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Heroic Werewolf Scroll Chapter 74: Mountain-Crushing, Peak-Shattering Beastmen

"Boom—boom boom—boom boom boom boom—boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom—"

Thousands of massive war drums covered with beast hides resounded at the foot of Saint Spirit Mountain. Rows of giant catapults stood tall, and the massive beastman army was arrayed in countless formations. Their cold steel gleamed brightly under the sunlight, and the dense killing intent even affected the clouds in the sky.

On the third day of the beastman army's gathering at the foot of Saint Spirit Mountain, the battle to conquer the mountain finally began.

Since the defeat on the Golden Plains four years ago, Saint Spirit Mountain had been fully prepared for war. From the foot to the summit, hundreds of meters high, layers of walls and checkpoints had been built, equipped with countless magic artillery of various sizes. Although Saint Spirit Mountain did not have a mana source well like the "Star Shattering Abyss" in the desert center, which could resist forbidden spells, and thus could not build a second super magic artillery like the "Tower of Babel," the pervasive power of the Light God across the mountain still allowed all magic artillery to fire continuously. At the same time, layers of magical barriers could be deployed, and various blessings could be bestowed upon the human warriors on the mountain. The defenders of Saint Spirit Mountain were the most loyal followers of the Light God. Whether they were warriors, priests, or mages, they all knew they were guarding humanity's most sacred sanctuary. Each of them was determined to defend Saint Spirit Mountain to the death, utterly fearless of the enemies below.

Unfortunately, even with such strict defenses and united resolve, it was difficult to withstand the beastman tide.

Heavily armored yak-tribe warriors carried heavy siege equipment, charging up the mountain under a rain of arrows and magic. Bear-tribe warriors swung their massive axes, slaughtering any humans who tried to block them. The Eagle-tribe warriors clashed with modified angel warriors in the sky, while the Lion-tribe warriors formed formations to assault the gates. The Wolf-tribe warriors prowled on the flanks, ready to swarm any weak points in the human defenses. Other beastman warriors, such as the massive Elephant-tribe warriors, the swift Leopard-tribe warriors, the cold-blooded Tiger-tribe warriors, as well as the Horse-tribe, Deer-tribe, and Dog-tribe warriors, each formed their own armies, playing their roles on the battlefield.

"Boom boom boom—"

A series of explosions erupted on the mountainside, with massive light bursts engulfing the attacking beastman warriors. However—

"Report, General! The beastmen have breached a section of the second southern wall. The Third Regiment of the Knights of the Holy Cross is currently organizing a counterattack."

"Damn it, how can so much artillery fail to stop those beasts? Are the magic artillery units working for the beastmen?"

"There's no way around it. These are the same beastmen that even the Dark Magic Corps of the Great Devil King couldn't wipe out. A magic explosion that could kill a hundred human warriors might only incapacitate a dozen beastmen. Otherwise, how could they have made it this far up Saint Spirit Mountain?"

On the battlefield, both magic and magic artillery had to strike a balance between lethality and area of effect. Many large-scale destructive spells effective against human armies had relatively low individual lethality. For example, "Scorching Cloud" could create a scorching cloud covering hundreds of square meters with temperatures around 150 degrees Celsius. If it fell on humans, it could incinerate dozens of ordinary soldiers, but on beastmen, it would only cause skin burns. On the other hand, highly lethal spells like "Shattering Spell" faced the issue of too small an area of effect, making them inefficient for mass killing. Similarly, magic artillery had the same problem. Due to material limitations, they couldn't fire at high speeds. If the area of effect wasn't large enough, they couldn't effectively suppress the beastmen's advance. Thus, they had to reduce their power. After all, it was better to knock down a group of beastmen, leaving them all injured, than to kill one while the rest charged forward. There were spells and cannons with both high power and wide area of effect, but they inevitably had significant drawbacks in terms of firing frequency, energy consumption, and sustained combat time, making their effectiveness not necessarily better than other types of artillery.

In fact, this issue had also troubled the mages of the elven empire and the countless magic scholars under the Great Devil King. Both magic and magical devices were constrained by the rules of this world, with limits they could not surpass. The beastmen's survival ability happened to be right at this limit, making them neither immune to magic nor completely defeated by it. Many believed this phenomenon reflected the harmony and balance of the gods when creating the world. Some even thought that the beastmen's forced bloodline selection ability and their general lack of magical talent were part of this balance and harmony. Except for the forbidden spells of the Twelve Archmages, which disrupted the world's laws, no magic could completely overwhelm the beastmen on the battlefield.

However, humans had understood this before the war, so there were no strategic oversights. Where magic couldn't hold, human lives had to make up the difference.

"The Light God is with us, justice will prevail—"

"The holy mountain is behind us, we have no retreat, charge—"

"Damn beasts, we'll fight you to the death—"

Amidst these roars, the human warriors erupted with astonishing fighting spirit, engaging the beastmen in fierce battles at every wall and fortress. After all, those defending the holy mountain were almost all elite warriors of the temple. Under the blessings of holy light, nearly half had reached the level of Sword Heroes. With the advantage of fortifications, they were not far behind the beastmen.

Under such relentless resistance, the beastman army's advance was greatly hindered. Although they continued to push forward overall, many areas saw repeated stalemates, with numerous units suffering heavy casualties.

"Report, the combined forces of the Bear-tribe's Feral Moon and Blood Moon clans have suffered heavy casualties and request reinforcements."

"The commanders of the yak-tribe's Silver Ring clan on the southern front have all perished, the formation has collapsed, and all warriors are engaged in chaotic fighting. Request additional spiritual leaders to reorganize."

"Report, the human army on the western front has launched a counterattack with the Crystal Core Swordmasters. The Black Wolf and Red Wolf tribes are surrounded."