novelraw Chapter 444: Snowpeak Fortress Cluster (2)
Chapter 444: Snowpeak Fortress Cluster (2)
They seemed to possess a certain degree of intelligence. They did not charge forward all at once, but instead coordinated with each other, taking turns assaulting the weakest points of the defensive line.
This kept the defenders constantly on the run, utterly unable to organize an effective counterattack.
"Report! Spiritual Energy Shield of Fortress Three is overloaded and has collapsed! The defenders... the defenders have all perished in service!"
"Fortress Five requests support! They are trapped by the ice webs of that Ice Burrow Spider and cannot break out!"
"General! Our heavy artillery array has been mostly destroyed by the Blizzard Eagle's blizzard! Firepower density has dropped by seventy percent!"
"The medical station is overflowing! Too many wounded, severe shortage of medicine and medical personnel!"
"The Ocean Realm powerhouse... General Zhao... he... he self-detonated to block the giant ape's charge..."
...
Bad news arrived one after another, stabbing deep into the hearts of every surviving defender.
An atmosphere of despair, more piercing than the northern border's frigid winds, permeated the shattered fortress.Ten days!
They had held out for ten days in this hellish environment, facing enemies far superior in numbers, clinging on by sheer force of will.
Every single Ocean Realm powerhouse had fought to the point of exhausting their very life force.
Every single soldier had fought with the resolve to die.
But the disparity in strength was so vast.
Two Ocean Realm powerhouses had already fallen, one was critically wounded and on the brink of death.
The rest, including the one-armed old general, were all injured, their Spiritual Energy nearly depleted.
Yet the enemy remained endless. Those seven Calamity-level presences hung over their heads like the Sword of Damocles, ready to fall at any moment and completely destroy the entire fortress cluster.
On the shattered city walls.
Soldiers leaned against the icy parapets, mechanically swinging their weapons, their eyes bloodshot.
They were too tired, tired to the point where they could barely feel fear, fighting now purely on instinct.
Blood stained the snow beneath their feet, freezing into dark red lumps of ice.
The corpses of comrades and the remains of monsters were jumbled together.
"Is it... is Heaven determined to destroy our Snowpeak?"
The one-armed old general looked down at the tide of monsters preparing for a new assault, and at those few Calamity-level figures radiating terrifying auras. Deep desolation surfaced in his eyes.
He was already prepared to live and die with the fortress.
But he was unwilling!
Unwilling to let the land behind them be swallowed by the Mist, unwilling to let hundreds of millions of his countrymen become fodder for monsters!
At the horizon's edge.
A streak of dark red light descended boldly towards the Snowpeak Fortress Cluster.
The nearly numb defenders on the walls instinctively looked up.
As the light faded slightly.
Su Zhan hovered in the air.
Covered in dark red scales, his dragon horns savage and menacing.
A commotion erupted on the city walls.
"That's... Su Zhan! It's Advisor Su Zhan!"
"My God! He actually came! We have reinforcements!"
"It's really him! I saw him on the Awakening Festival broadcast! He actually came to our northern border!"
...
Su Zhan's name and image had long been deeply imprinted in the hearts of Daxia's military and civilians through official propaganda and his repeated, tide-turning battle achievements.
He was the undisputed idol of the younger generation, a symbol capable of creating miracles in desperate situations.
His appearance ignited the nearly extinguished flame of hope in the defenders' hearts.
"Excellent! With Advisor Su Zhan here, we might actually be able to hold!"
"I heard he slaughters Calamity-level creatures like dogs! Mist Creatures at his same stage can't last more than a few moves in his hands!"
"We're saved!"
...
Excitement and fervor spread through the crowd.
Su Zhan's terrifying strength, which crushed those at his same stage, was their greatest source of confidence at this moment.
But this excitement did not last long.
Some officers and veterans who still had clear heads looked at that powerful yet seemingly solitary figure in the air, then looked out beyond the walls at those seven Calamity-level presences as terrifying as mountains.
Especially that Frost Giant Ape with its exceptionally violent aura, already at Calamity fifth-stage.
The flame of hope that had just ignited in their hearts couldn't help but be overshadowed by a layer of gloom.
Su Zhan was very strong, and rumors said he could crush those at his same stage... but... the enemy had seven!
And two of them were mid-stage!
He was only Calamity fourth-stage. Even adding his Ocean Realm fourth-stage cultivation, facing Calamity fifth-stage and sixth-stage existences... a single small stage difference at the Calamity level was a world apart!
Could he really handle it?
But what else could they hope for now?
The one-armed old general gazed at Su Zhan's figure and sighed inwardly.
Daxia was currently besieged on all sides, every front line was bleeding, every one crying out for reinforcements.
For Daxia to dispatch Su Zhan to our northern border was probably the strongest force they could scrape together after careful deliberation.
Could they still hope for a second, or a third Ocean Realm powerhouse to come as well?
At the very least... Su Zhan's arrival signified that those above had not yet abandoned our Snowpeak Fortress Cluster.
This understanding carried a tinge of desolation, yet it also made them more determined in their resolve to fight to the death.
No matter what, reinforcements had arrived. They had to seize this final opportunity and fight with everything they had!
Thus, the gazes of the defenders on the walls became even more complex.
They placed all their expectations on that solitary figure who had come alone through the sky.
Su Zhan had become the final, and only, variable in this frozen hell.
Su Zhan hovered above the Snowpeak Fortress, his Golden Vertical Pupils coldly sweeping over the seven Calamity-level Mist Creatures radiating terrifying auras.
The hope and worry of the defenders below were all perceived by him, yet they stirred not a single ripple in his heart.
Seven... two mid-stage, five initial-stage.
Fine prey.
In his eyes, these savage and terrifying existences were not threats, but clusters of moving Life Essence.
Prime nourishment for enhancing his strength!
As for danger?
Fear?
Nonexistent.
Possessing the trump card of Time Remolding, as long as he wasn't instantly killed, he had the capital to maneuver indefinitely.
This battle, to him, was a hunt where risk and reward coexisted!
Future Vision, activate!
Pale silver light flowed silently. Countless possibilities within the next five seconds, like numerous branching streams, rapidly played out in his eyes.
Su Zhan instantly captured the trajectory of the first wave of coordinated attacks those seven monsters were about to launch.
The seven Calamity-level Mist Creatures moved as well.
They sensed the powerful threat contained within this newcomer's body.
"ROAR!"
The first to charge was that Calamity fifth-stage Frost Giant Ape.
Its massive body erupted with astonishing speed disproportionate to its size. Its giant fist, covered in solid ice, tore through the air, smashing down directly towards Su Zhan.
At the same time, the Calamity third-stage Blizzard Eagle on the flank violently beat its wings, unleashing a torrent of countless ice blades that sealed off Su Zhan's space for dodging left and right.
From beneath the ground came the sound of squirming.