The roar of the rock crystal crocodile was like a military horn, and the entire underground world instantly came to life. Countless strange insects drilled out from beneath the ground, forming a swarm that surged towards the great gate. Smaller crystal crocodiles emerged from the lake, gathering in groups. Two hives began to squirm, continuously spewing clusters of strange insects, and many holes suddenly appeared on the cave walls, spitting out more strange insects.
No one had expected there to be a hidden hive here. The presence of an additional hive meant hundreds of strange insects, dozens of elite warriors with varying functions, and even one or several king insects, capable of challenging high-level warriors of the 14th or 15th rank.
In a blink of an eye, the tide of beasts and insects swelled into a furious surge!
This unexpected turn of events left Wei Lao unable to remain calm, much less capture Qian Ye, who had been secretly luring the rock crystal crocodile. He bypassed Andofer, directly issuing orders to the warriors, quickly setting up a defensive formation.
This formation was quite peculiar, with many flaws. Andofer wanted to speak up but hesitated, considering Wei Lao’s face. However, this was a matter of life and death—face was not so important at such a time.
As he hesitated, the swarm of beasts and insects had already charged to their front. It was too late to adjust the formation now.
Wei Lao took out an ancient scroll and flipped through it quickly, muttering incantations. The pages of the scroll shimmered with light, each page different, and beams of light shot out, striking various positions in the formation, surprisingly setting up a grand array within a few breaths!
Instantly, the warriors in different parts of the array were enhanced. Some had primordial force shields form in front of them, others had their perception and reaction speed improved, and some had their primordial force guns glow, increasing their damage.
With the formation in place, all the weaknesses in the defensive formation were immediately covered, and the cooperation between the warriors became flawless, making their defense impenetrable. With Wei Lao’s command, countless primordial force projectiles turned into streams of fire, instantly carving out a void in the beast swarm, causing their attack to falter.
However, this small void was insignificant compared to the vast tide of the swarm. The swarm quickly filled the gap and surged forward like a tidal wave.
In a flash, Wei Lao and the others were surrounded. The hundred-plus warriors formed a defensive island, battered by the waves. Despite the relentless assault, the defensive formation remained unyielding. The front-line warriors drew their swords and battle axes, chopping down the fierce beasts under the protection of primordial force shields, while the rear-line warriors fired relentlessly, weakening the enemy’s assault.
But the number of beasts and insects was overwhelming, and after one wave was killed, another would come. The high-level warriors could not hold out for long.
At this moment, a flash of lightning illuminated the entire underground world. Carol shouted and leaped into the air, wielding her seven-meter-long whip, delivering a fierce strike forward!
Countless electric sparks converged into a thunder dragon, writhing and extending a hundred meters in an instant. Innumerable small fireballs rose from the thunder dragon, turning into trails of black smoke. Under the terrifying power of the lightning, countless strange insects were burned to ashes, and the outer skin of the fierce beasts turned black, some even burning into fireballs. Only a few powerful crystal crocodiles managed to keep crawling, albeit at a slower pace.
With one move, Carol cleared a hundred-meter-long, ten-meter-wide area, truly demonstrating the might of a godly general.
The rock crystal crocodile, enraged, took a deep breath, its body swelling rapidly, and then aimed at Carol, spraying out several crystals that flew like lightning, reaching her in an instant!
Carol’s face paled, and she brought her lightning whip back, coiling it around the narrow, arrow-like crystals. With a fierce shake, lightning and fire spilled out, shattering most of the crystals. But two managed to break free, shooting towards her chest!
Carol’s face turned ashen, and she braced herself, preparing to take the hit. Just then, a primordial force light shield appeared, blocking the crystals. A loud bang, and both the crystal arrows and the light shield shattered, sending Carol’s long hair flying and coating her with crystal powder.
Compared to a severe injury, looking disheveled was nothing. Carol, still reeling from the near-death experience, called out, “Thanks, old man!”
“This big guy is stronger than both of us; we must not be careless,” Wei Lao’s voice remained calm and steady.
The battle intensified, becoming a stalemate. Carol danced around the rock crystal crocodile, striking with her lightning whip. The rock crystal crocodile, with its crystalline clusters seemingly acting as weapons, rained down crystal arrows, constantly targeting Carol.
Wei Lao continuously bestowed various enhancements on Carol, making her faster and her lightning whip more potent, while three primordial force light shields orbited her, deflecting the crystal arrows she couldn’t avoid. Whenever a light shield shattered, Wei Lao would immediately replace it.
With these numerous enhancements, Carol’s combat strength increased by nearly half, allowing her to hold her own against the rock crystal crocodile.
Carol moved with incredible agility, evading nine out of ten of the rock crystal crocodile’s arrows. She was also trying to exhaust the rock crystal crocodile, reducing her attacks and merely provoking it to shoot more crystal arrows.
However, the rock crystal crocodile’s body was like a small mountain, and depleting its crystalline clusters would take days and nights. Carol would be the one to run out of energy first.
Having made a basic judgment of the situation, Qian Ye diverted some attention to the lurking figure, preventing her from suddenly disrupting the battle. Her previous disturbances, causing her presence to leak, confirmed that the lurker was Qing Yue.
Qing Yue was moving away from the battlefield, showing no intention of getting involved. This was a wise move; the current battle was beyond her ability to interfere. The aftershocks of a godly general’s battle could easily kill her.
Andofer and Kamer joined the battle, their formidable combat strength supporting the entire defensive formation.
Qian Ye did not rush to act, continuing to observe patiently. The key to the battle was Wei Lao; with him, everyone’s strength was greatly enhanced, even Carol’s by nearly half, which was terrifying. Now, Carol alone held the rock crystal crocodile at bay, while Andofer and Kamer took advantage to slaughter the more formidable beasts, leaving the ordinary ones to the high-level warriors.
The battle was well-organized, and the beast horde was suffering heavy casualties, with some gaps even remaining unfilled. If this continued, the swarm would soon be largely cleared, and Andofer and Kamer would join the assault on the rock crystal crocodile.
Qian Ye remained seated, waiting, for the ancient scroll in Wei Lao’s hand was nearly empty.
Carol, sensing the impending crisis, shouted, “Old man, are you still okay? This big guy’s hide is too thick; I can’t wear it down.”
Wei Lao remained composed, “Fear not, I have other means.”
He put the remaining pages of the ancient scroll back into his robe and took out an ancient envelope, from which he drew a letter, densely written with unknown text. Wei Lao straightened his clothes, then opened the letter with great solemnity.
This delay caused Carol’s enhanced state to weaken significantly, and she was being pummeled by crystal arrows, unable to retaliate. She couldn’t help but shout, “What are you dawdling about? If I die, you won’t escape either!”
Wei Lao said gravely, “A holy item cannot be treated lightly.”
At this moment, the letter in his hand glowed with a blinding golden light, radiating a mighty primordial force. Even Qian Ye was astonished; could this really be a holy item? Qian Ye had seen many things, but never anything like this.
Wei Lao pointed at the rock crystal crocodile, and the letter turned into a golden lightning bolt, instantly flying a thousand meters, embedding itself in the crocodile’s head.
The rock crystal crocodile let out a piercing screech, its upper body rearing up, almost standing on its hind legs, thrashing wildly. Its back exploded, and clusters of crystals, mixed with flesh, flew off, falling to the ground. In a moment, a horrific, several-meter-wide wound appeared on the rock crystal crocodile’s back, nearly bottomless.
The letter, now devoid of its glow, turned into a regular piece of paper, then disintegrated into a wisp of green smoke, vanishing without a trace.
Qian Ye was dumbfounded, finding it hard to believe that a single letter could possess such terrifying power. If that letter had been directed at him, it would have blown him to pieces.
Wei Lao’s prowess left Carol astonished, and her gaze toward him became less defiant, filled with more caution. If that letter had struck her, it would have dealt a severe blow, and given its speed, she couldn’t be certain she could dodge it.
Gravely injured, the rock crystal crocodile roared in agony, its viciousness unleashed. It lunged at Carol, who instantly retreated, avoiding the attack. Unexpectedly, the crocodile opened its mouth and spat out a crystal ball the size of a few meters, hurtling towards her like a cannonball.
This time, Carol was unable to dodge, and the crystal ball struck her, sending her flying like a kite, stabilizing only a hundred meters away, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
Wei Lao’s face also darkened. If the rock crystal crocodile had aimed the crystal ball at the defensive formation, it would have obliterated most of the warriors instantly, and Andofer and Kamer’s survival would have been a matter of luck. Fortunately, the enraged crocodile focused on the strongest and closest target, Carol, sparing the others.
“Though severely weakened, this beast is no longer able to block the gate. We should go in first, and Lady Carol will continue to hold it off, then follow.”
Everyone agreed with Wei Lao’s plan. Carol’s injuries were not severe, and she could still fend off the rock crystal crocodile. With her attracting its attention, the others would have a chance to enter the great gate.
However, retreating safely was not easy, with the surrounding hordes of beasts and insects. Under Wei Lao’s guidance, the group slowly moved towards the great gate while fending off the enemy. At this point, some warriors were already wounded, and Andofer and Kamer had sustained injuries.
Although the battle was difficult, it was still under Wei Lao’s control. Not only did he strengthen their side, but he also set up arrays to weaken the beast horde. Each time a burst of light passed, the beasts and insects would be slowed by a deep yellow glow, as if mired in mud.
Andofer, with his extensive combat experience, ordered the warriors to injure rather than kill the beasts. Wounded beasts, driven mad, would attack indiscriminately, impeding the advance of the rest of the horde.
As the situation unfolded as Wei Lao predicted, with the group poised to retreat into the great gate, Qian Ye finally saw his opportunity. Like a bird, he leaped into the air, soaring towards Wei Lao and the others.
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