Chapter 104 – A Wall of Flesh and Blood

Volume 3: Rising Winds and Clouds

The Mana Mage Special Operations Unit wielded terrifying firepower, but even a thousand Mana Mages could not stop a sky-blotting tide of Level 5 Bipedal Lizards.

No matter how quickly they launched super fireballs, a single line of fire could not defend an entire small city-not even if they needed to hold only one wall.

The Bipedal Lizard army was bound to break through the interlocking fields of heavy weapons and super fireballs.

When Fang Wenhai saw it happening, he gave his orders without hesitation.

"Mana Mage Special Operations Unit, continue firing. Aim your fireballs wherever the Bipedal Lizards are most concentrated. Heavy Shield Guard Special Operations Unit, prepare the first line. Shadow Assassin Squad, stand by. Everyone else, move to the other walls or establish defenses inside the Outpost. Prepare for street fighting!"

At his command, the Class Holders led by the Military's Super Soldiers withdrew. Only the Mana Mage Special Operations Unit, the Heavy Shield Guard Special Operations Unit, and Commander Fang Wenhai remained on the wall.

Beside Fang Wenhai, Cao Ling watched the Bipedal Lizards draw closer.

"Brothers, get ready! Let's show them what we can do!"

He raised his shield, drew a somewhat short axe, and strode to the edge of the wall.

"Shields up!"

Earthen-yellow light flared across the battlements.

…

Shield Wall (Rank C, Active Ability): Strengthens the defensive power of the Host's shield, as well as the Host's resistance to knockback and overall stability. Multiple Shield Walls may connect with one another.

This was yet another Skill created for legion warfare.

The Heavy Shield Guard Class differed from Mana Mage, however. Heavy Shield Guards were not difficult to cultivate because their legion-warfare Skills still provided substantial value in individual combat.

The Level 5 Bipedal Lizards charged forward. Even on all fours, their massive bodies already reached halfway up the wall.

As the creatures' terrifying forms drew close, Cao Ling roared, "Second Skill, activate!"

Several thousand Heavy Shield Guards bent their knees at once, heavy shields in one hand and short-handled battle axes clenched in the other. Together, they activated the Skill.

Immovable (Rank C, Active Ability): Continuously consumes stamina after activation. The Host becomes as though rooted in the earth, making it extremely difficult for external force to move the Host's body.

The Military had naturally tested what "extremely difficult" meant.

Once a Level 3 Heavy Shield Guard activated Immovable, even an attack from a Level 5 creature struggled to move them.

By the time the Skill took effect, the Bipedal Lizards were already upon them.

…

A Level 5 Bipedal Lizard was fifty meters long and nearly twenty meters tall. Its two thick, powerful legs also gave it tremendous jumping ability.

The wall stood only thirty meters high.

One leap was enough for a Level 5 Bipedal Lizard to reach the top.

The first creature crouched, then launched its huge body onto the wall like a cannonball. Its long, thick tongue shot toward a Heavy Shield Guard below.

It was met by a forest of merciless battle axes.

The first Heavy Shield Guard caught by the tongue felt tremendous force drag at him. Empowered by Shield Wall and Immovable, however, he stumbled only twice before recovering his balance.

He raised the short-handled axe in his right hand and hacked at the slick, foul-smelling tongue wrapped around his body.

Light flashed across the blade.

Rending Strike (D-Rank, Active Ability): Adds a Tear effect to the attack and increases the attack's power.

It was an ordinary Skill. Unlike the first two, this third Skill was not innate to the Class. It had to be added later or awakened through Promotion.

That meant every Heavy Shield Guard possessed a different third Skill.

The battle axe struck the Level 5 Bipedal Lizard's tongue and opened a shallow wound.

The damage was not enough to sever the tongue of a Level 5 creature.

Shield Wall and Immovable proved far more effective.

The Bipedal Lizard tried to drag the trapped Heavy Shield Guard into its mouth and bite him apart. It yanked, but the man did not move. Instead, the reaction force pulled the creature off balance, tore its airborne body downward, and slammed it onto the wall.

Dozens of axes descended on it.

Class Holders at Peak Level 3 or the early stage of Level 4 would normally have little chance of injuring a Level 5 creature. But the greatest advantage of Class Holders-or rather, the greatest advantage of humanity-lay in the use of tools.

Researchers at the Academy of Sciences had modified the shields and battle axes issued to the Heavy Shield Guards. Their materials had been developed from higher-level equipment. With those keen axes in hand, the Heavy Shield Guards could cut open a Bipedal Lizard.

And the wounds were anything but small.

Axes blazing with different colors hammered into the creature. Every flash of light represented an offensive Skill.

Flesh and blood burst into the air.

Class Holders attacked quickly. With Shield Wall and Immovable supporting them, the Bipedal Lizard could inflict little damage in return. Within seconds, the creature died an aggrieved death beneath the weapons of a group of "low-level" Class Holders.

The Shield Wall shifted rapidly and restored the intact wall of flesh and blood.

Then a second Bipedal Lizard lunged onto the battlements.

…

BOOM!

The Bipedal Lizard's massive body crashed against a raised shield barely more than a meter tall.

To the Level 5 creature, that shield was little more than a pebble. Empowered by the Skills behind it, however, the shield stopped its charge head-on.

The Heavy Shield Guard who took the impact did not retreat a single step. He drove his feet down and channeled most of the force into the wall beneath him, but the difference in strength between a Level 5 creature and a Level 3 creature was simply too great.

He spat out a mouthful of blood. Before he could reach the Healing Potion hanging from his gear, his body went limp and collapsed.

Meeting a Mid-Level 5 Bipedal Lizard head-on with only Peak Level 3 strength did not come without a price.

And this was no isolated case.