Chapter 198: Both Fronts in Critical Condition
The sentry post at the far northern end of the defense line was the first to sound the alarm.
This sector had originally been guarded by only half an infantry squad, with no Sea of Consciousness cultivators assigned. The barrier here relied entirely on mechanical energy to hold. The gray fog was thick and visibility was extremely poor. By the time the sentries spotted the quietly approaching squad of scaled beasts through their thermal imaging, the enemy was already less than thirty meters from the barrier.
"North! A beast herd is flanking us! Over thirty of them, including two third-tier beasts!"
The brief alarm shattered the silence on the channel.
The squad leader immediately ordered them to open fire. The piercing weapons mounted on the cover roared, and metal arrows tore through the gray fog, pinning into the bodies of the scaled beasts at the forefront. But without the resonance buff of Sea of Consciousness cultivators, the energy membrane of this section of the barrier was inherently thin. After a few heavy impacts, cracks spread rapidly across its surface.
With a dull boom, a small section of the barrier shattered completely.
The two third-tier scaled beasts were the first to slip through the breach. Their massive bodies landed on the wasteland, and a foul stench washed over them as they lunged straight for the small trench. A few soldiers fired calmly, but the density of their firepower was far from sufficient. Using the momentum of its charge, one scaled beast slammed violently into the parapet. The earthen cover collapsed with a roar, burying two soldiers beneath the rubble.
"The barrier is broken! We can't hold them! Requesting backup! Requesting backup!"
The desperate screams echoed throughout the entire command chain.
In the command hall, Scholar Su's expression sank to its darkest.
They had already exhausted nearly all available reserves at the main breach. Old Zhou and his men were holding the line at the left flank breach at the cost of continuous casualties every minute; there was absolutely no one to spare for the north. The second-line infantry were still en route, still some distance from the northern sentry post. The distant water could not quench the immediate thirst.
"Notify the northern squad to abandon the outer trenches and fall back inward! Use the second line of interception fortifications to buy time! Stall as long as possible until reinforcements arrive!" Scholar Su ordered swiftly, before turning to the officer in charge of special operations beside him. "We can discuss the reserved counterattack plan now."
Inside the rocky hill observation shed, Lin Yan's attention was forced to split in two.
On one hand, he watched the beast herd continuously pouring out from the main breach. Old Zhou's squad was losing members. Just moments ago, another member had failed to dodge in time, his chest torn open by a scaled beast's claws, losing his life instantly. The remaining three were all wounded, relying on sheer grit to take turns swinging their oscillation stingers, barely suppressing the pace of the beasts' emergence to prevent the breach from widening further.
On the other hand, the heat signatures of the flanking squad in the north were spreading frantically across the screen; they had already torn open a second breakthrough point.
The fine threads of his Sea of Consciousness pierced through the rock strata, continuing to track the movements of the five ancient beings in the cavern.
Sensing the success in the north, the Beast Commander's consciousness lifted slightly. It immediately dispatched over twenty more scaled beasts from the buffer rock hall, transporting them through the side channels to the northern rift intersections to consolidate the newly opened breach. The intention was to widen both breaches simultaneously, leaving the human defense line unable to cope with both ends.
The Sharp-Sense Ancient Being continued to harass the remaining Sea of Consciousness cultivators. Fragmented psychic cuts came in relentless waves, denying them any chance to gather their consciousness and slowly repair their wounds. Having just unleashed its ultimate attack, its strength had not fully recovered, and it could not deliver another overlapping heavy strike. Yet, this continuous, lingering torture-like attack was still enough to死死 tie down the last remnants of the defense force.
Seizing the opportunity of the defense line's dual-front crisis, the Spiderweb Ancient Being plucked the resonance chains in the underground pipe network once again. Four anchor points within the city became restless simultaneously, and red warning lights lit up in clusters. The remaining healing squads were torn to pieces and were already nearing their absolute limit.
The Illusion Ancient Being remained stationed within the illusion domain outside the main breach, not diverting any forces to the north. Its tactics were steady and ungreedy; it firmly guarded this trap zone, waiting for any squad attempting to push into the rift for a counterattack to walk willingly into its snare.
At the center, the supreme ruler's fluctuations remained calm.
It watched the fires ignite in both directions simultaneously, watching humanity's forces being forcibly divided. Neither anxious nor impatient, it was like a calm chess player, waiting for humanity to make its choice.
"Scholar Su, the north is still receiving reinforcements. The Beast Commander is continuously dispatching scaled beasts to support the second breach," Lin Yan reported in a low voice. "We are currently under pressure at two breaches simultaneously, and our forces are critically insufficient."
"I know," Scholar Su said, his voice heavy. "The command is discussing the deployment of directional neutralizing bombs for the rift. This ammunition is our ultimate trump card, loaded with high-concentration spore neutralizing serum. Once deployed into the main rift channel, it can corrode the spore colonies on a massive scale and temporarily weaken the underlying synchronization field across the entire area. But the cost is immense: the deployment squad must approach the rift entrance closely, stepping right into the Illusion Ancient Being's illusion domain. The risk is extremely high; it is highly probable they will not return."
Lin Yan's heart jolted.
He instantly understood the peril.
The illusion domain lay within the gray fog right outside the main breach, and the Illusion Ancient Being had been waiting there all along. The moment the deployment squad stepped into the foggy zone, they would be divided by the illusions, scattering from one another and falling into the pre-set illusion traps. Before they could even throw the ammunition into the channel, they would be consumed by psychic illusions or ambushed by scaled beasts hiding in the dark.
"The Illusion Ancient Being is still guarding the illusion domain in place. This path carries extreme risk," Lin Yan warned. "And even if the neutralizing bombs are successfully detonated, they can only suppress the synchronization field temporarily. They cannot harm the five ancient beings deep within the cavern; they can only buy us a brief window to catch our breath."
"We are fully aware of the cost," Scholar Su said. "But we have no other choice. The simultaneous collapse of both breaches is only a matter of time. Once those two gaps are completely torn open, a massive beast tide will rush behind the defense line, coordinating with the out-of-control anchor points within the city. The entire bastion will be plunged into a desperate situation."
In the direction of the main breach, the slaughter continued.
Old Zhou's left arm had been pierced by a bone spur. He had hastily bound it with cloth strips to stop the bleeding, but his entire arm had gone numb. He could only wield his oscillation stinger with one hand. Taking advantage of his momentary lapse in strength, a third-tier scaled beast pounced fiercely. His last remaining teammate threw himself forward selflessly, taking the blow with his shoulder. The sickening sound of shattering bones was faintly audible even through the communicator.
"Hold on! Reinforcements are on the way!" Old Zhou roared, his eyes bloodshot. The blue light of his oscillation stinger flared brilliantly as he smashed it down onto the scaled beast's skull.
But he knew clearly that the reinforcements were arriving too slowly. The gunfire and roars from the north were growing clearer and clearer. The pressure from both battlefields was like two massive mountains, pressing down simultaneously on the West Bastion's defense line.
Lin Yan closed his eyes, once again cautiously probing toward the depths of the cavern.
The consciousness of the five ancient beings continued to resonate in harmony, their coordination methodical. They had not rushed into a full-scale general assault just because they had opened a second breach; they continued to advance steadily, consuming the garrison's strength bit by bit.
The supreme ruler's core consciousness shifted slightly, transmitting a brief synchronization signal to the other four ancient beings.
Receiving the signal, the Beast Commander slowed the pace of reinforcements to the north. Instead, it redirected a portion of the scaled beasts lurking in the shallow intersections, having them quietly circle toward the edge of the illusion domain outside the main breach to set up an ambush.
Lin Yan's pupils contracted, and he shouted immediately, "Careful! They've anticipated that we might send an assault deployment squad! There are newly added scaled beast ambushes on the perimeter of the Illusion Ancient Being's illusion domain!"
The darkness had long ago predicted that humanity would play this trump card.
Regardless of whether the neutralizing bombs were deployed, or whether a squad was sent to push into the rift, the five ancient beings had already prepared their countermeasures in advance.
A brief silence fell over the command hall.
Scholar Su took a deep breath, his voice echoing across the channel: "Special deployment squad, assemble and equip anti-illusion helmets. Everyone, understand the mission: Pass through the illusion domain and deliver the neutralizing bombs into the main channel. We have no guarantee of victory, but we must try."
Smoke billowed across the wasteland, and both breaches bled endlessly.
A desperate, life-risking counterattack card was about to be played. And in the shadows of the rift, the illusion arrays and ambushers had been waiting for a long time.
End of Chapter.
This sector had originally been guarded by only half an infantry squad, with no Sea of Consciousness cultivators assigned. The barrier here relied entirely on mechanical energy to hold. The gray fog was thick and visibility was extremely poor. By the time the sentries spotted the quietly approaching squad of scaled beasts through their thermal imaging, the enemy was already less than thirty meters from the barrier.
"North! A beast herd is flanking us! Over thirty of them, including two third-tier beasts!"
The brief alarm shattered the silence on the channel.
The squad leader immediately ordered them to open fire. The piercing weapons mounted on the cover roared, and metal arrows tore through the gray fog, pinning into the bodies of the scaled beasts at the forefront. But without the resonance buff of Sea of Consciousness cultivators, the energy membrane of this section of the barrier was inherently thin. After a few heavy impacts, cracks spread rapidly across its surface.
With a dull boom, a small section of the barrier shattered completely.
The two third-tier scaled beasts were the first to slip through the breach. Their massive bodies landed on the wasteland, and a foul stench washed over them as they lunged straight for the small trench. A few soldiers fired calmly, but the density of their firepower was far from sufficient. Using the momentum of its charge, one scaled beast slammed violently into the parapet. The earthen cover collapsed with a roar, burying two soldiers beneath the rubble.
"The barrier is broken! We can't hold them! Requesting backup! Requesting backup!"
The desperate screams echoed throughout the entire command chain.
In the command hall, Scholar Su's expression sank to its darkest.
They had already exhausted nearly all available reserves at the main breach. Old Zhou and his men were holding the line at the left flank breach at the cost of continuous casualties every minute; there was absolutely no one to spare for the north. The second-line infantry were still en route, still some distance from the northern sentry post. The distant water could not quench the immediate thirst.
"Notify the northern squad to abandon the outer trenches and fall back inward! Use the second line of interception fortifications to buy time! Stall as long as possible until reinforcements arrive!" Scholar Su ordered swiftly, before turning to the officer in charge of special operations beside him. "We can discuss the reserved counterattack plan now."
Inside the rocky hill observation shed, Lin Yan's attention was forced to split in two.
On one hand, he watched the beast herd continuously pouring out from the main breach. Old Zhou's squad was losing members. Just moments ago, another member had failed to dodge in time, his chest torn open by a scaled beast's claws, losing his life instantly. The remaining three were all wounded, relying on sheer grit to take turns swinging their oscillation stingers, barely suppressing the pace of the beasts' emergence to prevent the breach from widening further.
On the other hand, the heat signatures of the flanking squad in the north were spreading frantically across the screen; they had already torn open a second breakthrough point.
The fine threads of his Sea of Consciousness pierced through the rock strata, continuing to track the movements of the five ancient beings in the cavern.
Sensing the success in the north, the Beast Commander's consciousness lifted slightly. It immediately dispatched over twenty more scaled beasts from the buffer rock hall, transporting them through the side channels to the northern rift intersections to consolidate the newly opened breach. The intention was to widen both breaches simultaneously, leaving the human defense line unable to cope with both ends.
The Sharp-Sense Ancient Being continued to harass the remaining Sea of Consciousness cultivators. Fragmented psychic cuts came in relentless waves, denying them any chance to gather their consciousness and slowly repair their wounds. Having just unleashed its ultimate attack, its strength had not fully recovered, and it could not deliver another overlapping heavy strike. Yet, this continuous, lingering torture-like attack was still enough to死死 tie down the last remnants of the defense force.
Seizing the opportunity of the defense line's dual-front crisis, the Spiderweb Ancient Being plucked the resonance chains in the underground pipe network once again. Four anchor points within the city became restless simultaneously, and red warning lights lit up in clusters. The remaining healing squads were torn to pieces and were already nearing their absolute limit.
The Illusion Ancient Being remained stationed within the illusion domain outside the main breach, not diverting any forces to the north. Its tactics were steady and ungreedy; it firmly guarded this trap zone, waiting for any squad attempting to push into the rift for a counterattack to walk willingly into its snare.
At the center, the supreme ruler's fluctuations remained calm.
It watched the fires ignite in both directions simultaneously, watching humanity's forces being forcibly divided. Neither anxious nor impatient, it was like a calm chess player, waiting for humanity to make its choice.
"Scholar Su, the north is still receiving reinforcements. The Beast Commander is continuously dispatching scaled beasts to support the second breach," Lin Yan reported in a low voice. "We are currently under pressure at two breaches simultaneously, and our forces are critically insufficient."
"I know," Scholar Su said, his voice heavy. "The command is discussing the deployment of directional neutralizing bombs for the rift. This ammunition is our ultimate trump card, loaded with high-concentration spore neutralizing serum. Once deployed into the main rift channel, it can corrode the spore colonies on a massive scale and temporarily weaken the underlying synchronization field across the entire area. But the cost is immense: the deployment squad must approach the rift entrance closely, stepping right into the Illusion Ancient Being's illusion domain. The risk is extremely high; it is highly probable they will not return."
Lin Yan's heart jolted.
He instantly understood the peril.
The illusion domain lay within the gray fog right outside the main breach, and the Illusion Ancient Being had been waiting there all along. The moment the deployment squad stepped into the foggy zone, they would be divided by the illusions, scattering from one another and falling into the pre-set illusion traps. Before they could even throw the ammunition into the channel, they would be consumed by psychic illusions or ambushed by scaled beasts hiding in the dark.
"The Illusion Ancient Being is still guarding the illusion domain in place. This path carries extreme risk," Lin Yan warned. "And even if the neutralizing bombs are successfully detonated, they can only suppress the synchronization field temporarily. They cannot harm the five ancient beings deep within the cavern; they can only buy us a brief window to catch our breath."
"We are fully aware of the cost," Scholar Su said. "But we have no other choice. The simultaneous collapse of both breaches is only a matter of time. Once those two gaps are completely torn open, a massive beast tide will rush behind the defense line, coordinating with the out-of-control anchor points within the city. The entire bastion will be plunged into a desperate situation."
In the direction of the main breach, the slaughter continued.
Old Zhou's left arm had been pierced by a bone spur. He had hastily bound it with cloth strips to stop the bleeding, but his entire arm had gone numb. He could only wield his oscillation stinger with one hand. Taking advantage of his momentary lapse in strength, a third-tier scaled beast pounced fiercely. His last remaining teammate threw himself forward selflessly, taking the blow with his shoulder. The sickening sound of shattering bones was faintly audible even through the communicator.
"Hold on! Reinforcements are on the way!" Old Zhou roared, his eyes bloodshot. The blue light of his oscillation stinger flared brilliantly as he smashed it down onto the scaled beast's skull.
But he knew clearly that the reinforcements were arriving too slowly. The gunfire and roars from the north were growing clearer and clearer. The pressure from both battlefields was like two massive mountains, pressing down simultaneously on the West Bastion's defense line.
Lin Yan closed his eyes, once again cautiously probing toward the depths of the cavern.
The consciousness of the five ancient beings continued to resonate in harmony, their coordination methodical. They had not rushed into a full-scale general assault just because they had opened a second breach; they continued to advance steadily, consuming the garrison's strength bit by bit.
The supreme ruler's core consciousness shifted slightly, transmitting a brief synchronization signal to the other four ancient beings.
Receiving the signal, the Beast Commander slowed the pace of reinforcements to the north. Instead, it redirected a portion of the scaled beasts lurking in the shallow intersections, having them quietly circle toward the edge of the illusion domain outside the main breach to set up an ambush.
Lin Yan's pupils contracted, and he shouted immediately, "Careful! They've anticipated that we might send an assault deployment squad! There are newly added scaled beast ambushes on the perimeter of the Illusion Ancient Being's illusion domain!"
The darkness had long ago predicted that humanity would play this trump card.
Regardless of whether the neutralizing bombs were deployed, or whether a squad was sent to push into the rift, the five ancient beings had already prepared their countermeasures in advance.
A brief silence fell over the command hall.
Scholar Su took a deep breath, his voice echoing across the channel: "Special deployment squad, assemble and equip anti-illusion helmets. Everyone, understand the mission: Pass through the illusion domain and deliver the neutralizing bombs into the main channel. We have no guarantee of victory, but we must try."
Smoke billowed across the wasteland, and both breaches bled endlessly.
A desperate, life-risking counterattack card was about to be played. And in the shadows of the rift, the illusion arrays and ambushers had been waiting for a long time.
End of Chapter.