Chapter 139

What is this thing?

Looking at the monsters swooping down from the sky, Mu Yi furrowed his brow and drew his bow.

"They are stone gargoyles, a kind of evil undead; Undead Mages use evil magic to torture the souls of the living into madness, then stuff them into puppet constructs! Their hardness is very high!"

"If they are shattered by close-range attack, the souls inside will spontaneously wail outward; ordinary people whose resolve isn't firm enough will faint directly from the souls' wails!"

The deputy commander shot three arrows in quick succession, then answered Mu Yi.

"What a truly awful thing!"

Mu Yi furrowed his brow; the flying things in the sky should be the works of Undead apprentices, needing only one arrow to blast them.

However, there are too many of them; if they really fall and turn into these self‑exploding trucks in the formation, that would be rather bad.

Moreover, it's not just the threat of these monsters' dying words; even the impact of such densely packed monsters is quite dangerous.

Even if the soldiers' bodies are as agile as can be and their skills as honed as possible, facing this dense monster onslaught leaves no room to dodge.

"Sizzle!"

Merkel‑Rohne clearly understood that, since this is a trial, the opponent absolutely would not be an existence above Legend, so the opponent would not have that much power.

Merkel‑Rohne gazed calmly at the battlefield, his expression appearing indifferent, or perhaps because he had been exposed to too much undead aura, the muscles in his face had long since stiffened, making it impossible to read his joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure.

Vast numbers of inferior stone gargoyles fell from the sky under the firelight; unlike the genuine stone gargoyles that need obsidian to shield against magic, these inferior stone gargoyles are made of wood‑stone and flesh.

Whether their carrier is destroyed, their twisted soul is attacked, or their undead power is negated, they become very easy to dissipate.

That's what the saying 'constant dripping wears away stone' means.

Moreover, higher‑level undead creatures occasionally appear among them, and a surprise attack can inflict heavy damage on the Great Asura warriors.

Merkel‑Rohne waved his hand, and another batch of inferior stone gargoyles took flight; this time, they did not rush in all at once, but launched suicidal attacks in batches while keeping their distance.

All inferior stone gargoyles that enter this area will be purified; even skeleton soldiers and walking corpses cannot last long before being cleansed by the flames.

"But… if it's a soul construct, maybe this could be useful!"

The situation had reached a stalemate, but it was clearly unfavorable for Mu Yi and his side; since they had not achieved dynamic balance, their stamina and energy were genuinely being drained away.

And now he is merely probing Mu Yi's ability; no Zongwang Player can be judged by ordinary logic—who knows what trump cards they have hidden up their sleeves.

Using the Yuan Yang Formation as the base, aided by an immovable military formation, the Great Asuras stood almost as steady as Mount Tai under the undead onslaught, with not a ripple in the battle line.

"Sizzle!"

Thus they are extremely fragile, even more so than skeleton soldiers and walking corpses.

Just like an experienced hunter who sets traps, gradually draining the prey's strength before capturing it.

Although the undead tide attack was hindered, Merkel‑Rohne did not grow anxious because of it; he is a cautious person.

After all, essentially these inferior stone gargoyles are merely undead creatures made from undead power, twisted souls, and crudely made carriers.

This tactic of holding back and not attacking actually posed a considerable threat to Mu Yi and his group.

This is what the Undead Mage does best.

The one previously controlling things was merely a puppet; how could the Undead Controller who most fears decapitation tactics possibly appear before the enemy?

As the Great Asuras rotated in and out, Mu Yi would radiate the power of the Asura Path to them, restoring their strength, repairing their armor, so they could better undertake the next round of rotation.

However, the good news is that, based on the mobilization speed and reactions of the undead creatures, Mu Yi has already roughly grasped the location of the Undead Mage's true body.

Likewise, the soldiers who also possess the Blaze talent are unaffected; in fact, they thereby shake off the suppressive effect of the undead shroud.

The Undead Mage did not choose to exhaust them completely, but let them hover in the sky, waiting silently for the right moment.

The Undead Mage seemed to realize that this pressure was insufficient to effectively wear down Mu Yi and his group, so the undead creatures dispatched later, while not much changed in number, seemed considerably stronger overall.

Mu Yi kept drawing his bow and shooting; he saw through the opponent's intent to wear them down, so he simply turned the tables.

Power is not infinite, so regardless of how Mu Yi responds to the undead army's attacks, it doesn't matter to him; he only needs to wait for the final outcome, waiting for Mu Yi and his side to be worn down to exhaustion.

Time passed bit by bit; outside the soldiers' formed ranks, piles of undead carcasses had accumulated, with the Blaze fire burning upon them, invisibly helping Mu Yi and his side further reduce their consumption.

Although they have flight ability and are unusually agile, and can even unleash a dying‑word attack after death, their very role is to serve as harassing and expendable cannon fodder.

Anyway, the Blaze fire consumes soul power; although no dynamic balance has been formed, as long as we keep killing, their losses are not as great as imagined.

This is practically a required course for a student of Military Strategy; it stands out especially when arranging formations, as the timing of issuing orders and the troops' execution of them must be considered in advance.

The product of Mu Yi's earlier division of his existing power, since its source is those divine forces, is far hotter than the Blaze fire he himself releases.

"Sizzle!"

Even the undead shroud veiled in dark clouds was thinned by a third by this sudden burst of Blaze fire; the erupting flames were like the sun, blinding to behold!

——Six Paths Reincarnation - Hell Path

Centering on Mu Yi and extending to all the soldiers who formed the circular array, a semicircular purification zone was formed.

Temporarily interrupting the empowerment of the Asura warriors, pure soul power was poured into the Blaze fire, and a sea of flames instantly enveloped all the soldiers.

Conversely, the inferior stone gargoyles in the sky, under their successive suicidal charges, became quite sparse; without sufficient numbers, their threat would decline in a straight line.

Mu Yi raised the formation blade in his hand, and the blazing Blaze fire erupted violently from it in all directions.

He was not in a hurry; undead forces are not renowned for quality, their greatest reliance being numbers.

Before, Mingyue, Liuli, and Donghui were also defeated by him using the same method; without overwhelming power, an individual cannot face wave after wave of group strength.

And undead creatures can only be controlled via rough commands, so Mu Yi easily located the Undead Mage from the reactions of their movements.

This is enough for Mu Yi; he need not pinpoint the Undead Mage's exact location—an approximate idea suffices.

Sometimes the roles of hunter and prey can suddenly reverse.

Mu Yi withdrew the Hell Path's Blaze fire; the Undead Mage instantly noticed this sign and, without hesitation, hurled the inferior stone gargoyles at hand.

In the Undead Mage's eyes, Mu Yi lasting this long is already a miracle; now it is definitely Mu Yi's weak period, so he seeks to force Mu Yi to continually overdraw his power.

Mu Yi did not disappoint him; at the instant the inferior stone gargoyles descended, he again released the Hell Path, sweeping the stone gargoyles clean, but this time it lasted only a few seconds before dissipating.

"All troops, hear the order! Break out!"

Mu Yi roared loudly, fearing the Undead Mage wouldn't hear his command.

The Undead Mage showed a smile; the flaw he deliberately left behind—had Mu Yi discovered it?

Over such a long time, the Great Asura warriors fought with all their might, slaying many undead creatures while resisting the undead onslaught, and adding to that, the Hell Path's casualties.

The density of the undead creatures surrounding them began to decrease, after all, mobilizing undead from all directions to form an encirclement disperses their strength, and Mu Yi would surely choose a weak point to break through.

This is exactly the trap set by the Undead Mage, just like a hunter driving prey toward the trap; the Undead Mage also deliberately left an apparent weak opening for Mu Yi to break through.

However, behind that opening lay true hell; he crammed nearly half of his high-level undead into the rear of that gap.

The Undead Mage could hardly wait to see the look of despair on Mu Yi's face.

"Charge!"

Mu Yi indeed chose the weak opening, as it was the closest point to the Undead Mage.

After all, he was controlling mindless undead; to perform such delicate manipulation, the Undead Mage couldn't do it unless he was nearby.

If he were farther away, it might truly become a loophole, letting Mu Yi escape directly.

Moreover, the Undead Mage valued his own safety too highly; once another threat arose, the high-level undead on the second line of defense could rush to his side in the shortest time to protect him.

Overall, the Undead Mage's tactical deployment was not bad; if it were a normal elite strike force, after being worn down for most of the day, they would definitely choose to break through from here, after all, this is the place with the highest chance of success.

However, such petty tricks, in Mu Yi's eyes, are simply too shallow.

Mu Yi could even imagine that after charging past, there would definitely be a surprise waiting for him, and the Undead Mage would flank from behind, forming a pincer attack.

The veteran soldiers' elite tactical training took effect; almost at the instant Mu Yi gave the order, they killed the enemies before them with a burst of attack, then quickly formed a new battle formation.

——Yuan Yang Formation

The Yuan Yang Formation, as a basic battle formation, remained unchanged, but another, defense-oriented formation, immovable as a mountain,

——its swiftness like wind

Its swiftness like wind can greatly enhance movement speed bonuses, making it the most useful buff for breaking through.

At the instant the formation was completed, including Mu Yi, everyone felt their bodies suddenly become extraordinarily light and agile.

Then the next moment, everyone rushed forward in the direction Mu Yi was leading.

The undead creatures could not keep up with Mu Yi and his group's speed; the undead in front were instantly crushed under the violent assault.

In just an instant, Mu Yi and his group had already broken through the undead's initial blockade and charged straight toward the gap.

Skeleton soldiers, walking corpses, ghosts, obsidian stone gargoyles, stitched-together monsters… various undead creatures swarmed toward Mu Yi and his group, attempting to block them.

But it was all useless; the troops led by Mu Yi moved like a swimming dragon, weaving through the undead tide, advancing bit by bit toward their goal.

The Undead Mage saw it with his eyes and felt joy in his heart.

"Just like this, just like this!"

"Struggle, fight, and then die in despair!"

"I will turn these rare corpse materials into the finest undead creatures!"

The Undead Mage was looking forward to it, but he suddenly froze.

Mu Yi and his group actually changed their formation in the last second before breaking out of the encirclement.

"Oh humans, the more scheming you are, the more you are limited by your own schemes!"

——Six Paths Reincarnation Barrier

In the instant the Undead Mage was stunned, the Six Paths barrier opened; Mu Yi and his group's figures vanished from the spot, entering the space of the Six Paths Reincarnation.

"Is this a barrier???"

The Undead Mage watched the space instantly change dramatically; an ominous thought rose in his heart, and the boundless undead army he relied upon vanished.

"From the very beginning, your target was me!"

The Undead Mage's cold voice betrayed a hint of playful anger; he had been played, his self‑made trap turned against him, and the other side had long since discovered his whereabouts.

"I will make you know what hell is!"

The Undead Mage's anger nearly overflowed the heavens; even Mu Yi, at a considerable distance, could feel that anger emanating from the Undead Mage.

"All forces, attack—crush them!"

Mu Yi paid no heed to the Undead Mage's anger; the map is exhausted, the dagger appears—nothing remains but slaughter.

"Kill!"

It seemed as if countless voices roared in unison, and the synchronized footsteps of the charge made the whole world tremble; between heaven and earth there remained only the simplest, most blood‑boiling roar.

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The galloping Great Asuras let out a roar, as if they wanted to slaughter the entire world.

"Boom!"

The Great Asura smashed the weapon in his hand hard onto the skeleton soldier blocking the way.

Bone shards flew!

The fragile skeleton soldiers could not stop the Great Asuras' charge.

Not only the skeleton soldiers, but even the Undead Mage's masterpiece—a monster of flesh piled high—could not withstand the blood‑colored flood like a tsunami.

The Great Asuras' frenzied impact and slashes crushed the undead into pieces, carving a road through the sea of undead, with their blades pointing straight at the Undead Mage.