Chapter 497: Chapter 497 Tug-of-War Chapter 497: Chapter 497 Tug-of-War At this moment.
The group suddenly noticed something unusual about the Rat Demon corpses.
Lei Zhenhaiâs face darkened.
He decisively swung his sleeves, unleashing powerful gusts of wind that blew several nearby Rat Demon corpses down to the mountainâs base!
The other elders quickly joined in.
Some simply harnessed their Spiritual Power.
Others took out Magic Artifacts resembling Palm Leaf Fans and summoned tornado-like gusts with one wave.
The Heavenly Sound Sectâs Great Elder worked together with the disciples, launching several soundwaves in succession, forcibly pushing the Rat Demon corpses away.
The snowy slope was slippery.
With just a bit of effort from the people above.
The Rat Demon corpses slid down, vanished, and never returned.
However.
Before half of the corpses could be cleared.
Those Beast Skin Bags began to dissolve one after another.
Rivulets of mysterious black liquid corroded through the Beast Skin Bags, dripping onto the icy surface.
The ice was unable to withstand the corrosion, melting into scalding water and causing nearby sections of the ice to dissolve along with it.
And similar scenes.
Started unfolding across various parts of the snowy slope!
Chunks of ice were melting away.
And the chain reaction it triggered wasâŠ
Crackâ
Under the anxious stares of the people.
The icy layer of the snowy slope emitted a bone-chilling sound of rupture!
The ice layer⊠had broken!
Crashâ
Without any warning.
The lower half of the icy surface beneath Boundary Mountain crumbled spectacularly.
Like a torrential current, it cascaded downward into the mountainâs base.
The tremendous impact caused countless shale ice created by the collapse to form a moving ice river.
It flowed all the way from mid-mountain.
Crushing hundreds of Dead Corpse Puppets along its path.
And forcing the army to retreat repeatedly amidst great tumult.
Yet the people on Boundary Mountain couldnât afford even a hint of celebration.
Because.
The ice layer below mid-mountain on Boundary Mountain was entirely gone.
Exposing incredibly dense frozen soil and coarse rocky terrain.
The Demon Beasts could climb upward as though walking on flat ground!
Within the Dead Corpse Army.
The Demon Priest furrowed her willow-leaf eyebrows.
âCould it be that a master has joined the ranks of the Human Guardians?â
Had someone not commanded a timely clearing of the Rat Demon corpses.
The entire snowy slopeâs coating of ice and snow would have been completely wiped clean by now.
Her Dead Corpse Army wouldâve already surged straight upward.
âEven with just the lower half of the slope cleared, itâs enough!â
âEven if it means piling up corpses, weâll flatten the remaining slope completely!â
She removed the butterfly hairpin, gently blowing into it.
The sound of a resonant horn.
Echoed like a warhammer, urging the Dead Corpse Army forward in a flood-like charge against Boundary Mountain!
The first to ascend were massive beasts, second only in size to Barbaric Elephants.
Their gigantic bodies trampled effortlessly over dense rock and frozen soil, storming upward with alarming speed.
Each step sent tremors rushing through the earth.
The group that had just achieved minor victories now wore extraordinarily grim expressions.
Lei Zhenhai took the lead in the assault, shouting, âKill!â
âDonât let them climb up!â
âThis final section of the slope is our only natural barrier!â
If the Dead Corpse Army crossed this point.
Theyâd have no choice but to engage in direct combat!
Which would lead to catastrophic casualties!
The elders and disciples of the various sects immediately began tossing down firebrands and talismans, as well as unleashing Fire Series Techniques.
Striving to annihilate the Dead Corpse Army at the base of Boundary Mountain.
But the sheer number of enemies was overwhelming.
On top of that, the demon beast corpses leading the charge were enormous, emitting dense deathly energy.
Ordinary firebrands took significant time to thoroughly purify the deathly aura.
As soon as they perished, their bodies became stepping stones for the Dead Corpse Army behind them.
The battle raged fiercely between both sides.
The elders and disciples from the Nine-Sect fought with all their might, hurling firebrands and talismans while unleashing Fire Attribute Skills.
Meanwhile, the Dead Corpse Army charged relentlessly.
Unflinching in the face of pain and death.
An unstoppable tide surging upward.
For an entire two-hour battle.
The half slope, spanning less than a few hundred feet, was already littered with over two thousand Dead Corpse Puppets of varying sizes.
But scanning upward.
What gave rise to a pang of despair was:
The Dead Corpse Army still stretched endlessly beyond sight!
They resembled an unending flood, impossible to wipe out entirely!
Even worse.
Dead Corpse Puppets had now begun piling up on the remaining icy slope.
The advancing Dead Corpse Army stepped onto the corpses to continue their upward climb.
When they fell, they became the foundation for others behind them.
The situation grew dire by the second!
In a moment of crisis.
Lei Zhenhai roared, âRolling logs!â
The elders and disciples from the various sects immediately carried out an unbroken chain of intact timber.
Igniting them one after another, they hurled them down the slippery slope.
The flaming logs rolled downward with searing heat.
Igniting swaths of Dead Corpse Puppets along their path.
And just like that, log after log.
Piling endlessly.
The Dead Corpse Army that had finally reached mid-mountain.
Either burned to ashes or were knocked back by falling Dead Corpse Puppets.
The Demon Priest frowned deeply.
âWhere are they getting all this wood?â
âThis is a barren snowfield for thousands of miles!â
At first, the humans used firebrands; she hadnât thought much of it.
Perhaps Boundary Mountain had limited supplies in reserve.
Yet now, amidst prolonged combat.
These timber stocks showed no signs of depletion.
They seemed to multiply instead.
Even if Boundary Mountain was layered with timber, it should already have been exhausted by now, shouldnât it?
*Whoâs giving the commands here?*
Dances of war flickered behind her gaze.
âThen let me see: who can outlast whom!â
âOnce Boundary Mountain falls, youâll all meet your demise!â
âKeep charging!â
Under her command.
The Dead Corpse Army charged Boundary Mountain once more like thunderous waves.
Countless rolling logs trailed thick, black smoke as they ignited one Dead Corpse Puppet after another climbing uphill.
Meanwhile, the Dead Corpse Puppets remained fearless.
They clambered over heaps of corpses, pushing upward continuously.
The conflict mirrored an extended tug-of-war.
Both sides mutually consuming one anotherâs strength.
By midnight.
The elders from various sects showed exhaustion on their faces.
While the disciples, pale and trembling, with many experiencing spasms in their arms and legs.
The mechanical act of tossing rolling logs, sustained tirelessly into the night, drained everyoneâs physical endurance.
Xia Chaoge wiped the sweat from her face.
Her matchless delicate features were smeared with soot and ash, making her look like a speckled cat.
She caught her breath, lighting another rolling log before pushing it down.
Liang Feiyanâs hair fell loosely around her face. Her sleeves were burned clean off at some point, revealing her underarms.
He kicked a burning log down the slope.
Ignoring how the heat melted his boots.
He simply focused on lighting the next log.
âŠ
Everyone was lost in fatigue.
Yet no one could afford to stop.
The few hundred feet of snowy slope.
Had transformed into mountains of corpses piled high.
No trace of snow or ice remained.
The Dead Corpse Army had advanced to within fifty feet.
Several enormous Dead Corpse Puppets could now reach the people atop Boundary Mountain.
Luckily.
Their unending supply of rolling logs.
Held the fifty-foot boundary steady.
What brought a glimmer of hope was.
The seemingly infinite tide of the Dead Corpse Army, after half a night of relentless slaughter.
Finally showed signs of an end.
Although⊠there were still dense masses numbering beyond measure.
If this deadlock persisted.
Victory was, at least, a possibility!
The Demon Priest silently studied the battlefield.
Watching her heavily diminished Dead Corpse Army, a trace of fury glinted in her eyes.
âWhere in the world could they be finding so much wood?â
âEven in the mountain assault phase, Iâve already lost forty percent of my Dead Corpse Army!â
âThis is absurd!â
Observing the humans stubbornly guarding the last fifty feet of the snowy slope.
And preparing to continue the battle of attrition.
She snorted coldly, âDo you think Iâll let you have your way?â
âItâs time to end this!â