I am the Arcane Archer, and all my skills are self-created.

The command center was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

All the staff officers and intelligence personnel stopped what they were doing and stared in shock at the unfamiliar man at the door, as well as at their acting chairman, who was known for his calmness and iron-fisted approach, whose face now wore a complex expression of astonishment, surprise, and a hint of relief.

Hua Zitong's lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she didn't say anything.

She simply walked quickly to Li Wu, and then, to everyone's astonishment, she did something no one would have expected.

She reached out and punched Li Wu's breastplate hard.

A muffled "bang" was heard.

"You still know to come back?" Her voice trembled slightly.

Li Wu didn't dodge and took the punch head-on.

He knew that this punch contained a great deal of meaning.

Six months of waiting, six months of pressure, six months of longing.

"Hmm," he simply replied.

Looking at his calm face, Hua Zitong's eyes inexplicably reddened. But she quickly composed herself and resumed her decisive commander demeanor.

"Come with me." She said those three words and turned to walk towards a separate office next to the command center.

Li Wu followed.

The office door was closed, shutting out all the noise from outside.

Hua Zitong didn't sit down; instead, she walked directly to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, from which she could overlook most of the battlefield.

On the east side of the city wall, a behemoth the size of a small mountain was rampaging, and each impact caused the defensive array to ripple violently.

To the north and west, the players' skill lights had merged into one, and the shouts of battle were deafening.

"You see," Hua Zitong's voice regained its composure. "That's how it is."

"Yes, I saw it." Li Wu walked to her side and followed her gaze to the battlefield.

"The Godslayer Alliance has a total strength of 5,300 men, with over 2,000 core elites. They are led by three top-tier experts at level 120: Iron-Blooded Lion, One Sword Overturns the City, and Wind and Cloud Nine Heavens. Their objective is clear: while the beast tide is holding back our main force, they will break through our defenses from the flank and capture the city's core in one fell swoop."

"Beast Tide, city-destroying level. The highest-level monster currently appearing is a level 110 Lord Abyss Behemoth, over there on the east wall. According to intelligence from Dragon Shield, there are at least two more of the same level behind, and there might even be a level 120 Beast King."

Hua Zitong used the simplest language to explain the current dire situation to Li Wu.

She didn't complain or ask for help; she was simply stating a fact.

Li Wu listened quietly, her eyes showing no emotion.

"Our forces number three thousand five hundred. Adding the outer harassment forces of Sword and Rose and the Flower Language Guild, we can barely match the Godslayer Alliance. But we must spare at least half of our manpower to deal with the beast tide."

"Therefore, on the main battlefield, we were fighting against five thousand men with fewer than two thousand men."

"I understand." Li Wu nodded. "What about casualties?"

"In the first hour of the battle, more than 800 people have died, and countless others have survived the serious injuries. The Immovable Mountain and Steel Shield have each died at least once." Hua Zitong's voice was somewhat low.

Li Wu fell silent.

He could imagine how brutal the hour-long battle must have been.

"What's your plan?" he asked.

"There's no plan." Hua Zitong laughed self-deprecatingly. "This is no longer a time when schemes can solve problems. The only way is to pay with lives. Hold out for twelve hours, or die in battle and the city is destroyed."

Her tone conveyed a tragic and resolute determination.

Li Wu turned his head and looked at her.

Six months seemed to have left few marks on her face, but her eyes were more profound and weary than before.

He could imagine how much pressure she had been under all by herself for the past six months.

"You've worked hard," he said softly.

Hua Zitong's body trembled slightly.

She had anticipated various reactions from Li Wu upon his return—perhaps shock, perhaps anger, or perhaps an immediate takeover of command. But she never expected him to utter those three words.

A warm current surged from the bottom of her heart, instantly shattering all the defenses she had built with solid ice.

The grievances and exhaustion of the past six months seemed to find an outlet at this moment.

But she held back.

She sniffed and shook her head: "It's nothing. It's what I should do."

Li Wu looked at her reddened eyes and didn't say anything more.

He simply reached out and gently patted her shoulder.

"Leave the rest to me."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an irresistible power.

Hua Zitong raised her head and looked at him.

The man in front of me seemed no different from what he had been six months ago.

But she could sense that he had changed.

That feeling is hard to describe. If Li Wu six months ago was a peerless sword hidden in its sheath, its sharpness concealed.

So now, he is like a sword that has been drawn, but the sword itself has become part of the rules of heaven and earth.

You can't see his sharp edge, but you can feel that every move he makes contains the power to overturn everything.

"What do you want to do?" Hua Zitong asked.

"It's simple." Li Wu's gaze returned to the battlefield outside the window, his eyes turning cold and sharp. "Kill them all."

"The enemy has three level 120 experts, and thousands of elites..."

"I know," Li Wu interrupted her. "So, I'll go and stomp on the biggest bug first, and then I'll deal with these annoying flies."

He was referring to the giant beast in the abyss beyond the east wall.

"That thing has over 50 million HP and a high damage reduction. We focused our fire for half an hour and only managed to take down less than 5% of its HP," Hua Zitong reminded.

"Hmm," Li Wu responded noncommittally.

He turned around and walked towards the office door.

"You stay here and continue commanding, just hold the line," he said, leaving the rest to me.

"Li Wu!" Hua Zitong called out to him.

Li Wu stopped and looked back at her.

"You..." Hua Zitong looked at him, wanting to ask him how strong he was now, and whether he was confident, but she swallowed the words back.

She knew there was no point in asking these questions.

This man never does anything he's not sure he can do.

In the end, she simply took a deep breath and solemnly said, "Be careful."

A faint smile curved at the corners of Li Wu's lips.

"rest assured."

After saying that, he pushed open the door and went out.

As Hua Zitong watched his disappearing figure, her tense body finally relaxed a little at this moment.

She walked to the window and watched Li Wu's figure pass through the corridor, go downhill, and finally walk out of the city lord's mansion, heading towards the east city wall.

She didn't know what method Li Wu would use to deal with that abyssal behemoth.

But she knew that from the moment this man returned, the balance of power in this war had begun to shift.

She straightened her back, her eyes regaining their usual sharpness and confidence. She walked to the command platform and addressed all the staff officers:

"Pass on my order! All troops, abandon any rash advances and switch to full defense! Hold the line for ten minutes at all costs!"

"We'll counterattack in ten minutes!"