Chapter 50: The Echoes of the Ruined Battle
The roar of engines in the distance grew increasingly distinct. Piercing beams from searchlights sliced through the night, sweeping across the devastated forward positions.
The reinforcement convoy had finally arrived.
The vehicle-mounted heavy machine cannons began to roar, unleashing a dense rain of bullets toward the retreating scaled beasts. Explosions erupted continuously, and low-level scaled beasts fell in droves. The two third-tier scaled beasts, having exhausted their strength, dared not linger in the battle any longer. Using the scattered rocks and the cover of night, they slowly retreated toward the main rift of the Black Mountain. They did not flee in a panic; instead, they maintained a vigilant stance, occasionally glancing back at the secondary fortification, as if memorizing this position and the people inside it.
Deep underground, that calm will remained silent. The just-concluded, overloaded, full-power explosion required time for it to recover as well. It ceased issuing offensive commands, orderly gathering the remaining scaled beasts and slowly withdrawing back beneath the rock layers.
This prolonged tug-of-war for the Black Mountain position temporarily came to an end.
Reinforcement soldiers quickly rushed into the battlefield. Some took over the fortification's perimeter watch, while others immediately joined the rescue of the wounded. Stretchers were carried in and out continuously. Medical personnel swiftly checked the condition of the injured, reporting their status in hushed tones.
Instructor Zhou was carefully lifted onto a stretcher by two medics. His eyes were half-open, and his consciousness was somewhat lucid, but the core of his Sea of Consciousness had suffered irreversible, severe damage. The examining military doctor shook his head gently and whispered to the reinforcement captain beside him, "The core of his Sea of Consciousness is severely damaged. He will never be able to mobilize Sea of Consciousness power again. His frontline combat days are over."
Hearing this, Old Chen, standing nearby, gripped his knife handle tightly and remained silent. Their instructor, who had fought on the front lines with them for many years, was bidding farewell to the battlefield.
Su Qing sat at the edge of the fortification while a medic treated the laceration on her forearm. Her gaze was fixed on the retreating dark shadows of the scaled beasts in the distance, her expression complex. "We repelled them, but it feels like... they've only temporarily called it quits."
"Exactly," Old Chen said, tearing off his old bandages that were already soaked with blood, allowing the medic to clean the torn wound on his calf. "It wasn't a rout; it was a voluntary retreat. Once that thing underground recovers, they'll be back."
Lin Yan stood alone at the embrasure, allowing a medic to treat the bone-deep wound on his shoulder. The alcohol touching the wound brought a burning, agonizing pain, but his expression remained calm as his gaze fell into the deep darkness of the Black Mountain rift.
He once again released a few mental tentacles to probe deep into the rock layers.
The mastermind's will had retracted, hiding even deeper underground. The sensory signal was so faint it was nearly impossible to detect, as if it had completely gone into hiding. But Lin Yan was certain it hadn't disappeared; it was merely lying dormant to recuperate. In this bloody battle, the enemy had gauged the strength of this defending force and was equally aware of the arrival of the reinforcements. They chose to temporarily stand down, accumulating strength for the next offensive.
He withdrew his mental tentacles and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.
The shattered outer barrier of his Sea of Consciousness was slowly repairing itself, the spiderweb-like cracks gradually knitting together. The core remained stable, and the bottleneck of the second-tier peak stood immovable, showing no signs of breaking through. Yet, after the tempering of those five breaths of life-and-death absolute strikes, his mental foundation had far surpassed that of warriors at the same tier. Ordinary second-tier warriors relied on training to build their Sea of Consciousness, but his had been repeatedly shattered and painstakingly forged under waves of psychic impacts, possessing a resilience that was nearly terrifying.
The military doctor briefly tested Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness state. Seeing the second-tier peak reading on the diagnostic light screen, he was slightly surprised. "After enduring so many high-tier psychic bombardments, your Sea of Consciousness core is actually completely intact. Your mental fortitude is rare."
Lin Yan nodded faintly, saying nothing more. Regarding the controlling will underground and the speculation that there was a true mastermind behind the scaled beasts, he still kept it buried in his heart. Without evidence, speaking out rashly would only be deemed a delusion resulting from psychic trauma. The time was not yet right.
The reinforcement captain walked up to the group, his face solemn as he reviewed the battlefield records. "The war zone has received your report on the tactical patterns of this beast tide. The intelligence from this battle will be submitted to the high command for study. However, currently, the mainstream judgment from the upper echelons is still that this is an individual mutation of high-tier scaled beasts, possessing intelligence far beyond previous swarms."
As expected, no one would think of an intelligent race existing underground. Twenty-five years of human catastrophe cognition had solidified into a rigid framework. The Lizardmen remained hidden in the dark behind the scenes, unknown to all.
"The wounded will be transported in batches to the rear bastion cities for recovery," the reinforcement captain continued. "Your squad has suffered heavy casualties. After your rest and recovery, you will be reassigned."
The work of clearing the battlefield commenced accordingly. Soldiers shuttled through the mountains of corpses and pools of blood, collecting the remains of fallen comrades and tallying the scaled beast carcasses. The air was thick with an enduring stench of rotting flesh and blood. Many reinforcement soldiers turned pale at the gruesome scene before them. They had only read about beast tides in reports; they had never personally experienced a desperate defense so close to absolute annihilation.
Old Chen walked up to Lin Yan and said in a low voice, "During that final wave of psychic impact, if you hadn't seized the opportunity of the scaled beasts' brief stutter, the breach would have fallen completely. We wouldn't have lasted until the reinforcements arrived."
"It wasn't my achievement alone," Lin Yan shook his head. "The instructor held out to his absolute limit, and you and Su Qing never stopped guarding the breach."
Su Qing walked over as well, gazing at the Black Mountain rift. "After this battle, I feel more and more that the behavior of these scaled beasts isn't beastly instinct at all. It's just that we can't produce any evidence."
Lin Yan looked at the two of them and fell silent for a moment. "Keep observing. One day, we will find the answer."
The night slowly passed, and a faint hint of pale dawn began to seep into the sky. The long, bloody night battle had finally come to an end.
The wounded were successively loaded onto transport vehicles, evacuating toward the massive bastion cities in the rear. Lin Yan sat in the corner of the transport vehicle, leaning against the carriage with his eyes closed to rest. His Sea of Consciousness was still slowly repairing itself, and the wounds inside his body throbbed dully.
He was still at the second-tier peak.
But this Black Mountain bloodbath was the most brutal tempering he had experienced since arriving in this world. He was only one life-and-death tribulation, enough to shake his very core, away from breaking through the threshold of the third-tier Sea of Consciousness.
Meanwhile, deep within the rock layers a thousand meters underground, inside the cold, gloomy nest of the Lizardmen.
Several Lizardmen priests sat in a circle, their psychic links interconnected as they reviewed the battle they had just fought. They had sensed that human new recruit—Lin Yan. This human's mental resilience was extraordinary; he could even touch and disturb their psychic command threads.
Cold hisses slowly echoed through the dark nest.
They had memorized this name. The next time the beast tide struck, they would specifically target him and lay a more treacherous hunting trap.
The battlefield had temporarily returned to peace, but a greater storm was quietly brewing beneath the earth.
End of Chapter.
The reinforcement convoy had finally arrived.
The vehicle-mounted heavy machine cannons began to roar, unleashing a dense rain of bullets toward the retreating scaled beasts. Explosions erupted continuously, and low-level scaled beasts fell in droves. The two third-tier scaled beasts, having exhausted their strength, dared not linger in the battle any longer. Using the scattered rocks and the cover of night, they slowly retreated toward the main rift of the Black Mountain. They did not flee in a panic; instead, they maintained a vigilant stance, occasionally glancing back at the secondary fortification, as if memorizing this position and the people inside it.
Deep underground, that calm will remained silent. The just-concluded, overloaded, full-power explosion required time for it to recover as well. It ceased issuing offensive commands, orderly gathering the remaining scaled beasts and slowly withdrawing back beneath the rock layers.
This prolonged tug-of-war for the Black Mountain position temporarily came to an end.
Reinforcement soldiers quickly rushed into the battlefield. Some took over the fortification's perimeter watch, while others immediately joined the rescue of the wounded. Stretchers were carried in and out continuously. Medical personnel swiftly checked the condition of the injured, reporting their status in hushed tones.
Instructor Zhou was carefully lifted onto a stretcher by two medics. His eyes were half-open, and his consciousness was somewhat lucid, but the core of his Sea of Consciousness had suffered irreversible, severe damage. The examining military doctor shook his head gently and whispered to the reinforcement captain beside him, "The core of his Sea of Consciousness is severely damaged. He will never be able to mobilize Sea of Consciousness power again. His frontline combat days are over."
Hearing this, Old Chen, standing nearby, gripped his knife handle tightly and remained silent. Their instructor, who had fought on the front lines with them for many years, was bidding farewell to the battlefield.
Su Qing sat at the edge of the fortification while a medic treated the laceration on her forearm. Her gaze was fixed on the retreating dark shadows of the scaled beasts in the distance, her expression complex. "We repelled them, but it feels like... they've only temporarily called it quits."
"Exactly," Old Chen said, tearing off his old bandages that were already soaked with blood, allowing the medic to clean the torn wound on his calf. "It wasn't a rout; it was a voluntary retreat. Once that thing underground recovers, they'll be back."
Lin Yan stood alone at the embrasure, allowing a medic to treat the bone-deep wound on his shoulder. The alcohol touching the wound brought a burning, agonizing pain, but his expression remained calm as his gaze fell into the deep darkness of the Black Mountain rift.
He once again released a few mental tentacles to probe deep into the rock layers.
The mastermind's will had retracted, hiding even deeper underground. The sensory signal was so faint it was nearly impossible to detect, as if it had completely gone into hiding. But Lin Yan was certain it hadn't disappeared; it was merely lying dormant to recuperate. In this bloody battle, the enemy had gauged the strength of this defending force and was equally aware of the arrival of the reinforcements. They chose to temporarily stand down, accumulating strength for the next offensive.
He withdrew his mental tentacles and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.
The shattered outer barrier of his Sea of Consciousness was slowly repairing itself, the spiderweb-like cracks gradually knitting together. The core remained stable, and the bottleneck of the second-tier peak stood immovable, showing no signs of breaking through. Yet, after the tempering of those five breaths of life-and-death absolute strikes, his mental foundation had far surpassed that of warriors at the same tier. Ordinary second-tier warriors relied on training to build their Sea of Consciousness, but his had been repeatedly shattered and painstakingly forged under waves of psychic impacts, possessing a resilience that was nearly terrifying.
The military doctor briefly tested Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness state. Seeing the second-tier peak reading on the diagnostic light screen, he was slightly surprised. "After enduring so many high-tier psychic bombardments, your Sea of Consciousness core is actually completely intact. Your mental fortitude is rare."
Lin Yan nodded faintly, saying nothing more. Regarding the controlling will underground and the speculation that there was a true mastermind behind the scaled beasts, he still kept it buried in his heart. Without evidence, speaking out rashly would only be deemed a delusion resulting from psychic trauma. The time was not yet right.
The reinforcement captain walked up to the group, his face solemn as he reviewed the battlefield records. "The war zone has received your report on the tactical patterns of this beast tide. The intelligence from this battle will be submitted to the high command for study. However, currently, the mainstream judgment from the upper echelons is still that this is an individual mutation of high-tier scaled beasts, possessing intelligence far beyond previous swarms."
As expected, no one would think of an intelligent race existing underground. Twenty-five years of human catastrophe cognition had solidified into a rigid framework. The Lizardmen remained hidden in the dark behind the scenes, unknown to all.
"The wounded will be transported in batches to the rear bastion cities for recovery," the reinforcement captain continued. "Your squad has suffered heavy casualties. After your rest and recovery, you will be reassigned."
The work of clearing the battlefield commenced accordingly. Soldiers shuttled through the mountains of corpses and pools of blood, collecting the remains of fallen comrades and tallying the scaled beast carcasses. The air was thick with an enduring stench of rotting flesh and blood. Many reinforcement soldiers turned pale at the gruesome scene before them. They had only read about beast tides in reports; they had never personally experienced a desperate defense so close to absolute annihilation.
Old Chen walked up to Lin Yan and said in a low voice, "During that final wave of psychic impact, if you hadn't seized the opportunity of the scaled beasts' brief stutter, the breach would have fallen completely. We wouldn't have lasted until the reinforcements arrived."
"It wasn't my achievement alone," Lin Yan shook his head. "The instructor held out to his absolute limit, and you and Su Qing never stopped guarding the breach."
Su Qing walked over as well, gazing at the Black Mountain rift. "After this battle, I feel more and more that the behavior of these scaled beasts isn't beastly instinct at all. It's just that we can't produce any evidence."
Lin Yan looked at the two of them and fell silent for a moment. "Keep observing. One day, we will find the answer."
The night slowly passed, and a faint hint of pale dawn began to seep into the sky. The long, bloody night battle had finally come to an end.
The wounded were successively loaded onto transport vehicles, evacuating toward the massive bastion cities in the rear. Lin Yan sat in the corner of the transport vehicle, leaning against the carriage with his eyes closed to rest. His Sea of Consciousness was still slowly repairing itself, and the wounds inside his body throbbed dully.
He was still at the second-tier peak.
But this Black Mountain bloodbath was the most brutal tempering he had experienced since arriving in this world. He was only one life-and-death tribulation, enough to shake his very core, away from breaking through the threshold of the third-tier Sea of Consciousness.
Meanwhile, deep within the rock layers a thousand meters underground, inside the cold, gloomy nest of the Lizardmen.
Several Lizardmen priests sat in a circle, their psychic links interconnected as they reviewed the battle they had just fought. They had sensed that human new recruit—Lin Yan. This human's mental resilience was extraordinary; he could even touch and disturb their psychic command threads.
Cold hisses slowly echoed through the dark nest.
They had memorized this name. The next time the beast tide struck, they would specifically target him and lay a more treacherous hunting trap.
The battlefield had temporarily returned to peace, but a greater storm was quietly brewing beneath the earth.
End of Chapter.