60: Chapter 60 Night Battle in Progress

He then raised his hand and pointed toward the writhing darkness outside the protective barrier: "Tonight's goal is to clear out all monsters within two hundred meters of the wall! Remember, two hundred meters is the limit; no one is allowed to cross that line! Once uncontrollable danger arises, or I issue a retreat order, the front team becomes the rear, the rear team becomes the front, and you will quickly and orderly retreat back within the city walls! Do you all understand?"

"Yes, Lord!" Led by Lin Feng and the other three, six thousand three hundred people roared in unison. The sound waves shook the heavens, shattering the silence of the night and dispelling the last trace of fear in the hearts of the new recruits.

"Good!" Lin Tian waved his hand, high-spirited, "All troops, hear my command—attack! Maintain the same formation, advance steadily!"

"Roar!!" The earth-shaking battle cry rang out once more. Like four torrents of steel, the four legions, led by their respective commanders, surged out of the newly built, towering city gate in an orderly yet murderous fashion, rushing toward the darkness filled with danger and opportunity.

As for Lin Tian, he leisurely strolled to the rear of the Moon Archer Legion led by Lin Yin. With his hands behind his back, he watched the heroic posture of that moon-white silhouette drawing her bow and nocking an arrow, a "witty" smile appearing on his face.

"Hmm, a long-range DPS position. It's safe, has a good view, and I can supervise the battle while I'm at it... Perfect!" He found himself an excellent "viewing seat" with peace of mind, ready to enjoy tonight's feast of experience harvesting.

On the towering city walls, the twenty newly installed City Defense Giant Crossbows finally unleashed their terrifying power as "defensive weapons" during the hunt on the fifth night.

As the army steadily advanced outward, the City Defense Giant Crossbows, which had been loaded with 1,000 spirit crystals during the day, began to bare their fangs after Lin Tian ordered them to activate.

The low, teeth-gritting vibration of bowstrings echoed one after another, like the roar of a giant beast! Immediately following, heavy crossbow bolts as thick as an arm, their tips flashing with cold light and flowing energy, tore through the night sky like invitations from the Grim Reaper. Accompanied by shrill whistling sounds, they slammed fiercely into the monster hordes a hundred meters or even further away!

Boom! Squish! Crack! The sounds of impact, tearing, and shattering bones were incessant! The power of these City Defense Giant Crossbows far exceeded that of ordinary arrow towers; the arrows carried terrifying kinetic energy and additional piercing and tearing effects.

A high-tier Bronze, thick-skinned contaminated wild boar was directly pierced and pinned to the ground; several gathered rot-dogs were skewered like "tanghulu" by a single bolt; and even a 9-star Bronze magic wolf attempting to leap and attack was shot to pieces in mid-air, turning into a cloud of blood mist!

Although the firing rate of the City Defense Giant Crossbows was relatively slow, each shot cleared a small blank space in the monster tide, greatly reducing the pressure on the frontline army formation and creating an excellent output environment for the soldiers.

"Good! Well shot!" Standing in a safe spot at the rear, Lin Tian watched the array of City Defense Giant Crossbows constantly spitting out lethal firepower on the city wall. He was beaming with joy, and the heartache he had felt earlier was swept away.

"There's a reason why they're expensive! This money was well spent! So worth it! Look at this power, look at this range! These are mobile artillery batteries!" He even began to fantasize about the scene in the future, when resources were more abundant, of having the city walls packed densely with City Defense Giant Crossbows.

With the powerful support of the City Defense Giant Crossbows and the greatly increased strength of the army itself, the speed of the advance was much faster than last night. In less than an hour, the army had steadily pushed the front line to the two-hundred-meter limit set by Lin Tian.

However, the darkness outside the protective barrier seemed endless, with a constant stream of contaminated monsters still roaring and charging from deeper within, wave after wave, incredibly insane.

Although the pressure was not as suffocating as during the initial exploration last night, seeing the seemingly endless monsters, the wariness Lin Tian felt toward the unknown darkness remained. Strictly adhering to the rules he had set for himself, he ordered the army to build a defensive line at the two-hundred-meter mark and not to advance further.

Looking at some of the exceptionally large and fierce-aura presences within the monster horde in the distance, and then looking at the flourishing state of his own troops—now strong and well-equipped with countless fierce generals—a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"Lin Feng!" He shouted to the Crimson Sun Divine General, who was commanding the Heavy Armored Spearman formation at the front line like a stabilizing anchor, "Don't just focus on poking small monsters! Come, warm up your 'Command of a Thousand Armies'! Aim at that largest lizard in the distance," he then pointed to an 8-star Silver contaminated giant lizard leader, "Give it a full-power shot, let me see what kind of effect we can achieve by combining our strength now!"

At the front line, upon hearing this, Lin Feng's golden-red fighting spirit suddenly surged in his eyes. "Understood!" He replied in a deep voice, his voice clearly transmitted back through some kind of power. He raised his crimson gold coiling dragon spear high, his voice booming like a bell: "Heavy Armored Spearman, hear my command! Converge your strength upon me!"

"Hah!!" Two thousand Heavy Armored Spearmen roared in unison, the sound shaking the surroundings. Visible red blood energy, fighting spirit, and a portion of their strength, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, transformed into two thousand streams and surged frantically toward Lin Feng.

"Command of a Thousand Armies, War Soul Materialize!"

Rumble—! A golden-red light, even more vast and solid than yesterday's, erupted from Lin Feng's body! A twenty-meter-tall Crimson Sun War Soul phantom, with clearer outlines and more distinct details, suddenly condensed above his head! The giant flame spear in the phantom's hand seemed to have solidified, emitting a heat and sharpness capable of burning the eight wildernesses, causing even the surrounding air to distort slightly!

"Slash!" Lin Feng and the War Soul moved in sync. Amidst a roar, the giant spear swung out!

A massive, crescent-shaped Spear Glow, over fifty meters long and condensed like red crystal, tore through the air. Carrying a terrifying momentum capable of tearing the sky asunder, it struck fiercely toward the 8-star Silver contaminated giant lizard leader pointed out by Lin Tian and the surrounding area!

Wherever the Spear Glow passed, the ground was plowed into a charred trench. Low-level monsters that were slightly too close didn't even have time to scream before they were vaporized by the escaping high heat!

The giant lizard leader, which was biting into an unlucky monster, felt the fatal threat and let out a hiss of shock and anger. Its massive body erupted with a dark green, filthy light, attempting to resist it head-on.

Hiss—Boom!!! The Spear Glow made contact with the filthy shield on the giant lizard's body, emitting a piercing scorching sound. It then cut through it like a hot knife through butter, slashing fiercely onto the giant lizard's thick dorsal armor!

The hard, corrosive dorsal armor was sliced open like a hot knife through butter. The massive wound almost diagonally split the giant lizard's enormous body in half, and dark green, foul-smelling blood and internal organs gushed out like a waterfall!

It let out half a shrill wail, collapsed with a loud thud, and after a few twitches, it stopped moving. The aftermath of the Spear Glow even shredded and ignited a dozen or so Bronze and black iron level giant lizards and monsters in its vicinity!

"Hiss—" Even though he had expected it, seeing this power-doubled strike with his own eyes, Lin Tian couldn't help but gasp, his eyes full of surprise. "8-star Silver, one-shot kill! This power... even an 9-star Silver would probably go down after taking two hits! Not bad! Very not bad! This 'Command of a Thousand Armies' is simply a legion-level strategic skill!"