The game has become a real alternate world-Chapter 861 - 543: Cooperation

The morning mist had not yet completely dissipated.

The first ray of sunlight cast down, draping a blood-colored veil over the Iron Rust Plains.

The iron oxide minerals, moistened by dew, shimmered with a dark red hue, making the entire land seem like a vast mass of coagulated blood.

On this ancient battlefield that had endured countless ages, ancient war machines partially buried in the ground stretched twisted metal appendages from the red earth.

A three-hundred-year-old mechanical body exposed its gear-laden spine, with a section resembling a siege hammer adorned with dragon motifs, on which a group of carrion birds perched.

Dozens of ragged refugees were laboring in Mining Area No. 3, gripping the Alchemy Pickaxes provided by the Night Watchers with their dust-covered hands to tirelessly strike the exposed minerals before them.

This special pickaxe was meticulously crafted by the Blacksmith Shop, designed to save time and effort, allowing for quick mineral separation.

It is said that in the New Recruit Training Camp, new recruits, during their physical training upgrades, can wield a pickaxe in each hand, swinging them like a whirlwind as they furiously strike the ores.

Behind these miners, two United Army soldiers were languidly performing guard duty.

Suddenly, the sound of rusted metal snapping echoed from somewhere, followed by the eruption of dust akin to an old man’s cough, as a complete ancient war golem emerged with a thunderous presence.

This once-ancient battlefield, affected by unknown magic, left minerals fully exposed and brought many ancient alchemy pieces of equipment back to daylight.

However, these pieces weren’t impressive to the Night Watchers, after all, not everything old is necessarily powerful.

The girl responsible for sorting minerals fell to the ground in fright, her Alchemy Ore Detector emitting a frantic alarm — within the chest cavity of the seven-meter-high bronze statue, a still-functioning energy core lay sealed.

"Get behind me! Everyone else, evacuate immediately!" shouted a United Army soldier, quickly sounding the alarm.

Yet, they failed to notice the strange markings appearing in the golem’s pupils, which then transformed into purple energy.

A Night Watcher, hearing the alarm, rushed over swiftly.

And the refugees who had run outside stood in bewilderment, their gazes fixed on the distant horizon.

The sky in the distance was stained with blood, a chilling aura rapidly spreading across the land.

This was none other than the Night Watchers’ defensive line area not far away.

...

To the west of the Iron Rust Plains, as the blood-stained sky spread, a large number of enemies surged toward the defensive line.

"Damn it, what the hell is going on? Why are there so many enemies? This isn’t even a strategic point, I feel like there’s no reason for them to attack from here," the Captain of the third guard unit of the Light Guardian Sixth Regiment, responsible for this area’s defense, asked in confusion as he looked into the distance.

Beside him, a team member scratched his head, thought for a moment, and said, "Maybe some enemies think it’s our resource-gathering point? After all, we’ve sent quite a few refugees here to mine minerals recently, at a glance, it does seem plausible."

The captain turned his head and glared at him fiercely.

"Use your brain, don’t just blindly examine with the Authentication Device all day. If this really was an important resource site, why would we only now send refugees to excavate?

We sent these refugees over just to give them something to do, ensure they get enough to eat and feel secure, so they’re not constantly uneasy from the war and susceptible to those vile evil gods."

The chastised team member shrugged helplessly.

"That’s all I can think of, so what now? Request support?"

"Report the situation here, let... damn it, we don’t have Griffin Knights here. Dispatch a small team to scout out the enemy’s specific size."

Upon hearing the order, the previously somewhat lazy Light Guardian soldiers immediately stood at attention and saluted: "Yes!"

Then, the captain stood up and shouted towards the rear: "Everyone, move it! Everyone pay attention, the enemy is about to arrive, get those refugees running! When the attack comes, it won’t be discriminating! Those with guts, and the new recruits, get the ammunition supplies over here, bring those newly delivered equipment along too!"

With the orders issued, everyone sprang into action, the entire defensive line instantly became tense and busy.

Soon, the enemy closed in on the line.

There was no communication, no room for negotiation, not even the usual pre-battle challenge.

War was imminent.

Three hundred Skinners marched in formation, charging from the horizon.

These followers of the Blood God were skinned, their muscle fibers exposed, wielding giant axes in their left hands and swinging chains in their right, with plague war dogs chained to their ankles, barking wildly.

"Bloody hell!" the Light Guardian squad captain shouted in terror, "The Blood God’s followers even have plague war dogs with them!"

They had never seen such a situation before.

Although the evil gods occasionally cooperated, they almost never coordinated in such an intimate manner, most of the time it was good enough if they didn’t attack each other.

The sight of them fighting side by side was truly an eye-opener.

Behind these Skinners, hundreds of Barbarian Warriors were slowly pushing siege towers as tall as three-story buildings forward.

On the platform at the top of the siege towers, the Plague Ratmen were busy mixing ceramic jars filled with venomous locusts.

"It’s those annoying Plague Believers again, the ratmen’s Plague Apostles are total trash among trash."

"Reserve the Holy Flame Sprayer, prioritize the use of Acid Crossbow!" commanded the Light Guardian commander Huo Lin, standing atop the watchtower. His chest armor’s Defense Array flashed with light as he wielded his sword.

At the rear of the defensive line, twelve crossbow carriages long stationed there responded, ceramic jars filled with Bone-Eroding Liquid arced across the sky in parabolas.

The Skinners roared in unison, swinging the iron hooks at the ends of their chains to grab slave laborers, hauling them over as meat shields.

The acid splashed onto human bodies, instantly corroding pitch-black holes, while plague war dogs and numerous parasites took the opportunity to invade the defenders’ hideouts.

Huo Lin cursed, activating the lava trench beneath the city walls. Scorching golden-red magma spewed forth, engulfing dozens of captured refugees and war dogs alike.

These plague war dogs, upon death, began spreading the plague within them.

Behind a distant rock, followers of the Shadow were recording everything with scrolls, chanting incantations: "Indeed, this isn’t the primary expansion area of the Night Watchers, the defensive strength of the salient clearly dropped several levels.

However, with the Night Watchers’ rapid information exchange, support will surely come quickly. Breaking through the line won’t be easy, and you have to avoid the Night Watchers’ aerial patrols. Really troublesome, it seems a surprise attack is needed..."

This sudden counterattack by the Chaos Forces wasn’t limited to just this location; the main battlefield was the same.

It seemed as if within just one night, all Chaos Faction forces had reached a cooperative agreement.

They launched multi-line counterattacks, attempting to reverse their previous decline, at least boosting their morale for the more challenging battles ahead.

However, the multi-line attacks combined with disorganized cooperation meant they failed to gain any advantage on any battlefield.