Chapter 7: Frantic Killing (Part 1)

Guo Shieru shouted loudly, “Every squadron, stay alert! If we let them charge in, we’re all doomed! Risk our lives… maybe that’s the only way to survive! At this point, we have no way back! Fight to the death!”
Qian Rongyao was the first to respond, “Fight to the death!”
Eagle Demon and his entire squadron roared in unison, “Fight to the death! Kill them all!”
Everyone was extremely excited, pouring every ounce of their strength into operating the magic array to its limit, so much so that the squadron leaders at the front almost couldn’t withstand such immense power. In an instant, nine attacks were launched—some from their personal magic artifacts, others from skills formed by magic symbols. Without exception, these attacks were far more devastating than before.
The mutants were like trapped in mud; they couldn’t use their strength or any skills. Their originally lightweight bone clubs and shields became unbearably heavy. They struggled desperately to move forward, but their feet felt as if they were dragging mountains. Once agile, the mutants now moved like turtles crawling.
Guo Shieru summoned the Giant Perch Dragon and the Dark-Winged Scorpion. He didn’t bring out the Blade Shadow Mantis, as its strength was too weak to pierce the mutants’ skin. Finally, he deployed the Ancient Flame Bird—using all his ultimate tactics. He knew they had to go all out now; they absolutely couldn’t let the mutants break through the gorge.
With a loud roar, the Giant Perch Dragon appeared. Many in the army had seen it before, while most professionals had not, and they all stared in astonishment. Soon after, the Dark-Winged Scorpion appeared. It had already reached level eight, and an eight-level ancient scorpion was incredibly powerful—not only in combat but also due to its deadly venom. Once it reached level eight, its toxicity became extremely severe.
Guo Shieru flew into the air, wielding the Moon Blade, and shouted, “Target them accurately!”
The more than 200 mutants weren’t gathered together but were scattered, each straining forward.
Nine attacks later, nine mutants were killed. Without any resistance, the targeted mutants were almost certainly dead—they couldn’t dodge or block, their abilities suppressed to the lowest level. Seeing the attacks succeed, the entire army went wild.
Immediately, a second wave of attacks was launched. Guo Shieru and Qian Rongyao aimed at the fastest-moving mutants. The Giant Perch Dragon and the Dark-Winged Scorpion waited outside, instructed by Guo Shieru to kill them the moment the mutants broke free from the gorge’s constraints and charged out.
Thus, the Giant Perch Dragon and the Dark-Winged Scorpion patrolled the entrance to the gorge, ready to attack at any moment.
…

Fewer and fewer Archpriests remained in the canyon. Just then, reinforcements finally arrived. However, their numbers were not large—they had come only after receiving a second signal. There were over eighty Archpriests, who never expected to witness such a bloody scene. Without hesitation, the eighty Archpriests retreated while sending out more distress signals.

Working together, the eighty Archpriests managed to temporarily hold off the frenzied attacks of the mutants. The mutant was calm and precise in his attacks, managing to inflict severe damage on each Archpriest.

Guo Shier had already slain seven mutants. His Moonblade was extremely sharp, turning the mutants into easy targets—with just one slash, each one turned into a corpse. At that moment, a mutant rushed out from the other side. The moment it broke free, a thick tail spine pierced deep into its chest.

A large hole appeared in the mutant’s chest, its skin quickly turning black and spreading rapidly. It slowly collapsed to the ground, its soul fading away. Countless small scorpions crawled over and entered the wound, and soon, a skeleton lay on the ground.

Everyone was fighting desperately, with attacks raining down as mutants fell one after another. Guo Shier wielded his Moonblade frantically, trying to kill the mutants trying to break through. But there were over two hundred mutants, constantly pouring in. At first, they could hold back thanks to the attacks from the Darkwing Scorpions and Giant Nest Dragons, but as time passed, more and more mutants made it past the canyon entrance. Guo Shier gritted his teeth and said, “Focus your attacks on those mutants that haven’t emerged yet.”

The Ancient Flame Bird suddenly grew huge, reaching over five meters in length, and rushed at the mutants emerging from the other side.

Qian Rongyao shouted, “I’ll keep them busy!”

The canyon entrance was littered with mutant corpses. No matter how hard Guo Shier and his team fought, it was impossible to kill over two hundred mutants. The canyon was about five hundred meters wide, filled with mutant corpses, yet still, over thirty more mutants rushed out, their eyes red as they charged at the group of professionals.

Guo Shier roared, “Switch to the defensive rune formation!” Only five squadrons managed to switch the formation; the other four were overwhelmed by the mutants, and soon, screams filled the air.

Guo Shier roared again, “Form a defensive rune formation by squad!” He felt bitter inside, realizing that regular training wasn’t enough. The squad leaders lacked the ability to adapt and only focused on fighting for themselves.

Small teams formed defensive talismans, with several team leaders fighting desperately to stop the mutants from killing their comrades. Within moments, two team leaders were killed.

Guo Shier’s Moon Blade instantly turned into a streak of light, slaying one mutant. He roared, “Those without a team, don’t run around—go hide inside the talismans!”

In less than half a minute, the losses were staggering—over seventy professionals dead. The mutants’ instinct for killing was simply too fierce. One after another, talismans of various sizes were activated, creating circular defense circles.

Guo Shier felt despair set in. He knew that relying solely on the defensive talismans wouldn’t hold much longer. Qian Rongyao also showed signs of despair. With his abilities, he could only hold off two mutants, but facing over thirty mutants left him helpless. Thankfully, the mutants were drawn away by the professional teams; otherwise, he would have been finished too.

The Giant Nesting Dragon was charging ahead, with five mutants closely in pursuit, trying to kill it. Since the Dragon had already bitten and killed more than six mutants in a short time, it had long been targeted by them.

The Dark-Winged Scorpion was in a similar situation, with three mutants chasing it, trying to crush it. But the Scorpion was extremely fast and could glide for a distance when in danger.

Guo Shier had no intention of recalling them for now. The Giant Nesting Dragon and the Dark-Winged Scorpion could still hold off a few mutants, reducing pressure on the others.

As one team’s defensive talisman collapsed, the professionals suffered another massacre at the hands of the mutants. Just as Guo Shier was on the verge of utter despair, a dozen flying vehicles came flying low.

Guo Shier shouted, “Stay calm! Withdraw team by team—don’t panic, or none of you will get out!”

At that moment, several people jumped from the first flying vehicle and flew toward them. Then, another group of dozens of people jumped down, all professionals above the rank of Saint Master. Leading them were Bushi Long and Yaoli Xilong, the commanders of Camp 27, along with the captains of the other four large teams and their team leaders.

Guo Shier was overjoyed. With their support, those mutants were doomed.

Another group of about twenty people came down from the flying vehicles, all of them Grand Saint Masters. This made Guo Shier somewhat puzzled.

In just a short while, all the mutants were slaughtered. Qian Rongyao went to confront them, while Guo Shier was busy collecting soul beads, as the mutants’ souls would dissipate quickly over time.

Those great saints took a short rest before charging into the canyon, where the battle was still raging. More great saints came down from the flying vehicles that arrived one after another. The large number this time surprised Guo Shier, as there were over three hundred of them. Led by a master with a Void Form Altar, they charged at the mutants in the canyon.

There were reinforcements on this side, and the mutants in the canyon also had reinforcements. Groups of mutants kept appearing, and in no time, there were over seven hundred of them. The force was simply too great, and even with the master of the Void Form Altar, it was difficult to cope.

Bushilong was discussing something with a group of people when Qian Rongyao waved at Guo Shier and said, “Shier, come quickly!”

Guo Shier didn’t dare delay and flew over. Eagle Demon followed closely behind.

Bushilong said, “Captain Guo, I’ve heard Captain Qian’s report. Thanks to your leadership this time, the team avoided heavy losses. When we return, you will receive the reward points you deserve.”

Guo Shier nodded calmly. He wasn’t interested in points; what mattered to him were the seventeen soul beads he had collected. Due to the long time elapsed, the souls of many mutants had dissipated, and he regretted not being able to collect them.

Bushilong said, “We need to hold our position here for a while to prevent the mutants from breaking through. The other teams will arrive soon. The injured members can return with the flying vehicles, while the rest should stay here.”

Guo Shier said, “With our five teams, we can hold out for a while, but only if… there aren’t too many mutants, otherwise it will be a massacre.”

Bushilong said, “Reinforcements will come.”

Yao Lixilong said, “The most important thing is to hold our position for a while and wait for rescue.”

Guo Shier felt something was off, but he didn’t ask further. Even if he had, Bushilong wouldn’t have answered.

Since they needed to defend the entrance to the canyon, the team began setting up tents. Guo Shier stared at the distant part of the canyon, where the battle was still intense. Qian Rongyao said, “Don’t worry about that place. We just need to hold the entrance.”

Guo Shier shook his head, thinking it wasn’t that simple. He faintly sensed that something had changed in the situation here, but he couldn’t get any information. He decided to discuss it with Eagle Demon later.

After eliminating over two hundred mutants, no more mutants rushed out of the canyon. It seemed their attention was focused on the other end of the canyon.

From here, one can see the shadows on the other side of the canyon. Though not very clear, with the vision-enhancing spell, a slight outline can be made out. Battle is raging over there, with smoke billowing,flash of light flashing from time to time, the ground trembling slightly, and loud explosions echoing from afar.
After about ten minutes, a dozen more flying vehicles brought another group of professionals, while the injured members returned to the camp via these vehicles. To gather professionals from all five teams, at least three to four trips with flying vehicles are needed.