Level 8!
Many couldnât help but cry out.
If it had been just a single Level 8, Cloud Peak wouldnât have been so shakenâafter all, they had faced Level 9 lifeforms before.
But even though these Type IV stone cavalry were the fewest in numberârequiring the debris of two or three Type IIIs to formâtheir sheer base numbers meant that in just this short time, over a dozen of these formidable Type IV cavalry had already appeared.
And the count was still rising.
"Hold your positions!"
Ye Zhongmingâs voice was low and steady as he flashed forward, weapons in both hands, cutting a path toward the nearest Type IV stone cavalry.
Within Cloud Peak, there were many who could defeat Level 8 lifeformsâbut here, only Ye Zhongming could do so easily.
Red Hair and Xia Bai might have managed it too, but first, it would take them much longer, and being surrounded in enemy ranks was extremely dangerous. Second, the formation still needed high-level fighters to anchor it and oversee the overall situation.
Alone, Ye Zhongming plunged into the sea of enemies, using relentless slaughter to ease the pressure on his team. His strength, speed, equipment, and skills all far surpassed these stone cavalryâeven the Level 8 Type IVs could only hold out for a few strikes against him.
A few minutes later, Ye Zhongming returned to the formation. His face was pale, his chest heaving violently, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. His armor bore multiple dents and cracks.
In just that short time, he had nearly exhausted his mental energy, and his stamina had dropped significantly. While his defensive gear had spared him external injuries, the internal shocks left him far from comfortable.
Still, his brief sortie had eliminated most of the Type IVs that had appeared earlier.
"More are coming."
Ye Zhongming downed two potionsâone to restore mental energy, the other to heal internal injuries. As for stamina, between Bloodstepping Boots and Beautiful Celestial Body, his recovery was swift.
In the distance, several more Type IVs emerged, along with even more Type IIIs. A faint sense of helplessness rose in the King of Cloud Peakâs heart.
He needed a few more minutes to recover before launching another attack. Normally, such a short time would pass unnoticedâbut now, it felt like an eternity.
Fight. There was no other choice.
In this white expanse, within this mystical space, the battle raged endlessly.
Shattered stone, shouts, impacts, flashes of light, explosions⊠All of it seemed to proclaim one thing:
The Mountain Crown Wheel welcomes you!
An hour later, the battlefield fell silent.
The tidal waves of stone cavalry were gone, leaving behind over twenty dead, a dozen severely wounded, and nearly everyone else lightly injured among Cloud Peakâs ranks.
The casualties were heavy, but annihilating all the stone cavalry in under two hours was a feat worth celebrating.
Yet no one cheered.
Every eye was fixed on the ground, where fields of shattered stone lay.
The Type IVs had been the highest-level stone cavalry to appear. By the end, over a hundred of them had formed.
Yellow Ball, Yangos, and other battle beasts capable of physical combat had all joined the fray, paying a bloody price for victory.
Most of the casualties had occurred during the final assault, when these Level 8 enemies swarmed them.
Now, everyone watched the debris of the fallen Type IVs, waitingâor perhaps hopingâthat they wouldnât merge again.
Because that would mean the emergence of Type V stone cavalryâLevel 9 entities, or perhaps⊠even stronger.
Thenâthe rubble moved.
The hearts of Cloud Peakâs fighters sank. The feared outcome was unfolding.
All the fragments converged toward a single point. Some warriors, unwilling to accept it, launched attacks, hoping to reduce the debris and prevent the Type Vâs formation.
But at this moment, the rubble was invincibleâeven Ye Zhongmingâs Wind and Thunder couldnât so much as chip the smallest fragment.
A colossal silhouette began taking shapeâa behemoth whose mere unfinished form exuded crushing pressure.
"Attack the ground beneath it!"
The command rang out from Ye Zhongming, who had been silently watching, feeling powerless. He struck first, and a barrage of attacks followed.
The rubble itself might have been untouchable, but the ground beneath it wasnât.
The might of evolved assaults was immense. Cloud Peakâs concentrated fire carved out a massive pit, causing the still-forming Type V to sink deeper. What had been a ten-meter-tall figure now stood only five meters above ground.
"Keep going!"
The earth was hard, but hope flared.
Time was short, but Cloud Peak poured everything into the effort. The pit deepenedâtwenty meters by the time the Type V fully manifested.
Yet even this gaping chasm couldnât fully contain it. The twenty-meter-deep pit still left another twenty meters of the stone knight towering above ground.
In its presence, Cloud Peakâs fighters were still insignificant.
Its mount remained unseen, but its upper body was clad in thick stone armor, wielding two massive stone flails.
Even half-buried, its aura was mountainous. Behind its stone helmet, pupilless eyes gazed down as if surveying a swarm of ants.
FzzztâBOOM!
The crackle of crystal grenades erupted. At the final moment of its formation, Cloud Peak had hurled their entire remaining stockpile into the pit.
Even a Level 9 entity would suffer under such concentrated explosions. The monster lurched, its flailsânot yet swungâslammed into the ground from the sudden impact.
The explosions were a signal. Cloud Peakâs assault shifted upward, focusing on the Type Vâs head.
Every fighter unleashed their strongest attacks.
Ye Zhongming joined in, though none dared approachâranged strikes only. His Harvester Mimicry Shooter spat beams of light, loaded with his highest-grade ammunition (save for the Linked-Heart Five-Stage Rounds), enhanced by marksmanship skills.
Caught off guard, the Type V seemed momentarily dazed, its body losing chunks of stone under the barrage. But then, it retaliated.
Its flails whirled, and though its body couldnât move (fused with its mount), the weaponsâ reach put the entire Cloud Peak formation in danger.
A Level 9âs assault was terrifying. Under the dual flails, Cloud Peakâs offensive collapsed, forcing a frantic retreat.
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BOOM!
The flails struck earth, cratering the ground, sending shrapnel-like debris flying. Dozens of warriors were sent sprawling, some motionless where they fell.
No one could tend to them yet, because as the others retreated, their leader had done the opposite.
Ye Zhongming had charged forward, scaling the Type Vâs colossal body in a series of rapid leaps, now nearing its head!