Chapter 681: Sword Demon!
A massive swarm of mutated monsters surged forward, ahead of the Twisted Treants.
They were fast and numerous, posing a deadly threat to most combat units.
But their opponents were just as fierce—the Sub-dragons cloaked in molten armor charged in with blazing flames.
The mutated monsters, barely as tall as the Sub-dragons' claws, were crushed to pulp under their enormous bodies.
The spreading shockwaves of flame from the Sub-dragons dealt fatal damage to the mutated monsters.
Their shrill screams hadn't even reached the Sub-dragons before they were dead.
Their dried bodies ignited and turned into piles of charred firewood.
Most mutated monsters reaching this area were no longer entirely under the Evil Shadow Spirits' control.
Yet the slaughter instincts within them still drove them to continue attacking Bay Territory.
However, their assault was destroyed by the charging Sub-dragons.
The sheer shockwave of the Sub-dragons' charge incinerated over a thousand mutated monsters.
With waves of searing flames, the Sub-dragons surrounded the Twisted Treants.
Only by contributing enough in battle against these big guys could they earn Lord Yaya's recognition.
The recent power-up had the Sub-dragons feeling unstoppable.
Their respect and admiration for Lord Yaya had grown even stronger.
Before, it had stemmed from bloodline-induced fear and reverence—now, it came from the heart.
The recent adventures and battles helped the Sub-dragons integrate better with Bay Territory.
They recognized the superiority of Bay Territory's combat tactics, began adjusting and cooperating accordingly, and keenly sensed the benefits.
Now, before even engaging the Twisted Treants, they had a good grasp of their strength and basic traits.
They understood the Treants' might and had no intention of facing them head-on.
Nearly every Sub-dragon was a veteran of countless battles.
Using the intel provided by Bay Territory, they easily launched a siege against the Twisted Treants.
While avoiding frontal assaults,
The Sub-dragons targeted the lower halves of the Twisted Treants.
The Treants quickly realized their presence, roaring as they swung huge arms, sprouting bloodthirsty vines all over.
Clearly, the Twisted Treants, who had been taking a beating, were preparing to teach these weaker Sub-dragons a painful lesson.
The Sub-dragons spewed blazing dragonbreath, scorching the encroaching bloodthirsty vines.
The vines were indeed tough, but!
In front of specialized dragonbreath, they only lasted a few seconds before drying, cracking, and turning into drifting ash.
The Sub-dragons burned some of the vines, but more kept growing back.
Though powerful, the Sub-dragons still couldn't ignore the pressure and damage from the vines like Yaya could.
Several breath-specialized Sub-dragons fixed their sights on the vines, prepared to burn them down repeatedly.
Much of the dragonbreath landed directly on the Twisted Treants.
While it didn't deal heavy damage, it still managed to burn parts of their outer bark and destroy some vine tissue.
"Roar...!"
The Twisted Treants stomped forward, bending hard to swat at the surrounding Sub-dragons.
The Sub-dragons, knowing they lacked the strength, avoided head-on clashes.
Only a few swift Sub-dragons distracted the Treants from the front.
The rest flanked from behind, launching sneak attacks without hesitation.
They ruthlessly tore into the Treants, ripping chunks of bark off.
Then they quickly retreated, dodging any counterattacks.
Their goal wasn't to deal massive damage, just to hinder its movements and slow it down.
Mostly to buy time for Yaya and Yaya No.1's execution assault.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Roaring magical cannons hammered the area around the Treants, wiping out the nearby mutated monsters.
The shockwaves stirred up a foul, stinking gust of wind.
Dust storms rolled through the air—Yudala and Rika kept their recent tasks in mind.
They only cautiously approached the Treants once Yaya had pounced in.
Their mission was simple: once the Treant lost resistance, strike simultaneously from both sides.
With buzzing blades, the Twisted Treants always struggled as usual.
But the more they struggled, the greater the strain on the cuts being made.
Using her full knowledge, Yaya expertly shoved the Treant toward its wider gash.
She didn't use much strength—just time. It still took over 10 minutes to take down a single Treant.
Bay Territory's keen strategists soon shifted focus to the last remaining Treants.
"Three Treants will definitely attack the wall—we need to prepare defenses in advance."
Angela quickly noticed the threat and began preparing targeted defenses.
As for the nearby Twisted Treants, Angela paid them no mind.
The fiercer they charged now, the quicker they'd die.
The key now was the kill speed of Yaya and Yaya No.1.
They had to reduce the number of Treants as much as possible!
Thus, every cannon on the wall had to aim for killable Treants.
The magical weapons on the walls were clearing the surrounding mutated monsters.
Ensuring the Treants couldn't absorb enough biomass to regenerate.
Although their regeneration was strong, Bay Territory had long discovered its limit.
With coordinated assaults from Yaya and both Yaya No.1s, defeating them wasn't difficult.
Bay Territory's precise tactics had succeeded!
The Evil Shadow Spirits nervously watched the Treants fall one by one.
They poured full control into giant mutated monsters to assist the remaining Treants.
Their decision was absolutely correct.
The tough-skinned Treants, under the protection of the giant monsters, brute-forced past Bay Territory's defenses and even crossed the lava river to slam into the city walls.
Their hideously twisted hands slammed down with a thunderous "boom" onto the solid walls.
The walls shook, and the soldiers of Bay Territory staggered.
Fortunately, they were prepared and quickly adapted to the tremors.
Bay Territory's walls had deep foundations.
Reinforced with rebar and magical cement.
Strengthened further by various magic arrays.
They withstood the first wave of Treant attacks.
But the Treants' 35-point strength still cracked the sturdy walls.
Bay Territory personnel immediately inspected the damage and estimated the wall would only hold for another 30 minutes.
Bay Territory's counterattack came swiftly.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Huge ballista bolts flew in from the rear, viciously piercing the Treants.
The massive impact tore two big holes in the Treants' bark.
Dark green fluid gushed from grotesque grooves.
The toxic dragon-slaying bolts continuously drained the Treants.
Roaring in pain, the Treants flailed wildly and bashed the walls.
Pebbles fell, smoke billowed from the cracks.
Distracted, the Treants couldn't focus their full strength on the walls.
Jifan, leading the defense, stared coldly at the towering Treants.
He finally understood why, despite the Dragon Warriors' strength, the lord was still developing thunder magic armor for them.
To fight such massive, fearsome foes!
Even Dragon Warriors needed stronger war gear to unleash their true power.
Jifan didn't deploy the Dragon Warriors—the damage they could do wasn't fatal against regenerating Treants.
But that didn't mean the defenders would let the Treants attack unchecked.
Rumble!
A burst of flame and smoke erupted.
Over ten dark green craters suddenly opened on the raging Treant—it had been smashed open.
"-20!"
"-15!"
"-18!"
"-13!"
"-9!"
"-11!"
Corrosive green juice, mixed with chunks of Treant flesh, flew everywhere.
This tenacious beast let out a wretched howl.
The Bay Territory soldiers didn't stop to check their damage—they quickly reloaded the sturdier Dwarf Cannons.
Magical metal was powerful—but not omnipotent.
During his study of rare metals, Matthew found that while their lower limits were high—
Bay Territory's manufacturing and refinement techniques were still quite primitive.
Even the dwarven craftsmen and some alchemists working in Bay Territory lacked advanced modification experience.
The reason for this was simple—
Rare metals were so valuable, their base performance was already impressive.
Being able to craft with rare metals was satisfying enough for these artisans.
Not to mention they could further enhance them with magic.
So once the materials were already powerful enough, there was little reason to study them further.
No demand means no progress!
Thus, the upgraded Dwarf Cannons were mostly brute-force material enhancements.
But Bay Territory's research institutes had caught on.
With Matthew's approval and support, they began ramping up research in this area.
More important than the upgraded cannons were the modified projectiles—that's what caused the real damage.
They weren't explosive shells—they were solid, armor-piercing rounds.
Bay Territory had entirely redesigned these solid rounds.
Stronger special alloys, more aerodynamic pointed tips, faster muzzle speeds, improved spin accuracy.
This triggered a new wave of weapons R&D across Bay Territory's research institutes.
These rounds could be used not just in cannons, but also in ballistae and dwarf muskets.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Sharp explosive sounds echoed in the air.
Twisted Seeds leaping from the Treants' heads were shredded mid-air by incoming rounds and bolts.
As they died, their grotesque faces let out piercing death screams.
The sound was so sharp it could cause hallucinations.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Bay Territory's snipers and Catachan archers had been ready.
Their precision shots on the Twisted Seeds showcased masterful skill.
The Twisted Seeds were incredibly dangerous.
One mistake and they could fatally harm the defending soldiers.
Even worse—
If the Bloodvine monsters disrupted the defense line—
The horde of mutated monsters that had nearly filled the lava river would surge forward.
The heavily damaged Treant quickly grew dense bloodthirsty vines, ravenously devouring the mutated monsters' flesh.
Its wounds healed rapidly, and its bark thickened.
But this temporary boost still couldn't withstand solid round impacts.
The Treant's body was still riddled with over a dozen holes.
Its howls made the Evil Shadow Spirits wince.
They pushed the mutated monsters forward, desperate to "support" the Treant.
"Even if you can't deal damage, at least be walking blood banks for the Treants!"
Bay Territory's combat forces naturally wouldn't let them approach—action was taken immediately.
Whoosh!
Hundreds of fire jets, each dozens of meters long, descended from the wall, scorching the surrounding mutated monsters.
Naturally, the ones wielding the flamethrowers were the Catachan Warriors.
They already had rich experience fighting mutated monsters.
Now with flamethrowers, they performed even more smoothly.
First, they targeted the faster but frailer mutated monsters.
Then, they burned the slower but stronger ones.
The former posed more threat to people and were easier to clean up.
The latter were more destructive to walls and needed prolonged burning.