189: Desperate Combat Power Comparison

The lights in the underground laboratory flickered in the aftermath of the energy, and the air still carried the scorching heat from the forging.

Su Lei slowly sheathed his blade, and the last trace of dark red pattern on the blade disappeared with it, as if a sleeping Vicious Beast had retracted its fangs.

Qin Wuyan stared intently at the long blade, data streams flashing across his mask, his expression showing a rare fluctuation.

"It perfectly inherited the characteristics of the Demonic Beast's dark aura..."

His voice trembled with disbelief, and he unconsciously tightened his fingers.

Dean Li, standing beside him, adjusted his slipping glasses, his face filled with shock.

He reached out to touch the blade, but stopped abruptly an inch from the scabbard, as if afraid of disturbing some terrifying presence, and eventually withdrew his hand, feeling disappointed.

"Not only that."

"Monitoring shows it also possesses characteristics like space distortion, self-repair, and superconductivity..."

The old man looked up at Su Lei, his eyes full of shock and reverence.

"The technology of ancient civilization is truly incredible."

"If this blade could be mass-produced..."

Su Lei's lips curved slightly, and his fingertips gently caressed the dark patterns entwined around the hilt.

"Unless another limb of the Demonic Beast is cut off."

Dean Li was speechless.

"What's so difficult about that?"

Qin Wuyan suddenly burst into hearty laughter, his mechanical palm slapping heavily on Su Lei's shoulder, making a dull clang of metal.

"In the upcoming decisive battle in the Northern Territory, with our two blades combined, we'll chop off ten or eight of its limbs!"

"Let's go, they've already arrived."

...

The dome of the tactical conference room projected a faint blue holographic starlight, and generals in military uniforms sat on both sides of the long table.

When Su Lei and Qin Wuyan entered, Wang Qingtian and the others immediately stood up and saluted.

The Chief of General Staff pressed the control panel, and a three-dimensional map of the Northern Territory instantly unfolded on the table.

On the ice-covered wasteland, dense red dots spread like a plague.

"Before the operation, it's necessary to clearly explain the situation there."

"Let's start with the first-tier Demonic Monsters."

"First-tier... Demonic Monsters?" Zhao Wuji frowned slightly.

Wang Qingtian, who was sitting beside him, took over the conversation.

"Demonic Monsters refer not only to the offspring of Demonic Beasts and human aberrations, but also to various creatures corrupted and eroded by the dark aura. They can be understood as the Demonic Beast's subordinates and pawns."

"Based on the intelligence collected from the last operation, our military has comprehensively assessed their strength and danger level, dividing them into four tiers."

After speaking, he glanced at the Chief of General Staff, signaling him to continue.

The Chief of General Staff cleared his throat and pointed at the projection.

"First tier usually refers to monsters corrupted from ordinary people and wild beasts."

Distorted human and beast shadows appeared on the projection, their limbs deformed, skin festering, and eyes glowing with a crimson light.

"Although individually not very threatening, their numbers are unbelievably large."

The Chief of General Staff swiped his finger, and countless tiny red dots suddenly lit up on the map of the Northern Territory, spreading like a plague and covering the entire snowfield.

"We estimate that there are at least thirty million first-tier Demonic Monsters in the Northern Territory."

The conference room instantly fell silent, even breathing became clearly audible.

Thirty million—this number was like a huge boulder, pressing heavily on everyone's chests.

Some unconsciously clenched their fists, knuckles turning white; some swallowed, but couldn't make a sound.

The Chief of General Staff continued: "Second-tier Demonic Monsters are formed by the corruption of Martial Artists and low-tier alien beasts. Only Martial Masters can contend with them. Their number is approximately six hundred thousand."

The projection switched, and the screen showed larger monsters.

Their muscles were knotted, bones exposed, and black mist entanglement around their bodies. Even just the image sent a chill down one's spine.

"The third tier is very troublesome; they usually possess Grandmaster-level strength, and their estimated number is around two hundred."

This time, the monsters in the image had already departed from the category of "biological."

Their bodies were twisted and deformed, some even floating in mid-air, surrounded by a suffocating sense of oppression.

"As for the fourth tier..."

The Chief of General Staff swiped his finger, and four huge red dots suddenly lit up on the holographic projection.

They were distributed in the four directions of the Northern Territory, like four insurmountable mountains guarding one side, encircling the central Demonic Beast.

"As long as the Demonic Beast gives an order, it can mobilize tens of millions of Demonic Monsters at any time to form an encirclement."

Qin Wuyan, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.

"So, before dealing with the Demonic Beast, we have to chop off its four watchdogs?"

Wang Qingtian nodded, his expression solemn.

"This is the best strategy derived by the military."

"Even if we can use the space-time rift to instantly reach the Northern Territory's heartland and launch a decapitation strike against the Demonic Beast. But..."

He shook his head, his voice heavy.

"No matter how we calculate, the success rate of sealing the Demonic Beast is no more than twenty percent, and that's under the most ideal circumstances."

"Once they intervene in the battle during the operation, we will inevitably be annihilated."

"Even if we succeed in the operation and successfully Seal the Demonic Beast, we will undoubtedly suffer extreme casualties and be unable to cope with the remaining Demonic Monsters' encirclement."

Everyone nodded slightly at his words.

Just dealing with one Demonic Beast was difficult enough,

It would be even more impossible to face four Great Grandmaster-level Demonic Monsters and tens of millions of pawns.

Once surrounded, they would inevitably be completely trapped there!

Zhao Wuji suddenly spoke, his voice stern.

"Since we can use the space-time rift to teleport to the Northern Territory's heartland, why can't we use this method to teleport back?"

The Chief of General Staff gave a wry smile and explained:

"Because of the dark energy field, the closer we get to the Demonic Beast, the more blue crystal is needed to open a space-time rift."

"Currently, the remaining blue crystal in the Federation is only enough for us to teleport to the Demonic Beast's side."

He paused, his tone becoming even heavier:

"Of course, if we choose a slightly more distant teleportation location, we can indeed save some blue crystal to allow us to open a return space-time rift and retreat safely."

"But once we attract the attention of Demonic Monsters on the way, our whereabouts will be sensed by the Demonic Beast, and the assassination mission can be directly declared a failure."

The air in the conference room seemed to solidify, heavy breathing rising and falling.

Two choices lay before everyone—

If they left room for maneuver, the mission might be declared a failure right at the start.

The Federation would also be unable to organize another such operation.

Either go all out to increase the success rate of the assassination... both choices meant a very high probability of death, just in different ways.

Just as everyone was silent, Su Lei suddenly spoke, his voice calm but with an undeniable firmness:

"I have a way to block the Demonic Monsters' perception and also isolate the dark aura."

Swish—

Several gazes instantly focused on him, a glimmer of hope igniting in their eyes.

"Is it a secret technique from an ancient Legacy?" Dean Li couldn't help but ask, his fingers unconsciously gripping the edge of the table.

Su Lei nodded lightly, "A technique for using Mental Energy."

Qin Wuyan, however, slammed the table, his metal palm making a dull thud on the surface.

"No!"

His voice was decisive, his eyes flashing with a cold light,

"You are the key to this operation!"

"To ensure the success of the Seal, you must be in your best condition before facing the Demonic Beast!"

He scanned the crowd, his tone as stern as iron:

"There are only two outcomes for this operation—"

"Either the Seal succeeds."

"Or we are buried in the Northern Territory."

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