Arcane Emperor

Once they were unable to keep up their strength and rapidly clear the approaching Mutated Fishmen,

they would be able to trample over the bodies of their fellows, leap over the defense of the shields, and burst in.

Butler Ralph keenly noticed this and took a deep breath before shouting:

"Well done, everyone hold firm, we just found at least three materials, each person will get 10 silver coins, keep it up!"

An inexplicable motivating force, along with Ralph's voice, spread, and the soldiers who agreed with what he said felt a new strength surge within them.

The Cart Drivers who had been somewhat exhausted also felt their energy returning.

The Wanderers holding bows, standing atop the somewhat safer roofs of the carts, drew their bows and aimed collectively to shoot at some of the larger Mutated Fishmen.

These obviously more dangerous Mutated Fishmen, trapped in place by their companions, quickly fell one by one under the concentrated barrages of arrows.

Indeed, under the influence of multiple factors, the battle line gradually stabilized.

In just a few minutes, more than 400 Mutated Fishmen clashed with the shield wall and lost nearly a third of their number.

Blood dyed the mud red, flowing in from outside the defense line of shields and carts, as seen from the sky, it seemed as though a tide of blood had gradually begun to infiltrate and engulf the convoy!

Angela, who was commanding operations, kept a wary eye on the increasingly high pile of corpses.

They were about to accumulate into a gentle slope.

Once the bodies built up, Mutated Fishmen could climb over the wooden shields, and they would be able to attack the shield-bearing soldiers directly!

"Don't hesitate!"

My Lord's familiar voice suddenly reached her ears, and Angela turned her head to see Matthew nodding at her.

Under the silvery-white metal mask, the smile at Matthew's lips was becoming more and more radiant.

"Straight ahead, everyone retreat, throw the alchemical fuel tanks!"

Crackle! Zap! Pop!

The dispersed alchemical fuel painted a swath of black over the bloody scenery in front.

The red Mutated Fishmen, struggling and squeezing through the mud, were also dyed pitch-black.

The soldiers, upon hearing the command, made quick work of the Mutated Fishmen in front with their spears, neatly retracted their support poles, and dragged their shields back in retreat.

At the same time, a few arrows carrying flames landed on the pitch-black alchemical fuel.

Whoosh!

Billowing flames burst from the ground, instantly engulfing most of the Mutated Fishmen in front.

A massive wall of fire rose up from the marshland.

Although the Mutated Fishmen lacked pain sensations, they still had a desire to survive and frantically fled away from the fire wall, carrying the burning fuel and flames wherever they ran, almost completely consuming all the Mutated Fishmen in front of them.

They didn't get far before their emaciated, short bodies were consumed and incinerated by the flames that soared to thousands of degrees.

The retreating soldiers, at Angela's call, quickly inspected the damage to their clothes and hastily reorganized a new defensive line.

The burning flames reflected in the dark green lenses, and even through the mask, Matthew could feel the faint heat from the foul odor of burning fat.

Just like that, at least 80 Merfolk had been burned to death, and close to 200 Mutated Fishmen.

The situation, which should have been easing, suddenly caused Matthew's brow to furrow as the real-time marked information showed that the remaining Mutated Fishmen were starting to display even more eerie changes.

"Deeply Infected, Frenzied Mutated State, Challenge Level 2+! → 3+!"

Their forms became more distorted, the originally bloated fish-like bodies started to slim down, their limbs grew longer and fiercer, and bone-like spikes began to protrude.

The collective increase in Challenge Level gave Matthew a bad feeling!

"What's happening?"

"Is it some kind of temporary state? Or are they stimulated by the death of their companions?"

"No, that's not right, even 20 years later there shouldn't be such eerie changes..."

It was at that moment,

a terrifying pressure emerged from the sky above.

Matthew raised his head, feeling an indescribable sense of danger that stimulated his mind.

All that met his gaze was the seemingly eternal Scarlet Moon!

A terrifying pressure flashed by as if it had never appeared at all.

"Ding, willpower assessment in progress, willpower assessment passed!"

Clear and shining notifications, informed by the alarmed Yaya, were telling Matthew.

Something of paramount importance must have happened!

The ordinary soldiers have no clue, but these Mutant Creatures are exhibiting very obvious changes.

"It must be a significant change in the Scarlet Moon, and it's a critical one."

"It's also highly probable that because of this change, the influence of the Scarlet Moon will see a comprehensive decline over the next 20 years..."

"This also means that after tonight, for a considerable amount of time, the dangers brought by the Scarlet Moon will plummet..."

"But distant water can't quench immediate thirst..."

Matthew silently watched the Mutated Fishmen, whose strength had greatly increased as if they had taken mutation potions, feeling a terrible headache.

Crack!

Crack! Crack!

The Mutated Fishmen rammed against the wooden shields, their impact force becoming increasingly powerful.

Even though they did not break through the wooden shields immediately, they still put considerable pressure on the soldiers.

When those fierce and ghastly faces, accompanied by roars that resounded in their ears, charged straight toward them, not every soldier could hold their ground.

Especially as wooden shields gradually cracked under the tearing of the Mutated Fishmen, Elder John and Captain Sean hurriedly stepped in to kill those attempting to reach through the cracks.

At the same time, they called in reserve Spearmen to guard these breaches.

But soon, the rear of the wooden carts, slightly more fragile than the shields, began to be breached by these Mutated Fishmen, creating gaps.

A change in Challenge Level might seem small, but the destructive power of these Mutated Fishmen underwent an earth-shattering change.

Their claws, transformed from strange bone spurs, could inflict significant damage to the wooden shields, and with continued attacks, it was highly likely that the shields would be destroyed.

The situation turned critical in an instant, the previously stable defensive line began to falter.

Spearman and Cart Drivers with weaker battle wills started to panic.

"The original battle plan is no longer applicable, we must kill these Mutated Fishmen as fast as possible!"

"The longer we drag on, the more likely they'll become even more frightening..."

As ideas rapidly shifted, Matthew could no longer stand idly by, and once again felt the ominous presence of impending doom!

His scattered thoughts consolidating, Matthew tore open a scroll, a surging Fireball Technique formed in front of him, and amidst the soldiers' joyful cheers, it whooshed out.

The keenly observant Butler Ralph was astonished to discover that the Fireball Technique triggered by the scroll, in terms of size and speed, was somewhat inferior to the one Matthew had conjured himself earlier.

The hidden information behind this made the old Butler very excited!

Boom!

The spinning fireball exploded amidst the Mutated Fishmen on the left, and though its power was not as great as Matthew's previous one, due to the density of the Mutated Fishmen, still over 30 heads were torn apart by the terrifying force of the fireball, greatly reducing the pressure on the left defense.

The second Fireball Technique then whirled towards the right, and with a resounding explosion, a large gap was blown open in the mass of Mutated Fishmen.

Seizing the opportunity, Angela commanded the Spearmen and Shield Soldiers at the front to reinforce the rear and managed to reestablish a new defense line before the Mutated Fishmen could shred the shields.

The once teetering defensive line was now stable again, and Angela immediately ordered the soldiers to switch out their shields, while she personally joined the battle, decapitating any Fishmen that managed to break through.

The soldiers stepping back felt as if they had snatched back a life from the brink of death, carefully checking their clothes while sweating coldly, and as they switched out their shields, they cast admiring glances at their Lord atop the carriage.

It was at this moment that something happened which made everyone's eyes widen in shock!

Leon, who had just come off duty pretending to rest, suddenly leapt up, brandishing a blood-stained longsword, and viciously swung down at their beloved Lord!

This sudden attack caught everyone off guard!