47: Military strategists cover the rear, fighting and retreating to preserve the last embers (Part 2)

At the critical moment, Lin Zhou's consciousness in the Divine Realm merged with the entire battlefield. The Dao of the School of Military lies in assessing the situation and adapting to changes! He instantly analyzed the situation on the field:

Snik had fallen into the swamp, his life or death unknown, but the ratmen's survival ability was extremely strong; he might not have perished immediately.

Elwin and Bronzebeard were entangled by the remaining undead elites and could not break free in a short time.

Mipo had almost no ability to protect himself.

Barrend faced a killing blow; if he fell, long-range suppression would be lost, making the team's retreat even more difficult.

The Undead Warrior was powerful; in a head-on clash, even if Bronzebeard erupted with power, the outcome would be uncertain and would aggravate his injuries.

Although the nether-skeleton dissipation powder had significant effects, the remaining amount was insufficient to instantly reverse such a disadvantage.

"Silent as the Forest, Immovable as a Mountain!" Lin Zhou's Divine Thought resonated like a great bell, once again invoking the Concept of the School of Military battle formation!

This time, it was no longer about pursuing speed, but emphasizing—stability and Tenacity!

A heavy Concept, steady as a mountain and unshakeable as a Peak, enveloped Elwin, Bronzebeard, and Barrend. The three felt as if their feet had taken root, connecting more closely with the earth; their auras became more stable, and their defensive stances naturally reached their Peak state. Especially Barrend, who was facing the charge of the Undead Warrior, felt the cold pressure of death offset by this heavy Concept.

Facing the rushing shadow of death, Barrend showed no fear; instead, he erupted with the characteristic bravery of a dwarf. He gave up on reloading the heavy Dragon Hunter Crossbow, drew his melee short axe and hand crossbow from his waist, lowered his body, and assumed a stance for a fight to the death! The positive energy barrier of the mech armor condensed in front of him, becoming more solid than usual!

"Fierce as Fire!" Lin Zhou's third thought followed immediately! This time, the target was not the team members, but—Snik Shadowclaw, who had fallen into the swamp with unknown status!

Just as the Undead Warrior's greatsword was about to strike Barrend, and just as Elwin and Bronzebeard let out desperate roars—

Pfft!

A pitch-black figure covered in mud, like a lurking venomous snake, suddenly burst out from the sludge behind the Undead Warrior's flank! It was Snik! Not only was he not dead, but he had also used the cover of the swamp and the chaos caused by the rocket boosters to silently sneak into the Undead Warrior's blind spot!

At this moment, bolstered by Lin Zhou's tactical intent of "Fierce as Fire," he pushed the ratman's cunning and ruthlessness to the extreme! The Paralyzing Poison Blade in his hand was no longer seeking to paralyze; instead, he poured all his strength, speed, and the faint kinetic energy provided by the mech armor into this single strike, aiming directly at the gap between the Undead Warrior's helmet and breastplate—where the fluctuations of the soul fire were most intense!

"Die for me!" Snik let out a sharp hiss, and the poison blade turned into an almost invisible dark light, stabbing in fiercely!

The timing, angle, and power of this strike were all perfect! It could be called the Peak work of Snik's assassin career!

Sizzle—!

Like a red-hot iron falling into ice water, a piercing sound of corrosion rang out! Paralyzing toxins, the unique filthy energy of the ratmen, and the residual aura of the mech armor's positive energy barrier, mixed with Snik's full-force assassination techniques, poured into the Undead Warrior's soul fire core all at once!

Awoo—!!!

The Undead Warrior let out its first substantial roar of pain and rage since the start of the battle! Its massive body suddenly stiffened, and the trajectory of the greatsword swinging at Barrend showed a fatal deviation and delay! The crimson soul fire flickered violently as if blown by a gale, dimming and brightening! Although it wasn't killed in one hit, this strike clearly damaged its Origin, plunging it into brief confusion and intense pain!

Opportunity!

"Barrend, retreat!" Elwin seized this precious opening, used a strand of Vast Sword Qi to force back the guards she was fighting, and rushed toward Barrend.

Bronzebeard also roared, his warhammer sweeping out to temporarily clear the area around him.

"Mipo, find Snik and prepare to retreat!" Elwin ordered while moving to assist Barrend. The core fungus could not be collected today; the priority was to preserve their forces, especially the hero Snik, who had successfully wounded the Undead Warrior!

"Cough, cough... I'm here!" Snik poked his head out of the mud. Though disheveled and with his mech armor badly damaged, his eyes remained sharp. He shook a small bag wrapped in waterproof tarpaulin, "Picked up some 'souvenirs' on the way!" These were secondary fungus fragments and mud rich in death laws that he had quickly scraped from the edges of the parent plant during his infiltration and sudden attack!

Although not as good as the core fungus, they were still extremely precious research samples!

Mipo immediately rushed over, took the samples in a special container, and checked Snik's injuries.

Meanwhile, the Undead Warrior, having barely recovered from the pain of its damaged soul fire, fell into a total frenzy! Ignoring its still flickering soul fire, its eyes turned blood-red as it locked onto Snik, who had ruined its plans, and the team preparing to retreat!

Woo—vroom—!

It threw its head back and let out a long, eerie horn sound! This horn sound pierced through the mist and spread throughout the Valley of the Dead!

"Not good! It's calling for reinforcements!" Elwin's face changed drastically.

As if to confirm her words, the roars and howls of countless undead creatures echoed from all around the valley! The ground began to vibrate, and more undead emerged from the mist and the ground, surging from all directions like a true tide! Among them, the figures of Wraith Mages (LV28), who hadn't appeared before, began to float in the air, chanting malevolent curse Spells!

The true Undead Scourge was fully activated! The team was surrounded!

"Form a circular formation! Break out toward the southeast! That's the path we came from; the density of undead is relatively low!" Elwin remained calm and made an immediate judgment. The southeast was their infiltration route, which was relatively familiar.

The five quickly gathered. Elwin and Bronzebeard were on the outside, Barrend and Snik (who still had some fighting strength despite his injuries) were on the flanks, and Mipo was protected in the center. The circular formation was like a lonely boat drifting in a sea of undead.

"Silent as the Forest, Immovable as a Mountain!" Lin Zhou once again applied the defensive Concept, making this small circular formation even more indestructible.

The sea of undead crashed against the formation like stormy waves. Elwin's sword light and Vast Righteous Qi, Bronzebeard's warhammer and roars, Barrend's crossbow bolts (switched to ordinary arrows), and Snik's poison blade sneak attacks formed a dense defensive net. Mipo also threw out some irritating medicinal powders from time to time to interfere with the undead's senses.

The circular formation moved through the sea of undead toward the southeast with great difficulty and slowness. Every step forward required immense effort and the crushing of countless undead. The energy of the mech armor was being consumed rapidly, the filter efficiency was dropping sharply, and everyone's physical strength was draining fast in the continuous battle.

Especially the injured Snik and Bronzebeard, whose old wounds hadn't healed, saw their conditions decline the fastest. Death Qi began to seep into the damaged part of Snik's leg mech armor, making his movements stiff. Bronzebeard's face grew paler, and his suppressed injuries showed signs of relapsing.

"We can't go on like this! We won't make it to the exit!" Barrend panted as he shot a Ghoul trying to climb up.

Elwin looked at the endless undead in all directions, then at her teammates in poor condition, and finally at the last bit of nether-skeleton dissipation powder in her arms, which might be able to cause one large-scale distraction. A flash of determination crossed her eyes.

"My Lord!" She sent her final request to Lin Zhou through the prayer connection. "Please allow me to use the final resort to open a path for my teammates! Elwin... is willing to shed her last drop of blood for my Lord and the Hundred Schools Temple!"

She intended to sacrifice herself and detonate the remaining nether-skeleton dissipation powder to create an opportunity for her teammates to break out!

"No!" Lin Zhou, Bronzebeard, and even Chen Hai all spoke out to stop her!

In this moment of life and death, Lin Zhou's perception suddenly captured an unusual energy fluctuation from the southeast of the valley! In that fluctuation, there was a familiar... cold and tranquil moonlight-like quality?

Then, a clear, ice-spring-like female voice pierced through the roars of the undead and the clamor of the battlefield, clearly entering the consciousness of every living being present and Lin Zhou's Divine Thought:

"Student Lin Zhou, do you need help?"

Along with this voice, a bright beam of pure light, woven like moonlight, suddenly descended from the sky, precisely enveloping the five members of the struggling team!

[Moonlight Sanctuary] (Cast by Su Yueyao)

Effect: Forms a small absolute defense barrier, granting immunity to all attacks below the Divine-Grade for a short period, continuously dispelling negative states within the barrier, and slowly restoring health and energy.

Duration: 15 seconds.

Under the coverage of this bright moonlight, all the pouncing undead were violently repelled as if they had hit an invisible wall. Their attacks hit the light beam, only causing ripples and failing to shake it in the slightest! Elwin and the others felt a cool energy surge into their bodies; their fatigue and injuries were alleviated, and even the Death Qi seeping into Snik's wounds was forced out!

"This is... Moonlight Divine Power?!" Elwin was both surprised and delighted.

Lin Zhou's heart also shook, and he instantly realized the identity of the newcomer—Su Yueyao! She had actually appeared here at this time!

The tide of undead in the southeast seemed to be parted by an invisible force, as a slender figure shrouded in hazy moonlight walked slowly forward. Everywhere she went, the undead retreated, as if meeting their natural nemesis.

With this sudden powerful reinforcement and the precious 15-second breathing room, the team's hope of breaking out increased greatly!

"Everyone, follow the moonlight's guidance and break out with all your strength!" Lin Zhou suppressed the waves in his heart and immediately issued the command.

Moonlight Sanctuary began to move slowly toward the southeast, like a mobile safe fortress. The team followed closely behind, taking the opportunity to recover their strength and treat their injuries.

Fifteen seconds passed in an instant.

The moment the Moonlight Sanctuary's effect disappeared, Elwin's eyes flashed, and she threw out all the remaining nether-skeleton dissipation powder, catalyzing it with Vast Righteous Qi into a huge gray-white cloud, temporarily blocking the pursuers from the rear and flanks!

"Go!"

The five members of the team, carrying precious secondary samples and the relief of having survived a disaster, fled for their lives out of the valley along the path opened by Su Yueyao, without looking back.

Behind them were the roars of the furious but helpless Undead Warrior and the sea of undead temporarily blocked by the nether-skeleton dissipation powder.

Although this decapitation mission was not fully completed, they successfully wounded the undead hero, brought back key samples, and, more importantly, preserved most of their strength in a desperate situation.

And Su Yueyao's sudden appearance, along with the powerful strength and goodwill she displayed, opened a new door for Lin Zhou.