"Provide flanking support! Don't charge in recklessly!"
Lin Qingyue's command instantly set the four-person team into motion.
Lin Xiyue, the nominal tank, gripped her shield tightly and stayed glued to her sister's heels, showing no intention of engaging head-on.
Are you kidding me?
Over a hundred level 30 Death Knights?
A level 23 Paladin charging in? That's not bravery, it's just getting in the way.
"Wall of Ice!"
Su Wan slammed her staff into the ground, unleashing a surge of icy magic that spread rapidly across the terrain.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three thick ice walls erupted from the ground, not to block the enemy's advance, but to intersect their charge at cunning angles, like deliberately placed tripping hazards designed to disrupt the Death Knights' perfectly aligned formation.
"Trap Deployment!"
Xia Lian's figure darted through the flanking forest with blinding speed, her hands moving so fast they became a blur.
Simple traps—crafted from vines, metal, and magical runes—were swiftly buried underground.
Slowing, binding, piercing.
While these traps posed little threat to elite knights, they were enough to momentarily halt their charge.
"I'll guard you! Anyone who dares to charge past me gets a shield to the face!"
Lin Xiyue took a deep breath, slammed her heavy shield into the ground, and unleashed a surge of Holy Light from within. Rooting herself firmly to the earth, she stood as immovable as a mountain, protecting the team's front line.
Her mission wasn't to kill enemies. It was to patch vulnerabilities and create an absolutely safe zone behind her for the three others to deal damage.
Lin Qingyue stood at the rear of the formation, gripping her ornate pink staff tightly.
Her gaze was unnervingly calm, her mind racing like a high-performance processor, analyzing the entire battlefield situation:
Enemy forces: Approximately one hundred Death Knights, purebred undead, levels 33 to 35. Their morale is fanatical, utterly fearless of death.
Allied forces: Over thirty Aeldaran Apprentice Knights, level 30, living beings. Vastly outnumbered and outleveled, but their appearance gives them an edge.
Our quartet: Levels 22 to 23, cannon fodder among cannon fodder. Two direct hits and we're out of the game.
Conclusion: A head-on clash would result in total annihilation within three minutes. By the time Aeldara's forces returned from their battle, they'd find only scattered wreckage.
The situation was far more dire than we had imagined.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The black tide of death crashed savagely against Su Wan's Ice Wall.
The Death Knights at the vanguard didn't even slow down, charging headlong with their bodies and weapons in a primal assault.
The Ice Wall groaned under the unbearable strain, spiderweb-like cracks instantly spreading across its surface.
Yet, it bought the Elves behind it a precious one or two seconds.
Those precious seconds allowed Aeldara's Apprentice Knights to complete their final preparations for battle.
"Form up! Winter Defense Line!"
The lead Elf Knight roared, his voice clear and resonant.
Thirty-odd knights responded instantly, swiftly forming ten three-man combat squads. They established a seemingly fragile yet remarkably resilient defensive line.
Two knights positioned themselves at the front, their shields and longswords interlocking to form a sturdy defensive wedge.
The third knight brought up the rear, his Runic Greatsword gathering frigid Death Energy.
"For Her Majesty the Queen!"
With a unified, furious roar, the black tide finally breached the Ice Wall and crashed violently into the thin Winter Defense Line.
Clang—!
The ear-splitting clash of metal echoed endlessly as metal twisted, bones shattered, and sparks arced through the dimness like searing trails of fire.
The shockwave from the impact whipped against the faces of Lin Qingyue and her companions, who stood a distance away, their cheeks stinging from the force.
Yet the performance on the front lines made Lin Qingyue's eyes light up.
Facing the charge, the two knights in the front row instantly lowered their stances, channeling most of the impact force into the earth. Simultaneously, they skillfully deflected enemy weapons with the edges of their shields and sword hilts, disrupting their opponents' balance.
In the split second when the enemy faltered from their momentum, momentarily frozen.
"Die!"
The third knight in the rear moved!
His Runic Greatsword, wreathed in a pallid chill, thrust forward with pinpoint accuracy through the gap between his two comrades, aiming directly for the Skeletal Warhorse's most vulnerable joint!
Screech—!
The Skeletal Warhorse let out a piercing wail as its front leg joints were severed in a single, decisive strike. The massive creature crashed to the ground with a thunderous roar.
The Death Knight atop the mount lost his balance and tumbled heavily to the earth.
Before he could even rise, two longswords, their edges gleaming with a frigid light, pierced through the narrow eye slits of his helmet from opposite sides with deadly precision.
Thwack!
The crimson Soul Fire flickering within the eye sockets instantly extinguished.
A three-person team had eliminated an enemy of higher level than themselves without sustaining a single casualty!
"Brilliant!" Lin Qingyue cheered inwardly.
This isn't mindless hacking and slashing; this is tactics! This is skill! Their control over the Power of Death is honed to perfection, with not a single wasted movement. They struck the weakest joints with minimal effort, crippled the mount to create openings, and then focused their fire for the kill!
Though these young Elves were still low-level, their combat proficiency far surpassed that of any other practitioners Lin Qingyue had ever witnessed at their rank.
They had fully realized Aeldara's teachings: study, understand, master.
However, tactics and skill paled in the face of sheer numerical superiority.
No sooner had they dispatched the first enemy than a relentless wave of more foes surged forward.
Though the Apprentice Knights coordinated seamlessly, each parry and counterattack drained their already dwindling stamina and energy.
Casualties soon followed.
An Elf Knight, sacrificing himself to protect his comrades, was struck brutally across the shoulder by a Runic Battleaxe.
His black armor shattered instantly, revealing a deep, bone-exposing wound. Foul Death Energy poured into the gash, relentlessly corroding his flesh.
He grunted, his face turning ashen, and his movements slowed.
"Healing Spell!"
Without hesitation, Lin Qingyue pointed her staff at the wounded knight.
A soft, pink Halo descended upon him.
Lin Qingyue's heart pounded in her chest.
Please work! This is a living being, not undead! It should work, right?!
She stared intently at the knight's condition.
The moment the pink light merged with the wound, the frenzied, life-devouring black miasma recoiled as if encountering its natural predator. With a silent shriek, it vanished completely!
Immediately, the knight's deathly pale face began to regain color at a visible rate, and his sluggish movements regained their fluidity.
Though the wound didn't heal instantly, the corrosive, negative effects had been purified!
It works!
Lin Qingyue finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Xiyue, watch our flanks! Su Wan, harass them with Ice Cone Spells! Xia Lian, aim for their horses' legs! Focus on harassment, don't engage directly! Create opportunities for us!"
Lin Qingyue's voice rang clearly across the chaotic battlefield.
"Understood!"
Lin Xiyue roared, spotting a straggler trying to flank them. She immediately charged forward with a brutal shield bash.
Su Wan's ice cones and Xia Lian's arrows seemed to have eyes, always appearing at the most critical moments, striking enemies in their most vulnerable spots—slowing their movements, interrupting attacks, or forcing them to change course.
Though the four women's levels were low and their damage negligible, their combat experience was unparalleled.
Like four relentlessly buzzing mosquitoes, they darted around the edges of the battlefield, using their masterful maneuvers to subtly shift the tide of the entire battle.
But that wasn't enough.
The casualties among the Apprentice Knights continued to mount.
The enemy's numbers were overwhelming; they simply couldn't kill them fast enough.
For every one that fell, two more immediately took its place.
The first knight to be wounded had barely caught his breath when he was swarmed by two enemies, struggling to fend them off and narrowly avoiding disaster.
Lin Qingyue maintained healing spells on her allies while frantically strategizing.
Single-target healing can't keep up. I need to use group healing, but ordinary group healing spells lack sufficient range, and the cooldown on 'Halo' is too long.
Aeldara is pinned down by three BOSSes; she won't be able to break free anytime soon. Her ultimate ability consumes too much energy; she's likely still recovering.
I need a solution—something that can instantly turn the tide of this battle!
Her gaze swept across her skill bar and System Space.
Finally, it landed on a dazzling, dreamlike pink card—completely out of place on this bloodstained battlefield.
Barbara · Specialized Model (Permanent)!
Equipped with the Sky AK47, she converted energy into bullets.
Machine guns against cavalry? A perfect match!
The only risk was this "transformation"... it might get a bit loud.
Forget it. What does it matter at this point? Saving the day is like putting out a fire!
As long as we win, who cares if I get publicly humiliated?
Besides, it's not my Lin Qingyue who's dying—it's Barbara!
"Xiyue, get ready to engage!" Lin Qingyue hissed, taking a deep breath.
"Sis, how do we initiate?" Lin Xiyue asked breathlessly, desperately parrying attacks.
"I'll initiate," Lin Qingyue said, a strange excitement in her voice. "You... just enjoy the show."
Before the words had even faded, she silently commanded:
System! Use the Barbara · Specialized Model Character Card!