Chapter 81: Battle Formation Decimation

In the dark night, huge fireworks bloomed, dazzling like the signal flares during a competition, signaling the emergence of a large number of treasure hunters from the bamboo forest.

Countless elemental bottles were thrown towards the defense line of the Millelith Army.

In the adventurers' camp, a group of strange adventurers with red ribbons tied on their right hands gathered together, their red ribbons still visible in the dark night.

They gathered together and wreaked havoc in the camp, causing chaos among the adventurers, making it impossible for them to regroup and support the Millelith Army in front.

Unlike monsters, treasure hoarders were intelligent enemies who followed orders. Although a small number of treasure hoarders might not compare to monsters, when their numbers reached thousands, they formed an army. Although this army lacked discipline and excellent leaders, their long experience in treasure hunting allowed them to form small groups of three or four, using elemental bottles to attack. When these bottles shattered on the Millelith Army's defense line, various elemental reactions occurred instantly—electrocution, freezing, overload, evaporation—all sorts of reactions appeared on the defense line.

The violent elemental reactions forced the Millelith Army to retreat, leaving their defensive positions.

After breaking through the Millelith Army's line with elemental bottles, the Grave Diggers wielding giant shovels quickly took over, withstanding the Millelith Army's counterattacks.

At the edge of the battlefield, treasure hunter snipers quickly formed a line and began shooting at the Millelith Army.

These well-coordinated treasure hoarders were elite compared to the monsters they had faced earlier.

However, although caught off guard by the sudden attack, the Millelith Army quickly responded. They changed formation from their previous long defensive line to a triangular formation, with small triangles formed by individual soldiers within the larger triangular formation.

"Thousand rocks stand firm, the summit is unshakeable!"

Standing at the forefront of the triangular formation was Fengshan, who had previously battled with Primo Geovishap.

Shouting the slogan, hidden runes on the armor of the Millelith Army soldiers faintly flickered, linking the entire formation's aura together. With Fengshan leading the way, the massive formation launched a counterattack against the treasure hunters.

Facing the Millelith Army's onslaught, the treasure hoarders were as defenseless as the monsters before them.

Their original small groups were dispersed, and the thrown elemental bottles lost their effectiveness under the overwhelming pressure. Faced with the imposing battle formation, the line of treasure hoarders snipers collapsed, each fleeing in different directions.

In the bamboo forest.

The Doctor, wearing a mask, looked somewhat speechless at the treasure hoarder leader beside him. Despite having the upper hand and numerical advantage, they had been quickly defeated, which was quite disappointing.

Perhaps sensing the Doctor's disdain, the treasure hoarder leader gave a glance to his subordinates, and they quickly left.

"Haha, friend, don't be impatient. This is just the beginning. We have experience dealing with the Millelith Army!"

The treasure hoarder leader laughed.

The Doctor nodded. He didn't care about the lives of these treasure hoarders. When they couldn't hold on anymore, he would simply use the Delusion. He was here only for experimentation.

On the battlefield.

As the Millelith Army continued to encircle and attack the treasure hoarders, their previously swift battle formation began to slow down. Maintaining this level of formation was also a considerable burden for the Millelith Army soldiers.

Seeing that the Millelith Army was tired, the treasure hunter leader, watching from afar, grinned, thinking that victory was within reach.

With a wave of his hand, a group of people wearing strange devices emerged from the bamboo forest. Behind these people were more Liyue's unique monsters, fifteen giant Primo Geovishap and over twenty Geovishaps.

Seeing his secret weapon, the treasure hoarder leader hoped to shock the Fatui's Executive, but to his disappointment, the Doctor remained calm. With his knowledge, he immediately recognized the origins of these creatures—they were one of the secret research projects of the Adventurers' Guild, a tool called the Willful Orb. And the strange devices worn by the treasure hoarders were likely modifications of these orbs.

Not getting the reaction he hoped for from the Fatui's Executive, the treasure hunter leader grimaced, waved his hand, and signaled his subordinates to control the lizards and attack.

When the huge group of Geovishaps charged onto the battlefield, the treasure hoarder leader prepared to wreak havoc, but he soon realized that the previously exhausted Millelith Army had quickly changed tactics and was retreating from the battlefield.

"Ha, are you trying to run?" 

Feeling confident that victory was at hand, the treasure hoarder leader stepped out of the bamboo forest and mocked the retreating Millelith Army.

"Heh, what a bunch of laughable fools. As soon as you made your purchases, those guys reported you to the Ministry of Civil Affairs!" A tall man emerged from behind the battlefield's camp.

In fact, Panglei was fully aware of the treasure hoarders' methods. He even knew where they got the devices from—the official scholars from the Institute of Pneuma.

Although the Institute occasionally sold some strange items, when someone bought so many Willful Orbs at once, especially treasure hoarders, the scholars didn't want to offend the official authorities of Liyue. Therefore, they promptly reported it to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

This was the reason why he could bring fifty members of the Millelith Army with him this time.

Fifty silent soldiers appeared behind Panglei, their cold eyes looking at the restless Geovishaps on the battlefield.

On the other side, upon hearing Panglei's mockery, the treasure hoarder leader's face showed anger. Regardless of whether they had been reported or not, having experienced the destructive power of the Geovishaps, he was confident in their abilities.

"Haha, what nonsense. I'll have the lizards tear you apart!" With a command from the treasure hoarder leader, the once restless lizard horde rushed towards Panglei.

(End of Chapter)