Chapter 265 - 151: The Elites Arrive
The value of the Skeleton Undead lay in defending the passageway, preventing the enemy from casually slaughtering their way inside. Otherwise, allowing over ten thousand Demonized Creatures to charge in would have an even greater impact.
As Low Level units, it took ten or twenty Skeleton Undead to take down a single Demonized Creature. But in the network of intersecting passages, the Undead couldn't always remain clustered together, giving the enemy the opportunity to pick them off one by one. It was better to make a stand in the passageway and force the enemy to congregate.
Let them fight it out. Li Ziyu wasn't afraid of losing his Skeleton Undead. If he could trade them for enough Demonized Creature corpses, he wouldn't mind losing even two or three entire legions of Skeleton Undead. In fact, he'd consider it a bargain.
The Demonized Creatures fought desperately, trying to force their way back into the passageway, but they couldn't stand against the ceaselessly growing number of Undead. There were simply too many; the Undead were overwhelming them with sheer numbers. Moreover, the passageway's limited space meant only about a thousand from each side could engage at once. And the Demonized Creatures weren't immortal—if hit enough times, they died just like anything else.
Relying on their numbers, the Undead literally pushed the enemy backward. Trading ten, even dozens, of Skeleton Undead for a single enemy, they relentlessly forced them back to the passageway's entrance.
"Get out of my way!"
A Hill Giant Demon, stuck at the rear, roared. He stood over 3.5 meters tall, his skin a stony gray. It was rough and uneven, covered in pustules and patches of Petrification. His bellow echoed like thunder across the plaza as he shoved aside a Demonized Creature in his path, brandished a massive Stone Rod, and charged the Skeleton Undead.
The Stone Rod swept through, instantly sending a dozen Skeleton Undead flying. A few unlucky ones had their Skeletons smashed to smithereens, their Soul Fire escaping and being absorbed by the Hill Giant Demon.
"Ahhh, incredible!"
The Hill Giant Demon shuddered violently and couldn't help but let out a long howl, the sound echoing through the passageway. The pleasure of absorbing the Soul Fire was so intense he could barely contain himself, and he began swinging his Stone Rod even faster.
To the Undead, the towering Hill Giant Demon with its immense Power was like a living battle tank. Their Weapons inflicted minimal damage, barely managing to scratch its hide. The Hill Giant Demon, in contrast, could effortlessly wipe out swaths of them with a single swing.
Seeing this, the Demonized Creatures at the rear got an idea. They all began to follow behind the Hill Giant Demon, sniffing the air greedily.
Most of the dispersing Soul Fire was absorbed by the Hill Giant Demon, but some always slipped past. With Undead being slaughtered on such a massive scale, the unabsorbed Soul Fire accumulated. The amount was considerable, enough for them to get a share of the spoils.
The Hill Giant Demon paid no mind to his comrades behind him. He simply lowered his head and charged deeper. He discovered that the farther he pushed, the more numerous the Undead became and the more densely packed they were. He was like a gorilla rampaging through a termite nest, charging wherever the swarm was thickest.
With him clearing a path, things became much easier for the Demonized Creatures following behind. All they had to do was press forward and kill. The Undead were thrown into disarray, their defensive line on the verge of collapse. The entrance to the passageway was breached once more.
After charging a hundred meters into the fray, the Hill Giant Demon found himself completely surrounded by a dense sea of Undead. His allies had failed to keep up; he was now fighting alone. 'But so what?' he thought. 'Could these Undead possibly kill me? Heh, what a joke. All I have to do is keep swinging my rod.'
'None of them can withstand a single blow! All this Soul Fire is mine!'
The Hill Giant Demon absorbed more and more Soul Fire, feeling his Power constantly increasing. At this rate, he would soon reach a critical point.
'These aren't the terrifying Undead of legend. They're my precious little darlings!'
'If anyone dares to speak ill of the Undead in the future, I'll be the first to smash their head in!'
Even as the Hill Giant Demon had these thoughts, his actions showed no hesitation. He smashed even more Undead to pieces, absorbing their Soul Fire.
The Hill Giant Demon was in his element, arrogantly and brutally annihilating the Skeleton Undead. But his rampage was not going unnoticed by his foes.
In the midst of his slaughter, the Hill Giant Demon looked up and noticed a commotion at the rear of the Undead ranks. Something seemed to be forcing its way forward from behind them.
'Could it be there are more of our own forces back there?'
The Hill Giant Demon was puzzled, but he swung his rod a little faster. 'If it's more of our own, then I've got competition. There are still plenty of Undead, but who wants to share the good stuff? I'd rather absorb all the Soul Fire myself.'
Amidst the blue flames in the Darkness, streaks of red light faintly appeared. It was these red lights that were sending the Undead scattering.
Smarter Undead moved out of the way in advance; the slower ones were simply sent flying.
'Such incredible Speed!'
The Hill Giant Demon's pupils contracted. It wasn't just one streak of red light, but dozens, hundreds of them, forcefully tearing through the Undead horde and charging straight for him.
'But aren't they going to stop and absorb the Soul Fire? Charging like this will certainly kill a lot of Undead, but all that Soul Fire is going to waste. What's the point? Are they stupid?'
Just as the Hill Giant Demon was pondering this, the red streaks finally burst through the Undead ranks and arrived before him.
'What is this...?'
Before the Hill Giant Demon could even speak, the red figures, upon seeing him, didn't slow down. Instead, they accelerated violently, slamming into him one after another.
The one in the lead leaped up and slammed squarely into the center of the Hill Giant Demon's chest. The impact stole his breath, forcing him to swallow the words he was about to speak. He staggered backward as more red figures crashed into his abdomen, his chest, his ribs, his shoulders.