Chapter 45: The Desperate Bastion
Beyond the thick alloy panels, the roars of the scaled beasts layered and converged into a deafening, chaotic tide.
The low-level scaled beasts that had just occupied the forward trenches did not immediately charge against the sealed steel plates. Instead, they scattered along the ruined trenches, forming a loose encirclement that firmly locked down the secondary main fortifications. The two third-tier scaled beasts stood on the left and right, their massive bodies hidden in the shadows of the night, continuously releasing dense, unending psychic pressure that made everyone inside the fortification feel their scalps tightening.
The communicator crackled with static as an urgent report came from the command tower.
"Western outpost, confirmed monitoring: a new batch of scaled beast swarms is pouring out of the rift, estimated at over three hundred. Psychic signal analysis indicates no new third-tier scaled beasts, but the original two remain in perfect condition. After a brief rest, the wounded one has already recovered most of its psychic output. All positions, prepare to defend to the death. Reinforcements are still en route; it will be at least an hour and a half before they reach your position."
An hour and a half.
These five short words were like a massive boulder pressing down on everyone's chest.
At this moment, ammunition in the fortification was less than thirty percent, and only one small crate of Sea of Consciousness stabilizers remained. The wounded accounted for nearly a third of their numbers. Many of the injured could only curl up in the corners of the fortification, enduring the tearing pain in their Seas of Consciousness and breathing in low gasps. Once the alloy panels were breached, given their current state, they would be completely unable to withstand the beast tide for long.
"Distribute the remaining ammunition; prioritize melee weapons. The wounded will retreat to the innermost part of the fortification, guarded by the two remaining medics," Instructor Zhou ordered rapidly. His fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness maintained continuous vigilance, his eyes filled with exhausted, bloodshot veins. "Warriors who can maintain Sea of Consciousness defenses will be stationed at the embrasures on both sides of the panel, sharing the psychic pressure in shifts. Do not overdraft yourselves all at once."
Everyone immediately sprang into action.
Su Qing distributed her remaining bullets to the two riflemen beside her, tucking an alloy short knife into her waistband. Old Chen walked to the seam of the alloy panel to observe the outside. Blood was seeping from the wound on his forearm, staining the bandage a dark crimson.
"The steel plate won't hold for much longer," Old Chen said in a low voice, tapping the thick alloy panel with his fingertips. "The scaled beasts' claws are continuously scraping. The fixed brackets of the panel have already developed cracks. They are simply waiting for the new beast swarm to fully take their positions before launching a joint assault."
Lin Yan stood at the right embrasure, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing for a moment.
The Sea of Consciousness damage left from the rearguard psychic piercing attack had not yet fully healed, and a dull ache still lingered deep in his skull. He slowly released a few extremely fine mental tentacles, probing downward into the rock layers.
That calm will, hidden deep underground, remained stable, methodically dispatching the endless stream of scaled beasts crawling out of the rift and arranging for the new swarm to fill the weak points in the encirclement. It was in no rush, patiently waiting for all its forces to be fully deployed before launching the general offensive, maximizing the depletion of humanity's remaining combat power.
Lin Yan withdrew his perception and slowly opened his eyes.
He was still at the second-tier peak, his Sea of Consciousness core stable. Yet, the continuous, life-and-death pressure had tempered his mind to be far more resilient than that of warriors at the same tier. Other people's Sea of Consciousness barriers were like thin walls; his Sea of Consciousness, repeatedly shattered and repeatedly repaired, was like iron forged through countless hammer blows, its impact resistance far exceeding that of ordinary people.
"They're coming," Su Qing's voice suddenly tightened.
Outside, the two third-tier scaled beasts let out low roars almost simultaneously.
An overwhelming psychic tide superimposed itself and crashed fiercely against the Seas of Consciousness of everyone in the secondary fortification. Many soldiers who already had injured Seas of Consciousness groaned and collapsed, clutching their heads and curling up on the ground as their consciousness descended into chaos.
"Hold your Seas of Consciousness! Contract your minds!" Instructor Zhou fully supported his Sea of Consciousness barrier, doing his best to share the pressure borne by the nearby warriors.
In the next moment, countless low-level scaled beasts launched a collective charge.
They sprinted and rammed against the alloy panels, their claws frantically scraping the metal surface. The piercing sound of metal grinding against metal echoed within the fortification. The panel trembled violently, and the brackets emitted creaking sounds as if they could no longer bear the weight. Cold, foul-smelling night wind continuously poured in through the seams.
"Open fire! Prioritize targeting the scaled beasts at the panel seams!"
The rifles at the embrasures fired in succession. Bullets passed through the seams and struck the lunging scaled beasts. The hit beasts collapsed heavily, but the ones behind them stepped over the corpses and continued to ram forward, advancing wave after wave without a moment's pause.
A moment later, a loud "clang" rang out.
The fixed bracket on one side of the panel completely snapped. The alloy plate was knocked inward by the scaled beasts, exposing a gap wide enough for a person to pass through.
"The gap is open!"
Over a dozen low-level scaled beasts fiercely pounced into the fortification through the breach. Old Chen took the lead and rushed forward, his long knife sweeping horizontally, slicing open the neck of the leading scaled beast. Dark green blood gushed out. Lin Yan followed closely behind, his body executing ancient martial arts footwork as he maneuvered through the narrow fortification corridor, his short blade precisely stabbing at the soft armor areas of the scaled beasts.
One scaled beast avoided Old Chen's blade and leaped toward a nearby new recruit whose mind was damaged and reactions were sluggish.
Lin Yan's steps dashed forward rapidly. He stepped sideways to block the new recruit, thrusting his short blade fiercely upward into the scaled beast's lower jaw. The beast's massive head shook violently, its claws swinging wildly. One claw grazed Lin Yan's shoulder, tearing open a bloody gash and instantly soaking his combat suit in blood.
Intense pain flared, but Lin Yan's mind did not waver in the slightest. He exerted force in his wrist, twisting the blade. The scaled beast convulsed and crashed heavily to the ground.
"Thanks!" The new recruit, still shaken, raised his gun and aimed at the next scaled beast rushing in.
The slaughter at the breach continued to reach a fever pitch. Scaled beasts kept pouring in, and the warriors fought desperately to seal the gap. Psychic impacts rolled in from the outside in relentless waves. From time to time, a soldier couldn't withstand the pressure, their Sea of Consciousness collapsing as they fell, and a scaled beast would immediately pounce forward.
While fighting, Lin Yan kept his awareness on the controlling will from underground.
The enemy constantly adjusted its offensive rhythm. Sometimes it would fiercely assault the breach; other times, it would briefly pull back. This repeated pulling and pushing continuously drained the stamina and Sea of Consciousness of the warriors inside the fortification. This was not the mindless slaughter of beasts; it was a meticulously calculated hunt.
"We won't last until the reinforcements arrive at this rate!" Old Chen chopped off a scaled beast's claw and shouted, panting for breath. "The gap will only get bigger!"
Instructor Zhou scanned the entire area. The number of wounded was continuously increasing, and ammunition was running out. He gritted his teeth. "We must hold the breach and stall until the reinforcements arrive. Everyone, pair up. Alternate between fighting and resting. Do not exhaust all your strength at once!"
In the dark wilderness, the two third-tier scaled beasts stood quietly, continuously releasing psychic pressure and commanding the tide-like low-level scaled beasts to repeatedly assault the secondary bastion.
Deep underground, the Lizardmen priests calmly observed the casualties of the human warriors inside the fortification through the psychic links. They waited patiently, waiting for the combat power of this small defending force to be completely drained.
The wound on Lin Yan's shoulder burned with pain. The cracks in his Sea of Consciousness were constantly multiplying, and every time he withstood a psychic impact, it was accompanied by a piercing ache in his skull.
He still held his position on the flank of the breach, slaying the scaled beasts that rushed in. Every swing of his blade, every resistance against the psychic erosion, was tempering his Sea of Consciousness foundation. The barrier of the second-tier peak remained solid, but deep within the core, the accumulated power was slowly precipitating, waiting for that true life-and-death opportunity sufficient to break through to the third tier.
The slaughter at the breach continued, and the reinforcements were still far away.
Beneath the Black Mountain, within the bastion, a desperate defense of flesh and blood was still underway.
The low-level scaled beasts that had just occupied the forward trenches did not immediately charge against the sealed steel plates. Instead, they scattered along the ruined trenches, forming a loose encirclement that firmly locked down the secondary main fortifications. The two third-tier scaled beasts stood on the left and right, their massive bodies hidden in the shadows of the night, continuously releasing dense, unending psychic pressure that made everyone inside the fortification feel their scalps tightening.
The communicator crackled with static as an urgent report came from the command tower.
"Western outpost, confirmed monitoring: a new batch of scaled beast swarms is pouring out of the rift, estimated at over three hundred. Psychic signal analysis indicates no new third-tier scaled beasts, but the original two remain in perfect condition. After a brief rest, the wounded one has already recovered most of its psychic output. All positions, prepare to defend to the death. Reinforcements are still en route; it will be at least an hour and a half before they reach your position."
An hour and a half.
These five short words were like a massive boulder pressing down on everyone's chest.
At this moment, ammunition in the fortification was less than thirty percent, and only one small crate of Sea of Consciousness stabilizers remained. The wounded accounted for nearly a third of their numbers. Many of the injured could only curl up in the corners of the fortification, enduring the tearing pain in their Seas of Consciousness and breathing in low gasps. Once the alloy panels were breached, given their current state, they would be completely unable to withstand the beast tide for long.
"Distribute the remaining ammunition; prioritize melee weapons. The wounded will retreat to the innermost part of the fortification, guarded by the two remaining medics," Instructor Zhou ordered rapidly. His fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness maintained continuous vigilance, his eyes filled with exhausted, bloodshot veins. "Warriors who can maintain Sea of Consciousness defenses will be stationed at the embrasures on both sides of the panel, sharing the psychic pressure in shifts. Do not overdraft yourselves all at once."
Everyone immediately sprang into action.
Su Qing distributed her remaining bullets to the two riflemen beside her, tucking an alloy short knife into her waistband. Old Chen walked to the seam of the alloy panel to observe the outside. Blood was seeping from the wound on his forearm, staining the bandage a dark crimson.
"The steel plate won't hold for much longer," Old Chen said in a low voice, tapping the thick alloy panel with his fingertips. "The scaled beasts' claws are continuously scraping. The fixed brackets of the panel have already developed cracks. They are simply waiting for the new beast swarm to fully take their positions before launching a joint assault."
Lin Yan stood at the right embrasure, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing for a moment.
The Sea of Consciousness damage left from the rearguard psychic piercing attack had not yet fully healed, and a dull ache still lingered deep in his skull. He slowly released a few extremely fine mental tentacles, probing downward into the rock layers.
That calm will, hidden deep underground, remained stable, methodically dispatching the endless stream of scaled beasts crawling out of the rift and arranging for the new swarm to fill the weak points in the encirclement. It was in no rush, patiently waiting for all its forces to be fully deployed before launching the general offensive, maximizing the depletion of humanity's remaining combat power.
Lin Yan withdrew his perception and slowly opened his eyes.
He was still at the second-tier peak, his Sea of Consciousness core stable. Yet, the continuous, life-and-death pressure had tempered his mind to be far more resilient than that of warriors at the same tier. Other people's Sea of Consciousness barriers were like thin walls; his Sea of Consciousness, repeatedly shattered and repeatedly repaired, was like iron forged through countless hammer blows, its impact resistance far exceeding that of ordinary people.
"They're coming," Su Qing's voice suddenly tightened.
Outside, the two third-tier scaled beasts let out low roars almost simultaneously.
An overwhelming psychic tide superimposed itself and crashed fiercely against the Seas of Consciousness of everyone in the secondary fortification. Many soldiers who already had injured Seas of Consciousness groaned and collapsed, clutching their heads and curling up on the ground as their consciousness descended into chaos.
"Hold your Seas of Consciousness! Contract your minds!" Instructor Zhou fully supported his Sea of Consciousness barrier, doing his best to share the pressure borne by the nearby warriors.
In the next moment, countless low-level scaled beasts launched a collective charge.
They sprinted and rammed against the alloy panels, their claws frantically scraping the metal surface. The piercing sound of metal grinding against metal echoed within the fortification. The panel trembled violently, and the brackets emitted creaking sounds as if they could no longer bear the weight. Cold, foul-smelling night wind continuously poured in through the seams.
"Open fire! Prioritize targeting the scaled beasts at the panel seams!"
The rifles at the embrasures fired in succession. Bullets passed through the seams and struck the lunging scaled beasts. The hit beasts collapsed heavily, but the ones behind them stepped over the corpses and continued to ram forward, advancing wave after wave without a moment's pause.
A moment later, a loud "clang" rang out.
The fixed bracket on one side of the panel completely snapped. The alloy plate was knocked inward by the scaled beasts, exposing a gap wide enough for a person to pass through.
"The gap is open!"
Over a dozen low-level scaled beasts fiercely pounced into the fortification through the breach. Old Chen took the lead and rushed forward, his long knife sweeping horizontally, slicing open the neck of the leading scaled beast. Dark green blood gushed out. Lin Yan followed closely behind, his body executing ancient martial arts footwork as he maneuvered through the narrow fortification corridor, his short blade precisely stabbing at the soft armor areas of the scaled beasts.
One scaled beast avoided Old Chen's blade and leaped toward a nearby new recruit whose mind was damaged and reactions were sluggish.
Lin Yan's steps dashed forward rapidly. He stepped sideways to block the new recruit, thrusting his short blade fiercely upward into the scaled beast's lower jaw. The beast's massive head shook violently, its claws swinging wildly. One claw grazed Lin Yan's shoulder, tearing open a bloody gash and instantly soaking his combat suit in blood.
Intense pain flared, but Lin Yan's mind did not waver in the slightest. He exerted force in his wrist, twisting the blade. The scaled beast convulsed and crashed heavily to the ground.
"Thanks!" The new recruit, still shaken, raised his gun and aimed at the next scaled beast rushing in.
The slaughter at the breach continued to reach a fever pitch. Scaled beasts kept pouring in, and the warriors fought desperately to seal the gap. Psychic impacts rolled in from the outside in relentless waves. From time to time, a soldier couldn't withstand the pressure, their Sea of Consciousness collapsing as they fell, and a scaled beast would immediately pounce forward.
While fighting, Lin Yan kept his awareness on the controlling will from underground.
The enemy constantly adjusted its offensive rhythm. Sometimes it would fiercely assault the breach; other times, it would briefly pull back. This repeated pulling and pushing continuously drained the stamina and Sea of Consciousness of the warriors inside the fortification. This was not the mindless slaughter of beasts; it was a meticulously calculated hunt.
"We won't last until the reinforcements arrive at this rate!" Old Chen chopped off a scaled beast's claw and shouted, panting for breath. "The gap will only get bigger!"
Instructor Zhou scanned the entire area. The number of wounded was continuously increasing, and ammunition was running out. He gritted his teeth. "We must hold the breach and stall until the reinforcements arrive. Everyone, pair up. Alternate between fighting and resting. Do not exhaust all your strength at once!"
In the dark wilderness, the two third-tier scaled beasts stood quietly, continuously releasing psychic pressure and commanding the tide-like low-level scaled beasts to repeatedly assault the secondary bastion.
Deep underground, the Lizardmen priests calmly observed the casualties of the human warriors inside the fortification through the psychic links. They waited patiently, waiting for the combat power of this small defending force to be completely drained.
The wound on Lin Yan's shoulder burned with pain. The cracks in his Sea of Consciousness were constantly multiplying, and every time he withstood a psychic impact, it was accompanied by a piercing ache in his skull.
He still held his position on the flank of the breach, slaying the scaled beasts that rushed in. Every swing of his blade, every resistance against the psychic erosion, was tempering his Sea of Consciousness foundation. The barrier of the second-tier peak remained solid, but deep within the core, the accumulated power was slowly precipitating, waiting for that true life-and-death opportunity sufficient to break through to the third tier.
The slaughter at the breach continued, and the reinforcements were still far away.
Beneath the Black Mountain, within the bastion, a desperate defense of flesh and blood was still underway.