61: Enter the urn

The decoy force, led by Aivi and High Priestess Sea Song, darted through the narrow valley entrance like homing swallows, entering the relatively wider valley floor, then sped without pause towards the other end of the canyon.

Behind them, the Minotaur army surged in like a breached floodgate. Their raucous roars and heavy footsteps echoed through the canyon, deafening.

When the last Minotaur soldier stepped into Burial Ox Valley, and almost the entire main force of their tribe was trapped here, Aivi and High Priestess Sea Song, who had been running at the front, suddenly stopped and slowly turned around.

The 'panic' and 'paleness' Aivi had feigned earlier instantly vanished, replaced by an icy, bone-chilling killing intent and the stern majesty of a Sea God Clan Chief. Her sea-blue eyes, like ten-thousand-year-old solidified ice, stared directly at the mountain-like figure at the front of the enemy ranks—Hornless Malok.

"Malok!" Aivi's voice was clear and cold, piercing through the Minotaurs' clamor and reaching every corner distinctly. "Today, this place, shall be the burial ground for you and your filthy tribe!"

Although High Priestess Sea Song beside her remained silent, she struck her staff on the ground. The surging magical power around her was no longer concealed, and the pressure of a High Gold Rank Mage spread out like an invisible tide, merging with Aivi's Aura.

Malok was startled at first, then burst into even more rampant and disdainful laughter, his massive hooves stomping the ground and kicking up dust. "Hahahaha! Little girl, still spouting nonsense when death is at your doorstep! You two women and those few remaining crippled soldiers? You think you can bury me, Malok? What a huge joke! I think you've been scared silly! Lads, they..."

His arrogant words abruptly stopped.

Because at that very moment, from both the entrance and exit of the canyon, dull yet rhythmic footsteps and the clanging of metal armor sounded almost simultaneously!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

At the canyon entrance, behind what had seemed like empty dense forest and rocks, soldiers from the Second and Third Battalions, wearing Star Sea Territory standard leather armor, appeared as if by magic. Under the command of Ocean and Shirei, they sealed off the retreat like an iron wall. Even more chilling was the sight of dozens of reinforced heavy crossbows, disassembled from warships, pushed to the front. Their gigantic, cold-gleaming bolts were already strung, their menacing arrowheads aimed at the dense crowd of Minotaurs within the valley!

At the same time, at the other end of the canyon, in the direction of the exit behind Aivi and the others, the same scene unfolded! Linn, dressed in black combat attire and holding a staff, stood at the front of the formation. Behind him were the fierce Guard Army led by Clay, and the First Battalion's main phalanx commanded by Karl. The same number of heavy crossbows were pushed forward, their cold metal bolts reflecting a blood-red light in the setting sun, forming a deadly pincer attack with the crossbow formation at the entrance!

In the blink of an eye, the situation reversed! The hunters became turtles in a jar!

Malok and the Minotaur chieftains around him finally realized something was wrong, and for the first time, their bovine eyes showed signs of alarm and uncertainty. However, long-standing savagery and arrogance prevented Malok from believing, or rather, unwilling to believe, the facts before him.

His crimson bull eyes fixed on Aivi and Linn, especially Linn, this unfamiliar human, and he let out a furious roar: "Moo—! Sea God Clan! You actually colluded with humans! Despicable and shameless! Do you think you can trap me, Malok, with these weak two-legged sheep and these broken contraptions? Dream on! Lads, don't be afraid! Charge! Tear these humans to shreds, capture Aivi and Sea Song! Today, I will make you all Slaves and blood meals for my Minotaur tribe! Charge!!"

Under Malok's frenzied command, the temporarily stunned Minotaurs once again let out bloodthirsty roars. Some turned back, attempting to assault Ocean and Shirei's defensive line at the entrance, while more followed Malok, charging desperately towards the main force led by Linn at the exit, like a stampede of mad wild oxen. They had no thought of breaking out, their minds filled only with slaughter and plunder.

"Aivi, High Priestess, retreat! Assist with Spellcasting!" Linn's calm voice rang out, carrying an undeniable authority.

Aivi and Sea Song immediately understood, their figures gracefully retreating to rejoin Linn's main force, while simultaneously beginning to gather powerful magical energy, preparing to cast large-scale auxiliary and control Spells.

Just as the Minotaur charging torrent was about to collide with the Star Sea Territory's shield wall—

"Fire!!"

From the cliff tops on both sides of the canyon, Elise and Sebastian gave the command almost simultaneously!

The first strike came from the Sky!

On the left cliff face, Sebastian led 500 Sea God Clan Mages in a unified chant. The dense water elements in the air were instantly extracted and transformed! Countless ice blast Spells, the size of basketballs and radiating extreme cold, poured down like a meteor shower, covering the densest Minotaur groups in the middle of the canyon!

"Puff, puff, puff, puff—!"

The ice balls smashed into the Minotaur crowd, instantly exploding! The biting cold swept through, and large numbers of Minotaurs' movements abruptly stiffened, thick layers of ice forming on their bodies. Then, under the impact of subsequent ice balls or their own struggles, they shattered like fragile ice sculptures with a

"crack", turning into a pile of icy slush mixed with flesh and blood! In just one volley, hundreds of Minotaurs were instantly frozen and pulverized amidst their wails!

On the right cliff face, Elise calmly waved her hand. The Divine Arrow Army warriors drew their new enchanted longbows, inscribed with small magic arrays, to their fullest!

"Buzz—!"

A dense rain of arrows shot forth from the strings. Unlike ordinary arrows, the arrowheads glowed faintly in flight, and upon impact with the Minotaur crowd, they didn't just penetrate but violently burst into small localized flames or wind blades! Although the single-hit power was not as great as the ice blast Spells, the coverage was wider, causing continuous scorching and cutting damage to the thick-skinned Minotaurs, further escalating the chaos and casualties!

The second strike, a piercing from Hell!

Almost simultaneously with the cliff-top attack, Linn and Ocean coldly swung down their arms.

"Ballistas! Fire!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!!"

At both ends of the canyon, over seventy heavy crossbows combined let out a dull and terrifying roar! The nearly three-meter-long, specially crafted heavy bolts, screaming as they tore through the air, plowed into the furiously charging Minotaur ranks like the scythe of death!

The power of these bolts was so terrifying that the Minotaur warriors at the very front, wielding massive shields, were instantly pierced through, shield and all! The bolts continued unabated, often penetrating three or four Minotaur bodies in succession, stringing them together like candied haws and pinning them to the ground! For a moment, flesh and blood flew everywhere in the canyon, severed limbs scattered, forming shocking clear paths!

The freezing and shattering of ice, the explosion and cutting of arrow rain, the merciless piercing of crossbow bolts... this triple strike was like three waves of destruction, one after another, crashing heavily upon the crowded Minotaur army in the canyon.

In less than ten minutes, the once formidable four-thousand-strong Minotaur army had already suffered over half casualties! The canyon was strewn with incomplete corpses, blood stained the ground, forming trickling streams, and the strong smell of blood rose to the Sky, like a human Hell!

Malok and the four Gold Rank chieftains around him barely held on amidst the arrow rain and sporadic Spell aftershocks, thanks to their powerful Gold Rank Battle Qi, but they were all wounded and disheveled. They watched helplessly as their tribesmen fell in droves under the terrifying ranged attacks, their eyes splitting with rage, and an unprecedented fear finally welled up in their hearts.

"Moo!! Damn it! Damn it all!!" Malok roared like a wounded beast. He swung his massive blade, shattering several crossbow bolts aimed at him, his crimson bull eyes fixed on Linn at the front of the formation. "Human! I will tear you to shreds!!"

However, Linn gave him no chance to breathe or regroup.

Looking at the chaotic and heavily damaged Minotaurs in the canyon, Linn knew the final moment had arrived. He raised his staff high, his voice echoing across the entire battlefield, filled with resolute killing intent:

"All forces—attack! Annihilate the remaining enemy!"

"Kill!!!"

Accompanied by shouts of