438: Chapter 373: Three Days of Bloody Battle, the Great Wall of Civilization Finally Forged

The dispersal of the Chaos Beast tide did not bring a chance to breathe.

The warning from Xu was like a bucket of ice water poured over everyone's hearts— "A more powerful existence is awakening; I sense the aura of the Guixu."

Lin Zhou stood atop the command tower, looking at the grayish-white mist in the distance. Within the mist, the fluctuations of Chaos energy had not only failed to weaken but were instead strengthening at an alarming speed. He unfurled the river of civilization, attempting to sense further out, but the edge of the river was blocked by an invisible force—it was the aura of the Guixu, absolute nothingness that even Order could not touch.

[Guixu Aura · Sensing Data]

- Direction: Deepest part of the Chaos Star Domain

- Distance: Approximately 1,000 kilometers

- Intensity: Extremely high (far exceeding Beast King rank)

- Characteristics: Rule Devouring, Existence Erasure, Karma Severance

- Estimated time to reach the Outpost: Approximately three days

"Three days," Lin Zhou whispered.

He turned and walked down the command tower.

"All forces—rest and reorganize for twelve hours. In twelve hours, enter maximum combat readiness."

"Wen Yuan, focus all efforts on repairing the Formations and rune batteries."

"Wang Meng, Tie Xiong, count the casualties and replenish equipment."

"Qin Shuang, stabilize the soldiers' mental states."

"Yes!"

The twelve hours of rest passed in tension and oppression.

The wails of the wounded, the sounds of rune armor being repaired, the humming of Formations... these intertwined into a prelude for the night before the War.

[Civilization Guardian Legion · Combat Readiness Data (After 12 Hours)]

- Total Strength: 5,000 men + 300 Statues

- Casualties: 800 lightly wounded (fit for battle), 200 heavily wounded (sent back to Iron Wall Fortress), 50 killed in action

- rune armor Durability: 75% average

- Rune Batteries: 50 units (all repaired, full energy)

- Defensive Formations: 100% stability

- chaos crystal Reserves: Approximately 8,000 (can be used for emergency repairs)

- Soldiers' Mental State: High morale (buffed by Fire of Civilization)

Lin Zhou stood at the front of the battle line, the zhan nian sword planted before him.

His gaze pierced through the grayish-white mist, as if seeing the battlefield three days from now.

Three days felt like three years.

On the morning of the third day, Xu's alarm finally sounded.

"Master—they are coming!"

Countless figures appeared within the grayish-white mist.

Not tens of thousands, not over a hundred thousand, but—hundreds of thousands.

[Chaos Beast Tide · Final Data]

- Scale: Approximately 300,000 beasts

- Rank Distribution:

- LV200-LV250 (Common): Approximately 200,000

- LV250-LV300 (Elite): Approximately 80,000

- LV300-LV400 (Commander): Approximately 15,000

- Above LV400 (Beast King): Approximately 10

- Special Unit: Guixu Projection (1 unit, located at the rear of the beast tide)

- Distance from Outpost: Approximately 20 kilometers

- Estimated Arrival Time: Approximately 30 minutes

"Three hundred thousand..." Wang Meng sucked in a breath of cold air.

"Ten times our number." Tie Xiong gripped his shield tightly.

"Are you afraid?" Lin Zhou asked.

"No," Wang Meng grinned. "If I were afraid, I wouldn't have come."

Lin Zhou nodded.

"Civilization Guardian Legion—prepare for battle!"

"Yes!"

The vanguard of the beast tide was like a grayish-white tsunami, surging from all directions.

East, south, west, and north—every side had tens of thousands of Chaos Beasts. They no longer charged in scattered groups but crushed forward in dense Formations—this was an organized attack, commanded by a higher will from behind.

"The Guixu Projection..." Lin Zhou looked toward the rear of the beast tide.

There was a massive, ever-shifting grayish-white orb of light. Within the light, one could vaguely see countless distorted faces—the remnants of civilizations swallowed by the Guixu. They were wailing, struggling, and being assimilated.

[Guixu Projection · Data]

- Rank: LV700+ (Early-stage high-tier divine power)

- Form: Indeterminate (Light Orb)

- Characteristics:

1. Rule Devouring: Can devour all rules within range

2. Existence Erasure: Those hit suffer -20% Divinity integrity

3. Karma Severance: Causal laws fail within range

4. Summoning: Can summon more Chaos Beasts

- Weakness: Core (Located at the center of the light orb, must be attacked with the power of Order)

"That is the source," Lin Zhou said. "Destroy it, and the beast tide will collapse."

"But it's at the rear of the tide, separated by two hundred thousand Chaos Beasts." Wen Yuan's face was pale.

"So, we will slaughter our way through two hundred thousand of them."

Lin Zhou raised his hand, and the zhan nian sword unsheathed.

"Stone Statue Guardianss—deploy the Formation!"

Three hundred Stone Statue Guardianss lined up in front, their cyan-white flames of Sword Intent illuminating the grayish-white mist.

[Shushan Sword Formation · Complete Version]

- Coverage Area: Two kilometers in diameter

- Effects:

1. Ally swordsmanship power +100%

2. Enemy defense -50%

3. Sword Intent Resonance: Statues can buff each other, all attributes +50%

4. Sword Intent Protection: Allies within range are immune to mental pollution

"Rune Batteries—fire at will!"

Fifty rune batteries fired simultaneously, beams of light shooting into the beast swarm, killing hundreds with every round.

But three hundred thousand was simply too many.

The first wave of impact slammed into the Stone Statue Guardianss' sword Formation.

Sword light intertwined, shredding the thousands of Chaos Beasts at the very front. But those behind stepped over their companions' corpses and continued the charge. The stability of the sword Formation began to drop.

[Sword Formation Stability: 100%... 95%... 90%...]

"Wang Meng, Tie Xiong, cover the flanks!" Lin Zhou ordered.

Wang Meng led the Vanguard Battalion on the left side of the sword Formation, while Tie Xiong led the War Hall Battalion on the right, using shield walls to block the Chaos Beasts' flanking maneuvers. Qin Shuang's Order Domain enveloped the battlefield, weakening the chaotic rules of the Chaos Beasts.

[Battlefield Data · First Hour]

- Chaos Beasts Killed: Approximately 30,000

- Our Losses:

- Stone Statue Guardianss: 50 lightly damaged, 10 heavily damaged

- Vanguard Battalion: 200 lightly wounded, 50 heavily wounded, 10 KIA

- War Hall Battalion: 150 lightly wounded, 30 heavily wounded, 5 KIA

- Formation Stability: 80%

- Rune Turret Energy: 70% average

In the first hour, they barely held on.

But there were still two hundred and seventy thousand left.

The second hour, the third hour, the fourth hour...

The impact of the Chaos Beasts came wave after wave without pause. The Stone Statue Guardianss' sword Formation stability dropped to 60%, the rune batteries' energy fell to 40%, and the soldiers' stamina was being overextended.

[Battlefield Data · Fourth Hour]

- Chaos Beasts Remaining: Approximately 200,000

- Our Losses:

- Stone Statue Guardianss: 250 remaining (50 withdrawn from battle)

- Vanguard Battalion: 800 remaining (200 casualties)

- War Hall Battalion: 1,000 remaining (200 casualties)

- Administration Hall Battalion: 600 remaining (200 casualties)

- Research Hall Camp: 400 remaining (100 casualties)

- Formation Stability: 50%

- Rune Turret Energy: 20% average

"Captain, we can't hold on!" Wang Meng's voice sounded over the communication link, laden with exhaustion.

Lin Zhou did not speak.

He stood atop the command tower, looking at the battlefield. He saw the fallen soldiers, the shattered Statues, and the warriors still fighting on.

A sense of unprecedented solemnity and tragedy welled up in his heart.

"We cannot retreat," he said softly.

"If we retreat, the Embers Outpost will be gone."

"Shushan will be gone."

"The Way of Civilization will be severed."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

His consciousness sank into the Divine Kingdom Core.

Within the Temple of Civilization, the river surged, and the celestial pillar propped up the sky. The qiankun tripod floated in the center of the sanctuary, the inscriptions of the Hundred Schools on its body slowly circulating in a seven-colored light.

"Divine Kingdom Keystone—come forth!"

He gave a low shout, and a golden keystone from the Divine Kingdom Core flew out from the sanctuary.

That was the Foundation of his divine kingdom—the keystone he had been forging since his freshman year, which carried the Way of Civilization.

[Divine Kingdom Keystone · Data]

- Source: Lin Zhou's Divine Kingdom Core

- Material: Fire of Civilization + Hundred Schools of Thought + faith crystal

- Function: Supports divine kingdom rules, stabilizes the river of civilization

- Current Status: Intact

- Risk: If the keystone is damaged, the divine kingdom will collapse

"Legion Commander, what are you doing?" Wen Yuan cried out in alarm.

"Building the Great Wall," Lin Zhou said.

He held the keystone and flew toward the front of the battle line.

The zhan nian sword was unsheathed, pointing toward the sky.

"Shushan Sword Intent—come forth!"

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

In the Shushan Sword Pavilion, that cluster of Sword Intent fire suddenly flared, transforming into a cyan-white pillar of light that shot straight into the clouds.

The 12,000 Flying Swords in the Sword Tomb let out a heaven-shaking hum simultaneously.

They flew out from the Sword Tomb, like a cyan-white rain of swords, landing before Lin Zhou.

[ Shushan Sword Intent · Summon ]

- Sword Intent fire: Activated

- Flying Sword: 12,000 count

- Sword Intent concentration: Extremely high

- Effect: Can be temporarily "solidified" into physical entities

Lin Zhou pressed the Divine Kingdom Core onto the ground.

The moment the core entered the ground, the earth shook.

"river of civilization — form city wall!"

The river of civilization surged out from the divine kingdom, no longer flowing water, but a solidified, pale golden city wall!

The city wall took the Divine Kingdom Core as its Foundation, Shushan Sword Intent as its sinews and bones, the river of civilization as its bricks and stones, and the Hundred Schools of Thought as its texture.

[ Civilization Great Wall · Under Construction ]

- Length: 10 kilometers (covering the front of the Outpost)

- Height: 50 meters

- Thickness: 10 meters

- Material: Fire of Civilization + Shushan Sword Intent + Divine Kingdom Core

- Progress: 10% ... 20% ... 30% ...

Lin Zhou's Divine Power was being consumed at a rate of 10,000 points per minute.

[ Lin Zhou · Status ]

- Divine Power reserve: 180,000 → 150,000 → 120,000 ...

- Divinity integrity: 100%

- river of civilization level: 100% → 90% → 80% ...

"The captain is burning the river of civilization!" Qin Qing exclaimed.

"It is not burning, it is solidification." Wen Yuan stared at the data, "The river of civilization is transforming from 'liquid' to 'solid', permanently consuming a portion of its level in exchange for the Great Wall's sturdiness."

[ Civilization Great Wall · Characteristics ]

- Defense: Can withstand a full-force attack from a Powerful Divine Power (Initial Stage)

- Characteristics:

1. Order Barrier: Chaos energy concentration within range -80%

2. Sword Intent Counter-damage: Chaos units attacking the Great Wall receive a Sword Intent counter-attack (damage = 30% of attack power)

3. Civilization Blessing: All attributes of friendly forces on the city wall +50%

4. Self-repair: After being damaged, it can be slowly repaired with the Fire of Civilization

- Consumption: Permanently consumes 20% of the river of civilization level

- Construction time: About ten minutes

Ten minutes, on the battlefield, is like ten years.

Chaos Beasts crazily assaulted the Great Wall that was under construction. The Stone Stone Statue Guardianss, Vanguard Battalion, War Hall Battalion... everyone was resisting desperately, buying time for the Great Wall.

[ Battlefield Data · Final Ten Minutes ]

- Chaos Beasts remaining: About 150,000

- Stone Stone Statue Guardianss: 200 remaining

- Vanguard Battalion: 600 remaining

- War Hall Battalion: 800 remaining

- Administration Hall Battalion: 400 remaining

- Research Hall Camp: 300 remaining

- Formation stability: 30%

- Rune Turrets: All energy depleted

"Hold on!" Wang Meng roared, his battle axe cleaving a Chaos Beast. His body was covered in wounds, the Behemoth Berserk state had already faded, and a sense of weakness surged like a tide, but he was still persisting.

Tie Xiong's shield had already shattered, and he used his own body to block the pounce of a Chaos Beast. The Steel Giant kin roared behind him, building the final line of defense with their flesh and blood.

Qin Shuang's Order Domain had already shrunk to a diameter of five hundred meters; her face was pale, and her Divine Power was almost exhausted, but the Light of Judgment was still flickering.

Wen Yuan's Formation core had already developed cracks, but he was still struggling to maintain it, not letting the Formation collapse.

Lin Zhou looked at them, his eyes moist.

"Brothers, hold on a little longer."

"The Great Wall is about to be forged."

[ Civilization Great Wall · Construction Progress: 80% ... 90% ... 100%! ]

Boom—!!!

A pale golden city wall spanned across the front of the Outpost.

On the city wall, countless Hundred Schools inscriptions flowed—Confucianism's Benevolence, Legalism's Justice, Mohism's Universal Love, Daoism's Nature, the School of Military's Courage... every character was glowing.

On the battlements of the city wall, 12,000 Flying Swords were embedded. The blades vibrated slightly, emitting a low hum, ready to shoot at the enemy at any moment.

And the most shocking part was above the city gate. There, a line of golden poetry emerged— "If the Flying General of Dragon City remains, the Hu cavalry shall not cross the Yin Mountains."

[ Civilization Great Wall · Forged! ]

- Poetry effect:

1. Friendly forces within range morale +100%, immune to fear

2. Enemy forces within range all attributes -30%

3. Activate "Flying General of Dragon City" Heroic Spirit projection (lasts ten minutes)

The moment the poetry emerged, countless phantoms appeared above the city wall. They were not stone Statues, nor were they Sword Cultivators, but—Heroic Spirits.

Those soldiers who left their mark in the river of civilization, who had guarded their homeland. They wore armor from different eras and held weapons from different eras, but their gazes were equally firm.

[ Flying General of Dragon City · Heroic Spirit Projection ]

- Quantity: About 10,000

- Level: LV300 - LV500

- Characteristics:

1. Heroic Spirit Body (Physical immunity 50%, Energy immunity 50%)

2. Heart of Protection (Automatically attack invaders)

3. Coexist with the Great Wall (As long as the Great Wall stands, the Heroic Spirits will not perish)

"Kill!" The Heroic Spirit projections roared in unison and charged into the Chaos Beast swarm.

Their swords shattered the bodies of the Chaos Beasts. Their shields blocked the impact of the Chaos Beasts. Their blood sprinkled onto the Great Wall, making the wall even sturdier.

The offensive of the Chaos Beasts was forcefully blocked.

[ Battlefield Data · Ten Minutes After Great Wall Construction ]

- Chaos Beasts killed: About 50,000

- Heroic Spirit projection losses: About 2,000 (can be reborn)

- Great Wall stability: 98%

- Chaos Beasts remaining: About 100,000

"Counterattack!" Lin Zhou roared. He stood on the city wall, the zhan nian sword pointing to the sky.

"river of civilization Sword River — Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin!"

The river of civilization Sword River surged out from the divine kingdom, transforming into countless sword shadows, shooting into the Chaos Beast swarm!

12,000 Flying Swords flew out from the battlements, intertwining with the sword shadows to form a destructive rain of swords!

[ Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin · Great Wall Blessing ]

- Sword shadow quantity: About 20,000

- Flying Sword quantity: 12,000

- Total attack power: Full-force strike of a Mid-Tier Divine Power (Peak) × 10

- Consumption: 50,000 Divine Power + Great Wall reserve

The sword rain fell, and a large area of the Chaos Beast swarm was cleared!

[ Chaos Beasts killed: About 30,000! ]

The remaining 70,000 Chaos Beasts finally collapsed. They no longer charged, but turned and fled in defeat.

The Return to Ruins projection emitted a silent roar, attempting to re-gather the beast tide, but it was already too late.

"Pursue!" Wang Meng led the Vanguard Battalion to chase down the fleeing Chaos Beasts.

Lin Zhou stood on the city wall, watching those fleeing Chaos Beasts, and looking at the struggling Return to Ruins projection in the distance, a sense of exhaustion surged in his heart.

"Captain, the Return to Ruins projection is still there." Qin Qing said.

"I know." Lin Zhou nodded, "But, I can't fight anymore today."

"Our Divine Power, physical strength, and willpower have all reached their limits."

"Rest first, and deal with it tomorrow."

Qin Qing was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Okay."

Lin Zhou turned and looked at the Great Wall.

On the city wall, those Heroic Spirit projections were slowly dissipating, returning to the river of civilization. 12,000 Flying Swords flew back to the battlements and embedded themselves, the light on their blades dimming slightly.

The line of poetry "If the Flying General of Dragon City remains, the Hu cavalry shall not cross the Yin Mountains" was still glowing, illuminating everyone's faces.

"Captain, what is this Great Wall called?" Wang Meng walked over, his body covered in scars, but his eyes were shining.

Lin Zhou thought for a moment. "Let's call it 'Dragon City'."

"Dragon City?"

"Yes." Lin Zhou pointed at the line of poetry, "If the Flying General of Dragon City remains. Dragon City, is here."

Wang Meng was stunned for a moment, then smiled. "Good name."

He turned and looked at the soldiers who were cheering. "Brothers, we held it!"

"Dragon City is ours!"

"Civilization Guardian Legion, long live!"

"Long live!" everyone roared in unison.

Lin Zhou looked at them, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned.

He turned and looked at the distant Return to Ruins projection.

The gray-white light cluster was still wriggling, still struggling, still attempting to devour everything.

But, Lin Zhou was not afraid. Because, behind him, there was the Great Wall. There was Civilization. There were five thousand brothers willing to die for him.

"Tomorrow, I will personally destroy you." He said in a low voice. Then, he turned and walked down the city wall.