Chapter 62: Drawing the Sword

The assessment on Mist Island is still ongoing, and the war in the outside world has never ceased.

While Xiao Ayun here has to divide attention to handle the internal purge of the Earth Net over there, most of his strength must be focused on the newest mission, which is to impersonate Chen Chen.

Impersonating Chen Chen's human clone is not difficult; in terms of appearance, physique, mannerisms, speech tone, smile angle, yawn length, every minute detail will have no deviation.

Impersonating Chen Chen's appearance and conduct is not the first time, but this mission is far more arduous than before.

Father's clone has never practiced martial arts nor shown any martial ability before, so Xiao Ayun's disguise only needs to mimic his behavior and deportment.

But this mission is different: the clone must, in Chen Chen's identity, slay monsters in front of more people.

Imitating the strength of Father's clone is the most difficult part.

Shu Central Base City, because it is not troubled by sea beasts, has not suffered the huge numerical pressure of the beast tide, and the scale of the beast tide in Shu Central is also the smallest among the three major battlefields.

Nevertheless, the situation in Shu Central is still not good; although it has not faced a siege by sea beasts, it has encountered another problem.

The number of monsters hidden in the mountainous hill region far exceeds human expectations.

Phosphorus-shelled, arthropod, reptile, and avian types—some are poisonous, some launch aerial attacks, some burrow, and some possess strong corrosiveness.

Transportation conditions in the hill region are originally limited; the wilderness hunts of Shu Central Base City basically revolve around the defense zones of highways and railways, so over the years our knowledge of the interior of the mountains may not be deeper than that of the sea.

……

"Commander Deng, reinforcements from the World Tree have arrived!"

An officer reported to a middle-aged man in uniform.

The middle-aged man's face lit up, and he stood up directly.

"Let's go, to welcome them."

As they walked, he kept asking, "How much reinforcement has come this time?"

Since the war began, Shu Central has received support from all over the country and even the world, but the support has mainly been material, including armed fighter jets, strategic laser cannons, and firearms and ammunition.

These materials have indeed helped Shu Central considerably, but what Shu Central needs most is not material but people—specifically, martial artists.

Although only three regions are currently designated as key fronts—the three major battlefields—this global beast tide is not limited to outbreaks in just three cities; each city must maintain its defensive forces, so available human reinforcements are indeed limited.

And during this period, the natural savior is none other than the World Tree, which not only dispatched a large number of War Gods but also sent two Planet-level beings to hold the fort; moreover, the aid of the Nature Spirits resolved the urgent crisis of Shu Central's underground defenses nearly being breached.

The World Tree's support is genuine, so Commander Deng could not help but show a smile.

"One."

"One?"

Commander Deng stopped in his steps, his smile slightly faded, then he sighed and asked again:

"Planet-level?"

"War God-level."

Commander Deng frowned slightly, then relaxed:

"Let's go, we should go greet them."

Just as the two stepped out the door, the commander's and officer's intelligent optical brains received new information.

"Emergency, a large number of monster movement traces have been detected outside the Northeast Outer Defense Line One; preliminarily judged as a Level One Beast Tide… situation updated, confirmed as a Special Grade Beast Tide, please advise."

"Notify the entire army to enter Level One alert status; the Second and Third Express Corps move into Outer Defense Line Two…"

"Decision voting on Defense Line One opened: 1 abandon, 2 defend with reinforcements."

Only one second passed, the vote had a result, and the resulting order was directly issued to the front lines.

"Northern Defense Line One, abandon."

Special Grade Beast Tide, also called Disaster-grade Beast Tide, is the highest-intensity beast tide humanity has faced; besides countless monsters, it also involves King-level beasts.

——

Northern Line One.

Although it is the outermost defense line of Shu Central Base, its main function is reconnaissance; it had already been abandoned once when this global beast tide first broke out, but the current Northern Line One has been established with the support of the World Tree and the Nature Spirits.

Upon the order of Shu Central Military, the stationed mechanized units immediately began action; the war machines originally in fortress form quickly disassembled, extending tracks and drive devices to advance orderly along the rear zero-time road; many Nature Spirits of the surrounding and underground boundaries also slowly moved their roots.

In the distant horizon, where hills meet the skyline, the view gradually turns hazy, as if a black cloud is eroding the sky's color.

While retreating and pursuing, from an aerial view it looks like two lines, one ahead of the other; wherever the black line passes, everything turns completely black, and the white finally stops, and beyond that stopping point, it remains entirely white.

When black and white collide, the originally distinct boundary gradually merges.

On the ground, humans hold their positions; the sky is filled with bullets and explosions denser than raindrops, and within mere seconds the monsters' corpses pile up into hills hundreds of meters high and stretching for kilometers.

And this is only the beginning.

The monsters' corpses seem more resistant to bullets and explosives than steel; a wall built from their corpses reduces the power of bullets and shrapnel to less than one-tenth, and a Warrior Commander-level tiger bursts from behind the corpse wall, its blood‑filled maw biting straight into a gun barrel, the shell just fired from the breech actually detonating inside the barrel after being bitten.

The huge explosion killed the tiger, and this fire position temporarily fell into disrepair.

On the battlefield there is still another and another fierce tiger, another and another gun turret, but not all attack fire points are like this, because martial artists are joining the fight at this moment.

Each fire position continues to output, while the beast tide that gradually submerges the fire deployment points also becomes the battlefield of the martial artists.

Spear point against awn tip, it looks as if the black beast tide is submerging the white defense line, but what piles up are mostly black corpses.

Black corpses gradually pile up into mountains, but the sacrifices of the battlefield constructed from each side's fire deployment points also begin to rise.

The martial artists who can hold out here are at least intermediate Warrior Commanders; dealing with monsters that mainly consist of Beast Soldiers and low‑level Beast Commanders who happen to break through is naturally no problem.

But people will inevitably grow tired.

The monsters' corpses have already gradually blocked the distant view, but relying on real‑time battle reports from the wartime command network, one can see that the monsters in the distance are still charging endlessly.

If this continues, martial artists below War God level will likely be drowned by the beast tide, and those at War God level or above who wish to withdraw will also face trouble.

"Northern Defense Line Two, abandon…"

The overall battle command had not yet been issued when a blue light in the center of the battlefield shot toward the direction of the beast tide's advance, rushing into the black beast tide.

"Who is that?!"

Whether it is the rear command room or the Northern Defense Line Two battlefield, whether monsters or humans, all were drawn to that light.

In the rear command room, Army Chief Deng slammed his fist hard on the command table, said nothing, and via satellite projection stared fixedly at the light and shadow rushing into the beast tide.

Within half a second, Army Chief Deng immediately raised his hand and issued an order to several officers nearby.

'Order suspended; continue holding the North Second Line.'

The one who rushed into the beast tide was none other than Chén Chén, who had rushed over disguised as Xiao A Yun.

Rather than saying he rushed over, he was waiting for an opening; the triangular fighter jet, like a blade, slammed head‑on into the oncoming flock of flying beasts, and the blue trail it had drawn in the air instantly turned blood‑red.

The flying beasts weren't blown apart; instead, the blade‑like fuselage sliced them cleanly in half at extreme speed, and the jet moved through the herd like a bullet.

The people in the command room watched the jet pierce the beast herd, confirmed its locked‑on direction, and Army Chief Deng issued a third order.

'Press forward and converge on the North Third Line.'

The triangular fighter jet plunged straight into the beast herd's center; its extreme speed showed no sign of dropping, yet even from the afterimage the fuselage bore hardly a scratch.

And Chén Chén finally reached his destination, leaping from the high‑speed cabin.

That sword is only six feet long, yet its shadow seems able to cleave the horizon.

This sword, visible through the WeChat projection in the command room, can be seen from the North Second Line battlefield three‑five kilometers away, but the target it cut is no longer visible.

The monster enthroned at the beast tide's center is naturally the leader of this beast tide and the king of this special‑grade beast tide.

Its massive body collapsed, and that huge shadow didn't even know how it had died.

Seeing this, Army Chief Deng in the command room suppressed his shock and immediately issued the final order of the battle.

'Middle 3 Unit counter‑attack.'

'When the dragons are leaderless, it's the perfect moment for a counter‑attack.'

The judgment was timely and accurate, but Army Chief Deng hadn't expected that this special‑grade beast tide had more than one beast king and its overall order remained unchaotic.

However, Army Chief Deng's order had already accounted for this, so he only commanded the Middle 3 Unit's warriors to counter‑attack, and the position of Middle Three is exactly where Chén Chén charged into the beast tide.

In the center a beast king was slain by a single sword, the mid‑air flying‑beast formation was slightly disrupted, and if a counter‑attack is to be made the only breakthrough point is here, which also allows us to meet the strong one who entered the beast tide.

At this moment Chén Chén draws all eyes, as warrior‑commander‑level and lord‑level beasts launch one after another a deadly charge at him.

But that sword, that person, merely repeats the same motion, harvesting one soul after another beneath its blade.

That is the eye of the storm……

That man is the storm.

'Roar————'

A heaven‑shaking roar came from afar; low‑rank martial artists were instantly stunned, their eyes involuntarily showing fear.

Though the roar was loud, the beast herd gradually retreated.

Chén Chén at the storm's center gave no chase; standing still, everything he passed became a killing character, and after the beast tide fully receded, the corpses piled beneath his feet formed a mountain several times higher than the front‑line corpse mound.

Chén Chén slowly sheathed his sword, his formerly uncontrolled expression calmed, and he quietly steered the light in the sky so a beam struck his face at the right moment.

When the crowd below arrived, from afar some were too timid to approach, but a few steps closer they saw that the fearsome man was merely basking pleasantly in the sunlight.

(Xiao A Yun: I've practiced this so long, it wasn't for nothing—sniffle).

……

At the same time on Mist Island, Luofeng did not choose to return to Li Yao and Wei Nini of the opposing side, but went deeper into the underground labyrinth, and with his mental power quickly found the first wood‑sprout crystal, then the second, third, fourth……

This examination clearly stipulates that any wood spirit crystals found beyond the required amount belong to the finder.

Such treasures are naturally better the more there are, so Luofeng naturally headed deeper.

And in the deeper regions, Babata had already discovered Luofeng long ago, and began using wood spirit crystals to lure Luofeng further in.

Besides that, the second candidate mentioned by that mysterious figure was also discovered by Babata.

Jiāng Jiāng, having decided that there must be something in the depths underground, naturally chose to believe Chén Chén's words; after finding three wood spirit crystals, she seemed purposefully headed toward the Meteor Star where Babata was.

Although wood spirit crystals are rare cultivation resources, matters concerning Chén Chén are naturally more important.

Without experiencing Li Yao's matters and without wasting time searching for wood spirit crystals, Jiāng Jiāng's progress surpassed Luofeng by a large margin, having already arrived first near the spaceship.

The wood spirit crystals placed near the spaceship were originally intended for Luofeng, but unexpectedly Jiāng Jiāng was not polite and, happening to be passing by, took them all.

"Tsk, my luck isn't bad."

While muttering to herself, Jiāng Jiāng's spiritual sense perceived that the surrounding terrain was gradually becoming unusual.

As Jiāng Jiāng was on guard, the surrounding rock layers began to change; the originally solid slate disappeared, replaced by a dust-covered, half-open hatch!

Babata inside the hatch was pondering what to say next; before Babata finished pondering, it discovered that the target outside saw the hatch and was not pleased, but instead frowned deeply, pondered for a while, thought about all the way here…… Jiāng Jiāng's little face startled, then she turned and ran away.

Babata: ……

After a while, Babata was considering whether to use spiritual power to interfere with Jiāng Jiāng and make her run back, when unexpectedly Jiāng Jiāng ran for a bit and then chose to return on her own path.

Seeing Jiāng Jiāng heading back again, Babata breathed a sigh of relief; if this child runs over, who knows, later there might be trouble from that mysterious man for breaking the promise.

Moreover, although this girl's talent is not great, it is indeed not inferior to Luofeng; both have reached the minimum standard for the master's disciple, and that mysterious figure's suggestion indeed made Babata somewhat moved.

Although it's very likely that he's just a country bumpkin who has never witnessed the master's might.

Jiāng Jiāng's return via the original route didn't take long; soon she was again before the hatch of the Meteor Star, and finally she made up her mind to enter……

"Jiāng Jiāng, you finally came."

"I have been waiting here for you for fifty thousand years."