Volume One: Hell-Tier Lord World Chapter 144: How to Fight

The Arch-Fairies and the Bio-Dryads took to the air, soaring directly over the skeletons and walking corpses gathered below.

A few wraiths attempted to intervene along the way, but with Lister pressing the attack from behind, the enemy could not spare any additional forces to stop them.

Consequently, the Arch-Fairies and Bio-Dryads easily reached the skeleton archers.

Initially, the skeleton archers had spotted Lister charging forward with his troops, but with numerous forces standing between them, they figured it would take Lister quite some time to break through and reach their position.

The skeleton archers had not taken Lister’s charge seriously at all.

However, the moment the Arch-Fairies and Bio-Dryads took flight, they realized something was terribly wrong.

They scrambled to launch an attack against the incoming flyers.

Yet the Arch-Fairies and Bio-Dryads possessed blistering flight speeds.

Before the skeleton archers could even adjust their aim, the vanguard of the Arch-Fairies had already descended upon them, launching a fierce assault.

At that moment, Gu Chen finally snapped into action.

"Fire Spirit Crows, carpet-bomb and clear a path for Lister!"

Complying with Gu Chen’s command, the Fire Spirit Crows plunged downward once again. Massive fireballs slammed into the enemy formation, violently blasting a wide-open path through the ranks.

Seeing this, Lister immediately led his troops charging through the newly blasted corridor.

Naturally, undead forces still trailed closely behind them.

However, Gu Chen was not one to leave loose ends.

He ordered the Fire Spirit Crows to loop back and execute another round of carpet bombing, cutting off the undead pursuit and separating them from Lister.

Left with no other option, the pursuing undead forces were forced to redirect their charge toward the Wisteria.

By this time, the Wisteria had already completed its battle preparations.

The eighty elven archers left behind by Lister stood firmly atop the ramparts of the Wisteria.

The moment the undead forces began charging in their direction, the elven archers opened fire without hesitation.

The archery skills of the elves were beyond reproach.

Their range, offensive power, and precision all far surpassed those of the skeleton archers lagging at the rear of the undead horde.

As the undead closed in, the elves prioritized firing upon the vampires and walking corpses within the enemy ranks.

As for the wraiths and skeleton foot soldiers, they were left entirely to the Holy Light Magma creatures stationed on the outer perimeter of the Wisteria.

Having previously spent their time clearing the battlefield, the Holy Light Magma creatures had suffered virtually no losses.

At that moment, their numbers totaled over sixty.

Facing the surging tide of undead, the Holy Light Magma creatures did not hesitate in the slightest, plunging straight into the thick of the enemy forces.

They raised their massive fists and smashed them heavily into the ground.

With a deafening roar, torrents of scorching magma erupted from the earth.

The frontline skeleton soldiers were instantly incinerated in droves.

Yet the undead harbored no concept of fear.

As the foremost skeletons were obliterated, the undead behind them immediately surged forward.

In no time at all, the sixty Holy Light Magma creatures were swarmed by hundreds of undead, overwhelmed and pressed heavily into the ground.

Even as they were beaten down, these Holy Light Magma creatures managed to drag several undead down with them.

Before perishing, they each triggered a final, violent self-destruction.

Through the sacrifice of those sixty-plus Holy Light Magma creatures, nearly a thousand undead were wiped out on the spot.

Even so, Gu Chen showed no sign of excitement; these undead were, after all, mere cannon fodder.

The number of vampires actually slain was negligible.

The vast majority of the casualties consisted of skeleton soldiers, walking corpses, and wraiths.

To Gu Chen, a battle like this barely broke even.

Meanwhile, Lister had slaughtered virtually all the skeleton archers and was now leading his surviving men back in a counter-charge.

Judging by the troops still remaining at his side, Lister’s losses this time had been quite minimal.

Once cornered, a cluster of over a thousand skeleton archers possessed virtually no close-combat capabilities.

Lister’s subordinates were all high-damage combatants, often obliterating a skeleton archer with a single blow.

Taking down over a thousand skeleton archers was merely a matter of time for them.

Having decimated the skeleton archers, Lister had not forgotten the ongoing battle in his rear.

He immediately led his troops charging back.

His return coincided with the most devastating wave of self-destructions by the Holy Light Magma creatures, catching the vast majority of the undead within the blast radius.

Even those who survived the explosions were left critically wounded.

Lister and his men charged back into the fray, effortlessly cutting down the remaining undead—including the enemy undead heroes.

With the slaughter complete, Lister retreated to the perimeter of the Wisteria.

Gu Chen simultaneously summoned new Holy Light Magma creatures to clear the battlefield while instructing Lister to fall back to the Wisteria’s temporary encampment to recover their stamina and vitality.

"Take your time, rest for a moment. Fortunately, I brought the medical tent, though we cannot rely on it indefinitely. Lister, once your men have recovered their strength, hold the front line for a bit; I have matters to attend to."

Bolstered by Gu Chen’s medical tent, Lister’s troops rapidly recovered a substantial amount of health.

Even the heavily wounded soldiers were able to rise and fight once more.

Right on cue, a fresh wave of undead emerged from the exact same spawn point as the previous one.

Observing this, Lister rose to his feet and said, "No need for further treatment, this is good enough. One more battle and my men will level up, which will automatically restore both their health and stamina."

"The enemy numbers are still quite large, and those undead are starting to adapt to our combat methods."

Gu Chen, positioned at a higher vantage point, immediately noticed that this batch of undead differed from the previous ones.

This time, a full five thousand undead had arrived.

While it had not yet reached the scale of tens of thousands like a rolling mountain or a surging sea, this head count far exceeded normal parameters.

Basic undead still formed the core of this wave.

However, their unit composition had clearly evolved.

Bringing up the rear were once again over a thousand skeleton archers, evidently serving as a precaution against aerial assaults.

The situation at the vanguard, however, was entirely different.

Leading the charge were walking corpses equipped with heavy shields.

Behind them marched skeleton soldiers wielding long spears.

Their formation was capable of absorbing the brunt of a charge and even counter-attacking to wipe out a wave of enemies.

Furthermore, within their ranks, a full hundred vampires had now appeared.

Accompanied by seven or eight hundred wraiths, these vampires took to the air, lifting off from the main undead column.

It was evident that they constituted the primary strike force of this assault.

Simultaneously, the number of undead heroes within this force had exceeded one hundred for the very first time.

Taking in the sight, Gu Chen and Lister exchanged glances.

"How do we play this?"

"Flank them from the sides. Those walking corpses turn slowly and can't keep up with your speed. The skeleton soldiers are blocked by the walking corpses, preventing them from building up momentum. The vampires and wraiths are heading straight for the camp and won't pursue you. You’ll have an opening to strike directly at the skeleton archers. As for the mess over here, leave it to me."