The heavily armored Tauren on the front battlefield now revealed their overwhelming dominance.
In terms of overall strength, they might not surpass Lin Ye's light warriors, perhaps even falling slightly short. But when it came to sheer battlefield presence, the minotaurs were unmatched.
Clad in heavy armor and weighing over half a ton each, their charge alone was enough to bring despair. They didn't need complex tactics or fancy skills. Just moving forward, the force of their momentum crushed anything in their path.
The large goblins, nearly equal in height to the minotaurs, quickly realized the difference. As soon as the two sides clashed, the goblins were completely overwhelmed. Their bulky frames were deceptive, hiding the lack of true muscle. The minotaurs, on the other hand, were walking engines of destruction, their corded muscles packed with explosive power and covered in thick armor that could shrug off most attacks.
A Minotaur blocked a swinging mace with his shield, stepped forward, and cleaved off the goblin's head with a single swing of his axe.
Against blunt weapons, the minotaurs' power became even more pronounced. With their immense strength and indomitable armor, they could tank incoming blows and retaliate with fatal strikes.
Wielding shields in their left hands and axes in their right, the Minotaur warriors began their grim harvest. They didn't rush to break enemy lines but focused on thinning the goblin ranks.
It was a shared tactic across the coalition forces: rather than risk a chaotic push against an elite enemy force of nearly 200,000, they aimed to exhaust them gradually. Their own organizational cohesion and individual prowess gave them a long-term edge.
And unlike the enemy, they had priests—elven and otherwise—ready to heal. As long as they weren't slain in an instant, they could recover and fight again.
On the rear lines, three more volleys of arrows came whistling down, tearing into the monster ranks. The ogre general had no effective response, and the casualties mounted.
As time wore on, the monster coalition began to falter. The first wave of front-line warriors had already been rotated out. Had they not pulled back in time, they would have been annihilated.
Meanwhile, the defensive lines of the gods' coalition remained strong. Most of the soldiers guarding the flanks and rear were heavily armored and defensive by nature, keeping their losses minimal.
The Kobold General realized he couldn't let this continue.
If the battle dragged on, they would be trapped in a war of attrition they couldn't win.
"Have the priests bless the front-line warriors. Tell them to stall the Tauren and the Dragon Vein Warlocks. Then unleash a barrage of fireballs at the enemy center."
The kobold priests, who had been hiding among the troops, stepped forward at once. One by one, they chanted their spells and cast buffs on the warriors holding the line against the minotaurs, visibly empowering them.
Then, a second wave of fireballs launched into the sky. This time, the scale was even larger.
Every soldier on the field paused for a moment, waiting anxiously to see what this deadly rain would bring.
The fireballs arced forward, soaring over the Tauren and Pigman warriors and zeroing in on the heart of the coalition—the Salamander Priests and Elf Archers.
"It's over," Fang Xingchen muttered grimly.
Zhang Kexin's face turned pale. Her elven archers had no real defense. Even regular arrows could slaughter them in droves. Tens of thousands of fireballs descending upon them meant one thing: annihilation.
Panic rippled through the elven ranks. They had nowhere to run. Their agility was useless against a widespread magical bombardment. All they could do was stand their ground and wait for the end.
But then—
"The time has come," Lin Ye said with a cold smile.
Su Xingyu straightened his back, lifted his staff, and the battlefield darkened. Dozens of swirling black vortexes formed in the sky, racing to meet the fireballs head-on.
"Darkness, devour."
One by one, the dark vortexes expanded, sucking in fireballs as they collided. With each impact, the vortexes grew more volatile, glowing red with unstable energy.
When one vortex reached nearly a hundred meters wide, Su Xingyu clenched his hand into a fist. The vortex collapsed inward, then surged upward like a beam of red-black flame.
It detonated high above the battlefield in a thunderous explosion, sweeping the skies clean and sending shockwaves rippling outward. The spectacle was awe-inspiring.
But only about half the fireballs had been neutralized. The rest continued their deadly descent.
Lin Ye stepped forward. A radiant light gathered behind him, forming a shimmering figure.
"Welcome my Lord!"
"Welcome my Lord!"
"Welcome my Lord!"
The light warriors shouted in unison, their cries filled with reverence.
The sunlight gathered onto Lin Ye, shaping itself into a towering golden giant, nearly a hundred meters tall. Streams of divine energy flowed into it from below, a river of faith feeding the celestial form.
In the blink of an eye, the phantom solidified into what seemed like a true god.
A radiant golden shield emerged, intercepting the remaining fireballs.
Boom. Boom. Boom!
Explosions rocked the battlefield, fire and smoke flooding the sky. But the divine shield held firm, unbroken.
When the last fireball had spent its fury, the divine avatar dissolved into a rain of golden light, healing the wounded warriors below.
"All forces, unleash your full power. Break through their lines!" Lin Ye's voice echoed like a divine command.
"FOR THE GLORY OF MY LORD!"
The Tauren commander bellowed, and the army charged.
Shields were raised. Armor clanked. Then they surged forward like a tidal wave. The monster army was crushed beneath their advance, bodies flung aside or trampled underfoot.
What little resistance the monster coalition had left was obliterated in moments. The ogre priests could no longer hold the line.
On the left flank, Lin Ye's light warriors, energized by divine power, stormed the Dragon Blood Legion. Their attack was swift and ruthless, shattering the once-unstoppable force.
Healing magic rained down from the rear ranks, mending wounds as fast as they were made.
On the right, Ye Dashan's heavy cavalry roared into action, punching through the enemy lines like a battering ram. Behind them, the dark warriors surged in. The jackal warriors, long suppressed, now bared their fangs with savage delight.
With each swing of their long swords, they carved down goblin soldiers by the dozens, painting the ground red.
Chaos engulfed the battlefield. The ogre general, once confident, now watched as every front collapsed before him.
Even the formidable Dragon Blood Legion was losing ground and could no longer reinforce other flanks.
The coalition of monsters was broken.
"Retreat," the general growled through clenched teeth.
With no other choice, he abandoned the vassal armies and fled with his remaining elites, leaving the battlefield to the gods' coalition.