199: A lone army breaks through the enemy lines

The three-day deadline arrived as promised.

In the public combat zone of Xinghai University, the entrance hall to the "Wasteland" scenario was filled with the clamor of voices and expectant gazes. This duel had long since transcended a simple personal grudge; it had become the first public clash between two ideologies among the freshmen—the traditional powerhouses who prioritized pure strength, and the first showing of the emerging civilized thought. Moreover, the stakes were the very survival of the Hundred Schools Society.

As Lin Zhou walked toward the combat login area alone with a calm expression, an irrepressible commotion broke out in the hall.

"Is he really alone? Zhao Hao and the others didn't come?"

"Wasn't it supposed to be the Hundred Schools Society? Why has it become a 1-on-1?"

"Is Lin Zhou crazy? No matter how strong he is, how can one person deal with a hundred Behemoths?"

"I think he's afraid of implicating the others in the society, so he's just biting the bullet and going in himself."

"He's got backbone, but isn't he being too stupid..."

Amidst the discussions, Wang Meng entered the arena laughing, surrounded by a crowd of followers. Seeing that Lin Zhou was indeed alone, the mockery on his face almost overflowed.

"Lin Zhou, it's not too late to admit defeat now and disband that bullshit society of yours!" Wang Meng's voice was loud, carrying an undisguised sense of superiority. "It'll save your little shrimps from being crushed into dregs by my Behemoths later, making a fool of yourself!"

Lin Zhou didn't even lift an eyelid. He merely gave a slight nod to the staff in the login area and walked straight into his combat pod. That dismissive attitude caused Wang Meng's face to darken; with a cold snort, he also entered the opposite pod.

The pod doors closed, sealing out the noise.

[Divine Realm Combat Confirmed: Lin Zhou (Lone Army) vs Wang Meng (Behemoth Legion)]

[Scenario Loading: Wasteland...]

[Countdown: 3... 2... 1...]

Consciousness descended, and rules shifted.

As Lin Zhou's "vision" expanded from high above, a desolate, sweltering battlefield filled with the scent of sand and stone entered his perception. His Divine Realm followers—twenty Elf Rangers, fifty Tiangong Dwarf Crossbowmen, thirty Tiangong Dwarf Heavy Shield Guards, forty Lawful Merman Enforcement Squad members, and thirty Wenxin Elf Scholars—a total of one hundred and seventy units, had appeared at the preset positions on the eastern side of the battlefield according to the predetermined plan. They stood in silence with steady gazes, like precision instruments waiting only for the command to start.

Meanwhile, on the western horizon, dust billowed and the earth trembled. A dark gold torrent, like a raging tide breaking through a dam, came galloping forward with a violent Aura that could crush everything! A full hundred Golden Behemoths, like a hundred mobile war fortresses, had the desire for destruction burning in their crimson eyes. Wang Meng's Divine Thought was like a roaring wildfire, carrying a simple and crude command: "Crush them!"

The Behemoth torrent began to accelerate, their heavy footsteps shaking the ground. The three-kilometer distance rapidly shortened under their terrifying linear charge speed.

On the holographic projection in the observation hall, the red arrows representing the Behemoths were like red-hot irons, pressing ruthlessly toward the blue light dots representing Lin Zhou's followers. The absolute gap in numbers and Aura made all the spectators hold their breath.

Just as the Behemoth vanguard crossed the two-kilometer threshold, Lin Zhou's calm first command was like ice water thrown into boiling oil, instantly shattering the suffocating feeling of the one-sided battlefield.

"Wind Rises—Harass and Restrain."

On the eastern side of the battlefield, twenty emerald-green figures suddenly moved! They didn't charge toward the Behemoths but instead, like arrows leaving a bow, cut in laterally at an incredible speed, galloping parallel to the flanks of the Behemoth Legion's charging path! These were the Elf Rangers equipped with "Lingbo Step"!

[Skill Activated: Lingbo Step]!

The twenty Elf Rangers seemed to step on an invisible breeze, their land movement speed surging by 40%! Their figures pulled out blurred afterimages on the wasteland, maintaining a constant distance of about one hundred and fifty meters from the Behemoth Legion, like the most agile scouts or a swarm of annoying bees.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—!

Elven longbows vibrated, and arrows shot through the air. These arrows were not aimed at the Behemoths' thick bodies but instead, as if they had eyes, were shot specifically toward the edges of their large brassy eyes, nostrils, and outer ears!

[Righteous Qi Arrow · Glimmer]! The tips of the arrows were attached with a layer of milky-white halo so faint it was almost invisible. This was a weak manifestation of Confucian Haoran Qi, which had a natural restraint and irritation effect on chaotic and violent Auras.

Thud! Thud!

The arrows hit, but the damage was negligible, not even enough to penetrate the Behemoths' tough skin. However, the discomfort of the arrow-wind brushing past their eyes, the slight stinging itch in their nostrils, and the constant annoyance in their ears... these subtle but omnipresent interferences were like mosquito bites, instantly infuriating the charging Behemoths!

The few Behemoths charging at the very front were given special attention. With light and shadows flickering before their eyes and their nasal cavities stinging, they couldn't help but let out angry roars, and their charging steps showed a very slight disorder.

"Damned flies!" A curse came from Wang Meng's Divine Thought. He tried to command the Behemoths to ignore the harassment, but the Elf Rangers' "Lingbo Step" was simply too slippery. Whenever a Behemoth couldn't take it anymore and broke formation to turn and pounce, the Elf Rangers would suddenly accelerate or change direction, always maintaining a distance that made the Behemoths feel frustrated but unable to reach them. It took time for the Behemoths' clunky bodies to turn, and that time was enough for the Elf Rangers to pull away to a new safe distance.

The twenty Elf Rangers were like twenty of the most flexible needles, repeatedly poking, testing, and leading the edges of the heavy magnet that was the Behemoth Legion. Although they couldn't cause substantial damage, they successfully caused the sharpest "arrowhead" of the Behemoth Legion to become slightly scattered, and morale showed an imperceptible fluctuation due to this annoying harassment. More importantly, they drew the attention of a significant portion of the Behemoths, bringing the first layer of interference to the execution of Wang Meng's orders.

"Forest Fire—Covering Fire!"

Almost at the same time the Elf Rangers successfully drew the fire, Lin Zhou's second command descended like thunder!

In the center of the battlefield, at several carefully selected semi-hidden firing positions built against natural boulders, fifty Tiangong Dwarf Crossbowmen pulled their triggers simultaneously! The heavy Ballistae, optimized with Mohist "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature" ideology and engraved with stability and acceleration runes on their frames, let out synchronized and muffled roars!

Fifty specially-made armor-piercing bolts drew fifty shrill arcs in the air, forming a metal storm of death that rained down on the middle section of the Behemoth Legion! The tips of these bolts shimmered with a cold light, and weak "Slowness" rune energy was Sealed inside.

Tiangong Dwarf Crossbowmen (LV32) Characteristics:

Precision Shot (LV4): Significantly increases hit rate and effective range (Current Range: 1800 meters).

Runic Bolt · Slowness (Temporary Attachment): Upon hitting, releases weak Earth-element binding energy, reducing the target's movement speed by 5%-8% for 3 seconds (Effect can stack).

Focus Fire Command: Prioritize shooting individuals in the formation that are the largest, charging the hardest, or attempting to leave the group to chase the Elf Rangers.

Thud, thud, thud, thud—!

This time, the sound of impact was solid! Even though Behemoth hides were as thick as armor, under the concentrated volley of armor-piercing bolts at such a close range (having already entered the 1,000-meter optimal range), more than a third of the bolts still successfully burrowed into their flesh! Especially those Behemoths who were frustrated and acting out of form due to the Elf Rangers' harassment—they became sitting ducks!

"Roar—!"

Painful roars rose and fell. While the sting of the bolts entering their flesh wasn't fatal, it truly reduced their health points. More importantly, the effect of the "Slowness" runes began to show! The Behemoths that were hit felt as if their legs were wrapped in invisible shackles, and their charging speed slowed down by a noticeable margin! Although the slowing effect of each bolt was weak, dozens of bolts hitting different individuals simultaneously created an overall effect: the Behemoth Legion's originally unstoppable charging momentum seemed to hit an invisible elastic wall, and their speed dropped visibly! The formation also began to lose its uniformity due to the differences in individual speeds.

"Bastards! Charge! Charge for me! Shred those tin cans!" Wang Meng was both shocked and enraged. He hadn't expected Lin Zhou's long-range firepower to be so accurate and annoying. He roared, commanding the Behemoths to accelerate through the rain of bolts.

However, once speed is slowed down, it's hard to pick it back up. Furthermore, what made Wang Meng's heart sink even more was that those damned elven flies were still circling and harassing the periphery, and the volleys of bolts showed no sign of stopping. His Behemoths possessed devastating power in vain, as they seemed to have fallen into an invisible net; every step forward became exceptionally difficult, and they were enduring small but continuous damage and interference at every moment.

Just as the Behemoth Legion struggled to advance to about eight hundred meters from Lin Zhou's main formation—an area that was relatively open but scattered with boulders—Lin Zhou's third command suddenly rang out like the whisper of a death god:

"Landslide—Activate Traps, Thunderfire Assault!"

Wang Meng's heart skipped a beat, and he cried out inwardly that things were bad!

Boom, boom, boom—!

Beneath the Behemoths' feet, the seemingly calm sandy ground suddenly exploded! These weren't Li Mo's prankish adhesive bombs or smoke bombs, but [Composite Pitfalls] and [Directional Shock Runes] that Lin Zhou had personally set up using Divine Power and Materials!

Several shallow pits suddenly appeared. While not enough to make the Behemoths fall in, they were enough to make their charging steps stumble and break their balance. At the same time, strong shockwaves surged from underground, like invisible heavy hammers striking the Behemoths' relatively fragile ankles and knee joints!

"ROAR!!!"

The screams were even more shrill than before! The ankles of several Behemoths charging at the very front twisted, and they knelt to the ground in pain, completely blocking the path for their comrades behind them! The vanguard of the Behemoth Legion instantly fell into chaos!

"Now! Enforcement Squad—Punishment!"

Forty deep-blue figures, like venomous snakes that had been waiting for a long time, erupted from the shadows of two huge rocks on the flank! The Lawful Merman Enforcement Squad, led by Lin Zhou's most elite hero unit, "Iron Face" (LV33), launched a long-premeditated and fatal surprise attack!

Their targets were precisely those few Behemoths that had fallen due to the pitfalls and shocks, or those that had temporarily broken from the group because the path was blocked!

"Target Lock: Out of formation, fallen into chaos—Judgment established!" Iron Face's cold Divine Thought spread through the squad.

[All Skills Activated]:

Law Enforcement (+15% damage to chaotic/law-breaking units, +10% defense penetration)

Trident Mastery (LV4, +20% attack speed, enhanced armor-piercing effect)

Coordinated Combat (+5% squad attack/defense efficiency)

The deep-blue tridents turned into a heart-stopping storm of blade-light, accurately stabbing into the joints of the fallen Golden Behemoths, the soft flesh of their waists and abdomens that lacked thick fur protection, and their giant mouths that were open in pain!

Squelch! Crack!

This time, it was the terrifying sound of blades cutting through flesh, trident tips piercing ligaments, and even bones shattering! With the damage bonus from "Law Enforcement," the Lawful Mermen's attacks caused considerable True Damage to the Behemoths!

One Behemoth's Achilles tendon was completely severed, and it wailed as it lost all mobility; another Behemoth's flank was torn open with a huge wound, its internal organs faintly visible; yet another Behemoth that tried to lift its head to bite was stabbed through the lower jaw by a trident, the weapon piercing through its oral cavity!

In less than ten seconds, four Behemoths completely lost their combat effectiveness (judged to have withdrawn by the protection mechanism), and another five or six were heavily wounded, their blood staining the sand!

After succeeding, the Lawful Mermen didn't get greedy for more glory. At a short command from Iron Face, they retreated like a tide back into the shadows of the rocks. Using the dust and chaos on the battlefield, they vanished in an instant as if they had never appeared.

Fast! Accurate! Ruthless! Retreat after one strike, never staying a moment longer!

"Ah—! Lin Zhou! I'm going to kill you!" Wang Meng's consciousness let out a crazed roar through the Divine Realm link. Less than ten minutes into the battle, he hadn't wounded a single enemy unit but had already lost nearly a tenth of his forces, and it was in this manner of being toyed with and having his weaknesses bitten hard! This made him feel more humiliated and enraged than if he had lost a hundred in a direct head-on clash!

His remaining Behemoths were also stimulated by this sudden, tragic blow and the wails of their comrades; their eyes turned blood-red, and many had already reached the threshold of triggering "Berserk."

"Everyone! Spread out! Charge for me! Ignore those flies and tin cans! Charge straight through and crush their main formation!" Wang Meng lost a portion of his reason and issued a somewhat chaotic command.

The Behemoth Legion completely scattered like maddened beasts. They no longer paid attention to the Elf Rangers harassing their flanks or the Ballistae firing from a distance, nor did they maintain any formation. They simply relied on instinct and Berserk rage to launch a desperate charge toward the thirty Dwarf Shield Guards and Wenxin Elf Scholars at Lin Zhou's main formation! Their eyes held only destruction; they wanted to shred everything in front of them!

However, in front of their charge was that wide, dried-up riverbed with exceptionally soft sand. And behind the riverbed was the final, and most solid, defensive line Lin Zhou had constructed with the Dwarf Shield Guards and Wenxin Elf Scholars as the core.

Lin Zhou hovered high in the air, his gaze still as cold as ice. Wang Meng's anger and the Behemoths' loss of control had been within his calculations all along.

"The wind has harassed the enemy, the forest has blocked their momentum, the fire has scorched them..." he whispered to himself, looking at the dark-gold beasts surging toward the riverbed like an angry tide.

"Now, it's time for this 'mountain' to tell you what it means to be—insurmountable."

The true decisive battle was about to unfold on the banks of the riverbed. And the Behemoths' rage might just be the final accelerator toward their defeat.