Chapter 215: The Golden Gate Trembles and Cracks
The sounds of impact came in an unbroken succession. Every time the skull of a third-tier scaled beast slammed against the alloy door, the entire stretch of the city wall resonated and trembled in unison.
Sparks of metal debris rained down through the seams of the door. The originally seamless gap between the massive doors was being shaken wider and wider, allowing the cold wind, carrying the stench of spores, to blow into the gate tunnel. The engineer responsible for monitoring the hydraulic system stared fixedly at the jumping gauges, the needle sliding downward relentlessly. White hydraulic mist, leaking from the pipelines, filled the gate tunnel.
"Pressure has dropped below 20%! The main load-bearing frame of the door has already developed cracks!" the engineer reported to the command hall in a trembling voice. "If it takes three more full-force rams, the locking structure will most likely snap directly!"
The piercing cannons on the city wall roared ceaselessly, prioritizing their shells toward the four third-tier scaled beasts taking turns ramming the door. Black blood flowed down from the hard skulls of the behemoths. One scaled beast took another hit to its eye socket. Agonized, it thrashed its head wildly, yet it did not retreat. After a brief pause, it lowered its head again, gathering its strength to charge at the door once more.
The psychic tide washed over the city wall, wave upon wave.
The Sharp-Sense Ancient Being did not slow its output. The heavy, oppressive consciousness continued to crush the Seas of Consciousness of everyone inside the city. Many soldiers on the wall were already suffering from relentless tinnitus, their vision going black intermittently. They could only rely on their companions to constantly slap them and repeatedly shout code words to maintain their clarity. A gunner had just finished loading a shell when a hallucination suddenly flashed before his eyes: his own child lying dead beneath the claws of a scaled beast. His hand trembled, and the shell fell directly beside the cannon position. He stood frozen, on the verge of losing control, until a non-commissioned officer beside him delivered a fierce punch to his shoulder, roaring the code word to barely pull him back to reality.
The Illusion Ancient Being continued to shift its imagery.
Some saw the outside of the city wall covered in dense scaled beasts, already climbing over the embrasures. Others saw the inner city shelter submerged in spores, cries of agony echoing from underground. Still others saw the city gates shatter, the black beast tide pouring into the tunnel. These illusions were indistinguishable from reality, continuously eroding the mental fortitude that was already at its absolute limit. The defenders had to fight the physical siege while simultaneously battling the endless terror in their own minds.
Inside the rocky hill observation shed, Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness remained firmly anchored to two core targets: the beast herd beneath the city wall and the flow of consciousness of the five ancient beings in the subterranean cavern.
"The Beast Commander is still arranging for the third-tier scaled beasts to take turns ramming the door, with the ordinary scaled beasts standing by on both sides, waiting to flood into the tunnel the moment the gate breaks," Lin Yan transmitted the intelligence steadily, cold sweat dripping from his brow onto the control panel. "The three high-level spore nodes of the Spiderweb Ancient Being remain locked and have not been detonated. The supreme ruler is holding it back, waiting for the moment when the city gate defense is on the verge of collapse to detonate them inside the inner city, creating chaos with a pincer attack from both inside and outside."
In the command hall, Scholar Su walked to the sand table of the city wall's situation, his finger tapping heavily on the location of the main city gate.
"Demolition team, listen up," he said in a deep voice, his words echoing through the channel. "Once the locking structure of the city gate snaps and the door panel collapses inward, immediately detonate the blocking explosives pre-buried in the gate tunnel. The explosives will not kill the third-tier scaled beasts, but the shockwave and neutralizing powder can briefly delay their charging rhythm, buying time for the wall defenders to adjust their formation."
The demolition experts hidden in the side compartments of the gate tunnel responded in low voices, their fingers gripping the detonator switches tightly, their eyes never leaving the massive door.
Outside the city, a new round of impacts followed closely.
BOOM!
This time, two third-tier scaled beasts coordinated their ramming, their forces叠加 (stacked) together. The center of the alloy door dented violently inward, and several spiderweb-like cracks spread outward across the steel plate. The thick locking bolts securing the door emitted a piercing, agonizing metallic groan. One bolt snapped directly, falling to the ground with a loud clang.
"One main lock is broken! Three left!" the engineer cried out in despair.
The hearts of everyone on the city wall sank with the news.
Sensing the damage signal from the door, the Beast Commander's consciousness vibrated with excitement. It immediately adjusted the rotation order, pushing the two third-tier scaled beasts in the best condition to the front, while the other two wounded ones temporarily retreated to rest. The two intact behemoths lowered their centers of gravity, bone spurs pointing forward, their massive muscles tensing as they prepared for the next impact.
Deep within the cavern, the consciousness of the five ancient beings resonated quietly.
The Sharp-Sense Ancient Being maintained a steady output of psychic impact, neither increasing nor decreasing, sustaining this rhythm of continuous attrition. The Illusion Ancient Being shifted the focus of its illusions to the inside of the city gate, specifically manufacturing the false image of the door already being broken, tempting the defenders into prematurely detonating the explosives and wasting this trump card. The Spiderweb Ancient Being firmly held the detonation rights of the three spore nodes, quietly awaiting the supreme ruler's command. The Beast Commander focused entirely on dispatching the frontline beast tide with a steady, unhurried rhythm. The supreme ruler's consciousness hovered above all its kin, slowly observing humanity's countermeasures and assessing the threat level of the explosives.
It had seen the existence of the pre-buried explosives, yet it did not order the beast herd to retreat and evade. In its eyes, a single explosion was merely a brief hindrance, insufficient to reverse the outcome. Instead, it could be used to test the true power of humanity's final trump card.
"Beware of illusion inducement! They are trying to trick us into detonating early! Without my command, the demolition team must absolutely not press the switch!" Scholar Su quickly saw through the intent of the Illusion Ancient Being and issued an urgent supplementary order.
The demolition expert snapped back to his senses. Just a moment ago, he had clearly seen the entire door panel collapse in his vision, the beast tide already rushing into the tunnel, and he had almost subconsciously pressed the detonator. He bit his tongue hard, the intense pain dispelling the illusion as he steadied his mind once more.
In the next moment, the two fresh third-tier scaled beasts initiated their charge simultaneously.
Their heavy hooves trampled the ground, sending sand and gravel flying. The bodies of the two behemoths, like moving iron anvils, slammed fiercely into the alloy door that was already covered in cracks.
Crack—
The piercing sound of snapping metal drowned out the beast roars.
Two more main locking bolts broke in succession, leaving only the last one barely holding the door panel. The door tilted inward at a terrifying angle. Through the massive gap, the crimson vertical pupils of the scaled beasts were clearly visible, and the foul, hot wind poured into the tunnel in a rush.
"Only the last lock remains! It won't survive the next impact!" the engineer roared.
The artillery crews on the city wall gave their all, concentrating their fire on these two behemoths. Shells rained down upon them, black blood gushing forth. One scaled beast had its front leg shattered by a shell, its massive body crashing heavily to the ground. But the other, completely unharmed third-tier scaled beast, had already retreated to gather momentum, preparing to deliver the final, decisive ram that would determine the fate of the gate.
The Beast Commander issued a standby order to the rest of the waiting scaled beasts.
The ordinary scaled beasts waiting on both sides slowly gathered forward, piling densely in front of the main gate. They were ready to flood into the tunnel the moment the gate broke open, expanding the breach.
Lin Yan stared at the signal changes from the direction of the cavern and quickly reported loudly: "The supreme ruler has sent a signal to the Spiderweb Ancient Being! Once the city gate breaks, immediately detonate the three spore nodes inside the inner city! The inner city shelter will simultaneously erupt with psychic illusions and spore contamination!"
The news spread through the entire communication link, casting a layer of frost over everyone's hearts.
Outside the city gate was the beast tide; inside the city gate, a spore catastrophe was about to erupt. With fires breaking out simultaneously from both the inside and the outside, the defenders simply could not cope.
Scholar Su took a deep breath and gripped the communicator. "All inner city military police squads, immediately rush to the designated areas of the three nodes to set up defenses. Seal the secondary ventilation shafts in the shelter level and prepare to receive the psychic impact. All wall personnel, aim at the last third-tier scaled beast preparing to ram the door, concentrate fire!"
All cannon barrels swiveled, uniformly locking onto the behemoth.
The beast lowered its head, its bone spur aimed precisely at the crack in the door panel, its massive body accelerating into a sprint.
The wind from the wasteland carried the heavy stench of blood, and the beast roars shook the city wall so hard that bricks and stones fell in a shower of dust.
The final impact had arrived.
End of Chapter.
Sparks of metal debris rained down through the seams of the door. The originally seamless gap between the massive doors was being shaken wider and wider, allowing the cold wind, carrying the stench of spores, to blow into the gate tunnel. The engineer responsible for monitoring the hydraulic system stared fixedly at the jumping gauges, the needle sliding downward relentlessly. White hydraulic mist, leaking from the pipelines, filled the gate tunnel.
"Pressure has dropped below 20%! The main load-bearing frame of the door has already developed cracks!" the engineer reported to the command hall in a trembling voice. "If it takes three more full-force rams, the locking structure will most likely snap directly!"
The piercing cannons on the city wall roared ceaselessly, prioritizing their shells toward the four third-tier scaled beasts taking turns ramming the door. Black blood flowed down from the hard skulls of the behemoths. One scaled beast took another hit to its eye socket. Agonized, it thrashed its head wildly, yet it did not retreat. After a brief pause, it lowered its head again, gathering its strength to charge at the door once more.
The psychic tide washed over the city wall, wave upon wave.
The Sharp-Sense Ancient Being did not slow its output. The heavy, oppressive consciousness continued to crush the Seas of Consciousness of everyone inside the city. Many soldiers on the wall were already suffering from relentless tinnitus, their vision going black intermittently. They could only rely on their companions to constantly slap them and repeatedly shout code words to maintain their clarity. A gunner had just finished loading a shell when a hallucination suddenly flashed before his eyes: his own child lying dead beneath the claws of a scaled beast. His hand trembled, and the shell fell directly beside the cannon position. He stood frozen, on the verge of losing control, until a non-commissioned officer beside him delivered a fierce punch to his shoulder, roaring the code word to barely pull him back to reality.
The Illusion Ancient Being continued to shift its imagery.
Some saw the outside of the city wall covered in dense scaled beasts, already climbing over the embrasures. Others saw the inner city shelter submerged in spores, cries of agony echoing from underground. Still others saw the city gates shatter, the black beast tide pouring into the tunnel. These illusions were indistinguishable from reality, continuously eroding the mental fortitude that was already at its absolute limit. The defenders had to fight the physical siege while simultaneously battling the endless terror in their own minds.
Inside the rocky hill observation shed, Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness remained firmly anchored to two core targets: the beast herd beneath the city wall and the flow of consciousness of the five ancient beings in the subterranean cavern.
"The Beast Commander is still arranging for the third-tier scaled beasts to take turns ramming the door, with the ordinary scaled beasts standing by on both sides, waiting to flood into the tunnel the moment the gate breaks," Lin Yan transmitted the intelligence steadily, cold sweat dripping from his brow onto the control panel. "The three high-level spore nodes of the Spiderweb Ancient Being remain locked and have not been detonated. The supreme ruler is holding it back, waiting for the moment when the city gate defense is on the verge of collapse to detonate them inside the inner city, creating chaos with a pincer attack from both inside and outside."
In the command hall, Scholar Su walked to the sand table of the city wall's situation, his finger tapping heavily on the location of the main city gate.
"Demolition team, listen up," he said in a deep voice, his words echoing through the channel. "Once the locking structure of the city gate snaps and the door panel collapses inward, immediately detonate the blocking explosives pre-buried in the gate tunnel. The explosives will not kill the third-tier scaled beasts, but the shockwave and neutralizing powder can briefly delay their charging rhythm, buying time for the wall defenders to adjust their formation."
The demolition experts hidden in the side compartments of the gate tunnel responded in low voices, their fingers gripping the detonator switches tightly, their eyes never leaving the massive door.
Outside the city, a new round of impacts followed closely.
BOOM!
This time, two third-tier scaled beasts coordinated their ramming, their forces叠加 (stacked) together. The center of the alloy door dented violently inward, and several spiderweb-like cracks spread outward across the steel plate. The thick locking bolts securing the door emitted a piercing, agonizing metallic groan. One bolt snapped directly, falling to the ground with a loud clang.
"One main lock is broken! Three left!" the engineer cried out in despair.
The hearts of everyone on the city wall sank with the news.
Sensing the damage signal from the door, the Beast Commander's consciousness vibrated with excitement. It immediately adjusted the rotation order, pushing the two third-tier scaled beasts in the best condition to the front, while the other two wounded ones temporarily retreated to rest. The two intact behemoths lowered their centers of gravity, bone spurs pointing forward, their massive muscles tensing as they prepared for the next impact.
Deep within the cavern, the consciousness of the five ancient beings resonated quietly.
The Sharp-Sense Ancient Being maintained a steady output of psychic impact, neither increasing nor decreasing, sustaining this rhythm of continuous attrition. The Illusion Ancient Being shifted the focus of its illusions to the inside of the city gate, specifically manufacturing the false image of the door already being broken, tempting the defenders into prematurely detonating the explosives and wasting this trump card. The Spiderweb Ancient Being firmly held the detonation rights of the three spore nodes, quietly awaiting the supreme ruler's command. The Beast Commander focused entirely on dispatching the frontline beast tide with a steady, unhurried rhythm. The supreme ruler's consciousness hovered above all its kin, slowly observing humanity's countermeasures and assessing the threat level of the explosives.
It had seen the existence of the pre-buried explosives, yet it did not order the beast herd to retreat and evade. In its eyes, a single explosion was merely a brief hindrance, insufficient to reverse the outcome. Instead, it could be used to test the true power of humanity's final trump card.
"Beware of illusion inducement! They are trying to trick us into detonating early! Without my command, the demolition team must absolutely not press the switch!" Scholar Su quickly saw through the intent of the Illusion Ancient Being and issued an urgent supplementary order.
The demolition expert snapped back to his senses. Just a moment ago, he had clearly seen the entire door panel collapse in his vision, the beast tide already rushing into the tunnel, and he had almost subconsciously pressed the detonator. He bit his tongue hard, the intense pain dispelling the illusion as he steadied his mind once more.
In the next moment, the two fresh third-tier scaled beasts initiated their charge simultaneously.
Their heavy hooves trampled the ground, sending sand and gravel flying. The bodies of the two behemoths, like moving iron anvils, slammed fiercely into the alloy door that was already covered in cracks.
Crack—
The piercing sound of snapping metal drowned out the beast roars.
Two more main locking bolts broke in succession, leaving only the last one barely holding the door panel. The door tilted inward at a terrifying angle. Through the massive gap, the crimson vertical pupils of the scaled beasts were clearly visible, and the foul, hot wind poured into the tunnel in a rush.
"Only the last lock remains! It won't survive the next impact!" the engineer roared.
The artillery crews on the city wall gave their all, concentrating their fire on these two behemoths. Shells rained down upon them, black blood gushing forth. One scaled beast had its front leg shattered by a shell, its massive body crashing heavily to the ground. But the other, completely unharmed third-tier scaled beast, had already retreated to gather momentum, preparing to deliver the final, decisive ram that would determine the fate of the gate.
The Beast Commander issued a standby order to the rest of the waiting scaled beasts.
The ordinary scaled beasts waiting on both sides slowly gathered forward, piling densely in front of the main gate. They were ready to flood into the tunnel the moment the gate broke open, expanding the breach.
Lin Yan stared at the signal changes from the direction of the cavern and quickly reported loudly: "The supreme ruler has sent a signal to the Spiderweb Ancient Being! Once the city gate breaks, immediately detonate the three spore nodes inside the inner city! The inner city shelter will simultaneously erupt with psychic illusions and spore contamination!"
The news spread through the entire communication link, casting a layer of frost over everyone's hearts.
Outside the city gate was the beast tide; inside the city gate, a spore catastrophe was about to erupt. With fires breaking out simultaneously from both the inside and the outside, the defenders simply could not cope.
Scholar Su took a deep breath and gripped the communicator. "All inner city military police squads, immediately rush to the designated areas of the three nodes to set up defenses. Seal the secondary ventilation shafts in the shelter level and prepare to receive the psychic impact. All wall personnel, aim at the last third-tier scaled beast preparing to ram the door, concentrate fire!"
All cannon barrels swiveled, uniformly locking onto the behemoth.
The beast lowered its head, its bone spur aimed precisely at the crack in the door panel, its massive body accelerating into a sprint.
The wind from the wasteland carried the heavy stench of blood, and the beast roars shook the city wall so hard that bricks and stones fell in a shower of dust.
The final impact had arrived.
End of Chapter.