Those who had never witnessed such a scene would never imagine that Cloud Peak’s ranged forces could unleash firepower comparable to the massive attack weapons.
In fact, upon closer consideration, this wasn’t too difficult to understand. The weapons Cloud Peak used were of high quality to begin with. The crystal firearms, for instance, were all the latest models, with significantly improved range and power. As for the other weapons—whether they were regular firearms, crossbows, or the bullets and arrows—they all had levels, making their power inherently formidable. Coupled with the bonus effects from their users, their strength naturally wasn’t small.
The most crucial factor, however, was quantity.
Nearly half of Cloud Peak’s evolved were equipped with ranged weapons. The remaining half included those specializing in defense, support, and reserve troops, as well as Little Tiger’s cavalry, Xia Lei’s combat team, and the female guards who hadn’t yet joined the fight. Many of these individuals also possessed ranged weapons, but it wasn’t their time to act.
Even so, the sheer number of 50,000 was already terrifying enough. The firepower net they wove was like a wall of death. Any monster that touched it would be torn to shreds.
Perhaps at this moment, many realized why Cloud Peak, with just 100,000 people, dared to challenge a monster army numbering in the millions.
Wave after wave of monsters fell before Cloud Peak’s battle formation. The speed at which they died was enough to make one’s hair stand on end.
Many had heard or even said that one must have sufficient reverence for life. But now, this was the deepest disregard for life.
At this moment, life wasn’t even worth as much as grass or dirt.
The speed of death made some of the Cloud Peak warriors, who had personally caused all this, feel sorrow.
The emotions were complex.
Under such relentless attacks, the monster army struggled to advance. Ten seconds, twenty seconds, thirty seconds—every second they moved forward, but the distance they covered could only be measured in the ‘steps’ of a human’s normal walking pace.
In thirty seconds, they hadn’t even covered thirty steps. They had only moved closer to Cloud Peak by less than twenty meters.
But what about the number of deaths? In that short time, over 200,000 monsters had fallen!
Almost ten thousand deaths per meter!
The monsters finally couldn’t endure such losses and began to adapt.
Large numbers of monsters leaped toward Cloud Peak’s battle formation from behind. The remaining flying monsters charged downward as if they had a death wish. Some smaller monsters used their companions’ bodies as cover to launch ground assaults, hoping to divide Cloud Peak’s attention.
This change did have an effect. Many of Cloud Peak’s ranged troops subconsciously shifted their targets. Some aimed at the sky, some at the ground, while others held positions.
Although the overall firepower didn’t decrease, the pressure on the frontal assault monsters lessened.
In just a few seconds, the monsters covered the distance they hadn’t been able to in half a minute.
“Don’t worry about the sky!”
“Keep shooting!”
“The flying ones aren’t your targets!”
Core members and captains continuously scolded the warriors who had raised their muzzles.
Even if the monsters’ charge was temporarily halted, once they renewed their assault, their momentum and speed would truly shocking.
The firepower poured out again, now divided between frontal monsters and small ground monsters. However, it was no longer enough to stop these creatures.
The monsters surged forward like a tidal wave.
It wasn’t the fault of the Cloud Peak warriors for attacking the small monsters. If these creatures breached the battle formation, they could cause chaos and even casualties. If the formation collapsed, then today’s battle would be completely lost.
One hundred thousand isolated evolved couldn’t hold back millions of monsters, even if the monster numbers were now half of what they had been at the start.
Cloud Peak had underestimated the strength of these elite monsters from the Blue Secret Realm.
At this moment, Cloud Peak made two moves that halted this momentum.
The first countermeasure was the dense crystal grenades that flew out from behind the battle formation.
The evolved’ strength and accuracy were more than sufficient. These grenades weren’t concentrated in one spot but were spread out across different distances within the monster horde.
There was naturally some chaos. For instance, some quick-reacting monsters knocked the grenades away or even sent them flying back toward Cloud Peak’s battle formation.
But the overall effect was achieved.
The crystal grenades exploded, tearing apart the vanguard of the monster army, which was over a hundred meters thick. It was as if a clean slice had been taken from a cake.
In an instant, the monsters’ vanguard was pushed back to its previous position, if not further.
Many Cloud Peak warriors cheered. The large-scale killing effect was simply too good.
However, only those who knew Cloud Peak’s crystal grenade stockpile understood that this single volley had consumed over 10,000 grenades. The remaining stock was only enough for one more throw.
While ensuring other production areas continued uninterrupted, this was already Cloud Peak’s limit.
Fortunately, the battle formation stabilized, allowing the ranged troops to continue unleashing their power. To some extent, the time the ranged troops could hold out was directly tied to victory or defeat—or at least to casualty rates.
The second countermeasure wasn’t something the warriors did intentionally. It came from Ye Zhongming’s distraction.
The Blue Secret Realm was already dim, so when a patch of night sky appeared, it wasn’t as noticeable as it would have been on Earth.
Under the Starry Sky Vision, Ye Zhongming became a killing machine.
Whether it was the Cloud Peak battle formation behind him or the Death King Tree in need of assistance ahead, Ye Zhongming had no choice but to go all out.
With his bloodline activated, both elemental spirit abilities fully unleashed, Undead Sand Moon Blade on his left and Wind and Lightning on his right, any monster that entered his range was subjected to massive effects. They were slowed and afflicted with various debuffs. This allowed Ye Zhongming to charge forward rapidly, relying solely on the sharpness of his weapons.
He unleashed Cloud Slice, consuming nearly a fifth of his mental energy to clear the surrounding monsters. Before he could be engulfed again, he reached the pit.
Then, with a full-force Thousand Blade Slash, he finally caught sight of the Death King Tree, who was still fighting but clearly struggling.
Sensing Ye Zhongming’s presence, the Death King Tree mustered her last reserves of strength. The branches on her body extended and retracted rapidly, taking the lives of many monsters and making it easier for Ye Zhongming to reach her side.
“Let’s go!”
Ye Zhongming grabbed one of the Death King Tree’s branches and pulled the immobile level-eight tree out of the pit.
“As expected, you’re the man who wants to mate with me. You wouldn’t abandon me. What do you humans say? ‘You can’t pull up your pants and pretend not to know someone,’ right?”
Ye Zhongming’s face turned black. He responded to the Death King Tree, who had finished speaking and fallen into a complete evolution state before passing out with a single, forceful word.
” Get lost!”