The apocalypse struck, and I became a druid.

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The water ghouls, clearly elite, and the burly black snake leader were tightly surrounding an old water ghoul priest wielding a bone staff.

The old priest raised his bone staff high, and from it, thick, inky black mist surged violently.

Drawn by this force, the raging winds high in the sky howled and converged wildly toward the center of the battlefield, forming several terrifying tornadoes that stretched from the sky to the ground.

Meanwhile, the turbulent waters in the distant mountain valleys, which were not yet completely frozen, seemed to be seized by an invisible giant hand, transforming into several thick, turbid water dragons mixed with ice shards and gravel.

A deafening roar echoed through the mountain path, soaring into the sky.

On one side were an astonishing number of vines and dead spore fungi.

On the other side is the terrifying black tide of evil power that stirs up the heavens and summons natural disasters.

The incredibly impactful battle scene left Gu Cheng, Li Feng, and a dozen others standing on the mountaintop deeply shaken, almost forgetting to breathe.

boom!

The Spore Legion clashes head-on with the Scourge.

With almost no resistance, the spore corpses that rushed into the natural disaster were instantly swept into the sky by the tornado and torn to pieces.

In an instant, Han Ning felt his spiritual energy and mental power drain away.

Faced with hundreds of large black stone level water ghouls, dozens of black iron level water ghouls and the black snake leader, as well as the terrifying natural disaster caused by the old priest, even though he had advanced to level 15, he still felt that he could not hold on.

"Snowcake, release the lava core to disrupt them, we should retreat!" Han Ning shouted.

His original intention was not to defeat the water ghost army by himself.

Instead, it's about delaying.

Now that our objective has been achieved, there is no need to continue this stalemate.

If this continues, even my own life will be threatened.

"Ow!!"

Xue Pang let out a deafening roar, and scorching flames surged from beneath its dark red scales. Its chest heaved violently, and three incomparably hot lava cores slowly condensed.

Sizzle sizzle~ Sizzle sizzle~

In the dim, hazy sky, a fierce wind howled, whipping up large swaths of frozen sand and gravel.

Amidst the swirling sand and gravel, three enormous cores, shimmering with a dark red glow, resembled beating hearts and continued to grow larger.

"Roar!"

After a brief period of energy storage.

Three lava cores, each nearly a meter in diameter and resembling meteorites, crashed down with a piercing whistling sound, slamming into the towering tornadoes.

boom! boom! boom!

The lava core exploded violently in the storm, the raging flames colliding fiercely with the raging storm, and scorching air currents and chaotic air currents surging everywhere, temporarily halting the advance of the natural disaster, and even causing the surging monster army behind it to stop.

Crackling!

The lava core was blasted apart by the tornado and water flow, turning into thousands of pieces of rock burning with dark red flames, which fell downwards.

Taking advantage of this brief moment, Han Ning's figure rapidly transformed, his broad wings unfurling behind him, transforming into the form of a star-patterned osprey.

With a flap of his wings, countless emerald green vines emerged like serpents from their holes, coiling around Xuebing's massive body, suddenly pulling him up in altitude, and soaring rapidly into the distance.

"Roar!" Snowcake roared unwillingly downwards, letting Han Ning quickly lead it away from the battlefield.

……

On a distant high ground, Chief Gu, Colonel Li Feng, and others witnessed this earth-shattering duel.

"What is this being? Is it human or a native creature? How come I've never heard of such a being before?" Gu Cheng's eyes were filled with shock.

He never expected that in this mountain range, there would be someone who could single-handedly confront such a large monster army, even forcing them to resort to such terrifying methods that could be described as a natural disaster.

"He must be an Awakened One. I can smell his human scent." Li Feng twitched his nose slightly, his right hand constantly stroking the long, narrow scabbard at his waist.

"A person?" Gu Cheng was even more surprised.

Even Li Feng, who was right next to him, couldn't possibly display such terrifying combat power.

Above Li Feng, there are only the true leaders of the five major gathering areas and the monsters in the military.

"Never mind that for now. In any case, this being is most likely not our enemy. Aren't you going to your high ground outpost?" Li Feng turned his head.

"Vice Commander Qian and the others should be retreating in this direction. Let's follow!"

Gu Cheng withdrew his gaze, suppressed the turbulent emotions in his heart, and took the lead in chasing after the direction he had determined to be the evacuation route.

Colonel Li Feng and his entourage immediately followed.

……

Han Ning, transformed into a star-colored osprey, clutched a snow cake and flew at low altitude, quickly catching up with the mixed group of Deputy Leader Qian, Zhao Kai, and others who were struggling to evacuate through the mountains and forests.

The team was battered and bruised, everyone was injured, and the atmosphere was heavy and oppressive.

"The boss is back!"

Zhao Kai and Xu Ming, who were responsible for guarding the surrounding area, were the first to notice Han Ning's arrival and their faces lit up with joy.

Han Ning slowly descended, preparing to land.

Suddenly, he keenly sensed more than a dozen unusually powerful energy fluctuations approaching rapidly from his side and rear.

"Something is approaching, stay alert!" Han Ning immediately issued a warning, while simultaneously increasing his altitude and cautiously looking in the direction of the energy source.

The group, who had just relaxed, immediately became alert again.

The crowd below tensed up immediately, the survivors gripping their weapons tightly and looking over anxiously.

However, after picking up the communicator at his waist and connecting the call, Deputy Leader Qian's face lit up with ecstasy: "It's Leader Gu! Leader Gu is back!"

No sooner had the words been spoken than a dozen figures swiftly crossed the frozen mountain path and appeared in everyone's sight.

As soon as these dozen or so people appeared, without any detailed conversation with Qian Zhen and the others, their gazes were all focused on Han Ning, who had regained his human form.

They didn't recognize Han Ning in his human form, but they had clearly seen Xuebing next to the group just now.

"It's you!"

Upon seeing Han Ning, the two leaders looked surprised.

"And who is this?" Gu Cheng glanced at Qian Zhen.

A master...

At close range, Han Ning sensed the faint energy fluctuations emanating from the two individuals and initially estimated that their strength was at least level 12 or higher.

How strong it is exactly is still unknown.

"This is Leader Han Ning from the Biyun Gathering Area. Leader Han and the brothers from the Biyun Gathering Area just helped us stop the attack of the water zombies," Qian Zhen said truthfully.

"Chief Han, hello, I am Gu Cheng, the leader of the Highland Outpost. Thank you for your help." Upon hearing Qian Zhen's introduction, Gu Cheng smiled, stepped forward, and extended his hand.

They never expected that the expert they were just marveling at would appear right in front of them.

And judging from their appearance, they are also helpers from the highland outpost.

Gu Cheng was probably in his early thirties. He wasn't very tall, but he had a dignified air about him and a decisive and efficient demeanor.

"Hello." Han Ning reached out and shook hands with Gu Cheng.

"Let me introduce you. This is Colonel Li Feng from the Sword of Judgment." Gu Cheng stepped aside and introduced the man next to him.

This person was also in his early thirties, with short hair standing on end like steel needles, and a thin scar below his neck.

A scabbard with an antique feel was tucked into his waistband.

"The third squad of the Sword of Judgment, captain Li Feng." The man gave a brief self-introduction, the scar on his neck twitching slightly as he spoke. "Brother, you're very strong. I didn't expect to find a master like you in this mountain range."

He reached out and shook hands with Han Ning, a hearty smile on his face.

The sword of judgment?!

Han Ning, Zhao Kai, Xu Ming, Qian Zhen, and others nearby all showed expressions of surprise.

The Sword of Judgment is one of the five major gathering areas.

"Colonel Li is too kind."

Han Ning noticed that apart from shaking hands, Li Feng's right hand never left the hilt of the sword at his waist, and the scabbard was wreathed in strange energy fluctuations.

Actually, he had sensed prying eyes nearby while he was fighting the army of water corpses, but he was focused on the battle and there was no malice in those eyes, so he didn't pay much attention to them.

After the introductions, Gu Cheng turned to Qian Zhen and asked, "Old Qian, what's the situation at the outpost? What are the losses?"

Qian Zhen's facial muscles twitched, and his eyes dimmed: "The losses are heavy."

"The outer defense line has completely collapsed. More than 300 brothers who stayed behind have died in battle, including 127 Awakened Ones, including four captains. But I'm afraid that only about 40% of the supplies could be transferred in time."

"...I'm late."

Gu Cheng's voice lowered, filled with self-reproach.

"I am sorry to my fallen brothers and to those who trusted me. If it weren't for Leader Han Ning's intervention and his blocking of the pursuers, our high ground outpost would probably have been wiped out here."

He turned to Han Ning and bowed solemnly. "Chief Han, I, Gu Cheng, on behalf of all the survivors of the Highland Outpost, will remember this kindness!"

Han Ning waved his hand: "Chief Gu is too kind. If one of us is gone, the other will be too. It is only right that we help each other."

Gu Cheng shook his head, his guilt undiminished.

“I should have returned sooner. This trip to the headquarters of the Sword of Judgment was not just for a routine transaction, but because I was invited to participate in an emergency joint meeting convened by representatives of the five major settlements and the remaining forces of the military.”

His words drew everyone's attention, and even those who were treating the wounded slowed down and listened intently.

"The core issue of the meeting was only one: how to deal with the water ghosts and the full threat posed by the Black Tide behind them."

Gu Cheng's gaze swept over the crowd, his tone heavy.

"We all paid an extremely heavy price before we could barely figure out some of the details and weaknesses of these monsters."

"Weaknesses?" Wang Jianshe couldn't help but interject.

"Yes, a weakness."

Colonel Li Feng stepped forward, his expression solemn.

"The water ghouls, or rather the black tide power behind them, are not perfect and have no weaknesses."