As expected, the Night Lizard People were no match for the Silver Weslan in frontal combat. Although fierce and undaunted by death, their assault shattered against the Weslan's steadfast lines, like waves crashing upon the rocks, wave after wave. Yet, aside from increasing their casualties, it was all in vain.

Nonetheless, the Night Lizard People demonstrated remarkable ferocity during the process. Their corpses piled layer upon layer in front of the Iron Defenders and Imperial Knights of Silver Weslan, yet they would not retreat. Whenever the Night Lizard People's commander issued a hissing sound, more Lizardmen rushed out from the darkness. Fang Hong glimpsed the situation and realized that even this small squad of Night Lizard People was equivalent to a large cavalry for Silver Weslan. It was neither scientifically nor realistically feasible to kill all these Lizardmen.

He glanced at the distant Lizardman commander, thought for a moment, activated his digitized device, enveloped the two nearby Energy Angels in blue light, and then turned to the others, saying, "Everyone, we need to accelerate our retreat. I'm worried that they are waiting for reinforcements from other directions."

The leading Knight thrust his spear at a Night Lizard charging towards him, who cunningly rolled away to dodge his strike and then vanished into the crowd. Seizing the moment, he turned back and replied, "I understand as well, but if we speed up our retreat any further, it will be difficult to maintain our formation."

Fang Hong shook his head, "Don't worry, just retreat."

He then turned to the side where a seemingly adolescent boy stood and beckoned, "Xiangzi, come with me."

The head Knight, realizing his intent, froze momentarily, "What are you planning?"

Tainaric also asked from the side, "Do you need help?"

Fang Hong waved his hand, "Keep the strong frontline here, wait for Sophie's command." Then, he shouted to Parker, "Parker, Explosive Crossbow Bolts."

In fact, using Flash Arrows would be more effective in this environment, but that was a skill learned by the Nightingale after reaching level seventeen through the enlightenment of light/dark Attribute Crystals. Level seventeen is a threshold for Crossbow Shooters; after this level, the study of Multiple Attribute Crystals' enlightenment turns a Crossbowman into a truly multi-functional grenadier.

But for now, they could only use Explosive Crossbow Bolts as makeshift Flash grenades. Though the effect might be somewhat less for ordinary people, it should be more than sufficient against the Night Lizard People.

As a professional Crossbowman, Papalarians immediately understood Fang Hong's intention, swapped his bolts for the special ones, furiously cranked the crossbow to pull it back, set the fuse to its shortest, and then yelled, "Ready!"

Fang Hong nodded, "Fire!"

It was then that Silver Weslan's awareness became apparent. Generally, when an AOE attack needs to coordinate with the front line, the commanders must provide specific alerts to avoid friendly fire—but Fang Hong was not a professional frontline Commander. His perspective was influenced by watching top-tier guild battles, hence no such alerts were given.

Yet, the Knights of Silver Weslan were not surprised. Before Fang Hong could even give the order, they unanimously stepped back to give space for the explosion and simultaneously lifted their Great Shields, leaning into them.

The Night Lizard People in front, bewildered, did not realize their hunter king status in the Underground World counted for little at the moment. Hesitating briefly, a bright flash suddenly erupted from the darkness; the explosive radiance of the Flash Bolts like a Novastar, the blast wave and the billowing flames engulfed the closest Night Lizard People, while those further away screamed and curled up to shield their eyes.

The Explosive Crossbow Bolts had a remarkably good effect, comparable to the previous Fireball Technique. If Silver Weslan had initiated a counter-attack at that moment, they could have expected to eliminate twenty or thirty opponents.

However, eliminating twenty or thirty Night Lizard People would not change the overall situation, especially after so many combat engagements, supplies were running low, particularly the Explosive Crystals, which were now almost entirely in Parker's possession, barely enough for a few more uses.

Considering the coming battles, they had to conserve what was left.

Taking advantage of the blast's light and the Night Lizard People's momentary hesitation, the team began an orderly retreat. Yet, from the other end of the fiery barrier, a shrill hissing was immediately heard. The knights instantly knew it was the Night Lizard commander pushing his subordinates forward.

"They're coming again," muttered a Papalarian, "That guy is really stubborn!"

"Increase the speed," commanded the leading Knight, who glanced at one side of the square. Princess had not responded yet, so after Fang Hong left, he had taken over the command.—

Just then, a somewhat unfamiliar voice broke into Silver Weslan's communication channel:

"Hello everyone, this is the emergency command center. We previously requested and received your Little Princess's approval to temporarily take over command. First, let me kindly remind you to be cautious on the left flank, strengthen the defense in that direction—"

Everyone was stunned.

"And who are you?" Ran Qingzhu couldn't help but ask, puzzled by how the Princess had successively assigned command authority to others. Boss Ade was understandable, as he had proven his competence.

And what exactly is this emergency command center?

There was silence on the communication channel for a moment, then the voice said, "Sorry, forgot to introduce myself."

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