"Has the signal been sent?!"

Qin Ming stared at the massive stone door, cold sweat beading on his forehead. The heavy footsteps echoing from deep within the door made it hard for him to breathe.

"Vice President, Sister Jasmine and the others will be here in ten minutes at most!" the communications officer beside him shouted through gritted teeth.

"Ten minutes... that's too slow!" Qin Ming drew his epic-grade dagger, which was burning with dark red flames, pointed the blade forward, and roared, "Everyone, listen up! Except for the Shadow Assassins on the outer perimeter, the remaining seven hundred men, all of you, get to the top! Close that door again!"

"Hurry! If you don't want to be swallowed alive, use every ounce of your strength!" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Military orders are absolute.

Without hesitation, the members of the Eternal Night Guild abandoned their original exploration formation and rushed toward the stone gate that was tens of meters high.

To open that stone door back then, they mobilized all the strength-type professionals in the guild, and it took them a tremendous amount of effort to barely manage to push it open. Now, trying to close it in this critical moment, the difficulty is unimaginable.

"One! Two! Three! Push—!"

Acheng stood at the front, his eyes bloodshot from excessive bloodshotness. His brand-new epic-grade heavy armor scraped against the stone gate, producing a piercing sound.

"Aaaaah! Move!"

Seven hundred high-level professionals activated their own buff skills.

"Raging Roar!"

"Blessing of Power!"

"Power of the earth, grant your blessing!"

Various skill lights flashed in the crowd, everyone's face turned red, their necks bulged, and veins popped out as they exerted every ounce of strength in their shoulders and arms. Fortunately, having experienced the baptism of the previous national war, coupled with the top-quality equipment recently bestowed upon them by Zhou Huai, everyone's basic attributes and strength had seen a significant leap forward.

"rumble......"

With the combined effort of seven hundred people pushing and shoving without reservation, the stone door finally let out a muffled, mournful groan.

The two enormous doors, with a teeth-grinding scraping sound, began to close together.

Ten meters... five meters... three meters...

Seeing that only a narrow passage less than a meter wide remained between the two doors, many people breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Almost there! Brothers, give it your all! We'll be shut down soon!" Ah Cheng shouted excitedly, continuing to exert himself while sweating profusely.

However, in that very instant...

"Tap, /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ tap, tap..."

A powerful, synchronized sound of footsteps, mixed with the chilling clatter of bones, surged out from the last crack in the door!

Immediately following was a shrill, ear-piercing neigh of a warhorse!

"Whoosh—!"

The sound was unlike anything a living being could make; it pierced everyone's eardrums.

Qin Ming's hair stood on end.

This imposing presence and oppressive aura are not just ordinary undead skeletons!

"How dare you—!!!"

Just as the stone gate was about to close completely, a thunderous, wild shout came from inside!

The shout, mixed with a mental shock, made the dozen or so Eternal Night members closest to the stone door dizzy, their ears and noses bleeding, and their hands involuntarily loosened their grip on the door.

"Bang!"

A white-faced, white-boned horse hoof kicked out from the crack in the door, forcefully blocking the stone door from closing!

Immediately afterwards, a terrifying figure burst forth from the darkness!

It was an undead warrior riding a tall, skeletal warhorse! It stood over three meters tall, clad in tattered yet chillingly dark bronze armor. Beneath its helmet, there was no flesh, only a skull. And in its empty eye sockets, two eerie blue flames of soul fire flickered and burned wildly!

"die!"

The skeleton warrior's empty jaw opened and closed, emitting a furious roar.

It gave no one time to react. The three-meter-long, rusty halberd in its hand, which exuded a strong aura of death, swept outwards with a shriek through the air!

"Not good! Raise the shield! Raise the shield quickly!" Ah Cheng's eyes were bloodshot as he instinctively raised the epic-level tower shield in his hand to block in front of him.

"Bang--!"

A loud bang.

The rusty halberd, with overwhelming force, slammed into the shields of the seven or eight heavily armored knights in the front row!

"Snap!"

The epic-level tower shield groaned in pain as a deep crack was cleaved through its surface! The level 40 professionals hiding behind the shield were swept away, shield and all!

"puff!"

"ah!"

Amid screams, the group crashed heavily onto the stone pillars behind them, spitting out blood, their ribs shattered, their life force depleted, leaving them with only a sliver of blood, and they were critically injured and on the verge of death!

Just one move! A casual sweep!

He then brought several level 40 defensive professionals, who were wearing top-tier equipment, to the brink of death!

Qin Ming stood at the back, utterly horrified.

"So strong!"

He made a decisive decision without any hesitation and changed his tactics.

"Forget about that broken door! Retreat! Everyone retreat twenty meters!"

"Shieldbearers, take the lead and form a defensive battle formation! Priests, heal the wounded immediately, quick!" Qin Ming brandished his dagger, shouting at the top of his lungs. "Prepare for battle! We absolutely cannot let it disrupt our formation!"

"yes!"

The members of the Eternal Night Guild were highly skilled; though inwardly terrified, they acted without hesitation.

The soldiers in the front row quickly abandoned pushing the door and retreated. With a series of clanging metal sounds, dozens of tower shields slammed heavily to the ground, forming an indestructible steel defense line.

"Ants".

The skeletal warrior, mounted on his warhorse, squeezed through the narrow doorway. His pair of eerie blue eyes scanned the battle formation before him, his halberd pointed directly at Qin Ming, exuding an invincible aura of one man guarding a pass against ten thousand.

"kill!"

With a kick to the horse's belly, the skeletal warhorse's four hooves shattered the ground as it launched a death charge toward the Eternal Night Guild's defenses!

"Hold on! Hold on for the hell!" Ah Cheng wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and roared as he slung the tower shield over his shoulder.

"Boom!"

The skeleton warrior, horse and all, slammed into the shield formation. The impact forced the first rank of warriors back three steps, carving deep furrows into the ground. But they gritted their teeth and endured it!

"Well done! Brothers, this old thing is strong, but don't treat it like a god! The equipment we're wearing was a gift from the Lord!" Qin Ming shouted.

In the past, such a collision would have caused the defensive line to collapse. But now, their strength is vastly different.

"Light-type mages! What are you waiting for?! Purify it with holy light!" Qin Ming pointed at the skeleton warrior and gave the most lethal order.

"Baptism by Holy Light!"

"Divine Sanction!"

"Purification Halo!"

The twenty-odd light-element mages and priests hidden at the back of the group immediately raised their staffs.

In an instant, blinding golden holy light shone brightly in the ruins! More than a dozen beams of light, imbued with divine power, slammed down on the skeleton warrior!

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!"

The holy light reacted violently upon contact with the skeletal warrior's aura of death. Thick black smoke billowed from the gaps in its tattered armor.

"roar--!!!"

The skeleton warrior let out a shrill, painful roar.

Its once indestructible bones showed signs of melting under the restraint of the divine attribute, and its dark blue eye flames also shook violently and dimmed considerably.