Chapter 675: Thunderous Explosion of Flames!

Nie Yan set a tone for the battle: not to stubbornly defend, but to engage the enemy if possible, aiming to exhaust the Skeleton Legion. However, if the Skeleton Legion advanced too aggressively, they would retreat.

This strategy eased the pressure on the players of the Bull Tribe. Observing the cautious, slow steps of the skeletons, they felt confident. Facing such a sluggish enemy, as long as they weren’t surrounded, how could they not escape?

Groups of skeletons had already approached to about three hundred yards from the city wall.

“Ironclad Catapults, attack!” At Nie Yan’s command, more than sixty or seventy catapults, already loaded and ready inside the city wall, launched a volley of iron projectiles.

Countless iron projectiles whistled over the city wall, raining down upon the distant Skeleton Legion.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Explosions of ice formed craters on the ground, instantly throwing the Skeleton Legion into chaos.

After completing one round of attacks, the catapults immediately reloaded, preparing for the next barrage.

Within a radius of five hundred yards, only about half of the skeletons remained, but they continued to advance, gradually approaching the base of the city wall.

At this range, it became the mages’ turn to strike. Standing atop the city wall, the mages waved their staves, unleashing one spell after another. A dense rain of magic poured down upon the Skeleton Legion below, shattering one skeleton after another.

The mages took turns launching area-of-effect spells at the skeletons. On the open ground beneath the city wall, magic spells crisscrossed, producing piercing explosive sounds. Entire rows of skeletons fell to the ground, turning into piles of bones.

Only a fraction of the skeletons, less than one in ten, managed to reach the base of the city wall. Upon arrival, they could only wander aimlessly beneath it, unable to figure out how to climb up. Eventually, they too fell beneath the relentless magical assault.

The skeletons’ attacks were almost entirely ineffective. In no time, the ground below the city wall was littered with piles of skeletal corpses, growing higher and higher.

Despite the heavy losses, more skeletons continued to surge forward relentlessly.

Qin Han, nearly driven to madness, kept pushing the skeletons forward, indifferent to the losses. He was determined to destroy every obstacle in his path. His resolve only hardened further when he learned that Nie Yan was inside Sora Fortress—he had no intention of retreating.

As news spread across forums that Qin Han was the mastermind behind the Undead Vengeance, and that he had betrayed and wiped out more than half a million players from twenty to thirty guilds willing to merge with him, outrage against Qin Han surged. His reputation plummeted to the lowest point.

Nie Yan then timely revealed that Qin Han was also the secret owner of Divine Guardian, Sword of Annihilation, and Empire of Light and Darkness. More and more players began to support the Bull Tribe while condemning Divine Guardian, Sword of Annihilation, and Empire of Light and Darkness. Nie Yan understood that although the Bull Tribe had gained the moral high ground and widespread player support, ultimately, strength would decide the outcome.

The Bull Tribe and Qin Han’s Mone Corporation were destined to clash until one emerged victorious.

The area beneath Sora Fortress’s walls had already become a land of death, littered with skeletal remains. These bones gradually piled up, forming a growing mound—five yards, ten yards, fifteen yards—getting closer and closer to the height of the city wall. The newly arriving skeletons climbed over the pile of bones, relentlessly scaling toward the city wall.

This relentless, almost fanatical attack strategy made every player atop the city wall feel a chill.

Kaelenna, the Guardian Angel perched on Nie Yan’s left shoulder, continuously waved her staff, purifying the skeletons’ corpses within her range. Yet, she couldn’t keep up with the rate at which the skeletons were piling up.

“Clerics, Paladins, use Purify!” Nie Yan shouted in the guild chat.

The clerics and paladins atop the city wall began using their Purify skills. Beams of white light rained down, disintegrating the skeletal remains below one by one. The towering piles of bones gradually diminished.

The battle for the fortress had reached a fever pitch. As Nie Yan looked toward the distant mound of bones, he spotted within the mass a group of massive, pitch-black skeletons—over ten thousand in number. His heart sank. Qin Han had begun deploying elite and lord-level skeletons!

The regular skeletons gathered beneath the city wall, piling up more and more. The elite and lord-level skeletons climbed over their bodies, enduring the intense magical bombardment, advancing toward the city wall.

If these elite and lord-level skeletons reached the top of the city wall, the consequences would be catastrophic.

“Yaozi, use a Forbidden Spell!” Nie Yan shouted. Tang Yao had five Forbidden Spells in total, one of which was on cooldown, leaving four available. Two of these were area-of-effect spells, more than enough to deal a devastating blow to the skeletons below.

Tang Yao began chanting, reciting spell after spell.

The Bull Tribe players around him felt the surging magical energy and instinctively stepped back to a safe distance.

“Yaozi is using a Forbidden Spell!”

“Such powerful magical disturbance!” The nearby players were stunned as the rampant magical energy seemed ready to tear everything apart.

Their hearts raced. From the surging magical energy around him, they could tell Tang Yao was casting an area-of-effect Forbidden Spell. They couldn’t help but feel anticipation—what level of destruction could a Forbidden Spell truly unleash?

The skeletons continued their tireless climb. Far away, in the midst of the Skeleton Legion, Qin Han noticed the anomaly atop Sora Fortress. A thick cloud of black flames rapidly gathered in the sky, and the air vibrated with intense magical energy, causing his expression to change. A thought flashed through his mind—this was a Forbidden Spell!

He had seen the video of Tang Yao’s previous Forbidden Spell. That one wasn’t an area-of-effect spell, yet it was still formidable. This time, the Forbidden Spell looked even more impressive. A black flame cloud gathered above the battlefield, covering a radius of about a thousand yards. The surroundings darkened, like the ominous calm before a storm.

Unwilling to stay in the danger zone, Qin Han quickly retreated several thousand yards away, stopping at a safe distance. The Skeleton Legion ahead was certainly beyond recall. He gazed toward the distant city wall and saw Tang Yao floating midair, his robe billowing in the wind. Waving his staff, Tang Yao summoned a powerful magical current that formed a massive vortex around him. At that moment, Tang looked like a deity, his overwhelming presence paralyzing the skeletons below.

“This is a Forbidden Spell?” Qin Han murmured, a wave of jealousy rising in his heart toward Nie Yan. According to the latest reports, the Bull Tribe now had six top-tier professional players, including two Archmages, while his side didn’t even have one! If he had an Archmage, they wouldn’t be in such a disadvantageous position. He was frustrated—why did all the top players flock to the Bull Tribe? Previously, he had tried to lure top Bull Tribe players with generous offers, but only managed to recruit some second-rate players. How had Nie Yan managed to earn such unwavering loyalty from these elite players?

“Explosive Thunderflame!”

Tang Yao had completed the incantation. He uttered the final, heavy syllable. In an instant, lightning split the sky, and roaring black flames, accompanied by thunder, poured down from the heavens like a dense rainstorm.

Across a radius of a thousand yards, black fire rained down. The scene was breathtakingly spectacular. Any skeleton touched by the raging flames was reduced to ashes. Even the lord-level skeletons couldn’t withstand such a fierce assault and fell amidst the inferno.

It was as if hell itself had descended. Countless skeletons writhed and screamed in the flames.

After releasing the Forbidden Spell, wave after wave of white light enveloped Tang Yao—he leveled up five times in succession!

The terrifying amount of experience left even Tang Yao stunned. At level 100 and above, the experience required to level up was enormous, yet a single Forbidden Spell had granted him five levels. One could only imagine how many skeletons had perished in that spell!

The Explosive Thunderflame raged for more than three minutes before gradually subsiding. Within a radius of a thousand yards outside Sora Fortress’s walls, every skeleton was wiped out. The ground resembled the surface of the moon, pitted with craters, scorched black, and the once towering piles of bones had vanished.

A vast area of the battlefield was cleared, and the skeletons’ assault stalled abruptly.

Witnessing the aftermath of the Forbidden Spell, everyone was stunned, their hearts filled with awe. This was a Forbidden Spell! Unbelievably terrifying!

Everything within a thousand yards had been obliterated, leaving not even a blade of grass. No wonder Forbidden Spells were considered the ultimate magic of Archmages—they were truly extraordinary.

“Brother Tang Yao’s spell is just too terrifying.”

“Yeah, I heard he leveled up five times after using this Forbidden Spell. My God, how many skeletons must he have killed!”

The Bull Tribe players couldn’t help but chatter excitedly. The overwhelming power of Forbidden Spells had deeply impressed itself upon them. Advancing to the rank of Archmage became the dream of every mage player.

Qin Han looked ahead. The battlefield was now a barren wasteland. Tang Yao’s Forbidden Spell had wiped out tens of thousands of skeletons. Since the start of the siege, Qin Han had already lost more than seventy thousand skeletons, yet they hadn’t even reached the city wall.

“No matter how powerful the Forbidden Spell is, how many times do you think you can cast it!” Qin Han spat out, his expression twisted. He had come this far—he would never retreat. If he couldn’t even capture Sora Fortress, how could he ever hope to conquer the entire Bull Tribe?

Soon, another massive wave of skeletons surged toward Sora Fortress, launching a second assault.

The battle for Sora Fortress captured the attention of every player. Tang Yao’s Explosive Thunderflame had left the gaming community in awe. The Forbidden Spells of Archmages could truly be described as world-shattering. Even players who had previously doubted the Bull Tribe now believed that Nie Yan might actually lead them to withstand the Skeleton Legion’s assault.