Chapter 29: A Fierce Battle

As Wang Liang swung his blade, several nearby paladins raised their two-handed greatswords and charged at the raptors. Although he had no idea what level these raptors were, Wang Liang felt no fear; he simply didn’t believe their hides could be tougher than iron armor.

After watching the battle for so long, Wang Liang’s blood was already boiling. Stepping forward, he confronted the raptor in front of him head-on, his Slaying Blade slicing in from the left toward the creature’s body.

The raptor was something of an exception among dinosaurs; despite cinematic depictions of them being invincible to bullets and explosions, their actual combat ability was inferior to other dinosaurs. Their apparent strength came entirely from their intelligence and teamwork, not their physical prowess.

In a one-on-one situation, even a sharp machete could take down a raptor.

With a single slash from Wang Liang, the raptor was split open. The four paladins behind him struck as well. Their strength surpassed Wang Liang’s, and clad in heavy plate armor, they fought even more fiercely. Although their greatswords were not as powerful as Wang Liang’s blade, if one hit didn’t fell the beast, they would follow with another.

Very quickly, seven or eight raptors that had surrounded them were slaughtered.

Yet as they fought, the number of raptors only grew. At first, only two or three darted out from nearby, but soon seven or eight lunged out at once. The initial raptors had moved stealthily, but sensing they’d been discovered, they simply charged headlong.

Their speed rivaled galloping horses; they leapt down from above and coordinated their attacks. In no time, Wang Liang and his companions were under immense pressure.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Niu Xuanguang and his group felt the strain as well. Wang Liang’s side faced only a handful of raptors, while nearly forty had appeared on Niu Xuanguang’s front.

Niu Xuanguang and the weeping girl cut down raptors one after another, but they couldn’t stem the tide. Some raptors slipped past their defense, racing toward those behind.

Behind them lay the toppled repeating crossbows.

Without Wei Ban to control them, the crossbows were nothing more than piles of useless timber, incapable of even slowing the raptors’ advance. The raptors leapt over the debris with ease, charging straight at Zhao Gongming and the masked young woman.

Both were ranged spellcasters. Zhao Gongming fared slightly better, having summoned all his little demons to impede the raptors’ steps, but the masked girl had no such means. Most of her abilities were for buffing and replenishment; she could do little in direct combat, save for a single skill to entangle enemies.

But what of it? Her bind could restrain, but not harm them, and these raptors didn’t need to be stalled—they simply needed to be cut down with eyes closed.

For a moment, the masked girl was in the gravest danger.

Fortunately, at this critical moment, the white-robed figures sensed the peril as well. Drawing their swords, they stepped forward and engaged the raptors. They moved with agility—even those who appeared to be middle-aged wielded a respectable sword technique. The usually dour, shadowy figures lurking in corners proved even more formidable; with a sword in one hand, a blade would flick from their sleeve with the other.

They used the long sword to lure the raptors, then stabbed the creatures in the brain with the hidden blade—swift, decisive, and deadly, felling a raptor with each move.

With their assistance, the masked girl escaped the fate that had befallen Wei Ban. Freed, she was finally able to cast her various enhancements on Niu Xuanguang and the weeping girl.

The masked girl understood well that a powerful boss awaited them after this, so she focused on boosting their strength and recovery speed.

With raptors still numerous, some broke away to attack the camels and horses, stampeding across the battlefield and disrupting the human defensive lines.

At this moment, Niu Xuanguang was able to glance at the state of the battle.

“Everyone, hold on a bit longer! There aren’t many raptors left—let’s kill them all!”

With that, he threw himself back into the fray, and the camels and horses charging at them began to fall as well. After all, these animals belonged to the caravan, and Niu Xuanguang had resolved not to spare a single person here. Leaving the camels and horses alive would be pointless; better to slaughter them too, to avoid complicating the situation.

Of course, when he claimed there weren’t many raptors left, the truth was there were still quite a few. Over fifty raptors surged forth in one final wave, and had Niu Xuanguang and his group not stood firm, everyone might have perished in that assault.

After weathering the attack, there was nothing left to fear. These creatures, who had learned to fight in packs, were deadly in jungle ambushes, but in this almost desert-like terrain, they had no cover for stealth and had to rely solely on coordination—a poor match for humans.

Their teamwork could not compare to human cooperation. Most importantly, the raptors relied on their bodies and instinct, while the humans relied on weapons and skill.

Once their charge was broken, the raptors were scattered and isolated, like cavalry cut off from one another by infantry. Without their momentum, cavalry’s only advantage was height—but raptors stood at roughly the same height as humans. As long as humans dared to stand their ground and fight, there was nothing to fear.

In this relentless assault, raptors fell in droves, while only a few slow-acting humans perished in the melee.

Wang Liang seized the moment, pressing his back to the four paladins and launching into a frenzy of slaughter. The paladins took turns striking from behind Wang Liang, picking off easy kills and shielding their leader.

The paladin leader, who had been so gravely wounded he seemed on the verge of death, not only avoided further harm but managed to recover a bit, leaning against the Loom of Fate.

If things continued this way, the battle would soon end.

But Niu Xuanguang and his companions knew all too well that this wave of raptors was only the third—one final boss remained to appear.

So as the last few raptors were being dealt with, they deliberately slowed their pace, giving Zhao Gongming time to complete the final magic circle and the masked girl a chance to recover some mana.

Lastly, he looked around, counting how many people remained in the camp.