At dawn the next day, Demon Blood led a small team to set out in search of traces of nearby undead.
It wasn't until around eleven o'clock that they returned, unfortunately without much gain, only having cleared some wild monsters.
All these monsters were undead, confirming Qin Muye's belief in the presence of undead in the vicinity. Otherwise, it couldn't be considered truly random; that would be highly unlikely. It couldn't be that they were all undead by chance.
However, Qin Muye wasn't contemplating these matters now because the monster siege was about to begin.
[Wave 2, Your Overall Strength: Tier 1 Elite. This wave of monsters includes: Tier 1 Elite Skeleton Footmen ×400, Tier 1 Elite Skeleton Archers ×100]
"Changing professions? This is a bit excessive. Yesterday, there were only 100 Skeleton Warriors, and today, it's Footmen and Archers, totaling 500."
Qin Muye saw the disciplined skeletons marching in formation from a distance. Four hundred Skeleton Footmen in front, armed with shields and swords, clad in armor, followed by Skeleton Archers equipped with longbows and short knives.
In terms of discipline, these skeletons were indeed better than the demonic creatures. Even after a night of training, the demonic creatures couldn't compare. It was like facing a group of irregulars against a regular army. However, the real outcome would be seen when they clashed.
The actual difference lay in their coordination.
Skeleton Footmen steadily advanced towards the territory. Despite their number being only 400, from Qin Muye's perspective atop the Mage Tower, it looked like a vast and endless horde.
On their side, there were only 182 demonic creatures plus Mo Xue.
"Apply the curse to the Skeleton Archers first; their attacks can break through defenses!" Qin Muye, seeing the Skeleton Archers readying their bows, quickly informed Mo Xue.
Although Mo Xue didn't respond, he expressed his actions. He immediately cast the curse on this army of skeletons.
Then, he released Bloodlust Magic and Attack Acceleration Magic for their side.
Currently, the demonic creatures needed to handle a 1-vs-2 situation. As the two forces collided, it wasn't as overwhelming as the first encounter with the Skeleton Warriors.
The Skeleton Footmen raised their shields in defense immediately.
This was the difference. Qin Muye's demonic creatures had no weapons or armor, so their approach was a straightforward charge.
The Skeleton Footmen dispersed at the first impact, but casualties were not significant, mostly just fractures.
Then, arrows rained down from the sky, producing clinking sounds as they hit the demonic creatures. Due to the additional 9 points of defense from the curse and the reduction of Skeleton Archer attack power from 8 to 5 due to the curse, their attacks didn't penetrate the defense.
Qin Muye, watching from the safety of the Mage Tower, breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they didn't breach the defense, it was good.
After all, 182 against 500 gave them no numerical advantage, and the fact that the enemy had ranged attackers made it even more challenging.
Actually, he wanted to strip the equipment from these monsters. Unfortunately, the equipment would disappear when the monsters died, so there was no way. Qin Muye, a frugal person, couldn't possibly let go of such equipment.
Currently, the situation seemed stable. Mo Xue took the lead in charging, tearing open a long crack among the Skeleton Footmen, like a sharp sword.
The demonic creatures' attack couldn't break through the shields, so they had to find a way to eliminate them in one strike. However, these Skeleton Footmen were obviously professionally trained, moving in a coordinated manner. Especially their shield techniques were quite proficient, effectively blocking the attacks of the demonic creatures.
However, this defense was not limitless. With continuous attacks from the demonic creatures, cracks appeared in the shields, and sometimes, unable to defend in time, a Skeleton Footman would have its head shattered by a demonic creature's punch.
Mo Xue, on the other hand, had it easy. With a standard longsword and sufficient attack power, even shields couldn't withstand his strikes. With one swing, he could disperse Skeleton soldiers and their shields.
His target was straightforward: eliminate the ranged attackers first.
As the defending side, lacking ranged attackers was a severe disadvantage.
Even though Qin Muye was an outsider, he could see that today's battle was much more difficult than yesterday's. Despite disadvantages in equipment and numbers, even with attribute and skill advantages, they could only barely keep up.
Now, some demonic creatures were starting to lose health, but this was also good news. The Elemental Resonance skill was starting to take effect.
One point of health traded for one point of attack, making their attacks more intense.
Combined with the training received by the 100 demonic creatures the previous night, they began consciously injuring themselves to increase their attack power.
Because the frontline was gradually moving backward, the demonic creatures noticed it. These Skeleton Footmen, with weaker attack and defense capabilities than them, were steadily eroding the frontline. Mo Xue had to rush to the rear to clear out the Skeleton Archers, or their situation would become more difficult.
"The difference in combat experience. It seems that the increased attributes of the Elite level are just the icing on the cake. The real strength lies in the experience and quality matched with the Elite label." Qin Muye understood the gap between Elites and regulars.
The last time, the attacking Skeleton Warriors could be likened to wandering martial artists, relying solely on courage.
This time, the Skeleton Footmen and Skeleton Archers were different. They could be called Elite forces. If their attack power could break through defenses, the demonic creatures would definitely suffer damage. In that case, Qin Muye would have to step in, casting healing spells to replenish the health of their forces, or they would be wiped out.
Fortunately, no breaches!
Of course, it wasn't absolute. If they endured too many attacks, there would be damage. That's why the demonic creatures consciously let themselves take damage to increase their attack power.
As the number of deaths among the Skeleton Archers and Footmen increased, the advantage gradually shifted back to Qin Muye's forces.
When the last Skeleton Footman was punched to pieces by a demonic creature, this round of the monster siege finally came to an end.
Yesterday took only three minutes, but today it took almost fifteen minutes, nearly five times longer. This made Qin Muye's heart sink, realizing that tomorrow might be even more challenging.
(End of this chapter)