During this strangely protracted wait, the squad leaders and deputy leaders at the very front of the lines suddenly vanished. The same occurred in other queues—they disappeared into the excessively large mouths of the small Kobolds. As the devouring motion concluded, the small Kobolds' eyes turned toward the next person in line before stretching their maws wide again. Those swallowed felt only a blur before their eyes.
Then, with a sudden "Hah, tui!"—they arrived on the battlefield.
The warriors who had just been teleported gripped their weapons and quickly scanned their surroundings. Combat was erupting in every direction. They saw their captains, familiar teammates, and an undulating sea of undead stretching across their field of vision.
With a thunderous 'crump', a building ten stories high was dismantled. Falling stones piled upon the ground, their shapes vaguely distinguishable as fragments of a "Mist Tower," a structure only buildable by Tier 4 Lords.
The Mist Tower had been toppled. Simultaneously, this territory currently under assault was fully exposed on the human map.
Without a doubt, this was a Tier 5 territory. Although most of its buildings were merely Tier 5—and it was far inferior to the Royal Tier 5 territories Wei Huan had encountered before—it was not to be underestimated.
Upon the city walls of this territory stood a massive black eagle. It stood over five meters tall, possessing a sharp, hooked beak and wise eyes that scanned the front with a majestic air. It looked down at the besieging undead, its gaze passing over those of only four or five stars. It did not strike easily, waiting until a group of dragon-headed, snake-tailed Two-Headed Phantoms with wings flew from the distant sky. Suddenly, it unfurled its wings, spanning over twenty meters, and took to the air.
"Screee!!"
A cry rang out, piercing through metal and stone, as it transformed into a giant black sword-bolt charging into the heavens. Then, with a sharp bank, it dove straight toward the incoming swarm of Two-Headed Phantom walking corpses.
'Swish!'
'Crackle!'
Bolts of golden light spat from its beak, striking the heads of the Two-Headed Phantoms. Their heads exploded like popcorn, splattering black, foul-smelling, viscous matter.
'Swish! Crackle! Swish! Crackle!'
It was a devastatingly powerful attack. Before Wei Huan's squad of Two-Headed Phantoms could reach the walls, they were slaughtered by this giant lightning-spitting eagle, only to reappear at the Great Tomb.
While Wei Huan didn't mind resurrecting a few more Two-Headed Phantoms, taking the city directly was naturally preferred. He couldn't help but steal a few extra glances at the giant eagle, and the number of Two-Headed Phantoms he dispatched quintupled.
'Good aim, every shot a headshot, and strong damage. If twenty aren't enough to get close, let's see how a hundred do. Let's see if you kill fast enough, or if I have enough numbers.'
A massive swarm of Two-Headed Phantoms appeared once more, their numbers multiplied.
The Legendary hero, the "Thunder Eagle Beast," had just returned to the wall to catch its breath when it was ordered by its Lord to fly out and intercept again. However, this time, the same tactic wasn't so effective.
The Thunder Eagle Beast killed over twenty Two-Headed Phantoms in the same manner, but eighty survived, continuing their relentless flight toward the wall. It pursued them from behind, hunting them down, but managed to kill only a dozen more. The survivors all crested the wall and began a frenzied slaughter.
The long-range units on the wall were shredded; the siege engines were demolished. The destructive power of the Two-Headed Phantoms was staggering. Most importantly, these Phantoms had also reached Tier 5; facing a territory that was likewise only Tier 5, their strength was fully unleashed.
The Thunder Eagle Beast was busy hunting the Phantoms behind it, finally managing to kill another twenty, only to look up and see another swarm of over a hundred Two-Headed Phantoms flying in from a different direction. Additionally, the Demon Eye Lords in the sky were raining down pillars of black light, steadily thinning the ranks of the wall's defenders.
A section of the wall under heavy assault was near collapse; it wouldn't be long before it was destroyed, clearing a path for the human undead army on the ground.
The defense of the wall had reached its most critical moment, but a new command from the Lord suddenly echoed in the eagle's mind, ordering it to return to the city to defend the Lord's Hall.
Summoned heroes lacked independent thought; they viewed the Lord's orders as absolute. Despite knowing that leaving would lead to the total failure of the defense against the undead, it flew away the instant it received the command.
The interior of the territory was already a scene of absolute chaos.
The earlier wave of Two-Headed Phantoms, though killed back to the Tomb, had successfully left behind small Kobolds that teleported a massive number of undead and human challengers into the heart of the territory.
Smoke was everywhere; ruins and broken walls lay scattered. The number of undead and human challengers inside the city already quintupled the city's own remaining garrison. At this point, it was essentially a demolition job. Even the remnants of the forces ordered by the Lord to gather and defend the Lord's Hall were merely putting up a desperate, final struggle.
The Thunder Eagle Beast flew above the Lord's Hall, circling as bolts of lightning fell to hunt the challengers attacking the building. But challengers were often much harder to kill than the fearless Two-Headed Phantom corpses. They knew how to dodge and use items to resist. Once wounded, they immediately retreated from the front line, covered by a large number of undead and fellow challengers, leaving the eagle no chance to land a finishing blow.
In contrast, the Legendary hero Water Archmage, who had been summoned earlier to protect the Lord, was having a worse time—he was being pummeled like a raid boss. Squads rotated to the front, landing attack after attack until his robes were in tatters and his health bar was nearly empty.
As the Thunder Eagle Beast watched this, its gaze was suddenly drawn to one particularly eyesore of a human. Its spirit jolted. Though this human was entirely encased in steel armor, hiding even his eyes, he looked exceptionally loathsome to the eagle. It wanted to blast him!
A sudden, intense malice sprang from its usually thoughtless brain, and without hesitation, it dropped a bolt of lightning.
'Crackle!'
Captain Xue was struck by a powerful bolt of lightning, falling face-first onto the ground. He was then hit by a water cannon from the Epic Water Mage, sending him tumbling backward.
"You grandson of a...!"
Captain Xue landed heavily. He nearly coughed up blood, his chest feeling so tight he could barely stand. Had his equipment not been Platinum-grade at minimum, those consecutive strikes from Legendary heroes might have actually killed him. Fortunately, a warm current descended from the sky, soaking into his body and rapidly healing his damaged organs. With a cough, the blockage in his chest dissipated.
Captain Xue climbed up and cast a grateful look at the Angel who had provided timely aid. Surrounded by a swarm of undead, those shimmering wings were truly sacred and beautiful.
Except...
"You bastard! You're only hitting me, aren't you?! Is my posture wrong, or did I kill your father? Why pick on just me?!"
The returned Captain Xue immediately drew the attention of the two Legendary heroes. A new round of attacks began to brew, poised to fall upon this human challenger once more.
Right then!
A flash of white light shimmered behind the Legendary Mage, slicing across his neck.
A single-strike decapitation.
Behind the slowly collapsing body, Brother Hammer appeared, holding a massive axe as large as a door. His face was as plain as an extra's, leaving almost no impression.
"He's dead!"
"There's one left!"
"The Lord is in the hall!"
"We surrounded the Lord's Hall as soon as we arrived. It can't run even if it wants to. Boss said we must clear out the high-tier territories for everyone to truly be safe!"
"Kill it, and we complete the first major objective!"
"Kill!"
As morale soared, Brother Hammer hid his deeds and name, vanishing once more. Someone tried to look for him but couldn't find where he was. How could a man holding such a massive axe simply be invisible?
But soon, someone noticed that while the Thunder Eagle Beast was relentlessly pursuing Captain Xue as if they shared a blood feud, Brother Hammer had already appeared behind the eagle...
---
It was merely a Tier 5 territory. Back when Wei Huan was only Sequence 4, leveling a Tier 5 territory was easy, to say nothing of now when he was Sequence 5. His undead army had been upgraded several times over; even if he fought alone, destroying this Tier 5 territory would be effortless.
When this Tier 5 Lord and his Lord Core were destroyed, the first thing Wei Huan did was check the casualty report. This was his first time facing a high-tier Lord on this battlefield, and even Wei Huan wasn't certain of zero casualties.
Soon, word came back: indeed, zero deaths. Of course, many had been injured, and some warriors had been seriously wounded through momentary carelessness. But humans had healing—specifically, they had a Four-Winged Archangel on their vehicle. Though Sequence 5, she could cast Sequence 6 healing spells. As long as someone didn't die on the spot, they could be saved.
"Zero deaths."
When this report reached Wei Huan, he let out a long sigh of relief. Of course, war could not exist without death, and he lacked the power to protect everyone. But he hoped to keep as many people alive as possible. This war of civilizations had already claimed too many lives; the Western Mountains of the Capital were filled with sleeping heroes. No more tombstones were needed there.
Once the entire crew returned, Wei Huan retracted his expeditionary undead. Without pausing for breath, he asked, "Yake, any new discoveries?"
Speed was paramount in war. Since they had chosen blitzkrieg tactics, they could not hesitate; they had to push forward without stopping.
Yake did not fail Wei Huan's expectations. "I've found a suspicious point and am confirming it. Additionally, I seem to have found a pattern in the layout of the Dark Beast territories. Give me a little more time to verify."
"Good. Communicate any ideas immediately. The staff department has so many people waiting for work; you can't steal their jobs," Mu Zhong interjected. The ease of this battle had brought a smile to his face. Since his legs had been healed, he appeared even more energetic and upright.
"Understood," Yake replied, continuing his Eagle Eye. A few seconds later, his clear voice rang out: "Found it! The coordinates are..."
This time, the coordinates were extremely precise. Wei Huan's vehicle headed straight for them. Even more surprising was that Yake reported two more high-tier territories along the way, adding: "The pattern has been found, proving my hypothesis correct. The Dark Beasts seem to be building on a scale where a high-tier Lord leads 1,000 ordinary Lords. Furthermore, I infer that the high-tier Lords in this sector belong to a single Royal clan. If we find the locations of two or three Royal territories, we can basically deduce the location of the Dark Beast King."
The latest news was exhilarating. With the Dark Beasts arranged this way, the main human army could push forward. They could prepare in advance for high-tier territories and strike them with concentrated force. This was much easier than the tactic where the Royal clan stood at the front while other Dark Beasts merely provided resources.
This change stemmed from the Dark Beasts' lack of confidence. When they turned from offense to defense, they became passive. This was the first time since the human-Dark Beast conflict began that humanity stood on the winning side of the scales before the major fighting had even started.
The human army pressed toward the Dark Beast territories with aggressive momentum. On the map, it looked like a tidal wave crashing forward with the power to destroy everything.
In contrast to the humans' excitement, the Dark Beast King and his Royal subjects had fallen into a long period of silence. In fact, throughout the deployment so far, the Dark Beast King hadn't even had time to consume the resources of his subjects. While he was still partitioning territory, Wei Huan had already pierced into his heartland with a mere thousand vehicles.
The death of six Sovereign Lords wasn't the main point. What truly chilled them was that their intended "maze" had been completely seen through. That human was piercing toward the Royal territories of that sector like a long blade, accurate and deadly. It was only a matter of time before the Dark Beast King's location was found.
After a long silence, the Dark Beast King made a decision. He said to the Parasite Beast at his side, "Dispatch more troops and resources to Gen's territory. Let him exercise his full power. I want to see how strong this human has become."
"Yes."
Having said this, the Dark Beast King leaned back into his throne, looking at the map projected on the dome of the Lord's Hall. Although the Fog of War obscured the movements of the human race, he knew they must be considering an all-out assault. After all, he would do the same in their position.
The human race was growing stronger, and the speed of that growth had caught him off guard. In less than a year, they had completed the development of the Tier 5 world and entered Tier 6. This Opening Battle had taken him by surprise; even with his schemes, the inequality in overall combat power kept him extremely passive. This battlefield arrangement likely held no chance for a comeback; instead, it might place the Dark Beast race in danger of extinction.
As the Dark Beast King thought this, he reaffirmed a certain idea. But regardless, he was unwilling to give up without a try. He then turned his gaze toward Gen's territory.
Gen was a member of the Dark Beast Royalty. As a first-generation Royal, his own strength was immense. He was a Dark Beast who had lived for over 300 years and was currently in his prime; both his intellect and individual martial prowess were at an absolute peak. Since the descent of the Challenge, his luck had been exceptional. Upon reaching Tier 3, he had drawn a Pseudo-God hero, followed by six consecutive Legendary heroes.
Such a magnificent lineup could be counted on one hand in the entire Dark Beast race; his strength was firmly in the top five among Dark Beast Lords.
Of course, the top five of the Dark Beast race and the top five of the human race reflected different types of combat power. Humans were an individualistic civilization; every human had the potential to evolve to the highest Sequence and become a god. In contrast, for the Dark Beasts, only the Royalty could reach the summit; their racial characteristics limited their future. However, the strength of the Royalty was bound to the Dark Beasts within their territory. Ordinary Dark Beasts obeyed Royal commands unconditionally, offering resources and lives without hesitation.
Therefore, the current top five of the Dark Beast race could be said to embody 10% of the entire race's power. Before humanity fully developed, they truly could not compete with an early-stage civilization like the Dark Beasts in terms of individual strength.
'Except for the "Gravekeeper" sequence...'
The Dark Beast King thought of this, a trace of confusion in his eyes. Among human sequences, even if this was the only one, weren't its abilities a bit too powerful? Or was it that if the human race could awaken more Gravekeepers, the resources would be split, and he wouldn't be this strong?
'Just how does one awaken the Gravekeeper sequence?'
This was a question not only the Dark Beasts craved to answer; many within the human race were also researching, discussing, and even experimenting, waiting to see if the new batch of challengers could awaken more Gravekeepers.
At this moment, however, Wei Huan and his undead army were charging precisely toward the territory of the Dark Beast Royalty. The territories of the Dark Beast Lords along the way could not stop his unstoppable momentum. To prevent being "pinched" by Dark Beast tactics in the coming battles, Wei Huan even deployed his Kobold, which had risen to an Epic-grade hero, to further expand the "clearing" range.
An Epic Kobold could act as a signal amplifier when it reached his summoning boundary, extending his summoning reach by over 30 kilometers beyond the limit.
Xu Qingqiang drove his Tier 6 war vehicle out with the Epic Kobold, followed by 30 vehicles—the elite of the elite. In the upcoming battles, Wei Huan would lose vision of them, meaning undead replenishment would not be timely. Various unexpected situations could arise, and sacrifices were inevitable. Yet, those who volunteered for the special operation were too numerous to count.
These squads would operate beyond Wei Huan's maximum summoning distance, launching unpredictable raids on any territory to widen the corridor as much as possible to prevent them from being surrounded. Infiltrating deep into enemy territory was highly dangerous; they had to proceed with caution.
Yake's Eagle Eye had done great work today. He constantly released reconnaissance abilities in every direction, and occasionally during key battles, he would airdrop damage to help end fights faster.
Wei Huan couldn't understand how Aosam could bear to discard such an outstanding genius. Simply because he refused to join their corruption or compromise with the powerful? To label a hero of humanity with the crime of treason—a country so filled with filth was better left behind. Wei Huan had already decided that if old Hodgson still held onto Yake's beacon after this battle, he wouldn't mind taking action personally to bring Yake home. Such an upright and excellent talent deserved total sincerity.
"Wei Huan, be careful."
Upon realizing Wei Huan had gone too deep, Commander Dong reminded him. He did not issue a forced order for Wei Huan to return, but acted like a kind elder giving well-meaning advice. After all, Wei Huan's combat power had exceeded his understanding; forcing him to follow orders would only stifle his strength. The only thing he could do now was offer appropriate reminders. Furthermore, he personally informed Wei Huan of their own movements.
"The main army has set out. The first wave should reach the territories in about half an hour. During this half hour, you will be in an isolated environment without support. You must act with caution. Additionally, I've arranged for Captain Fang to head toward your location. He should apply for a link with you soon; stay in touch. The reason we launched the general offensive now is because..."
Commander Dong took the time to explain the plan to Wei Huan, discussing the original intent and thoughts behind these strategies, showing full respect to the current strongest human.
Wei Huan said little, only listening. His actions hadn't really followed much of a plan; he relied on the fact that his fists were hard enough. The intensity of the current battlefield wasn't even at the level of the Gold-grade monsters he fought in the Tier 6 world; it was difficult for him to maintain a cautious mindset.
Commander Dong didn't say much more, attending to other matters while keeping the link with Wei Huan open. He would chat casually upon returning to get a sense of the situation at the front. Wei Huan knew the Commander was worried he might be too reckless, so he kept the communication open. Much like with Mu Zhong, a communication window for Commander Dong appeared in the bottom right of his vision, though the first priority remained Mu Zhong.
Knowing Wei Huan was constantly linked with Commander Dong, Mu Zhong didn't engage in as much casual chatter as usual. But through his video feed, he could see and hear Wei Huan. Occasionally, he would give a faint smile, causing Wei Huan to lose focus and look into those shimmering eyes. Taking advantage of a rare moment when Commander Dong was away from the screen, Wei Huan turned his gaze directly to Mu Zhong, staring until Mu Zhong felt embarrassed. Only then did Wei Huan shift his gaze, satisfied.
Of course, this was just a bit of fun on the march; tense emotions always needed regulation. For the most part, Wei Huan's attention remained on his left eye.
The Demon Eye Lord, which projected its vision to him, had grown a pair of wings after advancing to Legendary hero grade—wings that looked like they would make anyone lose their "sanity" (SAN) points just by looking at them. They not only improved Wei Huan's visual effects and granted him X-ray vision, but also significantly increased its flight speed, allowing it to barely keep up with the war vehicles and stay at the very front of the scouts.
This entire journey was thanks to this hero-level Demon Eye Lord, allowing him to conduct frontline command with extreme precision and timeliness. After easily toppling another city, the Demon Eye Lord maintained a distance of about three thousand meters behind the Ghost Crows and continued flying forward.
On this battlefield, the Fog of War was practically in one's face; visibility was no more than 300 meters, beyond which lay a chaotic haze where nothing could be seen. Often, it wasn't until a Ghost Crow's face hit a city wall and was met with dense cannon fodder fire that they realized another city was ahead. Fortunately, after reaching Tier 5, the Ghost Crows' ability to hide in the void became even stronger; even artillery with spatial-vibration capabilities couldn't knock them out. It was this fearlessness that allowed Wei Huan to keep charging forward. With Ghost Crows scouting 30 kilometers ahead, his vehicle could easily withdraw if any accidents occurred.
This formation had been maintained for a long time. The Demon Eye Lord flew three thousand meters behind the scouting Ghost Crows, a distance outside the range of most Dark Beast Lord weapons. The Demon Eye Lord was fragile, possessing few defensive means.
Just as Wei Huan momentarily lost focus, the scene in his left eye caught his attention. As he concentrated his gaze, he saw the air ahead ripple like water spreading from a single point. Within the area touched by these ripples, the Ghost Crows one by one let out a "Caw!" and dissolved into black mist without any resistance, dissipating completely. Even Sister Crow barely survived one strike before "popping" into mist upon the second ripple.
A weapon with spatial killing power?
Wei Huan's spirit jolted. After quickly verifying the coordinates Yake had given once more, he said: "I've found the Royalty!!"