bookandnovel Chapter 274 Goat-Headed Cavalry: The Weakness of the Skeleton Army
Chapter 274 Goat-Headed Cavalry: The Weakness of the Skeleton Army
Chapter 274 Goat-Headed Cavalry: The Weakness of the Skeleton Army
"Congratulations, Ark Sergeant! Your team is the first in this grade to clear the [Shelter Defense] Easy difficulty. You have earned 15 contribution points as the first team to clear the level and received the achievement blessing: Simulated Battlefield loot drop rate +1% (cumulative 9%)."
"Congratulations, Ark Sergeant! You have completed the [Defense of the Shelter] challenge on Easy difficulty in 18 minutes and 30 seconds, ranking 1st on the all-time speedrun leaderboard. You are expected to receive 9 contribution points as a ranking reward this month."
"Triggered a loot drop, obtaining 1 [Alchemy Prototype], which can be exchanged for 15 Contribution Points."
"After 5 minutes, you can continue to challenge the normal difficulty."
A series of pleasant notification sounds rang in Fangzhou's ears, leaving him somewhat overwhelmed.
First place in the grade!
First in history in speed!
Fang Zhou nodded in satisfaction; everything was as he had anticipated.
After working so hard for so long to create such a luxurious attribute panel and skill combination, he refused to believe that anyone could be faster than him!
The scale of the battle to defend the shelter was much larger than that of the Horned Demon Outpost, which was at the mid-level of the Apprentice level.
This means that for teams composed of ordinary students, the difficulty will naturally be greater, and the time required to complete the level will be longer.
But that only applies to other people.
For a necromancer like Fang Zhou, whose combat power far surpasses that of others, as long as the battle scene is not artificially divided into two locations like at the Horned Demon Outpost, which greatly increases unnecessary non-combat time, this level of increase in the scale of the battle is just a piece of cake for him.
The more tightly the demons gathered, the faster he could kill them, relying on his army and the Death Ripple skill.
Therefore, his killing speed alone is enough to crush the killing speed of other three-person teams of apprentice-level professionals.
In fact, if Ark hadn't wasted a little time watching the cutscenes, the completion time of 18 minutes and 30 seconds could have been even longer.
Fangzhou withdrew from the simulated battlefield, lay down in the simulation pod, and rested for 5 minutes with his eyes closed. Then, he immediately entered the normal difficulty of the Vault Defense battle.
What he didn't know was that many second-year students who came to challenge the shelter defense battle at night were now gathered in front of the big screen watching the Ark's battle live.
Ark's previous challenges to the Lesser Demon Camp (lower apprentice rank) and the Horned Demon Outpost (middle apprentice rank) were both training grounds for first-year students, and each time they attracted great attention among the first-year students.
However, for second-year students like Lu Renjia and Lu Yiyi, by the time news of Fangzhou's incredible achievements reached them, its influence had already diminished considerably.
Nothing is more impactful than witnessing Ark's unstoppable solo victory today!
A second-year student holding a staff watched Fang Zhou's every move in the simulated battlefield and couldn't help but exclaim, "Is this Fang Zhou, the number one seed student in the first year?"
"It's only been three or four months, how did he break through to the apprentice level?"
A companion nearby picked up the conversation, his tone filled with disbelief.
"Fangzhou rose from apprentice to rank, that's true, and so did I."
But why do I always feel like we're not fighting the same battle to defend a shelter?
I remember back then, my teammates and I tried the easy difficulty two or three times when we first teamed up.
Ultimately, with the help of the complex and ingenious tunnel system deep within the shelter, we were able to build a solid defense.
Nevertheless, in order to withstand the enemy's attack, we had to make enormous sacrifices.
The hunter Li Guang, the one-armed female warrior, and several other important NPCs all bravely sacrificed themselves to cover our escape.
It was thanks to their sacrifices that we were able to hold on for a short period of time and meet the minimum clearance standards.
But Ark didn't just take on the challenge alone; he also dared to choose the most difficult starting location, the dense fog jungle.
He single-handedly annihilated such a powerful demon warband.
He still seems to be handling it with such ease.
"Truly a once-in-a-century prodigy!"
The mage student holding the staff turned to Lu Renjia and asked curiously, "How did you manage to invite Fang Zhou to join your team?"
Lu Renjia smiled smugly and said, "I have my own brilliant plan."
Actually, I had already noticed the extraordinary nature of the Ark when the first-year students had only been awakened for a month.
At the time, I was carrying out a mission to maintain order assigned by the military academy, and I happened to witness Ark's outstanding performance in the camp of the lower-ranking inferior demons.
He was virtually unstoppable, conquering four difficult challenges in succession.
Not only did he become the number one on the first-clear leaderboard for all difficulty levels, but he also topped the all-time speedrun leaderboard.
Later, I figured Fangzhou would probably be able to break through to the Apprentice rank in no time, so I quickly reserved a spot for a team challenge with him.
Lu Yiyi chimed in, "Today, Ark is planning to take on the three difficulty levels of the Vault Defense Battle—Easy, Normal, and Hard—all by himself."
When the most difficult Abyss difficulty arrives, he will team up with me and Lu Renjia to face the challenge together and see if we can successfully clear it.
Upon hearing this, the second-year mage student showed obvious envy on his face.
"You guys are so lucky to be able to team up with such a powerful figure as Fang Zhou."
When will you introduce me to him too?
When asked about this request, Lu Renjia and Lu Yiyi simply smiled at each other and did not give a direct response.
In fact, they all understood that the fact that a genius like Fang Zhou was willing to team up with the two of them, who were not seeded students, to challenge the simulated battlefield was already a great recognition of them.
They cherish this rare opportunity, so how could they possibly bring just anyone into such an elite team?
At this moment, someone finally couldn't hold back their sour feelings and said sarcastically, "Your plan sounds perfect, but you should know that the difficulty of the simulated battlefield of the shelter defense battle is no joke."
It is several levels higher than the previous lesser demon camp and horned demon outpost.
Each increase in difficulty not only accelerates the pace of combat but also significantly increases the number and strength of demonic forces.
"If we're so sure now, it'll be embarrassing if we can't even clear the Vault Defense on Hard or Normal difficulty."
Lu Renjia had absolute confidence in Fangzhou's strength, so he snorted coldly, looked up at the screen at Fangzhou's battle live stream, and said, "Don't let jealousy distort your eyes."
Didn't you see how easily the Ark expert swept through the easy difficulty of the Vault Defense battle?
He probably hasn't even shown a third of his strength.
Let's wait and see.
At this point, Ark has officially launched the Vault Defense Challenge on Normal difficulty.
The second-year students around them stopped arguing and instead looked up, intently watching the Ark's live battle broadcast.
Besides the cadets, the military academy instructors also learned that Ark had been promoted to apprentice and was preparing to take on the challenge of defending the shelter.
Instructors Lu Hu, Su Xinyan, and others used their senior instructor privileges to watch the live broadcast of Ark's battle.
After all, Ark has deduced and improved too many skills during this period, and he has not yet experienced many intense battles of equal strength.
Even someone as close to Fang Zhou as Su Xinyan only knew that Fang Zhou was already terrifyingly powerful among apprentice-level professionals.
However, it is not entirely clear what level of power Fangzhou possessed when he went all out.
This Ark Challenge Vault Defense Battle has given them an excellent opportunity to observe the Ark's current combat capabilities firsthand.
This is crucial for military academies.
Because they need to base their decision on Ark's true strength, whether or not to let him go alone in the upcoming recruit competition and engage in solo combat.
This was not just a simple battle, but a crucial moment to test the true strength of the Ark.
In the simulated battlefield, Ark once again faced the three choices previously given by the system.
After some consideration, he decisively chose to appear directly in the watchtower at the front line of the shelter.
The reason is that the Demon Chapters on Normal difficulty are far more powerful than those on Easy difficulty.
If he chooses to emerge from the misty jungle surrounding the sanctuary, the demon army could very well breach the sanctuary's first line of defense within the short time it takes to reach the front lines, resulting in numerous casualties among innocent civilians.
This will undoubtedly significantly lower Ark's completion rating in this mission.
Therefore, in order to ensure the safety of civilians and also to gain a higher rating, Ark decided to appear directly on the front lines to deal with the attacking demon army as quickly as possible.
A flash of white light, and the scene before Ark's eyes changed rapidly. He found himself standing on the watchtower of the shelter.
At this moment, he was temporarily unable to move, so he felt relieved, knowing that there would be a cutscene demonstration next.
It was midday, the sun was shining brightly, and most of the originally thick fog had dissipated, making the view exceptionally wide open.
Fangzhou looked around and saw dozens of refugees standing guard at a logging camp in the distance.
Under the command of the middle-aged warrior NPC who had served as the tutorial character in the previous difficulty level, a single, strong arm lifted the logs piled on the ground and stacked them together to form a chevaux-de-frise-shaped obstacle.
In just a few minutes, the once empty logging site was filled with these makeshift wooden frames.
Each sharpened log points into the depths of the forest, as if foreshadowing impending danger.
Immediately afterwards, the sound of horses' hooves came from the jungle further away.
The sound was deafening, indicating that there were many people coming.
The rapid hoofbeats were as fierce as a storm, each sound seeming to strike directly at the heartstrings of everyone, leaving the refugees pale and tense.
Although Ark maintained a calm demeanor on the surface, he couldn't help but feel a little surprised inside.
According to Lu Renjia's guide, in the shelter defense battles on normal difficulty and above, the types and strength of the invading demon legions will change randomly.
The combination of demons such as the Flame Demon, Dog Demon, Lesser Demon, and Demon Child that appears in the Easy difficulty is just one of the more common types.
In some cases, the warbands may consist of more threatening and powerful abyssal demons.
Take, for example, the goat-headed monsters that are about to emerge, a vassal cavalry fighting race led by abyssal demons.
These goat-headed monsters are not particularly strong in combat, and are not much stronger than cannon fodder units of abyssal demons like lesser demons.
However, their racial talents allow them to use the chaotic magic of the abyss to corrupt other creatures into unique mounts—the abyssal war rams.
This makes the Goat-Headed Monsters a force to be reckoned with, posing a far greater threat than ordinary Abyss Demon cannon fodder units.
Even though it was still in the story animation, Ark couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
There were more than sixty refugees working in a logging camp outside the shelter.
These refugees were physically strong and possessed the strength to split large tree trunks.
However, they had never received formal military training, nor had they awakened any professional strength, so they had no way to resist an equal number of cavalry charges!
They appeared exceptionally vulnerable in the face of the impending threat.
"Beware! Enemy approaching!"
A roar shattered the tranquility of the logging camp; it came from the middle-aged soldier in charge of directing the loggers.
He quickly grabbed a stone, swung his arm, and the stone flew into the depths of the forest at an astonishing speed.
With a sharp whooshing sound, a small, black creature suddenly appeared like a ghost; it was the kind of monster twisted from demonic power.
It has the head of a sheep and the body of a horse, like a creation from a nightmare, sending chills down your spine.
The stone struck the monster precisely on the head, right next to its wide-open mouth.
The yellow dental prosthesis broke, and foul-smelling blood gushed out, with a faint sulfurous odor filling the air.
The Ark, standing at a distance, witnessed all of this and immediately understood.
These creatures are not true demons, but rather puppets controlled by demonic power, rendered powerless.
Their existence is a desecration of life.
Just as Fangzhou was pondering, the goat-headed monster that had been hit struggled to its feet.
Although its left foot was severely twisted when it fell, it seemed to feel no pain at all.
It used its leg, bent at an odd angle, to support its body as it slowly rose, its eyes gleaming with an inhuman light.
Immediately afterwards, more goat-headed monsters emerged from all around.
They roam like ghosts in the bushes and shadows, appearing and disappearing, elusive and hard to find.
The mounts beneath them emitted a strange laugh similar to that of hyenas, and foul-smelling saliva dripped from their open mouths.
These liquids, upon contact with the ground, immediately emit a hissing, corrosive sound, demonstrating their extremely high toxicity.
The heavy clatter of hooves echoed across the land like thunder, and a dark cloud, as deep as the darkest night, surged forth.
The refugees gasped in surprise, their expressions growing even more grim.
The dark clouds gradually gathered, finally revealing their true identity—an abyss knight wearing a hooded cloak.