Mobilization X Arrival X Annihilation
District 13, Rust Remains Alliance Camp.
A heavy cloud of impending battle hung over the entire scrap yard, and the dim sunlight cast a cold, desolate hue over the rows of scrap metal containers and the stacked corrugated iron fortifications.
Since Shattered Eye brought back intelligence that two forces were simultaneously launching an attack, the entire Rust Remains Alliance has been operating at full speed, with everyone entering the highest level of defensive readiness.
Outside the camp, layers of pre-planned defensive lines were laid out.
A shield wall made of scrap steel plates lay across the open passage, with firing ports left in the gaps.
A network of trenches was dug into the ground, the bottom of which was covered with sharpened scrap steel spears.
Hidden within the piles of scrap metal on both sides of the road are modified explosive traps, their fuses secretly laid along the shadows, waiting to be triggered.
All of Shattered Eye's eyeliners were deployed.
Sentries were deployed along several main roads in the distance, with lookout posts erected on top of old shipping containers, and lookouts constantly holding up makeshift observation tubes to gaze at the distant horizon.
Whenever smoke or dust or signs of large groups of people moving were seen, a warning was immediately sent back.
Inside the camp, Iron Wall, Gray Beak, Shattered Eye, and Bago each performed their respective duties.
After this period of honing, practical combat, and mental cultivation, the four core members of the Rust Remains Alliance have completed their initial transformation, and their strength has increased dramatically compared to the past.
Through continuous training, the Iron Wall Body's mastery of binding techniques has become increasingly refined. Its muscles and bones are incredibly strong, and wielding a massive, thickened iron shield, it has become an irreplaceable pillar of the frontal defense.
Gray Beak coordinated the deployment of armed forces, allocating limited firearms, melee weapons, and Molotov cocktails to each squad according to tactical needs, and meticulously arranging personnel grouping, shift rotations, and contingency plans for the wounded.
Shattered Eye is skilled in reconnaissance and psychological analysis, and has developed several tactical plans to deal with different enemies. At the same time, he constantly filters intelligence and predicts the attack routes of the two enemy forces.
The fiercely independent Bago led a group of elite melee fighters, forming a mobile assault team that lay in wait in the shadows behind the defensive line, ready to rush to the breach in the front line at any time.
More than one hundred Rust Remains Alliance members, except for a few who stayed behind for logistics, were all fully armed and in position.
Some men held their positions at the shield wall fortifications, while others provided mobile support. Ammunition, monster meat rations, and basic healing items were all stockpiled at the supply point behind the fortifications.
The three Shikigami, Divine Dog: Totality, Toad, Rabbit Escape, lurk within the intricate network of shadows that stretches across the entire camp, poised to strike.
The newly subdued Nue hovered beneath the high-altitude clouds, concealing most of its form, using its high-altitude view to monitor several distant roads, its pair of yellow vertical pupils overlooking the entire wasteland of District 13.
Jiang Ye stood on the highest container observation platform in the center, the wind blowing his old coat as he calmly gazed into the distance.
He knew perfectly well that the Grey Elder and the Dawn Society were two forces with their own ulterior motives.
Nubia is determined to avenge the death of the standard-bearer Tie Liao, and wants to personally crush the Rust Remains Alliance to wash away the humiliation of the envoy's execution.
Grey Elder, on the other hand, wanted to use the Dawn Society's blade to eliminate himself, preserving his own strength to the maximum extent, and then reap the benefits.
The two parties only formed a temporary alliance based on mutual interests, and were not truly of one mind and one heart.
This is both a crisis and a vulnerability.
Time passed slowly, and the wind in the waste area stirred up dust.
Within the camp, the only sounds were the soldiers whispering orders and checking their weapons. The entire position was like a fully drawn bow, with everyone quietly waiting for the storm to arrive.
"Leader! A large-scale dust storm has been detected on the main road to the east!"
"A large number of people are rapidly approaching us!"
On the lookout post, a sentry suddenly shouted, breaking the brief silence of the position.
Everyone's tension instantly reached its peak. The soft clanging of weapons echoed one after another as the team members behind the shield wall took their positions, fingers resting on their weapons.
Jiang Ye looked up and gazed in the direction where the dust was rising.
On the distant horizon, billowing, yellowish-brown dust stretched out in a continuous arc.
Dark figures emerged from the smoke and dust, a massive armed force advancing step by step toward the Rust Remains Alliance, treading on the gravel ground.
It's the Dawn Society!
Two hundred Dawn Society soldiers stood in neat battle formation, their steps synchronized, exuding a chilling aura.
The formation of the troops was clearly hierarchical, with a very clear division of labor.
The personnel in the front row held heavy metal protective shields, with the shield surfaces stacked one on top of the other, forming a moving Iron Wall.
The middle layer of team members, armed with long knives, steel pipes, and melee weapons, followed closely behind the shields, and were responsible for breaking through the enemy lines and engaging in hand-to-hand combat.
At the back of the column, dozens of guns protruded, their cold barrels aimed at the Rust Remains Alliance, ready to unleash a barrage of fire at any moment.
At the back of the group, three men with distinctly different personalities stood side by side.
They were the three remaining flag bearers under the Dawn Society, each radiating Nen energy, making them genuine Nen user and sharp blades in Nubia's hands.
At the very back of the Dawn Society procession, Nubia stood quietly, dressed in a large black coat.
He was tall and imposing, with a dark and gloomy face, and his eyes blazing with undisguised, overwhelming rage.
He didn't shout anything, but across the open field hundreds of meters away, his gaze pierced through the layers of people and scrap metal, precisely locking onto Jiang Ye on the observation platform.
Their eyes met from afar.
Nubia's lips moved slightly, but he didn't make any sound. He used lip reading to utter two words, one after another.
Destruction!
Two hundred elite troops, three flag bearers, and Nubia himself in command.
This time, he was determined to seize the opportunity and completely take down the Rust Remains Alliance, erasing Jiang Ye and this emerging force from the map of District 13.
The overwhelming sense of oppression, like a heavy tide, swept across the hundreds of meters of open space, enveloping the Rust Remains Alliance's position.
Inside the camp, many of the lower-ranking team members found their breathing becoming rapid and their palms sweating.
Behind the shield wall, Iron Wall gripped his massive shield tightly, his arm muscles bulging.
Gray Beak calmly surveyed the positions of each squad and whispered a reminder to everyone to stay focused.
Shattered Eye constantly observed the enemy's formation, quickly deducing various possibilities for battle in his mind.
Bago's assault team members gripped their weapons tightly, their spiritual energy slowly rising around them.
Jiang Ye stood atop the container platform, his expression showing no sign of panic, only coldly gazing back at Nubia in the distance.
The two armies faced each other from a distance, and an eerie silence fell over the wilderness.
There were no shouts of charge, no shouts of provocation, only the whistling wind; everyone awaited the first signal to begin the battle.
The taut string hanging over everyone's heads had been stretched to its limit; it was just a hair's breadth away from snapping completely.
Just as tensions were running high and a major battle was about to erupt!
Another roar of dust suddenly came from the road behind the camp!
Rumble!
The sounds of footsteps, the scraping of armor, and the clash of weapons grew increasingly clear.
A second, massive force came into view!
The Grey Elder has arrived.