Published: February 10, 2025
"Buzz!" The bowstring trembled, and an arrow radiating white light flew out. Almost instantly, it pierced the eye socket of a green-skin monster standing over three meters tall. Letting out a tragic scream, the monster fell backward, crushing several other monsters behind it.
Zhao Xingmei lowered her arms slightly, panting. Her attack power was exceptionally high, capable of nearly one-shotting monsters of the same level. However, it required her to be extremely precise; only shots to the eye sockets, ears, or open mouths of monsters could achieve this effect.
If she hit other areas, even slightly larger monsters would be injured but not killed, as their bodies had excellent defensive capabilities.
To ensure her hit rate, Zhao Xingmei had to shoot from up close; otherwise, these agile creatures would evade her arrows, rendering her efforts useless.
The intensity of the battle was high, and everyone held their defensive line firmly. Everyone knew that if these monsters breached their camp, a massacre awaited humanity.
This battle lasted for just over an hour, but its ferocity was immense. Every minute and second saw casualties; both humans and monsters fell. Countless bodies and severed limbs littered the ground before the human stronghold, with blood nearly saturating the soil. The stench of blood and the odor of internal organs made every human frown in disgust.
The bodies of the enemies intertwined, indistinguishable from one another. If they were alive, perhaps neither side would have wished for this.
In the air, numerous flying creatures circled above, occasionally letting out shrieks. However, they dared not descend for now; neither the trapped humans nor the actively attacking monsters were targets they could provoke.
Yet, they imposed great pressure on the humans below.
The feeling of being surrounded by enemies both above and below was truly dreadful.
As the tide of monsters receded, many people simply sat on the ground, gasping for breath as they recovered their strength in preparation for the next attack.
Some turned their heads to look around, noticing that many familiar faces had disappeared. They lowered their heads again, uncertain if they too would fall in the next wave of attacks.
This silent despair spread throughout the entire defensive line.
Not far from the defensive line of Ying City, a sudden uproar erupted, followed by the brilliant glow of skills. Many looked over to find a group of over five hundred people charging toward the monsters.
Everyone simply watched in silence, many shaking their heads.
These people wanted to break through, but how could such a small number succeed? Others had attempted to break through earlier, even in the thousands, but they had been swiftly eliminated by the monsters.
Zhao Xingmei, Mu Xinfey, Guangyao, and others also watched. They realized that although the evolvers had robust physiques, resembling small superhumans, their mental resilience did not strengthen with their evolutionary levels. In fact, due to the continuous pressure of survival, facing battles and bloodshed every day, many were already in a state of psychological breakdown.
In ordinary times, they managed to cope by indulging in drugs, bloodlust, reckless behavior, or even self-harm. But in moments of despair, like today, many began to crumble internally, turning into… crazed monsters, eagerly seeking death and ultimately perishing meaninglessly.
Even those still alive, those seemingly calm individuals, were on the brink of psychological chaos because they couldn’t see even a glimmer of hope.
"The Jingjue Floating Sphere has been gone for over three hours; it seems Boss Ye really has left. How naive of me to think I was part of the Cloud Summit just because I followed him and enjoyed the benefits. After all, it's only natural to not care about us," a middle-aged man lay on the blood-soaked ground, a ghastly smile on his face. Although he had accepted the reality the moment the Jingjue Floating Sphere flew away, he still harbored a bit of hope. It wasn’t until another wave of attacks reduced the number of defenders from nearly fifteen hundred to around a thousand that he truly lost hope.