Dragon Breath!

In the canyon.

The battle was over, and the human side had won a decisive victory.

At the center of the battlefield stood several towering figures, as steadfast as Mount Tai.

Staring at the thousands of Blood-devouring Demon Ant corpses around them, Qi Ling and his companions were momentarily stunned.

This was the first time in their squad's year-long existence that they had slain so many monsters—it was downright terrifying!

The vast majority of the kills were thanks to Lin Ye's contributions.

Though the eight battle-hardened members of the Lingxiao Squad combined couldn't match Lin Ye's kill efficiency, they had still added their own finishing touches.

Gazing at the massive corpse of the Beast General ant in the distance, Yang Xiao's face flickered with hesitation, as if wrestling with something.

After a long moment, he turned to Lin Ye and asked, "Lin Ye, can you tell me your Psychic Power level?"

Shwish!!

That question instantly grabbed everyone else's attention.

Their eyes converged on Lin Ye, gleaming with eager anticipation.

Especially the three warriors who had narrowly escaped death—they revered this powerful Psychic Master as if he were a god.

If not for his intervention, the three of them would likely have been reduced to a pile of shattered bones by now...

"My Psychic Power level?"

Lin Ye raised an eyebrow at the question. "It's just one level higher than your warrior rank."

"One level higher than your warrior rank..." Qi Ling's expression shifted, and he said in a low voice, "A Primary War God-level Psychic Master!"

Lin Ye nodded. "Bingo."

"Alright, now's not the time to dwell on my level. Since a monster swarm has already appeared here, it means the danger ahead is even greater."

He paused, sweeping his gaze across everyone present, and said gravely, "So we need to stay alert at all times and not let our guard down."

Everyone nodded. The corpses littering the ground were a stark reminder that this journey would not be smooth sailing.

If Lin Ye hadn't been here today, the Lingxiao Squad facing a Blood-Devouring Ant Swarm of this scale on their own would have been in for a rough time.

"What about you three?" Lin Ye looked at the three warriors in tattered Combat Suits and asked, "Are you heading back, or sticking with us?"

"If you keep following us, you'll have to face the monsters ahead together."

"If you want to go back, just follow this path. In about half a day, you'll run into a military transport convoy, and then you can..."

"Captain Lin, no need to say more. Just give me a Battle Saber, and I'll keep fighting with you!"

Among the three, the highest-ranked, a Primary Beast General, tossed away his cigarette butt, his eyes burning with resolve.

"Our squad was attacked by an Iron Armored Dragon. We took heavy losses, and even the captain was severely wounded."

"Then we ran into the Blood-Devouring Ant Swarm. The brothers with worse injuries stayed behind to hold them off, and they all..."

"I'll never make peace with monsters. Let's go kill those bastards!!"

"Kill those monster bastards!!" The other two Advanced Warriors echoed, their faces twisted with grief and fury.

"Good, that's the spirit!" Lin Ye nodded, then turned to Qi Ling. "Captain Qi, you don't mind having three more companions on the road, do you?"

"The more, the merrier. Warriors in the wilderness should stick together and keep each other warm."

"Take this Battle Saber for now. Remember to return it to me at the shelter—just ask for the Lingxiao Squad!"

With that, Qi Ling pulled a spare Battle Saber from his backpack and handed it to the Beast General warrior, along with a spare tactical vest.

"Here, take my spare Battle Saber too!" Yang Xiao also produced his backup blade.

"Here~ take it. Kill more monsters!" Xiao Qi added, handing over his own spare Battle Saber.

"This great kindness needs no words. We three brothers won't let you down!"

"No need for that. Killing monsters is good, but taking care of yourselves is what really matters." Qi Ling waved his hand, then swept his gaze over the group. "Everyone rested enough?"

"Yes!"

"Then let's move out. Head to the Jinyun Mountain Area to rendezvous with the Owl Wolf Regiment and the Dragon Breath Squad."

"Roger!"

And so, the Lingxiao Squad, now with three new members, pressed onward.

As evening approached, the dusk deepened.

The last rays of the setting sun faded from the horizon.

Around the Owl Wolf Regiment's encampment in the Jinyun Mountain Area.

Squads of soldiers patrolled routinely along the steel barricades and roadblocks.

Through countless battles with monsters, humanity had learned many hard lessons, refining and improving all their traditional defensive fortifications.

Lines of defenses specifically designed against monsters were established one after another.

At the very front of the position, a vast minefield had already been laid out.

As the first line of defense, these high-explosive mines had limited lethality against War General-level monsters but could inflict considerable damage on those below that rank.

Right behind that came the second line of defense, composed of caltrops, barricades, and high-voltage electric fences.

Following that, the third line of defense consisted of a formation of main battle tanks.

Hundreds of these steel beasts, fully loaded with ammunition, could not only unleash the most ferocious bombardment when the Beast Tide attacked but also obstruct and split the Beast Tide's formation through battle arrays.

More critically, a tank packed with ammunition and diesel was essentially a massive bomb in itself.

The fourth line of defense was formed by elite martial artist squads and ordinary martial artists.

They would handle the dangerous monsters that broke through the first three lines, blocking them outside the defensive works to prevent harm to the regular soldiers operating the thermal weapons.

Thus, this fourth line, composed of martial artists, was also called the lifeline by the soldiers.

If this fourth line fell, the only outcome awaiting this unit would be total annihilation...

Buzz, buzz, buzz!!!

As night deepened, several powerful searchlights on the watchtowers at the four corners of the defensive position flickered on, beginning their night's work.

Woo~ Woo~

A chill night wind howled, sweeping across the desolate and silent wilderness zone.

On a few hastily erected watchtowers, three-man lookout teams were scanning their surroundings.

The searchlights swept over the wilderness, revealing nothing but silence.

The quiet wilderness zone gave the scouts a hint of unease.

Their position was near a mountain range and surrounded by a large lake; logically, there should have been a fair number of monsters.

And based on past experience, monsters should have started harassing and attacking by now.

Yet tonight, the surroundings were eerily silent... The wilderness zone was home to countless monsters—how could it be this quiet?

With suspicion and caution, a scout raised a thermal imaging telescope and peered further into the distance, searching carefully.

For the first half minute, everything was fine.

But then, the scout's expression suddenly changed. His eyes widened as he stared fixedly through the lens.

In the telescope, five enormous pig-like monsters slowly appeared.

Their bodies were covered in red-and-black scales, and on their massive heads grew three long, curved, sharp horns pointing forward.

Fire Scale Three-pronged Pigs!!

The peak species among pig-like monsters, each one incredibly powerful!

And the five Fire Scale Three-pronged Pigs in the scout's view, judging by their size, were clearly High-level Beast Generals.

The telescope's view continued further into the distance...

Behind them were over twenty slightly smaller wild boar silhouettes.

"Colonel Lu Chen, we've got trouble. Six kilometers to the right front, by the river, five High-level Beast General Fire Scale Three-pronged Pigs are leading a group of War General-level wild boars. Looks like they're about to charge the first line of defense!"

The message from the scout over the earpiece made Dragon Breath Captain Lu Chen pause mid-discussion of the battle plan.

The same news reached Owl Wolf Regiment Commander Jia Wangqiang's ears.

The two exchanged a glance, reaching a silent understanding—time to move.

"Dragon Breath Squad!" Lu Chen tapped his earpiece lightly and said in a low voice, "Move out now!"

"Fight!" x28

A crisp, unified response came back, and a faint smile tugged at Lu Chen's lips.

"Thank you for your hard work. I'll be here waiting for your triumphant return!" Jia Wangqiang gave Lu Chen a solemn military salute.

"Don't worry. I'll bring you back the finest material from a Fire Scale Three-pronged Pig." Lu Chen returned the salute with a smile.

Then he picked up the alloy long spear from the corner and turned to leave.

Watching the slender figure walk away, Jia Wangqiang felt an unusual sense of calm.

No reason in particular.

The name Dragon Breath Squad alone was a reassurance.

Dragon Breath, as Shan City's most elite martial artist squad and one of Great Xia's six Dragon-named squads, had a minimum requirement of Mid-tier War General for its members.

Yet these twenty-nine War Generals had, through bloody battles against the Beast Tide time and again, raised the banner of Dragon Breath with their blood and lives.

As a widely circulated saying in Shan City went: Dragon Breath's roster changes with every battle, but Dragon Breath's banner never fades!

"Hahaha, Li Yunfei, Li Yunfei, you'd never guess this in a million years!"

Glancing at the Chief of Staff beside him, Jia Wangqiang couldn't help boasting, "That brat outshines me in every way, but he never imagined I'd get the chance to fight alongside Dragon Breath."

"Even if I'm buried here, it'll be worth it."

Chief of Staff: "..."

"Ah-choo!!"

Hundreds of kilometers away, Li Yunfei sneezed, rubbed his nose, and looked up at the crescent moon in the sky. His booming voice rang out:

"Keep building the fortifications! We're the vanguard regiment this time, so fight like hell, you bastards!"

"You got it!! We'll give it everything and kill those monsters dead right here, don't you worry!" A grizzled veteran replied while setting up a steel roadblock.

"Regiment Commander... tell us about how you chased after your wife back in the day! We want to learn!" Another old soldier grinned, his eyes gleaming with the light unique to lifelong bachelors.

"Yeah, once we're done fighting the monsters, I'm definitely going home for a blind date, and I'll use your tricks to win her over," a young soldier barely twenty years old said shyly, his eyes sparkling.

"Get out of here... a bunch of old and young bachelors, dreaming big!"

"Regiment Commander, have a smoke!" A new recruit scurried up, pulled a Hongtashan from his pocket, lit it, and handed it to Li Yunfei.

"Smart kid. Alright, I'll let a little slip."

Taking the cigarette and taking a deep drag, Li Yunfei patted the new recruit's head approvingly: "Back then, I'd just enlisted. Your sister-in-law, she was the belle of the Cultural Troupe..."

"...Just three months ago, she sent me a message saying she was pregnant, asking me to find time to come back and keep her company, and to pick out a name for the kid..."

"I didn't make it back in time, but I've already thought of the name. I want to tell it to her and the kid in person."

The soldiers jeered: "Regiment Commander, so what's the kid's name?"

Li Yunfei puffed out his chest: "If it's a son, 'Li Weiguo'; if it's a daughter, 'Li **'..."

"Hahaha..."

The night was still.

Deep in the wilderness, the seven or eight thousand men of the War Dragon Regiment were frantically building their defensive line.

The thick searchlight on the watchtower swept slowly across the surrounding area, as usual.

The cool evening breeze carried the scent of humanity deeper into the wilds...

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