Chapter 102: Rushed Wave (2)

Chapter 102: Rushed Wave (2) Before the time limit, everyone geared up properly and rushed to their designated positions. The Former King, Arthur Pendragon, stood about a hundred meters ahead of the north gate—facing the giant mountain—alone, with nothing but Excalibur at his side. He stood tall, calm-faced, like a sovereign standing before enemy forces—radiating dignity and might. At the southeast end stood the Saint, Jehanne d’Arc—facing a steep cliff a few hundred meters ahead. Taking into account that the wave monsters might be too powerful for her to handle conventionally, she had already equipped her trump card—the UR Bunny Suit. Thankfully, she managed to avoid the crowd while heading to her post, resulting in zero unintended casualties before the battle even began. Finally, there was Xu Tao, stationed at the southwest. Unlike the other two, who were simply waiting patiently, he was actively going around, tapping the ground with his foot—and occasionally with his metal-ribbed fan. He might be powerful, but that didn’t mean he should neglect preliminary setup. "With this many formations, no monster should be able to reach the walls." He nodded to himself, satisfied. "Pui, pui!" A short distance behind him, standing on top of the wall, was Pepe. The little guy was on standby, ready to collect loot at any moment. Well, Xu Tao wouldn’t let him move until the wave was cleared, of course. The backup elite troop was already on standby, stationed at the southern gate of the first wall—practically the middle of the entire formation. Its members consisted of a few familiar faces: Xu Tao’s five sect disciples, Jehanne’s five soldiers, and five elites among the locals—one dark elf, two elves, one dwarf, and one beastkin. Lastly, there was Yifa, who had joined in as well. Why did she join? Well, despite being the last addition to the team, she had the highest level among them. The Azure Dragon Sect disciples were only around the level 50s, but with their cultivation and martial techniques, they shouldn’t fall behind in terms of damage output. Jehanne’s soldiers regularly went out to hunt, so their levels were fairly high—the weakest at level 100, the strongest around 125. Then there were the five locals. They were the cream of the crop—the most elite survivors. Their levels ranged from 150 to 190, but their performance, as per Jehanne’s words, shouldn’t be underestimated. Lastly, there was Yifa, who had been boosted during the desert trek with Xu Tao. Although she barely fought, her level still rose to 204. And since Xu Tao warned her not to go full-Cultivation dump as she neared the Qi Gathering stage, she instead poured her bonus stats into DEX, greatly enhancing her movement and attack speed. Combined with her Faceless Shadow Technique, she had become a newborn powerhouse—just short of matching Jehanne or Arthur. Now, everyone was ready. Time ticked down. Just as the timer hit zero, a new notification appeared before those with access to the Lost System. [Alert! Countdown is over. Summoning the wave monsters in five seconds...] During the first wave, there had been roughly two spawn points. The second wave had been the same—two portals where monsters poured out. "W-What?" But the third wave was different. On each cardinal direction, a spawn point appeared—creating a surge of monsters twice as large in scale as either of the previous waves. Four portals in total. That’s twice the number of sources. Far to the north, Arthur exhaled softly as the portal lit up, lifting Excalibur in silence. He only had to deal with one portal. But Xu Tao and Jehanne had to share the south while also managing their own primary sources. In short, they had more work to do! "Looks like my decision to wear the suit right from the start was the right one!" Jehanne grinned fiercely, spinning her long spear as the white triangular flag attached to it fluttered in the wind. "I’ll clean them up in no time!" She didn’t wait for the monsters to spread—she dashed straight into the portal, spear spinning. She used her enhanced speed to its fullest and rushed toward the eastern source, intending to hit them right where they emerged. Thankfully, the monsters’ appearance was similar to those from the first two waves. Lanky white bodies without eyes, with sharp movements that belied their emaciated, skeletal frames. Each one currently possessed strength roughly equivalent to level 5—basically trash tier. However, their numbers were a threat. "DIE, YOU HEATHEN MONSTERS!" With a fierce smile and a crazed glint in her eyes, Jehanne waved her flag nonstop. Arms, legs, and heads flew in all directions, along with gouts of dirty monster blood. Yet not a single drop touched her, and not a single stain marked the pure white flag on her spear. Jehanne was still dominating the fight, tearing through the first batch. In under three minutes, she had completely wiped out the eastern source, and immediately rushed toward the southern one for good measure— "Huh?" —at least, she intended to. But she was already too late. "That’s the 2,048th monster. This should be the last one for this batch." A calm voice echoed. A man stood at the southern source, casually folding the fan in his hand. "Sir Tao... You cleared the south already?" "Jehanne?" The man—Xu Tao—glanced at her, surprised. "So you’re done on your side too? Well, it’s just the first batch, so it’s relatively easy." Jehanne, hearing his casual response, was left speechless. After all, she was already using her cheat item, the UR Bunny Suit, which multiplied her stats. Even so, she had still lost to him in clearing speed! By the time she defeated the 1,024 monsters on her side, Xu Tao had already wiped out two sources’ worth! "True... but you still cleared them so fast, Sir Tao! That’s amazing!" Jehanne beamed, pumping her fists near her chest. "Nah, it’s not all good news either." Xu Tao quickly shook his head and averted his gaze. "You noticed how each source from the previous waves started with about 512 monsters?" Jehanne nodded. "Yes, I did notice that," she muttered, her expression darkening. "Right. But now, not only are there double the sources, each one is summoning double the number of monsters. This wave... isn’t going to be as easy as the previous two." If the monsters on Arthur’s side were of similar quantity, then they’d just faced the equivalent of four waves in one round! "Thinking about how strong the later monsters will get, and their sheer numbers..." Xu Tao trailed off, not finishing his sentence. "..." But Jehanne understood exactly what he meant. And she also realized just how dangerous it was going to become.