Chapter 160: Siege Battle, the Peculiar Winged Statue

Boom!

A thunderous roar, like distant thunder, echoed throughout the massive cavern, causing the stalactites on the cavern ceiling to tremble incessantly.

Amidst the noise were battle cries and screams.

Armored gnolls, kobolds, and lizardmen stood on the city walls, their eyes bloodshot, desperately defending against the stone golems' assault.

Even as their companions fell beneath the golems' massive fists, these usually cowardly creatures showed no fear, as if in a berserk fury.

Behind them floated a group of beholders.

They resembled giant eyeballs with a wide, toothy maw in the center, surrounded by long, tentacle-like appendages, each ending in a glowing, eerie purple eye.

A closer look revealed the same eerie purple glow in the depths of the slaves' eyes.

Sizzle!

Grayish beams shot across the battlefield,

Beholder illusions were ineffective against golems, so they resorted to using rays to combat them.

Golems were shattered one by one under the onslaught of rays.

For both the defenders and attackers, the slaves and golems in the vanguard were mere expendables.

Thus, neither side spared any effort in pouring in troops, heedless of casualties.

From the onset of war, the conflict had reached a fever pitch.

In the distance, Xieman and Korre watched with grave expressions.

For them, this was the first time experiencing an underground siege battle firsthand.

While it seemed inconsequential before, being present on the battlefield deeply shocked them with its brutality.

In this type of war, where even knights were mere fodder, the power of a second-level wizard apprentice was insignificant, with the slightest mistake leading to death.

The pride and arrogance they felt upon becoming second-level wizard apprentices dissipated amidst the overwhelming battle cries.

Behind them, the knight guards instinctively tightened their grips on their sword hilts, their faces betraying signs of nervousness.

After all, this was their first real war.

Compared to this, the skirmishes during previous explorations seemed trivial.

However, touching the magical constructs on their chests eased much of their tension.

Boom!

A loud explosion sounded from afar, accompanied by a billowing cloud of dust.

The crumbling city walls finally succumbed to the golems' assault and collapsed.

The path to the heart of Giant Eye City was now clear.

Seeing this, the Red Widow, serving as commander, immediately ordered a full assault.

Rumble.

Led by advanced stone golems and elite double-blade spiders, the legendary golem squad surged forward, joining the fray with overwhelming momentum.

The knight guard, not to be outdone, activated their magical constructs with a shout from Captain Sean, infusing them with battle energy.

In an instant, strange black patterns covered their exposed skin.

An invisible wave enveloped their bodies, as if they were clad in an invisible armor.

In a moment, the knight guard's morale soared.

"Charge!"

Sean swung his sword forward, leading the charge on his Blackrock Panther.

The magical pattern knights followed with loud shouts.

Five hundred magical pattern knights, like a black tide, swept towards Giant Eye City with unstoppable force.

Xieman and Korre exchanged a glance, activated their magical constructs, and then their protective rings, casting shield spells on themselves before charging into battle on their Blackrock Panthers.

The wind scattered the dust, revealing the scene within.

With the collapse of the city walls, the beholders retreated further back, sending waves of slaves forward to stem the attackers' advance.

Yet, before the charging magical knights, these fodder offered little resistance.

Kobolds and lizardmen fell one after another under the enchanted weapons.

The knight guard, like a sharp blade, shredded the defenders' formation to pieces!

Buzz!

A ray shot towards Sean from afar, but the magical construct's invisible field blocked it just short of his body.

Sean staggered slightly, then glared towards the source—a beholder—and charged towards it with a snort.

Meanwhile, Xieman and Korre also spotted the beholders hiding at the rear and charged at them.

To capture the bandits, first capture their leader.

These slaves fought fearlessly under beholder control; slay the beholders, and the freed slaves would scatter.

Closing the distance, the two hurled rune stones.

In mid-air, the stones burst into brilliant red light, transforming into a tidal wave of flames, carving a wide path through the dense ranks of the enemy!

Without pausing, Xieman and Korre charged through the path, swiftly reaching the beholders, chanting incantations and launching volleys of magic missiles!

Thud! Thud!

The magic missiles pierced the beholders' spherical bodies, killing them instantly!

The remaining beholders panicked, their tentacle eyes glowing ominously.

A series of invisible waves enveloped Xieman and Korre.

But the two remained unfazed.

Before the charge, they and the knight guard had taken clarity potions, granting high resistance to illusions and enchantments.

Unless the Hive Mother Beholder intervened, the beholders' control was ineffective against them.

Sizzle!

Using rune stones and spells, Xieman and Korre suppressed the beholders, preventing them from raising their heads.

Meanwhile, the beholders' rays failed to breach the quadruple defenses of magical constructs, protective rings, shield spells, and energy particle barriers.

In no time, dozens of beholder corpses littered the ground.

At the same time

With the two wizard apprentices, the knight guard, and numerous legendary golems joining the battle, the tide gradually turned in favor of the attackers.

Giant Eye City's defenses crumbled, retreating to the city's center.

"Screech!"

A sharp, piercing scream erupted from the enemy's rear.

Instantly, Xieman and Korre felt a momentary daze.

But a sharp shout soon snapped them back to awareness.

Xieman quickly regained focus, looking warily into the distance, where a beholder floated amidst the horde—a smaller one but with hundreds of tentacles, far more than ordinary beholders.

Its tentacle eyes glowed a sinister shade of purple-black.

Meeting its gaze, Xieman felt dizzy and quickly looked away.

Illusion!

It's the Hive Mother Beholder!

Xieman and Korre quickly realized, their hearts tensing.

Surrounding it were four larger, mutant beholders.

Their tentacles, besides eyes, were lined with sharp claws, slicing through the air with a shrill whistle.

Moreover, these mutant beholders rode on fierce giant insects. 

"Those are the Dire Beholders!" Korre said gravely.

Xieman nodded solemnly.

He'd read descriptions of Dire Beholders in books, matching these mutant beholders precisely.

Dire Beholders typically appeared in beholder groups under Hive Mother or Warlord Beholder rule, commonly seen mutant beholders.

Their ray strength wasn't much greater than ordinary beholders, but their melee prowess far exceeded regular beholders, excelling in riding giant insects to wreak havoc deep in enemy lines.

A rare melee type among beholders!

The four Dire Beholders frantically swung their clawed tentacles, trying to block a streak of blood-red light.

That light was the Red Widow!

The alluring female vampire was shrouded in a dense blood mist, exuding a sinister and eerie aura.

With each gesture, the blood mist coalesced into a blood-red spear, slicing through the air towards the Hive Mother Beholder.

The four Dire Beholders struggled to fend off her attacks.

"Screech!"

Sensing danger, the Hive Mother Beholder shrieked.

Its cry spurred the surrounding beholders into a frenzy, unleashing waves of gray rays towards the Red Widow.

The blood mist around her visibly dimmed.

"Annoying beasts!"

The Red Widow snorted coldly.

She suddenly halted, raising her right hand, her eyes blazing with crimson light.

In an instant, the beholders surrounding her screamed, blood beads seeping from their bodies, spiraling towards a blood sphere forming in her palm!

The beholders, drained of blood, fell as shriveled husks.

The blood sphere quickly morphed into a scarlet spear, hurled with a flick of her wrist, piercing through the air to impale a Dire Beholder, pinning it to the ground!

The Dire Beholder convulsed, then fell silent.

After this, the Red Widow's complexion paled, clearly drained by the move.

The beholders seized the moment to attack her, only to be interrupted by a roaring explosion—a visible distortion landed among them, detonating with force, shredding dozens of beholders to pieces.

Sonic Boom!

Boom!

An adamantine golem charged into the beholder horde, unleashing a bloody storm, obliterating beholders into clouds of blood mist, closing in on the Hive Mother Beholder within ten meters.

The remaining three Dire Beholders tried to intervene, only to be torn apart by the adamantine golem in short order.

Finally, the Hive Mother Beholder was pulverized with a single punch!

Witnessing this, the Red Widow was inwardly astonished.

Each Dire Beholder possessed first-circle legendary strength, surrounded by hundreds of beholder guards. She had barely managed to kill one, yet the adamantine golem effortlessly broke through the defenses, slaughtering the Hive Mother Beholder and three Dire Beholders like slicing through vegetables!

Its power was truly terrifying!

"This is the power of a third-circle legendary golem."

The Red Widow was in awe, and her respect for Sunan, who crafted such a formidable golem, deepened.

With the demise of the Hive Mother and Dire Beholders, the beholders quickly descended into chaos, scattering in panic.

But Giant Eye City was encircled by golems.

With golems blocking their escape and wizard apprentices and magical knights hunting them down, the beholders' fate was sealed.

Over an hour later, the sounds of battle within Giant Eye City gradually subsided.

The beholders were nearly wiped out, and the survivors were captured by the magical knights, imprisoned and escorted to Lake U City, to be used as experimental materials for the base.

The remaining slaves were also imprisoned, to be used as labor for repairing Giant Eye City and mining.

After quickly organizing everything, leaving the knight guard to guard the prisoners, the Red Widow, Xieman, and Korre rushed to the Hive Mother's nest.

Upon entering, they headed straight for the warehouse.

Opening it, they were greeted by a mountain of silver ingots, bringing smiles to their faces.

"These big eyeballs are quite wealthy," Xieman chuckled.

"After all, they control a silver mine."

Korre scanned the cluttered warehouse and found a box. Opening it, his eyes lit up.

"Mithril!"

Inside the box lay a piece of mithril.

Korre weighed it, his smile widening.

"At least three kilograms."

Xieman and the Red Widow were equally delighted.

Before attacking Giant Eye City, Sunan had ordered them to search for mithril first thing once it was captured.

With this mithril, the teacher (master) would surely be pleased.

Securing the warehouse contents, the three began searching the entire nest.

Shortly after, at Xieman's call, they regrouped in a spacious cavern.

In the center stood a statue.

The statue was bizarre, appearing like a mass of wings, with a long tail extending from the center, trailing behind.

"What creature is this?"

Xieman and Korre both looked to the Red Widow.

Regarding underground creatures, the Red Widow's knowledge far surpassed theirs.

The female vampire pondered with a frown, then shook her head, "I've never seen or heard of such a creature."

Korre frowned, puzzled as he examined the cavern.

"Why would the beholders place such a statue in the cavern, and why only this statue in such a large space?"

Xieman pondered briefly, then had a sudden realization, blurting out:

"Worship!"

Seeing Korre and the Red Widow's curious looks, Xieman quickly explained:

"Could this be a place of worship for the beholders?"

"And this statue, the object of their worship."

Korre and the Red Widow paused, considering Xieman's suggestion.

The empty cavern did resemble a worship hall.

However, they'd never heard of beholders having religious practices. 

After pondering fruitlessly, Korre decided to stop dwelling on it, saying, "Let's take the statue back to the teacher."

Xieman and the Red Widow agreed.

They summoned golems to move the statue and then left the nest.

Though spacious, the beholders' cavern was far from sanitary.

After staying inside briefly, the three couldn't tolerate it any longer.

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