Chapter 272 - 152: A Long-Awaited Battle

The Flying Shuttle tore through the sky, rushing toward the mining district at maximum speed. As the distance closed, the situation on the battlefield became increasingly clear to Yang Wenqing.

This wasn't the first time the Water Race Demon Soldiers had attacked the mining district. Over the past six years, the Lingshan New District had experienced three harassing attacks of varying scales. Most were probing attacks by small groups of Demon Soldiers, either to steal mining materials or to destroy facilities.

But the scene before him now was completely different. Its scale was so large it resembled a war, but only just.

Yang Wenqing's gaze immediately fell upon two auspicious clouds beneath the cloud layer. Those were the two Foundation Establishment Stage patrol chiefs of the Government Soldiers. They were calmly looking down on the entire battlefield, as if assessing and waiting, or perhaps guarding against a more powerful enemy.

In the distance, above the sea, three combat Flying Shuttles bearing the City Defense Bureau's emblem patrolled in a triangular formation, continuously bombarding suspicious areas of the sea with Spiritual Energy cannons. A larger, medium-sized combat Flying Ship hovered at a higher altitude, acting as a command and fire support platform.

Even more eye-catching was the large combat Flying Ship from the Government Army Camp. It was like a moving mountain. Each volley from its main cannons could boil an entire section of the sea, suppressing the massive, stirring shadows in the distance.

At the same time, these Flying Ships and Flying Shuttles were continuously projecting monitoring Arrays and recording Arrays, feeding real-time battlefield status back to the command post.

On the ground, the steel defensive platforms normally hidden on the mining district's periphery had all risen, forming a rugged and sturdy defensive line. On each platform, five three-man combat teams formed a firing line, providing cover for each other with crossfire. All were equipped with standard-issue rifles, making it difficult for the Water Race Demon Soldiers to breach the line.

However, to the left of the defensive line's center, the situation at a platform designated 'Number Seven' was precarious. The platform's surface was coated in a layer of eerie blue ice crystals, clearly hit by the aftershock of a 'Deep Sea Frost Blast Rune' used earlier.

The Spiritual Light of the platform's defensive shield was dim. Outside, dozens of heavily armored Shrimp Soldiers were frantically attacking the shield's weak points. The guards on the platform were fighting back with all their might, but the breach wasn't being reinforced. Without support, this section of the defensive line would collapse in a few more minutes.

"Yang Zhong, head to Platform Seven!" Yang Wenqing ordered coldly.

"Yes, sir!"

The Flying Shuttle executed a nimble dive, dodging the intersecting beams of light and stray Ice Spears in the air, swooping down on Platform Seven like a falcon.

On the platform, only three combat teams remained. The shield flickered violently again. Suddenly, a millstone-sized Ice Armor Giant Crab swung its enormous ice pincers, smashing them viciously into the shield's weakest point!

CRACK!

The shield let out a brittle crack, unable to bear the strain, and a fissure split open. A bone-chilling cold and a foul stench instantly poured in.

"Hold the line!" the man who looked like a squad leader roared, raising his rifle and firing out through the fissure, riddling two Shrimp Soldiers trying to squeeze in with holes.

The other two guards had already activated the defensive Arrays on their bracers. One had an injured leg and was half-kneeling on the ground, firing one-handed. He looked nervous and afraid.

Just at that critical moment—

WHOOSH!

A streak of crimson light shot down from the Flying Shuttle in the sky, moving far faster than a bullet. It pierced with pinpoint accuracy through a gap in the Ice Armor Giant Crab's head carapace as it squeezed through the opening!

SQUELCH!

The giant crab's massive body suddenly stiffened, then convulsed violently. Crimson flames erupted from within its carapace, instantly turning it into a blazing fireball.

THUD~

Yang Wenqing's figure slammed onto the platform like a meteor. The moment he landed, an invisible shockwave blasted away the frost and debris on the platform.

Without even glancing at the burning remains of the giant crab, he made a grasping motion with his left hand. The Qingfeng Sword flew back to him and hovered by his side, its blade shimmering with a cold light. Then, forming a sword gesture with his right hand, he pointed at the widening crack in the shield.

VMMMM—

A surge of pure, gentle Spiritual Qi instantly filled the crack like an invisible mortar, temporarily stabilizing the damaged shield.

"Director Yang!"

The squad leader and the injured guard were both shocked and overjoyed.

With a thought, Yang Wenqing sent the hovering Qingfeng Sword flying again. It transformed into a crimson streak of lightning, carving a bizarre arc through the air. Bypassing their thick frontal ice armor, it precisely pierced the relatively vulnerable connection point between the necks and pauldrons of the nearby Fishman Demon Soldiers.

The Fishman Demon Soldiers froze in place, their Ice Spears falling limply from their grasp before they collapsed to the ground.

But Yang Wenqing didn't stop. His figure flickered across the platform like a phantom. With each pause, a sharp blast of Sword Qi or palm wind shot out, precisely picking off the Demon Soldiers trying to approach the shield or attack from other angles.

In just over ten seconds, the seven or eight high-level Demon Soldiers leading the fiercest assault on the platform's perimeter were either dead or injured. The rest had their formation thrown into chaos by the sudden, fierce counterattack, and their assault faltered.

Only then did Yang Wenqing recall his Qingfeng Sword. He leaned against a metal barricade, took a rune rifle from his Storage Bag, and loaded it. Gazing at the dark masses of Demon Soldiers still swarming from the sea floor, he aimed at one and pulled the trigger. An armor-piercing round accurately pierced the head of a Shrimp Soldier trying to climb onto the platform.

Looking at the dense horde of Demon Soldiers before him, he felt something was very wrong.

'These so-called Demon Soldiers aren't really a proper army. They're the lowest class of the Water Race's residents, basically the equivalent of Wanxuan's common folk.'

'The previous three attacks were also carried out by these low-level Water Race Demon Soldiers, but back then, they were trying to plunder the resources cultivated here. Their charges were driven purely by instinct.'