57: Legalist precepts: Words spoken become law, breaking curses (Part 2)

Thirty seconds!

A precious thirty-second vacuum period of rules!

Without the mental threat of the Banshee Queen, the combat power of the coalition forces could be fully unleashed. In particular, the ranged units and casters no longer needed to distract themselves by resisting the pervasive Soul Screams, allowing them to pour all their strength onto the enemy!

"All ranged units! Target the Banshee Queens in the sky, fire at will! They can't use mental skills right now; they're sitting ducks!" Elwin seized the opportunity and immediately gave the Order.

In an instant, arrows, Ballista bolts, moonlight arrows, and arcane missiles... covered the three Banshee Queens, who were briefly paralyzed by the backlash of their skills, like a torrential rain!

Pshhh! Rip!

Although the Banshee Queens possessed the [Incorporeal] trait, reducing physical damage by half, under such dense energy attacks, their soul bodies were like ice cubes thrown into a fire, rapidly melting and fading! Piercing screams echoed through the sky as they tried to dodge, but having lost their most proficient mental interference and high-speed movement (which partially relied on mental drive), they were like lambs to the slaughter within the coalition's precise ranged fire net!

Within a mere ten seconds, the two slightly lower-ranked (Rank 36) Banshee Queens had their soulfires extinguished, dissipating into wisps of green smoke. The only remaining Rank 37 Banshee Queen also had a dim soul body and was heavily wounded, fleeing in a wretched state into the depths of the temple, not daring to show her face again.

The threat from the sky was temporarily cleared!

Meanwhile, on the front lines.

"Brothers! My Lord has cleared the obstacles for us! Follow me and crush these tin cans!" Zhao Hao's morale soared. The Young Golden Dragon was in sync with him, its Divine Might and Battle Intent merging to launch an even more violent attack. Dragon Breath, Dragon Claw, Dragon Tail—every strike contained the power to shatter mountains, pinning the four Death Knights down.

Bronzebeard Stonehammer also roared, leading the dwarven infantry in a desperate charge! Without the additional weakening from the [Death Aura], the dwarves' strength was fully unleashed. Heavy warhammers slammed into the Death Knights' armor with deafening booms; though it was hard to break their defense, it sent them staggering back, and their formation began to loosen.

"Siege Towers! Accelerate! Boarding troops, get ready!" Lin Zhou endured the intense pain from his Godhead and the weakness from the rapid consumption of Divine Power, maintaining the [Words as Law] Domain while issuing subsequent Orders.

The three Siege Towers finally advanced to the edge of the wall, and the heavy gangplanks crashed down, landing on the damaged battlements!

"For my Lord! For the Coalition! Charge!" The coalition's boarding troops—who had been waiting for a long time and were mainly composed of elite infantry from various races and some candidate heroes eager to earn merit—were like tigers released from a cage. They roared and charged onto the wall along the Siege Tower gangplanks, engaging in fierce hand-to-hand combat with the remaining Undead defenders!

With the addition of fresh troops, the battle on the wall quickly tilted in favor of the coalition. The presence of the Law Domain made the Undead defenders feel as if they were carrying invisible shackles, while the coalition fought with increasing courage.

The Breakthrough point was completely opened and consolidated!

However, Lin Zhou's condition was getting worse. The cost of maintaining the [Words as Law] Domain was too high! Burning 100 points of Divine Power per second caused his Divine Power reserves—which were already depleted from consecutive battles and previous deductions and refinements—to approach exhaustion at a visible rate! The load on his Godhead had also reached its limit, and cracks seemed ready to spread at any moment.

Fifteen seconds... twenty seconds... the Domain began to become unstable, the golden barrier of Law runes flickered slightly, and its range began to shrink.

The Undead legion also seemed to notice this, and their attacks became even more frenzied, attempting to drive the coalition forces off the wall before the Domain disappeared.

Twenty-five seconds... Lin Zhou's face was as pale as paper, his Divine Fire flickered, and even his projection became blurred. He was at his wit's end.

"Student Lin Zhou!" Su Yueyao's cold voice came with a hint of urgency, "That's enough! Withdraw the Domain! Leave the rest to us!"

She saw Lin Zhou's limit and waved her jade hand, injecting a streak of pure moonlight into Lin Zhou's projection like a silk ribbon, trying to help him stabilize. But this Moonlight Power was not perfectly compatible with Lin Zhou's Civilization Divine Power, providing only a slight relief.

Zhao Hao also realized something was wrong and shouted, "Old Lin! Hold on! We're about to take down these tin cans!"

Just at the twenty-eighth second, when Lin Zhou felt he was about to run dry and his Godhead felt like it would shatter in the next moment—

Boom!

A loud explosion came from the gap in the wall!

The Rank 38 Death Knight Commander finally showed a weakness under the frenzied siege of Zhao Hao and the Young Golden Dragon! The Golden Dragon delivered a heavy tail swipe, slamming hard into its side ribs and denting its thick armor! The Death Knight Commander groaned and staggered back.

Zhao Hao seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, pouring all his Divine Power into his dragon lance. Man and lance became one, turning into a golden stream of light like a falling meteor, piercing straight toward the Death Knight Commander's face!

"Break for me!"

Pshhh!

The dragon lance, containing all of Zhao Hao's power and the blessing of his Dragon Clan partner, precisely pierced the gap between the Death Knight Commander's helmet and breastplate, plunging deep into its soulfire core!

The dark red soulfire flickered and expanded violently like a punctured balloon, finally exploding completely with a "bang!" The powerful shockwave of death energy blew away the surrounding Undead!

The Death Knight Commander has fallen!

With their leader dead, the remaining three Death Knights immediately fell into chaos, their soulfires showing signs of terror.

And at that very moment, the thirty seconds were up!

Lin Zhou could no longer maintain it; the [Words as Law] Domain instantly dissipated like shattered glass! The pressure of Order that had enveloped the battlefield suddenly vanished.

Pfft—

Lin Zhou's projection A sudden tremor, spitting out a mouthful of golden divine blood (the essence of Divine Power), and his figure became even more illusory, almost on the verge of dissipating. He felt his vision go dark, and the intense pain from his Godhead almost made him faint. His Divine Power was completely exhausted, making it extremely difficult even to maintain his projection.

"My Lord!" Elwin cried out, wanting to step forward.

"I'm fine..." Lin Zhou waved his hand weakly, his voice barely audible, "According to the plan... continue... the attack..."

Although he had almost lost his combat capability, the thirty seconds he had fought for had completely turned the tide of the battle!

The threat of the banshees in the sky was removed, the Death Knight Commander on the ground was dead, and the coalition forces had successfully boarded the wall and consolidated the Breakthrough!

"All troops, hear my command!" Su Yueyao took over command of the battlefield decisively (as Lin Zhou was no longer able to), her cold voice spreading across the battlefield, "Vanguard Legion, clear out the remnants and expand the Breakthrough! Main army, advance steadily and occupy the wall! Logistics, rescue the wounded!"

Her command was clear and efficient. The coalition followed Orders, surging from multiple directions toward the opened gap like a tide, charging into the interior of The Silent Temple!

Without unified command and the suppression of high-end combat power, the remaining Undead were still numerous, but they could no longer organize an effective defense. Under the orderly advance of the coalition forces, they retreated step by step.

Zhao Hao and the Young Golden Dragon were like gods of slaughter, charging back and forth through the Undead Ranks, specifically targeting those high-level Undead that were still putting up a desperate resistance.

Bronzebeard led the dwarven infantry like a rock, advancing steadily and clearing every corner.

Elwin commanded the ranged units to provide precise fire support.

Su Yueyao's Moon Elves and Moonlight Beasts moved like ghosts through the shadows of the temple, clearing threats in the dark.

The coalition forces finally, successfully, and completely stepped into this ancient and evil temple!

Under Elwin's protection, Lin Zhou was placed in a relatively safe rear area. He held onto his last bit of consciousness, feeling the coalition's unstoppable momentum, and his heart settled slightly.

The price was enormous, but... it was worth it!

However, he also knew clearly that this was only the beginning. They had only broken through the outermost defenses. The Lich's true body had not yet appeared, and its phylactery was still hidden in the deepest part of the temple.

The true final battle was still ahead. And he had to recover a certain amount of strength in the shortest possible time.

His gaze turned toward a few trump cards in his personal space that he had been reluctant to use—[Small Divine Power Crystal], [A Fragment of the World Tree's Root (Weak)]...