When a group of soldiers from the 176th Division raised their rifles and opened fire, they were met by a swarm of sea beasts with flailing limbs and wriggling tentacles in the darkness. Rifles were not absolutely effective against the sea beasts; although concentrated fire from many infantrymen could wound or even kill them, it could not stem the tide of their assault.
In a flash, countless sea beasts surged past the front lines, destroying disabled armored vehicles. Then, as the colossal body of the Kui Jia Mother Beast landed, eight giant limbs like crab legs spanned the land, its head was quite large, and it radiated a primal energy shield. With a roar to the heavens, a vast number of sea beasts from the river came ashore.
"Quick!"
The commander of the 176th Division gritted his teeth. "Aim all the frontal weapons of the Chi You-class at the Mother Beast. Shoot it down! Lock on with missiles from the rear. Don't worry about friendly fire, just make sure to stop this Mother Beast from reaching Xi City!"
For a time, Chi You-class light cruise fighters opened fire from the air, but they were only equipped with four light shipboard railguns. Even medium railguns couldn't penetrate the Mother Beast's armor, let alone light ones. Thus, the railgun fire was like an itch to it, unable to halt its advance.
The ground was densely packed with sea beasts. They tore through the 176th Division's positions and then, spreading across the mountains and plains, headed straight for Xi City. The Mother Beast, surrounded by a horde of sea beasts, its eight colossal, heavily armored legs hundreds of meters long, stretched across the sky as it charged directly into the distance.
"Careful!"
The chief of staff frowned. "The Mother Beast's target is our heavy railguns!"
Unfortunately, it was too late. The sac on the Mother Beast's head rapidly contracted, and a stream of toxic sludge traveled over a thousand meters, directly melting a heavy railgun. Following this, in other directions, the three heavy railguns controlled by the 176th Division's coastal defense forces were also overwhelmed by the sea beast horde. In a moment, their gun bodies were severely damaged, rendering them useless.
The Kui Jia Mother Beast roared, too indifferent to bother with the swarm of aircraft above, and led its horde of sea beasts directly towards Xi City.
"It's over..."
The commander of the 176th Division's face was pale. "Quickly inform the Xi City defenders to activate the city shield..."
"Yes, Commander!"
...
Late at night.
Xi City was silent. In the urban village north of the city, the lights were dim. Two drunks sat on a rooftop, bottles in hand, drinking and chatting. One said, "Old Third, do you have any regrets in this life? Or anyone you can't let go of?"
"Yes..."
The other drunk lay on the floor, murmuring, "I can almost no longer remember her name, but... I can never forget her. Sometimes I wonder if I could see her on the other side of the world. If so, it would be better to die now than to live on without hope."
"You're right..."
The drunk lifted his wine bottle and turned to look north. The woman he longed for was to the north, in that city called Xuzhou. Alas, he would never see her again.
"Huh?"
The drunk suddenly narrowed his eyes. He gazed north, not seeing the woman he loved, but a glimmer of azure light in the darkness. Following that, a colossal figure in the night, its long legs striking the ground, creating dull thuds.
"What is that?"
The two drunks craned their necks to look.
In the dilapidated buildings of the urban village, doors opened one by one. Many people, groggy from sleep, looked north, wondering what was happening. They asked if it was an earthquake. Also, the northern sky flickered with light, and distant roars could be heard, as if... a great battle was unfolding in the distance.
"What's going on?" On a helicopter, a patrol officer looked into the distance. His rank was too low for him to have received any warnings, and he had no idea that an S-class Kui Jia Mother Beast was upon them.
The next moment, the colossal figure in the distance suddenly accelerated, enveloped in primal energy, and fiercely slammed into the city shield that Xi City had already activated.
"Boom—"
The loud noise echoed throughout Xi City. At this moment, no one could doubt that a war between humanity and other life forms had truly arrived. The city descended into chaos, and in moments, the streets were filled with cars, motorcycles, and people.
...
Forty miles east of Xi City.
On a Chi You-class medium cruiser, Murong Feiyue watched the scene in the distance through the cockpit. In the night, the shape of the Kui Jia Mother Beast was unclear, but the massive azure energy storm was very distinct. It was continuously battering Xi City's shield with its own energy. More critically, beneath the Mother Beast, countless sea beasts also swarmed, their tentacles dancing as they assaulted the city shield.
Xi City was one of the key strongholds of the Eastern Sea coast in the Huaxia region. Its city shield was the highest S-class, but under such relentless assault, it would surely not hold for long.
"What are the people from the 176th Division doing!?"
Murong Feiyue angrily slammed her fist onto the control panel in front of her, gritting her teeth. "Giving up a perfectly good Xi City to the sea beast horde just like that? What about the millions of civilians inside? What is Wang Tuzi doing right now?"
Ning Yu frowned. "Commander Wang's unit was rendered almost combat-ineffective by a single electromagnetic pulse. They are currently repairing their machinery, and the Eighth Army Group is deploying an airborne division to parachute into the area north of Xi City."
"That location..."
Murong Feiyue looked confused. "Parachuting directly above the Mother Beast? Are they tired of our soldiers' lives? Contact the Supreme Commander immediately. I want to lead people through to reinforce. Xi City is definitely going to fall. I just hope we can delay the sea beast assault a little longer, to buy the civilians time and space to escape."
"Ah?"
Ning Yu was surprised.
Murong Feiyue had already activated her Xi He-class armor, opened the hatch, and floated out, hovering between the border defense forces of the Seventh and Eighth Army Groups at Xi City. She looked at a lieutenant colonel in charge of a regiment from the Eighth Army Group and frowned. "If your eyes aren't blind, you should see the Mother Beast attacking Xi City. Your 176th Division has already been suppressed by the sea beast horde. If you don't let us through now, the consequences will be dire."
"General Feiyue..."
The regiment commander also frowned. "It's not that I don't want to, but the orders I received are to defend this area and not let anyone pass through, to prevent panic in Xi City."
"I've already sent someone to contact Supreme Commander Chen Cong."
Murong Feiyue raised an eyebrow slightly. "Are you going to disobey Chen Boyu's orders, or the Supreme Commander's orders?"
"But..."
"No 'buts'!"
Murong Feiyue was furious. "Are we just going to wait for Xi City to turn into ruins? Get out of my way, all of you, or my two heavy armored divisions will not be polite. Anyone who stands in our way, we will destroy them!!"
"Yes..."
The regiment commander gritted his teeth and waved to his rear. "Disperse everyone! Let our brothers from the Seventh Army Group pass to resist the sea beast horde. We'll go together. One more person means one more effort!"
In an instant, the defensive electric fences were dismantled, and Murong Feiyue raised her hand, ordering two elite heavy armored divisions guarding the coast to march majestically towards Xi City.
...
Late at night, Xi City suddenly plunged into darkness. All power within the city cut out in an instant, and the entire city seemed to be plunged into darkness and panic. Only the headlights of private cars crammed onto the streets illuminated a corner of the city. And in the north, with a roaring explosion, the city shield that protected Xi City vanished, finally breached.
The sea beast horde entered the city and began to wreak havoc everywhere, leaving behind only desperate screams in its wake.
Originally, Eighth Army Group Supreme Commander Chen Boyu had intended to delay until dawn, at which point it would still be possible to evacuate civilians. However, he had never expected the 176th Division to be defeated so quickly, their defenses broken by the sea beast horde in just ten minutes. This completely disrupted Chen Boyu's plans.
In the early morning hours, a large number of sea beasts invaded Xi City, plunging the entire city into extreme panic. The airborne division outside the city, having just landed, was immediately surrounded by the sea beast horde. It was difficult enough for them to defend themselves, let alone reinforce Xi City.
In the sky, fighter jets circled, continuously pouring fire onto the ground, blasting sea beasts into bloody messes. But the sheer number of sea beasts was overwhelming. Although humanity had absolute air superiority, they could not deal with the dense sea beasts within the city. Led by the Kui Jia Mother Beast, the entire sea beast horde was like a frenzy, filled with murderous intent.
...
Around 2 AM.
Brilliant artillery fire erupted on the eastern side of Xi City. Murong Feiyue's two heavy armored divisions finally arrived. Cooperating with aerial units, they contained a large number of sea beasts on the eastern side of Xi City. Simultaneously, the air forces from the Second War Zone, flying in from various places in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui, also arrived on the battlefield and began bombarding the Kui Jia Mother Beast in turns.
Given the severe losses suffered by the 176th Division, all aircraft had activated their anti-electromagnetic pulse interference systems and hybrid power programs early on, to avoid suffering significant damage from the Kui Jia Mother Beast's next electromagnetic pulse. For a time, half of Xi City was plunged into chaos.
...
Su City, Feiyue Knights Guild Studio.
Lin Zhao was fast asleep when he was suddenly awakened by a "thump, thump, thump" of knocking on his door. When Lin Zhao opened the door, he saw Luoman standing outside, weeping profusely, with Chen Xue beside her, comforting her.
"What's wrong, Manman?" Lin Zhao asked with a frown.
Luoman's tears streamed down her face. "Brother... I heard the sea beast horde attacked Xi City. Five minutes ago, Mom called me. She and Dad were very panicked. The signal cut off halfway through the call. They said there were sea beasts downstairs already. What should we do? What should we do?"
"Don't cry yet."
Lin Zhao quickly put on his jacket and shoes. He glanced at Chen Xue and said, "Do you know what to do?"
"I know."
Chen Xue nodded, her expression solemn. "Before going downstairs, I've already ordered Dazi to suspend all business for Feiyue Transport. All aircraft have returned to base, and the two Chi You-class ships are fully charged and have taken off. We two will take the external Cloud Shadow-class to meet up with everyone."
"Brother, I want to go too!"
Luoman cried.
"No."
Lin Zhao shook his head. "You haven't been trained, and you'll just be a hindrance. Chen Xue and I will lead the team out immediately. You send me your detailed home address and your parents' phone numbers. I will do my utmost to rescue them."
"Okay!"
Luoman sobbed and nodded, completely distraught, no longer possessing her usual playful spirit.