Chapter 682: Upgraded Modifications
Compared to the anxious and helpless Evil Shadow Spirits, the commanders of Bay Territory were much calmer.
Each performed their duties, managed their tasks and zones, and expertly commanded the soldiers in defense.
Rampaging twisted monsters stormed the city walls, enduring the scorching blaze as they charged toward the well-prepared Bay Territory troops.
The most numerous twisted monsters resembled mutated leaping bugs, with sharp spikes and dark red chitin armor.
They moved swiftly, and with their sharp front claws, could quickly climb stone walls and scale walls three to four meters high.
It was only thanks to the breach smashed open by the Twisted Treants that they were able to climb up.
However, the moment they reached the wall, they were greeted by a rain of bolts.
The highly penetrating crossbows pierced their chests instantly, tearing through their organs and torsos, leaving behind gaping holes.
Many twisted bugs were slain, and the mutilated remnants writhed in agony.
The scene alone brought immense psychological pressure to many.
Not to mention, more twisted leaping bugs howled as they charged at Bay Territory's troops.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As they charged, the heads and upper bodies of the bugs exploded, collapsing heavily to the ground.
Their dark red corrosive blood spilled across the floor as they fell.
Their corpses showed over ten huge gashes, with twisted red bullets still faintly visible.
Continuous flashes and explosions filled the air with thick smoke and gunpowder.
Bay Territory soldiers wielding shotguns repeatedly pulled their triggers.
The deadly rounds burst out, scattering into over ten differently sized steel pellets midair, smashing into the twisted bugs with overwhelming force.
Crack!
Rumble!
Nearly half of the already diminished bugs dropped immediately.
The remaining few charged in recklessly.
Only to slam right into incoming spears.
The sharp spears easily pierced their not-so-thick shells, halting their advance in an instant.
One especially fast twisted bug dodged a row of spears.
It slashed through the next row of spears with its claws and roared right in front of Bay Territory's soldiers.
Before it could raise its claw to break the shield and attack those behind—
A massive warhammer fell from the sky.
Boom! It smashed straight into its skull, embedding its head into its body.
The speedy bug instantly lost all power and collapsed.
Its body twitched instinctively before it lay still, blood spreading across the ground.
Lifting his blood-stained hammer, the burly heavy-armored warrior stayed alert, watching for more bugs.
Confirming no immediate threat, he cautiously glanced at his remaining energy.
"67.35%, estimated 3 hours and 20 minutes remaining."
The squad commander didn't order a battlefield cleanup.
Instead, he kept the same sequence—flamethrowers, archers, spearmen—to continue attacking.
The rotating assault covered nearly all enemies in front.
The leaping bugs, who once caused chaos, were now just prey waiting to be slain.
Compared to the original shield-spear-archer combo—
Bay Territory's base units now included three heavy crossbowmen, two musketeers, two flamethrowers, and defensive heavy-armored warriors.
This increased setup mainly countered large twisted monsters.
Though most large monsters were watched by Dragon Warriors,
Accidents were common on the battlefield—even Dragon Warriors couldn't be everywhere at once.
Bay Territory naturally gave them stronger backups and counterattack capability.
Whoosh!
Blazing fire struck a huge monster.
Roasting its body greedily, soon leaving it charred black.
Fresh flesh bulged through the scorched skin, turning into grotesque red scabs.
The tough, regenerating twisted giant spider stormed forward on its remaining four legs, roaring toward the frontline.
Swarms of leaping bugs followed behind this "lucky" beast.
The flamethrower operators diverted their flames from the spider and, despite their fear, resumed targeting the bugs.
This wasn't their job anymore!
The heavy-armored warriors held their ground, not charging in.
The crossbowmen at the firing slits pulled their triggers, watching the spinning bolts strike the spider's belly.
They didn't target its head due to its strong defense.
Even high-penetration heavy crossbows couldn't pierce it directly.
But targeting its abdomen and organs could severely weaken its regeneration and poison-spraying.
The job of heavy crossbowmen was to eliminate high-threat twisted monsters and suppress ranged attackers.
Bang! Bang!
The spider, unable to dodge, felt intense pain in its belly.
A hole the size of a basin had a bleeding bolt embedded in it.
Torn organs mixed with blood gushed out visibly.
The agony only enraged the spider more—it charged even faster.
Its four-to-five-meter body pressured the ordinary soldiers mentally.
Two musketeers fired without hesitation.
At this distance, dwarf muskets were at peak damage.
The spinning bullets burrowed into the twisted red head, bouncing wildly inside and wreaking havoc.
Even so, the spider didn't stop charging.
Though partially blinded, it roared forward, mouth ready to spray toxic acidic webs.
The heavy-armored warrior didn't hesitate—he fired his dragon-slaying crossbow mounted on his arm.
A massive bolt spiraled forth.
Sensing lethal danger, the spider stopped its web attack.
It instinctively tried to duck, but halfway through flight, the bolt gleamed with blue light.
Mid-grade Enchantment—Homing!
It curved midair, drilling into the spider's head.
Despite its struggles, the high-penetration bolt pierced its tough black hide and lodged deep.
Before it could react, the bolt detected surrounding flesh and triggered its embedded spell array.
Boom!
A powerful explosion erupted—fire shot out from the spider's head.
The charging behemoth collapsed pitifully.
Half its head was blown apart, and the scorched tissue was charred black.
Severely wounded, the spider staggered, its claws gouging holes in the ground.
Slightly pleased, the heavy-armored warrior stepped forward.
Shield in his left hand deflected the swiping claws.
His hammer in his right slammed down on the exposed side of the spider's skull.
Bang!
Blood sprayed everywhere.
The spider collapsed.
But its tenacious vitality still had it squirming.
The warrior's massive metal leg stomped down on its shattered skull.
Boom!
The cautious warrior swung hammer after hammer, smashing the twitching claws.
Only after 30 to 40 seconds did he stop.
He activated the storage slot on his shield and stashed the massive spider inside.
Ignoring the new wave of bugs, he returned to his defensive spot, crouching by the frontlines as envious soldiers looked on.
Wave after wave of twisted monsters assaulted Bay Territory's lines.
They caused casualties but failed to break through—held off firmly.
The reason they didn't swarm the walls?
Not just the shelling from magic cannons and upgraded dwarf artillery.
The key reason: the Sub-dragons and three Yaya No.1 units blocking beneath the wall.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Elemental breaths with terrifying power tore twisted monsters apart.
Their wounds shimmered with unstable annihilation energy.
One Yaya No.1 swiped its claws and felled a charging Manhammer.
Blood gushed as the beast convulsed.
More large twisted monsters rushed toward Yaya No.1.
"Forget the trash mobs! Follow Yaya—charge!"
Orianna's eager voice came through the communicator.
Realizing belatedly, Yudala abandoned the monsters under the wall and turned to intercept new ones.
Yaya No.1's defense was so strong, these mid-tier monsters couldn't even scratch it.
Hunting large twisted monsters was now extremely cost-effective.
Killing just 10 per hour could offset Yaya No.1's operational cost.
Skilled piloting and a dense enemy field—
Yudala was confident she could take out over 100 large monsters.
Unfortunately, Yaya No.1's loot storage was limited.
No matter how many she killed, she couldn't gain more or help the battle.
So, she quickly reassessed and obeyed Orianna's order—to hunt the more valuable Catachan Demons.
Yudala had never fought a Catachan Demon, but Yaya No.1's combat assistant system had plenty of strategies.
The Catachan Demons weren't too intelligent—they relied on body weapons and instinct.
Why were they so important?
Because they posed the greatest threat—
Especially to Bay Territory's adventurers and small strike teams.
And most of all—they were the most valuable target.
Killing one Catachan Demon was worth far more than slaying a hundred twisted monsters.
Excited, Yudala piloted Yaya No.1 into battle.
As part of the second production batch, this Yaya No.1 was larger and sturdier.
Nearly 7 meters tall and weighing nearly 80 tons—
Even simple movements and charges crushed any monster barely half its height.
After charging two to three hundred meters, a bloody trail of corpses lay behind.
Over a thousand monsters were flattened, shocking the Evil Shadow Spirits.
They hadn't even solved the Yaya problem—
Now came Yaya No.1 as a second nightmare.
Panic began to spread.
Watching Yaya freely slaughter Catachan Demons, who couldn't even fight back,
They decisively ordered some to launch an offensive.
Better to strike than be crushed.
The Catachan Demons used their stealth, digging underground and sneaking forward.
Yudala, now stopped, watched a magical holographic map appear before her.
It marked nearby high-threat monsters.
It also highlighted suspicious underground movement zones.
"Suggest initiating underground enemy scan."
The combat assistant's alert got her attention, and she instantly agreed.
No sooner had the data come in than an urgent alarm blared.
Two Catachan Demons were breaking through!
Startled, Yudala recalled Yaya's warning:
"Kill threats first, then go harvest your gold."
Snapping out of loot-lust, she had Yaya No.1 retreat a step.
Her right claw flashed red—a savage chainblade sword slid out.
Suddenly, a black stinger shot up from the ground, lightning-fast.
Crack!
The bulky claw showed amazing agility, catching the stinger midair.
Instead of cutting it, Yudala followed the battle plan—twisted left and heaved upward.
With monstrous strength, she yanked the demon clean from the ground by its tail.
The roaring chainblade stabbed into its airborne waist.
Catachan Demons shared a weakness with the wolves of the Dark Forest—
"Iron arms, copper heads, tofu waists."
The spinning blade bit through the armor at the joints.
Whoosh!
The sword nearly sawed the demon in half.
Blood and viscera rained down—a terrifying scene matching the twisted jungle.
Screaming in pain, the demon was flung aside.
And just then—right into another tail spike rising from the ground.