Volume 1: Hell-Level Lord World Chapter 100: The Battlefield Shifts

While the corpse beetles and the illusions were locked in a deadly struggle, another batch of tree monsters crawled up from the rift. The moment they saw what was happening, they began hurling stones directly at the battlefield. Several illusions on the outermost edge were crushed to death by those rocks, giving the corpse beetle a brief moment to catch its breath. The corpse beetle twisted its body outward, and the entire thing exploded. A mass of flesh and blood sprayed in every direction, and the few projections of corpse beetles surrounding it were blown to pieces on the spot. But Chen Gu had over thirty corpse beetle projections under his command, each just as large as the original. The moment the inner corpse beetle burst apart, fresh ones immediately pounced forward, tearing at the enemy's body.

It was around then that the tree monsters who had just climbed up realized they had attacked the wrong target. The gray corpse beetles in their midst were not enemies but allies. However, they had always been cautious, and their way of thinking never took detours. In their eyes, a corpse beetle was an enemy, even if the corpse beetles before them were clearly fake. They might not come into direct conflict with Chen Gu, but to say they weren't keeping an eye on him was out of the question. So the tree monsters stopped their assault, yet they did not retreat. Instead, they closed in, surrounding the area.

Chen Gu had no idea whether those tree monsters were friend or foe, but his attention remained fixed on the undead legion. "Blood Shadow Wolves, attack the one on top of the serpent."

Hearing Chen Gu's command, the Blood Shadow Wolves lunged swiftly toward the ghost hero. At that moment, Pan turned and said to Chen Gu, "I say, my lord, I think you need a specialized force of your own. Otherwise, when you're on the battlefield, you'll always end up trying to command our units. That has a considerable impact on us."

Hearing this, Chen Gu could only smile helplessly. "Fine, I understand. Don't worry, I'll compensate you for the wolves. I have two wolf mountains; I won't leave you short."

"It's not that I'm worried about the number of wolves. It's just that I really can't get used to this type. I need a pack that will charge head-on." Pan maintained his stance. If you want to synthesize, I won't object, but you have to synthesize according to my requirements. Otherwise, I'd rather use my ordinary troops.

Chen Gu had no way to deal with this brainless scarecrow. In his view, Pan's idea was sound, but synthesis wasn't a matter of getting whatever he wanted. Every formula required experimentation. And besides pets, there were all kinds of materials and other things to consider.

Naturally, Chen Gu would choose mature plans that already had proven results. But the way Pan kept harping on the matter left Chen Gu thoroughly speechless. "Alright, I'll think of a way to address what you've said."

Pan replied, "Suit yourself." Only then did he go to direct the Blood Shadow Wolves in attacking the ghost hero.

That ghost hero had invested all of his levels into abilities related to corpse beetles. Without corpse beetles around, the ghost hero's methods were actually rather unimpressive. He commanded ghosts to strike at the Blood Shadow Wolves, but failed to notice that several Scarecrow Killers had appeared behind him. Ever since gaining Pan as a scarecrow, Chen Gu had genuinely considered how scarecrows could be put to use under his command. As Pan had said, turning scarecrows into assassins was a true waste. He had never really understood the scarecrow's nature. Scarecrows possessed an undying trait, making them prime candidates for tanks or healers. In Chen Gu's hands, it was simply wasted potential. Still, since those Scarecrow Killers were available, they had to be used. At the very least, within Chen Gu's forces, they were the ones who could appear right behind an enemy hero at a moment's notice.

The moment the Scarecrow Killers appeared, the scythe in their hands swung toward the ghost hero's neck. The first strike happened to meet the ghost's 50% physical attack immunity, and not only did it fail to wound the ghost hero, it actually gave him time to react. Then the second Scarecrow Killer struck quickly, another slash following. But the ghost hero happened to turn his head at that instant, and the blade missed his neck, instead slicing open the jar perched atop the ghost's head that held his brain. As the jar shattered, green liquid poured out. The substance was very similar in nature to the slime on the corpse beetles' bodies. The potent acid instantly melted the Scarecrow Killer's scythe. Then the third and fourth Scarecrow Killers rushed in, each landing a slash on the ghost hero's body. The ghost hero understood now exactly what he was up against. He wanted to fight back, but the problem was he couldn't. The liquid bathing his brain was leaking out in great quantities, slowing his mental response and also dulling his movements considerably.

Meanwhile, his corpse beetles were surrounded by the illusions and had no way to come to his rescue. At the same time, his ghosts were being attacked by the Blood Shadow Wolves. Even if they tried to approach, they were blocked from outside. The Scarecrow Killers were taking turns, one after another. If one failed to kill the ghost hero, he immediately stepped aside and let the next one continue. Once or twice was manageable, but after seven or eight strikes, the ghost hero could no longer hold out. He frantically pulled out something like a syringe and tried to stab it into his own body. But his speed was too slow. A scythe came down once more, and its tip pierced directly into the ghost hero's brain. That finally did him in. His brain was shredded to pieces by the blade, and even half of his spine was shattered.

As the ghost hero fell, Chen Gu felt a stirring of awareness. He called out loudly, "The enemy hero is dead. Should we commit our full force?"

"No need." "No!" Korbas and Pan said simultaneously. Chen Gu looked at them and saw them pointing at the tree monsters behind the battlefield. "We don't know if those are friend or foe. There's no way to guarantee safety right now, so we shouldn't act rashly."

Only then did Chen Gu realize what he'd missed. Ever since entering this lord's world, he had been treating elves as allies on his side, and when he saw nature-aligned units, he had let his guard down somewhat. Now it was clear that not every elf was willing to believe Chen Gu was a good person. Some nature units harbored hostility toward him.

Understanding this, Chen Gu waved his hand. Korbas quickly commanded the swarm of mosquitoes to take flight. Then the corpse vines and the burrowing worms both descended underground. They were all waiting to see how the situation would change once the corpse beetles died. If those tree monsters on the other side launched an attack, Chen Gu would not hold back either.

But just as the corpse beetle fell, the tree monsters began to move as well. Those standing at the front parted to make a path, and a tree monster that looked far more ancient appeared on the battlefield. "Korbas? You've defected to the undead?"