Chapter 143: Slaying the Shadow Leader
With Gu Xi single-handedly facing hundreds of shadow troops, the soldiers under Gu Xi's command finally saw a change in the battle against the shadow leader.
All of Gu Xi's soldiers surrounded the shadow leader for the fight.
Some of the heavy armored zombies still carried their original chains and hooks. Though they moved slowly, the shadow leader was within their reach.
After a few steps, the heavy armored zombies threw their hooks towards the shadow leader.
The shadow leader quickly grabbed the chains with its arms, but this was exactly what the heavy armored zombies wanted. Once the chains were grabbed, they stood their ground and pulled back with all their might.
This caused the shadow leader's arms to be stretched, preventing its body from contracting as it had before.
At this moment, the other undead had already reached the shadow leader.
They were all empowered by the skeletal priests. Although the effect was brief, it was sufficient for the undead. Over six hundred various undead attacked, some in an orderly fashion, others chaotically.
Some attacks were powerful, some ordinary.
But all the attacks carried a 20% damage boost, landing on the shadow leader.
Each hit drained some of the shadow leader's life.
However, the undead soldiers did not care about the enemy's life. Their only goal was to cut off the shadow leader's arms.
Only by severing all its arms could the undead army's attacks reach the shadow leader's main body.
The ghosts understood this as well. They stopped attacking the shadow leader directly and flew away, forcibly pulling apart the arms holding them.
As the shadow leader's arms became immobilized, more and more undead found their targets. The dragged arms, like branches, were hacked repeatedly by the long-sword-wielding undead.
Especially the undead from the Bone Cleaving Battalion, their two-handed swords were now the best weapons for cutting off arms.
Whenever the shadow leader extended an arm, the two-handed swords would chop down heavily, cutting off one or two arms with each strike.
Though the shadow leader seemed to have countless arms, the number was actually limited.
As more arms were cut off, the rear undead forces joined the attack.
Without the protection of its arms, the skeleton archers' arrows could accurately hit the shadow leader's body.
No longer blocked by the arms.
Simultaneously, the skeletal soldiers from Combat Squad 1 relentlessly thrust their spears forward. Unlike the archers, who were helpless if their arrows missed, their attacks were mechanical: thrust, retreat, and thrust again.
Each thrust accurately pierced some arms and struck the shadow leader's body.
Even if a spear was grabbed by an arm, the following skeletal soldiers could coordinate to pull it free. Their attacks became increasingly effective.
Before long, the shadow leader was forced back by the skeletal soldiers.
At this point, the undead under Gu Xi discovered the shadow leader's greatest weakness.
No matter how strong the shadow leader appeared, it had a significant flaw: it was only level 6.
Even as a boss, its health was stronger than some elites, but its maximum health was limited.
One or two attacks might not matter, barely noticeable. But as more and more undead surged forward and attacked, the shadow leader's health quickly dropped.
The shadow leader could no longer ignore the attacks.
It tried to retract its arms to restore some health and strengthen its defense.
But the heavy armored zombies, seeing this, decisively pulled the arms back again.
Thus, the shadow leader's plan to retract its body failed. The Bone Cleaving Battalion took the opportunity to slash forward, cutting off the arms trying to retract.
Simultaneously, the skeletal soldiers from Combat Squad 1 sped up, constantly thrusting their spears.
At this moment, the skeletal archer leader, who had been looking for an opportunity, locked onto a position.
He raised his left hand high, letting all the skeleton archers see the bow in his hand.
Behind him were all of Gu Xi's skeletal archers. Some joined the archer leader's combat squad, while others were scattered.
But the archer leader's influence remained. Without any command, all the skeletal archers looked at this leader.
His raised left hand with the bow signaled: watch his action and shoot together.
In an instant, all the skeletal archers raised their bows, mimicking the archer leader's movement.
Without looking back, the archer leader knew what was happening behind him. He drew his bow, aimed at the identified spot, and shot an arrow.
Over a hundred bone arrows followed the archer leader's shot.
The archer leader's aim was precise; his shot hit the shadow leader's core.
The leader's arrow alone was insignificant, but the hundred-plus arrows following it were fatal.
This single volley halved the shadow leader's health, forcing it back several steps.
The skeletal soldiers from the Bone Cleaving Battalion saw their chance.
They could clearly sense that the shadow leader's life force had dropped to a tenth, making it the perfect time for a final strike.
So the skeletal soldiers raised their two-handed swords, each taking turns to attack.
One skeletal soldier failing to kill was not an issue, as many more followed. One strike failed, followed by many others.
The continuous strikes left the shadow leader no chance to retaliate. After an unknown number of strikes, the shadow leader let out a sharp scream and fell, turning into many black arms on the ground.
[Skeletal Soldier (Summoned) killed Shadow Leader (Level 6), you gain 18 experience points (Experience +5%, Level Cap, Overflow Experience Stored). Participating combat units gain 1 experience point each, and the summoning units involved in the kill gain 14 experience points.]
Gu Xi, fighting ahead, saw the notification and immediately knew the biggest problem of this battle was resolved.
He slapped the coffin lid and commanded, "All units, focus on those regular shadows, kill them!"