Chapter 10 – Commanding the Battle

After dealing with the green-skinned monkey, Cheng Yang said, “The next demonized creature is yours. Although this world has been gamified, it differs from games in certain aspects. Skills here don’t auto-lock onto targets. Whether it’s magic or arrows, if you can’t aim properly, you’re just wasting energy. Therefore, I want you to wait until the demonized creatures get closer before engaging. This will also help train the warriors’ defensive capabilities.”

Li Wanshan nodded deeply, “Don’t worry, young man. The world has changed, and we know what to do.”

Turning to the other two, Li Wanshan continued, “Du Cheng and I will hold the front. Our attacks are weaker than the mage’s, so Feng Jie, you’ll be our main damage dealer.”

As they spoke, another flash of white light appeared in the distance, revealing a wolf-like creature. Like the green-skinned monkey before, it charged straight towards Cheng Yang’s group.

“Prepare for battle!” Cheng Yang said simply, then stood back to observe.

The gray wolf charged towards the gate – fifty meters… forty meters… thirty meters… twenty meters…

“Whoosh…” A white energy ball shot out from the gate, flying over the wolf’s head without even grazing its fur.

“I…” Feng Jie, in his early twenties, looked nervous and started to speak. Clearly, he had been the one to fire the magic missile.

Cheng Yang’s expression remained unchanged, “No need to explain! Keep fighting!”

Feng Jie closed his mouth, realizing this wasn’t the time for explanations as the wolf was now less than ten meters away.

Li Wanshan gritted his teeth and charged forward with his shield. The wolf crashed into the shield, sending both man and beast stumbling back. However, the wolf’s momentum gave it the advantage, and Li Wanshan struggled to regain his footing.

The wolf steadied itself and lunged again. Du Cheng shouted, suppressing his fear as he charged forward. In his panic, instead of using his shield properly, he swung his broadsword at the wolf’s head.

“Crack!” The sword struck the wolf’s head, but the creature’s skull was notoriously tough. The blow barely affected it, and the wolf easily knocked aside Du Cheng’s shield, sinking its teeth into his shoulder.

“Ah!” Du Cheng screamed, unable to dodge at such close range.

The wolf released its grip and went for Du Cheng’s throat, but a magic missile from Feng Jie struck it, forcing it back.

Seizing the opportunity, Du Cheng quickly regrouped with Li Wanshan. Despite the pain from his wound, the threat of death pushed him to continue fighting.

“Kill!” Both men raised their shields, blocking the wolf’s next attack. Their swords struck out simultaneously – Li Wanshan’s hit its mark, while Du Cheng’s was dodged. Even so, the wolf found itself unable to break through their combined defense.

Seeing the wolf contained, Feng Jie calmed down and launched another magic missile, this time hitting his target.

After four magic missiles and coordinated teamwork, they finally brought down the wolf. Faint light particles emerged from its body, flowing into Li Wanshan and the others.

While Feng Jie had dealt most of the damage, it was only possible thanks to Li Wanshan and Du Cheng holding the front line. Their battle had lasted about thirty seconds – far longer than Cheng Yang’s five-second victories, leaving them in awe of his combat prowess.

“The next one’s mine. You all rest to recover your mana,” Cheng Yang said calmly, confident they would understand his reasoning once they experienced the benefits of resting.

After another minute, a new wolf appeared. Cheng Yang dispatched it with four magic missiles, leaving the resting group astonished.

After two battles, Cheng Yang’s mana had dropped to 21 points, with only 1 point recently recovered. While he had enough mana for one more battle, he decided to play it safe and let the others take over while he rested.

The south gate guarded by Cheng Yang’s group stabilized, as did the other three gates. Yu Kai’s groups, though lacking Cheng Yang’s individual strength, had nine members each with all four professions represented. The summoners’ expendable creatures greatly reduced the pressure on the front lines.

As time passed, demonized creatures appeared more frequently, but the groups’ coordination improved. What once required four people now only needed two, though solo combat remained dangerous.

Half an hour later, they had killed over 150 demonized creatures, with Cheng Yang accounting for more than 30. His Magic Missile proficiency had surpassed 10%, outpacing the others due to his faster mana recovery and more frequent skill usage.

Their gains weren’t limited to experience – Cheng Yang now had 37 Spirit Points, while Yu Kai and the others were still in single digits.

Meanwhile, Xiang City faced another wave of disaster. For non-transformed individuals, the monsters were overwhelmingly powerful. An average person’s attributes were around 1, with a life force of only 10 – no match for even early-stage demonized creatures.

The government realized the severity of the situation and deployed firearms, but even these required over twenty bullets to kill a single demonized creature. The monsters’ tough hides made them resistant to gunfire.

People fled through streets and ruins, but with monsters appearing randomly everywhere, there was nowhere safe to run. The earlier warning about slaughter now seemed all too real, with humans on the receiving end of a one-sided massacre.

Cheng Yang grew increasingly concerned as monster spawn rates increased to one every twenty seconds. The groups were operating at full capacity, and any further increase would be problematic.

Mana was their primary limitation. While meditation allowed for quick recovery, it still took time. Warriors could continue fighting with weapons at reduced effectiveness, but other professions struggled without mana.

Cheng Yang wished he were in Xiang City, where Spirit Points could be exchanged for recovery items. However, their current settlement wouldn’t have an alchemy room until it reached level two.

Despite the challenges, Cheng Yang didn’t regret his decision. He knew that if he hadn’t come to Luofeng Slope before the disaster, he would have had no chance of claiming Luofeng Village later. In three months, the city’s elite forces would pay a heavy price to capture it, and Cheng Yang would have remained at the bottom of society.

While they could have fought from the safety of the walls, Cheng Yang wanted his team to develop real combat skills for future battles in the wild. After nearly fifty minutes, the high spawn rate was about to end. As long as no large numbers of flying creatures appeared, their settlement would remain secure.