Chapter 230: The Frenzied Tide at the Breach
Low beast roars layered upon each other in the narrow passage, shaking the rock walls of the shelter pod and causing dust to rain down. The third-tier scaled beast wedged at the fissure retreated, its thick hind legs treading on the rubble to gather strength. A row of bone spurs on its spine stood erect, and its dark crimson vertical pupils locked fiercely onto the four men standing shoulder-to-shoulder inside the breach. The other two third-tier scaled beasts flanked them on both sides, blocking off the rest of the passage and sealing all possibilities of maneuvering. Behind them, dense masses of ordinary scaled beasts were crammed together, countless pairs of crimson eyes flickering in the shadows like a surging sea of blood.
The Beast Commander had finally abandoned its patient probing.
The prolonged attrition, spore infiltration, and mental manipulation had already drained the mental fortitude and supplies of most people inside the cabin. Now, with the gate's fissure wide open, the defensive line shattered, the defenders' manpower tied down by the panic, and one intake route of the ventilation system shut down, the air was growing increasingly foul. The time was ripe. It would no longer wait for the interior to collapse on its own; it was preparing to launch the general assault.
"Everyone, close ranks! Hold the breach!" Scholar Su held his short blade horizontally, his shoulder pressed against the back of the front-line soldier. His voice was not loud, yet it pierced through the noisy beast roars. "Do not engage individually! Their goal is to rush in and divide us. We must group up and jam the gap!"
The four soldiers blocking the fissure no longer had intact spears. The broken shafts were discarded to the side, leaving them with only short blades and sharp steel shards torn from the steel frames. Their breathing was heavy, blood seeping from their cracked lips. The continuous stabbing pain in their Sea of Consciousness came in waves, stronger than before, occasionally flashing with fragments of illusions—some saw a warm home beyond the fissure, while others saw scaled beasts tearing apart their comrades. They could only bite their tongues hard, using the searing pain to pin their consciousness to reality.
Lin Yan stood in the rear command area, projecting his Sea of Consciousness outward with all his might as two streams of information crashed into his mind simultaneously. On the terminal screen, the thermal signatures outside were pressing forward in layers. The brightness of the three third-tier scaled beasts' thermal signatures continued to climb, indicating their muscles were tensed and they were about to charge. Deep underground in the rock layer, the Spiderweb Ancient Being's spore clusters had found a second intake plenum. Fine spore particles were slowly attaching to the filter through the seams. Once this filter was eaten through, even if the branch ventilation was cut off, the spores would spread through the air ducts into most areas of the cabin.
"The second intake filter is being corroded. If we shut down another ventilation route, the oxygen reserves inside the cabin will drop faster," Lin Yan reported quickly, cold sweat dripping from his forehead down his jaw. The prolonged, overloaded perception via his Sea of Consciousness was causing his vision to black out in waves. "We have no means of eradication left. We can only passively shut down the ventilation branches, trading air for time."
The operations personnel's face was pale as they reached out and grasped the valve handle of the second air supply branch. "Once this route is shut down, only the final route of the main ventilation will remain operational."
"Shut it," Scholar Su said without turning back, his gaze never leaving the trembling fissure of the gate. "We cannot let the spores spread throughout the entire cabin via the air ducts."
The valve turned, and the humming of the fan abruptly stopped. The air circulation inside the shelter pod slowed down once again, and the stuffiness instantly intensified. Several weak patients in the wounded area breathed rapidly, emitting hoarse gasps from their throats. The foul odor emanating from the canvas-wrapped bodies spread further within the enclosed space.
Deep within the cavern, the consciousness of the five ancient beings resonated calmly.
The Beast Commander led the frontal assault, using the three third-tier scaled beasts as the vanguard to tear open the breach. Capitalizing on the spores surging in through the fissure, the Sharp-Sense Ancient Being continuously elevated the intensity of the Sea of Consciousness erosion, sending waves of dizziness, numbness, and loss of control crashing over everyone in the cabin. The Illusion Ancient Being no longer split its focus to project two types of illusions; it kept only the most bewitching one—as long as they dropped their weapons and stepped back, the suffering would end immediately, with water and food right at their fingertips. It pressed this illusion directly onto the already wavering civilians and the soldiers whose minds were on the verge of collapse.
The supreme ruler's consciousness hovered above the battlefield, gazing indifferently at both sides of the fissure. It had witnessed countless charges like this. Some defensive lines would scatter directly under the first strike of the giant beasts, while others would explode with unexpected resilience in the face of despair. It did not intervene, merely waiting quietly for the outcome.
At the front of the fissure, the third-tier scaled beast that had first rammed the latch into breaking made its move.
Its four thick limbs pushed off the ground, and its massive body, wrapped in a gale of wind, slammed fiercely into the breach. The bone spurs led the way, aiming straight for the chests of the front-line soldiers.
"Hold!"
The front-line soldiers turned sideways in unison, their steel blades swinging up to meet the bone spurs. A piercing metallic clash erupted. The steel blade hacked into the thick dorsal scales of the scaled beast, leaving only a shallow white mark, failing to penetrate the defense. The massive impact force transmitted through the point of collision. Two soldiers were knocked backward, stumbling and nearly falling. The other two desperately held their ground, their short blades thrusting viciously into the gaps between the scales at the base of the beast's bone spurs.
With a wet squelch, the blade pierced flesh.
The third-tier scaled beast, feeling the pain, let out a deafening roar and violently whipped its neck, its bone spurs sweeping horizontally. The closest soldier failed to dodge in time and was struck in the shoulder by the bone spurs. His flesh tore instantly, blood gushing out. He let out a scream and was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the cabin floor.
A gap had appeared in the defensive line.
Seizing this opening, the other two third-tier scaled beasts pushed forward together, their massive bodies squeezing toward the fissure. Under the immense pressure, the remaining three latches of the gate continuously emitted piercing, agonizing creaks. The cracks in the rock layer of the door frame continued to spread outward, and rubble kept falling.
"Fill the gap!" Scholar Su strode forward, his short blade thrusting directly at the soft skin beside the scaled beast's eye—one of the few weak points in its defense.
The short blade sliced through the air, barely grazing the edge of the beast's eyeball and drawing a string of dark green, foul-smelling blood. The third-tier scaled beast, feeling the pain, tilted its head, momentarily halting its momentum and giving the other soldiers a chance to fill the gap. Two soldiers immediately rushed forward, taking the position left by their injured comrade, their steel shards crossed and held horizontally in front of the fissure.
Panic in the civilian area in the rear erupted completely.
The sight of the soldier being sent flying and bleeding on the ground shattered the fragile composure many had barely maintained. The suppressed cries of women and the weak whimpers of children mingled together. Two more civilians, trapped in illusions, struggled wildly, trying to push past the restraining military police to rush toward the fissure. The military police were already stretched thin, having to stabilize the agitated crowd while also diverting manpower to tend to the wounded, unable to cover everything.
The military doctor in the wounded area crawled over, kneeling beside the injured soldier to apply a simple bandage to stop the bleeding. Without hemostatic agents, the cloth was quickly soaked through with blood. The soldier's face turned deathly pale in an instant, his whole body trembling from the pain, his consciousness swaying between the searing agony and the spore-induced illusions.
"We can't hold them back for much longer," the military doctor shouted up at Scholar Su. "Their strength is too great, and our weapons can barely pierce their armor. After two or three more charges, the breach will be completely uncontrollable!"
Scholar Su knew in his heart that the military doctor was stating a fact. Fighting third-tier scaled beasts with cold steel was a massive disadvantage. Everyone was starving, exhausted, and mentally battered, their stamina depleting far faster than that of the scaled beasts. But they had no retreat; the rear was long sealed by rock layers, reinforcements were completely silent, and behind them were defenseless civilians.
Lin Yan's terminal flashed with another red alert.
"The second intake filter has been breached! Spores have entered the air duct!"
The operations personnel's face turned ashen as they frantically turned the valve, shutting down the final backup air supply branch.
By now, only the final main ventilation route remained operational in the shelter pod. Air circulation inside the cabin had nearly stagnated. Oxygen was slowly consumed, leaving the air stuffy and foul; every breath carried a heavy stench of decay and blood. The wounded patients' gasps grew more agonizing, and many began to experience chest tightness and dizziness.
At the gate's fissure, the three third-tier scaled beasts retreated slightly and regrouped, preparing to launch a second coordinated charge. The dense masses of ordinary scaled beasts in the rear surged forward restlessly, packing the passage so tightly it was impassable, waiting only for the breach to widen before flooding in like a tide.
In the radio booth, the guard still mechanically pressed the transmit button according to the schedule.
The radio waves pierced through the spore-dusted wasteland, drifting lonely into the distance. The headphones still held only the endless hiss of white noise. He lowered his hand and, through the partition wall, clearly heard the sounds of roaring scaled beasts, clashing blades, and people crying out. He looked down at the radio panel, his eyes filled with a gray darkness, yet when the next cycle arrived, he still sent the message on time.
At the front of the fissure, Scholar Su raised his hand to wipe the beast blood splattered on his face, gripping his short blade tightly. He exchanged a glance with the soldiers beside him. No one spoke, but everyone understood what was about to happen.
The second charge was coming. This time, the three third-tier scaled beasts would unleash their full strength together. The remaining three latches could snap at any moment, and this barely holding fissure would be completely torn open.
The iron box's final barrier was standing on the very edge of collapse.
End of Chapter.
The Beast Commander had finally abandoned its patient probing.
The prolonged attrition, spore infiltration, and mental manipulation had already drained the mental fortitude and supplies of most people inside the cabin. Now, with the gate's fissure wide open, the defensive line shattered, the defenders' manpower tied down by the panic, and one intake route of the ventilation system shut down, the air was growing increasingly foul. The time was ripe. It would no longer wait for the interior to collapse on its own; it was preparing to launch the general assault.
"Everyone, close ranks! Hold the breach!" Scholar Su held his short blade horizontally, his shoulder pressed against the back of the front-line soldier. His voice was not loud, yet it pierced through the noisy beast roars. "Do not engage individually! Their goal is to rush in and divide us. We must group up and jam the gap!"
The four soldiers blocking the fissure no longer had intact spears. The broken shafts were discarded to the side, leaving them with only short blades and sharp steel shards torn from the steel frames. Their breathing was heavy, blood seeping from their cracked lips. The continuous stabbing pain in their Sea of Consciousness came in waves, stronger than before, occasionally flashing with fragments of illusions—some saw a warm home beyond the fissure, while others saw scaled beasts tearing apart their comrades. They could only bite their tongues hard, using the searing pain to pin their consciousness to reality.
Lin Yan stood in the rear command area, projecting his Sea of Consciousness outward with all his might as two streams of information crashed into his mind simultaneously. On the terminal screen, the thermal signatures outside were pressing forward in layers. The brightness of the three third-tier scaled beasts' thermal signatures continued to climb, indicating their muscles were tensed and they were about to charge. Deep underground in the rock layer, the Spiderweb Ancient Being's spore clusters had found a second intake plenum. Fine spore particles were slowly attaching to the filter through the seams. Once this filter was eaten through, even if the branch ventilation was cut off, the spores would spread through the air ducts into most areas of the cabin.
"The second intake filter is being corroded. If we shut down another ventilation route, the oxygen reserves inside the cabin will drop faster," Lin Yan reported quickly, cold sweat dripping from his forehead down his jaw. The prolonged, overloaded perception via his Sea of Consciousness was causing his vision to black out in waves. "We have no means of eradication left. We can only passively shut down the ventilation branches, trading air for time."
The operations personnel's face was pale as they reached out and grasped the valve handle of the second air supply branch. "Once this route is shut down, only the final route of the main ventilation will remain operational."
"Shut it," Scholar Su said without turning back, his gaze never leaving the trembling fissure of the gate. "We cannot let the spores spread throughout the entire cabin via the air ducts."
The valve turned, and the humming of the fan abruptly stopped. The air circulation inside the shelter pod slowed down once again, and the stuffiness instantly intensified. Several weak patients in the wounded area breathed rapidly, emitting hoarse gasps from their throats. The foul odor emanating from the canvas-wrapped bodies spread further within the enclosed space.
Deep within the cavern, the consciousness of the five ancient beings resonated calmly.
The Beast Commander led the frontal assault, using the three third-tier scaled beasts as the vanguard to tear open the breach. Capitalizing on the spores surging in through the fissure, the Sharp-Sense Ancient Being continuously elevated the intensity of the Sea of Consciousness erosion, sending waves of dizziness, numbness, and loss of control crashing over everyone in the cabin. The Illusion Ancient Being no longer split its focus to project two types of illusions; it kept only the most bewitching one—as long as they dropped their weapons and stepped back, the suffering would end immediately, with water and food right at their fingertips. It pressed this illusion directly onto the already wavering civilians and the soldiers whose minds were on the verge of collapse.
The supreme ruler's consciousness hovered above the battlefield, gazing indifferently at both sides of the fissure. It had witnessed countless charges like this. Some defensive lines would scatter directly under the first strike of the giant beasts, while others would explode with unexpected resilience in the face of despair. It did not intervene, merely waiting quietly for the outcome.
At the front of the fissure, the third-tier scaled beast that had first rammed the latch into breaking made its move.
Its four thick limbs pushed off the ground, and its massive body, wrapped in a gale of wind, slammed fiercely into the breach. The bone spurs led the way, aiming straight for the chests of the front-line soldiers.
"Hold!"
The front-line soldiers turned sideways in unison, their steel blades swinging up to meet the bone spurs. A piercing metallic clash erupted. The steel blade hacked into the thick dorsal scales of the scaled beast, leaving only a shallow white mark, failing to penetrate the defense. The massive impact force transmitted through the point of collision. Two soldiers were knocked backward, stumbling and nearly falling. The other two desperately held their ground, their short blades thrusting viciously into the gaps between the scales at the base of the beast's bone spurs.
With a wet squelch, the blade pierced flesh.
The third-tier scaled beast, feeling the pain, let out a deafening roar and violently whipped its neck, its bone spurs sweeping horizontally. The closest soldier failed to dodge in time and was struck in the shoulder by the bone spurs. His flesh tore instantly, blood gushing out. He let out a scream and was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the cabin floor.
A gap had appeared in the defensive line.
Seizing this opening, the other two third-tier scaled beasts pushed forward together, their massive bodies squeezing toward the fissure. Under the immense pressure, the remaining three latches of the gate continuously emitted piercing, agonizing creaks. The cracks in the rock layer of the door frame continued to spread outward, and rubble kept falling.
"Fill the gap!" Scholar Su strode forward, his short blade thrusting directly at the soft skin beside the scaled beast's eye—one of the few weak points in its defense.
The short blade sliced through the air, barely grazing the edge of the beast's eyeball and drawing a string of dark green, foul-smelling blood. The third-tier scaled beast, feeling the pain, tilted its head, momentarily halting its momentum and giving the other soldiers a chance to fill the gap. Two soldiers immediately rushed forward, taking the position left by their injured comrade, their steel shards crossed and held horizontally in front of the fissure.
Panic in the civilian area in the rear erupted completely.
The sight of the soldier being sent flying and bleeding on the ground shattered the fragile composure many had barely maintained. The suppressed cries of women and the weak whimpers of children mingled together. Two more civilians, trapped in illusions, struggled wildly, trying to push past the restraining military police to rush toward the fissure. The military police were already stretched thin, having to stabilize the agitated crowd while also diverting manpower to tend to the wounded, unable to cover everything.
The military doctor in the wounded area crawled over, kneeling beside the injured soldier to apply a simple bandage to stop the bleeding. Without hemostatic agents, the cloth was quickly soaked through with blood. The soldier's face turned deathly pale in an instant, his whole body trembling from the pain, his consciousness swaying between the searing agony and the spore-induced illusions.
"We can't hold them back for much longer," the military doctor shouted up at Scholar Su. "Their strength is too great, and our weapons can barely pierce their armor. After two or three more charges, the breach will be completely uncontrollable!"
Scholar Su knew in his heart that the military doctor was stating a fact. Fighting third-tier scaled beasts with cold steel was a massive disadvantage. Everyone was starving, exhausted, and mentally battered, their stamina depleting far faster than that of the scaled beasts. But they had no retreat; the rear was long sealed by rock layers, reinforcements were completely silent, and behind them were defenseless civilians.
Lin Yan's terminal flashed with another red alert.
"The second intake filter has been breached! Spores have entered the air duct!"
The operations personnel's face turned ashen as they frantically turned the valve, shutting down the final backup air supply branch.
By now, only the final main ventilation route remained operational in the shelter pod. Air circulation inside the cabin had nearly stagnated. Oxygen was slowly consumed, leaving the air stuffy and foul; every breath carried a heavy stench of decay and blood. The wounded patients' gasps grew more agonizing, and many began to experience chest tightness and dizziness.
At the gate's fissure, the three third-tier scaled beasts retreated slightly and regrouped, preparing to launch a second coordinated charge. The dense masses of ordinary scaled beasts in the rear surged forward restlessly, packing the passage so tightly it was impassable, waiting only for the breach to widen before flooding in like a tide.
In the radio booth, the guard still mechanically pressed the transmit button according to the schedule.
The radio waves pierced through the spore-dusted wasteland, drifting lonely into the distance. The headphones still held only the endless hiss of white noise. He lowered his hand and, through the partition wall, clearly heard the sounds of roaring scaled beasts, clashing blades, and people crying out. He looked down at the radio panel, his eyes filled with a gray darkness, yet when the next cycle arrived, he still sent the message on time.
At the front of the fissure, Scholar Su raised his hand to wipe the beast blood splattered on his face, gripping his short blade tightly. He exchanged a glance with the soldiers beside him. No one spoke, but everyone understood what was about to happen.
The second charge was coming. This time, the three third-tier scaled beasts would unleash their full strength together. The remaining three latches could snap at any moment, and this barely holding fissure would be completely torn open.
The iron box's final barrier was standing on the very edge of collapse.
End of Chapter.