Upper Capital Base City, Peak Martial Arts Hall.
Ye Lingyun stood in the command room, calmly coordinating the situation on every front.
Before him lay a massive map showing the status of each base city. Red dots crowded its surface, each marking an area that had fallen.
His finger moved swiftly across the map as he issued one order after another. "Third defensive line, reinforce your defenses immediately!"
"Evacuate the civilians in the northern district to the underground shelters!"
"Move all supply reserves to the central district!"
His voice was steady and strong, calming the people around him. His gaze remained composed, but only he knew how much pressure he was under.
The command room was tense and stifling. Voices from frontline commanders kept coming over the radio. Some were close to tears; others broke up so badly that the signal seemed about to vanish at any moment.
A young staff officer watched dots disappear from the map and spoke in a trembling voice:
"Master of the Hall... we've lost contact with the third base city in the western district." Ye Lingyun's hand paused for an instant before he resumed marking the map.
"I know. Tell the fourth defensive line to prepare to receive anyone who makes it through."
Someone couldn't help saying, "Good thing we followed the Master of the Hall's plan and brought most of Dragon Nation's people to Upper Capital Base City. Otherwise, this wave would have finished us."
Ye Lingyun gave no reply, only a slight nod. He knew these preparations were nowhere near enough. The news that the Black Dragon Emperor had broken through to the Eleventh Tier weighed on him as nothing ever had.
But he warned himself not to show it. Everyone depended on him. He had to hold steady, even with turmoil