Chapter 95: One Move, Level the Beast Tide

On the walls of Dongxing Jidi Shi, the atmosphere was solemn.

Cannon after cannon had finished charging; the moment the beast tide drew within striking range, they would open fire at once, doing everything possible to slow the beast tide's advance.

The base city's administration was under the overall command of Qiu Jie.

Chen Xiaohu was normally in charge of killing those Fourth-tier Fierce Beasts, while the main defense against the beast tide fell on Luo Jun, the head of the Military Department—after all, large-scale warfare was precisely an officer's forte.

Luo Jun stood atop the wall, directing his subordinates.

"The main force of this beast tide is Red-Tailed Fire Oxen, Thunder Spirit Birds, and Black-Tooth Rats—different from last time. We absolutely cannot let them reach the wall! Otherwise, your parents, your children, and your fellow citizens behind the wall will all be plunged into hopeless peril! Even if every last one of us dies fighting, we must stop these beasts outside the wall!"

Whether it was the Red-Tailed Fire Oxen's unique destructive power, the Black-Tooth Rats' burrowing ability, or the Thunder Spirit Birds' aerial advantage—

Before them, the wall was as good as nothing; it simply could not hold them back.

So the beast tide absolutely could not be allowed to approach—once they reached the wall, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Squad after squad of soldiers rushed out of the city, racing against time to operate machines and dig trenches.

Even though, to the beast tide, such trenches were nothing—a few Fierce Beasts dying to fill them in would suffice—as long as it could buy even ten seconds, that was enough.

Drones, meanwhile, flew out a kilometer, frantically dousing the ground with gasoline.

Fire did limited damage to Fierce Beasts, but it could throw the beast tide into chaos and slow their advance.

Other preparations targeting the Fierce Beasts were also underway.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

Watching all this from midair, Jiang Qin, however, slightly furrowed his brow.

Because the soldiers and Martial Artists on the wall were far too weak—forget the base city's high-level combatants for now—among the soldiers below, Spirit Guidance was already considered outstanding, Spirit Sea Realm cultivators were pitifully few, and the majority were still ordinary people.

The total number of Martial Artists, all combined, did not exceed three hundred.

A mere few hundred people, tasked with holding back a beast tide of over ten thousand Fierce Beasts—no matter how much preparation was done, in his eyes this was a battle bound to be lost, without the slightest chance of victory.

By now, even the ordinary citizens inside the city could hear that heaven-shaking roar of the beasts!

"Roar—!"

Over a thousand Thunder Spirit Birds were flying toward the city; since they did not need to cross cover, they charged at the very front.

Jiang Qin had originally intended to observe the battle a while longer and see the full deployment of the city defenders, but he shook his head in disappointment, flashed forward, and appeared beside Luo Jun, who was giving orders.

Seeing Jiang Qin, Luo Jun instinctively moved to salute.

"Commander Jiang, you…"

"Recall your men. They won't be able to hold."

"But—"

"Recall them. That is an order."

Luo Jun did not understand what Jiang Qin was trying to do, and felt a vague dissatisfaction deep down—now was a life-or-death moment for the city, and even the Base Chief had never before meddled in wartime command.

But recalling the scene he had witnessed on the small island earlier, he inexplicably signaled the soldiers outside the city.

"Fall back inside the city!"

The soldiers were confused, but still obeyed the order and returned inside the city.

The soldiers on the wall wore puzzled, bewildered expressions.

Everyone's gaze turned to Jiang Qin. He did not explain anything, but stepped out in a single stride, rising to an altitude of several dozen meters, and slowly extended one hand.

In an instant, boundless thunder energy gathered.

Although his Dharma Image had been absorbed by the Cangling Sword, the ability of 【Thunder Sovereign Commands the Heavens】 could still be used, and it did not affect his combat power much.

In a short while, thunderclouds had gathered above Dongxing Jidi Shi, and muffled thunder shook the ears.

Countless streams of energy were converging in Jiang Qin's hand, forming one 【Implosion】 after another.

At the highest point of the wall, Chen Xiaohu gazed at the figure wreathed in thunder not far away, his tone full of emotion: "It's been a long time since I've seen this move. Every time I witness it, my heart still skips a beat. Looks like we won't have to make a move this time."

Qiu Jie's face showed confusion: "That is… Implosion? What is he trying to do?"

"This is a move Boss created himself," Chen Xiaohu explained casually. "It combines the power of several Implosions together. This move is called 【Nuclear Explosion】. Back then, Boss relied on this very move to level an entire canyon."

"Level a canyon in one move—you must be joking…"

Qiu Jie wore an expression of utter disbelief.

By that description, the power was enough to alter the landscape—was this truly something a Divine Image Realm Martial Artist could do?

Chen Xiaohu thought for a moment, then nodded and corrected: "Compared to now, there must certainly be changes. Back then, Boss had just broken through to the Divine Image Realm, but now he's already at the peak of the Divine Image Realm, half a step into Earth Martial. The power is probably even more terrifying."

As his words fell, the beast tide was less than a kilometer from the wall.

Even the ground was trembling.

Jiang Qin's Nuclear Explosion had also finished condensing; his fingertip moved slightly, and he sent it forth.

"Go!"

The Nuclear Explosion, wrapped in endless thunder energy, shot out at extreme speed—in the blink of an eye, only a single point of light could be seen.

And the flock of Thunder Spirit Birds had already charged close, about to launch an attack on Jiang Qin.

The Cangling Sword hanging at Jiang Qin's waist trembled slightly, as if with a will of its own, and slid from its sheath on its own, slashing out one fierce Slash after another—the posture as though an invisible person were wielding the sword.

Slashes erupted one after another, their power boundless.

Soon, everyone saw the Thunder Spirit Birds flying in the sky struck by some kind of attack, their bodies sliced clean in two as if by a sharp blade, blood spraying out, and one after another they dropped to the ground like raindrops, fresh blood gushing from their broken remains.

The soundless, invisible attack made it impossible for them to even cry out.

And at this moment, the Nuclear Explosion had also reached the center of the beast tide. The instant the Implosions were triggered, the thunder energy maintaining the outer shell also dissipated in a flash.

Blinding lightning erupted!

"Boom——!!!"

An explosion shockwave swept through like an earthquake; the lightning was so blinding that everyone instinctively shut their eyes.

In their hearts was but one question: "What happened?"

By the time the aftershock of the impact dissipated and everyone opened their eyes, they discovered that the earth nearby had long been stained red with blood. Of the surging beast tide, only a scattered hundred remained, wailing in terror. As for the rest, they had been annihilated by the lightning, leaving not even a corpse behind.

The dense, massive footprints behind them were the only trace proving they had been there.

A beast tide of over ten thousand — a single strike had already shattered it into rubble.

And looking at Jiang Qin again, he still stood tall in midair, showing not the slightest sign of weakness.

It seemed he hadn't expended any energy at all.

Qiu Jie finally understood why Bureau Chief Yue had let that person take command of Inside the Circle.

Because Jiang Qin possessed absolute suppressive power over Martial Artists and Fierce Beasts of the same realm. No matter how many there were, they meant nothing before him. One man could hold off an army? No — one man alone could sweep through all of Inside the Circle!

Her gaze grew fervent.

If there existed such power, there might be a chance to restore order within Inside the Circle… No! It was absolutely no problem at all!

The soldiers' faces were written full of worship, their eyes burning with fervor.

They had already prepared themselves for certain death, but now they didn't have to die — and moreover, they probably wouldn't need to worry about the city walls being breached in the future either. With such an existence standing guard, their hearts were filled with a sense of security.

Jiang Qin returned to the city wall, turned his head, and instructed Luo Jun:

"Have the soldiers go out of the city to kill the remaining Fierce Beasts. We're going back to continue the meeting."

"I'm growing more and more interested in the situation within the country now…"