Chapter 18: The Line of Flesh and Blood
The moment the red combat readiness alarm tore through the camp, Lin Yan felt for the first time that the danger in this world was never a controllable assessment like the ruins trial.
That was not a simulated hum; it was a metallic, continuous wail that pierced the eardrums and pressed heavily against the heart. In an instant, the entire training camp plummeted from its orderly training rhythm into a taut state of war. The broadcast repeatedly issued cold warnings: a sudden swarm of scaled beasts had emerged from Rift Three in the south, the outer defense line was in critical condition, and all reserve duty squads were to rush to support immediately.
After half a month of training, Lin Yan had already forged a second-tier peak Sea of Consciousness barrier. His foundation in ancient martial arts allowed his agility, endurance, and reflexes to far surpass those of the other recruits in his batch.
But ultimately, he was an outsider.
He understood the brutal melee of the Jianghu, understood risking one's flesh and blood in combat, and understood the unorthodox tactics of defeating the strong with the weak. Yet, he had never seen these alien monsters, nor had he ever experienced the suffocating sensation of having his spiritual Sea of Consciousness crushed by the will of an alien race. Before today, all confrontations had been simulations within the cabin, specimen deductions, and sand table exercises—gentle and controllable.
Until today, the true, bloody battlefield finally tore away the gentle disguise.
All personnel gathered urgently, collecting armor, short blades, energy rifles, and the scarce Sea of Consciousness stabilizer patches. Instructor Zhou stood before the twenty-plus recruits with a grim, martial expression. There were no usual lectures, only the most straightforward rules of the battlefield.
"Remember, you are recruits, not combat power."
"For low-level scaled beasts, it takes two veterans getting seriously injured and three people coordinating to barely kill one. If you encounter one alone, you will definitely die."
"You only have three tasks: early warning, support, and rescuing the wounded. Do not show off, do not break formation, and if you experience even the slightest dizziness in your Sea of Consciousness, retreat immediately!"
When his words landed, the slight restlessness, hot-bloodedness, and侥幸心理 (lucky escapes) in the hearts of all the recruits were instantly doused.
The convoy sped toward the perimeter of Rift Three. The closer they got to the combat zone, the thicker the putrid, turbid air became. The vegetation on the ground was completely dead, leaving a scene of utter devastation. In the distance, the earth was split open by a pitch-black giant rift, like a mouth opened by hell. Endless, violent psychic fluctuations surged from underground, making one's scalp tingle even from several kilometers away.
The convoy stopped at the temporary trench defense line.
The moment he stepped out of the vehicle, Lin Yan's pupils contracted sharply, and a long-forgotten, genuine chill and fear rose in his heart for the first time.
There was no neatness from drills here, no rules from assessments, only naked death.
Wounded soldiers lay everywhere along the edge of the trench, the scene horrific to the extreme. Several soldiers had missing limbs, their armor torn apart by claws, their flesh and blood a mangled mess, with painful groans echoing back and forth. But even more terrifying than the physical trauma were the soldiers leaning quietly against the cover, their eyes vacant and their bodies stiff.
They had no wounds, no bleeding, yet they had completely lost their minds.
A medic frantically injected a sedative while roaring in a low voice, "Sea of Consciousness shattered! Can't be saved! Drag them away for placement!"
With just one glance, Lin Yan's heart shook violently.
He finally understood the cruelty of this world completely—here, there were two kinds of death. One was having one's flesh torn apart; the other was having one's consciousness crushed alive.
"Everyone, take your positions! The left flank defense is empty! The scaled beasts have broken out!"
Instructor Zhou's roar snapped everyone out of their daze. The new recruit squad hastily fell into line, setting up their firearms relying on the trench cover. Suppressing the shock in his heart, Lin Yan forcibly gathered his mind and spread out his Sea of Consciousness perception.
In the next second, chaotic, violent, and primal killing intents densely slammed into his perception.
Dozens of low-level scaled beasts darted out from the ruins of broken rocks.
They were burly, covered in wet, gray-black hard scales, with exposed fangs and claws gleaming with cold light. They moved with astonishing speed. Every time they opened their mouths to roar, they released fine psychic turbulence that pierced toward everyone's Sea of Consciousness like countless poison needles.
"Stabilize your Sea of Consciousness! Shoot in groups! Do not face the enemy alone!"
Three stationed veterans immediately took the forefront. Energy guns fired continuously, and dazzling beams exploded against the scaled beasts' armor, but they only left shallow white marks, unable to penetrate the vital points.
A low-level scaled beast pounced into the open ground in front of the trench, roaring frantically as its psychic impact instantly spread.
A new recruit positioned slightly forward reacted a fraction of a second too late. Merely grazed by the aftershock, he groaned, fell to his knees clutching his head, his face deathly pale and his body convulsing. His hand gripping the gun completely lost control.
"Sea of Consciousness turbulence! Drag him down!" Su Qing froze in terror, instinctively taking half a step back, her palm instantly soaked in cold sweat.
Lin Yan was also swept by this psychic turbulence.
With his second-tier peak Sea of Consciousness barrier and his years of ancient martial arts mental cultivation, he barely endured the erosion without losing control. But that invisible, penetrating pain and dizziness that pierced through his flesh and directly stabbed at his consciousness was a terror he had never experienced in his previous life's Jianghu battles.
Swords, fists, and kicks harmed the body.
Psychic impacts shattered the soul.
At this moment, Lin Yan felt a clear sense of apprehension and fear for the first time. No matter how strong his martial arts were, he was still pitifully insignificant before these bizarre alien creatures.
The slaughter ahead thoroughly proved the instructor's words.
As a low-level scaled beast charged in, three veterans immediately formed a triangular formation to surround it. One person distracted it with movement, two fired their guns to disrupt its vision, and the last person seized the opening when the beast landed from its pounce, rushing in close to stab its soft flesh around the eye with a short blade.
Even with skilled coordination and veteran experience, one of the three was still struck by the beast's claw. His armor shattered, and his arm was left with flesh exposed. Relying on severe injuries, they barely managed to slay this single low-level scaled beast.
A single lowest-tier monster required three veterans to risk their lives and take injuries to kill.
There were no instant kills on the battlefield, no lucky escapes, only a defense line exchanged inch by inch with flesh and blood.
Another scaled beast took the opportunity to flank from behind. Two new recruits fired in panic, their beams missing and thoroughly enraging the giant beast. It leaped out, a腥风 (foul wind) hitting their faces as it instantly approached the trench. Just as it was about to crash into the new recruits' formation, a fourth veteran desperately threw himself forward, using his body to block the pounce while driving his short blade into the scaled beast's lower jaw.
Roars, the sound of shattering bones, and screams exploded simultaneously.
The veteran's shoulder armor was pierced by the scaled beast's claw. He was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the pile of rubble. Blood sprayed from his mouth, but he死死 gripped his short blade, stubbornly holding back the beast's movements to create a window of opportunity for his teammates.
Four people surrounded it, taking turns to distract, trade injuries, and deal damage. After a full dozen seconds of fierce fighting, they finally killed the low-level scaled beast.
In just one minute of combat, two veterans were severely injured, and one new recruit was eliminated due to Sea of Consciousness collapse.
The bloody price shocked everyone present.
Lin Yan stared fixedly at the battlefield, his heart sinking slightly.
He finally recognized reality completely: this was not martial arts sparring, not a Jianghu feud; it was an extinction-level slaughter across species.
His ancient martial arts foundation allowed him to move faster, keep a steadier mindset, and react more sharply, but it could not let him ignore psychic erosion, nor could it let him fight barehanded against the hard armor and sharp claws of scaled beasts.
He was still merely mortal.
In this battlefield of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, he was just like all the new recruits—he needed to learn, needed to adapt, needed to stick together. The slightest carelessness would lead to death and the end of his path.
"Don't zone out! Maintain continuous vigilance! The rift is still spawning beasts!"
Instructor Zhou's roar pulled everyone back to their senses. Everyone immediately snapped back, gripping their firearms tightly. Their faces were pale, but no one dared to relax for a moment.
Just then, deep within Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness perception, a狂暴阴冷意念 (violent, cold intent) far surpassing all the low-level scaled beasts suddenly rose.
Cold, domineering, and carrying absolute suppression.
His scalp went numb instantly, and he cried out a warning, "Right side! High-level scaled beast! Third-tier! Extremely strong psychic fluctuation!"
At the highest point of the rock pile, a massive, three-meter-tall black shadow slowly stood up.
Its deep black, thick armor gleamed coldly in the gunpowder smoke, with ferocious bone spines standing erect on its back. A pair of vertical pupils indifferently scanned the trenches below. Without charging immediately, it merely gave a light gaze, and a crushing psychic tidal wave slammed down over the entire defense line.
Inside the trench, half of the new recruits instantly clutched their heads and cried out in pain, their Seas of Consciousness violently churning, on the verge of collapse.
Instructor Zhou's face turned deathly pale as he roared fiercely, "Everyone, defend to the death! Press tight against the cover! Call for backup immediately! The main forces are bogged down at the main rift entrance; none of us can hold it back!"
The bloody tug-of-war had only just begun.
That was not a simulated hum; it was a metallic, continuous wail that pierced the eardrums and pressed heavily against the heart. In an instant, the entire training camp plummeted from its orderly training rhythm into a taut state of war. The broadcast repeatedly issued cold warnings: a sudden swarm of scaled beasts had emerged from Rift Three in the south, the outer defense line was in critical condition, and all reserve duty squads were to rush to support immediately.
After half a month of training, Lin Yan had already forged a second-tier peak Sea of Consciousness barrier. His foundation in ancient martial arts allowed his agility, endurance, and reflexes to far surpass those of the other recruits in his batch.
But ultimately, he was an outsider.
He understood the brutal melee of the Jianghu, understood risking one's flesh and blood in combat, and understood the unorthodox tactics of defeating the strong with the weak. Yet, he had never seen these alien monsters, nor had he ever experienced the suffocating sensation of having his spiritual Sea of Consciousness crushed by the will of an alien race. Before today, all confrontations had been simulations within the cabin, specimen deductions, and sand table exercises—gentle and controllable.
Until today, the true, bloody battlefield finally tore away the gentle disguise.
All personnel gathered urgently, collecting armor, short blades, energy rifles, and the scarce Sea of Consciousness stabilizer patches. Instructor Zhou stood before the twenty-plus recruits with a grim, martial expression. There were no usual lectures, only the most straightforward rules of the battlefield.
"Remember, you are recruits, not combat power."
"For low-level scaled beasts, it takes two veterans getting seriously injured and three people coordinating to barely kill one. If you encounter one alone, you will definitely die."
"You only have three tasks: early warning, support, and rescuing the wounded. Do not show off, do not break formation, and if you experience even the slightest dizziness in your Sea of Consciousness, retreat immediately!"
When his words landed, the slight restlessness, hot-bloodedness, and侥幸心理 (lucky escapes) in the hearts of all the recruits were instantly doused.
The convoy sped toward the perimeter of Rift Three. The closer they got to the combat zone, the thicker the putrid, turbid air became. The vegetation on the ground was completely dead, leaving a scene of utter devastation. In the distance, the earth was split open by a pitch-black giant rift, like a mouth opened by hell. Endless, violent psychic fluctuations surged from underground, making one's scalp tingle even from several kilometers away.
The convoy stopped at the temporary trench defense line.
The moment he stepped out of the vehicle, Lin Yan's pupils contracted sharply, and a long-forgotten, genuine chill and fear rose in his heart for the first time.
There was no neatness from drills here, no rules from assessments, only naked death.
Wounded soldiers lay everywhere along the edge of the trench, the scene horrific to the extreme. Several soldiers had missing limbs, their armor torn apart by claws, their flesh and blood a mangled mess, with painful groans echoing back and forth. But even more terrifying than the physical trauma were the soldiers leaning quietly against the cover, their eyes vacant and their bodies stiff.
They had no wounds, no bleeding, yet they had completely lost their minds.
A medic frantically injected a sedative while roaring in a low voice, "Sea of Consciousness shattered! Can't be saved! Drag them away for placement!"
With just one glance, Lin Yan's heart shook violently.
He finally understood the cruelty of this world completely—here, there were two kinds of death. One was having one's flesh torn apart; the other was having one's consciousness crushed alive.
"Everyone, take your positions! The left flank defense is empty! The scaled beasts have broken out!"
Instructor Zhou's roar snapped everyone out of their daze. The new recruit squad hastily fell into line, setting up their firearms relying on the trench cover. Suppressing the shock in his heart, Lin Yan forcibly gathered his mind and spread out his Sea of Consciousness perception.
In the next second, chaotic, violent, and primal killing intents densely slammed into his perception.
Dozens of low-level scaled beasts darted out from the ruins of broken rocks.
They were burly, covered in wet, gray-black hard scales, with exposed fangs and claws gleaming with cold light. They moved with astonishing speed. Every time they opened their mouths to roar, they released fine psychic turbulence that pierced toward everyone's Sea of Consciousness like countless poison needles.
"Stabilize your Sea of Consciousness! Shoot in groups! Do not face the enemy alone!"
Three stationed veterans immediately took the forefront. Energy guns fired continuously, and dazzling beams exploded against the scaled beasts' armor, but they only left shallow white marks, unable to penetrate the vital points.
A low-level scaled beast pounced into the open ground in front of the trench, roaring frantically as its psychic impact instantly spread.
A new recruit positioned slightly forward reacted a fraction of a second too late. Merely grazed by the aftershock, he groaned, fell to his knees clutching his head, his face deathly pale and his body convulsing. His hand gripping the gun completely lost control.
"Sea of Consciousness turbulence! Drag him down!" Su Qing froze in terror, instinctively taking half a step back, her palm instantly soaked in cold sweat.
Lin Yan was also swept by this psychic turbulence.
With his second-tier peak Sea of Consciousness barrier and his years of ancient martial arts mental cultivation, he barely endured the erosion without losing control. But that invisible, penetrating pain and dizziness that pierced through his flesh and directly stabbed at his consciousness was a terror he had never experienced in his previous life's Jianghu battles.
Swords, fists, and kicks harmed the body.
Psychic impacts shattered the soul.
At this moment, Lin Yan felt a clear sense of apprehension and fear for the first time. No matter how strong his martial arts were, he was still pitifully insignificant before these bizarre alien creatures.
The slaughter ahead thoroughly proved the instructor's words.
As a low-level scaled beast charged in, three veterans immediately formed a triangular formation to surround it. One person distracted it with movement, two fired their guns to disrupt its vision, and the last person seized the opening when the beast landed from its pounce, rushing in close to stab its soft flesh around the eye with a short blade.
Even with skilled coordination and veteran experience, one of the three was still struck by the beast's claw. His armor shattered, and his arm was left with flesh exposed. Relying on severe injuries, they barely managed to slay this single low-level scaled beast.
A single lowest-tier monster required three veterans to risk their lives and take injuries to kill.
There were no instant kills on the battlefield, no lucky escapes, only a defense line exchanged inch by inch with flesh and blood.
Another scaled beast took the opportunity to flank from behind. Two new recruits fired in panic, their beams missing and thoroughly enraging the giant beast. It leaped out, a腥风 (foul wind) hitting their faces as it instantly approached the trench. Just as it was about to crash into the new recruits' formation, a fourth veteran desperately threw himself forward, using his body to block the pounce while driving his short blade into the scaled beast's lower jaw.
Roars, the sound of shattering bones, and screams exploded simultaneously.
The veteran's shoulder armor was pierced by the scaled beast's claw. He was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the pile of rubble. Blood sprayed from his mouth, but he死死 gripped his short blade, stubbornly holding back the beast's movements to create a window of opportunity for his teammates.
Four people surrounded it, taking turns to distract, trade injuries, and deal damage. After a full dozen seconds of fierce fighting, they finally killed the low-level scaled beast.
In just one minute of combat, two veterans were severely injured, and one new recruit was eliminated due to Sea of Consciousness collapse.
The bloody price shocked everyone present.
Lin Yan stared fixedly at the battlefield, his heart sinking slightly.
He finally recognized reality completely: this was not martial arts sparring, not a Jianghu feud; it was an extinction-level slaughter across species.
His ancient martial arts foundation allowed him to move faster, keep a steadier mindset, and react more sharply, but it could not let him ignore psychic erosion, nor could it let him fight barehanded against the hard armor and sharp claws of scaled beasts.
He was still merely mortal.
In this battlefield of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, he was just like all the new recruits—he needed to learn, needed to adapt, needed to stick together. The slightest carelessness would lead to death and the end of his path.
"Don't zone out! Maintain continuous vigilance! The rift is still spawning beasts!"
Instructor Zhou's roar pulled everyone back to their senses. Everyone immediately snapped back, gripping their firearms tightly. Their faces were pale, but no one dared to relax for a moment.
Just then, deep within Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness perception, a狂暴阴冷意念 (violent, cold intent) far surpassing all the low-level scaled beasts suddenly rose.
Cold, domineering, and carrying absolute suppression.
His scalp went numb instantly, and he cried out a warning, "Right side! High-level scaled beast! Third-tier! Extremely strong psychic fluctuation!"
At the highest point of the rock pile, a massive, three-meter-tall black shadow slowly stood up.
Its deep black, thick armor gleamed coldly in the gunpowder smoke, with ferocious bone spines standing erect on its back. A pair of vertical pupils indifferently scanned the trenches below. Without charging immediately, it merely gave a light gaze, and a crushing psychic tidal wave slammed down over the entire defense line.
Inside the trench, half of the new recruits instantly clutched their heads and cried out in pain, their Seas of Consciousness violently churning, on the verge of collapse.
Instructor Zhou's face turned deathly pale as he roared fiercely, "Everyone, defend to the death! Press tight against the cover! Call for backup immediately! The main forces are bogged down at the main rift entrance; none of us can hold it back!"
The bloody tug-of-war had only just begun.