Chapter 32: Charging Into Enemy Lines

This entire operation made no attempt to evade the enemy, nor, in this relatively open wasteland, could they have done so.

Just as the enemy had raised their shield wall, clearly intending to turtle up and wear them down, Zhou Xu had no intention of concealing his own intentions.

Led by Dashan, a squad of brothers moved with lightning speed. The opposition surely realized that their skeleton soldiers were too slow and clumsy to be pulled back for interception. Thus, they simply allowed the skeletons to continue their advance on the main front, maintaining constant pressure on their rear-guard slingers. As for Dashan and his men who were charging in, they were not the least bit intimidated.

Leaving the slingers aside, Zhou Xu had to keep some melee units behind to deal with the encroaching enemy skeletons. If the numbers had been evenly matched at the start, then at this moment, facing the rapid-assault squad led by Dashan, they held a clear numerical advantage.

The shield wall stood firm; the enemy remained as immovable as a mountain, guarding their position. Dashan attempted to flank them, hoping to bypass the wall, but the opposition had evidently anticipated this from the start. Those door-sized shields were raised to form a circular phalanx, leaving no gaps to exploit. This forced Dashan into a corner, leaving him no choice but to launch a direct assault against the circular formation.

With a low roar, Dashan swung his stone axe, a heavy, powerful blow crashing into the shield wall before him. Though Dashan was lean from long periods of hunger, the rigors of this extreme environment had forged him into a man of surprising strength. The axe struck, and amidst a spray of flying wood splinters, the door-sized shield blocking his path shattered instantly. It was less of a clean cut and more of a crushing impact. This outcome clearly caught the enemy off guard; the man whose shield had been smashed stood rooted to the spot, paralyzed by fear.

"Push him out!"

A voice rang out from behind the shield wall. Ignoring the terrified man, the shield-bearers on either side forcibly shoved him aside, stepped into the gap, and slammed their thick shields into Dashan. Having just committed his full strength to that strike, Dashan was caught squarely by the impact of the two heavy shields. He lost his balance, his feet stumbling backward. Instinctively, he flung his arms out, trying to regain his footing and steady himself.

The enemy, however, had no intention of letting him off. Seeing him off-balance, they ceased their turtling; the shields shifted aside, and two bone spears thrust out from behind, aimed directly at Dashan’s life.

In that split second of life or death, Dashan spread his arms, timing his movement perfectly. With a twist of his torso, he narrowly avoided the attack and clamped both bone spears under his armpits. This maneuver shocked the enemy, but it terrified Dashan even more; his heart was in his throat. The situation had been so precarious that he had no idea if he would actually succeed—he had been acting on pure instinct.

The enemy reacted quickly, attempting to yank the spears back, but Dashan would not grant them their wish. In that moment, he made a decisive choice: he discarded his stone axe, flipped his hands, and gripped the shafts of the bone spears.

"You want them back? You’ll have to put more effort into it than that!"

The shield-bearers, holding their spears with one hand, lacked the raw strength to compete. As they pulled, Dashan, having stabilized his footing, exerted all his force. With a violent tug, the two shield-bearers lost their balance, causing the once-tight formation to collapse and leaving a gaping hole.

"You idiots!"

Seeing this, the enemy leader behind the wall turned pale with rage, wishing he could dispose of them on the spot. But he had no time for that now; he could only shout repeatedly, "Block it! Quickly, block it!"

The other shield-bearers scrambled to plug the gap, but by then, the rest of the tribe members following Dashan had reached the front lines. Without needing a word, they helped Dashan fend off the subsequent pursuit. Seizing the moment, Dashan moved with agility, wielding the two bone spears he had captured and dancing wildly into the enemy ranks. The enemy shield-bearers, hampered by their cumbersome gear, lacked the flexibility to respond and several were wounded on the spot.

The circular formation, which relied on internal solidity to provide powerful external defense, struggled to maintain its integrity once the interior was breached. Realizing this, the enemy leader had no choice but to order them to disperse.

*If it comes to it, we’ll fight head-on. Don’t forget, I have more men!*

Following the shift in tactical thinking, some of the shield-bearers discarded their shields, opting to hold their spears with both hands and forming a hybrid offense-defense combo with those who kept their shields. The adjustment was simple, but the effect was remarkable. Their previous passivity had been a result of their defensive attrition strategy. Once they shifted from defense to offense, their numerical advantage began to manifest, and even the mighty Dashan found himself forced into the predicament of being "outnumbered by too many hands."

Though a brief interlude had occurred, the enemy leader, having regained control of the situation, appeared at ease once more. He scanned the main battlefield; his skeleton soldiers had reached the enemy lines. This effectively neutralized the enemy's slingers, who were now forced into close-quarters combat with the skeletons. As combat units, the skeletons were admittedly unremarkable—fragile and inflexible—but they possessed one distinct advantage: they did not fear death. Even when shattered, they could be reanimated, allowing them to press their offensive relentlessly. Faced with these fearless creatures, the tribe was pinned down, unable to break free.

Wielding his bone spear, Zhou Xu knocked a skeleton to the ground and cast a glance toward the chaotic fray in the distance. Just as the enemy leader was observing them, he was observing the enemy.

*These skeletons can reassemble again and again after being shattered; this is certainly not their own ability. There must be someone like a necromancer on the other side casting spells. If we don't eliminate the necromancer, we will be worn down indefinitely. I fear we have little chance of victory.*

With this thought, Zhou Xu attempted to lock onto his target. But the necromancer was clearly no fool, hiding completely among the spearmen and shield-bearers, revealing no trace. However...

*Eye of Insight!*

Without hesitation, he invoked the power of the True Word. In that instant, the world before Zhou Xu’s eyes became significantly sharper. Ignoring the data panels leaping into view above every figure, details he would have previously missed were now laid bare under his gaze.

*Found you.*