114: Military strategists use deception to lure the enemy deep into their territory and set up an ambush (Part 2)

The reversal of the situation happened in a flash!

When the massive body of the Raging Golden Behemoth Royal Lineage completely stepped into the Crater Zone, and when Hao Tian's long-range troops followed closely into this preset battlefield, Lin Zhou's long-hidden killing move finally fully activated!

The first to strike was the Law Fishmen hero, Snik! He raised his bone staff, symbolizing Law and order, and the Net of Law nodes he had secretly set up earlier instantly lit up! Although the range was limited to the Crater Zone and its strength was greatly reduced due to his poor condition, it played a crucial role at this moment!

"Edict: Flight Forbidden Here!" Snik's voice carried solemnity and majesty.

An invisible force of rules instantly enveloped the entire sky over the Crater Zone! The Silver Pegasus Knights, who were circling at low altitude and preparing to throw Holy Light spears, suddenly felt their wings become incredibly heavy, as if stuck in an invisible mire. Their flight altitude dropped sharply, and their mobility was greatly reduced! Even those light Spirit Dragons experienced obvious sluggishness in their flight paths!

"Edict: Earth Binding!" The second edict followed immediately.

Streaks of earthy yellow light seeped out from the ground, like countless invisible hands wrapping around the legs of the Golden Behemoth and the Storm Giants following behind! The Golden Behemoth's charging speed suddenly dropped by at least 15%, and the Storm Giants' movement and spellcasting pre-animations also became significantly longer!

Legalist Edicts Effects (Local Battlefield):

Forbidden Air Domain: Enemy flying units within range have their movement speed reduced by 40%, and their altitude is limited to below 10 meters. Maintenance cost: Snik consumes 50 points of Mental Energy per second.

Slowness Domain: Enemy ground units within range have their movement/attack speed reduced by 15%. Maintenance cost: Snik consumes 30 points of Mental Energy per second.

Duration: Estimated to last up to 25 seconds (based on Snik's current state).

This sudden change caused Hao Tian's pupils to shrink! "I've been tricked!" He instantly understood that Lin Zhou's previous defeat was a complete facade! The goal was to lure his strongest ground units and some long-range units into this unfavorable terrain!

"Don't panic! Golden Behemoth, force a Breakthrough! Storm Giants, focus fire on Lin Zhou's main body! Silver Pegasi, Spirit Dragons, prioritize clearing those fishmen!" Hao Tian reacted extremely quickly and immediately issued counter-instructions. He believed that as long as the Golden Behemoth could close in quickly or the Storm Giants could kill Lin Zhou, the situation could still be reversed.

However, the "feast" Lin Zhou had prepared for him was just beginning!

At the same moment the Net of Law took effect, the Tiangong Dwarves hero, Bronzebeard Stonehammer, suddenly crushed an inconspicuous mechanical core in his hand!

"Mohist Mechanism: Earthfire Thunder! Rise!"

"Clack-clack-clack—Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The Mohist traps scattered throughout various hidden corners of the Crater Zone were instantly detonated!

Poisoned steel spikes suddenly thrust out from the bottom of some pits ([Venomous Thorn Trap], dealing 300 physical damage to the hit unit + 50 poison damage per second, lasting 5 seconds);

Some wreckage suddenly exploded, firing a rain of armor-piercing crossbow bolts ([Chain Crossbow Box], dealing 150 physical damage per second to units within range, lasting 3 seconds);

Even more terrifyingly, in several of the largest pits, [Unstable Lava Cores] driven by the residual energy of the [Active Volcano] card were detonated. Scorching lava mixed with explosive energy soared into the sky ([Lava Eruption], dealing 800 fire damage + knock-up effect to units in the central area, and 300 fire damage to those in the peripheral area)!

For a moment, the entire Crater Zone seemed to turn into a deadly purgatory! The sounds of traps exploding, crossbow bolts whistling through the air, lava erupting, and the screams of enemy units intertwined!

Mohist Mechanism Trap Effect Statistics (Instant Burst):

Direct Casualties: 12 Silver Pegasus Knights (LV 30) were killed instantly by Lava Eruptions or Chain Crossbow Boxes; 6 Storm Giants (LV 35) were heavily injured by ground spikes or lava burns, losing their combat effectiveness; the Spirit Dragons avoided most of the damage thanks to their magic resistance but were forced to fly around in disorder.

Formation Disruption: The enemy's long-range troops' formation was completely disrupted, making it impossible to focus fire effectively.

Environmental Change: The erupting lava further altered the terrain, forming new obstacles and continuous burning areas.

This wasn't over yet!

The Literary Heart Elves hero, Elwin, who had been accumulating her last bit of strength, led all the Literary Heart Elves who could still mobilize Vast Righteous Qi to lock their target onto the position slightly to the left of the Raging Golden Behemoth Royal Lineage's chest—the energy core pointed out by Zhao Hao!

"The Master said: 'The study of strange doctrines is injurious indeed!'" (Attacking those incorrect/evil cores will eliminate the harm!)

"Confucian Secret Art: Righteous Qi Lock!"

A highly condensed white beam of light, composed purely of Vast Righteous Qi, was not used for attack but acted like the most precise searchlight, firmly illuminating that area of the Golden Behemoth's chest! In the area covered by the beam, that layer of liquid-gold-like Golden Barrier actually showed fine, wave-like ripples, and its light seemed to dim slightly! More importantly, this weakness was labeled with extreme clarity, pointing the way for all attacks!

Confucian Righteous Qi Lock Effect:

Weakness Manifestation: Greatly increases the critical hit probability of the marked weak point area (+30%).

Energy Interference: Produces slight interference with energy-based defenses (such as Golden Barrier), reducing its defense effect in that area by 5%.

Guidance Effect: Provides extreme precision guidance for all long-range attacks from allies.

"Now is the time! All troops, hear my command! Wind-Forest-Fire-Mountain—All-out assault! Target: the energy core!" Lin Zhou's voice was like a thunderclap, exploding in the hearts of all his subordinates!

He no longer held back, frantically injecting his remaining Divine Power into the School of Military battle array! At the same time, the phantom of the Temple of Civilization that had been floating in his Sea of Consciousness vibrated slightly. The river of civilization, which carried the wisdom of a hundred schools of thought, although unable to manifest directly against the enemy, quietly bestowed its flowing rhythm upon all his subordinates. At this moment, their spirits were highly unified and their beliefs incredibly concentrated, allowing them to exert power beyond their own limits!

"Swift as the Wind!" The Literary Heart Elves moved like the wind, quickly taking up the best shooting positions. They abandoned all flashy Spells and condensed their last mana into the purest [Righteous Qi Arrows], firing them like a torrential rain toward the marked core!

"Steady as the Forest!" The Law Fishmen held their ground firmly, maintaining the Net of Law while throwing [Law Harpoons] imbued with the power of order. Although the individual damage was not high, they excelled in precision and persistence!

"Fierce as Fire!" The Tiangong Dwarves roared, pushing out the last few intact [Heavy Armor-Piercing Ballistae] of great power. The giant bolts, burning with the power of earthfire and carrying the will to tear through everything, roared toward the target! Even the injured dwarven warriors threw [Storm Warhammers] containing their entire body's strength!

"Immovable as a Mountain!" Su Yueyao turned her final Moonlight Power into the sturdiest protection, enveloping the front of all the attacking subordinates to shield them from potential stray arrows and energy impacts!

At this moment, the Four Tactics of the School of the Military were perfectly performed by the remaining subordinates of the Cloud City Team! All attacks, whether energy or physical, arrows or ballistae, converged into a destructive torrent, accurately striking the same point—the energy core slightly to the left of the Golden Behemoth Royal Lineage's chest, marked by the Vast Righteous Qi!

"Roar—!!!"

The Raging Golden Behemoth Royal Lineage felt a fatal threat! It frantically swung its giant claws, trying to swat away the attacks, but most of them were too concentrated and swift! It tried to dodge, but was hindered by the "Earth Binding" beneath its feet, the complex surrounding terrain, and the erupting lava!

"Puff puff puff puff—!"

"Boom boom boom!"

Dense sounds of impact and explosions rang out in that area! Righteous Qi Arrows continuously wore down the light of the Golden Barrier; Law Harpoons interfered with its energy flow; and most fatal were those heavy armor-piercing bolts burning with the power of earthfire!

"Crack... Sizzle—!"

A faint but clear sound, like the shattering of glass, rang out!

After enduring dozens of concentrated attacks, the indestructible [Golden Barrier] was finally forced open, leaving a fist-sized gap right over the energy core!

Although the gap immediately began to slowly repair itself under the flow of golden energy, in that instant, several subsequent Righteous Qi Arrows and a Storm Warhammer containing all of Bronzebeard's strength drilled through the gap and directly hit the pulsating, golden heart-like energy core!

"Awooo—!!!"

The Golden Behemoth Royal Lineage let out the most shrill and painful roar since the start of the battle! The voice was filled with unbelievable shock, anger, and bone-deep pain! Its massive body suddenly staggered, the golden light at its chest became chaotic and flickering, and the raging Aura around it rapidly faded like a punctured balloon! Even its lava-like pupils regained a brief moment of clarity, only to be immediately submerged by deeper pain and rage!

Golden Behemoth Royal Lineage Status Update:

Energy Core Damaged: Moderate damage. Golden Barrier generation efficiency reduced by 50%, overall defense strength decreased by 20%. Raging state forced to begin receding early (remaining duration approximately 1/3).

Health Points (HP): Dropped to 58% (previously, the barrier defense and lava burns consumed about 20%; this concentrated attack caused about 22% damage, with the core penetration being the main source of damage).

Status: Pain, anger, raging effect weakened, strength and speed attributes decreased by 10%.

Silence!

A deathly silence!

Inside and outside the virtual battlefield, all spectators were stunned by this shocking reversal!

In just a dozen seconds, the battlefield situation had undergone a world-shaking change! The Golden Behemoth Royal Lineage, which had been so imposing and invincible, was actually heavily damaged by traps and concentrated fire! This counterattack by the Cloud City Team was precise, ruthless, and coordinated to the extreme!

"They... they succeeded?! They hurt the Golden Behemoth!"

"my god! That was a weak point attack! How did they find the weak point?"

"It's Lin Zhou! It was all his calculation! Feigning retreat, luring the enemy deep, trap control, focusing fire on the weak point... This is a textbook School of Military tactic!"

"Amazing! This is a real battle! A collision of wisdom and power!"

"Cloud City Team! Awesome! Lin Zhou! Awesome!"

A mountain-like wave of cheers and gasps instantly drowned out the previous regret and pessimism! Everyone was won over by this brilliant tactical counterattack!

On the high platform, the Cloud City Principal, whose face had been tense, suddenly slapped his thigh and almost jumped up in excitement! The leaders and referees from other schools also showed expressions of shock and admiration.

On the battlefield, Hao Tian's face turned incredibly ugly for the first time, even showing a hint of paleness. He clearly felt the pain and weakness coming from the Golden Behemoth, as well as the raging power receding uncontrollably. "How is it possible... how could they know the location of the core..." He looked at the young man in the distance whose face was still pale but whose eyes were as deep as the starry sky, and for the first time, he truly felt the terror of strategic brilliance.

Lin Zhou panted slightly, looking at the heavily damaged Golden Behemoth whose Aura had withered significantly, and breathed a small sigh of relief. This risky move had finally succeeded. Although it failed to kill in one hit, damaging its core and weakening its rage had already greatly narrowed the gap in strength between the two sides.

However, he knew the battle was far from over. A wounded beast is often more dangerous. Hao Tian would never give up just like this.

He took a deep breath, suppressed the vibration of his Divine Fire, and said loudly, his voice spreading across the battlefield: "Reform the formation! Defensive stance! It's already injured; the advantage is now on our side!"

The remaining subordinates of the Cloud City Team burst into earth-shaking cheers, their morale reaching its peak! They proved with their actions that even when facing a monster like the Golden Behemoth, under the guidance of their god, they still had the strength to fight!

The Golden Behemoth Royal Lineage stared fixedly at Lin Zhou with a furious and venomous gaze, low growls escaping from deep within its throat. The wound on its chest slowly healed amidst the flickering golden light, but the feeling of weakness could not be immediately dispelled.

The final showdown was about to begin again in this Crater Zone filled with traps and wreckage! But this time, the tide of offense and defense had already turned!