"Once you get used to it, it's much easier to maintain."
As Shen Heng spoke, he looked up at Han Ling.
"Furthermore, because of my abilities, I don't need to expend as much mental energy as you do to monitor the fluctuations of my internal Origin Power and maintain the existence of 'flow'."
"All I need to do is maintain the status quo and adjust accordingly based on any unusual sounds or disturbances detected by the Origin Power."
Han Ling paused for a moment, nodded, and sighed:
"Although I knew it a long time ago, I still didn't expect that you could develop a skill that started as just an F-rank ability to this extent..."
Shen Heng slowly said, "Thinking, trying, and... a skill with high potential for development."
Han Ling nodded silently.
Just as the two were about to say something more, Shen Heng suddenly paused.
He suddenly turned his head and looked into the distance.
Noticing his movement, Han Ling seemed to realize something and looked over as well.
In the distance, within a narrow Light Gate.
One after another, figures whose outlines could only be barely discerned surged out from the Light Gate.
"Are they here?"... Shen Heng gazed intently at the scene in the distance.
If he didn't see a beast tide during the day, he knew there would probably be one at night.
After all, according to the Daoist priest, the Calamity Beast in the Light Gate would emerge 1 to 2 times a day.
Each time, it's a few hundred to a thousand.
I just don't know how many there are this time...
Shen Heng's gaze calmly fell upon the distance.
He hasn't made any moves, and it's not their time to make a move yet.
Almost immediately.
"Boom! Boom boom boom boom--!"
A tremendous roar suddenly erupted.
Flames flickered wildly throughout the camp.
Almost the instant the Calamity Beast emerged, heavy howitzers installed throughout the camp began to fire their shells.
This is the camp's most advanced automated defense system at work.
Radar, satellites, and sensors positioned closer to the Light Gate transmit coordinate information to the fire control system in real time the moment a large-scale emergence of life forms is detected.
The computer completes target locking and trajectory calculation within milliseconds, and directly issues the firing command!
It wasn't just Shen Heng's garrison that was firing; various outposts along the first line of defense surrounding the Erosion Zone were also firing.
"Boom! Boom! Boom--!"
Shells rained down on the horde of beasts.
A series of flashes of light erupted from the blast area.
One massive limb after another fell to the ground, accompanied by screams of pain and rage.
At the same time, the previously quiet campsite instantly erupted in excitement.
There were no urgent announcements, nor were they necessary; the roar of artillery fire was the best notification.
"Enemy attack! Massive beast tide! Towards the Light Gate!"
"All personnel! Prepare for battle!!"
"Quickly! Act quickly! Non-autoloading units, reload immediately! Check the autoloading chain!"
Qin Ye's roaring voice echoed throughout the camp through the loudspeaker.
The tent was suddenly ripped open, and the soldiers who had been resting sprang up as if by reflex, grabbed their weapons, put on their heavy winter clothes, and rushed out of the tent.
Their faces still bore the bewilderment of sleepiness forcibly dispelled, but their movements were swift and orderly.
Their long training and the experience of the previous few days made them realize how precious every second was.
Compared to them, the soldiers who were already on duty and on guard duty tonight were ready to go the moment the artillery fire started.
They were either monitoring the situation on the other side of the Light Gate, operating the cannons, or moving shells.
Everything is proceeding smoothly and in an orderly manner.
A huge searchlight suddenly shone on.
The beam of light, like a sharp sword, shot straight towards the location of the Light Gate.
As the beam of light shone, the scene on the other side suddenly became much clearer.
The Calamity Beast surged outwards like locusts, flames erupted, blood splattered, and limbs flew everywhere...
"What's the situation now?!" Lü Wenrui had also run over, shouted loudly.
Shen Heng glanced at the two people who had arrived, then raised his hand slightly before quickly lowering it again.
In an instant, the clamor of gunfire that had filled the surroundings quickly subsided.
Uh... Lü Wenrui blinked, suddenly realizing that he seemed a bit silly for shouting like that just now.
Shen Heng looked at the two and said, "It's not clear yet, but for now it should be normal. I think the other soldiers are already quite adept at handling it."
Tang Yuanyang looked into the distance and nodded calmly.
"So what do we do now?" Lü Wenrui asked.
"Just wait. According to Daoist Master Li, what we need to do is to stop the Calamity Beast that attack after the artillery barrage is finished, and prevent casualties among the ordinary soldiers," Shen Heng said.
"That's good. We have three Fourth Tier and one Third Tier here. As long as not too many come, there won't be any problem!" Lü Wenrui grinned.
On the other side, inside a tent with its curtains open.
Qin Ye was standing in front of the electronic screen with a frown on his face.
"Gun position #3, adjust the angle, target area 15 degrees east-southeast!"
" Xu Ruiyu, what are you standing there for?! Take some men and replenish the ammunition chain for gun position number 4! Now!"
Orders came one after another from this makeshift command post.
Under his command, the soldiers operated like precise gears, working with tension yet in an orderly fashion.
Under the bombardment from various outposts, the number of Calamity Beast pouring out of the Light Gate is rapidly decreasing.
But Calamity Beast continued to pour out of the Light Gate.
Qin Ye frowned as he watched the Calamity Beast continuously appearing on the screen.
Judging from the current situation, this wave will probably have at least 1,500 heads!
Qin Ye continued giving instructions, occasionally glancing habitually at the edge of the screen.
There were scattered heat sources that had broken through the artillery barrage and were scattering in different directions.
It would be difficult to kill all the Calamity Beast in Light Gate using only artillery.
Firstly, because the Calamity Beast are alive and can move;
Secondly, once the number of Calamity Beast decreases and their distribution becomes less dense, it will be much more difficult to kill them with artillery.
Thirdly, many Calamity Beast would use the corpses of their own kind as shields. Although they would be destroyed after being hit by cannon fire a couple more times, they could at least withstand a couple more hits, and the time it took for them to withstand those hits was enough for them to travel a long distance.
Therefore, after each Calamity Beast surged out, many of Calamity Beast managed to escape the artillery fire.
This time, quite a few Calamity Beast escaped again, but...
Qin Ye's pupils suddenly contracted as he looked at the heat source signal displayed on the screen.
The scattered signals split into three streams.
One of them is converging in this direction.
He was not only shocked by the sheer number of people gathering there, but also because...
Normally, even if the Calamity Beast escape, they scatter and flee in all directions, each minding its own business.
But this time, they came together...
Why?