Chapter 542.5: Profane Words
Crack!
The sharp spearheads pierced through the gnoll slaves' armor, effortlessly taking their lives.
The thrusting spears twisted as they pulled back, readying for another strike.
The alternating spearheads thrust forward again with force.
The four-meter-long spears gave the gnoll slaves no chance to retaliate from such a distance.
They fell row after row, many not even managing to swing their blades in attack.
"This is a massacre!"
Struggling to suppress the shock in her heart, Rika finally realized.
The seemingly monotonous training that once felt dull was now terrifyingly effective and deadly on the battlefield.
The gnoll slaves' distant howls brought Rika back to her senses.
The front-line soldiers who had charged forward were now holding their positions again.
Following the battle squad leader's lead, Rika took two steps forward. She glanced at the line of dwarves and halflings to her right and understood the reason behind such an arrangement.
"Ready crossbows!"
Watching the gathering gnoll slaves, Jifan's voice rang out.
"Fire!"
Crossbow bolts shot forth!
The dense ranks of gnoll slaves quickly thinned under the successive waves of bolt fire.
The melee soldiers stepped forward, finishing off the remaining gnolls with a few thrusts.
This was a simple yet efficient slaughter.
It carried an unspeakable blend of cruelty and grace.
Rika forced herself not to think of anything else, but the strange whispers in her ears seemed to be trying to tell her something.
She pretended not to hear them, focusing only on loading and pulling the trigger.
It wasn't until the entire formation came to a halt that Angela's clear voice echoed from afar:
"Halt! Shields up!"
The entire formation stopped moving.
Soldiers on all sides raised their shields, forming a wall.
Behind them, spears bristled in neat rows.
The continuous commands reached Rika's ears. Some she understood, while others made her nervous enough to forget them.
Fortunately, the battle squad leader was a veteran. He guided her and Udala as they turned to face the right.
This side only had scattered gnoll slaves, not the main assault direction.
Another order came. Rika's position remained unchanged, but she turned to face forward again.
Just this one shift was enough. Waves of gnoll slaves were already surging forward.
"Fire in volleys!"
This time Rika clearly heard the command.
She no longer had to move—she only needed to keep firing.
The sound of battle grew nearer and nearer. She could see clearly now.
The front rows of spear-wielding soldiers stood still, shielded by their shields.
Their smooth spears rested in the circular openings of the shields, glinting brightly.
As the soldiers pushed forward with effort, the spears shot out powerfully.
As the spears retracted, the thick smell of blood wafted into her nostrils, stirring her emotions.
Mechanically repeating the motions, Rika quickly became accustomed to her role in the battle.
She never imagined that combat could be such a "simple" task.
Simpler than factory work!
Udala, beside her, also adjusted quickly. However, the corpses on the ground, reeking of blood, left her looking a little pale.
Udala wasn't unfamiliar with the sight of corpses, but she had never been this close to them for so long.
The two exchanged glances, seeing the tension and busy concentration in each other's eyes.
Thankfully, they couldn't see the wider battlefield and thus didn't react too strongly.
They only worried about the repetitive actions of the fight.
How was the battle going?
Whoosh!
A ball of scorching flame roared in from the distant darkness.
Fireball!
The spinning flames hadn't even reached the Bay Territory's lines before an unseen force struck them, tearing them apart into scattered embers.
Counterspell!
Lowering his staff, Matthew coldly stared into the distance. His exceptional vision and over 20 points in extraordinary perception allowed him to instantly locate the enemy spellcaster.
The spinning fireball roared through the air!
Matthew's fireball was larger, faster!
The enemy spellcaster sneered coldly, casting his own counterspell at the incoming fireball.
The spinning fireball remained unaffected, continuing its flight toward him.
In his stunned, horrified gaze, it exploded with a deafening roar.
Boom!
The roaring flames, carried by the shockwave, swept out in all directions.
The terrifying force instantly tore the gnoll slaves to shreds.
Dozens of gnoll slaves perished.
The ones further back were knocked down by the powerful impact.
Bleeding from their orifices, they wailed in agony.
Blood streamed from all seven orifices, and they howled in agony.
The panicked spellcaster struggled to his feet, clutching his aching chest, coughing, his mind in turmoil.
Staring at the cracked marks on his protective necklace, he shouted in disbelief:
"How is this possible? How can a Fireball be this powerful?!"
Before he could react, a red glow appeared in the corner of his eye, prompting him to scream:
"No!!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three consecutive Fireballs exploded.
"Ding! You have slain a level-8 drow spellcaster, earning 300 destiny points."
"Ding! You have slain a level-5 gnoll slave warrior, earning 50 destiny points."
"Ding! You have slain…"
Matthew lowered his staff and met Annie's somewhat dumbfounded gaze.
The best weapon against spellcasters is always another, more powerful spellcaster!
Matthew's spellcasting speed was incredibly fast, his range exceptionally far, easily covering the entire battlefield.
However, instead of continuing his attack, he chose to stop.
This was to hone the army's combat prowess, to test their ability to face large-scale enemy forces.
Many battles lay ahead!
Annie held her binoculars, looking at the shattered remains in the distance, and asked in disbelief:
"How did you do that?"
Matthew blinked lightly and didn't answer directly. He simply raised his hand and pointed upward.
Learning?
Trading?
Controlling her excitement, Annie quickly nodded, eagerly continuing:
"There aren't many drow spellcasters. They probably won't blindly launch another attack."
Annie glanced regretfully behind her. She'd been hoping some oblivious spellcasters would show themselves.
She was itching to test the Bay Territory's newly developed weapon.
The charging gnoll slaves posed little real threat to the Bay Territory's forces.
No matter their numbers, they couldn't possibly outmatch the arrows the Bay Territory had prepared.
Just three volleys of crossbow bolts were enough to destroy most of the gnoll slaves.
The few remaining gnolls couldn't even dent the shields of the seasoned veterans.
Even the bulky gnoll berserkers were nothing more than oversized targets.
The dense corpses littered the ground.
The Bay Territory soldiers didn't advance blindly; they simply waited for the gnoll slaves gathered in the distance to come to them.
These roaring beasts, under the command of drow warriors, rushed forward to meet their deaths.
They had no choice—if the slaves didn't go, it would be their own turn to die.
The battle lasted nearly half an hour.
The Bay Territory's formidable army slaughtered over 30,000 gnoll slaves.
The corpses were piled so high they nearly formed a hill.
The once-teeming gnoll slave horde visibly thinned.
Just as the drow assumed the Bay Territory's forces would push forward, they began to retreat instead.
Small catapults.
Whizzing forward, they launched jar after jar of flaming oil.
Under the drow's incredulous gaze, raging flames erupted, engulfing the battlefield.
A towering wall of fire split the battlefield in two.
Taking advantage of this gap, the weary Bay Territory forces immediately regrouped.
"Check your injuries, check your weapons."
"Drink nutrient potions, drink cleansing potions!"
"Reserves, step forward!"
The straightforward and orderly actions quickly restored the army's combat readiness.
Glancing at the roaring flames in the distance, Rika felt a bit of her inner restlessness subside. Puzzled, she muttered:
"These are just some gnolls. Why do they trigger a bloodline resonance?"
Suppressing her unease, Rika slowly adjusted her breathing, forcing herself not to look at the charred remains.
Wiping the sweat from her brow, Udala stared wide-eyed into the distance, filled with questions.
"How are we supposed to confirm the spoils?"
"Roar…!"
The deafening roar nearly made Udala's legs give out.
She jerked her head up, staring at the fire dragon Diago, beating its wings and rising into the sky.
In the glow of the flames, the colossal beast's fiery red body exuded a terrifying aura.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The heavily panting fire dragon Diago let out a sorrowful bellow before plunging down from the sky.
Just as it opened its massive jaws, ready to unleash a blast of flame upon the Bay Territory army,
a dark shadow silently descended from above and, to everyone's shock, crashed onto its back with a resounding boom.
"Urgh…!"
The surging flames abruptly ceased as the fire dragon Diago roared in pain, spitting out sparks and shaking its head violently.
Its massive body toppled over, crashing into the gnoll slave horde.
In the flickering firelight, the dark shadow morphed into a brilliant silver-white figure.
It was none other than the long-waiting Yaya!
Pinning down the fire dragon Diago, Yaya placed her claw firmly on its wing.
With a powerful grip—
Rip!
The thick dragon wing was torn open with several large holes.
Wracked with pain, the fire dragon Diago snapped its head around to bite, but Yaya nimbly twisted her body aside, locking her claws around its neck.
Her sharp talons pierced through its scales.
Scorching blood spurted out, leaving no marks on Yaya's silver-white scales.
This frenzied creature braced its claws against the ground, trying to rise.
But Yaya, quick as ever, stomped down on its other wing. Her jaws clamped onto its neck, and with a mighty kick, her silver-white body straightened.
Crack!
The blood-soaked wing was ripped clean off.
Molten dragon blood splashed down like torrential rain, drenching the ground.
The magma-like blood burned lethal black wounds into the gnoll slaves' bodies, devouring them in an instant.
The fire dragon Diago's entire body shuddered in agony. Even in its madness, the pain was all too real.
The enormous creature suddenly kicked up, slamming back toward the ground.
Yaya, using the momentum, beat her wings and soared.
The fire dragon Diago slammed into empty ground, its writhing body rolling a few times and crushing hundreds of gnoll slaves in its path.
Before it could rise again, Yaya, airborne, dove down like an arrow.
Bang!
The tremendous impact slammed the fire dragon Diago back into the dirt. Yaya, now holding the upper hand, launched a fierce assault on its leg.
Her razor-sharp teeth tore away a large chunk of flesh.
As it twisted and writhed, Yaya deftly flapped her wings and darted away.
She then charged forward, planting a blow into its abdomen.
Whoosh!
Bright red blood gushed from the wound, and torn, shredded organs spilled out.
Despite its tenacious vitality, the fire dragon Diago turned, trying to fight back.
But Yaya gave it no chance. She took to the air again.
Soaring high, she swooped down with the ferocity of a predator.
The beast roared in anguish, its entire body riddled with wounds. Desperately inhaling, it prepared to unleash a final breath attack.
Swish!
The jet of flame enveloped Yaya, passing clean through.
Yaya's mighty form shattered into fragments—it was an illusion!
Before the fire dragon Diago could comprehend what had happened, another crushing blow landed on its back, driving it into the ground.
Huge, flaming rocks scattered and shattered.
Sharp claws plunged deep into its previous wound, tearing it open even further.
"Roar…!"
The fire dragon Diago howled in pain, its body trembling uncontrollably.
But Yaya showed no mercy. She pinned it down and rained down blow after blow.
Each counter from the dragon was slow, and before long, its body was covered in injuries.
Its magma-like blood splattered everywhere.
The two massive figures turned the gnoll slave horde into utter chaos. Thousands of unlucky gnolls were caught in the crossfire.
Despite the intense fight, it was clear to any observer—
Yaya held the upper hand, while the larger fire dragon Diago could only take a beating.
Seeing Yaya's impressive display of power, every Bay Territory soldier's eyes burned with fervent admiration.
The dragon's fiery breath failed to harm Yaya's body. Instead, she seized the opportunity to circle behind it, delivering a devastating slash to its neck.
A torrent of blood sprayed forth. The struggling fire dragon Diago could no longer roar as fiercely as before.
Blood poured from its mouth as it stumbled. Before it could turn to defend itself,
Yaya's jaws clamped around its neck. With her talons pushing and her jaws tightening,
Crack!
All motion ceased. The enormous body collapsed to the ground, kicking up scorching sand and debris.
The outcome was decided.
Planting her claw on its head, Yaya took to the sky. She let out a thunderous roar at the hidden drow.
"Roar…!"
The resonant dragon cry echoed through the space.
The overwhelming dragon's aura caused thousands of gnoll slaves to collapse in fear.
Surrender to the terror that grips your soul!
Obey the fear buried deep in your soul!