“DO AS HE SAYS!” The general shouted, as he fought against the crystal ape who started regaining its footing.

That was all they needed. The front line broke formation, rushing to join the counterattack with renewed vigor. Their exhausted faces lit with the sudden, unexpected possibility of victory.

“They’re running! The bastards are actually running!” A grizzled veteran laughed, driving his spear into a fleeing wolf-beast.

“Don’t celebrate yet,” his companion warned, loosing arrows. “They’re not all retreating.”

True enough, the Crystal Ape had been injured, and it was bad. But it wasn’t out of the fight yet. Especially as a defense-based silver beast. Its crystalline growths regrew even as they watched, sealing wounds and hardening against further attacks.

“Form a perimeter!” Wei ordered his squad as they reached ground level. “Don’t let any escape to regroup!”

Monsters caught between the officials and the counterattacking forces panicked, their coordinated retreat dissolving into chaos. Some turned to fight, others continued fleeing, and still others attacked their own kind in mindless panic.

“I’ve never seen monsters break like this,” a young soldier gasped, dispatching a small Iron-rank beast with a clumsy but effective thrust.

“Me neither. It’s the first time that the city got attacked by such a large-scale monster horde, “his squad leader replied grimly, wiping blood from his blade.

The general and his two remaining Peak-Bronze officials encircled the wounded Crystal Ape. The monster’s movements had slowed, blood pouring from dozens of wounds, but its eyes still burned with malevolent intelligence.

“It’s weakening,” one official observed, panting heavily from exertion. “One final push should finish it.”

The general nodded sharply, silver aura flickering as he gathered his remaining strength. “On my mark. Target the neck, where the crystals haven’t regrown.”

Ethan watched the battle unfold, calculating probabilities and outcomes with cold precision. The counterattack was working better than he’d expected – the monsters’ retreat had turned into a rout, with nearly half their number already downed.

But the Crystal Ape remained the true threat. As long as it lived, it could potentially regain control of its forces.

Decision made, Ethan sprinted toward the general, drawing Han Wei’s sword once more.

“Wait!” he called out. “I have an idea!”

The general spared him a quick glance, never taking his eyes off the monster for more than a split second. “Make it fast.”

“I found its weakness,” Ethan explained, reaching into his storage ring. “Its abdomen, when we were attacking it, its defence was focused on its abdomen.”

He leaned closer, voice dropping to ensure only the general and officials could hear. “I will try to distract it with the flask. It will think that we are doing the same attack again, but in reality, we will all try to attack its abdomen. While it’s protecting its back, attack its abdomen.”

The general’s eyes narrowed with understanding.

Ethan withdrew another flask of alchemical fire. The general’s eyes widened slightly in recognition.

“How many of those do you have?” he asked, a hint of disbelief coloring his tone.

Ethan’s lips quirked in a cold smile. “Enough.”

‘Han Wei’s storage ring had lots of useful stuff,’

Below, the counterattack continued brutally. Sergeant Wei led a wedge formation that cut through the retreating monsters like a hot knife through butter.

“Don’t let up!” he shouted to his men, spear piercing the throat of a bear-like beast. “Push them back to the forest line!”

Blood sprayed in an arc as he yanked his weapon free, already seeking his next target. His men followed, their formation tightening as they drove deeper into monster ranks.

A young recruit yelped as a wounded monster lashed out, claws raking across his armor with a sound like nails on slate. The beast’s eyes burned with desperate hatred, knowing its death approached.

“I got you, kid!” An older soldier stepped in, finishing the beast with a decisive thrust through its skull. “Watch your flanks!”

The recruit nodded gratefully, adjusting his helmet with shaking hands. “Thanks. I thought—”

“Less thinking, more killing,” the veteran interrupted, though not unkindly. “You can be scared when we win.”

Meanwhile, the Crystal Ape gathered itself for another assault. Its chest heaved with laboured breaths, blood dripping from a dozen wounds, yet it remained terrifyingly powerful.

Crystalline growths hummed with energy, hardening to shield the most vulnerable areas.

Ethan circled to the monster’s right, deliberately drawing its attention.

“Now!” the general barked to his officials. “Formation three!”

The Peak-Bronze officials moved with perfect coordination, years of training evident in their synchronized advance. They presented three separate targets, forcing the monster to divide its attention.

Ethan weighed the flask in his hand, timing his throw.

Wait for it…

The Crystal Ape roared challenge, massive fists raised to crush these persistent humans. Its attention fixed on the general as the most dangerous threat.

Perfect.

Ethan hurled the flask with pinpoint accuracy. The glass container arced through the air, shattering against the monster’s back exactly as before. Blue flames erupted, spreading across crystalline plates with supernatural hunger.

The Ape shrieked, instinctively twisting to protect its back—exactly as Ethan had predicted.

“NOW!” the general shouted.

All three warriors struck as one, their weapons driving into the temporarily exposed abdomen. Steel pierced flesh with wet, tearing sounds, luminescent blood gushing forth in streams.

“First Sword Stance: Graceful strike!”

The general used his strongest skill, betting on the attack.

The monster howled, a sound so agonised that nearby soldiers clutched their ears in pain. It thrashed violently, one massive arm catching an official and sending him flying across the battlement, his life or death unknown.

But the damage was done. Critical wounds had been inflicted. And the Ape staggered, as blood flowed like a river without a dam.

Ethan didn’t waste the opportunity. He darted forward, daggers finding the soft flesh beneath the monster’s jaw. With ruthless precision, he severed vital connections, ensuring no recovery was possible.

The Crystal Ape swayed, fighting to remain upright even as death claimed it. Its massive legs buckled, knees hitting the floor with a ground-shaking impact.

For a moment, it knelt there like a penitent before execution. Then, with glacial slowness, it toppled sideways before falling to the ground.

Silence fell across the battlefield.

A heartbeat passed. Two.

<You have killed Mid-Silver Crystal Ape>

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep