Chapter 7

Hidden units are a special type of unit in the Eternal Kingdom that rarely appear in large numbers before players. There are very few ways for players to obtain them; they can only be acquired through quests or certain quest rewards. If you are lucky enough, you might also obtain the construction plans for hidden units during battles, which is also a significant source.

These units have much stronger attributes than normal units and are highly sought after during the rapid development phase of players. A low-tier hidden unit construction plan can be sold for hundreds of thousands of gold coins, and there is still a high demand, which can only be described as insane.

Ghasts and Skeleton Javelineers are both hidden units. As a ranged attack unit, the Skeleton Javelineer has a much higher attack power than the Skeleton Heavy Crossbowman, but these guys also have their weakness—range.

"Skeleton Javelineer: A Tier 4 hidden unit of the Graveyard race. A specially modified Skeleton Javelineer with extremely strong ranged attack capabilities. Most importantly, they do not suffer from the penalty of reduced attack power when engaged in close combat. If someone wants to engage them in melee, they will be hit by a storm of attacks. Damage: 4-8, Defense: 3, Health: 45, Movement Speed: 0.7 meters per second, Attack Speed: once every 2.4 seconds, Range: 25 meters, Ammunition: 5. Special Abilities: 1. Enhanced Ranged Unit [This unit is a special ranged unit and does not suffer from the penalty of reduced attack power when engaged in close combat.] 2. Piercing Throw [When the Skeleton Javelineer attacks, there is a 20% chance to deal an additional 20 points of damage and pin the enemy to the ground for 2 seconds.]"

"Ghast: A Tier 4 hidden unit of the Graveyard race. A malevolent spirit that feeds on corpses. When they gather, disaster often begins. Damage: 5-7, Defense: 2, Health: 50, Movement Speed: 1.2 meters per second, Attack Speed: once every 1.8 seconds. Special Abilities: 1. Feast on Corpses [Ghasts can restore their health by feasting on corpses, restoring 5 health points per second for 30 seconds from one corpse.]"

Compared to the Skeleton Heavy Crossbowman, the Skeleton Javelineer has a slightly shorter range, but its damage, health, and defense have all improved. Most importantly, this unit does not suffer from the penalty of reduced attack power when engaged in close combat, making it a very special unit. The Piercing Throw ability is also quite effective, even though it only has a 20% chance to trigger, but once successful, it can immobilize the enemy for 2 seconds, which is quite powerful.

As for the Ghast, this unit is far superior to the Skeleton in many ways. Although its defense is not very high, its health is decent, and most importantly, its movement and attack speed are extremely fast, making it a very stable and effective unit for combat.

Under normal circumstances, a group of Skeleton Javelineers wouldn't be much of a threat, but the problem is that the Skeleton King and the Ghast King have the ability of War Aura! The Skeleton King's War Aura is the Command Aura, which increases the attack power of all units within its range, while the Ghast King's War Aura is the Frenzy Aura, which increases the attack speed and movement speed of all units within its range.

"Skeleton King: A Tier 4 leader-level creature. Attack: 60-100, Defense: 6, Health: 9000, Mana: 700, Movement Speed: 1.8 meters per second, Attack Speed: once every 2 seconds. Special Abilities: 1. Resistant Bones [The Skeleton King's bones are extremely tough from years of battle, reducing damage taken by 15 points, with a minimum of 3 points.] 2. Command Aura Level 3 [All units within 600 meters of the Skeleton King have their attack power increased by 30%.] 3. Shockwave Level 1 [The Skeleton King slams the ground with its weapon, creating a shockwave that attacks all enemies in a 10-meter fan-shaped area in front of it, dealing 100 damage to each unit and 100% additional damage to buildings. Mana cost: 80 points.]"

"Ghast King: A Tier 4 leader-level creature. Attack: 80-95, Defense: 5, Health: 8000, Mana: 400, Movement Speed: 2 meters per second, Attack Speed: once every 1.3 seconds. Special Abilities: 1. Ghast Frenzy [Increases the attack speed and movement speed of all Ghasts within the Ghast King's range by 15%, and the Ghast King's own attack speed and movement speed by 20%.] 2. Frenzy Aura Level 2 [All units within 600 meters of the Ghast King have their attack speed and movement speed increased by 10%.] 3. Corruption Devour [The Ghast King can devour three corpses at once, and for 3 minutes after devouring, it regenerates 80 health points per second.]"

"Damn, this is really going to be tough!"

Watching the large number of blood-red Ghasts surge towards the city wall like a tide, Lin Han no longer felt relaxed. Under the influence of the Ghast King's Frenzy Aura and Ghast Frenzy, the Ghasts' attack speed had reached once every 1.5 seconds. Although their attack power was still only 6-9 under the Command Aura, which was not enough to breach the initial granite wall, the sheer attack speed was terrifying. The wall's durability was dropping even faster than before, and even with Lin Han directing all his forces to focus fire, the number of Ghasts did not decrease.

On the other side, the Skeleton Javelineers had also reached their attack range. They did not attack the wall but instead focused their fire on the Wraith Towers on the wall. As a result, the wall's durability slowly decreased, while the Wraith Towers...

"Shockwave!"

The massive Skeleton King swung his sword and shield, stomping the ground heavily. A massive earth-colored shockwave surged forward, slamming into the wall. The entire wall trembled, and its durability instantly dropped by 140 points, causing Lin Han to break out in a cold sweat. If he hadn't upgraded the wall to a granite wall earlier, this shockwave would have reduced the wall's durability by 200 points, and with several waves, the Skeleton King alone could have destroyed the wall.

However, seeing the rate at which the Skeleton King's health was dropping, Lin Han was suddenly pleased. Although the Skeleton King's passive ability—Resistant Bones—seemed powerful, in reality, it was quite disadvantageous in the early stages against low-tier units. Originally, Skeleton Archers could only deal 1 point of damage to the Skeleton King, but with this skill, each attack dealt 3 points of damage, leaving Lin Han unsure of what to do.

Less than a minute into the battle, the first Wraith Tower was engulfed in flames and then dissipated into countless emerald-green lights. The destruction of the first Wraith Tower triggered a chain reaction, and soon, two more Wraith Towers were destroyed. The newly built Wraith Towers also lasted only a minute before turning into emerald lights.

"Boom!"

The sound of bricks shattering echoed as the wall finally could not withstand the onslaught of the Ghasts. However, as a result, all the Ghasts outside the city were eliminated, and only a few dozen Skeleton Javelineers remained.

The biggest problem was that the two leaders—the Ghast King and the Skeleton King—were still very much alive. The Skeleton King was slightly worse off, with only about 2000 health points left, but the Ghast King still had 6000 health points. The Ghast King's Corruption Devour ability was truly disgusting, regenerating 80 health points per second, which could quickly refill its health if not carefully managed. The wall's collapse was largely due to the inability to quickly defeat this unit.

"Fall back! Retreat to the Great Graveyard!"

Biting his lip, Lin Han issued the order. Without the wall's protection, it was a pipe dream to fight against two leader-level creatures. However, they had no choice. The only consolation was that the Wraith Towers on the other two walls were still intact, and the Skeleton King and Ghast King had been taking damage since entering the town. If Lin Han could stall, there was a chance to kill them.

However, how long could he hold out? Looking at the remaining 23 Skeleton Heavy Crossbowmen retreating to the Great Graveyard, Lin Han knew that the battle was coming to an end. He had only this much force left, and if it was all exhausted without success, his defense would truly fail.

For other races, this might be a significant headache, but the Graveyard race was different. The Great Graveyard was one of the powerful defensive tools of the Graveyard race, serving not only as the core base but also as a formidable defensive weapon.

"Great Graveyard Level 1, the core building of the Graveyard race, the placement of the Town Heart. If the Great Graveyard is destroyed, the player will be exiled for one day and will receive a random new Great Graveyard to restart development, but will lose most resources. Durability: 3000/3000, Armor: 20, Armor Type: Enhanced Armor, Damage: 80-150, Attack Speed: once every 1.5 seconds, can attack up to 4 units simultaneously."

If anything, this was the most powerful defensive tool of the Graveyard race and the last line of defense. Once the Great Graveyard is breached, the player will be exiled and will have to wait for a new town to respawn after one day.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

When the two leader-level creatures entered the attack range of the Great Graveyard, countless white souls floated up from it, screaming as they charged towards the Skeleton King and the Ghast King. Both leaders' bodies trembled, and their health points dropped slightly.

"Shockwave!"

The Skeleton King unleashed another shockwave, instantly shattering three Skeleton Heavy Crossbowmen. The remaining Skeleton Heavy Crossbowmen scattered, locking onto the Skeleton King and launching a frenzied attack. At the same time, the remaining Wraith Towers on both walls continuously attacked the two leaders. Even as leader-level creatures, they could not withstand such intense attacks, and their health points began to drop rapidly. Even the Ghast King's Corruption Devour could not stop the rapid decline in health.

"Ding! You have killed the Skeleton King!" "Ding! You have killed the Ghast King!"

"You have killed the Ghast King and the Skeleton King. You have successfully completed the defense mission. Please wait, mission evaluation is in progress..."

"Damn, this is like going back to the beginning!"

Looking at the mere three Skeleton Heavy Crossbowmen standing behind him, Lin Han felt a mix of frustration and despair.