"The tide is coming!"
At the edge of their vision, a black tide surged forward, consuming everything in its path.
Vegetation withered and rotted in an instant, buildings collapsed one by one. The tide was like viscous ink, staining the sky and earth black.
From the far reaches of the sky, the dark clouds grew even deeper.
The gray fog from all directions relentlessly encroached upon the Dawn Zone, seeking to extinguish its only beacon of hope.
The light, gradually dimmed.
As if a storm was imminent, dark clouds also appeared above the Dawn Zone, obscuring the heavens. The pure white tower at the center of the base city, its spire began to flicker with streaks of golden light, resisting the erosion of the gray fog from all sides.
Dark clouds loomed, but still, wisps of light pierced through, stubbornly scattering upon the land.
Scattering towards the distance, towards the grotesque tide surging under the gray fog.
Their forms became clear.
With their necks twisted, their limbs grotesquely disproportionate, they ran with a frantic, shaking gait – the head-shaking corpses.
Skeletal beings, with hollow, glowing pupils, skeletal warhorses, bone stingers, and more, surged forward.
Bellboys, iron fat zombies, serpent mothers, and other such grotesque entities were insignificant in this super tide, like a single drop of water.
Only the three-star grotesque entities, massive in size like flesh giants, skeletal knights, or man-faced怪鸟, or those that could fly, appeared slightly conspicuous.
But they were still as numerous as ants.
To the naked eye, these three-star grotesque entities, which required Blue Star powerhouses to deal with, were countless here!
Mei Disha's teeth chattered.
"Too, too many, how many grotesque entities are there, how many three-star grotesque entities!"
"Perhaps millions."
Listening to Shi Yunxi's calm tone, Mei Disha couldn't understand, "Aren't you afraid? Millions! And how many awakened individuals do we have here? What can we possibly use to resist this!"
Shi Yunxi merely watched, silently clenching the scepter in her hand.
"We can resist. Mentor said we can, so we will!"
This blind faith left Mei Disha speechless. However, when she looked into the distance, at the white-robed figure standing on the high platform, her tension and fear did indeed subside considerably.
Can they resist?
Can they create a miracle?
She didn't know. Under such a tide, all they could do was resist with all their might. Once the defense line broke, even a triple-awakened like her would likely be as small and powerless as an ordinary person.
…
"Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!"
The envoy from the Scorching Flame Grand Oasis's eyes widened, and regret began to creep into his heart.
He tremblingly looked into the distance at the rolling black tide, then angrily glared at Hong Yan beside him, "The scale of this tide is not what you described, ah—!"
"This is also our first time facing such a tide. They've swept up so many grotesque entities along the way, this quantity…"
Seeing that Hong Yan was also terrified and surprised.
Yan Xiao fell silent.
He rolled up his sleeves, weighing his options.
'Under this tide, breaking through is impossible. I'm afraid we truly have to fight for our lives.'
'Damn it—!'
'But why would an ordinary world like Blue Star trigger a tide of such terrifying scale? This is unreasonable!'
…
…
The scale of the tide was estimated by the Investigation Bureau.
But estimation was one thing, and seeing it with one's own eyes was another. Those cold numbers could not compare to the overwhelming terror that was now upon them!
When the quantity exceeded a certain limit, it was enough to destroy everything!
"Director, we, we can hold the line, right?"
"Yes!"
Director Huang said heavily.
His eyes were fixed on the distance, unblinking, as if trying to etch the ferocious faces of these grotesque entities into his memory.
Faint illusions began to appear before him, and the roars of countless overlapping grotesque entities filled his ears.
Under the extreme quantity, the mental shock, though distant, was already upon them.
But, under the illumination of the Dawn's Light, it quickly melted away like ice and snow.
Director Huang looked around and saw that the ordinary investigators who had not yet awakened showed no unusual signs. He couldn't help but sigh in relief.
At least, as long as their sanity was unaffected, they could exert their full combat strength.
"Report distance."
"Yes, the vanguard of the tide is only 7.8 kilometers from our first defense line."
"7.6 kilometers."
"7.3 kilometers."
Listening to his deputy's report, Director Huang's expression remained unchanged. After waiting a moment longer, he said, "Initiate Lightning Strike Tactic!"
Immediately, at their various standby positions, the drones that had long been prepared began to whir. With a hum, silver-white drones took to the air, heading towards the black tide in the distance.
The Lightning Strike Tactic originated from the "Thunder Talisman" technology of the Research Institute.
After obtaining equipment of the "Hearth" model, the Donghuang Research Institute did not cease its research into various technologies. Based on the Thunder Talisman and combined with drone technology, this tactical weapon was born—the Lightning Strike Drone.
Silver-white markings were inscribed on the silver-white fuselage.
Just before takeoff, awakened individuals injected their life energy, igniting it as a focal point. In flight, the blue patterns on the drone's fuselage flowed with a sapphire halo.
Humming, they pierced into the dark, murky night sky.
Heading towards the front of the tide, several kilometers away.
Director Huang stared intently, his hand resting on the protective wall, pressing a faint palm print into it, yet he remained oblivious, his eyes fixed on the distance.
Getting closer!
Thick bone spurs shot through the dim sky, piercing the fragile drone fuselage and impaling it.
With a roar, a ball of sapphire lightning exploded in the distant sky.
Director Huang gripped the wall even tighter.
The drones were not fast. It was almost impossible to evade the long-range attacks of grotesque entities like bone stingers or grotesque lanterns.
However, grotesque entities were chaotic, unintelligent creatures!
They only hunted living beings by instinct. Drones, on the other hand, were lifeless, mere dead objects.
A minority were attacked and crashed in mid-air, while the majority still reached their designated locations.
"Impact!"
"Impact!"
"Impact!"
The drones hummed, the blue halo inscribed on their fuselages glowed brighter, and they swooped into the surging black tide.
Lightning flashed and exploded.
The dazzling sapphire light could still be seen several kilometers away, as brilliant as fireworks in the night sky.
Director Huang held his binoculars, staring intently, and saw grotesque entities, one by one, being incinerated by the sapphire lightning.
One-star grotesque entities turned into smoke.
Two-star grotesque entities fell, scorched black.
The lethality was far greater than the initial Thunder Talismans! The Lightning Strike Drones were validated, and countless grotesque entities were killed under the Lightning Strike Tactic.
However,
Huang Hongtian saw that the gap created in the tide by the sapphire lightning was filled by surrounding grotesque entities within mere seconds.
The black tide still surged forward, its numbers not diminishing in the slightest.
There were too many. The lightning, though brilliant, was instantly engulfed by darkness.
…
"How can this be!"
Yan Xiao's eyes widened.
When the miraculous drones took flight and the brilliant lightning exploded, hope ignited in his eyes, only to dim again in an instant.
He turned and looked at Hong Yan, "Quick, continue! Send more of these drones of yours!"
Hong Yan's smile was bitter, "These Lightning Strike Drones are expensive to produce and complex in their manufacturing. It's impossible to mass-produce them on an assembly line, and they are consumable."
It wasn't that the Lightning Strike Drones weren't powerful.
It was just that the tide's numbers were too many, far beyond imagination.
At this moment,
At the forefront of the tide, some flying grotesque entities had already broken away from the main group, flapping their wings towards the human settlement.
Two-star grotesque entity, bone and flesh bird.
Three-star grotesque entity, man-faced怪鸟.
They were like scattered droplets flying ahead of the tide.
They were dealt with by the front-line awakened individuals.
"Swish—"
Mei Disha held her sword and, as a man-faced怪鸟 swooped down, she unleashed a brilliant sword light, piercing the怪鸟's eye socket with a single strike. She then gracefully evaded the怪鸟's corpse as it plunged downwards with inertia.
With a flourish of her sword, she continued to attack the approaching grotesque entities.
After a few tens of seconds, this battle ended. The ugly and grotesque corpses of the grotesque entities gradually dissipated into smoke under the sunlight.
Mei Disha retracted her sword.
There were no wounds on her body, and her life energy consumption was kept to a minimum through her conscious control.
However, there was no trace of relief on her face, only a deepening solemnity.
"What we are encountering is merely a negligible part of the tide's vanguard. What about when the entire tide surges?"
She could not imagine any possibility of resistance!
She fell into despair.
She looked at Shi Yunxi again and saw that although her expression was solemn, it seemed to be within normal limits.
"Do you have any way?"
"Yes."
Shi Yunxi said, "Mentor has already formulated a strategy. What we need to do is to hold our positions on the defense line and protect this area!"
Her mission was named 'Protect the Giant Cannon Position.'
It was a mission of extremely high priority.
Shi Yunxi vaguely understood the reason. She glanced back at the colossal structure standing on the hillside behind them, then looked away.
Steadfastly, she faced the surging tide from the distance.
No matter who, no matter which one, they would not be allowed to pass through them!
The tide gradually drew nearer.
The earth trembled unceasingly, the heavens and earth grew darker, and the ferocious monsters in the distance were already clearly visible.
The oppressive feeling that washed over them made everyone almost unable to breathe.
They were barely holding on, fueled by their last vestiges of faith and will.
The envoy from the Scorching Flame Grand Oasis's face turned pale.
Mei Disha's teeth chattered, and she looked at Shi Yunxi.
Director Huang continued to gaze forward, his expressionless.
Not far from him, a figure in a black overcoat, carrying a broad saber on his back, suddenly spoke, his voice cold and devoid of emotion, "The time has come, prepare to fire!"
"Prepare to fire!"
"Prepare to fire!"
"Taste Old Wang Master's giant cannon!"
…
At the front of the line.
Mei Disha once again cleaved a grotesque entity with her sword. She had lost count of how many she had killed and was already panting.
The grotesque entities she had killed were but a drop in the ocean compared to the surging tide in the distance.
Her sword-wielding hand was trembling slightly.
The ferocious faces reflected in her eyes were constantly enlarging.
Suddenly,
Boom!
A sapphire beam of light appeared, piercing through above their heads and directly striking the most densely packed area of the surging tide.
The roar was deafening, and the dazzling blue light filled their entire field of vision.
The strong wind whipped Mei Disha's hair, and she forced her eyes open.
In her field of vision, under the dazzling blue light, the ferocious grotesque entities, one by one, dissolved rapidly like ice and snow.
Piece by piece.
Giant figures dozens of meters tall in the distance let out roars, their bodies twisting, and were shattered and submerged beneath the brilliant blue light.
Gusts of wind, heatwaves, and shockwaves followed one after another.
The soldiers took cover in anti-shockwave bunkers. When they emerged again after the earth-shattering roar subsided, a huge arc-shaped gully appeared before their eyes. The black tide was cut into two halves from the middle.
Further away, the dark, oppressive clouds that shrouded the sky were also shattered by the brilliant light beam.
A massive gap was torn open.
Through it, sunlight shone down.