Chapter 207: Sealing the Breach with Flesh and Blood
The gunsmoke had dyed the entire left flank position a hazy, ashen gray.
The number of scaled beasts pouring through the breach in the barrier was accumulating endlessly. The ordinary scaled beasts consumed themselves at the forefront, while the third-tier scaled beasts pressed from behind, occasionally surging forward to smash the already depleted human formation, forcing them to retreat step by step. The original trench defense line had been compressed to less than twenty meters from the breach. The fallen soldiers and beast corpses were piled in layers, forming a slippery, foul-smelling mound of flesh on the sandy ground. Black blood seeped down through the crevices of the sand, making every step treacherously slippery.
Old Zhou's vision was already blurring. The chill of blood loss was crawling up his limbs toward his heart. He manipulated his oscillation stinger with one hand, its blue light as faint as a candle in a gale. Every single swing required him to overdraw his remaining strength. Just moments ago, a second-tier scaled beast had lunged at him during a moment of exhaustion. A young recruit beside him had thrown his own body in the way; the beast's long bone spur had pierced the recruit's abdominal cavity. The youth had let out a muffled groan, desperately hugging the beast's leg to stop it from advancing, buying Old Zhou the precious fraction of a second he needed to thrust his stinger.
"Hold the line! Don't retreat!" Old Zhou roared, smashing his oscillation stinger down onto the base of the beast's skull. As he watched the young recruit slump softly to the ground, it felt as though a block of ice was pressing heavily against his heart.
He knew that if they retreated any further, the rear temporary medical station and the ammunition depot would be exposed. If the beast tide broke through this line, the wounded, the medicines, and the reserve ammunition would be destroyed in a matter of moments, and the very foundation of the bastion's resistance would be severed.
On the Sea of Consciousness defense front, they had reached the point of total exhaustion.
The Sharp-Sense Ancient Being's low-frequency tremors did not cease, washing over the remaining cultivators' Seas of Consciousness wave after wave. The forces, originally divided into two rotating groups, now had only four people left who could maintain clear perception. They leaned shoulder to shoulder, twisting their Sea of Consciousness power into a frail rope, barely offsetting a portion of the psychic impact. They no longer had any surplus strength to share the mental burden of the frontline soldiers.
A cultivator had blood flowing from his nasal cavity, his vision going black. His Sea of Consciousness link snapped abruptly, and he fell straight to the ground. The remaining three shuddered at the shoulders, their resonance strength dropping once again. The ancient being's whispers in their ears suddenly became much clearer.
"Hold on! As long as you can still perceive, do not let the link break!" The defense captain gritted his teeth, blood seeping from the corners of his mouth. The interior of his Sea of Consciousness was already covered in intersecting wounds; every extra breath he maintained caused permanent damage to his foundation.
Taking advantage of the chaos in the battle lines, the Illusion Ancient Being continuously threw out instantaneous psychic stabs.
A cannon operator loading piercing rounds suddenly saw his vision blur. He saw the ammunition crate crawling with writhing spore worms. His hand violently trembled, and the shell dropped to the ground. Although it did not detonate, the delay cost them their firing window. A scaled beast seized the gap and rushed close, only to be desperately intercepted by two nearby soldiers. These small-scale illusionary interferences did not consume much of the ancient being's original source, but they continuously manufactured mistakes, magnifying the defenders' flaws bit by bit.
In the direction of the far northern end, the gunfire was equally frantic.
By the time the last reserve squad arrived, the flanking squad of scaled beasts had already crept to the edge of the fortifications. Two third-tier scaled beasts led the charge, ramming the weak secondary barrier. The soldiers relied on steel plate covers to fire frantically, and the casualty count continued to climb. They could not call for support; the main breach side had no surplus manpower to spare. The two battle lines could only fight independently.
Deep within the cavern, the consciousness of the five ancient beings coordinated methodically.
The Beast Commander continuously dispatched reserve scaled beasts into the main breach. It was in no rush to release all its remaining reserves at once, maintaining a steady rate of deployment so that the defenders were forever trapped in a cycle of felling one batch only for the next to charge in, leaving their stamina and ammunition no chance to recover. It had marked Old Zhou as a persistent obstruction target and quietly arranged for two third-tier scaled beasts in peak condition to wait for an opportunity to launch a concentrated pincer attack.
While maintaining the tremors, the Sharp-Sense Ancient Being slowly accumulated psychic spikes, aiming at the three remaining Sea of Consciousness cultivators, waiting for a chance to shatter their resonance link in a single blow.
The Spiderweb Ancient Being continued to take turns igniting the near-suburb anchor points. Alarms sounded at regular intervals. The serum squads rushed back and forth, their supplies of calming agents rapidly hitting rock bottom. Many residents had developed continuous auditory hallucinations and began fleeing in panic, adding yet another layer of pressure to the rear security.
The supreme ruler's consciousness quietly overlooked the entire battlefield.
It was evaluating the limits of humanity's will to resist, without pressing forward with all its might. In its eyes, this was a prolonged experiment in attrition, testing how much casualty this bastion's garrison could endure and how long they could hold out. It had even kept a portion of the main scaled beast force hidden in the dark intersections as its final trump card for closing the net, refusing to deploy it easily unless the defense line collapsed completely.
"Report to command: The main breach garrison continues to suffer casualties. Only three members remain in the Sea of Consciousness defense group," Lin Yan's voice was heavy with suppressed emotion. His Sea of Consciousness was repeatedly swept by the residual synchronization waves of the ancient beings, sending waves of stinging pain. "The Beast Commander has assigned two third-tier scaled beasts to lock onto Old Zhou, preparing for a pincer attack. The northern defense line has barely stabilized, but they are critically low on ammunition. We have no reinforcements."
A deathly silence fell over the command hall.
Scholar Su looked down at the casualty statistics sheet. New names were added to the paper, one after another. He turned his head to look at the logistics officer, who gave a definitive shake of his head: Ammunition, calming agents, and anti-illusion equipment—all were completely depleted.
"Notify everyone on the frontline," Scholar Su said in a hoarse voice, his words echoing across the entire communication link. "There are no reinforcements. There are no new neutralizing bombs. For every extra moment we can hold the line, we buy the civilians behind the bastion one more moment to evacuate."
As the news spread, there were no cries or wails in the trenches, only a profound, bone-deep silence. The soldiers checked their last remaining ammunition, gripping their short blades and entrenching tools, fully preparing for close-quarters melee.
At the rift breach, the two third-tier scaled beasts moved simultaneously.
Flanking left and right, they bypassed the beast herd currently entangled with other soldiers. Lowering their heads, bone spurs pointing outward, they enveloped the utterly exhausted Old Zhou. The surrounding ordinary scaled beasts surged forward in unison, blocking the path for any nearby soldiers to come to his aid.
"Old Zhou! Left! Right! Third-tiers attacking simultaneously!" Lin Yan intercepted the Beast Commander's deployment signal at the first instance and issued a fierce warning.
Old Zhou raised his eyes. The shadows of the two behemoths had already descended upon him. His foot slipped on the viscous black blood, causing him to stagger half a step. The energy light of his oscillation stinger was on the verge of extinguishing.
He took a deep breath, stabilizing his center of gravity, bracing himself to take the pincer attack head-on.
The two soldiers nearest to him exchanged a glance. Without hesitation, they gripped their weapons and charged directly at the third-tier scaled beast on the left, using their own bodies to share the pressure on Old Zhou's flank.
The roars of beasts, the clash of weapons, and the snapping of bones exploded within the gunsmoke.
Above the wasteland, blood continued to soak into the sand. The defense line built of flesh and blood teetered on the brink of collapse. Deep within the subterranean cavern, the consciousness of the five ancient lizard beings remained calm, quietly waiting to deliver the final blow that would crush this defense line.
End of Chapter.
The number of scaled beasts pouring through the breach in the barrier was accumulating endlessly. The ordinary scaled beasts consumed themselves at the forefront, while the third-tier scaled beasts pressed from behind, occasionally surging forward to smash the already depleted human formation, forcing them to retreat step by step. The original trench defense line had been compressed to less than twenty meters from the breach. The fallen soldiers and beast corpses were piled in layers, forming a slippery, foul-smelling mound of flesh on the sandy ground. Black blood seeped down through the crevices of the sand, making every step treacherously slippery.
Old Zhou's vision was already blurring. The chill of blood loss was crawling up his limbs toward his heart. He manipulated his oscillation stinger with one hand, its blue light as faint as a candle in a gale. Every single swing required him to overdraw his remaining strength. Just moments ago, a second-tier scaled beast had lunged at him during a moment of exhaustion. A young recruit beside him had thrown his own body in the way; the beast's long bone spur had pierced the recruit's abdominal cavity. The youth had let out a muffled groan, desperately hugging the beast's leg to stop it from advancing, buying Old Zhou the precious fraction of a second he needed to thrust his stinger.
"Hold the line! Don't retreat!" Old Zhou roared, smashing his oscillation stinger down onto the base of the beast's skull. As he watched the young recruit slump softly to the ground, it felt as though a block of ice was pressing heavily against his heart.
He knew that if they retreated any further, the rear temporary medical station and the ammunition depot would be exposed. If the beast tide broke through this line, the wounded, the medicines, and the reserve ammunition would be destroyed in a matter of moments, and the very foundation of the bastion's resistance would be severed.
On the Sea of Consciousness defense front, they had reached the point of total exhaustion.
The Sharp-Sense Ancient Being's low-frequency tremors did not cease, washing over the remaining cultivators' Seas of Consciousness wave after wave. The forces, originally divided into two rotating groups, now had only four people left who could maintain clear perception. They leaned shoulder to shoulder, twisting their Sea of Consciousness power into a frail rope, barely offsetting a portion of the psychic impact. They no longer had any surplus strength to share the mental burden of the frontline soldiers.
A cultivator had blood flowing from his nasal cavity, his vision going black. His Sea of Consciousness link snapped abruptly, and he fell straight to the ground. The remaining three shuddered at the shoulders, their resonance strength dropping once again. The ancient being's whispers in their ears suddenly became much clearer.
"Hold on! As long as you can still perceive, do not let the link break!" The defense captain gritted his teeth, blood seeping from the corners of his mouth. The interior of his Sea of Consciousness was already covered in intersecting wounds; every extra breath he maintained caused permanent damage to his foundation.
Taking advantage of the chaos in the battle lines, the Illusion Ancient Being continuously threw out instantaneous psychic stabs.
A cannon operator loading piercing rounds suddenly saw his vision blur. He saw the ammunition crate crawling with writhing spore worms. His hand violently trembled, and the shell dropped to the ground. Although it did not detonate, the delay cost them their firing window. A scaled beast seized the gap and rushed close, only to be desperately intercepted by two nearby soldiers. These small-scale illusionary interferences did not consume much of the ancient being's original source, but they continuously manufactured mistakes, magnifying the defenders' flaws bit by bit.
In the direction of the far northern end, the gunfire was equally frantic.
By the time the last reserve squad arrived, the flanking squad of scaled beasts had already crept to the edge of the fortifications. Two third-tier scaled beasts led the charge, ramming the weak secondary barrier. The soldiers relied on steel plate covers to fire frantically, and the casualty count continued to climb. They could not call for support; the main breach side had no surplus manpower to spare. The two battle lines could only fight independently.
Deep within the cavern, the consciousness of the five ancient beings coordinated methodically.
The Beast Commander continuously dispatched reserve scaled beasts into the main breach. It was in no rush to release all its remaining reserves at once, maintaining a steady rate of deployment so that the defenders were forever trapped in a cycle of felling one batch only for the next to charge in, leaving their stamina and ammunition no chance to recover. It had marked Old Zhou as a persistent obstruction target and quietly arranged for two third-tier scaled beasts in peak condition to wait for an opportunity to launch a concentrated pincer attack.
While maintaining the tremors, the Sharp-Sense Ancient Being slowly accumulated psychic spikes, aiming at the three remaining Sea of Consciousness cultivators, waiting for a chance to shatter their resonance link in a single blow.
The Spiderweb Ancient Being continued to take turns igniting the near-suburb anchor points. Alarms sounded at regular intervals. The serum squads rushed back and forth, their supplies of calming agents rapidly hitting rock bottom. Many residents had developed continuous auditory hallucinations and began fleeing in panic, adding yet another layer of pressure to the rear security.
The supreme ruler's consciousness quietly overlooked the entire battlefield.
It was evaluating the limits of humanity's will to resist, without pressing forward with all its might. In its eyes, this was a prolonged experiment in attrition, testing how much casualty this bastion's garrison could endure and how long they could hold out. It had even kept a portion of the main scaled beast force hidden in the dark intersections as its final trump card for closing the net, refusing to deploy it easily unless the defense line collapsed completely.
"Report to command: The main breach garrison continues to suffer casualties. Only three members remain in the Sea of Consciousness defense group," Lin Yan's voice was heavy with suppressed emotion. His Sea of Consciousness was repeatedly swept by the residual synchronization waves of the ancient beings, sending waves of stinging pain. "The Beast Commander has assigned two third-tier scaled beasts to lock onto Old Zhou, preparing for a pincer attack. The northern defense line has barely stabilized, but they are critically low on ammunition. We have no reinforcements."
A deathly silence fell over the command hall.
Scholar Su looked down at the casualty statistics sheet. New names were added to the paper, one after another. He turned his head to look at the logistics officer, who gave a definitive shake of his head: Ammunition, calming agents, and anti-illusion equipment—all were completely depleted.
"Notify everyone on the frontline," Scholar Su said in a hoarse voice, his words echoing across the entire communication link. "There are no reinforcements. There are no new neutralizing bombs. For every extra moment we can hold the line, we buy the civilians behind the bastion one more moment to evacuate."
As the news spread, there were no cries or wails in the trenches, only a profound, bone-deep silence. The soldiers checked their last remaining ammunition, gripping their short blades and entrenching tools, fully preparing for close-quarters melee.
At the rift breach, the two third-tier scaled beasts moved simultaneously.
Flanking left and right, they bypassed the beast herd currently entangled with other soldiers. Lowering their heads, bone spurs pointing outward, they enveloped the utterly exhausted Old Zhou. The surrounding ordinary scaled beasts surged forward in unison, blocking the path for any nearby soldiers to come to his aid.
"Old Zhou! Left! Right! Third-tiers attacking simultaneously!" Lin Yan intercepted the Beast Commander's deployment signal at the first instance and issued a fierce warning.
Old Zhou raised his eyes. The shadows of the two behemoths had already descended upon him. His foot slipped on the viscous black blood, causing him to stagger half a step. The energy light of his oscillation stinger was on the verge of extinguishing.
He took a deep breath, stabilizing his center of gravity, bracing himself to take the pincer attack head-on.
The two soldiers nearest to him exchanged a glance. Without hesitation, they gripped their weapons and charged directly at the third-tier scaled beast on the left, using their own bodies to share the pressure on Old Zhou's flank.
The roars of beasts, the clash of weapons, and the snapping of bones exploded within the gunsmoke.
Above the wasteland, blood continued to soak into the sand. The defense line built of flesh and blood teetered on the brink of collapse. Deep within the subterranean cavern, the consciousness of the five ancient lizard beings remained calm, quietly waiting to deliver the final blow that would crush this defense line.
End of Chapter.