Hear My Command, Three Armies: Converge as One!

Before the ghost king could even react, high up along the rock faces on both sides of the thousand-meter canyon, a total of 140 Level 5 cannon towers roared to life almost simultaneously! *Boom!* The roar of a single cannon tower opened the prelude to tonight's great battle and immediately drove it to its climax. Meticulously calculated and positioned high on the cliff faces lining the canyon, the 140 Level 5 cannon towers formed an overlapping net of crossfire that flawlessly blanketed every single inch of the canyon. There was not a single blind spot. And not a shred of mercy. This was no longer a thousand-meter canyon. It was a slaughterhouse meticulously engineered by Chen Fan over several days. For every creature that stepped foot here, the last sight they would ever behold before death would be the sheer precipices flanking both sides of the canyon. Pillars of searing white light tore through the sheets of rain, plunging with precision into the densest clusters of the ghost tide. Like lightning-forged chains, the blasts chained relentlessly into the three ghost creatures nearest each targeted foe. The firing cadence of every cannon tower aligned perfectly with Chen Fan's precise calculations from the past few days. The terrifying, surging ghost tide was now reduced to mere raw material awaiting pulverization. "How dare you!" Snapping to his senses, the ghost king turned to behold the scene. The massive host he had brought with him was being slaughtered en masse. The crimson triangles in his eye sockets spun frantically as he whipped his head around, looking up at the rows of cannon towers perched high along both canyon walls. Just as he prepared to channel crimson light beams to destroy the towers, he saw... Countless beams of light descending from above, engulfing him completely. He had no time to destroy the towers. All he could do was summon a shield of scarlet light around himself to withstand the onslaught of beams. The beams dissolved the instant they struck the scarlet barrier; though they could not harm him, they rapidly depleted his power. "That is 'Arrow Rain Storm.'" Inside the cave, Chen Fan stood watching the feed relayed through the Shadow-Projecting Formation onto his Eternal Night Lord panel, murmuring calmly. Over these past days, he had made exhaustive preparations. The Level 5 cannon towers' Arrow Rain Storm could not kill the ghost king, but it would keep him occupied, preventing him from intervening as his army was butchered. Once he was stripped down to a solitary commander, he would be far easier to deal with. "No...!" Engulfed in countless beams of light and utterly pinned down, the ghost king looked toward the canyon passage, watching his army of ghost creatures being rapidly annihilated. With reddened eyes, he roared hysterically. He could not stop this. Rather than let them die in vain... Better to... "Three armies, hear my command: converge as one!" The ghost king's voice bounced off both canyon walls, echoing across the firmament. The next moment— Every ghost creature within the sinkhole and canyon fell abruptly silent. They ceased charging and no longer dodged the beams of light. Instead, they all froze where they stood, dropped to both knees facing the ghost king, their pupils filled with fanatical frenzy, and let out plaintive wails. Qianxi and Qianqiu, trailing behind, froze for a moment. They exchanged a glance. Taking a deep breath, they dropped to one knee facing the ghost king, their voices pious, resolute, and hoarse as they murmured: "At the King's service! May the King's glory resound across the continent! May the darkness descend as promised! For the King... "Converge as one!" The moment the words fell, the entire battlefield seemed to hit pause. Only the beams of light continued to cut down ghost creatures one after another. An instant later, all the ghost creatures shattered, their essence turning into thick ghost blood that formed blood dragons in midair, surging directly into the ghost king's body. Scarlet radiance enveloped the ghost king like blazing fire. Not a single ghost creature remained in the sinkhole. There was only the ghost king standing in place, radiating a terrifying aura of dread. Having lost their other targets, the forty Level 5 cannon towers along the canyon walls capable of reaching the ghost king, along with the surviving Level 5 cannon towers around the sinkhole cliffs and the eight Level 5 cannon towers mounted on the wall, all swung their barrels to lock onto him. Dozens of light beams engulfed the ghost king entirely. Yet... Every beam that struck his surface dissolved instantly, failing to inflict the slightest scratch. "Die!" His expression crazed, the ghost king stood in the rainy night and roared with heart-wrenching fury, glaring at the Level 3 wall at the entrance of Cave No. 1. Had so many of his subordinates not been slain first, his Three Armies Convergence would have granted him vastly greater might! He had intended to destroy this human camp first before heading to Jiangbei City. He never anticipated this place would force out his trump card. Scarlet light coalesced in his grip into an illusory spear. Gathering all his strength, he hurled the spear straight at the wall! The next instant— *Boom!* A colossal blast shattered the rainy night. That Level 3 wall, never before breached, was blasted open with a gap several meters wide, through which the buildings inside the cave could faintly be seen. The ghost king initially felt a flicker of triumph, but soon remembered the deceased Qiu Kui. Had the God-Slaying Spear been in his hand, then even with this Level 3 wall's bizarre durability—far sturdier than any normal Level 3 wall—a single strike would have shattered the entire wall to pieces. Yet right then! In that briefest lull when his old momentum had passed and new power had yet to surge, a searing white beam—markedly thicker and far more formidable than those of the Level 5 cannon towers—burst forth from a Level 6 cannon tower hidden within the wall, striking the ghost king before he could dodge. *Bang!* A direct hit. The ghost king was slammed straight into the sinkhole's cliff face, ghost blood leaking from the corners of his mouth. "You still have cards to play?" "Then let's see what else you have!" With a sinister sneer, the ghost king dissolved into a blur of scarlet light, flitting back and forth across the sinkhole as he closed in on the wall. The beam from the Level 6 cannon tower could not keep pace with his form at all, its searing white discharges consistently evaded. Inside the cave, Chen Fan, taking refuge with Hou and the others at the deepest end of the Meat Grinder Passage, quietly watched this unfold through the Eternal Night Lord panel. The ghost king's strength surpassed his expectations. This Level 6 cannon tower was upgraded over recent days using the green-grade Mourning Ghost Lantern. Its firepower was immense, but the ghost king moved too fast to hit reliably. "Stationmaster," Zhou Mo asked beside him, gritting his teeth in a panic, "are we running now?" "Don't panic," Chen Fan replied, shaking his head. "We still have trump cards. If we run through them all and still can't beat him, it won't be too late to flee." By now, they had moved along the Meat Grinder Passage to the first cave entrance near the canyon's opening. There were pre-rigged ropes here; sliding down would bring them right to the canyon mouth of Nameless Mountain. Hidden in the woods were the nine Skeleton Horses they had prepared. This spot was a full thousand meters away from the ghost king in the sinkhole. If the defenses truly fell, they would evacuate from here. With the ghost king exerting his overwhelming pressure, no ordinary ghost creature in the nearby darkness would dare draw near. As long as they survived the night, hope for survival would endure. It was just a camp. Though they had developed it for a long time, if it was lost, so be it. Where there's life, there's hope. At last— Weaving and dodging multiple beams from the Level 6 cannon tower, the ghost king was finally about to reach the wall when the Level 2 Wind Tower inside the cave suddenly whirred into motion. Gale-force winds blasted out from within the cave. Caught off guard, the ghost king was blown several meters back by the powerful gale. Yet that split-second stun was instantly seized upon by the Level 6 cannon tower. Another beam struck home, slamming the ghost king into the rock face once more. Crawling out of the rock wall with difficulty, the ghost king felt the pain pulsing through his body. He wiped the blood from his mouth, the fury in his eyes burning hotter. "Play whatever tricks you have left!" He charged straight at the wall again! The Wind Tower activated once more. Only this time, instead of blowing violent winds outward, it unleashed its active skill, Storm Inhale. The Wind-Sheltering Pearl atop the tower flared to life instantly, and the myriad apertures lining the tower's surface began to emit an eerie whistling wail. A massive, twisting funnel of air formed abruptly! It dragged the ghost king's body toward the wall! "Just what I wanted." Sensing the pull, the ghost king did not resist. Instead, he allowed the current to sweep him along, closing the distance to the wall at even greater speed. Just as he reached the wall, on the verge of slipping through the blasted breach to slaughter everyone inside the camp, he suddenly spotted a bizarrely shaped cannon tower embedded within the wall. A vertical pupil. Before he could focus his gaze, the vertical pupil tower slowly opened its eye. At its pupil was a rapidly spinning dark vortex, its sclera laced with bloodshot veins. And wrapped around the vertical eye was a layer of skin. That was... Qiu Kui's skin. "Damn you! Damn you all!" Blinded by an instantaneous rush of rage, the ghost king condensed a scarlet spear in his grip and lunged straight to destroy the vertical pupil tower! However, the moment he closed to within a meter, a brownish-black beam of light flooded his entire vision. Detecting an aura of extreme danger, he had only enough time to instinctively thrust his spear forward. *Cough... cough.* Blasted into the sinkhole's cliff face by the brownish-black beam, the ghost king staggered as he wrenched himself out of the rock. He tumbled down several meters to the ground, spat out a mouthful of thick blood, and struggled to his feet. Never had he suffered injuries this severe. Under normal circumstances, he would have retreated long ago to heal before returning. Yet tonight, fury had completely clouded his mind. He refused to retreat. Scarlet light coalesced into a spear in his hand once more, though far dimmer this time. "Anything else?" "Do you have any more tricks?" Staggering forward with the spear pointed diagonally toward the ground, the ghost king advanced slowly. His tone was eerily calm, yet spine-chilling. "If not, I'm coming in. Are you ready to face me?" That vertical pupil tower possessed tremendous power. It had severely wounded him. But before being blasted away, a thrust of his spear had also completely smashed both that vertical pupil tower and the Level 6 cannon tower. Now, the remaining Level 5 cannon towers in the sinkhole fired continuously at him, yet their beams dissolved against the scarlet barrier surrounding his body, unable to inflict any damage. Even though he was gravely injured, none of the Level 5 cannon towers could stop him without those two Level 6 towers. Now, there was no one left to bar his way. "Time to go." Hiding high up the rock face near the canyon entrance, at the opening of the Meat Grinder Passage, Chen Fan knew clearly through the Shadow-Projecting Formation that all his contingency plans had run their course. This ghost king was even stronger than he had envisioned. "If only there were a few more cannon towers." He sighed softly. There still weren't enough towers. If they could have slaughtered every single ghost creature right at the start, preventing the ghost king's Three Armies Convergence from drawing power from any creature, they would have emerged victorious tonight. A pity... Yet he had done his utmost. The resources at his disposal were limited, only sufficient to fortify the canyon to this degree. Both the Ghost Eye Cannon Tower and the Level 6 cannon tower had been blasted into fine rubble—demolished to the point where even the altar could not restore them. "Young Master," Hou turned to gaze down the passage toward the camp, saying hoarsely, "we only took part of the ghost stones. Many resources remain in the camp warehouse." "Let's go. Survival comes first." Chen Fan shook his head without further elaboration. He was the first to vault out and lower himself by the cave mouth, preparing to descend the hung ropes and swiftly flee Nameless Mountain, find a corner to hide in the darkness, and wait until dawn before thinking of anything else. Right then— *Thump, thump, thump.* Heavy footsteps pounded rapidly from the darkness outside the canyon, sounding as if a colossal beast were charging down from the mountain summit. The familiar sound gave Chen Fan pause. The next moment! A giant crocodile burst from the darkness, eyes brimming with terror and fury. Exuding an indomitable momentum, it charged headlong into the canyon illuminated by the twenty ghost fires. At blinding speed, it stampeded down the canyon toward the sinkhole! "Weiwei!" Chen Fan cried out involuntarily, "Come back! We're retreating!" Yet Weiwei, usually obedient to his every word, merely glanced back at him once before turning away. Charging onward toward the canyon sinkhole, it traversed the thousand-meter canyon in the blink of an eye. Arriving at the sinkhole, it confronted the ghost king about to step into the cave, opened its blood-red maw, and roared. So deafening was the roar that stone chips shook loose from the surrounding cliffs, reverberating continuously down the canyon. "...Sigh." Just as he prepared to step through the breach in the wall into the cave, the ghost king heard the noise behind him. He sighed softly and turned unsteadily to look at the giant crocodile sprawled before him. Blood dripped steadily from wounds across his body as he murmured: "Where did another exotic beast come crawling out from?" "Are you the exotic beast guarding Nameless Mountain that those fools spoke of?" "No matter." "Let's see what you've got." Peering through the breach in the wall, Weiwei saw the shattered porcelain vat inside the cave. For the first time, a savage thirst for slaughter and burning fury erupted in its eyes. Though its body trembled violently out of fear beyond its control, it crept forward with a low, threatening hiss. "You..." The ghost king tilted his head at the giant crocodile and suddenly laughed. "You seem terrified, and you have no combat experience? In that case..." The next moment— The ghost king's form vanished like a phantom, reappearing above the crocodile's head with a scarlet spear in hand. Leaping through the air with both hands gripping the spear, he aimed straight for its head and thrust violently downward! "Then... die!" Like a red-hot iron rod, the scarlet spear melted through the scale armor atop the crocodile's head, piercing a full meter deep. Yet before he could pull it free, the frenzied crocodile endured the agony and snapped its gaping maw shut, clamping onto the ghost king's torso. Its thick, jagged teeth locked around his body, pinning him in place. Immediately following! The crocodile's mountain-like bulk erupted with catastrophic force. Pivoting around the jaws clamped onto the ghost king, its entire body violently spun! This was the "Death Roll." The most primal, thorough method of attack, etched into the bloodline of giant crocodiles since primordial times.