Chapter 37: The Behemoth Approaches the Edge
After the second wave of the beast tide receded, the outpost was left with a mere ten-minute window for rest.
Gunpowder smoke still hung in the air, and the foul-smelling blood from the scaled beast corpses slowly seeped down through the crevices of the chaotic rocks. The wounded were quickly transferred to the temporary medical shed in the rear. Ammo bearers sprinted to replenish the energy storage modules for the energy cannons. Everyone seized the time to swallow Sea of Consciousness stabilizing agents, forcibly suppressing the continuous dull ache in their skulls.
Lin Yan leaned against the shadows of the stone wall, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing. The surface of his Sea of Consciousness was covered in large-scale contusions; every slight movement of his mental tentacles sent a wave of stinging pain. The stabilizing agent slowly took effect, soothing a portion of his restless mind. His core remained still, firmly locked at the second-tier peak, without a hint of looseness.
"Attention, the third wave of impact is coming soon." Instructor Zhou walked quickly to the four-man squad, lowering his voice. "The command center just received a warning. That third-tier scaled beast is moving toward the battlefield. It will no longer hide far behind the rift to observe. It will reach the edge of the battlefield and directly release a large-scale psychic pressure to suppress all our Seas of Consciousness."
Su Qing's fingertips tightened slightly, a layer of white appearing on her gun-holding hand. "Large-scale psychic pressure will directly weaken the upper limit of our Sea of Consciousness defenses."
"Exactly," Instructor Zhou nodded. "Once we are enveloped by its psychic field, the consumption required for us to resist the psychic stings of low-level scaled beasts will multiply. Lin Yan, you will face the greatest pressure. The western depression remains the key area. You must endure the third-tier scaled beast's domain-wide pressure while continuously providing early warnings and intercepting flanking scaled beasts. If the core of your Sea of Consciousness begins to tremor, retreat immediately. Do not force it."
"Understood." Lin Yan nodded, returning to his flank sentry post. His fine mental tentacles slowly spread out again, blanketing the entire rocky depression. Only this time, merely releasing the tentacles consumed significantly more mental power than usual. That heavy, cold psychic force in the distance was slowly approaching, like a black cloud continuously sinking.
The outpost's Sea of Consciousness early-warning devices suddenly erupted with a piercing alarm.
On the holographic screen in the command tower, the massive red marker representing the third-tier scaled beast had moved to a wilderness high ground less than 1,200 meters from the outpost.
"It's here!"
The earth trembled, and low, overwhelming roars blanketed the area. The third wave of the beast tide officially launched its charge. The number of scaled beasts that rushed out this time far exceeded the previous two waves. A massive, dark mass swept across the wilderness from the direction of the rift, splitting into multiple routes to pounce on the various defense lines of the outpost simultaneously.
Almost at the same moment, an immense, boundless psychic pressure slammed outward, enveloping the entire outpost.
That was the psychic field of the third-tier scaled beast. An invisible force pressed down on everyone's Sea of Consciousness, like a boulder resting on their heads. Many warriors groaned, feeling a wave of dizziness as their Sea of Consciousness defenses instantly wavered.
"Hold steady! Layered defense! Don't let the pressure crush your Sea of Consciousness cores!" Instructor Zhou shouted loudly.
At the front defense line, the energy cannons roared continuously, scorching beams of light constantly blasting into the swarm of scaled beasts. Scaled beasts fell in droves amidst the fire. But the subsequent beasts still frantically charged forward over the corpses of their companions, simultaneously releasing dense psychic stings. With the addition of the third-tier scaled beast's domain-wide pressure, the destructive power of every psychic sting was magnified.
"Western depression, over twenty scaled beasts, flanking in two groups!" Under the heavy pressure, Lin Yan's mental tentacles barely managed to capture the two swarm signals. He immediately pulled the trigger. Energy bullets roared out in succession, bringing down the few scaled beasts at the forefront.
The over twenty low-level scaled beasts split into two groups, weaving left and right. Using the chaotic rocks as cover, they took turns releasing psychic stings. The stings, combined with the third-tier scaled beast's domain-wide pressure, created a dual impact that continuously battered Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness barrier.
His skull throbbed violently, and the dense cracks on the surface of his Sea of Consciousness were constantly torn and expanded. Lin Yan gritted his teeth as the ancient martial arts breathing techniques quietly operated within his body, stabilizing his mind. His core remained completely motionless. His outer barrier continuously absorbed the impacts while maintaining perception tentacles as fine as silk threads, continuously searching the depths of the depression for any hidden scaled beasts.
While shooting, he continuously adjusted the allocation of his Sea of Consciousness defenses. A portion of his mental power was used to resist the continuous, heavy pressure from the distant third-tier scaled beast; another portion resisted the psychic stings from the close-range scaled beasts; and the remaining portion maintained vigilance, predicting the flanking routes of the scaled beasts.
An ordinary second-tier peak new recruit, under this environment of domain-wide high pressure combined with swarm stings, would have long since suffered a mental collapse and lost their combat capability. Relying on his ancient martial arts foundation, Lin Yan stubbornly held on, continuously intercepting the scaled beasts attempting to circle behind and break through the defense line.
Using the corpse of a companion as cover, a scaled beast swiftly rushed to the base of the stone wall and leaped upward. Su Qing, with quick eyes and hands, blasted its front limb to pieces with a shot. The scaled beast fell heavily into the pile of chaotic rocks, black blood splattering everywhere.
"They are charging in relays, not giving us a chance to rest!" a veteran roared, his energy gun constantly spitting fire, his forehead covered in cold sweat. His Sea of Consciousness was already showing clear signs of overdraft.
On the distant high ground, the twenty-eight-meter-tall third-tier scaled beast stood quietly. Its thick, gray-black scales gleamed coldly in the night. Its massive head slowly turned, its gaze locked onto the outpost's fortifications. It did not charge personally; it merely continuously released its psychic field while using the psychic network to coordinate all the low-level scaled beasts to adjust their attack directions, persistently searching for weak points in the defense line.
In human cognition, this was the powerful individual wisdom and tribal psychic linkage of the third-tier scaled beast. No one knew that the commands controlling this behemoth at this moment came from the Lizardmen deep underground. Using the eyes of this third-tier scaled beast, they were observing the combat limits of human warriors under extreme psychic suppression, recording the critical point at which Sea of Consciousness defenses collapsed.
The fierce battle in the western depression lasted for nearly an hour.
As one wave of scaled beasts fell, another immediately took their place, continuously assaulting the flank defense line. Lin Yan remained steadfast at his flank position, constantly changing his firing angles to intercept every scaled beast attempting to circle behind. The heavy psychic pressure never dissipated for a moment, and the damage to his Sea of Consciousness barrier continued to accumulate. The headache grew increasingly severe, and the edges of his vision even began to briefly black out.
But he still did not retreat. His judgment, shooting, and early warnings suffered no major errors.
He knew he was still stuck at the second-tier peak. This bitter battle would not allow him to directly break through the bottleneck. But under this extreme, high-pressure environment, his abilities in layered Sea of Consciousness defense and multi-line signal processing were being ruthlessly polished to new heights.
The energy cannons on the main defense line of the outpost continued to reap lives, and the casualties of the beast tide grew larger and larger. The offensive momentum of the remaining scaled beasts slowly waned. The third-tier scaled beast on the distant high ground seemed to assess the battlefield situation, and its heavy psychic pressure gradually weakened. It let out a low, long roar. Receiving the psychic command, the remaining scaled beasts stopped their fierce assault and slowly retreated backward, withdrawing toward the rift.
The third wave of the beast tide had finally receded.
The heavy psychic pressure enveloping the outpost slowly dissipated. Many warriors collapsed directly from exhaustion behind the fortifications, clutching their heads and gasping in pain. The medical shed was in a frantic rush as a large number of wounded with severe Sea of Consciousness overdrafts and surface injuries were urgently brought in.
When it was Lin Yan's turn to undergo a Sea of Consciousness scan, the light pattern on the detector fluctuated violently.
"Large-scale, severe contusions on the surface of the Sea of Consciousness, extremely severe mental overdraft. Fortunately, the core is intact, with no concussion damage." The medic's expression was grave as he handed him two agents. "Take the medicine and rest immediately. Do not use your psychic perception anymore. You were just a hair's breadth away from a Sea of Consciousness collapse."
Lin Yan took the agents and swallowed them, leaning against the cold stone wall as he slowly closed his eyes. His Sea of Consciousness barrier was in ruins, with dense cracks crisscrossing it. His core remained calm, and the bottleneck of the second-tier peak still loomed there.
Instructor Zhou climbed onto the stone wall, looking toward the giant silhouette of the scaled beast on the distant high ground. The third-tier scaled beast still stood in place, quietly observing the outpost for a moment before slowly turning and disappearing into the shadows of the wilderness.
"It is still observing us," Instructor Zhou said in a low voice. "Three waves of beast tides, all just probes. It never intended to destroy the outpost in one go."
Everyone still attributed all of this to the terrifying individual wisdom of high-level scaled beasts. No one understood that beneath this land, the true enemy had yet to reveal itself.
On the holographic screen in the command tower, the psychic fluctuations deep within the rift had still not subsided. With the three rounds of probing concluded, the Lizardmen had collected more than enough data. Next time, it would no longer be a small-scale, probing beast tide.
End of Chapter
Gunpowder smoke still hung in the air, and the foul-smelling blood from the scaled beast corpses slowly seeped down through the crevices of the chaotic rocks. The wounded were quickly transferred to the temporary medical shed in the rear. Ammo bearers sprinted to replenish the energy storage modules for the energy cannons. Everyone seized the time to swallow Sea of Consciousness stabilizing agents, forcibly suppressing the continuous dull ache in their skulls.
Lin Yan leaned against the shadows of the stone wall, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing. The surface of his Sea of Consciousness was covered in large-scale contusions; every slight movement of his mental tentacles sent a wave of stinging pain. The stabilizing agent slowly took effect, soothing a portion of his restless mind. His core remained still, firmly locked at the second-tier peak, without a hint of looseness.
"Attention, the third wave of impact is coming soon." Instructor Zhou walked quickly to the four-man squad, lowering his voice. "The command center just received a warning. That third-tier scaled beast is moving toward the battlefield. It will no longer hide far behind the rift to observe. It will reach the edge of the battlefield and directly release a large-scale psychic pressure to suppress all our Seas of Consciousness."
Su Qing's fingertips tightened slightly, a layer of white appearing on her gun-holding hand. "Large-scale psychic pressure will directly weaken the upper limit of our Sea of Consciousness defenses."
"Exactly," Instructor Zhou nodded. "Once we are enveloped by its psychic field, the consumption required for us to resist the psychic stings of low-level scaled beasts will multiply. Lin Yan, you will face the greatest pressure. The western depression remains the key area. You must endure the third-tier scaled beast's domain-wide pressure while continuously providing early warnings and intercepting flanking scaled beasts. If the core of your Sea of Consciousness begins to tremor, retreat immediately. Do not force it."
"Understood." Lin Yan nodded, returning to his flank sentry post. His fine mental tentacles slowly spread out again, blanketing the entire rocky depression. Only this time, merely releasing the tentacles consumed significantly more mental power than usual. That heavy, cold psychic force in the distance was slowly approaching, like a black cloud continuously sinking.
The outpost's Sea of Consciousness early-warning devices suddenly erupted with a piercing alarm.
On the holographic screen in the command tower, the massive red marker representing the third-tier scaled beast had moved to a wilderness high ground less than 1,200 meters from the outpost.
"It's here!"
The earth trembled, and low, overwhelming roars blanketed the area. The third wave of the beast tide officially launched its charge. The number of scaled beasts that rushed out this time far exceeded the previous two waves. A massive, dark mass swept across the wilderness from the direction of the rift, splitting into multiple routes to pounce on the various defense lines of the outpost simultaneously.
Almost at the same moment, an immense, boundless psychic pressure slammed outward, enveloping the entire outpost.
That was the psychic field of the third-tier scaled beast. An invisible force pressed down on everyone's Sea of Consciousness, like a boulder resting on their heads. Many warriors groaned, feeling a wave of dizziness as their Sea of Consciousness defenses instantly wavered.
"Hold steady! Layered defense! Don't let the pressure crush your Sea of Consciousness cores!" Instructor Zhou shouted loudly.
At the front defense line, the energy cannons roared continuously, scorching beams of light constantly blasting into the swarm of scaled beasts. Scaled beasts fell in droves amidst the fire. But the subsequent beasts still frantically charged forward over the corpses of their companions, simultaneously releasing dense psychic stings. With the addition of the third-tier scaled beast's domain-wide pressure, the destructive power of every psychic sting was magnified.
"Western depression, over twenty scaled beasts, flanking in two groups!" Under the heavy pressure, Lin Yan's mental tentacles barely managed to capture the two swarm signals. He immediately pulled the trigger. Energy bullets roared out in succession, bringing down the few scaled beasts at the forefront.
The over twenty low-level scaled beasts split into two groups, weaving left and right. Using the chaotic rocks as cover, they took turns releasing psychic stings. The stings, combined with the third-tier scaled beast's domain-wide pressure, created a dual impact that continuously battered Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness barrier.
His skull throbbed violently, and the dense cracks on the surface of his Sea of Consciousness were constantly torn and expanded. Lin Yan gritted his teeth as the ancient martial arts breathing techniques quietly operated within his body, stabilizing his mind. His core remained completely motionless. His outer barrier continuously absorbed the impacts while maintaining perception tentacles as fine as silk threads, continuously searching the depths of the depression for any hidden scaled beasts.
While shooting, he continuously adjusted the allocation of his Sea of Consciousness defenses. A portion of his mental power was used to resist the continuous, heavy pressure from the distant third-tier scaled beast; another portion resisted the psychic stings from the close-range scaled beasts; and the remaining portion maintained vigilance, predicting the flanking routes of the scaled beasts.
An ordinary second-tier peak new recruit, under this environment of domain-wide high pressure combined with swarm stings, would have long since suffered a mental collapse and lost their combat capability. Relying on his ancient martial arts foundation, Lin Yan stubbornly held on, continuously intercepting the scaled beasts attempting to circle behind and break through the defense line.
Using the corpse of a companion as cover, a scaled beast swiftly rushed to the base of the stone wall and leaped upward. Su Qing, with quick eyes and hands, blasted its front limb to pieces with a shot. The scaled beast fell heavily into the pile of chaotic rocks, black blood splattering everywhere.
"They are charging in relays, not giving us a chance to rest!" a veteran roared, his energy gun constantly spitting fire, his forehead covered in cold sweat. His Sea of Consciousness was already showing clear signs of overdraft.
On the distant high ground, the twenty-eight-meter-tall third-tier scaled beast stood quietly. Its thick, gray-black scales gleamed coldly in the night. Its massive head slowly turned, its gaze locked onto the outpost's fortifications. It did not charge personally; it merely continuously released its psychic field while using the psychic network to coordinate all the low-level scaled beasts to adjust their attack directions, persistently searching for weak points in the defense line.
In human cognition, this was the powerful individual wisdom and tribal psychic linkage of the third-tier scaled beast. No one knew that the commands controlling this behemoth at this moment came from the Lizardmen deep underground. Using the eyes of this third-tier scaled beast, they were observing the combat limits of human warriors under extreme psychic suppression, recording the critical point at which Sea of Consciousness defenses collapsed.
The fierce battle in the western depression lasted for nearly an hour.
As one wave of scaled beasts fell, another immediately took their place, continuously assaulting the flank defense line. Lin Yan remained steadfast at his flank position, constantly changing his firing angles to intercept every scaled beast attempting to circle behind. The heavy psychic pressure never dissipated for a moment, and the damage to his Sea of Consciousness barrier continued to accumulate. The headache grew increasingly severe, and the edges of his vision even began to briefly black out.
But he still did not retreat. His judgment, shooting, and early warnings suffered no major errors.
He knew he was still stuck at the second-tier peak. This bitter battle would not allow him to directly break through the bottleneck. But under this extreme, high-pressure environment, his abilities in layered Sea of Consciousness defense and multi-line signal processing were being ruthlessly polished to new heights.
The energy cannons on the main defense line of the outpost continued to reap lives, and the casualties of the beast tide grew larger and larger. The offensive momentum of the remaining scaled beasts slowly waned. The third-tier scaled beast on the distant high ground seemed to assess the battlefield situation, and its heavy psychic pressure gradually weakened. It let out a low, long roar. Receiving the psychic command, the remaining scaled beasts stopped their fierce assault and slowly retreated backward, withdrawing toward the rift.
The third wave of the beast tide had finally receded.
The heavy psychic pressure enveloping the outpost slowly dissipated. Many warriors collapsed directly from exhaustion behind the fortifications, clutching their heads and gasping in pain. The medical shed was in a frantic rush as a large number of wounded with severe Sea of Consciousness overdrafts and surface injuries were urgently brought in.
When it was Lin Yan's turn to undergo a Sea of Consciousness scan, the light pattern on the detector fluctuated violently.
"Large-scale, severe contusions on the surface of the Sea of Consciousness, extremely severe mental overdraft. Fortunately, the core is intact, with no concussion damage." The medic's expression was grave as he handed him two agents. "Take the medicine and rest immediately. Do not use your psychic perception anymore. You were just a hair's breadth away from a Sea of Consciousness collapse."
Lin Yan took the agents and swallowed them, leaning against the cold stone wall as he slowly closed his eyes. His Sea of Consciousness barrier was in ruins, with dense cracks crisscrossing it. His core remained calm, and the bottleneck of the second-tier peak still loomed there.
Instructor Zhou climbed onto the stone wall, looking toward the giant silhouette of the scaled beast on the distant high ground. The third-tier scaled beast still stood in place, quietly observing the outpost for a moment before slowly turning and disappearing into the shadows of the wilderness.
"It is still observing us," Instructor Zhou said in a low voice. "Three waves of beast tides, all just probes. It never intended to destroy the outpost in one go."
Everyone still attributed all of this to the terrifying individual wisdom of high-level scaled beasts. No one understood that beneath this land, the true enemy had yet to reveal itself.
On the holographic screen in the command tower, the psychic fluctuations deep within the rift had still not subsided. With the three rounds of probing concluded, the Lizardmen had collected more than enough data. Next time, it would no longer be a small-scale, probing beast tide.
End of Chapter