Chapter 36: The Mad Tide Returns
After the first wave of the beast tide receded, the outpost was granted a mere twenty-minute window to catch its breath.
Field medics quickly shuttled between the various defensive positions, treating surface abrasions and distributing Sea of Consciousness stabilizing agents to alleviate the dull headaches caused by mental overdrafts. Ammo bearers ran back and forth, rapidly replenishing the energy cells for the rifles and reloading the fixed energy cannons atop the walls. The air was thick with the pungent stench of gunpowder, burnt metal, and the blood of scaled beasts.
Lin Yan leaned against the stone wall, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing. The new cracks on the surface of his Sea of Consciousness still throbbed faintly. He slowly adjusted his breath, using the ancient martial arts breathing techniques to gradually calm his restless mind. His core remained still, firmly locked at the second-tier peak, without the slightest sign of breaking through. The previous round of bitter fighting had consumed a significant amount of his mental power, but his foundation remained stable.
"Recover quickly, don't let your guard down," Instructor Zhou walked over to the group, lowering his voice. "The command center reports that the psychic fluctuations inside the rift are still rising. The first wave was just a probe; the second wave will only be larger in scale. They will attack from multiple directions simultaneously to find weaknesses in our defense. That third-tier scaled beast is still controlling the overall situation from afar."
Su Qing gripped her energy rifle tightly, her fingertips turning slightly white. "Will they attack multiple directions at the same time?"
"Exactly. It's to disperse our manpower and Sea of Consciousness defenses," Instructor Zhou looked toward the chaotic rock area in the western depression. "The terrain here is complex, and it remains a key flanking direction. Lin Yan, you continue to be responsible for long-range psychic early warning on the flank. Once you detect a squad of scaled beasts creeping up from the depression, warn and intercept them immediately."
"Received." Lin Yan nodded, stood up again, and returned to his flank position, extending his fine mental tentacles outward to blanket the entire rocky depression.
The outpost's Sea of Consciousness early-warning array suddenly issued a sharp alarm once again.
The red light on the holographic screen in the command tower surged. Massive waves of frenzied, chaotic psychic fluctuations rolled in again from the main Black Mountain rift. This time, the intensity of the fluctuations far exceeded that of the first wave.
"The second wave of the beast tide is here!"
The earth trembled, and the roars of countless scaled beasts merged into a single deafening sound across the wilderness. In the darkness, the dense mass of scaled beasts split into three groups: one charged the main defense line head-on, one flanked toward the eastern low slope, and the third headed straight for the western rocky depression.
Dozens of low-level scaled beasts simultaneously released psychic stings, weaving them into a massive psychic net that descended upon all the warriors at the outpost. The density and intensity of this wave of psychic impact far surpassed the previous round.
"Hold your Seas of Consciousness steady! Layered defense!" Instructor Zhou roared.
The two veterans in the front set up their energy rifles, continuously sweeping the charging swarm of scaled beasts. Scorching beams of light tore through the darkness, bringing down scaled beast after beast, their corpses piling up in layers in front of the fortifications. But the beasts behind them continued to charge over the bodies of their fallen companions, pressing forward without hesitation.
"Western depression, at least fifteen scaled beasts, flanking rapidly!" Lin Yan's mental tentacles detected this swarm signal first, and he immediately opened fire. Energy bullets flew out in succession, striking the eye sockets and soft snouts of the two leading scaled beasts, forcibly slowing their advance.
These fifteen scaled beasts had clear divisions of labor. Some braved the firepower to push forward, taking turns releasing psychic stings to continuously assault the Seas of Consciousness of Lin Yan and the squad; others constantly changed their positions, searching for gaps in the stone wall, intending to circle behind the defense line.
The overlapping psychic stings crashed against Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness barrier in continuous waves. A sharp, stabbing pain persisted in his skull, with old wounds and new contusions intertwining, causing the Sea of Consciousness barrier to tremble slightly. But he firmly stabilized his core, refusing to contract it too far inward, and continued to maintain his long-range perception tentacles, monitoring the depths of the depression to prevent more scaled beasts from lying in ambush.
While shooting, he continuously made micro-adjustments to the intensity of his Sea of Consciousness defense. He contracted the barrier to endure when the impacts were fierce, and released his tentacles to probe during the gaps, ensuring his perception was never interrupted.
Using the cover of a fallen companion's corpse, a scaled beast suddenly accelerated to the base of the stone wall, leaping up in an attempt to scale the edge. Su Qing seized the opportunity and blasted its front limb to pieces with a shot. The scaled beast fell with a miserable cry, tumbling into the pile of chaotic rocks.
"They are constantly taking turns releasing psychic stings, not giving us a chance to catch our breath and recover!" a veteran roared, his shoulder grazed by gravel once again, blood soaking through the inner layer of his armor.
In the direction of the distant rift, that heavy, cold psychic field continued to spread. The third-tier scaled beast acted as an invisible command node, continuously transmitting psychic commands to the dispersed scaled beast squads, adjusting the rhythm of the attack, and persistently searching for weak points in the human defense line.
Everyone at the outpost still believed this was the innate tribal psychic linkage of high-level scaled beasts. No one knew that the Lizardmen, in the deeper underground, were observing the battlefield in real time through the scaled beasts' psychic network, recording the limits of human warriors' Sea of Consciousness endurance under high-intensity, continuous psychic impacts.
The fierce battle in the western depression lasted for more than half an hour.
The fifteen flanking scaled beasts were successively wounded and brought down, but seven or eight more scaled beasts soon followed to take their place, continuing to launch attacks from the depression. Lin Yan remained nailed to the flank, constantly shifting his firing positions, intercepting wave after wave of scaled beasts attempting to circle behind. The psychic impacts came in continuous waves without pause, and the cracks on the surface of his Sea of Consciousness multiplied. Exhaustion eroded his mind like a relentless tide.
But his movements did not falter, and his judgment remained clear.
Lin Yan knew he was still stuck at the second-tier peak. This brutal battle would not allow him to directly break through the bottleneck. But every time he withstood this high-density, long-duration overlapping psychic impact, the toughness of his Sea of Consciousness barrier and his multi-line operational perception capabilities were silently polished to be even stronger.
The energy cannons on the main front defense line roared continuously, bringing down a massive number of scaled beasts in front of the fortifications. The offensive momentum of the beast tide slowly began to show signs of waning. The psychic fluctuation of the third-tier scaled beast in the distance experienced a brief pause, as if it were evaluating the battlefield casualties.
"Their offensive is weakening!" Su Qing shouted, firing a supplementary shot to bring down a scaled beast that was about to scale the stone wall.
More than ten minutes later, the remaining scaled beasts successively received their orders. They stopped their fierce assault, roaring as they slowly retreated backward, withdrawing toward the rift.
The second wave of the beast tide had finally receded temporarily.
The wilderness was littered with corpses, and a thick stench of blood and putrid odor rushed to the face. The outpost's fortifications were covered with scaled beast claw marks and the scorch marks of energy weapons. Many warriors collapsed behind the fortifications, panting heavily with pale faces, the headaches caused by Sea of Consciousness overdrafts tormenting everyone.
Medics immediately stepped forward for emergency screenings of Sea of Consciousness damage. The veteran's shoulder wound had deepened, and his Sea of Consciousness was moderately overdrawn, requiring immediate medication and rest; Su Qing had consumed a massive amount of mental power, but fortunately, there was no structural damage. When it was Lin Yan's turn, the light pattern on the detector kept jumping.
"Large-scale contusions on the surface of the Sea of Consciousness, severe overdraft, but the core is intact and undamaged," the medic quickly recorded, handing him a Sea of Consciousness stabilizing agent. "Take this immediately, sit and rest, and do not forcefully release large-scale psychic perception again."
Lin Yan took the agent and drank it, leaning against the cold stone wall to close his eyes and regulate his breathing. His Sea of Consciousness barrier was covered with dense, new cracks, like thin ice covered with fine lines, but his core remained safe and calm. The bottleneck of the second-tier peak was completely immovable.
Instructor Zhou stood atop the stone wall, looking toward the dark rift in the distance, his expression grave.
"Two waves of impact, and neither was a full-force assault. It's as if they are constantly testing our limits," Instructor Zhou said in a low voice. "The tactics of this third-tier scaled beast are far too methodical."
Everyone was still confined to their original cognitive framework, simply feeling that this third-tier scaled beast possessed wisdom far beyond its peers. No one imagined that these two waves of beast tide were merely stress tests meticulously designed by the Lizardmen.
The holographic screen in the command tower continued to flash. Deep within the rift, the psychic fluctuations of the scaled beast swarm had not completely subsided. The retreat of the second wave did not mean the end of the battle. The third wave of impact could descend at any moment.
End of Chapter
Field medics quickly shuttled between the various defensive positions, treating surface abrasions and distributing Sea of Consciousness stabilizing agents to alleviate the dull headaches caused by mental overdrafts. Ammo bearers ran back and forth, rapidly replenishing the energy cells for the rifles and reloading the fixed energy cannons atop the walls. The air was thick with the pungent stench of gunpowder, burnt metal, and the blood of scaled beasts.
Lin Yan leaned against the stone wall, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing. The new cracks on the surface of his Sea of Consciousness still throbbed faintly. He slowly adjusted his breath, using the ancient martial arts breathing techniques to gradually calm his restless mind. His core remained still, firmly locked at the second-tier peak, without the slightest sign of breaking through. The previous round of bitter fighting had consumed a significant amount of his mental power, but his foundation remained stable.
"Recover quickly, don't let your guard down," Instructor Zhou walked over to the group, lowering his voice. "The command center reports that the psychic fluctuations inside the rift are still rising. The first wave was just a probe; the second wave will only be larger in scale. They will attack from multiple directions simultaneously to find weaknesses in our defense. That third-tier scaled beast is still controlling the overall situation from afar."
Su Qing gripped her energy rifle tightly, her fingertips turning slightly white. "Will they attack multiple directions at the same time?"
"Exactly. It's to disperse our manpower and Sea of Consciousness defenses," Instructor Zhou looked toward the chaotic rock area in the western depression. "The terrain here is complex, and it remains a key flanking direction. Lin Yan, you continue to be responsible for long-range psychic early warning on the flank. Once you detect a squad of scaled beasts creeping up from the depression, warn and intercept them immediately."
"Received." Lin Yan nodded, stood up again, and returned to his flank position, extending his fine mental tentacles outward to blanket the entire rocky depression.
The outpost's Sea of Consciousness early-warning array suddenly issued a sharp alarm once again.
The red light on the holographic screen in the command tower surged. Massive waves of frenzied, chaotic psychic fluctuations rolled in again from the main Black Mountain rift. This time, the intensity of the fluctuations far exceeded that of the first wave.
"The second wave of the beast tide is here!"
The earth trembled, and the roars of countless scaled beasts merged into a single deafening sound across the wilderness. In the darkness, the dense mass of scaled beasts split into three groups: one charged the main defense line head-on, one flanked toward the eastern low slope, and the third headed straight for the western rocky depression.
Dozens of low-level scaled beasts simultaneously released psychic stings, weaving them into a massive psychic net that descended upon all the warriors at the outpost. The density and intensity of this wave of psychic impact far surpassed the previous round.
"Hold your Seas of Consciousness steady! Layered defense!" Instructor Zhou roared.
The two veterans in the front set up their energy rifles, continuously sweeping the charging swarm of scaled beasts. Scorching beams of light tore through the darkness, bringing down scaled beast after beast, their corpses piling up in layers in front of the fortifications. But the beasts behind them continued to charge over the bodies of their fallen companions, pressing forward without hesitation.
"Western depression, at least fifteen scaled beasts, flanking rapidly!" Lin Yan's mental tentacles detected this swarm signal first, and he immediately opened fire. Energy bullets flew out in succession, striking the eye sockets and soft snouts of the two leading scaled beasts, forcibly slowing their advance.
These fifteen scaled beasts had clear divisions of labor. Some braved the firepower to push forward, taking turns releasing psychic stings to continuously assault the Seas of Consciousness of Lin Yan and the squad; others constantly changed their positions, searching for gaps in the stone wall, intending to circle behind the defense line.
The overlapping psychic stings crashed against Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness barrier in continuous waves. A sharp, stabbing pain persisted in his skull, with old wounds and new contusions intertwining, causing the Sea of Consciousness barrier to tremble slightly. But he firmly stabilized his core, refusing to contract it too far inward, and continued to maintain his long-range perception tentacles, monitoring the depths of the depression to prevent more scaled beasts from lying in ambush.
While shooting, he continuously made micro-adjustments to the intensity of his Sea of Consciousness defense. He contracted the barrier to endure when the impacts were fierce, and released his tentacles to probe during the gaps, ensuring his perception was never interrupted.
Using the cover of a fallen companion's corpse, a scaled beast suddenly accelerated to the base of the stone wall, leaping up in an attempt to scale the edge. Su Qing seized the opportunity and blasted its front limb to pieces with a shot. The scaled beast fell with a miserable cry, tumbling into the pile of chaotic rocks.
"They are constantly taking turns releasing psychic stings, not giving us a chance to catch our breath and recover!" a veteran roared, his shoulder grazed by gravel once again, blood soaking through the inner layer of his armor.
In the direction of the distant rift, that heavy, cold psychic field continued to spread. The third-tier scaled beast acted as an invisible command node, continuously transmitting psychic commands to the dispersed scaled beast squads, adjusting the rhythm of the attack, and persistently searching for weak points in the human defense line.
Everyone at the outpost still believed this was the innate tribal psychic linkage of high-level scaled beasts. No one knew that the Lizardmen, in the deeper underground, were observing the battlefield in real time through the scaled beasts' psychic network, recording the limits of human warriors' Sea of Consciousness endurance under high-intensity, continuous psychic impacts.
The fierce battle in the western depression lasted for more than half an hour.
The fifteen flanking scaled beasts were successively wounded and brought down, but seven or eight more scaled beasts soon followed to take their place, continuing to launch attacks from the depression. Lin Yan remained nailed to the flank, constantly shifting his firing positions, intercepting wave after wave of scaled beasts attempting to circle behind. The psychic impacts came in continuous waves without pause, and the cracks on the surface of his Sea of Consciousness multiplied. Exhaustion eroded his mind like a relentless tide.
But his movements did not falter, and his judgment remained clear.
Lin Yan knew he was still stuck at the second-tier peak. This brutal battle would not allow him to directly break through the bottleneck. But every time he withstood this high-density, long-duration overlapping psychic impact, the toughness of his Sea of Consciousness barrier and his multi-line operational perception capabilities were silently polished to be even stronger.
The energy cannons on the main front defense line roared continuously, bringing down a massive number of scaled beasts in front of the fortifications. The offensive momentum of the beast tide slowly began to show signs of waning. The psychic fluctuation of the third-tier scaled beast in the distance experienced a brief pause, as if it were evaluating the battlefield casualties.
"Their offensive is weakening!" Su Qing shouted, firing a supplementary shot to bring down a scaled beast that was about to scale the stone wall.
More than ten minutes later, the remaining scaled beasts successively received their orders. They stopped their fierce assault, roaring as they slowly retreated backward, withdrawing toward the rift.
The second wave of the beast tide had finally receded temporarily.
The wilderness was littered with corpses, and a thick stench of blood and putrid odor rushed to the face. The outpost's fortifications were covered with scaled beast claw marks and the scorch marks of energy weapons. Many warriors collapsed behind the fortifications, panting heavily with pale faces, the headaches caused by Sea of Consciousness overdrafts tormenting everyone.
Medics immediately stepped forward for emergency screenings of Sea of Consciousness damage. The veteran's shoulder wound had deepened, and his Sea of Consciousness was moderately overdrawn, requiring immediate medication and rest; Su Qing had consumed a massive amount of mental power, but fortunately, there was no structural damage. When it was Lin Yan's turn, the light pattern on the detector kept jumping.
"Large-scale contusions on the surface of the Sea of Consciousness, severe overdraft, but the core is intact and undamaged," the medic quickly recorded, handing him a Sea of Consciousness stabilizing agent. "Take this immediately, sit and rest, and do not forcefully release large-scale psychic perception again."
Lin Yan took the agent and drank it, leaning against the cold stone wall to close his eyes and regulate his breathing. His Sea of Consciousness barrier was covered with dense, new cracks, like thin ice covered with fine lines, but his core remained safe and calm. The bottleneck of the second-tier peak was completely immovable.
Instructor Zhou stood atop the stone wall, looking toward the dark rift in the distance, his expression grave.
"Two waves of impact, and neither was a full-force assault. It's as if they are constantly testing our limits," Instructor Zhou said in a low voice. "The tactics of this third-tier scaled beast are far too methodical."
Everyone was still confined to their original cognitive framework, simply feeling that this third-tier scaled beast possessed wisdom far beyond its peers. No one imagined that these two waves of beast tide were merely stress tests meticulously designed by the Lizardmen.
The holographic screen in the command tower continued to flash. Deep within the rift, the psychic fluctuations of the scaled beast swarm had not completely subsided. The retreat of the second wave did not mean the end of the battle. The third wave of impact could descend at any moment.
End of Chapter