Chapter 268 - Stalemate

Han Wu obtained a lot of Energy as goblins fell one after another. Without wasting a second, he poured all of it into constructing as many Locust Towers as possible during the crisis, merging them as he went.

He worried that Huang Shengjun would try something similar and wipe out all his towers aligned with the darkness or death attribute, so he chose a different kind of Locust Tower. This time, he went with the Heavenly Demon Insect Tower, a variant known for its devastating physical attacks.

He began the chain of upgrades immediately. Ten Locust Towers merged into a single Unique Heavenly Demon Insect Tower. Then ten of those merged into one Heroic Heavenly Demon Insectman Tower. Finally, ten of those merged into the mighty Heavenly Poison Demon Insectman Lord Tower.

[Heavenly Poison Demon Insectman Lord Tower (Lord)

Armor: 20,000

Attack: 4,000

Defense: 2,000

Attack Method: Poison Horn Thrust

Range: 50 km

Attack Rate: 0.5 second

Skills:

1. Ten Thrust – Attacks a single target 10 times within 1 second. Each strike deals 80% base damage and pushes the target back on contact.

2. Intense Venom (Passive) – Poisons targets upon impact. Damage and duration vary based on the target’s physical condition.

Sacred Object Slots: 10]

Everything unfolded in an instant. Han Wu completed the final merge just as the Titan Goblin loomed in front of the tower, club raised and ready to strike.

The Titan Goblin had lost a leg, slowing its advance dramatically. Han Wu seized this opportunity and commanded the Heavenly Poison Demon Insectman Lord Tower to unleash Ten Thrust at the critical moment.

Although the tower’s strikes couldn’t break past the Titan Goblin’s Defense, the knockback effect staggered it. Han Wu needed to buy time and stall the goblin from destroying his towers. As expected, the Titan Goblin was pushed back by the relentless Ten Thrusts until it stood ten kilometers away. It would take another thirty seconds to reach the tower again.

The Epistian Towers seized the moment to charge and launch a massive fireball, wiping out most of the remaining Heroic goblins.

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Xiang Meng directed his Maha Fulgur Mammoth Tower toward a Goblin Lord, releasing the Maha Lightning. The Goblin Lord was incinerated within seconds. He then handed Han Wu all the Energy, Sacred Objects, and special items he had gained from killing the goblins.

Soon, the second Heavenly Poison Demon Insectman Lord Tower was built. At the same time, Han Wu sold all the Sacred Objects he had merged through the trade channel and earned more Energy.

Huang Shengjun grew anxious as he watched his Titan Goblin fail to bring down Han Wu’s towers.

At the moment, the Titan Goblin Tower’s cooldown refreshed, summoning another Titan Goblin into the army. Still, despite his growing numbers, Huang Shengjun could not wrest control of the small territory Han Wu stubbornly held. Each time he ordered more units into Han Wu’s land, the latter killed them and collected more Energy in return.

Han Wu lost count of how many times he had pushed back the Titan Goblin, but at last, he built ten Heavenly Poison Demon Insectman Lord Towers. Merging them all together, he created a brand-new tower in the wargame: the Heavenly Poison Demon Insectman High Lord Tower.

[Heavenly Poison Demon Insectman High Lord Tower (High Lord)

Armor: 300,000

Attack: 60,000

Defense: 20,000

Attack Method: Poison Horn Thrust

Range: 100 km

Attack Rate: 0.2 seconds

Skills:

1. Hundred Thrusts – Attacks a single target 100 times within 1 second. Each strike deals 80% base damage and pushes the target back on contact.

2. Intense Venom (Passive) – Poisons targets upon impact. Damage and duration vary based on the target’s physical condition.

Sacred Object Slots: 15]

The Heavenly Poison Demon Insectman High Lord Tower had average stats, but its Hundred Thrusts was powerful and pushed its target backward. None of the goblins below the High Lord rank could withstand the damage. The only one capable of enduring the attack was the Titan Goblin—the sole goblin of High Lord rank—but even it couldn’t resist the Skill’s knockback effect.

The Titan Goblin specialized in close-quarters combat and could only engage enemies within a 500-meter radius. That meant it stood no chance against the Heavenly Poison Demon Insectman High Lord Tower, which boasted a staggering 100-kilometer attack range.

Whenever a Titan Goblin drew near, the tower launched Hundred Thrusts and knocked it back a full 50 kilometers. It took the Titan Goblin three minutes to close that distance again, only to be flung backward once more the moment it got close.

The battle had become a deadlock. Huang Shengjun recognized the problem and dispatched even more Titan Goblins, but Hundred Thrusts had a mere five-second cooldown, allowing it to repeat the knockback over and over.

At present, Huang Shengjun had no effective way to counter it. He had only two options for dealing with the Heavenly Poison Demon Insectman High Lord Tower.

The first was to gather a massive force of Titan Goblins and have them charge all at once. If even one reached the tower before the cooldown reset, he could destroy it.

The second was to deploy a unit with an extremely long attack range. The Heavenly Poison Demon Insectman High Lord Tower didn’t boast high Defense or Armor, so it wouldn’t take much to bring it down.

Either way, these options demanded significant time and Energy. He hadn’t earned any Energy so far, since he hadn’t destroyed a single one of Han Wu’s towers. Instead, he had to rely on passive Energy gain from his vast territory. Constructing the towers now required over a million Energy and would take hours, while Han Wu replenished Energy by slaughtering the invading goblins.

Time was not on Huang Shengjun’s side. Han Wu still had a chance to turn the tide. To cut off Han Wu’s Energy supply, Huang Shengjun commanded all his goblins to hold their position at the edge of Han Wu’s territory and ordered them to stop invading.

What he had never expected was that, even though Han Wu’s territory now spanned only 31,400 square kilometers, Han Wu had gained Death’s Protection. This status extended over his land and triggered a powerful aggro effect. Despite Huang Shengjun’s commands, his goblins charged uncontrollably into Han Wu’s territory. There was no stopping them.

Huang Shengjun was furious. He had never faced an enemy as maddening as Han Wu. Han Wu was like a bronze bean—impossible to shatter, break, or flatten. He could be swallowed whole, but trying to digest him was another matter entirely.

Unfortunately, there was no turning back. Only the victor would emerge stronger.

Determined to prevent Han Wu from gaining more Energy, Huang Shengjun steeled himself and gave a brutal order: all goblins below the High Lord rank were to commit suicide.

Han Wu stood stunned as he watched the goblins kill themselves, their bodies collapsing into pools of blood. He had to admit Huang Shengjun was both ruthless and decisive. He never imagined that his opponent would order the goblins he had nurtured to die in such a way.

With the goblin army wiped out, Han Wu lost his Energy supply, and the two opponents locked into a tense stalemate. Both waited, watching for the other to make the next move that could tip the balance in their favor.