73: Chapter 73 Emptying the Base?!

Time: 12 Hours Until the Great Tide

This place was the lifeblood of the Seventh Defense Zone, a strategic reserve warehouse that could only be opened with the highest authority from headquarters during wartime; normally, not even a fly could get inside.

But today, it welcomed three "bandits."

"Is... is this the S-rank armory?"

Su Xiaoxiao looked at the rows of neatly arranged heavy individual combat mechs and the mountain-like piles of specialized ammunition crates, her mouth practically watering. "Captain, can we really just take whatever we want? For free?"

"Commander Lu said that aside from nuclear bombs, everything else is at my disposal."

Lin Yuan tossed the golden Special Operations Group token in his hand, a "kindly" smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

"Since the Commander is being so generous, it would be disrespectful to the old man if we were polite."

"Brothers, let's stock up!"

Watching these three wide-eyed youths rush into the warehouse, a gray-haired First Class Sergeant Major felt his heart bleeding.

"Hey, hey, hey! Easy! That's the latest 'Tyrant-III' individual exoskeleton! It costs thirty million! There are only five in the entire defense zone!"

Clack! Hum—!

As Su Xiaoxiao activated the power core, the steel beast—equipped with two six-barreled Vulcan cannons on its shoulders and a miniature missile pod on its back—let out a roar.

"Awesome! This is so awesome!"

On the other side, Xiang Lie was not to be outdone.

He discarded his previous shield, which had broken during the fight with Wang Hai, and took down a heavy, dark-gold shield the size of a door from the rack.

A-rank Alloy Tower Shield: Immovable Mountain

Equipped with a high-frequency oscillating particle field, it could withstand all physical attacks below the Fifth-Rank.

Not only that, he also picked out a two-meter-long chainsword from the weapon rack.

Vroom, vroom, vroom—!

As the chainsaw spun at high speed, Xiang Lie's image as a simple-minded big guy vanished instantly.

"This shield is tough! This saw has some kick!" Xiang Lie chuckled.

The old quartermaster clutched his heart and turned to look at the captain, Lin Yuan, who seemed the most "normal."

"At least this kid looks like a Mentalist; he'll probably just take a few flying daggers..."

However, in the next second, the old quartermaster's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

He saw Lin Yuan walk over to the strategic materials section and point at a whole row of crates emitting a faint blue light.

"These High-Energy Telekinetic Crystals (S-rank recovery items)—I'll take them all."

"And those..."

Lin Yuan pointed at the red crates in the corner labeled "Extremely Dangerous."

"Those are high-concentration high explosives, right? The kind that's one ton per crate?"

The old quartermaster swallowed hard. "Those... those are engineering explosives used for blasting seabed rock layers. They're extremely powerful, but..."

"How many are there?"

"Inventory is about ten tons..."

"Pack it all up for me."

With a wave of his hand, Lin Yuan opened his storage ring's entrance to its maximum and began a shopping frenzy.

"All... all of it?!"

The old quartermaster was so terrified he slumped to the ground. "Captain Lin! What... what are you planning to do? Are you going to blow up the sea beasts, or are you planning to blow up our base?!"

Ten tons of high-concentration explosives! If that amount detonated, half the base would go sky-high!

Lin Yuan stuffed the last crate of crystals into his ring and gave the old quartermaster a brilliant smile.

"Old man, don't be nervous."

"I'm just planning to go to the shore... and set off a slightly larger firework."

Time: 03:00 Until the Great Tide

Location: Seventh Defense Zone · Special Operations Group Barracks

After returning from the armory fully loaded, Lin Yuan did not idle. Outside, the sky had completely changed.

The once pitch-black night sky now displayed an eerie dark purple, with thick clouds hanging so low they seemed within reach.

The wind and waves on the sea grew increasingly violent, each crash against the breakwater sounding like a clap of thunder.

On the distant horizon, the low, desolate sound of a horn could be heard faintly.

That was the signal for the Sea Race army to assemble.

The entire base was like a bow drawn to its limit; everyone held their breath, waiting for the moment the string would snap.

Lin Yuan sat cross-legged on his bed in the barracks, his consciousness sinking into the system space.

【Current slaughter value: 104,300 points】

This was the massive reward obtained after killing the Sixth-Rank traitor Wang Hai, and it was Lin Yuan's greatest source of confidence facing this catastrophe.

"Time to upgrade."

In previous battles, Lin Yuan realized that although he had many tricks, he still lacked a certain "dominance" when facing true large-scale legion combat.

Flying daggers were fast but limited in number; lightning techniques were powerful but consumed too much energy.

"System, open the skill exchange list."

Lin Yuan's gaze scanned rapidly, finally settling on a skill book emitting an ancient aura.

【Spiritual Telekinesis · Myriad Sword Art (Introductory Chapter)】

【Price: 80,000 slaughter value】

【Description: A variant of the ancient Sword Immortals' sword-kinesis technique. Uses spiritual power to divide into thousands, controlling a massive amount of weapons simultaneously. At the introductory level, one can control a hundred weapons; at mastery, one can control ten thousand swords. It covers the sky and earth—one person is a sword tomb!】

Even though it was only the introductory chapter and was ridiculously expensive...

...it was exactly what Lin Yuan lacked most: the perfect combination of area-of-effect and single-target attacks.

"Exchange!"

Boom!

A massive stream of information instantly surged into Lin Yuan's mind. His sea of consciousness churned violently, and his spiritual power seemed to undergo a qualitative change at that moment, branching out into countless minute yet resilient threads.

It felt as if he had grown countless invisible hands.

Lin Yuan didn't save the remaining twenty-thousand-plus slaughter value either.

【Purchase: Small War Golem (Self-Destruct Type) x 10】

【Price: 2,000 points each】

These were ten round metal robots, only half a person tall. Though they looked comical, they were loaded with high-energy explosives and possessed an automatic enemy-tracking function.

They were perfect for use as cannon fodder or suicide bombs.

Lin Yuan opened his eyes, a sharp light bursting from his pupils. The nine cicada wing flying daggers danced joyfully around him, their speed more than twice as fast as before.

"Everything is ready."

Time: 01:00 Until the Great Tide

This was a rocky beach located at the junction of Sector C and Sector A, the weakest link in the entire defensive line.

According to Wang Hai's recording, the main force of the Sea Race was very likely to tear a gap through here.

At this moment, the wind howled and a rainstorm had begun to fall.

Lin Yuan, leading the fully-armed Judgment Squad, stood on these black reefs.

"Move faster! Bury all ten tons of these explosives in the mud of this shallow water area!"

Lin Yuan directed the ten round war golems as they frantically dug pits.

Su Xiaoxiao, wearing the majestic and overbearing "Tyrant" mech, carried two crates of explosives, swallowing hard as she buried them.

"Captain... this amount is just too terrifying."

"If this goes off, let alone the sea beasts, this entire stretch of sea will be blown to the sky, right? Won't we be shaken to death by the shockwave?"

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Time: 00:00:00 Until the Great Tide

Beep—!

The red countdown on the wall hit zero.

In that instant, the world seemed to stand still for a second.

And then.

RUMBLE————!!!

A roar that seemed to come from the depths of hell rolled in from the distant horizon. The earth began to tremble, and the alarms within the base wailed shrilly through the sky.

By the light of the lightning occasionally tearing through the sky, everyone saw with horror...

...a wall of black water connecting the sea and sky, advancing toward the land with unstoppable force!

That was no ordinary wave.

That was a tsunami a hundred meters high!

And within that giant wave, dense black dots writhed like a swarm of ants—it was an endless army of the Sea Race, numbering in the millions!

At the very crest of the wave, three Sixth-Rank Sea Beast Kings, each over a hundred meters in size and radiating terrifying pressure, roared at the heavens.

And behind them, between the deep dark clouds and the waves, a pair of crimson eyes as large as searchlights loomed indistinctly.

A Seventh-Rank Beast Emperor!

The true apocalypse had arrived.

Facing this scene that was enough to drive one to despair, Lin Yuan stood on the rocks of the Black Reef Beach, letting the gale whip his clothes.

He drew the "black moon" battle saber from his back, and the nine flying daggers spread out behind him like the wings of a god of death.

"Xiang Lie, get the shield ready."

"Xiaoxiao, pre-heat the missiles."

Lin Yuan looked at the impending, colossal wave. There was no fear in his eyes, only a battle intent burning to the extreme.

He licked his lips, his voice ringing clearly through the communication channel:

"They're here."

"Listen up, everyone... it's time to feast!"