Chapter 588: Arch-Enemy
Having inexplicably lost nearly a tenth of his lifespan, Li Shunsheng hadn't yet recovered from the blow, completely bewildered as to what exactly had transpired.
However, the monsters on the Heavenly River, facing them with cold eyes, clearly wouldn't halt their advance for Li Shunsheng's hesitation. Soon, they began to actively charge at everyone.
"Twelve thousand six hundred and seventy-five Observers, twenty-one thousand three hundred Reapers." Someone immediately posted the statistics in the internal group chat, even giving them names.
The ones with eyes on their wings were dubbed Observers, and those with scythes for limbs, Reapers.
"The Observers' Spirit Energy signatures are roughly Tier Two, and the Reapers' are about Tier Three."
"Over twenty thousand Tier Threes, huh... Mobilize the special response units. All registered Tier Fives, deploy an avatar and assemble."
"Mobilize the First Squad of the High-level Wizard Corps."
"Have the Super Soldier Corps send two battalions!"
"Concentrate all Elite Guard Corps!"
Facing the unknown situation, the various council members dared not delay, swiftly mobilizing their private forces to join the battle.
At this moment, the Human Federation was less a unified entity and more a confederation of warlords. While the Federation nominally maintained its own security forces, the true core of its combat power remained firmly in the hands of several outwardly cooperative but inwardly estranged major factions.
...
"These are Observers?"
Compared to the larger Reapers, the more avian and agile Observers arrived before everyone first, yet they halted, merely observing in silence, just as their name implied.
"Hm?"
The monsters' unusual behavior prevented them from acting rashly, for no one knew if these things were self-detonating birds, the kind that only explodes when split open.
After all, "Observer" was just a name they had unilaterally given them on a whim.
"Kill them!" A few seconds later, the Bio-Doctor's avatar, standing at the rear of the battlefield, shouted into the communication network, "They're collecting our intelligence!"
"Understood!" Facing the unknown threat, they immediately opted for a division of labor and cooperation.
At the same time, the Reapers, slightly delayed due to their larger size, finally made their appearance. With their ghost-like bodies and scythe-like limbs, they were clearly the primary assault force.
The instant they reached the front line, their limbs erupted with powerful attacks.
Alas, the enemies these monsters faced were, in essence, far more monstrous than themselves. Most of the ranged attacks were repelled by the avatars' defensive force fields before they even arrived.
"Their ranged attacks are nearly Tier Four in power."
"And they have a suppressing effect on Spirit Energy-based defenses."
"But that's all they are."
...
There was an overwhelming disparity in levels between the two sides. The avatars, whose strength averaged Tier Six, effortlessly cut down these minor monsters, most of whom were only Tier Two or Three. In less than a minute, nearly thirty thousand monsters on the field were all killed.
"They don't seem like normal living creatures; they're more like puppets."
"Is it the world behind him?"
"Possibly. This Heavenly River might just be the gateway connecting the two worlds."
"Be careful not to let them touch you," the Saintess interjected suddenly.
The others looked towards Saintess Wei Ni Si and noticed that the sleeve of her right arm was torn open, revealing a bare shoulder.
"They possess an unimaginable destructive power against Spirit Energy-related objects." She gently stroked her right shoulder with her left hand, and the tear in her sleeve began to slowly "heal" like living tissue.
However, the "wound's" healing was not smooth. Some residual power seemed to remain on it, continuously corroding, battling against the Holy Robe's restorative abilities.
Wei Ni Si's Holy Robe was a masterpiece of the Luminous Holy Church's Spirit Energy technology. Not only did it possess a powerful defense that surpassed even specialized armor, capable of withstanding direct hits from anti-tank cannons, but it also had self-repairing capabilities, which everyone present had heard about.
"It's practically Spirit Energy's bane." She suppressed it with all her might for a good while before finally eliminating the residual power completely, allowing the Holy Robe to restore itself.
As for the others, apart from Li Shunsheng, since they were all avatars and hadn't brought equipment like Wei Ni Si, they felt nothing of the attack.
...
"The second wave is coming."
The complete annihilation of the first wave of monsters did not prevent the emergence of a second wave; in fact, their numbers became even more immense.
"Forty-one thousand small ones, forty-two thousand three hundred large ones."
However, unlike last time, these monsters seemed to have learned their lesson. They no longer swarmed towards the meat grinder in the center of the battlefield like moths to a flame; instead, they advanced in all directions!
Even with over a dozen individuals slaughtering them with all their might, thousands of Reapers and Observers still managed to breach their blockade.
They then easily tore open one small gap after another in the city's defensive array, breaching into New Florence City.
"Trouble..."
The monsters, now mixed among the residential areas, made the lofty transcendent beings hesitate to act, fearing collateral damage. Many wide-range attacks were simply impractical to use.
Especially since this was the Luminous Holy Church's headquarters, someone else's home base, indiscriminately slaughtering without regard for the lives of the populace would be highly taboo.
"Kill!"
"Protect God's people!"
Fortunately, at this moment, the Guard Corps, originally scattered throughout the city maintaining order, had largely finished assembling, forming numerous small squads to combat the monsters.
However, unlike the top-tier transcendent beings soaring high in the sky, they were merely the base of the transcendent pyramid, their combat power incomparable.
It often took a squad of ten Guard Corps members just to barely hold their own against a single Reaper.
Not to mention the Observers flying everywhere, ceaselessly calculating and observing the weaknesses within the squads, assisting the Reapers in delivering precise and brutal strikes.
...
"It's over..." The captain of the War Hound Squad clutched the wound on his chest, slumping weakly to the ground.
The team he led was crushed by a Hunter, working in tandem with an Observer, in an almost overwhelming assault.
The War Hound Squad, whose members were all ordinary humans, only achieved combat power comparable to transcendent beings by relying on their reinforced Spirit Energy power armor. Extremely dependent on Spirit Energy equipment, they were utterly unable to withstand a monster of the Hunter's arch-enemy class.
...
The Hunter, suspended in mid-air, pointed the scythe on its left leg at the captain of the War Hound Squad, as if confirming something. The Observer beside it circled the defeated opponent again and again.
After ten seconds that felt as long as half a century to the young captain, he met his final judgment.
The Grim Reaper's scythe arrived as expected, cutting him in half horizontally.
"Captain!!!" His teammates, similarly covered in wounds nearby, let out heart-rending cries.
However, in the very next moment, their wailing cries transformed into expressions of utter shock and bewilderment.
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