425: Chapter 425 The Division of Forces in the Abyss

Medical staff in white and green uniforms pushed anti-gravity stretchers, moving rapidly through the wreckage of these steel behemoths.

On the stretchers lay soldiers who had lost arms, legs, and even half of their torsos.

There was no wailing.

In the entire camp, aside from the low growl of engines and the clatter of machinery, not a single human groan of pain could be heard.

It was as if everyone here had grown accustomed to parts being stripped from themselves or their companions.

Qin Zhan's troops stood in formation at the edge of the camp; a military array of tens of thousands, yet as silent as a graveyard.

A unique engine hum approached from a distance.

A pitch-black hovercar, its surface painted with the Silver Great Wall and star emblems, glided smoothly toward the front of Qin Zhan, ignoring the rugged wreckage on the ground.

The car door flipped upward.

An officer stepped out.

His military boots were spotless, and on his crisply ironed deep-gray uniform, he wore three shining star insignias.

He walked up to Qin Zhan, snapped his feet together, and gave an impeccable military salute.

“Abyss Domain Military Department and 'Eternal Great Wall' United Defense Group, Wartime Command Center Third-Class Commander, Gu Liancheng.”

Qin Zhan did not return the salute.

Gu Liancheng lowered his hand, seemingly completely unbothered by the offense.

He pulled up a document from the tactical terminal on his wrist, and a light screen projected between the two men.

It was a personnel reception list.

“Commander-in-Chief Qin, according to the 'Blue Star Expeditionary Corps Temporary Jurisdiction Regulations,' all personnel of your unit are, as of this moment, taken over by the Abyss Domain Joint Defense Command Center.”

His statement was straightforward and flat, as if he were reading a weather forecast.

“Additionally, a battle situation report. As of three minutes ago, the frontline collapse rate across all nine major war zones of the Abyss Domain has reached 82.3%.”

This number elicited no reaction from the surrounding Fangs members; they remained as still as statues.

But Wen Yan's fingers paused for a split second on his terminal. He knew what that number meant.

It wasn't just that the defense lines were being breached; entire units, along with their positions, were being wiped off the map.

Gu Liancheng pushed the list forward.

“According to the agreement, please sign.”

Qin Zhan's gaze swept over the list and finally landed on that cold electronic board.

He reached out, took the stylus, and traced his name in the signature field.

Stroke by stroke, it was heavy and slow.

The moment he finished signing, a denser roar of engines echoed from the distance of the camp.

A convoy of dozens of massive wheeled troop carriers was driving into the camp from the horizon.

“Very well,” Gu Liancheng retracted the list. “The D3-3 Sector defense line is currently under assault. Your people will be immediately deployed to the battlefield as the first replenishment sequence.”

He raised his wrist again.

A massive holographic projection unfurled above the convoy.

It was a real-time updated battlefield situation map.

The blue light dots representing the defenders on the line were already sparse beyond recognition and were slowly but steadily shrinking backward.

And in front of the blue defense line was an endless swarm of red markers, so dense they merged into a creeping tide of blood.

In the corner of the projection, a counter jumped frantically.

The red markers representing the number of monsters were continuously increasing at a rate of over a hundred per second.

The soldiers throughout the camp looked up, staring numbly at that expanding red mass.

Despair had already become the norm.

Lin Yu stood behind Qin Zhan, also looking at that holographic map.

While others saw despair and death, what he saw was a detailed topographic map marked with real-time coordinates and energy signatures.

His brain automatically filtered out the colors representing life and death and began operating at high speed.

Sector D3, fan-shaped defensive position, frontal width 34.7 kilometers, depth 12.9 kilometers. Average monster energy levels between 35,000 and 52,000.

Wait a second?

What level?

Lin Yu confirmed several times that he hadn't misread it.

Shit, he was Level 0, and these monsters on the front line were tens of thousands of levels?

But...

With his current Spiritual Power, if he used the [Ghost Card] and [Multiplication Card] for amplification, the coverage area of a single [Lightning Spell]...

Hard to say; it hadn't been tested yet.

Zhong Huai took a step forward from the formation and stood to the side of Gu Liancheng.

He didn't look at the suffocating situation map, but instead stared at the approaching troop carriers.

“Commander Gu, I need the specific sector division details, as well as our unit's independent command channel and logistics supply sequence number.”

This was the most standard pre-battle handover process.

Confirm the position, clarify responsibilities, and ensure logistics.

Gu Liancheng retracted the holographic projection.

That blood-colored tide of terror vanished instantly, leaving only the half-fake, half-real sky overhead.

He glanced at Zhong Huai, appearing somewhat surprised that someone would still ask such a "naive" question.

He pointed his finger toward the troop carrier convoy that had come to a stop and opened their rear hatches.

“There is no Blue Star sector.”

Gu Liancheng's voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly cut through all the surrounding engine noise.

“All of you must be dispersed and incorporated into the Abyss Domain's existing sequence squads.”

The moment the words fell, the air froze.

Clang!

A piercing metallic crash exploded.

Yan Pojun moved. That iconic half-length battle blade was drawn from his waist, tracing a cold, sharp arc as the back of the blade slammed heavily onto the hood of Gu Liancheng's hovercar. The smooth black coating instantly dented inward, with spiderweb-like cracks spreading outward.

“F*ck your rules.” Yan Pojun propped himself up with the blade using his single arm, the muscles on his left arm—which was held in a sling—tensed, and every word was squeezed out from between his teeth.

Wen Yan's figure blurred, appearing beside Yan Pojun. His hand didn't touch the blade; instead, he pressed down on Yan Pojun's arm that was holding the weapon. The action wasn't heavy, yet it made it impossible for Yan Pojun to apply another ounce of force.

“Calm down.”

Gu Liancheng ignored the dent on the hood; he didn't even give Yan Pojun a glance. His gaze turned to Wen Yan, as if only just noticing the resistance of these people.

“Emotions don't solve problems.”

He raised his hand and swiped on his tactical terminal. The light screen between them switched instantly, no longer showing the personnel list, but a series of dynamic, blood-red data charts.

“These are the combat statistics of the Blue Star Expeditionary Corps' past thirty-seven reinforcements.” Gu Liancheng's finger pointed at a sharply declining curve. “New units deployed as intact formations have a survival rate of less than ten percent within the first twenty-four hours of engagement. Those that can last past seventy-two hours are less than one percent.”

The data was cold and devoid of emotion. On the light screen, the blue dots representing the new units were extinguished in large swaths the moment they touched the red tide, like sparks hit by water.

“Blue Star teams, even elites like the Fangs, severely lack continuous combat experience in the Abyss Domain's high-pressure environment. Your combat rhythm, energy application, and squad coordination have a generational gap compared to the veteran units of the Abyss Domain.”