closing in from all directions.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
Before the two forces even collided, fire blazed and a storm of bullets and shells flew through the forest, swarming as a metallic tide and embedding themselves into the bodies of the Skeleton Undead and Night Gaunts, scattering countless bone fragments and torn flesh.
The Enforcers were clearly well-prepared. Not only was their ammunition abundant, but its power far exceeded before, as if what they were firing were not bullets but explosives.
Crack, crack, crack! The armor on the skeletons shattered. Fist-sized, air-leaking holes continuously appeared on the Night Gaunts' bodies.
However, even though the Enforcers' firepower slowed the advance of the skeletons and Night Gaunts, the vanguard's expansion process never halted.
In a matter of seconds, it looked as though half of the skeletons and Night Gaunts had fallen, their remains paving a disgusting carpet of bone and flesh.
But by now, the distance between the dark creatures' vanguard and the mechs and insects was less than a hundred meters.
Then, several massive shadows leaped over the Undead from behind, soared through the air, and crashed like mountains into the clustered horde of insects.
Giant feet, iron fists, slammed down fiercely!
It was the Savage-Blood Minotaurs and Howling Moon Werewolves charging to the front!
Thud, thud, thud!
Countless metal shrapnel struck their bodies, yet it barely scraped off a layer of skin!
"Skree..."
Amidst agonized shrieks, innumerable Gu Insects were hammered to pulp and torn apart. Fragments flew skyward and rained down, raising terrifying dark storms of blood.
The remaining skeletons and Night Gaunts also joined the ranks of tearing insects apart by hand.
Meanwhile, another wave of dark creatures was rapidly closing the distance to the Enforcers.
"Grr..."
As if a low, rumbling engine roar,
one Hellhound after another darted out, dodging bullets and leaping past the insect swarm, like a sharp blade suddenly thrusting into the midst of the Enforcer robots.
At the same time, three dark-red blood clouds abruptly descended, joining the fray. Together with the Hellhounds, they madly tore and bit at the robots. Crackle, snap, sparks flew everywhere. Demonic blood boiled. Pairs of razor-sharp fangs left hole after hole sparking with electricity in the silver-white bodies.
The vanguard's sacrifice earlier had been precisely for this moment -- allowing the Hellhounds and bats to suddenly assault the robots and eliminate their ranged-fire advantage.
Whoosh, whoosh!
The dark creatures' side was not without ranged support either. The Dark Elves launched jet-black arrows from a distance, leaving trail after trail of meteoric arcs in the air, their power rivaling modern firearms, making the bats and Hellhounds' assault even more overwhelming.
Before their eyes, the numbers of Gu Insects and robots were rapidly dwindling, while on the dark creatures' side, only the skeletons and Night Gaunts had sustained heavy losses.
Boom! Deafening explosions rang out continuously.
The robots were self-destructing!
More and more Enforcers flashed red on their chests. Amidst the increasingly frantic alarm beeps, the bats and Hellhounds showed absolutely no intention of retreating.
Explosions like tolling temple bells shook heaven and earth. Trees burst apart and burned in droves. In the blink of an eye, the bats and Hellhounds swallowed by the blast flames were almost completely wiped out.
"Jianxin."
Yinhe's expression was dark as he glanced at the Secret Keeper clad in dark-green mechanical armor.
"Let's go!"
Jianxin gave a fierce shout, instantly transforming into a streak of green light as he charged into the enemy lines, his target aimed squarely at the five Savage-Blood Minotaurs.
Zichen and Li Wang followed close behind.
Long Bingheng also made her move.
The fine snow drifting down from the sky suddenly turned into a heavy blizzard. It turned out the four Ice Mirror Butterflies high above were fluttering their wings, gathering great amounts of spiritual energy, and condensing it into palm-sized snowflakes.
The demon spider had heard from Long Ge about Long Bingheng's techniques and Gu creatures, and immediately sensed trouble. It deployed its "Lightning Net Barrier," encompassing all the nearby Dark Elves, Wang Miaoyin, the Specters, and the Nightmare Beast within it.
As for the other dark creatures currently locked in bloody battle, they received no such treatment. The large snowflakes fell upon them, a layer of frost covering their bodies and visibly spreading at a speed detectable to the naked eye.
Every dark creature covered by frost, without exception, slowed down.
Seizing this opportunity, the Gu Insects began to reverse their disadvantage, gradually crawling onto the dark creatures' bodies and unleashing their various methods -- some poisonous, some biting, some binding, some entangling.