The soldiers, upon hearing that reinforcements from the sect had arrived, instantly perked up despite their exhaustion, surging with renewed strength.
This battle had been incredibly frustrating for them.
Not only had they left their wounded comrades behind, but they were also being chased down by monsters.
There was no other choice—the sheer number of monsters was overwhelming, more than ten times their own. Holding the line had been impossible.
But now was different.
The sect’s Immortal Masters had arrived.
With them here, these minor monsters couldn’t even make a ripple.
“Exterminate the demons, protect the mortal realm!”
“Form ranks!”
“Extermination formation, defense!”
The two thousand demon-hunting infantry quickly deployed the demon-slaying defensive formation.
Ten thousand auxiliary troops immediately began setting up makeshift spiked barriers and digging pits on the spot.
Without these barriers, the destructive power of a charging beast would have been terrifying.
“Roar!”
A beast’s roar sent chills down every soldier’s spine.
The auxiliary troops quickly packed up their tools and withdrew.
They were only auxiliary soldiers, not warriors.
Their weak bodies simply couldn’t withstand the beasts’ attacks.
Aside from support, they had no other role.
“Prepare!”
The demon-hunting soldiers fixed their fierce gazes forward, bracing themselves, gripping their spears tightly, teeth clenched.
Dozens of mutated wild boars appeared first.
Seeing humans ahead, their bloodthirsty eyes gleamed with excitement.
Some of the boars even had fresh red flesh hanging from their tusks.
The General’s face instantly darkened with anger.
No doubt that meat came from his subordinates or abandoned wounded soldiers.
His hand gripping the sword turned pale from force.
Rage almost robbed him of reason.
If not for the mass of beasts behind the mutated boars, he would have charged forward on horseback to kill them outright.
Within half a minute, the mutated boars were less than a hundred meters away.
However, most of them fell into the pits.
Except for a dozen that jumped out by stepping on their comrades, the rest were trapped.
“Stab!!!” the General commanded.
The soldiers at the front tightened their grip on their spears and stabbed fiercely at the rushing boars.
“Pft!”
The spears pierced the mouths and necks of most boars, blood flowing everywhere.
If these were ordinary boars, they’d already be groaning on the ground.
But these were mutated boars.
Not only were they not dying, but they struggled even more frantically.
Their immense strength made the front-line soldiers gradually lose control of their legs, sliding backward two steps.
Their spears bent like bows, seeming on the verge of snapping.
“Second squad, support!”
The second row of soldiers quickly stepped up to brace the front line with their bodies, finally holding back the mutated boars’ force.
But the beasts didn’t stop there.
Behind them, countless more were swarming, including tens of thousands of mutants.
This ridiculous disparity instantly drained half of the demon-hunters’ hard-won morale.
“General, sect disciples have arrived!”
This news excited the demon-hunters behind, their eyes filled with hope as they looked back.
However, what met their gaze was not a golden, awe-inspiring Savior General descending like divine light, but a group of grim-faced Shu Mountain players.
“Move aside! Damn it, I’m telling you, these NPCs are blocking the way again, aren’t they?”
“Damn it, if I weren’t afraid of losing, I’d slash through with a single Sword Shadow Chill strike.”
They had struggled hard to shake off Yihua Palace but now encountered another blockade of NPCs.
Their frustration was palpable; they wished to carve a path through immediately.
Seeing the Shu Mountain disciples brimming with murderous intent, some even drawing their swords, the demon-hunters collectively took a step back, their hearts pounding.
Who are these people?
Where am I?
Why do the sect disciples look so hostile towards us?
Countless questions flashed through the demon-hunters’ minds.
However, by imperial decree, the General had not yet ordered an attack, so the soldiers voluntarily withdrew to the side, clearing a path.
“Damn, there are a lot of wild monsters ahead.”
The Shu Mountain players craned their necks to look.
Not far ahead, a dark mass of wild beasts was rushing toward them.
They all drew their swords and charged forward.
“Beasts, leave some for us!”
The front ranks of Shu Mountain players, numbering thousands, were already closing in on the mutated beasts.
The General’s face instantly changed.
“First squad, second squad, drop your weapons and move aside!”
The first squad promptly laid down their spears and rolled to the side.
The second squad followed suit.
“Well done,” the leading Shu Mountain player gave the General a thumbs up.
“Hah, these minor monsters are nothing. Take this—Trace-less Sword Qi!”
He swung his sword down.
With a sharp “whoosh,” milky white sword energy split a mutated boar in two.
The sword qi’s momentum continued, cleaving a second boar in half before vanishing into the air.
“Sword Light, Cold Shadow!”
Mu Qingxue moved quickly, unleashing an AoE skill that shredded all mutated boars within several meters into stardust.
【Congratulations, player gained 60 EXP, Reputation +1】
【Congratulations, player gained 60 EXP, Reputation +1】
One hundred and twenty EXP… Mu Qingxue smiled.
The monsters outside indeed gave more experience than the Demon Suppression Tower.
【Detected large-scale alien faction encounter. System automatically triggered Faction War.】
“What’s this?”
Mu Qingxue was startled. She saw a blue light descend from the sky, scanning the area.
Underneath the players’ IDs appeared health bars.
“What’s this? Why can I see your health bars?”
“You too.”
“I thought health bars only showed up in team or PK mode?”
“Damn, why did you hit me? Hey, why didn’t it deduct HP?”
Faction War!!!
All players became allies?
Mu Qingxue gasped and quickly messaged Chen Xiaoyan.
【Chen Xiaoyan: ???】
【Mu Qingxue: Faction War. Did you notice all players are in team mode?】
【Chen Xiaoyan: I already know.】
【Mu Qingxue: Then hurry over. These monsters give 60 EXP each. If you don’t come fast, they’ll be gone.】
【Chen Xiaoyan: On my way. Wait for me, babe.】
【Mu Qingxue: ???? Stealing my line, is that appropriate?】
But Chen Xiaoyan, already crazed by the 60 EXP, switched to private chat and dragged Chongchong to rush over.
“There are monsters ahead, keep up.”
As the temporary eldest disciple of the Tianxiang Sect, she still had to bring along the Tianxiang players.
Shen Qingqing had given her this status, albeit temporary, but she intended to fulfill the duties of an eldest disciple.
After all, I, Chen Xiaoyan, am not selfish at all.
Ahem…
Shen Jie is probably watching me right now, right?
Chen Xiaoyan sneaked a glance toward Jinyang County City.
Soon to be level thirty, still relying on this NPC sister to bestow skills—she mustn’t make her angry.
The main character relies on cheating with cheat codes; I rely on NPCs for my cheating.