Chapter 69: The Prelude to War 【Seeking First Subscription】

【Battle duration: 16 hours.】

Below the sand dunes, Zheng Shiduo was struggling to complete the work of Ling Tong and Wang Jixuan, mapping the terrain and burying detectors.

Zheng Shiduo was wearing a collar around his neck.

That’s a self-destruct collar. It doesn’t prevent Zheng Shiduo from turning his head to observe, and it even has a certain protective effect. However, if someone presses the remote control, Zheng Shiduo’s head will explode with a loud bang.

“Here, take this.”

Ling Tong handed a blue remote control to Wang Jixuan and said softly:

“I checked it. The energy stored in the self-destruct collar around Zheng Shiduo’s neck is enough to kill him ten times over.”

“He was sent by the Commander-in-Chief.”

“This remote control device is mainly to put your mind at ease. Zhou Zhengde made him wear it. With this, you will have control over his life and death.”

Wang Jixuan was puzzled: “Why should I control his life and death?”

“He was sent to protect you,” Ling Tong shrugged. “This guy is pretty strong.”

Master Wang’s expression suddenly became somewhat…

A psionicist, come and protect him?

And he was a psionicist who once tried to interfere with Ling Tong’s mission?

He really couldn’t understand these people’s thought processes.

Ling Tong shoved the remote control into his hand, turned around and leaned against the four-wheeled motorcycle with him, watching the drones flying low in the distance.

Wang Jixuan asked, “Will the upcoming battle be very dangerous?”

“This can be seen as a sign that they value you,” Ling Tong smiled. “That’s how psionicists are; they’ll obey whoever holds their lives. Zheng Shiduo’s life is currently under the control of the headquarters, and the psionic capital has also handed over control of this group of psionicists.”

“I still don’t trust him.”

“Just keep an eye on him; he knows your secret identity.”

Ling Tong spoke quite casually:

“Zheng Shiduo is also my comrade-in-arms, but sometimes his stance is different from mine.”

“Alright,” Wang Jixuan shrugged. “Later I will put on the helmet and operate under the Black Storm identity, so that he won’t be seen with Wang Zheng.”

“Tell him yourself, I don’t like the smell on him.”

What does it taste like?

“A perverted taste.”

Wang Jixuan thought of the crystal stopper and couldn’t help but raise his hand to his forehead, momentarily at a loss for words.

He desperately needed an idiom even more serious than the collapse of social order and morality.

…

【Battle duration: 14 hours.】

The situation unfolded exactly as Ling Tong had predicted.

Just as Wang Jixuan and his team finished surveying the terrain, news came from the northwest that the horde of Blade Beasts had broken through the defensive line.

A horde of bladed beasts broke through the defense line, numbering approximately 300,000.

Human defenses are complex, involving not only land, sea, and air defenses, but also underground defense facilities.

After crossing the defensive line, the horde of bladed beasts split into three groups. One group launched a surprise attack on the nearest fortress, while another group charged wildly towards the nearby human defenses, attempting to tear open a larger breach.

One group went underground, heading towards Fort 76 along underground passages they had somehow created.

Approximately 70,000 Blade Beasts will arrive near No. 76 in about ten hours. Along the way, a certain number of them will be consumed by the underground minefield. Judging from the energy reaction, there are two General-level Blade Beasts among them.

The joint defense forces are working to cut off the retreat of the Blade Beasts and are engaged in a high-intensity battle with them near the breach in the defensive line.

Weapons and supplies produced by various fortresses were continuously transported to the medieval basin war zone defense line and were poured into the Blade Beast horde.

Several outer expansion areas of the fortress have been cleared, and the reserve forces inside the fortress are ready. Dozens of small fortresses have been built on the surface, while underground there is a minefield several kilometers thick surrounding the fortress.

The burrowing type of bladed beasts also has an upper limit to their abilities. They can only travel quickly to a depth of 200 meters underground. Their underground marches are for escaping the relentless bombardment of human long-range firepower.

This is a contest between old rivals.

The military determined that the Blade Beast’s target was 【Battle Princess Ling Tong】.

Ling Tong has moved into the desert outside the C-zone, where a decoy military camp is being built. In addition to Ling Tong and an elite combat brigade, there is a group of autonomous guards disguised as humans, as well as dozens of psionicists.

As part of Ling Tong’s support team, Uncle Tai, Sister Wan, Wan Xiaoqi, and Wang Jixuan will remain at the supply station in the outer C area, ready to send supplies out at any time.

Besides the two large mechanical dogs, the main force for transporting supplies also included three heavy drones.

The outer C area has become an important firepower camp deployed by the military, and it will inevitably be attacked by the Blade Beasts later.

This place will also become the front line.

…

【Battle for the fortress: 9 hours remaining.】

Inside the supply depot, Uncle Tai stood with his arms crossed in front of a huge projection screen, in the center of which was the ‘decoy camp’.

In the center of the screen, Ling Tong is undergoing an examination by Sister Wan’s robotic arm.

“Look at these sand dunes.”

Uncle Tai laughed and said:

“The Blade Beasts will probably wait until night to launch their attack. They have no eyes, so day and night make no difference to them.”

“This will be the main battlefield. We need to kill as many Blade Beasts as possible. The C area will serve as the main force to support this decoy.”

“Every time the Blade Beasts launch a large-scale attack, they have a clear combat objective. They will calculate how much firepower we have and how much firepower we have hidden. For the Blade Beasts, as long as they can achieve their goal, it doesn’t matter how many basic Blade Beasts die.”

“This is the worker ant nature of the basic Blade Beast.”

Wan Xiaoqi brought over two cups of industrial coffee.

Wang Jixuan thanked him and asked in a low voice, “Is there anything else I should be careful about?”

“We shouldn’t need to deliver supplies anymore; the military has dedicated supply battalions and fire support battalions.”

Uncle Tai shouted excitedly:

“You’ll see Ryoko piloting a mecha later! It’s just a firepower mecha that’s a dozen meters tall, but that’s where the value of a battle maiden is truly realized!”

Wan Xiaoqi said dejectedly, “Dad, Teacher Wang was asking about precautions!”

“Okay, okay, the important thing is… complete the mission and survive.”

Uncle Tai sighed:

“The war against the Blade Beasts was incredibly brutal.”

“We are rear support personnel, and there will be basically no problems before the fortress is breached. The firepower density here is also much stronger than that on the fortress side.”

“The only thing to watch out for is the Mimic Blade Beasts. These guys can disguise themselves as humans and cause trouble from inside.”

Wang Jixuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

He asked, “Approximately how long until the attack begins?”

“It will take more than nine hours. Based on the speed of the Blade Beasts, the attack should start between 3 and 5 a.m. We cannot rule out the possibility that a small group of Blade Beasts wandering in the strata will suddenly appear in front of us.”

“Uncle Tai, do you still have a job?”

“No, I’m going to get a good night’s sleep later to recharge!”

“Then come and help me.”

Wang Jixuan pondered for a few moments:

“I want to add a touch of technology to my weapons.”

“No problem,” Uncle Tai’s eyes lit up. “Please let me participate more in the research and development of 【Project Lingtong 071】! Just give me fourth or fifth authorship for the papers!”

Master Wang smiled with narrowed eyes.

Even if you don’t understand what it means, just laugh.

Due to time constraints, Wang Jixuan could only make a simple modification to his spear, adding a laser firing device to the butt of the spear and attaching an external charging backpack, so that the spear could be turned upside down and used as a miniature laser cannon.

The downside is that its heat dissipation is not very good.

It would be more than enough to launch a sneak attack on the Blade Beasts and the Psionicists.

There is still a lot of preparation work to be done, such as making talismans and creating more perfect bone-piercing nails.

Wang Jixuan could already feel the tension in the air.

Soldiers took short breaks at their respective combat posts, and vehicles and drones shuttled along the supply lines. All kinds of artillery, rockets, and air-dropped bombs that Wang Jixuan had seen in the mechanic’s textbook were everywhere.

Almost overnight, more than a dozen high-rate-of-fire electromagnetic guns appeared in the entire expansion zone C. The underground nuclear power supply station in expansion zone C can only meet the energy supply needs of seven electromagnetic guns.

According to Uncle Tai, if energy is insufficient after the start of the war, they have various methods, such as using thermal power generation, oil-fired power generation, and so on.

Everyone is worried that they haven’t prepared enough.

The latest novels are first published on 69shuba!

Wang Jixuan seized the time to improve himself.

He left behind three crystal cores, releasing all the spiritual energy from two of them, plus the remaining crystal cores, thus taking a firm small step forward in his cultivation.

Improving one’s cultivation level also depends on strengthening one’s physical body and spiritual soul, which takes time.

…

【Duration of the fortress siege: 1 hour 28 minutes.】

‘It should be able to hold.’

Thinking this, Wang Jixuan slowly wiped the segmented spear in his hand, wrapped it in cloth, and placed it aside.

Uncle Tai’s shouts came from outside the door:

“Holy crap! Where did this second wave of Blade Beasts come from! The Blade Beasts are moving underground, and their numbers have suddenly increased. It’s estimated that there are now 110,000 Blade Beasts and four General-level Blade Beasts rushing towards Fortress 76! Wait, is it really necessary for the Blade Beasts to go this crazy just to deal with a single Ling Tong? Or does Ling Tong have some potential that we haven’t seen yet?”

“Four generals?”

“Ah! Four generals!”

Where are our reinforcements?

“The number of reinforcements is unknown. We don’t have enough clearance to see enemy intelligence. What I do know is that two battle maidens (base) have arrived, along with mech units and air support units. We didn’t detect any Blade Beast air units this time, so air superiority is on our side!”

“It’s hard to say… It feels like the Blade Beast is going crazy.”

Sister Wan, who had already returned to the supply depot, frowned and said:

“If we completely eliminate these blade beasts, the defense forces’ lines can be pushed forward quite a distance. Why would they do that?”

Uncle Tai pondered for a moment: “Is it because the king-level blade beast that commands these blade beasts was beaten up by Ling Tong before? Has it come for revenge?”

Wang Jixuan blinked.

To be honest, he had previously dealt a Great Evolution Heart Sword strike to that vertical-pupiled creature. That thing… he had activated it using demonic techniques, consuming the power of the souls he had collected. The soul of that bladed beast must have been severely injured.

So the Blade Beast went mad?

That can’t be right.

Master Wang stroked his chin, decisively choosing to believe that “it wasn’t me who did it,” and got up to walk to the corner wardrobe, slowly opening the door.

Black helmet, black combat uniform, and two barrels of still-active, emerald-green Blade Beast blood.

Let’s make as many talismans as possible while we still have a few hours left!

Wang Jixuan had already tried it before: soaking paper in the blood of these spirit-filled blade beasts and refining the spiritual liquid could produce talismans with effects and power exceeding those of the previous ones by 40-50%.

Moreover, he also obtained a thick stack of traditional raw pulp paper through Ling Tong, which possessed the spirit of plants and trees.

Buzz, buzz!

The text exchange vibrated slightly. Wang Jixuan opened his right hand, and a wisp of energy enveloped the small square box, flying directly into his hand.

It was a message from Ling Tong.

Incidentally, at Ling Tong’s suggestion, he and Zhou Zhengde have both changed their nicknames. This text exchange is a channel that all three of them can see at the same time.

【Ling Tong (Long-Legged Commander): The second wave of Blade Beasts has appeared. Five General-level Blade Beasts have been discovered. The subsequent battles may be very intense. It is recommended that Wang Zheng move to the fortress.】

【Zhou Zhengde (Zhou Yanei): Quick! Move out!】

【Wang Zheng (a righteous person): Not for now. I can serve as backup for Ling Tong.】

Sudden.

Wang Jixuan’s spiritual senses twitched slightly, and his spiritual consciousness automatically spread out towards the southwest direction of the camp.

It was about two hundred meters away from him.

In a brightly lit alley, a female soldier walked with her head down, carrying an entrenching tool instead of a gun.

“You! Stop right there!”

A patrol of three soldiers, riding in powered armor, slowly approached, staring at the female soldier’s back as they raised their pistols.

“Raise your hands! Cover your head and squat down!”

The female soldier turned her head slightly, and a strange, cold smile suddenly appeared on her otherwise ordinary face.

She suddenly turned around, her body seemingly torn apart, but only the outer layer of light membrane was torn apart. A blade beast with a body spanning less than two meters suddenly sprang out from within!

Its slender body, like that of a praying mantis, swayed from side to side.

The three soldiers were about to fire, but before they could pull the trigger, a thin blade of light flew from the front and severed their necks!

Mimic Blade Beast!

Wang Jixuan grabbed the helmet and was about to put it on, but before he could make a further move, he stopped abruptly.

gas.

A mottled atmosphere.

Two faint, mottled auras rapidly approached the location where the three soldiers had been killed.

The spiritual consciousness was barely visible.

The mimicry blade beast folded and burrowed into a soldier’s body. The soldier, enveloped in a layer of light, slowly stood up, and the blade beast’s spiritual energy fluctuations almost disappeared.

Just then, two figures darted out of the darkness, one of them hovering in mid-air and raising his right hand toward the mimicry blade beast.

The Mimic Blade Beast turned to flee, but a burly man with long hair on his upper body pounced out from the left and slammed a bear paw down, knocking the Mimic Blade Beast to the ground!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

A sharp whistling sound pierced through the air as several silver-white spikes shot out, piercing the mimicry of the bladed beast’s mouthparts, which were covered in crystalline membranes, and causing green blood to splatter out.

Waaah—

The alarms blared loudly at the expanded C zone camp!

The red warning light kept flashing!

Gunfire erupted simultaneously in several areas, and more than thirty psionicists sent from the front lines moved about in pairs throughout the camp.

In the darkness, shadowy figures swiftly crawled out of various mine shafts and rushed towards the outward expansion camp in Zone C.

This is not the same group of Blade Beasts that has been monitored.

Wang Jixuan raised an eyebrow slightly upon seeing this.

He put down the helmet, picked up the nano mask from the box next to him, and put it on. The mask adjusted itself, temporarily restoring him to the appearance of ‘Zhou Tiantian’.

Picking up the text exchange, Wang Jixuan gave a brief reply.

【Wang Zheng (a respectable person): It’s too late to move. I’ve placed the text switchboard here; you can call through my helmet.】

Even if you try to obtain crystal cores through legitimate channels, you might attract the attention of the 13th Research Institute.

This war with the Blade Beasts was his best opportunity to stockpile food.

The spiritual power of the mimicry blade beast is slightly stronger than that of the ordinary blade beast. Presumably, there is a crystal core of good quality inside their bodies.

The war has begun.

【Duration of the fortress siege: 1 hour 23 minutes.】

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