The story of the black silk female knight

As Nana used a feint to break through the sand beast's blockade, Valensa's divine magic array was almost fully charged, and she unleashed a blast at the sand beast that was trying to turn back.

The signature artillery spell of the Sun Church's Radiant Clerics: Sunfire Slash.

A torrent of blazing light erupted from the divine magic array, instantly evaporating the sand and stones that made up the sand beast's body and creating a large hole.

During the last fierce battle against the sea monsters, Valensa killed the Star-level sea monster Centipede Crab with a single blow using only the Sunfire Strike activated by the Six Flowers Divine Magic Array.

Valensa is now much stronger than she was then, and she even participated in the construction of the divine magic array herself, so the power of her Yangyan Liepo is naturally much greater.

The evil creatures created temporarily with a large number of lives were ultimately just empty shells, and were directly pierced through by the powerful artillery-type Yangyan divine spell.

Although a hole 10 meters in diameter is not fatal to a magical creature that is 100 meters long, the Sand Beast is no longer able to intercept Nana and can only howl in despair.

Valenza's Blazing Sun Strike didn't stop after piercing the Sand Beast; instead, its power remained undiminished as it slammed into the Sandstorm Barrier, directly piercing through the Sandstorm Barrier, which was somewhat weakened by the Sand Beast's recent formation, revealing the large settlement within the barrier once again.

Even after the powerful artillery spell pierced through the sand beasts and the barrier, its power remained strong. It then struck the ground of the large settlement, instantly vaporizing at least several thousand bewildered ordinary wild beasts, leaving only a cylindrical trench with residual high temperature on its surface.

"Hu~~"

Seeing the results of this artillery barrage, Valensa breathed a sigh of relief and was quite satisfied.

This attack is her strongest ranged attack so far, and it seems pretty good. It should be at the level of a Moon-level powerhouse's ultimate move, but it is still significantly inferior to the five-hit combo punch that the bald guy used when he fought Elena, not to mention compared to Xiao Yu's sword.

In short, there are many strong people in the world, and we shouldn't be complacent just because we've achieved some success... although Valencia's upturned lips do look a bit arrogant right now.

After the sandstorm barrier was breached, creating a hole 10 meters in diameter, the powerful beasts inside finally couldn't sit still any longer.

Five warrior-like Rank 5 beasts, all armed with their magical artifacts, stood blocking the breach in the barrier, glaring at Valensa with fear and resentment... If Valensa were to break through, they would surely fight to the death.

However, they showed no intention of going outside the barrier to fight Valensa to the death; they simply stood at the breach in the barrier and glared at her.

Valensa didn't take the opportunity to go in; it was Nana who went in.

Three of the Radiant-Rank Wild Beasts roared in exasperation upon seeing this, and swung their weapons to attack Nana. The other two Radiant-Rank Wild Beasts continued to keep a close eye on Valensa, wary of any other moves she might make.

But Valensa didn't move, and even Nana didn't stay inside the barrier for long.

After exchanging blows with the Noble Phantasms of three Radiant Beasts using her fists, proving that her fists were no weaker than Noble Phantasms and that she could hold her own against three opponents, Nana withdrew. Before leaving, she casually threw two nuclear bombs that would explode in five seconds into the sandstorm barrier.

boom! boom!

With two loud bangs, Nana managed to retreat back to Valensa's side, but the nuclear bombs no longer caused much damage to the wild beasts.

It was those two Radiant Beasts that had been keeping an eye on Valensa who made their move. They threw the nuclear bomb as high into the sky as possible before it exploded, causing it to detonate in mid-air.

Meanwhile, the sandstorm barrier also sucked the giant canine-shaped sand beast back in, using the high-speed rotating sandstorm to absorb kinetic and thermal energy, just like last time, barely managing to defend against the two nuclear bombs that exploded in the air.

After that, the wild beasts seemed to be determined to fight to the death. In an instant, another million life forms disappeared from Valensa's perception and were absorbed by the sandstorm barrier.

Then the sandstorm condensed and took shape again, and three giant sand beasts, exactly the same as before, blocked Valensa and Nana's path, baring their teeth and roaring.

Chapter 41 Senior Sister, I'm Sorry

Three enormous sand beasts, each a hundred meters long, stood guard in front of the sandstorm barrier, baring their teeth and roaring, but did not attack.

Valensa and Nana did not directly attack the sandstorm barrier again. Instead, they hovered in mid-air, standing side by side, facing off against the three sand beasts at a distance of two or three kilometers.

"Hmph~~"

About half a minute later, Valensa raised her head and snorted disdainfully. She then made a humiliating gesture towards the inside of the sandstorm barrier, and without even looking at the three sand beasts, she turned around and flew back to join the 40-strong undead army.

Roar!

Upon seeing this, two sand beasts couldn't help but roar and paw at the ground with their front paws, clearly intending to take the opportunity to pounce and attack.

But as Valensa and Nana charged through the sandstorm barrier, the 40-strong undead army had already entered the effective range of the mortar squad.

The skeletal centaurs opened their bone shells, turned their backs to the sandstorm barrier, knelt on their forelimbs, and stood upright on their hind limbs. The zombie loader soldiers beside them loaded the shells they carried into the cannon barrels and aimed at their targets.

Valenza's turning and flying back seemed to be the order to fire... 300 heavy mortars instantly spewed fire, sending huge shells hurtling in parabolic arcs toward the sandstorm barrier, just missing Valenza as she flew back.

These shells all looked exactly like the nuclear bombs that Valensa and her team had, and there were also a dozen or so real nuclear bombs mixed in with them, making them indistinguishable before the explosion.

The wild beasts behind the sandstorm barrier seemed to be terrified by this wave. The two huge sand beasts that had already poked out half their bodies to attack immediately shrank back and stopped attacking Valensa. Instead, they all decomposed back into sand and returned to the sandstorm barrier, further strengthening the barrier's defensive capabilities.

At the same time, the automatic interception function of the sandstorm barrier, which uses blood-red lasers to lock on and pale green rays to intercept, was activated at full power again.

More than 2 life forms vanished instantly from within the sandstorm barrier, transforming into nearly 180 ghastly green rays that struck the projectiles flying through the air, causing them to disappear entirely... including more than 10 actual nuclear bombs.

However, four nuclear missiles successfully broke through the interception and were launched to their designated locations, detonating as huge fireballs that attempted to tear the sandstorm barrier apart like flesh-colored stockings.

However, the magical barrier, which used the life force of wild beasts as its energy source, was quite sturdy. It managed to absorb all the power of the four nuclear bomb explosions, and then used sand to absorb most of the kinetic and thermal energy generated by the explosions before spraying it into the sky.

Moreover, this time, the scorching sand, after being shot into the sky, did not scatter and fall directly. Instead, it coalesced into a huge high-temperature sand ball with a diameter of nearly a thousand meters. Guided by magic, it hurtled towards the undead army like a meteorite, landing precisely at the position of the mortar squad's formation.

"...As expected, the magical barrier of the wild beast has also been upgraded in both strength and performance."

Valensa frowned slightly at the sight of the giant sand sphere falling from the sky, but did not panic.

This sand sphere looks terrifying like a meteorite, but it's actually not very powerful. It's just a waste of the explosive heat absorbed by the sandstorm barrier, and it doesn't have any additional magical attacks. It's far inferior to the hundred-meter-long sand beast from before.

Nana charged forward and unleashed a spiked punch, shattering the sand sphere into a sand rain. The scattered sand lost heat quickly in the air; its temperature upon landing was hot enough to burn a living person, but posed little threat to the undead.

The zombie loader squad of the mortar team hurriedly loaded their shells, wanting to bombard the sandstorm barrier again.

The wild beasts within the sandstorm barrier naturally wouldn't just sit idly by and wait to be bombed. Six sand snakes, each about 3 meters in diameter and a hundred meters long, quickly condensed from the sand and rushed towards the mortar position along the ground.

At the same time, hundreds of wild beasts, divided into groups of three to five, rushed out from behind the sandstorm barrier, but instead of following the sand snakes, they scattered in all directions, seemingly intending to outflank them.

Valensa narrowed her eyes slightly but didn't move, leaving Nana to guard the mortar position and carefully watch the six giant sand snakes.

The other undead, under Tia's remote control, began to change formation, using a defensive formation to protect the mortar positions in the middle, defending against the flanking beast squads.

Bang bang bang bang!

Before the Sand Serpent could reach the mortar positions, the second round of shells was loaded. Tia, who was remotely controlling the mortars, did not hesitate to fire another salvo, still mixing a dozen nuclear shells with 300 ordinary shells in the attack.

However, the Sand Serpents do not seem to be directly attacking the mortar formations, or perhaps they themselves have the dual function of assaulting artillery formations and intercepting artillery fire.

As the shells flew through the air, the six sand snakes instantly intertwined, transforming into a massive sandstorm tornado that blocked the shells' flight path.

The sandstorm's immense suction force pulled in nearly half of the artillery shells. Even those shells that were further away, which managed to break through the sandstorm's blockade, were unable to overcome the automatic interception of the magical barrier with their saturation attacks. They were all hit by the ghastly green rays and disappeared without exploding.

Then, the nuclear bombs inside the dust tornado exploded with tremendous force, shattering the dust tornado into pieces.

However, the explosion point was in the middle of the standoff between the two sides, and very close to the undead legion. The high heat and shock wave of the explosion would also kill the undead legion.

Valensa frowned upon seeing this, clenched her fists together, and her skin shimmered with holy light and divine power, clearly indicating that she wanted to defend herself.

However, considering Tia's plan, she held back and let the undead lie on the ground and burrow into the soil to avoid the damage from the explosion as much as possible.

Fortunately, the undead army was still more than 5 kilometers away from the explosion center, and the undead were not afraid of the nuclear radiation from the nuclear explosion. As long as they did not get too close to the explosion point and be directly destroyed by the high temperature and shock wave, they could barely survive.

Although it wasn't destroyed, the mortar squad's formation was completely disrupted. Even if Tia remotely controlled the mortar squad to immediately begin redeploying, it would still take some time.

During this time, several more sand snakes were formed by the sandstorm barrier and charged rapidly toward the undead army in an S-shaped maneuver on the ground.

The elite beast squads that had quickly dispersed after leaving the sandstorm barrier also circled around to the flanks and rear of the undead army and launched an attack together. Their target was very clear: the mortar squad formation in the center of the undead army.

Valensa still didn't make a move. Only Nana rushed forward to confront the giant sand snakes. She grabbed one and tore it in half, but the two pieces of the sand snake turned into two more sand snakes. They tried to bite and twist Nana, but were finally smashed by two punches.

The undead legion, in addition to the mortar squad, finally came in handy, pulling out automatic rifles to fight off the elite beast squads that were flanking them from all sides, and the two sides clashed fiercely.

The battlefield has become extremely intense... It's no longer just a contest between Radiant-rank powerhouses, nuclear weapons, and large-scale magical barriers; grassroots battles have also fully commenced.

Gunfire and flames erupted from the area where the undead legion was located. Every now and then, elite warriors of the wild beasts would charge into the undead formation, wielding their two-handed axes to cleave multiple undead into pieces. However, under the concentrated fire of more automatic rifles, they eventually succumbed to exhaustion and were riddled with bullets.

But this was not a pointless suicide... The black magic curse and nuclear contamination on the ground here were not as strong as those in the isolation zone, and the suppression of the Pearl and Lighthouse-level elite warriors was not high, which allowed some elite beast warriors to eventually break through the interception of the low-level undead and rush to the mortar squad's position.

Although they eventually fell in the hail of bullets, the skeletal centaurs, the most important part of the mortar squad, also began to suffer losses... The number was small, and they were mostly taken away by the elite beast warriors before they died.

Valensa was hovering above the mortar squad's position at the time. If she had made a move, she could have easily killed those elite beast warriors, but she didn't.

This scene also caught the attention of the powerful beasts behind the sandstorm barrier, causing them to speculate and even form some ideas.

"Doesn't she even lift a finger? Those undead that can fire terrifying weapons must be incredibly valuable to her, right? Is she just going to stand by and watch?"

"...Perhaps she's simply too weak to act? After all, she's not a true Moon Radiance yet, but that divine technique she used to break through our barrier was definitely at the level of a full-force Moon Radiance attack. That attack must have taken a heavy toll on her, right?"

"So that means she's weak now? Isn't this a great opportunity for us? If we can take this chance to kill her... uh, why are you all looking at me like that?"

One of the beasts, who was eager to fight, suddenly stopped mid-sentence because it realized that its teammates were looking at it as if it were a corpse.

"A good opportunity to kill her?"

Seeing that it had finally fallen silent, another wild beast with a bull's head and a goatee, Yaojie, stroked the large iron hammer in his hand and said with a hint of reminiscence:

“I have several buddies who once had the same idea as you… but now they’ve almost wiped out their own tribes.”

"Yeah, that woman is so shameless, we mustn't fall for her tricks!"

The first beast to speak, a Radiant Rank beast, nodded in agreement.

"She's a legendary figure who's already famous throughout the continent, and she actually disguises herself as an ordinary zombie to sneak up on the undead and launch a surprise attack... Have you forgotten how our first two brothers died unjustly?"

"Indeed."

The last remaining unspeakable beast of the Radiant Rank also gave a wry smile:

“A normal Star Glory... even at the peak of Star Glory, after using some means to unleash an attack comparable to a full-force Moon Glory, they would definitely be exhausted, but that female human might not be.”

She appears to be just a knight, yet she possesses not only a Noble Phantasm but also incredibly powerful divine magic, capable of unleashing a domain like a demon lord. She can even now control puppets with strength comparable to the Moon Warriors! Who knows what other hidden trump cards she holds?

I think she's deliberately trying to lure us out! She definitely has some kind of trump card that will prevent us from ever returning once we leave the protective barrier. We mustn't fall for it!

Anyway, we still have over 400 million worth of supplies here! Given the current situation, as long as that woman doesn't charge in like she did at the beginning, we can hold out for a while… Didn't the Great Chief agree to this when he gave us the order? As long as we don't run out of supplies, we don't need to fight to the death.”

"Makes sense."

"makes sense."

"I agree."

"Me too."

The other wild beasts echoed this sentiment, all expressing that they would absolutely not fall for the cunning female knight's tricks.

Before all 400 million or so ordinary wild beasts remaining in this large settlement are wiped out, they must remain cautious and not venture out to fight recklessly!

The battle remained deadlocked.

After consuming the lives of nearly 200 million ordinary wild beasts for enhancement, the sandstorm barrier is still quite strong.

By continuously condensing sand snakes for mid-course interception and pale green rays for close-range interception, they actually managed to barely defend against the salvo of mortars and nuclear missiles.

Most nuclear bombs failed to detonate at their designated locations, and even those that managed to break through layers of interception by sheer luck could hardly blast open the sandstorm barrier on their own.

The wild beasts are truly merciless in their consumption of ordinary individuals, often burning tens of thousands of ordinary wild beasts to strengthen or recharge magical barriers.

Nana was responsible for intercepting the Sand Serpent's attack at the forefront, while Valensa needed to stay in the middle of the undead army and adapt to changing circumstances. The lower-ranking undead were still fighting with automatic rifles against the elite beast warriors who kept flanking them.

It seems difficult to determine a winner for the time being.

This also fits perfectly with Tia's plan.

After gesturing with several more insulting pieces of jewelry into the sandstorm barrier without receiving a response, Valensa contacted Tia, saying she believed the time was right.

After a moment's thought, Tia agreed with Valensa's assessment and activated the magic cards on both Valensa and the imposter thief, using teleportation to swap their positions.

The chaotic situation on the front lines still made Miss Phantom Thief somewhat nervous.

But she was, after all, a former partygoer who had seen all sorts of big events, so no matter how flustered she was, she could remain very calm and perfectly portray the role she was playing.

Anyway, Valensa's role isn't difficult to play now. She just needs to use a wind magic scroll to levitate in mid-air, put on a cool face, and occasionally make a few insulting gestures at the wild beasts.

The beasts within the sandstorm barrier didn't detect any flaws and didn't even dare to use their spiritual senses to test Valensa's strength, for fear of being countered by some strange trick.

"quick."

Seeing that Miss Phantom Thief was alright for the time being, Tia urged Valensa, who had just returned and was now teasing her from behind, to hurry up and hug her.

"You should get to work... Miss Red isn't really you, and the Rank 1 beasts aren't complete idiots. She could expose her identity at any moment, so you need to hurry!"

"Okay, I'm going right now, mua~~"

Valensa kissed Tia's cheek again before taking out a communication magic card, activating it, and whispering:

"How's things going on your end? Just a quick chat?"

"Everything is fine, dear sister."

Thousand-Leaf Grass's voice immediately returned:

"We can launch operations at any time according to the original plan."

"Okay, I'll be right there. Thank you for your hard work."

After Valensa finished speaking, she put away the communication magic card and nodded gently to Tia.