44: Chapter 44 Monsters Descend? This is clearly a free resource giveaway!

Xu Qin walked to the center of the plaza, facing the massive Undead Army.

Nearly seven thousand undead stood packed together.

Four heroes stood at the four cardinal directions.

He began to divide the troops.

"Bull, Jackal Hunter, you two take a group and guard the west and south sides of the territory."

Bull and Jackal Hunter bowed simultaneously.

"Tian Ming, Blade Guard, you two guard the east and north sides."

"Blade Guard, you must protect Tian Ming well; do not let him come under attack."

Blade Guard lifted his skull slightly.

Xu Qin quickly split four thousand from the Undead Army into the two formations.

He kept over two thousand for himself, and together with the Bone Wall and watchtowers within the territory, he would defend the core area.

"All troops, enter combat state."

Xu Qin's voice resounded throughout the territory.

Seven thousand undead began to form ranks.

Xu Qin stood at the highest point of the level 4 Graveyard, overlooking the entire scene.

The countdown for the newbie protection period continued to tick down, second by second.

5 minutes.

3 minutes.

1 minute.

30 seconds.

Xu Qin gripped his war spear, waiting quietly.

10.

9.

8.

...

3, 2, 1.

As the countdown ended, hum...

The newbie protection light shield transformed directly into a wisp of white light and dissipated into the air.

The moment the light shield vanished, lines of blood-red system prompts popped up on Xu Qin's command panel.

[Warning!]

[The Lord's arrival has attracted the attention of this realm.]

[Your sudden appearance has disturbed the monsters in the depths of the Wailing Desert. They have sensed your presence and are searching frantically for your tracks.]

[Rift Invasion event triggered!]

[Countdown: 60 seconds until the first wave of the rift arrives.]

"I knew this would happen!"

Xu Qin stared at the words on the screen, only one thought in his mind.

Years of strategy game experience were not accumulated in vain.

In every game, the end of the newbie protection period always came with some trouble.

Some were gentle, throwing a few small mobs just for show.

Others were insane, sending a wave to wipe out the base directly.

Regardless of the type, being prepared and being unprepared were two completely different concepts.

"All troops, on guard!"

Xu Qin's command was transmitted to the four heroes through the command panel.

The countdown continued.

45 seconds.

30 seconds.

Xu Qin switched to the overhead view of the Bone Watchtower.

Within an 800-meter radius, everything was normal.

Sandy ground, gravel, withered bushes.

15 seconds.

10 seconds.

5 seconds...

The moment it hit zero.

Boom!

The sky split open.

Xu Qin watched with his own eyes as the firmament above his head exploded with a dozen cracks.

Dark purple light surged from the cracks, and masses of churning demonic energy spewed downward.

Then, monsters crawled out from the cracks.

One.

Two.

Ten.

Twenty.

Bang bang bang bang bang!

Dull thuds of landing echoed from all directions.

Every time a monster slammed into the ground, it kicked up a circle of sand and dust.

Xu Qin switched back to the regional map.

Under the augmentation of the Bone Watchtower, red dots were appearing at an extremely fast speed within an 800-meter radius around the territory.

One, two, five, ten...

The number was still skyrocketing.

Four hundred meters away, over one hundred and twenty red dots.

Six hundred meters away, two hundred.

At the edge, eight hundred meters away, more red dots were flooding into detection range.

A rough scan...

Over six hundred, and still increasing.

Xu Qin blinked and counted again.

"Good grief, is this formation... a bit too small?"

Just then, the Skeleton Sand Rats scattered around the territory and the Skeleton Vultures in the sky sent back the first batch of intelligence.

Xu Qin clicked on it.

[Rift Erosion Beast · Level 15]

Attack: 45 (Physical - Bite)

Defense: 20

HP: 320/320

Traits:

Abyss Erosion: Attacks deal 5 points of Shadow damage on hit (ignores defense).

Rift Arrival: Deals 20 points of area damage to surroundings within 3 meters upon landing.

Level 15.

Attack 45.

Defense 20.

After reading it, Xu Qin's suspended heart completely settled.

Then, he let out a long breath.

"What is this... I thought it was some terrifying existence."

He was even a little disappointed.

A level 15 Erosion Beast, two days ago, would indeed have been a nightmare-level existence.

One alone would have been enough to keep his entire army busy fighting for half a day.

But now?

Little brother, are you joking with your big brother?

Tian Ming's attack is 93, Shadow Bolt deals 65 per shot.

Shadow Barrage deals 240 for three shots.

Bull's defense is 53, with damage reduction, reflection, and health regeneration.

Blade Guard's Split Light Slash Shadow three-hit combo deals up to 165 single-target damage.

Once Jackal Hunter applies Hunters Mark, the entire army's damage increases by 25%.

Not to mention the seven thousand plus Tier 2 undead, all receiving full buffs from level 4 technology.

Once Wither is cast, the Erosion Beast's defense is slashed directly from 20 to 8.

Tier 2 Sand Jackal attack is 40, minus 8, that's 32 per claw.

Three or five surround it, and it's done in a few seconds.

This wave of invasion...

"Are you guys here to deliver resources?"

Xu Qin grinned.

However, he didn't let his guard down.

Large numbers meant a wide attack range.

If these Erosion Beasts gathered together and hundreds charged at once, an ordinary Lord couldn't hold them off.

But Xu Qin didn't intend to give them a chance to gather.

"All units, listen up!"

His voice was transmitted into the bones of every undead through the command panel.

"Take the initiative to intercept. While they have just landed and haven't steadied themselves, rush out, split them up, surround them, and annihilate them one by one. You cannot let them gather together!"

"Tian Ming, the east and north sides are yours. Prioritize using Death Wither to control areas with dense landing points, and use Shadow Barrage to pick off large targets."

"Blade Guard, you guard Tian Ming's flank."

"Bull, the west and south sides are yours. Jackal Hunter, follow behind Bull and mark elite individuals that are alone."

"Kill!"

As the order was given.

Boom!!!

Two armies surged out of the territory simultaneously.

On the east side, Tian Ming led two thousand four hundred undead in a rush out of the gap in the Bone Wall.

The Great Lich's nether robe fluttered, and his bone staff pointed forward.

Four hundred meters away, a dozen Erosion Beasts had just tumbled down from the cracks and were still shaking their heads, looking for direction.

[Death Wither]!

The dark purple force field spread out.

Within a 23-meter radius, it covered the seven closest Erosion Beasts.

-16! -16! -16! -16! -16! -16! -16!

16 points of Shadow damage per second, movement speed reduced by 55%, attack power slashed by 35%.

The Erosion Beasts hadn't even steadied themselves before they started staggering backward.

Immediately after...

[Wither]!

The second layer of debuff was applied.

The defense of the seven Erosion Beasts dropped directly from 20 to 8.

Over two thousand undead flanked from Tian Ming's sides.

The Undead Sand Jackals charged at the front, pouncing in groups.

Awoo~~~~

Pack hunting instinct triggered, five in a group locked onto one Erosion Beast.

-32! -32! -32! -32! -32!

Five claws struck at once, breaking a hundred damage in a second.

The Erosion Beast didn't even have time to counterattack.

In less than three seconds, the first Erosion Beast collapsed.

At the same time, Blade Guard stuck behind Tian Ming, the halo of Guardian Line covering the surrounding ten meters.

All melee undead received 10% physical damage reduction and 12% attack speed increase.

Their attack frequency became faster and faster.

In less than 30 seconds, the Erosion Beasts on the east side began to decrease at a speed visible to the naked eye.

And on the west side...

Bull's fighting style was simpler and more violent.

The Rock-Crushing Armor wrapped around its entire giant skeleton frame, crashing headlong into the pack of Erosion Beasts.

[War Stomp!]

Boom!

The earth trembled.

Within a ten-meter radius, six Erosion Beasts were knocked into the air, landing in a daze.

[Taunt Roar!]

"Moo!!!"

This sound instantly attracted the Erosion Beasts that had just landed further away.

They abandoned other targets and swarmed toward Bull.

Thump, thump, thump!

A dozen Erosion Beasts swarmed Bull, claws scratching against the rock-crushing bone armor.

-3, -2, -4, -0, -3.

Bull didn't budge.

Instead, the Erosion Beasts began to suffer the counter-damage from the level 4 Bone Spike Counter, their health bars dropping one by one.

-20! -20! -20! ...