148: Chapter 148 Mobile Fortress

Night gradually fell.

Inside the mobile fortress, everyone began to eat dinner.

Although they were in the wilderness, the food was not meager.

Specially processed nutritional food could quickly replenish the stamina consumed by the Awakened.

There was also some normal food brought out from the Safe Zone.

After all, when staying in a dangerous environment for a long time, maintaining one's mental state was equally important.

Lin Yan sat by the table, looking at the forest outside the window that was gradually sinking into darkness, and suddenly asked:

"Captain Zhao, why have we been taking detours this whole way?"

Captain Zhao looked at him.

"You noticed?"

Lin Yan nodded.

"Mm."

"Since leaving the Seventh Safe Zone, the route has been avoiding certain areas."

"Those places are uncleared fixed Dungeons. The simple fixed Dungeons have all been cleared, and what remains are fixed Dungeons with extremely high clearing difficulty."

"Because they haven't been cleared for a long time, more and more monsters have been wandering around the Dungeons, gradually forming a monster ecosystem. You can imagine how strong this group of monsters is."

"Therefore, our route this time is to try and avoid all uncleared Dungeon areas."

Dinner continued, and the atmosphere was still quite relaxed.

After all, with a Grandmaster like Escort Leader Wang Qianshuo in charge, neither Jiang Ruoxue nor Lu Zhiyao were too nervous.

It was just that Lin Yan kept observing his surroundings, not knowing why.

Since entering this area, his intuition had felt faintly uncomfortable.

It was too quiet. Outside the Safe Zone, could it really be this quiet?

Lin Yan looked out the window. There were no monster roars in the forest, no sounds of battle, and even the sounds of ordinary beasts moving were rare.

This made him feel a bit strange, but he didn't say it out loud.

After all, Escort Leader Wang Qianshuo, an 89-Rank Grandmaster, was here.

If there really were any danger, the other party couldn't possibly fail to notice it.

...

"Beep—"

"Beep—"

Just as everyone was preparing to rest, a piercing alarm suddenly sounded.

The entire mobile fortress instantly lit up with red warning lights, and everyone stopped what they were doing simultaneously.

The next second, the holographic screen in the center of the fortress expanded, showing a large mass of red dots moving rapidly.

The soldier in charge of reconnaissance turned pale.

"Report!"

"A large-scale monster horde has been detected!"

"The number is increasing rapidly!"

"Expected to enter the warning range in three minutes!"

As the words fell, the previously relaxed atmosphere vanished instantly.

Lin Yan's gaze also fell on the screen; dense red dots, like a tide, were moving toward their location.

Not right...

Lin Yan frowned slightly. According to what Captain Zhao had said earlier.

They had avoided all dangerous areas along this route; such a large-scale monster horde shouldn't appear here.

Moreover, the direction of these monsters was too clear; it didn't look like they were moving randomly through the forest, but rather heading straight for their position.

Everyone's gaze fell upon Escort Leader Wang Qianshuo.

Yet, there wasn't the slightest hint of panic on the face of this 89-Rank Grandmaster; he didn't even frown.

He just slowly stood up, took a glance at the pitch-black forest in the distance, and then spoke indifferently:

"Prepare for battle."

Escort Leader Wang Qianshuo looked at the three of them.

"The three of you, don't run around; stay by my side."

"Do you understand?"

Jiang Ruoxue and Lu Zhiyao nodded immediately.

Lin Yan, however, stared into the darkness in the distance, a trace of doubt rising in his heart.

Escort Leader Wang Qianshuo seemed to have anticipated something long ago.

In the dark forest, countless pairs of scarlet eyes could be vaguely seen.

More and more, getting closer and closer.

The ground began to vibrate slightly, as if something terrifying was rushing toward them.

Boom—

Boom—

Every vibration felt like it was stepping on one's heart.

The federal soldiers standing on the fortress grew increasingly grim.

"The number is still increasing!"

"It has already exceeded one thousand!"

"Expected to enter the attack range in three minutes!"

Hearing the report, Lin Yan's eyes narrowed slightly. Over a thousand monsters.

If they were in a Dungeon, this would definitely be a large-scale battle.

But right now, they were all gathered in the wilderness outside the Safe Zone, which was abnormal in itself.

...

Escort Leader Wang Qianshuo stood at the highest point of the fortress, his black combat uniform fluttering in the wind.

He watched the approaching monster tide in the distance, his expression still calm.

He said indifferently.

"Prepare to fire, wait until they are within range."

"Understood!"

The next second.

The entire mobile fortress began to operate, and all the gun barrels slowly adjusted their direction.

Deep blue energy began to gather, and the energy particles in the air surged madly toward the gun barrels.

"They're here!"

The soldier in charge of reconnaissance suddenly shouted.

"They've entered range!"

"Fire!"

Boom!!!

The next moment.

Dozens of dazzling blue-white beams erupted simultaneously.

The pitch-black night sky was instantly illuminated; streaks of pulse cannon fire cut through the darkness, landing precisely in the center of the monster horde.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Explosions rang out continuously, and the earth shook violently.

Large swathes of the forest were Rend by the terrifying energy, and the monsters rushing at the very front were instantly reduced to fragments without even a chance to scream.

Flesh, bones, everything was annihilated by the energy.

Second round.

Third round.

Fourth round.

The pulse cannons on the mobile fortress fired continuously, creating a death zone.

Those monsters rushing madly were forcibly stopped hundreds of meters from the fortress.

"The number is decreasing!"

"Over sixty percent of the first wave of monsters has been cleared!"

The soldiers inside the fortress continuously reported the data.

However, from deep within the distant forest, several deafening roars echoed.

Roar!!!

The terrifying sound wave instantly drowned out all the explosions.

The next second.

Several massive figures suddenly charged out from the monster horde, their speed astonishingly fast.

They did not charge in a straight line like ordinary monsters, but moved constantly between the artillery fire.

Dodging and turning, even using the bodies of other monsters as cover.

A pulse beam shot toward them, and one of the monsters shifted its body to the side, dodging by a hair's breadth.

Boom!

The beam landed, grazing its body and obliterating a large group of monsters behind it.

But that elite monster remained unscathed.

"Elite monsters!"

A guard's expression changed, and he hurriedly activated the detection instrument.

However, the next second, his expression became even uglier.

"Rank exceeds 60!"

These monsters were too smart; they weren't just charging based on instinct.

They were using the terrain, using their companions, and even observing the patterns of the artillery fire.

...

"Commander Wang!"

"Should we concentrate fire on the elite targets?"

A soldier asked.

Everyone's gaze fell on Escort Leader Wang Qianshuo.

However, Escort Leader Wang Qianshuo just shook his head.

"Don't worry about them."

Escort Leader Wang Qianshuo said calmly:

"Continue attacking the monster horde, prioritize clearing the numbers. Those few..."

He looked at the elite monsters that had already broken out of the monster tide.

"Leave them to the team captains."

The next moment.

The several team captains behind him moved simultaneously.

Click!

Weapons were unsheathed, and a cold light flashed.

The captains stood at the edge of the fortress.

Their auras began to release; each of them was a high-Rank Awakened over Rank 60.

Another pulse cannon blast landed. The monster tide in the distance was still decreasing, while those few elite monsters had already broken through the artillery blockade and were getting closer and closer to the fortress.

One of the giant monsters, over twenty meters in size, suddenly leaped up.