Chapter 73: The Shocking News at Panshi City
The military off-road combat vehicles crushed the gravel and scaled beast carcasses on the wasteland, speeding all the way toward the massive, imposing bastion of Panshi City.
Inside the carriage, the lights were dim. Medics were rushing to treat everyone's wounds. The antiseptic touching their torn flesh brought waves of piercing pain. Lin Yan leaned against the side wall of the carriage, his eyes closed as he regulated his breathing. He circulated the inner qi of his ancient martial arts to stabilize his body, which was weakened by blood loss, while slowly sorting out the Sea of Consciousness he had just stepped into at the third tier.
The third-tier Sea of Consciousness was still quite unstable. The continuous, high-intensity psychic confrontations from earlier had left behind numerous microscopic psychic damages. If he were to rush and force its activation, it would easily damage the very foundation of his Sea of Consciousness. He needed to rest quietly, slowly tempering and consolidating this newfound power.
Old Chen sat beside him, his arm wrapped in thick bandages, and sighed in a low voice, "Even now, I still feel a bit dazed. For twenty-five years, humanity has been fighting the scaled beasts surging from underground. Everyone thought they were just mindless monsters. Who would have thought that behind it all, there is a race of Lizardmen Ancient Progenitors orchestrating everything?"
The recorder in Su Qing's arms had already been taken over by dedicated military personnel. The storage chip was sealed separately and escorted by two specialized soldiers. This record of footage and psychic waveforms was the key piece of physical evidence that would change the entire course of the war.
Lu Heng had multiple abrasions on his body, and his face was still exhausted, but his eyes were resolute. "Once this evidence is submitted, the high command of the six major war zones must re-evaluate this war. All previous defensive tactics were based on the premise that 'scaled beasts are merely unthinking alien beasts.' Now we know they have a leader, a race, and a complete strategy. The very nature of the war has completely changed."
The vehicles drove continuously and soon arrived at the massive gate of Panshi City's bastion. The heavy alloy gates slowly slid inward, allowing the vehicles to enter the city.
Panshi City was bustling with activity. The beast tide outside the city had not completely subsided. Inside, teams transporting the wounded and supplying materials could be seen everywhere. The combat readiness alarms continued to sound at a low level, soldiers hurried to and fro on the streets, and the air was filled with the mixed scent of gunpowder and disinfectant.
The squad did not return to the ordinary barracks to rest. They were directly driven by a special vehicle to the War Zone's Supreme Command Center.
Located dozens of meters underground in the core of the bastion, the Command Center was insulated from the outside flames of war by thick reinforced concrete. Inside the massive operations hall, dozens of holographic screens projected real-time battlefield data from the outer defense lines and rift monitoring signals. Several high-ranking generals from the six major war zones had already received the news and were waiting there.
The sealed storage chip was connected to the main control console.
The massive holographic screens lit up. The figures of the Ancient Progenitor and the five secondary Lizardmen priests in the rock cave were clearly displayed before everyone's eyes. Along with them were the records of the Ancient Progenitor's thoughts transmitted through the psychic network and the waveform data of the triangular linked psychic nodes in the karst cave.
The generals, who had been conversing in low voices in the hall, instantly fell silent.
Everyone's gaze was fixed firmly on the screen, their faces filled with shock. After twenty-five years of bloody battles and countless soldiers dying in combat, humanity had always been passively resisting the scaled beasts surging from underground. They had never captured definitive evidence proving the existence of an intelligent alien race behind them.
"So that's how it is... All the beast tides are premeditated attacks," a high-ranking general with graying hair said in a deep voice, his fingertips lightly tapping the desk. "The large-scale outbreaks in the rifts are not simply natural disasters. This Lizardmen race is actively opening the channels, using the scaled beasts as weapons of war to slowly gnaw away at humanity's territory."
The Grand Marshal, the only elder in the entire war zone whose Sea of Consciousness had reached the eighth tier, stood in front of the large screen. His gaze was calm as he stared at the image of the Ancient Progenitor.
"This Ancient Progenitor is the core of the race. The psychic network of the entire area is led by it. A large portion of our previous casualties fell victim to their silent psychic erosion and illusion tricks," the Grand Marshal said slowly, his voice heavy. "For the past twenty-five years, we have been passively defending. From now on, the entire mindset of this war must be completely rewritten."
He turned to look at the members of Lu Heng's exploration squad, his gaze landing on Lin Yan.
"You are Lin Yan? You deserve immense credit for successfully bringing back this evidence. It is very rare to have just broken through to the third tier of the Sea of Consciousness, yet still manage to retreat unscathed under the psychic suppression of the Ancient Progenitor."
"I was merely doing my duty," Lin Yan said, bowing slightly.
"Rest well and stabilize your Sea of Consciousness," the Grand Marshal nodded. "In future battles against the underground alien race, Sea of Consciousness cultivators will become the most important force. Once your injuries heal, the War Zone Combat Readiness Academy will open high-level Sea of Consciousness cultivation techniques to you, as well as specialized training courses combining ancient martial arts with the Sea of Consciousness."
The meeting lasted for a long time. The high-ranking officials engaged in intense discussions based on the video footage, readjusted the deployment of the defense lines, arranged personnel to deeply study the principles of the Lizardmen's psychic network, and simultaneously sent this top-secret footage to the other five war zones to synchronize intelligence.
After the meeting, Lin Yan and his group were arranged to enter the War Zone's exclusive recuperation area. The environment in the recuperation area was quiet, equipped with specialized Sea of Consciousness therapy rooms and medical teams, specifically treating Sea of Consciousness cultivators injured on the front lines.
In the following days, Lin Yan's life was simple and regular.
During the day, he cooperated with the medical team to treat his external injuries and underwent Sea of Consciousness therapy to repair the microscopic damages left on his mental plane. In his remaining time, he circulated his ancient martial arts mental techniques to nourish his blood and qi, while quietly tempering his third-tier Sea of Consciousness.
When he was at the second tier, he could only passively capture and disturb others' psychic links. With the third tier, he could actively weave psychic threads and construct localized psychic interference fields. But this power consumed a massive amount of energy and required extremely high control over his mental state. The life-and-death duel with the Ancient Progenitor had taught him that stronger psychic power was not always better. If his mental state was unstable, the backlash of his own power would only lead to his demise.
He slowly familiarized himself with the boundaries of his third-tier Sea of Consciousness perception, practiced controlling the thickness and range of his psychic threads, and learned how to reduce unnecessary consumption of psychic power. He cross-referenced the mind-calming and spirit-guarding methods of his ancient martial arts with the Sea of Consciousness solidification techniques of this world. As the two systems merged, his understanding of the mind grew deeper and deeper.
Old Chen, Su Qing, and the surviving squad members were also resting in the recuperation area. In their spare time, they would meet and chat, reviewing the great battle in the underground resonance cave.
"I wonder what the Ancient Progenitor will do next," Su Qing said softly, gazing out the window at the gray, overcast sky of the bastion city. "We have obtained the evidence, and humanity is about to start taking the initiative. The Lizardmen race underground probably won't just sit back and wait for their doom."
"The war is far from over," Lu Heng said calmly, standing beside her. "What happened before was merely a probe and a war of attrition by the Lizardmen race. Now that they realize humanity has seen through the truth, a larger-scale offensive may arrive very soon."
Lin Yan listened quietly, his gaze directed toward the distant direction of the Great Rift.
That ancient Lizardman Ancient Progenitor underground would not let this go easily. This clash was merely the prelude to the official curtain-raising of a full-scale war between the two sides. He had just stepped into the third tier of the Sea of Consciousness; the road ahead was long, and he still needed to continuously temper and grow.
Inside the therapy room, Lin Yan closed his eyes, sinking his mind into his Sea of Consciousness, continuing to temper the power that belonged to him.
The twenty-five-year stalemate between humanity and the underground scaled race had finally lifted its most core veil.
End of Chapter.
Inside the carriage, the lights were dim. Medics were rushing to treat everyone's wounds. The antiseptic touching their torn flesh brought waves of piercing pain. Lin Yan leaned against the side wall of the carriage, his eyes closed as he regulated his breathing. He circulated the inner qi of his ancient martial arts to stabilize his body, which was weakened by blood loss, while slowly sorting out the Sea of Consciousness he had just stepped into at the third tier.
The third-tier Sea of Consciousness was still quite unstable. The continuous, high-intensity psychic confrontations from earlier had left behind numerous microscopic psychic damages. If he were to rush and force its activation, it would easily damage the very foundation of his Sea of Consciousness. He needed to rest quietly, slowly tempering and consolidating this newfound power.
Old Chen sat beside him, his arm wrapped in thick bandages, and sighed in a low voice, "Even now, I still feel a bit dazed. For twenty-five years, humanity has been fighting the scaled beasts surging from underground. Everyone thought they were just mindless monsters. Who would have thought that behind it all, there is a race of Lizardmen Ancient Progenitors orchestrating everything?"
The recorder in Su Qing's arms had already been taken over by dedicated military personnel. The storage chip was sealed separately and escorted by two specialized soldiers. This record of footage and psychic waveforms was the key piece of physical evidence that would change the entire course of the war.
Lu Heng had multiple abrasions on his body, and his face was still exhausted, but his eyes were resolute. "Once this evidence is submitted, the high command of the six major war zones must re-evaluate this war. All previous defensive tactics were based on the premise that 'scaled beasts are merely unthinking alien beasts.' Now we know they have a leader, a race, and a complete strategy. The very nature of the war has completely changed."
The vehicles drove continuously and soon arrived at the massive gate of Panshi City's bastion. The heavy alloy gates slowly slid inward, allowing the vehicles to enter the city.
Panshi City was bustling with activity. The beast tide outside the city had not completely subsided. Inside, teams transporting the wounded and supplying materials could be seen everywhere. The combat readiness alarms continued to sound at a low level, soldiers hurried to and fro on the streets, and the air was filled with the mixed scent of gunpowder and disinfectant.
The squad did not return to the ordinary barracks to rest. They were directly driven by a special vehicle to the War Zone's Supreme Command Center.
Located dozens of meters underground in the core of the bastion, the Command Center was insulated from the outside flames of war by thick reinforced concrete. Inside the massive operations hall, dozens of holographic screens projected real-time battlefield data from the outer defense lines and rift monitoring signals. Several high-ranking generals from the six major war zones had already received the news and were waiting there.
The sealed storage chip was connected to the main control console.
The massive holographic screens lit up. The figures of the Ancient Progenitor and the five secondary Lizardmen priests in the rock cave were clearly displayed before everyone's eyes. Along with them were the records of the Ancient Progenitor's thoughts transmitted through the psychic network and the waveform data of the triangular linked psychic nodes in the karst cave.
The generals, who had been conversing in low voices in the hall, instantly fell silent.
Everyone's gaze was fixed firmly on the screen, their faces filled with shock. After twenty-five years of bloody battles and countless soldiers dying in combat, humanity had always been passively resisting the scaled beasts surging from underground. They had never captured definitive evidence proving the existence of an intelligent alien race behind them.
"So that's how it is... All the beast tides are premeditated attacks," a high-ranking general with graying hair said in a deep voice, his fingertips lightly tapping the desk. "The large-scale outbreaks in the rifts are not simply natural disasters. This Lizardmen race is actively opening the channels, using the scaled beasts as weapons of war to slowly gnaw away at humanity's territory."
The Grand Marshal, the only elder in the entire war zone whose Sea of Consciousness had reached the eighth tier, stood in front of the large screen. His gaze was calm as he stared at the image of the Ancient Progenitor.
"This Ancient Progenitor is the core of the race. The psychic network of the entire area is led by it. A large portion of our previous casualties fell victim to their silent psychic erosion and illusion tricks," the Grand Marshal said slowly, his voice heavy. "For the past twenty-five years, we have been passively defending. From now on, the entire mindset of this war must be completely rewritten."
He turned to look at the members of Lu Heng's exploration squad, his gaze landing on Lin Yan.
"You are Lin Yan? You deserve immense credit for successfully bringing back this evidence. It is very rare to have just broken through to the third tier of the Sea of Consciousness, yet still manage to retreat unscathed under the psychic suppression of the Ancient Progenitor."
"I was merely doing my duty," Lin Yan said, bowing slightly.
"Rest well and stabilize your Sea of Consciousness," the Grand Marshal nodded. "In future battles against the underground alien race, Sea of Consciousness cultivators will become the most important force. Once your injuries heal, the War Zone Combat Readiness Academy will open high-level Sea of Consciousness cultivation techniques to you, as well as specialized training courses combining ancient martial arts with the Sea of Consciousness."
The meeting lasted for a long time. The high-ranking officials engaged in intense discussions based on the video footage, readjusted the deployment of the defense lines, arranged personnel to deeply study the principles of the Lizardmen's psychic network, and simultaneously sent this top-secret footage to the other five war zones to synchronize intelligence.
After the meeting, Lin Yan and his group were arranged to enter the War Zone's exclusive recuperation area. The environment in the recuperation area was quiet, equipped with specialized Sea of Consciousness therapy rooms and medical teams, specifically treating Sea of Consciousness cultivators injured on the front lines.
In the following days, Lin Yan's life was simple and regular.
During the day, he cooperated with the medical team to treat his external injuries and underwent Sea of Consciousness therapy to repair the microscopic damages left on his mental plane. In his remaining time, he circulated his ancient martial arts mental techniques to nourish his blood and qi, while quietly tempering his third-tier Sea of Consciousness.
When he was at the second tier, he could only passively capture and disturb others' psychic links. With the third tier, he could actively weave psychic threads and construct localized psychic interference fields. But this power consumed a massive amount of energy and required extremely high control over his mental state. The life-and-death duel with the Ancient Progenitor had taught him that stronger psychic power was not always better. If his mental state was unstable, the backlash of his own power would only lead to his demise.
He slowly familiarized himself with the boundaries of his third-tier Sea of Consciousness perception, practiced controlling the thickness and range of his psychic threads, and learned how to reduce unnecessary consumption of psychic power. He cross-referenced the mind-calming and spirit-guarding methods of his ancient martial arts with the Sea of Consciousness solidification techniques of this world. As the two systems merged, his understanding of the mind grew deeper and deeper.
Old Chen, Su Qing, and the surviving squad members were also resting in the recuperation area. In their spare time, they would meet and chat, reviewing the great battle in the underground resonance cave.
"I wonder what the Ancient Progenitor will do next," Su Qing said softly, gazing out the window at the gray, overcast sky of the bastion city. "We have obtained the evidence, and humanity is about to start taking the initiative. The Lizardmen race underground probably won't just sit back and wait for their doom."
"The war is far from over," Lu Heng said calmly, standing beside her. "What happened before was merely a probe and a war of attrition by the Lizardmen race. Now that they realize humanity has seen through the truth, a larger-scale offensive may arrive very soon."
Lin Yan listened quietly, his gaze directed toward the distant direction of the Great Rift.
That ancient Lizardman Ancient Progenitor underground would not let this go easily. This clash was merely the prelude to the official curtain-raising of a full-scale war between the two sides. He had just stepped into the third tier of the Sea of Consciousness; the road ahead was long, and he still needed to continuously temper and grow.
Inside the therapy room, Lin Yan closed his eyes, sinking his mind into his Sea of Consciousness, continuing to temper the power that belonged to him.
The twenty-five-year stalemate between humanity and the underground scaled race had finally lifted its most core veil.
End of Chapter.