Apocalypse Gachapon Chapter 2066: Nervousness that can't go away

The overwhelming force was truly like splitting bamboo.

At present, Mei City had gathered eight level nine lifeforms: Little Tiger, the Talking Lady and Black Cat, Liang Chuyin, Red Hair and the Undead Dragonfish, the Death King Tree, and Mo Ye. A nine-star evolved from Chameleon should also be present. Apart from the severely injured Yangos, who could no longer fight, such a small city concentrated so many top-tier lifeforms. One could imagine the terrifying, destructive power they would unleash.

After more than an hour of intense battle, the engagement had transformed from mutual attacks into a one-sided slaughter.

It wasn't that the parasites offered no resistance; their resistance simply proved ineffective.

The continuous shrinking of the encirclement made Cloud Peak's numerical disadvantage almost imperceptible. Led by the top-tier lifeforms, they relentlessly assaulted the parasite battle lines, employing diverse tactics and skills to divide, encircle, charge, and break the enemy formation.

"It's far too late to emerge now."

Witnessing the scene, Guangyao softly commented.

The current predicament was nearly irreversible because, after Cloud Peak's aerial forces retreated, the magic crystal cannons unleashed their fury once more. The parasites, compressed into the city's core, endured near-devastating strikes.

Following the second volley of magic crystal cannon bombardment, Cloud Peak's teams launched their follow-up assault, killing as they advanced. Everyone fought with fierce determination, driven by the desire to earn merits, as each parasite vanquished equated to rewards after the battle.

Only the Talking Lady and Black Cat, leading the zombie horde, retreated. It was unavoidable; it hadn't posed an issue when parasites surrounded them from all sides earlier. However, with evolved beings nearby, indiscriminate killing amidst the heat of battle would weaken their own forces.

Thus, Xia Lei directed the Speechless Woman and Black Cat to withdraw with the remaining several thousand zombies, positioning them not far from Xia Lei's current location.

Since the Talking Lady had displayed no signs of faltering earlier, Mo Ye refrained from intervening, and the nine-star evolved from Chameleon did not make an appearance either.

Yellow Ball emitted two growls, clearly eager to descend and join the slaughter. Xia Lei hesitated before patting Big Yellow's body, stating, "The flesh and blood of these creatures carry a foul stench; it's best not to get involved."

Yellow Ball could only resign itself to lying on the ground, observing the Cloud Peak warriors engaged in combat below.

Yangos, having been moved nearby to recuperate, guffawed without restraint, "Big Yellow, they truly are odorous. Although I detest bathing the most, I'll have someone wash my relatively intact scales later; it's excessively smelly."

Big Yellow cast a disdainful glance at the malevolent dragon, not bothering to engage with an imbecile.

"It's concluded." By this juncture, Xia Lei had arrived at the same determination as Guangyao.

With the battle having reached this stage, there was virtually no remaining suspense.

Earlier, she had already dispatched the Battle Rat Legion to conduct extensive underground reconnaissance. Indeed, no other parasites were detected, signifying that only those trapped within the central region of Mei City remained.

Regarding the abrupt disappearance of a million green-skinned monsters, Xia Lei naturally felt a significant sense of strangeness and puzzlement, accompanied by a lingering unease.

But if they had truly vanished, what recourse was there?

Viewing it from another perspective, it was actually advantageous for Cloud Peak. After all, the enemy's numbers had been reduced to four point five million. Even with victory assured now, it would still require one or two days to eliminate them all. Throughout this process, some form of resistance would inevitably persist; resistance implied casualties. Having one million fewer adversaries meant Cloud Peak could preserve numerous lives.

Since victory was undeniable, Xia Lei considered that to minimize casualties, they should implement a rotating attack strategy. This approach could maintain the intensity of the assault while simultaneously establishing a secondary defensive line on the perimeter to prevent any parasites from attempting a breakout and escape.

Escape?

The mere thought of this caused Xia Lei to freeze abruptly.

Logically speaking, these parasites possessed considerable intelligence. They couldn't possibly be unaware of their dire situation after nearly two hours of relentless combat.

So, why did they not attempt to flee? Why did they not even show the slightest indication of a breakout?

Were they truly fearless of death?

Xia Lei found this assertion unbelievable. Seeking favorable circumstances and evading harm was a fundamental instinct for all life. These parasites were not unintelligent; they undoubtedly desired to survive as well.

Then why persist in this futile engagement?

Xia Lei felt a growing restlessness, an persistent sensation that she had overlooked something crucial.

She directed her focus more intently towards the battlefield. Indeed, Cloud Peak held a substantial advantage, nearly encircling the enemy, and continuously severing the parasites' forces and lives as if with sharp blades.

From every conceivable angle, she could not discern any potential for the enemy to engineer a comeback.

Neither on the ground nor beneath it—the Battle Rat Legion had already completed their reconnaissance...

A grave expression settled upon Xia Lei's face; her premonition of disaster grew stronger.

Outside?

The Black-hearted Queen's eyes began to sweep across their surroundings. That, too, seemed impossible, as Cloud Peak had been stationed here for days. While they might not know every inch of the terrain, they were certainly well-acquainted with it. Where nearby could a million foes possibly conceal themselves!

Yet, the unsettling feeling within Xia Lei's heart refused to dissipate.

"Dispatch two Exquisite Floating Balls to survey the vicinity. Do not hesitate to venture further; ascertain if any anomalies are present."

"Instruct the Battle Rat Legion to spread out and investigate the subterranean areas around Mei City, seeking out any unusual findings."

Issuing these two directives in succession provided a modicum of relief to Xia Lei's growing unease. After a moment's thought, she addressed the command center members behind her, "Transmit messages to both Cloud Peak and the East Sea. Inquire about the normality of their situations and command them to bolster their defenses against any unforeseen developments."

Her subordinates, though uncertain of the rationale behind Xia Lei's seemingly superfluous actions, complied with her orders.

"Everyone, maintain vigilance; watch for any irregular areas. Report any discoveries immediately upon sighting."

Xia Lei reiterated her instructions to the key Cloud Peak members adorned with Battle Contribution Badges, hoping that those actively engaged on the front lines might perceive something she had missed.

Approximately half an hour later, reports arrived from all fronts: no abnormalities were detected.

Xia Lei breathed a slight sigh of relief, chiding herself for her excessive suspicion.

Her attention returned fully to the ongoing battlefield. By this juncture, the engagement had persisted for nearly three hours. An astonishing 1.5 million parasites had been eliminated, a testament to their incredible efficiency. However, she also observed that despite the continuation of the battle and the ever-expanding advantage, the pace of attacks and the rate at which enemies were felled had begun to diminish. This was attributable, firstly, to numerous skills entering their cooldown periods. Secondly, the replenishment of weapon and equipment durability had become less effective. Even with Cloud Peak's immense resources, sustaining such expenditure indefinitely was proving challenging. In this short span alone, Cloud Peak had supplied at least two million assorted weapons and pieces of equipment, hundreds of thousands of which were of green-grade!

Even the wealthiest of clans would struggle to maintain such a supply line.

Concurrently, the stamina and morale of all combatants had reached a critical point; the time for rest was imminent.

Observing these circumstances, Xia Lei mused that were she the enemy commander, this precise moment would undoubtedly be the opportune time to launch a counteroffensive.

She was on the verge of dismissing the thought as fanciful when her expression abruptly shifted. She and Yellow Ball, positioned beside her, reacted by turning towards the rear almost in unison!