Chapter 303

Jie Ming and the others successfully landed on the surface of the steel city.

However, this did not mean the end of the battle; instead, it was like poking a huge hornet's nest.

Before Jie Ming's wizard squad could observe the surrounding environment, piercing metal friction sounds and the hum of energy weapon charging sounded from all directions.

Only to see those skyscrapers towering into the clouds and covered with metal skins around them suddenly open countless gaps of varying sizes.

The next moment, like an ant tide that had broken its dam, creatures of various forms and different races swarmed out!

Some resembled upright lizards, draped in simple metal armor; others were multi-eyed and multi-legged arthropods, brandishing weapons combining biology and machinery; even more extreme were illusory shadows composed entirely of energy, emitting shrieks that disturbed the mind...

Their goal was only one—the wizard squad located in the center of this block!

"Firepower coverage! Clear the surroundings!" The Level 5 wizard leading the team reacted extremely quickly.

With a wave of his hand, a scorching lava ray swept out, instantly vaporizing a piece of enemies that rushed up first, and incidentally cutting a large area of buildings in front in half.

Other wizards also showed their magical powers: frost, thunder, corrosive acid, mental impact...

The brilliance of various wizardry erupted in the narrow streets, and strange creatures fell one after another like harvested wheat.

The 【Great Light Image】 behind Jie Ming lit up again, and the dense energy barrage plowed through the surging enemy tide over and over again, leaving scorched earth and wreckage everywhere.

Just upon contact, feeling the generally only Level 1 or 2 energy fluctuations of the opponent, as well as the varied characteristics clearly coming from different life forms, Jie Ming immediately understood the origin of these enemies.

"They are servant troops!" he said in a deep voice.

The so-called servant troops were armies formed by integrating the natives of conquered planes and driving them.

The Giant Spirit Realm had conquered dozens of planes, so having servant troops was a matter of course.

It was just that the Wizard civilization itself preferred to use completely controlled, performance-customized cannon fodder, leading Jie Ming not to think of this point at first.

Compared to those "high-quality" cannon fodder that wizards carefully designed and whose strength was often one or two levels higher than their masters, the individual strength of these servant troops before them was simply unbearable.

But... their numbers were simply too terrifying!

The Giant Spirit Realm was too big; its land area might be comparable to the surface area of the gas giant Saturn known to Jie Ming in his past life.

Although the wizards had already broken into pieces, fighting in the form of squads of a hundred or a thousand, and were only attacking a small part of the Giant Spirit Realm's ruling territory.

But the defensive area allocated to their squad of less than a hundred people was still as vast as a medium-sized province in his past life!

And within this area, enemies seemed endless.

Ten minutes!

Just ten minutes of fierce fighting!

Jie Ming roughly estimated that the number of servant troops who died at the hands of their squad had probably reached a staggering hundred-billion level!

But looking around, from those metal buildings that seemed infinitely deep, enemies were still roaring and rushing out continuously.

They stepped on the corpses of their companions and lunged crazily.

They used corpses to build walls, used blood and energy to soak the metal ground, and the offensive did not weaken in the slightest.

For a time, this elite wizard squad fell into a rather awkward situation.

Looking up at the high altitude, the wizard's floating fortress and main cannon fodder legion were chasing the Giant Spirit Realm's regular army and beating them, occupying an absolute advantage.

But on the ground, these wizards who should have been the masters of the battlefield were themselves forced to be extremely miserable by the massive amount of low-level servant troops.

They could only hold one point, constantly consuming wizard power and mental power to carry out inefficient cleaning.

This did not mean that wizards were weak; on the contrary, this reflected the unique war philosophy of the Wizard civilization—advocating prying power with knowledge.

They did not pursue the evolution of their own bodies to the extreme, but invested their energy in the understanding and application of world laws.

The cannon fodder legion was exactly a war tool extended from this philosophy of dealing with things.

For wizards, the cannon fodder legion and spells were the same, both being the condensation of knowledge and resources, and were themselves a manifestation of prying power with knowledge, and it was normal for their comprehensive combat power to exceed the wizard's body.

It was precisely because of this that the "eerie" scene appeared where the cannon fodder legion suppressed the enemy's main force, while the wizard's body was trapped by the enemy's miscellaneous soldiers.

Using a wave of energy barrage to clear a brief vacuum zone in front again, looking at the number of enemies pouring out like a fountain from the gaps in the buildings behind, Jie Ming couldn't help but furrow his brows tightly.

"Can't go on like this." He understood in his heart.

The opponent's goal could not be more obvious; it was to use these cheap and nearly endless servant troops to exhaust their power alive.

The only way to break this stalemate was to find and destroy the opponent's strongholds or teleportation nodes for transporting troops!

Otherwise, they would sooner or later be drowned by this quagmire of flesh and metal.

He looked up, just happening to meet the gazes cast by the Level 5 wizard leading the team and the two Level 4 wizards.

From the other side's eyes, Jie Ming saw the same judgment and determination.

"Clear the field of vision! Sweep away all these eyesore ruins and iron boxes!" The Level 5 wizard decisively issued a new instruction, his voice clearly entering the ears of every team member through the intense explosion sounds.

Jie Ming did not hesitate, raising his hand to shoot a highly condensed energy bullet toward the sky diagonally above.

The energy bullet climbed rapidly, and when it reached an altitude of several hundred meters, it was precisely controlled by him to detonate in mid-air!

Boom!!!

A huge explosion bloomed in the sky, and the violent shockwave, like an invisible giant hammer, smashed fiercely toward the metal building ruins and crowded streets standing below!

However, the effect was not as expected.

The metal used in the Giant Spirit Realm's buildings was clearly extraordinary.

Jie Ming's energy bullet, which was enough to level a modern reinforced concrete city block, only cleared an area with a diameter of about 100 meters after landing.

For this vast battlefield, it was simply a drop in the bucket.

Most of the metal fragments blown away were just twisted and deformed, rather than completely vaporized.

"Hard enough..." Jie Ming's eyes turned cold, "Then come more!"

With a thought, the massive 【Great Light Image】 array behind him hummed again.

This time, it was no longer precise point-shooting aimed at ground enemies, but toward the sky, like a firework launcher for a festival, pouring out thousands of energy light bullets dragging dazzling trails!

These light bullets were not aimed directly at targets, but under Jie Ming's exquisite control, like possessing life, scattered in all directions at all angles of the sky!

They drew beautiful parabolas, covering an extremely vast airspace around the squad.

The Level 5 wizard and the two Level 4 wizards also had a good eye, releasing wizardry and erecting barriers to cover the entire squad.

When these light bullets arrived at the predetermined explosion points everywhere...

"Explode." Jie Ming spat out a word softly.

The next moment, heaven and earth lost their sound!

Boom boom boom boom boom!!!

Terrifying explosion sounds that could not be described in words connected into pieces, finally gathering into a destructive symphony capable of shattering internal organs!

Thousands of scorching light balls exploded simultaneously in the sky, between buildings, and on the streets!

Shockwaves overlapped and collided with each other, forming ring-shaped giant waves that twisted the air visibly, spreading crazily toward the surroundings!

Metal buildings were easily pushed over and torn apart in the giant waves, like building blocks built by children.

The servant troops on the ground and the previous battle wreckage were instantly vaporized or ground into the finest dust in this indiscriminate destructive storm.

The intense light illuminated the dim battlefield like daylight, and even the battle taking place in the air not far away seemed to have a momentary stagnation because of this sudden destruction from the ground.

The aftermath of the explosion lasted for more than ten seconds before slowly subsiding.

When the pervasive smoke and scattered energy light chips gradually dissipated, the scene before them made all the wizards take a slight cold breath.

Centered on the squad's location, within a radius of hundreds of kilometers, that steel jungle originally composed of countless metal buildings with a cyberpunk style... disappeared!

Replacing it was a boundless flat scorched earth covered with glass-like craters and twisted metal residue!

The field of vision was cleared.

Jie Ming floated in the center of the scorched earth, the light of the 【Great Light Image】 slightly dimmed.

The first step of breaking the situation had already been taken.

Next, it was to find those hidden "hives."

Then, completely destroy them!

On the vast scorched earth after the field of vision was forcibly cleared, the process of finding the enemy's troop transport nodes became simple to the point of being somewhat boring.

Under Jie Ming's saturated coverage bombing, the ordinary metal buildings had long since turned into ruins or slag.

At this moment, the high-rise buildings that could still stand tall on the scorched earth and continue to pour out servant troops were like lice on a bald head, obvious to the point of being unable to be more obvious.

Looking around, on the plain filled with smoke and metal steam, every one or two kilometers, there stood one or several lonely high-rise buildings stubbornly.

Their metal shells might be somewhat scorched and deformed, but the structure was generally intact, and the surface flashed with abnormal energy luster.

Massive amounts of enemies were still constantly drilling out from within, like a hive spitting out poisonous bees.

"Target clear! Prioritize destroying these nodes!" The Level 5 wizard's voice carried a trace of relaxation, locking onto the five surviving high-rise buildings closest to them.

With clear targets, the efficiency of the wizards instantly improved.

Jie Ming had a thought, taking out three brand-new metal discs with elemental brilliance flowing on their surfaces from his body space.

Three elemental storage-type seal wizarding tools flew behind him, quickly replacing the three old discs in the center of the 【Great Light Image】 whose light was dim due to excessive energy extraction.

Abundant energy filled the array again, making the light of the Great Light Image shine again... no! It should be said that it was even more dazzling than before.

Because the number of seal wizarding tools embedded in its array, under the continuous production and supplementation of the automatic factory in the body, had already broken through the ten-thousand mark.

Having made preparations, the wizards made their moves one after another.

The Level 5 wizard leading the team held his hands in the void, and five destructive rays of different colors and extremely condensed jumped at his fingertips.

After a brief accumulation of power, under his control, the five rays instantly crossed space, precisely hitting five different high-rise buildings simultaneously!

The two Level 4 wizards cooperated tacitly; one summoned a huge elemental array to condense energy, and the other guided and compressed it into a thunder giant spear traversing the sky, throwing it fiercely at another high-rise building, with astonishing momentum.

The remaining wizards also, according to their own strength, or in teams of ten, or four or five, unleashed the strongest single-target or small-range attack wizardry.

Streams of fatal light cut through the sky above the scorched earth, roaring toward those conspicuous targets.

And Jie Ming, after replenishing energy, displayed an astonishing ability to attack strongholds.

His spirit was highly concentrated, and the massive 【Great Light Image】 array behind him adjusted its angle slightly, locking onto ten high-rise buildings within his mental coverage range!

The next moment, the 【Great Light Image】 poured out a barrage.

Under Jie Ming's control, these barrages divided into ten dazzling energy light whips, tearing through the air, carrying piercing shrieks, and whipping fiercely onto the surfaces of the ten high-rise buildings!

Hum!!!

At the moment of being attacked, translucent energy barriers flowing with complex geometric patterns immediately appeared on the surfaces of these high-rise buildings, attempting to resist the external destruction.

However, under Jie Ming's continuous bombardment that could be called an "energy torrent," these barriers only supported for less than two seconds before shattering inch by inch like fragile glass, emitting a series of unbearable mournful groans!

The barrier shattered, and the energy light whip had no more obstacles, directly bombarding the building body itself!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ten explosion sounds that almost connected into one came!

Those ten towering high-rise buildings, along with the teleportation devices, energy cores, and servant troops that had not yet poured out that might exist inside, were completely vaporized the moment they touched the energy light whip by the extreme high temperature and destructive energy.

One round of attack, ten nodes turned to ashes!

Only ten bottomless giant craters with glass-like edges remained in place, with wisps of blue smoke rising from them—Jie Ming had even cleaned up the depths of the foundation.

This terrifying efficiency of attacking strongholds made the other wizards who were casting spells couldn't help but look sideways, with undisguised appreciation and surprise in their eyes.

The Level 5 wizard leading the team looked at Jie Ming, clicking his tongue in wonder.

He had a sharp eye and naturally could see the pros and cons of Jie Ming's attack mode.

Although that energy light whip had unparalleled power, speed and flexibility were its fatal flaws.

Let alone a Level 4 wizard, even an experienced Level 3 wizard could easily dodge it if prepared.

But when it came to dealing with fixed targets and attacking strongholds, this pure energy pouring that broke cleverness with force and was continuous, its efficiency even exceeded his Level 5 wizard!

"Defect... I'm afraid it's the huge burden on mental power, and the consumption of that special energy pool is a bottomless pit."

The Level 5 wizard watched Jie Ming drink two tubes of high-level magic potion used to replenish mental power without any pause, evaluating silently in his heart.

"However, possessing such terrifying instantaneous destructive power is enough to make up for these shortcomings. Truly a... monster-like little guy."

He didn't say anything more, but the approval in his eyes became deeper.

Seeing that the method of clearing nodes was effective, he immediately commanded the squad members to continue locking onto all remaining high-rise nodes in the field of vision, striving to pull out the enemy's troop transport capacity in this area by the roots!

Under the efficient and fatal cleaning of the wizard squad, the servant troops that had originally surged like a tide weakened visibly in momentum, and the originally dense team also became sparse.

Losing the continuous supplementation of the rear nodes, the effect of these low-level servant troops was greatly reduced.

And facing the merciless wanton slaughter of Jie Ming and other wizards, these servant troops finally began to show signs of defeat, no longer charging fearlessly, and confusion and retreat appeared.

At this time, looking down from high altitude, on the battlefield of the entire Giant Spirit Realm continent, dazzling explosion lights lit up one after another.

Clearly, other wizard squads that had landed on the ground, after experiencing the passivity of the initial stage, had also quickly found countermeasures.

Starting to be like Jie Ming and their squad, they began to clear these "soldier bee hives" hidden in the steel jungle on a large scale.

The sharp reduction in the number of ground servant troops seemed to have drawn away part of the confidence of the Giant Spirit Realm regular army.

The Giant Spirit Realm fleet and mechanical army that were still entangled with the wizard cannon fodder legion in the high altitude and distance began to have their resistance clearly decline, their formations began to loosen, and they gradually retreated backward.

The clamor of war gradually turned from intense confrontation to sporadic exchanges of fire and pursuit.

"The enemies in this area have been cleared; next... let's collect resources first, there will be plenty to fight later."

Looking at the last batch of defeated servant troops before his eyes, the Level 5 wizard began to issue new instructions.

Jie Ming didn't say much, and every wizard made their move one after another, capturing this last batch of servant troops and collecting them as trophies.

Realizing that the most difficult battle of the first stage was nearing its end, the wizards began to convert tasks in an orderly manner.

Temporary resource collection arrays were arranged on the battlefield; whether it was the wreckage of the Giant Spirit Realm regular army's warships, the fragments of mechanical giants, or the strange corpses of those servant troops, they were all pulled, collected, and classified by invisible power.

These substances and energies from different planes would become precious resources for the wizards to manufacture cannon fodder when they attacked next time.

Jie Ming also put away the 【Great Light Image】, slowly falling onto a piece of scorched earth, feeling the not-so-small consumption of mental power in his body and the hum of the automatic factory operating.

He looked at the scarred battlefield that had been firmly controlled by the wizards, and breathed out lightly.

The tragic, chaotic, yet efficient first-stage landing battle, accompanied by the retreat of the Giant Spirit Realm army and the wizards starting to clean up the battlefield, finally came to an end.

(Just this chapter today.)

(End of chapter)