"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Lightning raged! Dozens of ordinary Mist Ghosts and two Killers who couldn't dodge in time were instantly pulverized by the violent lightning! The ground was also blasted into charred craters!
"Foxfire Burns the Sky!" The fox-woman with vertical pupils shouted, and her three fox tails (two more appeared at some point) stood up at the same time. The ghostly blue foxfire surged and transformed into three roaring fire pythons, charging into the horde of mist ghosts!
Wherever the giant fire python passed, ordinary mist ghosts melted away like ice and snow. An armored mist ghost was entangled by a fire python, and its hard bone armor crackled and popped under the burning of the ghostly blue flames, quickly turning charred and brittle!
The bandaged boy wandered along the edge of the battlefield like a ghost. His bandages automatically unwrapped, turning into countless thin, tough, barbed black tentacles!
These tentacles, like venomous snakes, burrowed into the bodies of the mist demons, frantically sucking up the gray mist energy within them! The mist demons that were being drained quickly withered and died, while the boy's aura noticeably strengthened.
Xiao Jin's figure on the battlefield was like a whirlwind of death, and the fragments in her hands turned into a cold curtain of light.
She didn't pursue flashy skills; every swing of her knife was precise, deadly, and extremely simple.
With a flash of light, both the ordinary fog demons that pounced and the killers that tried to ambush them were stunned for a moment before their heads and bodies were separated.
Xiao Jin's knife was fast, filled with a violent beauty, so fast that only afterimages remained, as cold as ancient ice, efficiently reaping lives.
However, there were simply too many Fog Demons, and special species were constantly emerging. Even with the help of players, the casualties among the soldiers were increasing rapidly.
"Ah! Help me!" A soldier was pounced on by a Corruptor, its dark green venom spraying onto his protective suit and instantly corroding it.
Amidst screams of agony, his flesh melted like a candle!
"Watch out behind you!" Another soldier had just stabbed an ordinary Mist Demon with his bayonet when he was grabbed by a lurking suicide bomber from the side! A flash of red light!
"Boom—!" The violent explosion engulfed him and several of his comrades-in-arms!
No, if this continues, people will all die.
Xiao Jin glanced at the soldiers briefly and noticed their predicament.
She threw out a piece from the game of 'Flying Chess', and the piece landed and transformed into a human shape.
Xiao Jin: "Go help."
The chess pieces quickly ran to the soldier's side.
The soldiers were startled when they first saw it, but wondered what kind of new fog ghost it was.
However, Xiao Jin's voice came from behind: "This is my summoned creature. You don't need to worry about it. If you encounter difficulties, it will help you withstand the damage."
Anyway, the pieces in 'Flying Chess' can be regenerated.
Some will be lost, but they will return once the cooldown period is over.
Hearing Xiao Jin's words, the soldiers breathed a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, support from the other players arrived.
To minimize casualties, the injured NPCs were quickly led off the battlefield by the players, and gradually, only Xiao Jin and her group remained fighting at the front.
The battle lasted for nearly half an hour, and the entire battlefield was as brutal as a meat grinder.
After the last armored fog ghost was blasted apart by the combined power of the mage's lightning strike and the fox girl's fire python, the remaining ordinary fog ghosts finally began to recede like a tide, disappearing into the thick red fog deep within the ruins.
Xiao Jin and the others had no intention of pursuing them.
Firstly, everyone needs to rest and wait for the item cooldown to refresh. Secondly, killing regular Mist Ghosts only yields points, and most importantly, the special Mist Ghosts that drop Purification Serum have all been killed.
Then the rest are not so important!
The battlefield was deathly silent, save for the crackling of the flames, the painful groans of the wounded, and their heavy breathing.
The smoke mingled with the heavy stench of blood and the distinctive putrid smell of the Mist Ghosts, creating a nauseating odor. The ground was covered with a thick layer of grayish-white Mist Ghost ash, which felt like sand underfoot.
Meanwhile, amidst the ashes, there were also striking splashes of crimson—the broken limbs of soldiers, congealed pools of blood, and scattered remnants of equipment.
Several armored vehicles were completely reduced to burning scrap metal, billowing black smoke that was then swallowed up by the thick fog.
Zhao Chun stood beside an armored vehicle covered in claw marks and corrosion, leaning on his gun. One of his arms hung limply, and blood soaked through his sleeve.
He looked around; his only remaining right eye was bloodshot, and his gaze was tired and heavy.
Of the more than thirty elite soldiers who set out, less than half are still standing, and almost all of them are wounded.
The medic was kneeling on the ground, futilely pressing on a soldier whose chest had been corroded open, but the man twitched a few times and soon fell silent.
The players were in a slightly better situation, but apart from Xiao Jin, the man in black armor, and Yu Liu (although Yu Liu's face was pale, it seemed to be just due to excessive exertion), the others also showed signs of fatigue.
The mage's staff dimmed considerably, the fox girl's three tails drooped limply, the black tentacles on the bandaged boy retracted, the bandages tightened again, and his breathing became somewhat disordered.
There were two weaker players. One had a large chunk of flesh corroded off his arm and was grimacing as he stuffed a red pill into his mouth. The other seemed to be mentally exhausted, leaning against a concrete slab and panting heavily.
There were indeed two people who died.
Xiao Jin had noticed that the two of them were just too unlucky to be surrounded and attacked; they were blown up before they could even escape.
"That's too weak. Two of them died before even seeing the boss." One player made a sarcastic remark from the side, while the others remained silent.
That is indeed the case.
People generally hold a mocking attitude towards those who clearly lack the ability but still insist on wanting rewards.
“Take stock of the casualties…treat the wounded…” Zhao Chun’s voice was hoarse, like a broken bellows, each word carrying a heavy sense of powerlessness.
He wiped the mixture of blood and sweat from his face and looked at the ruins that resembled the remains of a giant beast.
"We can't go any further. We're exhausted, and going in would be suicide. We need to find a place... to set up a temporary defensive position and rest... we absolutely must rest."
Even though Zhao Chun wanted to move forward as quickly as possible, reality did not allow him to do so.
Players share the same sentiment.
The soldiers silently carried out their orders, their faces showing the bewilderment of surviving a disaster and the grief of losing their comrades.
Supporting each other, they cleared obstacles and erected makeshift fortifications in a relatively sturdy area formed by collapsed load-bearing walls at the edge of the ruins.
At the same time, a campfire was lit, water was boiled, and the damp and cold clothes were dried while the remaining compressed rations and water were distributed.
The players gathered a little further away, around another campfire.
Yu Liu pulled out a small silver wine pot from somewhere, took a sip, and his smile returned, but a deep sense of seriousness remained in his eyes.
The mage in robes closed his eyes in meditation, his staff resting on his lap. The fox woman carefully washed a small tuft of corroded fur from the tip of her tail with clean water.
The bandaged boy had his head down, and black mist was faintly seeping out and receding from the gaps in the bandages wrapped around his arm, as if he was repairing himself.
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