Chapter 197

The Corruption Tide's assault was like an endless nightmare, lasting a full three days.

Gray twisted quark creatures surged forward wave after wave, trampling over the charred remains of their companions, ignoring the scorching of flames and the penetration of arrows; their sole instinct was to contaminate and devour all life before them.

The flame defense line beneath Anvilburg's city wall bore immense pressure.

Dwarves worked in near-constant shifts, loading cart after cart of coal into specially designed furnaces, carefully guiding and pouring the molten iron from the smelter.

The air reeked of intense burnt odor, sulfur, and the pungent smell of burning metal.

The heat made the rocks at the base of the city wall scorching, singeing the beards and eyebrows of some dwarf warriors, yet they kept their bloodshot eyes wide open, stubbornly holding the line.

"For the mountains! For Anvilburg!" Tongxu Clan Chief personally wielded a massive bellows, boosting the furnace's airflow; his roar inspired every exhausted dwarf.

The elves of the Moonlight Ring were equally exhausted.

Continuously casting nature spells and making precise shots drained their spiritual power and stamina immensely.

Moonshadow Elder's face was somewhat pale, yet she steadily cast "Root Entanglement" and "Natural Purification" spells, slowing the Corruption Tide's advance and providing energy for enchanted arrows.

Some elf hunters fainted from overexertion of spiritual power and were quickly carried down the city wall for treatment.

The deep-purple Shadowy Thorn vines, like an abyssal demon starving for eons, frenziedly tore and absorbed the flesh and energy of the corrupted derivatives.

They became wandering reapers of death on the battlefield.

Around the Moonlight Ring, several main vines coiled like pythons around a corrupted aggregate attempting to ram the elves' city wall.

Its sharp mouthparts brutally pierced the torso forged from countless derivatives, a dark-red energy surge surged at unprecedented speed, and the aggregate withered and collapsed at visible speed, ultimately turning into a lifeless, foul-smelling sludge.

Before Anvilburg's flame defense line, the Shadowy Thorns even ventured into the sea of fire, entwining the half‑cooked, still‑struggling derivatives, ignoring the scorching heat, and completely draining them, leaving only charred skeletons.

Beneath Guangtan Fortress's city wall, it became even more a hunting ground for the Shadowy Thorns.

Vines surged up like a forest, forming a continually writhing deep‑purple bulwark; any corrupted creature attempting to approach was instantly pierced, crushed, and devoured.

The aid of the Shadowy Thorns greatly eased the pressure on the defenders of the Three Cities.

The dwarves could catch their breath and replenish fuel.

The elves could focus more on picking off stragglers and long‑range spellcasting.

Guangtan Fortress's ranged weapons could also strike targets behind the Corruption Tide with greater precision.

However, the Shadowy Thorns' frenzied feeding clearly provoked the true ruler of the Corruption Tide.

The Corrupted Nest Mother's massive, twisted form let out a silent yet soul‑shaking roar from the depths of the Corruption Tide!

A colder, purer will of destruction swept across the battlefield like a storm!

In an instant, the Corruption Tide's assault underwent a drastic change!

All corrupted derivatives seemed to receive a unified command; they ceased their aimless charges and, like a directed army, began to concentrate their fire in an organized manner, rushing toward the most active Shadowy Thorn main vines with the fastest devouring speed.

Even more alarming, behind the Corruption Tide, several super‑large corrupted aggregates, far larger than before, were still moving toward the city wall!

Their bodies were more solid, their surfaces coated with thick, continually dripping layers of corroded keratin, making the ground tremble as they moved.

Their goal was clear—to destroy those deep‑purple defenders!

"Roar!" A super‑large aggregate swung a massive arm made of countless severed limbs, smashing hard into a Shadowy Thorn main vine that was devouring derivatives!

"Bang!" A dull impact sounded; the vine shuddered violently, its deep‑purple skin cracking and splattering sap.

But the vine did not retreat; instead, like an enraged serpent, more branching vines coiled from all sides, their spiked mouthparts frenziedly gnawing the corroded keratin on the aggregate's arm, emitting a grating, teeth‑grating sound.

Other aggregates spewed large amounts of strongly corrosive gray‑green mucus, splashing it onto the Shadowy Thorn thickets.

Wherever the mucus passed, the vine surface hissed, corroded into pits, and the dark‑red energy flow became disordered.

After the initial surge of vigor, the Icefield Magic Wolf Pack also began to suffer casualties.

The bodily fluids of the corrupted derivatives are corrosive; once contaminated, the wolf pack's fur and flesh begin to rot.

The Icefield Demon Wolf King also bore several wounds, yet it remained ferocious, leading the wolf pack in guerrilla skirmishes on the outskirts, tearing apart any enemies trying to bypass the Shadowy Thorns.

Several extraordinarily large aggregates, resembling assemblages of countless rotted limbs, while battling the Shadowy Thorns, moved forward slowly but steadily; ordinary arrows and spells had little effect on them.

The Shadowy Thorns and the corrupted aggregates fell into a brutal close‑quarters slaughter!

The sounds of snapping vines, corrosion, devouring, and the aggregates' silent roars intertwined, instantly turning the battle white‑hot.

Li Qingxuan stood on Guangtan Fortress's city wall, calmly observing the battlefield.

The evolution of the Shadowy Thorns exceeded his expectations, but the Corrupted Nest Mother's reaction was also extremely swift and deadly.

"We can't rely solely on the Shadowy Thorns to hold the line!" Li Qingxuan said in a deep voice, "All ranged fire, concentrate on those super‑large aggregates! Ease the pressure on the Shadowy Thorns! Elf squads, prioritize purifying the corrosive mucus!"

The orders were swiftly relayed.

"Aim at those big guys! Don't let them get near the city wall!" Tongxu Clan Chief bellowed hoarsely.

The dwarves concentrated their fire, hurling more molten iron at those aggregates.

Scorching red molten iron splashed onto them, emitting a fierce "hiss‑hiss" sound, billowing thick smoke as the rotting flesh burned and melted; yet these things' vitality was extraordinarily tenacious, they continued to creep forward slowly, even lashing the city wall with twisted tendrils, causing the wall to tremble slightly.

Guangtan Fortress's giant crossbow roared, its massive bolt with armor‑piercing effect slammed into the super‑large aggregate's body, blasting apart large chunks of rotting flesh.

Toward the Moonlight Ring, the elf druids chanted in unison, a verdant purifying light rain fell, effectively neutralizing some of the corrosive mucus and allowing the Shadowy Thorns to catch their breath.

Having received support, the Shadowy Thorns grew even more ferocious, seemingly recognizing these aggregates as a tremendous threat, and their attacks became more focused and savage.

One main vine even forcibly bored into the wound blown open by a crossbow bolt on an aggregate, frenziedly devouring and destroying it from within!

Countless twisted limbs, rotting flesh, and gray‑green mucus sprayed outward like fireworks!

That aggregate thrashed its massive body wildly, trying to fling out the Shadowy Thorn main vine that had burrowed inside, but the vine clung like a rooted thing, its spikes hooking fast into the flesh and boring deeper.

The Shadowy Thorns frenziedly devoured the aggregate's flesh, and with the dwarves, elves, and Shadowy Thorns working together, the aggregate slowly turned into a pile of white bones.

Yet Li Qingxuan's face showed no trace of relief.

His gaze was sharp as a blade, piercing the thinning corruption mist, locking firmly on the deepest part of the Corruption Tide—the most intense, core source of decay—the Corrupted Nest Mother, which seemed enraged and was slowly awakening.

The true test has only just begun.

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