Chapter 212

Nobody is blind!

As the battle situation further developed, the native cultivators also noticed some clues.

Then a comical scene occurred: aside from the people of Great Cloud Temple still fighting desperately, the other cultivators began to go through the motions and fish for benefits, their attacks growing feeble and ineffective; within less than five meters, their spells could miss.

Moreover, after encountering Chen Shicheng, even when not under attack, they would let out an exaggerated shout and collapse to the ground, then honestly be thrown by the hungry ghosts onto the small pile of wounded.

In this situation, the monks of Great Cloud Temple could not hold the line, and were quickly killed, abandoning armor and weapons; the players swiftly advanced, and in the blink of an eye reached beside the altar, with some long-range attacks even reaching the altar's edge.

The head of the Dharma Institute of Great Cloud Temple naturally noticed this; his expression changed several times, then he sent people to fight desperately out of the encirclement and come to the General's side to seek help.

Unfortunately, how could the General let his men go to die at such a time, let alone there being a secret order from above.

Therefore, after refusing the request to join the battlefield with righteous words, he directly had his troops change direction, while maintaining formation, leading another wave of players who were defending against them to another direction.

Moreover, this direction and angle were excellent—not only could the soldiers see the battlefield situation, but the players could also guard against them while glancing at the battlefield with their peripheral vision, without waiting for disciples to return and report; the Dharma Institute Chief, who had been observing this side, also learned of the General's reply, cursed under his breath, and with a stern expression looked toward the battlefield.

The situation was extremely dangerous for him! Although these players had not yet made substantive contact with the altar, some long-range attacks could already reach it; although the altar itself had defensive capability, it was not very strong.

Moreover, these players did not know that the core treasure was in Chen Shicheng's hand, and could at any time end the battlefield Task that would affect the player group.

Therefore, with a respawn mechanism in place, they one by one had no fear of death, preferring to risk dying once rather than miss a few excited steps forward, just so their attacks could hit the altar—what if their attack destroyed the altar? Even if they could not destroy such a huge altar in one blow, as long as they inflicted even a hint of damage, they would get a share when the Task settled, which would be a huge gain! Holding this idea, these players, like a suicide squad, launched an assault toward the altar; for a moment, even the Dharma Institute Chief could barely hold the line, almost being broken through.

"Eldest Senior Brother, what should we do? The junior disciples can't hold on much longer!" The Second Senior Brother of Great Cloud Temple shouted anxiously, watching the disciples retreat step by step.

"Hold on a little longer; the opponents' cultivation level is low, their True Essence will soon be exhausted, and then we can counterattack."

This statement was obviously self-deception; even when the Dharma Institute Chief said it, he lacked confidence.

But what could be done? One cannot simply retreat at such a critical moment; although the fellow cultivators who came to help were ordinary disciples, if he truly abandoned them and retreated, Great Cloud Temple's reputation would be completely ruined in his eyes, and he did not want to end up in the Discipline Institute.

"Boom!"

Just as he was still recalling the various punishments of the Discipline Institute, a roar suddenly came from the altar behind him.

Everyone instinctively turned to look, and saw that at a stalemate in the defense line, a purple marten the size of an elephant suddenly appeared.

The purple marten casually swallowed a monk whole, then coiled and gathered strength; afterward, its hind legs thrust powerfully, and its massive body flew toward the altar like a missile.

The altar sensed the incoming attack, instantly layering runes for defense, but La Tiao far surpassed Chen Shicheng's pure attribute, and with its massive body's own weight, how could the unfinished altar possibly block it?

In the next instant, La Tiao's huge head collided with the runes.

"Not good!" The Dharma Institute Chief and others, upon seeing La Tiao, felt their hearts jump and realized the situation was dire.

And the fact did not exceed their expectations; the altar's defensive runes held for less than a breath, then dissolved into specks of light with the sound of shattering glass.

La Tiao did not stop; after breaking through the defense, it immediately opened its mouth as wide as possible, and in the Dharma Institute Chief's despairing gaze, directly bit down.

"Crack!"

The altar made of white jade was like a cream cake, easily bitten off a large chunk.

La Tiao chewed a few times, furrowed its brow, reluctantly swallowed the white jade fragments, then relentlessly gnawed at the altar; this time it didn't chew, just swallowed whatever went straight down, which could be considered less suffering.

"Eldest Senior Brother"

The Second Junior Brother beside him, seeing the destroyed altar, felt not dismay but delight rising to his brows, saying, "The altar has been destroyed; we also can't hold on much longer—if so, can we..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone listening knew what he meant, and they all turned to look at the Dharma Institute Chief present who could make the decision.

Finally, under everyone's expectant gaze, the Dharma Institute Chief nodded with difficulty, "Gather the disciples, prepare to retreat!"

"Yes!"

The disciples of Great Cloud Temple immediately began to gather, forming a new formation, and under the leadership of several senior brothers prepared to break out.

The initiators of this operation were already preparing to break out; the other sect disciples who had come to help certainly could not fight to the death, and immediately left the battlefield, running to the General's side to watch the spectacle.

"Want to run?"

Unlike other players who rushed to the altar first and started wrecking things, Chen Shicheng directly used Compress Earth to an Inch to block in front of the Great Cloud Temple crowd, and before he even steadied himself, he slashed a blade aura at the leading Dharma Institute Chief.

"Bang!"

The Dharma Institute Chief swung his staff with all his might, blocking the blade aura at the critical moment; while deflecting the attack, he retreated four or five steps before barely stopping.

Seeing the notch that nearly split his staff in two, the Dharma Institute Chief hurriedly said, "Wait, let's talk—how about a ceasefire now?"

"A ceasefire?"

Chen Shicheng had his hand raised, stopping above his head, and said with a smirk.

"You've seen it too; if we keep fighting, we'll both lose, and your goal is merely to destroy the altar. Since that's the case, I'll let you have the altar, but the precondition is that you let us leave safely!" The Dharma Institute Chief and the junior brother beside him exchanged their staffs, guarding against Chen Shicheng while speaking calmly. (End of chapter)