"Stand behind me, no one else step forward!"
Upon swiftly assessing the situation, Wei Cheng bellowed this order. However, it was a little too late. The bald man who was already in the second line and Hu Hailong, who were on his back, had already rushed out aggressively, with Baldy lagging slightly behind.
Almost simultaneously, over a dozen larger Snow Apes on the rock wall suddenly emitted a white light from their paws, shaping a forearm-sized, sharp ice cone!
Weicheng only had the chance to shout a warning. Even though he instantly predicted the direction of the ice cone attack, he had no time to intercept it due to its astonishing speed. Even though he was several times faster than the average person, he was still too slow in this instance.
For one, engaging the Golden Bell Shield would further slow him down. Second, he could hardly compare the apes to ordinary humans; dozens of sharp ice cones brushed past him and directly bombarded Hu Hailong's Golden Bell Shield.
Despite having obtained the third level of the Golden Bell, Hu Hailong only had a bit more than the Second Hook Level of the Moving Mountain Inner Strength. He didn't possess the boost from the Visualization Diagram of Moving Mountain, thus his Golden Bell Shield was blown apart. He was killed and reduced to a flurry of ice fragments before he even had the chance to react from the residual force of the ice cones!
These ice cones even had a bursting effect at their ends - utterly ruthless!
This happened so suddenly and brutally that it reignited the fear of death's dominance amongst everyone.
Hu Hailong was second only to Wei Cheng in practicing the Method of the Moving Mountain. In his words, he was one of the two leading "tanks" together with Baldy!
Yet now, his death was so pitiful, simple and abrupt, absolutely worthless!
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"
The Snow Apes perched on the rock wall above squealed in excitement, even teasing Wei Cheng with many faces.
Meanwhile, more Snow Apes' palms began to glow faintly white again. Wei Cheng quickly moved in front of Baldy.
However, Baldy, not as experienced as the veteran real-time strategy gamer Hu Hailong, was not only hiding behind Wei Cheng, but also made quick sidesteps, exhibiting extraordinary nimbleness!
Wei Cheng had no time to think. He couldn't come up with a counter move as the next wave of ice cones was already pouring down from the sky.
Some were aimed at Wei Cheng, and some went cunningly towards Baldy. The Snow Apes had apparently figured out quickly that the weak should be the targets.
Weicheng immediately mobilized his Moving Mountain Inner Strength and ramped up the defense of the Golden Bell Shield to its maximum. As a result, his agility dropped to its minimum. This was the best he could do, and he was utterly unsure whether Baldy behind him could withstand the ice cones.
With no eyes on his back, Wei Cheng naturally didn't know that Baldy was constantly shuffling around. Although the ice cones aimed at him were powerful, they could not turn corners.
So while Wei Cheng was barely enduring about forty ice cones, almost ten of them ended up bombarding the ground. Even though they also brought up a burst of exploded ice chips, they posed little threat.
After regaining his breath, Wei Cheng replenished the defense of his Golden Bell Shield. Looking back, he saw Baldy still full of energy with a glittering Golden Bell Shield, even managing to give him a simple smile.
However, Wei Cheng couldn't force a smile. This feeling of being punched without being able to retaliate was infuriating.
"Brother Xu, back off!"
Weicheng ordered. But at the next moment, Yu Liang, Wang Wei, and Cheng An rushed out from the tunnel, while Zhang Yong and Han Dong were ready to race up from behind!
Good lord, these people were really willing to risk their lives!
But thinking about it, in this moment of life and death, how could they not spare no effort?
Thankfully, they still had Wei Cheng at the frontline, holding the fort securely at this crucial time. This created a situation that anyone who wasn't a fool would seize for their survival!
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"
The group of Snow Apes started cheering again, they quickly scrambled and adjusted their attack positions on the rock wall, leaving very few seconds for everyone to react.
In a blink of an eye, more than a dozen ice cones were shot from different angles. After a second, another dozen, followed by the third and fourth rounds.
The team coordination of these Snow Apes was simply extraordinary and their grasp of the battlefield was beyond imagination, leaving everyone in awe.
In fact, it was not just about remaining awe-struck. The area was limited and these seemingly fearless people rushed out, rendering Baldy's quick sidestepping method useless.
None of the first round of ice cones hit Wei Cheng and he couldn't chase them due to his speed.
Even though Baldy, Yu Liang, Wang Wei, and Cheng An all hid behind him, they could not handle the overwhelming attack from the Snow Apes situated at a higher position and outnumbered them. The Snow Apes' swift attacks left no time for reaction.
Boom, boom, boom!
The sound of the ice cones bursting echoed in the area. Out of the first fifteen ice cones, Yu Liang took five and his second level of the Golden Bell was blown apart.
With the support of the Second Hook Level Inner Strength, he managed to survive, but due to the shock of the ice cone explosion, he coughed up two mouthfuls of blood and his Inner Strength circulation was disrupted.
His combat power was completely lost as his flow of Inner Strength was interrupted.
Wang Wei suffered the same fate, she took four ice cones. Her Golden Bell Shield was shattered, and she suffered injuries from the inversion of her Qi and blood as well as damage to her meridians.
Impacted by the crowded conditions, Baldy also suffered from five ice cones. His Golden Bell Shield was destroyed, but luckily his external martial arts werre more advanced, so he wasn't injured. Instead, he was able to quickly regain his Qi and activate the Golden Bell Shield again.
The highlight surprisingly was Cheng An.
Cheng An resisted five ice cones even through his Golden Bell Shield'd only reached the first level. He even took the last ice cone for Wang Wei, otherwise, she would've been undoubtedly killed.
Though Cheng An's Golden Bell Shield was also shattered, his body didn't suffer much damage. He could immediately mobilize his Moving Mountain Inner Strength and activate the Golden Bell Shield without needing to regain his breath.
This was clearly because he'd cultivated his Inner Strength to the Third Hook Level and had activated the third stage of the Innate Meridians.
Such an advantage could even offset, if not surpass, the impact brought about by the external martial arts.
But this was only the first wave of attack, and the second wave of ice cones was already fast approaching.
Luckily, Wei Cheng had already rushed over by this time. He picked up Yu Liang with one hand and Wang Wei with the other. In the next second, seven or eight ice cones fell on his head, but only caused a slight ripple in his Golden Bell Shield.
However, Baldy still didn't want to retreat and thought he could overcome this hurdle with his quick sidestepping.
Almost at that moment, following a roar of a robust Snow Ape, they abandoned Cheng An and concentrated their fire directly on Baldy, seemingly extremely disgusted with his quick sidestepping!
A dozen or so ice cones were fiercely shot over. It was unknown how these Snow Apes adjusted their aim, but Baldy's quick sidestep was directly blown up, leaving no residue.
"Move back!"
Wei Cheng bellowed in fury, 'What were these people thinking?'