178: All military forces charge forward, igniting a fierce battle.

Thirty seconds.

Time seemed to stretch and distort on the deathly silent battlefield. Every heartbeat felt like a heavy drumbeat, pounding against the hearts of every conscious Order being.

Deep within the Imperial Hospital, inside the most fortified defensive structure, Lin Zhou was placed on a makeshift stone bed. His face was as pale as gold paper, and his breath was so faint it was almost imperceptible. A thin, glazed-colored halo—the final embers of the Fire of Civilization spontaneously protecting its master—covered his body, appearing as if it could extinguish at any moment. Qing Lin was also unconscious beside him, the "Spirit Pivot Needle" lying dimly by her hand. The few remaining Medical Apprentices, themselves lightly injured, were doing their utmost, using basic herbs and weak healing spells to hang onto both their lives.

Rock Shield was critically injured and dying, placed on the other side. The wound on his chest, torn by the "Devouring Touch," remained pitch black and exuded an ominous Aura. He was only kept from dying immediately by the residual effects of the "Life Link" previously established by Qing Lin and the maintenance of the apprentices.

Fire Hammer, dragging a broken leg, leaned against a half-collapsed wall, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly ahead—there, the Abyssal Lord, forcibly bound by the "Ban of Destruction," was struggling and roaring madly like an ancient Vicious Beast trapped in a spider web!

The cracks on its shadow armor were slowly widening under the erosion of the glazed-colored light debris, but the violent, destructive energy of a demigod within its body was desperately crashing against that invisible rule-based ban! The black Aura of destruction collided violently with the pale blue and pale gold intertwined light of the ban, emitting a teeth-grinding "creak" sound, as if glass were about to shatter!

The light of the ban was dimming and shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye!

"Twenty-five seconds..." Fire Hammer counted silently in his heart, cold sweat soaking his robes, which were covered in smoke, dust, and blood. He could feel that the ban, set by the Dominator with all his might, was rapidly heading toward collapse. Once the ban lost its effect, what would greet them would be the Abyssal Lord's unreserved destructive counterattack, fueled by thirty seconds of accumulated rage and power! At that moment, everything would end.

Among the ruins of the defensive line, fewer than five hundred warriors could barely stand, most of them injured. There were fewer than one hundred and fifty Stone Spirit Guards left, and each of their bodies was broken. Elf Rangers, Dwarf Warriors, Tiangong Dwarves, Law Fishmen... all dependents had reached their limits. The Mechanical City was completely silent, the "Taotie" had turned into scrap metal, and most of the ballistae were destroyed. Although the remaining Gargoyles in the air were also affected by the ban (the concept of "destruction" was suppressed within the range of the ban, and their attacks also carried partial destructive properties), there were still tens of thousands of them, eyeing them covetously.

Despair, like a cold viper, coiled around everyone's heart.

"Is it... really the end?" A young Dwarf Warrior leaned against a broken shield, looking at the unconscious Dominator and the terrifying monster in the distance, the last light in his eyes fading.

"Stone Spirit... cannot... withstand... another blow..." The Stone Spirit Leader leaned against a giant rock, its rock body covered in fine cracks, its thoughts conveying exhaustion and heaviness. It knew that when the ban disappeared, the next attack of the Abyssal Lord, whether in range or power, could not be withstood by the current remnant troops.

The seven Observers in the air also appeared somewhat sluggish in their radiance. The star map phantom rotated slowly, as if calculating something, or perhaps waiting for a fated outcome. The other six elemental Incarnations were silent; the tragic nature of this trial and the tenacity and wisdom displayed by the young god had clearly exceeded their initial expectations.

Just in this suffocating countdown—

The extremely faint glazed-colored halo at the center of the unconscious Lin Zhou's brow suddenly twitched extremely slightly.

It was not waking up, but a deeper resonance originating from the Soul and the Origin of the Temple of Civilization.

His consciousness was sinking into boundless darkness and fragmented pain; his divinity was almost completely silent, and his divine fire was about to extinguish. But in the deepest part of that consciousness, at the core of his Soul, which was bound to the Temple of Civilization and carried the secrets of his Transmigration and endless faith, a weak but incomparably tenacious "something" had never given up.

That was the brand belonging to the "School of Military"—not a skill, not knowledge, but an instinct integrated into bones and blood, a fierce, blood-iron will to seek a chance of victory even in desperate situations, even if it meant fighting with one's life!

"Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain... Swift as the Wind, Slow as the Forest, Fierce as Fire, Immovable as a Mountain..."

"...The military is a matter of vital importance to the state; the province of life or death, the road to survival or ruin..."

"...Throw them into a desperate position, and they will survive; plunge them into a death ground, and they will live..."

"...In battle, use the orthodox to engage, and the unorthodox to win..."

Countless fragments of the School of Military classics, scenes of battlefield conquests, and wisdom intertwined with blood-iron and strategy flashed rapidly in the depths of his consciousness, which was about to fall silent. Finally, it froze on a phantom of an incomparably ancient bamboo slip exuding a vast Aura of slaughter, with four large characters written on it in iron-painted silver hooks, as if forged from blood and war—《The Art of War》!

At the same time, inside the Divine Domain, on the damaged but still structurally intact [Command Platform (special building of the School of Military)], a faint, dark red light quietly lit up on its broken base. That was the silent power of the heroic spirits of the School of Military, the unyielding Aura of slaughter from countless fallen soldiers on the battlefield, and the response of the "School of Military" ideology itself to the current desperate situation!

That speck of light resonated weakly with the brand of the School of Military in the depths of Lin Zhou's consciousness, separated by his unconscious body and shattered divinity!

Like a drop of water on a parched riverbed, this resonance was so weak it was almost negligible. But it acted like a fuse, igniting the final and most resolute thought in Lin Zhou's subconscious—a desperate strategy that had existed vaguely in the depths of his mind as a final backup plan before he cast "Speaking the Law"!

This thought did not need a conscious mind to push it, nor a perfect divinity to calculate it; it was an instinct itself, a strict rule of the School of Military that only through a "Death Battle" could one win a glimmer of hope in a desperate situation!

"All troops... charge..."

A voice so weak it was almost non-existent seemed to ring out from the deepest part of Lin Zhou's Soul, from the classics of the School of Military in the Temple of Civilization, and from the residual light of the [Command Platform] simultaneously. Then, through the remaining, weak embers of the Fire of Civilization and the faith link with the Divine Domain's dependents, it transformed into an incomparably clear final command filled with the will of blood-iron and resolution, directly branded into the Souls of all surviving dependents (including the Stone Spirit Guards, who were temporarily recognized as "friendly forces" due to the agreement and fighting side-by-side)!

"Profound Truth of the School of Military · Ultimate Legacy — Death Battle · All-Out Charge!"

The moment the command was issued, a sudden change occurred!

First was the [Command Platform]! That dark red light erupted suddenly, turning into a pillar of blood-colored light shooting into the sky! Within the pillar of light, countless phantoms emerged vaguely—ancient soldiers clad in armor and holding weapons, legions with fluttering banners, commanders simulating on sand tables... They simultaneously let out silent but Soul-shaking shouts!

Immediately following, all dependents who received the command, regardless of race, profession, or severity of injury, felt their bodies shudder simultaneously!

An indescribable, scorching power that seemed to burn the Soul was forcibly ignited and detonated from the deepest part of their hearts, from their faith in the Dominator, their protection of their homeland, their reluctance to let go of civilization, and their unwillingness to accept the current desperate situation, by the "Death Battle" command!

[Ultimate Skill of the School of Military · All-Out Charge (Death Battle State) Activated!]

Activation Conditions: The commander (Lin Zhou) is in a state unable to command, but his will resonates with the core of the School of Military, dependents within the Divine Domain face a desperate situation, and morale/belief/Battle Intent reach a specific threshold (or are forcibly triggered by special buildings/Legacies).

Scope of Influence: All units with a faith link or a clear friendly agreement with the activator (Lin Zhou) (currently including: core dependents such as Dwarves, Elves, Fishmen; Tiangong Dwarves and some mechanical creations; Stone Spirit Guards).

Core Effect — Enter [Death Battle State]:

All Attributes Surge: Basic attributes such as Strength, Agility, Physique, Spirit/Will, etc., are temporarily increased by 300%! (Calculated based on the current remaining value; the attribute base for the severely injured is low, so the absolute value after the increase may still not be as high as when healthy, but the boost is astonishing).

Health/Energy Value Reforging: Clear all current negative status effects (including severe injury, poisoning, curse, silence, stun, etc., though some rule-level negative effects like "Unhealable" may not be completely cleared). Health and Energy values are temporarily restored to 50% of their maximum (severely injured are pulled back from the brink of death), and during this state, gain a berserk recovery of 5% of maximum health per second (ignoring some healing suppression effects).

Damage Output Doubled: Physical/Energy attack power is additionally increased by 150% (stacked with attribute increases), and attacks carry additional effects such as "Armor Break," "Bleed," and "Fury."

Pain Suppression and Fearlessness: Completely mask pain and fear emotions, immune to all mental control, fear, and confusion effects, morale is locked to "max," ignoring the gap in strength between enemy and self.

Synergistic Instinct: All units enter a highly synergistic combat mode, generating a faint "Battlefield Intuition" link between each other, and tactical coordination instinct is enhanced.

Special Status Additions:

[Fierce as Fire]: Movement speed and attack speed additionally +100%.

[Immovable as a Mountain · Inverse]: Defense additionally +100%, and when receiving an attack, there is a certain probability to convert part of the damage into a counterattack wave against surrounding enemies.

[Swift as the Wind]: Evasion rate and hit rate are significantly increased.

"As Gentle as the Forest": The formation is stable, difficult to be scattered, and the damage-sharing effect is enhanced.

Duration: 3 minutes (180 seconds). This state cannot be canceled prematurely unless the caster actively terminates it (currently Lin Zhou is unconscious and cannot terminate it) or the duration ends.

Penalty after ending: All attributes permanently decrease by 10% - 30% (depending on the individual's load and damage during the Death Battle state).

Enters a Deep Weakness state, lasting for 24 hours. During this period, all attributes drop to below 20% of their normal values; unable to engage in any strenuous activity or combat, requiring substantial rest and resource recuperation to recover slowly (cannot be quickly eliminated through conventional treatment).

High probability of leaving behind permanent hidden injuries or mental trauma.

Note: This is the ultimate forbidden art of the School of Military, costing the overdraft of life potential and burning the Foundation of the future in exchange for brief, invincible combat power. It is usually only used in desperate situations of national extinction where there is no other choice. Success rate and effects are influenced by multiple factors such as the commander's prestige, the loyalty of the kin, the battlefield environment, and the depth of understanding of the School of Military's philosophy.

Hum—!!!

It was as if a layer of invisible blood-colored mist instantly enveloped all units that had entered the Death Battle state!

Their eyes, whether the brown of the Dwarf Warriors, the emerald of the Elf Ranger, the deep blue of the Law Fishmen, or the yellow light of the Stone Spirit Guards, were all now stained with an identical, dark red that burned with blood and iron and madness!

Muscles bulged, veins throbbed, and wounds no longer bled; instead, they were forcibly sealed or even "welded" shut by a violent surge of energy!

Shattered weapons were gripped tighter, and broken shields were forcibly bonded together by energy!

Even those damaged psionic Puppet units saw unstable, overloaded red lights ignite within their wreckage as they wobbled and stood back up!

"Roar—!!!" Rock Shield snapped his eyes open!

The black Aura at his near-fatal wounds was forcibly expelled and dispersed by a brutal blood-colored energy!

He grabbed a broken half of a battle axe from the side, flipped off the stone bed, and leapt up, his dark red eyes filled with nothing but the purest killing intent!

His health points were forcibly pulled back to a dangerous but combat-ready level, and all his attributes surged to three times their original base, giving him such a sense of power that he felt the illusion he could shatter a mountain with a single punch!

Fire Hammer's broken leg was crudely "fixed" by the blood-colored energy; he roared as he swung a massive forging hammer, the head of which burned with an unnaturally scorching red light!

The Tiangong Dwarves behind him, their eyes glowing red as if they had been injected with stimulants, grabbed whatever they could use as weapons, or directly activated the self-destruct or overload runes reserved within their bodies by the Mohist Mechanical Arts for the final moment!

Qing Lin also briefly awoke under the stimulation of the blood-colored energy; her face was as pale as paper, but her eyes burned with the same resolute dark red.

She forced herself to raise the dim 【 Spirit Pivot Needle 】, and the light at the tip was no longer the emerald green light of life, but a strange glow mixed with blood-red and the final benevolence of the School of Medicine—【 Life Conversion · Sacrifice Heal 】, converting her remaining life force into pure healing energy and casting it upon her comrades on the front line without regard for the cost, even if it meant doubling the severity of her weakness period!

The Stone Spirit Leader let out a low growl, and as the blood-colored energy was injected, its broken stone body's cracks were forcibly sealed, its yellow eyes turned dark red, and it radiated an even more violent and heavy Aura!

All the Stone Spirit Guards underwent similar changes, as if they had transformed into burning Rock Giant units!

"For the Dominator! For the civilization! Kill—!!!"

Rock Shield let out a thunderous roar; the voice no longer belonged to his usual calm self, but was filled with a frenzied Battle Intent to destroy everything!

He no longer considered any formation or defense, taking the lead, dragging a blood-colored afterimage, like a cannonball fired from its chamber, and launched a desperate suicidal charge toward the Abyssal Lord that was still struggling within the ban!

"Kill—!!!" More than five hundred warriors (including the Stone Spirit Guards) who had entered the Death Battle state followed closely behind!

They transformed into a torrent of flesh and steel, dark red and sweeping through everything! The speed and the ferocity of their Aura far exceeded any previous attack!

The remaining Gargoyle units in the sky tried to intercept, but intimidated by this violent Aura, their movements were a beat slow.

And the Abyssal monsters on the ground that were still in negative states like "Stun" or "Silence" (also affected by the ban) were directly crushed and torn apart by this torrent!

The Abyssal Lord clearly did not expect that, with the ban on the verge of collapse, the opponent's commander unconscious, and the defensive line in ruins, these "ants" could still erupt with such a terrifying and frenzied counterattack!

That dark red Death Battle Aura made it feel a hint of instinctive dread—this was not the power of Order, but the most primitive and violent will of war, existing purely for the sake of destruction!

"The... ban... is about to break... ants... you seek death!" Its consciousness trembled with rage, and it forcibly accelerated its impact against the ban! The glaze-colored light fragments on its chest accelerated their dissolution under the impact of the destructive energy!

But, the Death Battle torrent had already arrived!

"Primary target—interrupt it! Attack with full force!" Rock Shield's battlefield intuition had become incredibly sharp in the Death Battle state; he instantly judged that they must interfere with and harm the Abyssal Lord as much as possible before the ban completely failed, interrupting its process of gathering power!

Boom, boom, boom—!!!

The heavy fists of the Stone Spirit Guards, the war hammers of the Dwarf Warriors, the arrows of the Elf Ranger imbued with blood-colored energy (with greatly increased speed and power), the overloaded steam ballistas and self-destruct mechanisms of the Tiangong Dwarves, and even the psionic Puppet units burning with blood-colored energy... all attacks poured onto the Abyssal Lord's shadow armor like a violent storm, regardless of the cost!

The power of the attacks, due to the 300% attribute boost and additional damage bonus from the Death Battle state, far exceeded their usual level!

Although the Abyssal Lord's defense was still astonishing, it was no longer unshakable!

The shadow armor vibrated violently under the dense strikes, and cracks spread rapidly!

Especially the wound on its chest that had been pierced by the light spear of civilization; it became the primary focus, with constant attacks attempting to blast into it, triggering the Abyssal Lord's painful roars and further disordering its energy!

"Get lost!" The Abyssal Lord roared in fury, disregarding the backlash of the ban, and forcibly swung its dark claws to counterattack!

With one swipe of its claw, several Stone Spirit Guards and Dwarf Warriors charging at the front were crushed directly, turning into a rain of blood and gravel! But immediately, more warriors fearlessly filled the gap, and their attacks became even more frenzied!

The warriors in the Death Battle state completely ignored casualties, trading their lives for damage! Their attacks carried "Armor Pierce" and "Bleed" effects; even if they could not deal fatal damage, they were constantly accumulating small advantages, consuming the Abyssal Lord's already unstable energy.

In the sky, the seven Observer units were thoroughly moved!

"A forbidden art that burns life and the future... a pure will of war..." The light of the star map phantom swirled rapidly, "The Dao of the School of Military can be so extreme... This is not the norm of civilization, but the backbone of its survival! In a desperate situation, there is such a spirit of burning together and fighting to the end!"

The earthy yellow stone body rumbled: "The earth... will also... in a desperate situation... erupt... into destruction... or... rebirth..."

The emerald green light mass flickered uncertainly: "Such... overdraft... of vitality... is like... burning a forest... to seek... a momentary... blazing flame..."

The crimson flame humanoid, however, glowed with intense heat: "Magnificent! This flame... though brief... is... brilliant! It is the... proof... of life's... unyielding... nature!"

The battlefield had completely turned into the bloodiest and most frenzied meat grinder. The dark red Death Battle torrent and the dark demi-god struggling within the ban engaged in a final three minutes of straightforward, no-frills combat! Every second, warriors fell and turned to ash, but more attacks continued to surge forward like a tide!

Rock Shield no longer knew how many wounds he had added to his body; the health regeneration from the Death Battle state barely supported him as he swung his broken battle axe, slashing again and again at the Abyssal Lord's relatively vulnerable spots like its knees and joints.

Fire Hammer's forging hammer smashed onto the Abyssal Lord's lower leg armor, bursting out sparks and cracks; he himself was shaken by the recoil and vomited blood, but as if he didn't notice, he swung the hammer again!

Time passed rapidly in the frenzied slaughter. Twenty seconds... fifteen seconds... ten seconds...

The light of the ban on the Abyssal Lord had dimmed to the point of near disappearance, and the destructive energy within it began to gather frenziedly again at an unprecedented speed! Those eyes of white flame were filled with the rage of being wounded by ants and the pleasure of being about to completely unleash destruction!

"The ban... is about to dissipate... you all... shall die!!!"

The offensive of the Death Battle torrent, under the terrifying pressure of the Abyssal Lord about to break free, did not weaken in the slightest! Instead, it became even more frenzied! Because they knew, this was the last chance!

"Team! Focus attacks on the chest wound! Detonate all overload devices! Prepare—for the final stand!" Rock Shield's hoarse voice echoed in the blood-colored link; he himself took a deep breath, pouring the last of his strength from the Death Battle state, along with his loyalty to the Dominator, his attachment to his home, and his desire for victory, into the broken battle axe in his hand! The light burning on the axe blade was no longer blood-colored, but a blinding white light that seemed to burn the very Soul!

"For—the Dominator—!!!"

The horn for the final charge was sounded defiantly at the critical point where the Abyssal Lord broke free from the constraints of the ban and its destructive energy was about to completely erupt!