Chapter 785

The smell of scorched earth mixed with a strong blood stench and the sweet‑sickly odor of Yuneng corrosion assailed them.

The ground beneath their feet was warm, and in some places it still slowly emitted blue‑tinged smoke.

Heaven-responding City

living artillery shells

No.

Yue Fei

Two soldiers carrying a specially made compass and an energy sensor rushed forward and plunged the probe into the ground.

Commander Yue

Yuneng Pollution

"The energy flow is clear; the strongest reaction converges along the north side from Chaoyang Gate to Jinchuan Gate—that must be the main attack direction."

living heavy artillery, air node, command node, large floating platform

Yuneng units

Yuneng

Yue Fei crouched, pinched a bit of scorched black earth between his fingers, and felt the faint, uncomfortable pulse lingering within.

Zhao Lao Nian

"Reporting to Marshal Yue, in full‑seal mode the Purge‑Defile Armor lasts only four hours; after that the filter layer saturates and the energy battery can no longer fully counteract the ongoing environmental corrosion."

No.

Zhang Cheng

Chen dynasty

"There is an abandoned grain‑transport canal, mostly dried up but with deeper gullies that can offer some cover; along the way we must pass two small pollution sites and three suspected enemy temporary assembly points."

"Then we'll take this route." Yue Fei rose, "Give the order: stealth formation, advance concealed. Do not fire unless necessary, to avoid premature exposure."

shatter-crystal gun, faint-light mode, armor-piercing spear

Sun-facing Gate, Golden River Gate

No.

The force of over four hundred quickly spread out into a loose combat formation, using the terrain's undulations and the remnants of dead trees and broken walls, and hurried toward the burning metropolis.

No.

The abandoned canal provided good cover, and they encountered only a few scattered low‑rank battle slaves apparently on patrol or cleanup duty.

Northward Aspiration soldiers, exotic metal coating

The moves were clean and swift, producing no loud noise.

But as they approached the first small pollution site, trouble arrived.

It was a stretch of land that might once have been a village, now covered with a slimy, quasi‑living dark‑blue fungal mat that undulated slowly.

Twisted crystal clusters grew on the mat, constantly oozing pus, and the air reeked of a nauseating sweet‑rot.

flying mutant creatures

They seemed especially sensitive to the breath of living beings.

As soon as the unit neared the edge, those flying creatures emitted sharp hisses and swarmed toward them!

"Exposed! Shoot them down! Get through fast!" Yue Fei decided on the spot.

No.

The silenced shard‑crystal gun fired; a faint energy‑pulse beam struck true, blowing a lone flying insect apart in midair and splattering disgusting slime.

But the hissing had already drawn more attention.

From deep within the pollution site came heavy footsteps and the scrape of armor plates.

war slaves

barrier-breaking cone

Among the troops, four exceptionally burly soldiers stepped forward in pairs, each pair hoisting a metal tube about six feet long and as thick as a bowl's mouth.

The tubes' bodies were etched with dense patterns, and their tails housed a complex activation mechanism.

They quickly aimed the tube mouths at a relatively weak spot in the fungal mat, away from the source of the footsteps.

No.

No.

Amid a low rumble, two incredibly solid, arm‑thick golden beams shot from the muzzles!

Where the beams passed, the dark‑blue fungal mat, like grease hit by a searing blade, instantly vaporized and melted away, revealing the scorched black earth beneath.

The beams lasted roughly three breaths, carving two scorching gullies about five feet wide and several feet deep into the mat.

energy Huang Guang

Yuneng Pollution

"Hurry! Follow the gullies! Watch for residual energy underfoot!" Yue Fei led the charge into one of them.

No.

The fungal mat on either side of the gullies seemed to "flinch," writhing back slightly, but the flying insects above continued to hover and harass, being picked off one by one by the unit's marksmen.

The squad of battle slaves that had rushed up reached the gully's edge, seemed wary of the lingering golden energy, hesitated a moment, then tried to flank and pursue.

But in that brief delay, the Northward Aspiration army had already crossed most of the pollution site.

impurity-dispelling powder

Soldiers grabbed handfuls of gray‑white powder from their waist pouches and flung it behind them.

The powder contacted the air and residual Yuneng pollution, triggering a subtle neutralization that emitted a soft hiss and harmless white smoke, which to some extent disrupted the pursuers' perception.

While crossing the second pollution site and the edge of an enemy temporary camp, they repeated the tactic—sometimes rushing forward covertly, sometimes using a breaker cone to briefly blast a path, sometimes sending a small elite squad to lure the enemy away—always avoiding a large‑scale engagement.

energy battery

By the time they could faintly see the bloody battlefield outside Chaoyang Gate, most of the soldiers' batteries had been drained to nearly half.

And nearly an hour had passed.

At this moment, they were hiding behind a small hill that had been completely leveled by artillery fire.

Just ahead, less than two li away, is a hellish landscape.

At the massive gap in the city wall, blue-green toxic mist and golden light from the energy generator intertwine and clash, while Ming army soldiers and various Yuneng units repeatedly struggle amid the rubble and corpses.

In the sky, azure-blue fire rain sporadically pours down.

Farther away, the massive living siege unit seems to be preparing for its next salvo.

The Ming army's defenses are tottering on the brink of collapse.

"How should we fight, Commander Yue?" the deputy general asked quietly, his face covered in sweat and black soot.

Yue Fei observed closely.

Their position is on the flank-rear of the enemy's attack.

A frontal charge would be instantly overwhelmed.

"Do you see those few sprayers spewing poisonous mist at the breach?" Yue Fei pointed to one side of the battlefield, where several hulking, toad-like mutant beasts with huge sacs on their backs continuously vomit toxic fog at the gap, severely suppressing the Ming army.

"That's a key support node. Taking them out will cut the Ming army's pressure at the breach by thirty percent."

"I'll lead a team to concentrate fire with shatter-crystal guns and take them out at range."

"You," he said, looking at the deputy general and a few centurions, "do you see the wreckage of the barracks blown apart on the right side of the breach? The ground there is slightly higher, and amid the chaos the enemy's hold is weak."

"After I draw their attention, you all charge over, take that position, and establish a temporary foothold."

"Then, send a signal to the Ming soldiers on the wall."

"What kind of signal?"

Yue Fei drew from his bosom a specially crafted, foldable flag.

He unfolded it.

The flag is dark red; its center bears not the Chen dynasty insignia but an archaic seal character embroidered with strange-metal thread.

【Hope】

The aspiration of Northward Aspiration.

"Let them know," Yue Fei passed the flag to the deputy general, his gaze sharp as a knife.

"Reinforcements have arrived."

China is not yet extinct.