The Five Elite Zombies had not had a chance to use the Penta-Elemental Undead Formation in a real battle since their reunification. Han Shuo had high expectations and was looking forward to witnessing the formation's power.
The five elite zombies looked excited. It seemed that they were very confident with the Penta-Elemental Undead Formation they had been practicing. Han Shuo, Han Hao and Rose stood in the pentagonal space at the centre of the Five Elite Zombies.
As soon as the three of them were inside the safe space, the Five Elite Zombies activated the Penta-elemental Undead Formation. The Earth Elite Zombie disappeared underground. The Wood Elite Zombie merged with a large tree beside it. The Metal Elite Zombie pulled out his Golden Cudgel and merged with it. The Golden Cudgel grew larger and larger until it became a mountain of gold. The Fire Elite Zombie turned into a raging inferno, consuming everything in its path. Covered in a thick layer of ice colder than absolute zero, the Water Elite Zombie sat as still as a mountain.
Suddenly, the Five Elemental Yuan Energies began to flood the region. The environment began to undergo a bizarre transformation.
None of the Five Elite Zombies could be seen, but their work could not be more visible. Deep chasms began to tear through the earth that had become icy cold, the air turned into raging fires, while hundreds of thousands of vines meandered like snakes.
Streams of rainbow-coloured energy came out of nowhere and shot around the Penta-Elemental Undead Formation. The formation, which only covered a few hundred square metres, began to expand rapidly. It was as if the Kraken had been awakened. It extended its tentacles, ready to begin destroying the world.
A terrifying burst of energy erupted from the centre of the formation and spread outwards. It was like a tsunami of pure energy that would engulf and destroy anything in its path.
The Fringedwellers charging forward were the first to be enveloped by the Penta-Elemental Undead Formation. Immediately, they felt an unstoppable, violent force assaulting them, as if thousands of huge mountains were being crushed against their bodies. All the experts below the Highgod were severely injured in an instant, and they began to spew blood. Some of those who did not react in time were flattened into bloody meat pies by the enormous force.
Chilling winds, piercing like blades, swirled around the formation, lifting the Fringedwellers into the air. Raging flames of immense heat then engulfed them, cooking them thoroughly in an instant.
A constant thunderous rumble emanated from beneath the torn ground, while a powerful pulling force emanated from these chasms. Huge boulders appeared out of nowhere and crashed down on the Fringedwellers as they flew into the air, hurling them into the abyss.
From deep underground came the pitiful screams of people in inhuman pain. It was as if there was a giant meat grinder down there, mincing into atoms all those who fell into it.
There was no sign of any of the Fringe forces that had been swallowed up by the Penta-Elemental Undead Formation, except for the leaders of those forces who fought to defend themselves. Nearly a hundred experts were massacred in an instant by all sorts of bizarre energies. Most of them perished with their bodies completely destroyed.
The Penta-elemental Undead Formation's sphere of effect continued to expand, and in the blink of an eye, several hundred more Fringedwellers entered the formation. Just like the last batch, they ended up dying tragically. The Five Elite Zombies unleashed a constant stream of their energies, fusing them and transforming them into all sorts of bizarre attacks against the ferocious Fringedwellers.
Although none of the Five Elite Zombies had attained the Highgod Realm, all five of them possessed the supreme treasure of their respective Elemental Yuan Energies, which increased their power beyond what they possessed. And when they fused their Elemental Yuan Energies with the Penta-Elemental Undead Formation, they would unleash a power many orders of magnitude greater than their combined strength.
Miserable screams continued to echo through the formation. The few faction leaders were able to withstand the onslaught for only a few moments longer than their followers. One by one, they succumbed to the chaotic and bizarre energies.
As if the formation itself wasn't deadly enough, the swarm of demon generals joined in the carnage. Attacking in groups of ten, the Fringedwellers succumbed to the overwhelming power of the formation in even less time.
In less than a few minutes, nearly four hundred of the Fringedwellers fell to the Penta-elemental Undead Formation and the thousands of Demon Generals. There were currently around two hundred Fringedwellers still inside the formation, doing everything they could to resist its power.
At the centre of the Penta-Elemental Undead Formation, the stunned Han Shuo, Han Hao, and Rose watched the Armageddon with their jaws dropped to the ground. The apocalyptic power that the Five Elite Zombies had unleashed on the Fringedwellers had overwhelmed them.
Although Han Shuo had long known that the Penta-elemental Undead Formation was very powerful, he had not known just how powerful - until now. He had witnessed how easily the formation had taken care of those formidable fringe dwelling experts. He finally understood why the Five Elite Zombies were so confident, even against the Fringedweller Horde.
When divided, the Elite Zombies might not be able to defeat even the weakest faction. But when they combined their energies using the Penta-elemental Undead Formation, their power surpassed even that of a Highgod; they would become a weapon of mass destruction that would annihilate any and every living thing around them.
As Han Shuo gaped at the scene of utter devastation created by the Five Elite Zombies, he thought, This Penta-elemental Undead Formation is so fucking overpowered! The Formation had perfectly combined the Elemental Yuan Energies of the Five Elite Zombies, amplifying their power exponentially and giving Han Shuo a surprise he could not imagine.
The Formation also had an entangling power. This means that all those ferocious Fringedwellers who crossed into the Formation would have a very hard time escaping from it. They could only passively defend themselves against the bizarre, colourful energies that were attacking them in all sorts of strange and complex methods, draining their divine energy and willpower until they eventually perish.
"Retreat!" Suddenly, a resounding roar was heard from one of the leaders of those forces just as his followers were about to cross into the Formation.
This lucky, observant chief could not tell what was happening inside the Formation. All he saw was a wildly revolving mass of grayish air wrapping the region. But he was alarmed to see that none of his fellow Fringedwellers had emerged from the grey thing.
When he called out, even the other dozen or so remaining factions stopped charging towards the formation. They, too, unanimously turned on their heels and retreated to a distance. There was no one left who dared to rush in recklessly.
Since the five elite zombies did not have unlimited energy, the Penta-elemental Undead Formation could only spread over a limited area, and they could only maintain the formation for a limited time. Gradually, the wildly spinning air slowed down, the flaming sky stopped burning, the stones fell back to the ground, and the dust settled.
The Fringedwellers outside the formation waited anxiously for a while. Finally, the Penta-elemental Undead Formation dissipated completely.
When the area was no longer shrouded, they saw an unrecognisable land, completely devastated, littered with incomplete bodies and severed limbs. There were also severed heads rolling on the ground...
Of the five or six hundred experts who had entered the formation, less than thirty were still alive. All the survivors were completely exhausted and had a terrified look on their faces, as if they had just experienced the most miserable moments of their lives.
There were bodies, limbs covering every inch of the scorched ground, filled with bottomless chasms. Huge boulders of unknown origin were everywhere. Some of them stood over crushed flesh and organs. A few Fringedwellers were crushed beneath the rocks, barely alive. Blood spurted from their gaping mouths. Their eyes were filled with helplessness and despair as they slowly faded away…
Those lucky Fringedwellers who did not step into the Formation were utterly silent as they observed the clusterfuck before them. They felt weak-kneed as shivers traveled up their spines. None of the Fringedwellers cried out in pain or shock. Not a sound came out from their mouths.
Thud, Thud… Heavy footsteps as reverberating as drums sounded, trembling their hearts. Han Shuo, Han Hao, and Rose were seen marching forward step by step.
Han Shuo's resonating footsteps broke the pin-drop silence and brought the remaining Fringedwellers to their senses. It was then that they recalled an important fact – they were not out of danger yet!
Buzz and Bertha who had been badly injured looked at Han Shuo and Rose with frightened eyes. Their minds were in jumbles. There was no longer a trace of arrogance or ferociousness on their faces but only regrets and despair.
"I did not want to fight you people, but you bunch were just too unreasonable. If you are so keen to seek death, I will grant it to you!" Han Shuo said to the shivering Fringedwellers. Then he put on a friendly smile and said, "Buzz, Bertha, do you want me to finish you off myself?"
The thirty-odd people who had managed to survive the Penta-Elemental Undead Formation had crawled behind Buzz and Bertha. As they heard Han Shuo's words, the crowd's gaze turned to Buzz and Bertha.
Then, suddenly, without any warning, all of the Fringedwellers behind Buzz and Bertha launched a surprise attack on the couple simultaneously. They couldn't react in time and were hit by those violent energies. They died instantly!
One of the Fringedwellers stepped forward, cut off Buzz and Bertha's heads and threw them to Han Shuo as he walked towards them. He said, "They are dead. Please do not hold a grudge against us. I promise I'll never make an enemy of you. Please forgive our offence and spare us!"
This Fringedweller was a clever person. Although he had survived the Penta-elemental Undead Formation, his body was still badly injured. He knew that under the circumstances, it would be impossible to leave the region alive without Han Shuo's permission. Therefore, he had decisively killed Buzz and Bertha to gain Han Shuo's forgiveness.
Han Shuo looked at Buzz and Bertha's heads rolling to his feet before turning to the person with a friendly smile and said, "It took me a lot of planning to gather you here. Do you think letting you walk away was part of my plan?"