Chapter 29: The Behemoth Lurking in the Shadows
After confirming that the beacon's signal was uploading stably, the squad dared not linger. They immediately turned around and quickly retreated along the pre-planned evacuation route.
Everyone kept their Sea of Consciousness taut, maintaining a semi-contracted state of alertness. The heavy, cold psychic fluctuation that Lin Yan had just caught was simultaneously transmitted to the rest of the squad.
"It's that third-tier scaled beast," the leading veteran whispered, his gaze sweeping over the undulating rocks and the profound rift in the distance. "It hasn't launched an attack; it's just following from afar. It looks like it's watching us."
Su Qing's palm tightened slightly as she gripped her energy rifle. "Why isn't it charging? Last time in the trench, it was extremely aggressive."
"High-level scaled beasts have brains; they aren't just mindless beasts that charge blindly," the veteran explained in a low voice as he strode forward. "War zone records indicate that third-tier scaled beasts know how to weigh the pros and cons. After being severely wounded by the heavy energy cannons last time, it knows it doesn't have an absolute chance of winning in a head-on fight against our squad. Following us now is most likely an attempt to find an opportunity when we are isolated or our mental defenses are relaxed. Or, it could simply be observing our actions."
In humanity's current understanding, all these tactics, ambushes, and lures were attributed to the tribal wisdom that the scaled beasts had evolved themselves. No one suspected that, deep within the dark underground rift network, there was another intelligent civilization secretly driving and cultivating these scaled beasts. This secret lay buried beneath the earth; in the twenty-five years since the catastrophe, it had never been exposed to the surface humans.
The squad quickened their pace, maintaining their four-man formation, covering each other as they swiftly navigated through the chaotic rocks.
But before they had even traveled two kilometers, three low-level scaled beasts burst out from the crevices. They must have been summoned by the faint psychic signals released by the third-tier scaled beast. They launched surprise attacks from the sides, taking turns releasing dense psychic stings in an attempt to slow down the squad's retreat.
"Form up, fight as we retreat! Don't engage in prolonged combat!"
The two veterans in the front immediately stabilized the line, continuously firing their energy rifles to draw the frontal scaled beasts' attention. Su Qing, positioned at the rear left, provided precise supplementary fire, aiming at the soft scales around the beasts' eyes. Lin Yan continued to guard the right flank, maneuvering dynamically and firmly locking down the side to prevent the scaled beasts from circling behind them.
The psychic stings from the low-level scaled beasts came in continuous waves, overlaid with the faint psychic pressure emanating from the third-tier scaled beast in the distance. This dual psychic burden pressed down on everyone's Sea of Consciousness simultaneously.
Lin Yan continuously adjusted the rhythm of his Sea of Consciousness's expansion and contraction. The pressure from the distant third-tier scaled beast descended like a layer of icy, thin gauze, subtly and persistently draining his mental power; the stings from the close-range low-level scaled beasts were short, sharp impacts that required him to instantly contract his Sea of Consciousness to resist.
While moving, shooting, and dodging claws and tail whips, he continuously practiced switching the intensity of his Sea of Consciousness defenses.
His Sea of Consciousness was still stuck at the second-tier peak, with no signs of the core loosening. But every time he held his ground under this compound pressure, it silently increased the toughness of his Sea of Consciousness barrier, making his mind less prone to wavering when facing multi-layered psychic oppression.
Seizing a gap in the squad's retreat, a scaled beast suddenly accelerated and pounced toward Su Qing. Lin Yan pivoted sharply, firing two consecutive shots to force the giant beast back, while simultaneously sidestepping to dodge the thick tail whip the scaled beast had swung at him. The tail whip struck the rubble, sending stones flying, and scraped against the armor on his forearm with a piercing collision sound.
"Thanks," Su Qing gasped, firing a supplementary shot into the scaled beast's snout.
After more than ten minutes of fierce entanglement, relying on their tacit coordination, the squad continuously repelled the scaled beasts' obstruction, continuing to move toward the temporary outpost. The three low-level scaled beasts were successively wounded and, not daring to pursue to the death, stopped and stood among the rock piles, roaring but advancing no further.
Yet, that heavy psychic fluctuation belonging to the third-tier scaled beast continued to trail behind at a moderate distance, like a shadow that never faded.
"It's still following," Lin Yan said, looking back toward the rift. His Sea of Consciousness detected that the cold fluctuation was still hanging behind them. "The distance is consistently maintained at over a thousand meters. It neither advances nor gives up the pursuit."
The veteran's brow furrowed. "This is too abnormal. An ordinary third-tier scaled beast either attacks with full force or abandons its prey and leaves. Continuously tailing from a distance and driving low-level scaled beasts to constantly harass and delay the target is rarely seen in war zone records. Academic circles are currently debating, hypothesizing that there is a large-scale psychic tribal network among high-level scaled beasts, allowing them to share intelligence with each other."
The squad remained vigilant all the way, not daring to relax for a moment. Along the way, they encountered two more waves of sporadic low-level scaled beast harassment, but they relied on their formation's coordination to fight as they retreated, with no severe injuries sustained.
As they got closer to the temporary outpost, the signals from the outpost's Sea of Consciousness early-warning array began to cover the area. Sensing the defensive power of the outpost, the third-tier scaled beast in the distance seemed to pause for a moment. Then, it slowly retreated backward, eventually fading into the darkness in the direction of the rift.
The behemoth had abandoned this hunt.
The group arrived at the temporary outpost and stepped inside the simple defensive fortifications. Their taut nerves finally relaxed slightly. The outpost's sentries immediately stepped forward to receive them, and medical personnel rushed over to check everyone's Sea of Consciousness status and surface injuries.
Sitting in the corner of the outpost, Lin Yan closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, turning his awareness inward to inspect his Sea of Consciousness. The pale white barrier was still covered in fine, old cracks, and the bottleneck of the second-tier peak remained immovable. However, after this retreat battle where he was intimidated from afar by a high-level behemoth while continuously fighting off low-level scaled beast harassment, he had gained another layer of practical experience in long-range psychic perception and layered defense.
"The observation records from this mission must be transmitted back to the bastion command center immediately," Instructor Zhou was communicating with the outpost's non-commissioned officer. "The behavioral pattern of that third-tier scaled beast is very strange—continuous tailing and driving low-level scaled beasts to harass. The war zone research institute needs to analyze this as a priority."
Everyone assumed this was merely the individual cunning of that third-tier scaled beast. No one knew that this recent tailing, probing, and distraction was actually a reconnaissance mission by the subterranean Lizardmen, using the scaled beasts' Seas of Consciousness to investigate the tactics and Sea of Consciousness capabilities of this surface human squad.
Deep within the darkness of the underground, those eyes were still quietly watching the bastion city.
End of Chapter
Everyone kept their Sea of Consciousness taut, maintaining a semi-contracted state of alertness. The heavy, cold psychic fluctuation that Lin Yan had just caught was simultaneously transmitted to the rest of the squad.
"It's that third-tier scaled beast," the leading veteran whispered, his gaze sweeping over the undulating rocks and the profound rift in the distance. "It hasn't launched an attack; it's just following from afar. It looks like it's watching us."
Su Qing's palm tightened slightly as she gripped her energy rifle. "Why isn't it charging? Last time in the trench, it was extremely aggressive."
"High-level scaled beasts have brains; they aren't just mindless beasts that charge blindly," the veteran explained in a low voice as he strode forward. "War zone records indicate that third-tier scaled beasts know how to weigh the pros and cons. After being severely wounded by the heavy energy cannons last time, it knows it doesn't have an absolute chance of winning in a head-on fight against our squad. Following us now is most likely an attempt to find an opportunity when we are isolated or our mental defenses are relaxed. Or, it could simply be observing our actions."
In humanity's current understanding, all these tactics, ambushes, and lures were attributed to the tribal wisdom that the scaled beasts had evolved themselves. No one suspected that, deep within the dark underground rift network, there was another intelligent civilization secretly driving and cultivating these scaled beasts. This secret lay buried beneath the earth; in the twenty-five years since the catastrophe, it had never been exposed to the surface humans.
The squad quickened their pace, maintaining their four-man formation, covering each other as they swiftly navigated through the chaotic rocks.
But before they had even traveled two kilometers, three low-level scaled beasts burst out from the crevices. They must have been summoned by the faint psychic signals released by the third-tier scaled beast. They launched surprise attacks from the sides, taking turns releasing dense psychic stings in an attempt to slow down the squad's retreat.
"Form up, fight as we retreat! Don't engage in prolonged combat!"
The two veterans in the front immediately stabilized the line, continuously firing their energy rifles to draw the frontal scaled beasts' attention. Su Qing, positioned at the rear left, provided precise supplementary fire, aiming at the soft scales around the beasts' eyes. Lin Yan continued to guard the right flank, maneuvering dynamically and firmly locking down the side to prevent the scaled beasts from circling behind them.
The psychic stings from the low-level scaled beasts came in continuous waves, overlaid with the faint psychic pressure emanating from the third-tier scaled beast in the distance. This dual psychic burden pressed down on everyone's Sea of Consciousness simultaneously.
Lin Yan continuously adjusted the rhythm of his Sea of Consciousness's expansion and contraction. The pressure from the distant third-tier scaled beast descended like a layer of icy, thin gauze, subtly and persistently draining his mental power; the stings from the close-range low-level scaled beasts were short, sharp impacts that required him to instantly contract his Sea of Consciousness to resist.
While moving, shooting, and dodging claws and tail whips, he continuously practiced switching the intensity of his Sea of Consciousness defenses.
His Sea of Consciousness was still stuck at the second-tier peak, with no signs of the core loosening. But every time he held his ground under this compound pressure, it silently increased the toughness of his Sea of Consciousness barrier, making his mind less prone to wavering when facing multi-layered psychic oppression.
Seizing a gap in the squad's retreat, a scaled beast suddenly accelerated and pounced toward Su Qing. Lin Yan pivoted sharply, firing two consecutive shots to force the giant beast back, while simultaneously sidestepping to dodge the thick tail whip the scaled beast had swung at him. The tail whip struck the rubble, sending stones flying, and scraped against the armor on his forearm with a piercing collision sound.
"Thanks," Su Qing gasped, firing a supplementary shot into the scaled beast's snout.
After more than ten minutes of fierce entanglement, relying on their tacit coordination, the squad continuously repelled the scaled beasts' obstruction, continuing to move toward the temporary outpost. The three low-level scaled beasts were successively wounded and, not daring to pursue to the death, stopped and stood among the rock piles, roaring but advancing no further.
Yet, that heavy psychic fluctuation belonging to the third-tier scaled beast continued to trail behind at a moderate distance, like a shadow that never faded.
"It's still following," Lin Yan said, looking back toward the rift. His Sea of Consciousness detected that the cold fluctuation was still hanging behind them. "The distance is consistently maintained at over a thousand meters. It neither advances nor gives up the pursuit."
The veteran's brow furrowed. "This is too abnormal. An ordinary third-tier scaled beast either attacks with full force or abandons its prey and leaves. Continuously tailing from a distance and driving low-level scaled beasts to constantly harass and delay the target is rarely seen in war zone records. Academic circles are currently debating, hypothesizing that there is a large-scale psychic tribal network among high-level scaled beasts, allowing them to share intelligence with each other."
The squad remained vigilant all the way, not daring to relax for a moment. Along the way, they encountered two more waves of sporadic low-level scaled beast harassment, but they relied on their formation's coordination to fight as they retreated, with no severe injuries sustained.
As they got closer to the temporary outpost, the signals from the outpost's Sea of Consciousness early-warning array began to cover the area. Sensing the defensive power of the outpost, the third-tier scaled beast in the distance seemed to pause for a moment. Then, it slowly retreated backward, eventually fading into the darkness in the direction of the rift.
The behemoth had abandoned this hunt.
The group arrived at the temporary outpost and stepped inside the simple defensive fortifications. Their taut nerves finally relaxed slightly. The outpost's sentries immediately stepped forward to receive them, and medical personnel rushed over to check everyone's Sea of Consciousness status and surface injuries.
Sitting in the corner of the outpost, Lin Yan closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, turning his awareness inward to inspect his Sea of Consciousness. The pale white barrier was still covered in fine, old cracks, and the bottleneck of the second-tier peak remained immovable. However, after this retreat battle where he was intimidated from afar by a high-level behemoth while continuously fighting off low-level scaled beast harassment, he had gained another layer of practical experience in long-range psychic perception and layered defense.
"The observation records from this mission must be transmitted back to the bastion command center immediately," Instructor Zhou was communicating with the outpost's non-commissioned officer. "The behavioral pattern of that third-tier scaled beast is very strange—continuous tailing and driving low-level scaled beasts to harass. The war zone research institute needs to analyze this as a priority."
Everyone assumed this was merely the individual cunning of that third-tier scaled beast. No one knew that this recent tailing, probing, and distraction was actually a reconnaissance mission by the subterranean Lizardmen, using the scaled beasts' Seas of Consciousness to investigate the tactics and Sea of Consciousness capabilities of this surface human squad.
Deep within the darkness of the underground, those eyes were still quietly watching the bastion city.
End of Chapter