168: Reaching the Central Mountain Range

Tiangong City, Mecha Manufacturing Center ruins.

"Didn't even see a ghost?"

The Eighth Legion Commander crushed a brick under his foot, his face grim.

The first operation turned out like this; where would he put his old face?

Just now, the entire Manufacturing Center was enveloped by a strange energy, making it impossible to scout the internal situation.

Out of caution, he only dispatched a vanguard unit to probe.

However, the vanguard unit went and never returned, nor did it send back any news.

Before he could make the next move, the Manufacturing Center was revealed to everyone.

The site was completely looted; anything of value was taken, leaving behind only desolate ruins.

They turned the place upside down but didn't even find a trace of the enemy.

Who were these enemies? Where did they come from?

And how did they escape?

He had no idea.

"Legion Commander..."

The adjutant beside him opened his mouth but found nothing to say.

The council had called many times, urging him and asking about the battle situation.

He really didn't know how to reply.

The Manufacturing Center was attacked by unknown enemies?

Unknown number of people? Unknown race?

The purpose... well, that was quite clear: plunder.

But the Eighth Legion suffered heavy losses without even knowing who the enemy was.

If this got out, they would probably be labeled as "good-for-nothings."

Fortunately, they were not an isolated case; the Seventh Legion and Fifth Legion were in the same situation.

"That's right..."

Just then, a flash of inspiration struck the adjutant's mind, and he looked at the Legion Commander.

"Legion Commander, do you think this group of people might be the same group from Giant Mine City?"

From the traces at the scene, the enemies were not small in size.

Not like mechas, so it was very likely they were treants!

"That makes sense!"

The Legion Commander's eyes lit up.

He had long heard about the treant army.

They had the ability to open teleportation channels and move quickly.

This was exactly like the current situation.

The Legion Commander pondered for a moment and immediately gave orders to the signalman:

"Report to the council that we encountered a treant army; their numbers are vast..."

"After a fierce battle, we finally repelled them..."

To save face, he fabricated a battle report and submitted it to the council.

As for the authenticity of this battle report?

That wasn't important!

Anyway, the council couldn't verify it with the treants... Tiangong City, Council Hall.

"It's treants again!"

The Speaker slammed the intelligence report onto the table, his face ashen.

The Manufacturing Center was completely destroyed; there was no hope of replenishing combat mechas in a short time.

What annoyed him even more was that the number of treants appearing this time was more than ten times that of Giant Mine City!

So many treants were already enough to contend head-on with the Empire's main battle legions.

According to the intelligence they had, the enemy also possessed teleportation ability.

This gave him a sense of powerlessness.

How should they deal with such an enemy?

The Speaker took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and began to carefully consider countermeasures.

Since the treants had already appeared in Tiangong City, there was no need to send troops to Giant Mine City.

Since the enemy could infiltrate with so many troops, it indicated that humans had other access routes.

The defense at the spatial rift was no longer meaningful.

It would be better to withdraw the troops, concentrate their forces to strengthen the defenses of various cities, and avoid a repeat of the tragedy like Giant Mine City.

Of course, this was merely a temporary solution.

Only by obtaining the "heart of the earth" could the current predicament be truly resolved.

After some deliberation, the Speaker issued orders:

"Order the Garrison Legion to return to defense, responsible for guarding various cities..."

"The newly formed Eighth and Ninth Legions are to immediately set off, enter the Central Mountain Range, and assist the main force in seizing the heart of the earth..."

"Mobilize all citizens to resist foreign enemies and defend our homeland!"

...Outside the Goblin Secret Realm, Wave-Chasing Battle Group's station.

"What? The Mecha Manufacturing Center was razed to the ground?"

Legion Commander Hong Lie suddenly stood up, looking at the adjutant in disbelief.

The Mecha Manufacturing Center was the top priority of the Goblin Empire; it was just gone?

"Yes, Legion Commander."

The adjutant nodded and handed over the intelligence report.

"According to the intelligence sent back by the infiltration team, the entire Manufacturing Center was plundered by a mysterious force, leaving only ruins behind."

When he first received the intelligence, he also couldn't believe it.

After repeated confirmation, he reported to the Legion Commander.

The methods of this group were too astonishing; the goblins dispatched an entire legion but still couldn't keep them.

"Could it be... the group that refined the treant Secret Realm?"

After reading the intelligence, Hong Lie was thoughtful.

Since the enemy could capture Giant Mine City, capturing the Manufacturing Center didn't seem difficult either.

Moreover, this style of action was exactly the same as when they plundered Giant Mine City.

Besides that group, he really couldn't think of anyone else who could do it.

Just then, a messenger rushed in.

"Reporting, Legion Commander! The goblins guarding the rift have retreated!"

Saying that, he handed an intelligence report to Hong Lie.

"The goblins retreated?"

Hong Lie took the intelligence and quickly flipped through it.

The intelligence showed that the goblins had dismantled the checkpoints by the rift, and their army was hastily withdrawing.

They even abandoned many supplies that were inconvenient to carry.

After reading the intelligence, Hong Lie frowned deeply, lost in thought.

Their side had not taken any action, so the goblins' abnormality must be related to the changes in the Secret Realm.

Recently, only two major events had occurred in the Secret Realm: Giant Mine City and the Mecha Manufacturing Center...

However, these two events were not enough to make the goblins withdraw from the rift.

As far as he knew, the Goblin Empire had newly formed two main battle legions, so they were not lacking in troops.

Such a hasty retreat must hide a conspiracy!

Could it be that they wanted to lure the human army deep in and then set up an ambush within the Secret Realm?

"Notify the reconnaissance battalion to immediately enter the Goblin Secret Realm and closely monitor the enemy's troop movements!"

"Yes, Legion Commander!"

The messenger took the order and left.

After his subordinate left, Hong Lie immediately called the communications of other battle groups.

He needed to discuss the next course of action with the others... Goblin Secret Realm, Central Mountain Range.

This mountain range stretched across the center of the Goblin Secret Realm, extending for a thousand miles, with a magnificent Aura.

Legend has it that the main Peak deep within the mountain range concealed the "heart of the earth," which could change the entire goblin world.

At this moment, in a huge valley beside the main Peak.

The roar of engines and the howls of beasts intertwined, making the battle extremely brutal.

The Goblin Empire's main battle legions were fiercely fighting countless alien beasts.

Mecha wreckage and alien beast corpses were scattered everywhere.

The goblins tried to open the path to the main Peak with their powerful firepower but were firmly blocked by the alien beasts.

On the edge of this battlefield, several figures were quietly lurking.

It was Lin Xingyu and his group, who had just arrived at the Central Mountain Range.

The group had collected many alien beast and goblin corpses along the way.

As the evolution fruit went down, everyone's strength had improved.

Wang Ledian and the other two had even reached the Peak of Four-star Nine-tier, ready to prepare for advancement.

"Good heavens, this scene is truly grand!"

Wang Ledian looked at the battlefield ahead, unable to help but smack his lips.

This was the largest-scale battle he had ever seen, with over two hundred thousand goblin mechas fighting alien beasts.

Just watching a battle of this scale made his blood boil.

It was said that the scale on the Otherworld Battlefield was even larger... He couldn't even imagine what kind of scene that would be?