Chapter 273 - 152: A Long-Awaited Battle

But this time was different. Though the individual demons were still clumsy, their overall attack had a clear, structured rhythm. The first wave was comprised of heavily armored Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals, who took the brunt of the firepower. The second wave consisted of faster Fishmen, who charged forward during the lulls. And the third wave was made up of special members of the Water Race providing suppression from the rear, hurling Ice Spears or unleashing blasts of cold air.

"Covering fire! Squads on the left, suppress the right flank! Middle two squads, concentrate your fire and take out that Ice Armor Giant Crab!" Yang Wenqing shouted, firing his own weapon as he directed the guards on the platform to reorganize their defensive line.

Hearing the command, the guards on the platform quickly adjusted their positions. The once-chaotic volley of fire instantly became orderly. In that brief moment, Yang Wenqing's mind raced.

'The Great Demons who led the Water Race have always maintained a neutral stance. Years ago, when Wanxuan was developing the Southeast Sea Region, the Water Race leadership made it clear they would not get involved in the disputes of the land-dwelling races. As long as their deep-sea territories remained untouched, they would not initiate a war.'

'This policy allowed the Water Race to avoid the most intense conflicts. Later, as Wanxuan's national power grew, they even signed a series of non-aggression pacts with the Water Race's upper echelon. Investigations into the few small-scale attacks of the past all pointed to low-level tribes. The Water Race leadership even cooperated with Wanxuan to punish the culprits.'

'So what about this time?'

Yang Wenqing's gaze shifted to the sea further out. Beneath the churning waves, he could vaguely sense several deep and hidden auras.

'Are they trying to wear down our forces? Or is there some other motive?' Yang Wenqing grew even more vigilant. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

He shook his head, banishing the unanswerable questions from his mind. 'It's not my place to figure this out. The higher-ups have more intel.'

His job right now was to follow orders and defend the mining district's resources. If the worst came to pass, he was to prioritize his own survival. Just then, a call came in from Director Gao. After a brief exchange, Yang Wenqing remained on the front lines to command the defense.

"Director Yang! Reinforcements have arrived!" a nearby squad leader suddenly shouted.

Yang Wenqing looked up to see a Flying Shuttle emblazoned with the Lingshan New District bureau's insignia rapidly approaching from the city. The hatch opened before the shuttle even landed, and agile figures leaped out, landing beside Yang Wenqing. It was Yang Wenyuan and his squad.

"Wenyuan, take your people and reinforce the defensive line on Platform Seven! The other two squads, move to support the left and right flanks!" Yang Wenqing commanded quickly through his badge, his gaze sweeping over his heavily armed younger brother.

"Understood!" Yang Wenyuan immediately led his team to fan out, expertly taking up firing positions.

Meanwhile, Yang Wenqing continued to calmly observe the battlefield.

The battle was becoming one-sided. The Water Race Demon Soldiers had no firearms, charging with only their tough carapaces and low-level ice-based demonic arts. While the City Defense Bureau had clear fire superiority, they were burning through ammunition at an alarming rate.

"All platforms, watch your ammo! Switch to single-shot mode if you have to. Prioritize high-threat targets!" Yang Wenqing ordered over the command channel. He noticed some squads had already exhausted their magazines from laying down excessive covering fire and were now in a temporary lull, forced to rely on the pre-deployed automated defensive Arrays to hold their ground.

"Wenqing!" Gao Zhen's voice came through the badge. "The Government Soldiers are setting up large-scale mechanical gun emplacements on the flanks. They need us to hold on for at least another half hour."

"Got it!"

Yang Wenqing didn't hesitate. He knew about the Government Soldiers' mechanical gun emplacements. They were like automatic machine guns, but with an enormous caliber. When paired with runic Arrays, they could instantly flatten tens of thousands of Demon Soldiers who lacked defensive shields. This type of weapon was always retracted immediately after use, as if they were terrified of its design and principles being exposed.

He fired another shot, then scanned the flanks of the battlefield. Sure enough, behind a distant ridge, he could see Government Soldier engineers hard at work.

Just then—

"Watch out!" Yang Wenyuan suddenly yelled.

An alarm blared in Yang Wenqing's mind. At almost the same instant, he sensed a frigid energy rapidly coalescing beneath the surface of the sea.

The next moment, an azure beam of light as thick as an arm shot out from the churning waves. It carved a bizarre arc through the air, bypassing the interlocking fields of fire from the forward defensive platforms and streaking toward the center of Platform Seven, right where Yang Wenqing stood.

The Golden Core World inside Yang Wenqing's body roared to life. His Divine Sense unfurled in an instant, capturing every detail of the azure beam's trajectory and its elemental fluctuations with perfect clarity.

In the next instant, he had a complete grasp of the energy's intensity and trajectory. Yang Wenqing stretched out his right hand, condensing the Spiritual Qi in his body to its absolute limit to form an Anti-Demon Spell in front of him.

The Anti-Demon Spell then transformed into a gout of flame, shooting forward like a reverse meteor to meet the azure beam. The two forces collided with a roar in midair, less than a hundred yards from Platform Seven's shield.

The anticipated, earth-shattering explosion didn't happen right away. For the briefest moment, as the two diametrically opposed energies made contact, time itself seemed to freeze.

The frigid power within the azure beam frantically corroded the flame, causing a strange layer of blue ice crystals to form on its surface. Meanwhile, the parts of the blue energy touched by the flame were violently evaporated and purified.

The stalemate lasted only a hundredth of a second before—

BOOM!!!

An indescribable roar tore through the air as an energy sphere over ten feet in diameter exploded in midair.

The shockwave radiated outward in a violent ring, pressing a massive crater into the surface of the sea. Any Water Race Demon Soldiers within a radius of several hundred feet, regardless of their power, were instantly either frozen into shattered ice sculptures or burned to a crisp!

Platform Seven's shield flickered violently, its surface crawling with a web of blue and white cracks. The platform itself groaned under the strain as its metal structure twisted and warped. The guards on the platform were sent tumbling by the shockwave; if not for the advance warning that had them clinging desperately to fixtures, they would have been blown clear off.

Yang Wenqing bore the brunt of the impact. Though the explosion's core was in the air, a portion of the violent, turbulent energy—a mixture of extreme cold and searing heat—still pierced the crumbling shield and slammed into him.

Fortunately, Yang Wenqing was prepared. A dozen or so Golden Light Body Protection Spells instantly sank into his body and those of the guards around him, blocking the destructive force of the blast.

But then, Yang Wenqing's brow furrowed. A bone-piercing cold had bypassed the defense of the Golden Light Body Protection Spell and was rapidly invading his body through his Spiritual Veins. Just as he was about to circulate his Spiritual Qi to fight it, the Golden Core in his mind trembled slightly.

Immediately, the invading cold energy vanished without a trace, silently absorbed by his Golden Core World. In return, a minuscule thread of Spiritual Qi was released, subtly nourishing his meridians.

Just then, the situation took another sudden turn!

About thirty feet from Yang Wenqing's side, a patch of churning water exploded without warning. A burly figure shot out of the sea, moving so fast it left only an afterimage burned onto the retina.

It stood nearly ten feet tall, its upper body humanoid with knotted muscles covered in fine, blue-black scales. Its lower half was a thick, powerful fish tail with a fin as sharp as a steel blade. It gripped a trident that pulsed with silver light and radiated a chilling Water Spirit aura.

The aura it exuded had shockingly reached the Marrow Cleansing Realm, and the timing and angle of its appearance were treacherously precise.

"Die!"

The Fishman Demon General let out a guttural roar filled with killing intent. The muscles in its arms bulged as it hurled the silver trident with all its might!

VMMMM—

The instant the trident left its hand, the silver light on its shaft flared. It pulled the surrounding seawater within a hundred-foot radius into a spiraling vortex that wrapped around the weapon!

Before the trident even arrived, an incomparably sharp aura and a pressure as heavy as a mountain crashed down. Under this immense force, Platform Seven's shield began to emit a series of sharp cracks!

The guards on the platform had no time to react at all.

In that split second, Yang Wenqing remained preternaturally calm. He was already prepared. Half a breath might be an instant to an ordinary person, but for Yang Wenqing—who had mastered the Nine Refining Secret Skill, opened all three hundred sixty-five of his acupoints, and achieved the initial formation of the Five Yang Qi—it was more than enough time to act.

Instead of panicking, dodging, or defending, he simply turned his body slightly. The sleeve of his right arm began to flutter, though there was no wind…

SHIIING!

A clear sword cry, like the roar of a dragon, suddenly rang out.

A flash of cold light shot out from Yang Wenqing's sleeve. It was the Cyan Peak Short Sword, its edge hidden until this very moment.