79: Chapter 79: The Prodigy Terrified? He Abandons His Teammates and Runs Away!

Inside the command tower, Ye Ninghan stared intently through the scope.

Within the crosshairs, monsters with bodies flowing with liquid metal were lining up in a chilling formation.

Liquid metal tower shields, terrifying strength capable of tearing mechs apart with bare hands, and the perverted ability to devour metal and assimilate armor.

Ye Ninghan's breathing became rapid.

She would never forget those 55 seconds on the War Chess network.

That battle was the greatest nightmare of her high school career.

Her pride and joy, the third-generation beyond-visual-range firepower System, hadn't even lasted a single volley against these monsters.

She had originally thought that black-haired youth was just a mysterious Prodigy who had popped up from nowhere.

But now, this silhouette perfectly overlapped with that memory.

The commoner from Jiangcheng, Lin Yuan!

Ye Ninghan's gaze crossed over the front line, looking deeper into Lin Yuan's formation.

This look made the blood in her body nearly freeze.

On the War Chess network, although these monsters were abnormal, they still had clear divisions of labor.

Those following the Titan path were responsible for tanking damage, while those on the Shadow Lurker path were responsible for assassinations.

Only the leading monster commander possessed both characteristics.

But now.

In her line of sight, tens of thousands of massive, iridescent Tyrant Demons were clearly reflected.

Not only were they wielding liquid metal weapons, but their bodies were also surrounded by ripples of Shadow Lurker energy.

Tens of thousands of monsters with Fusion of dual Laws!

And the monster commander that had once left her with psychological trauma.

It had now expanded to fifteen meters in height.

As it stood there, the surrounding gravitational field was forcibly compressed, creating visible ripples.

The terrifying pressure of the Platinum rank was enough to set off her electronic radar alarms from ten kilometers away.

Look at her own side again.

A coalition of nine families, three million troops.

It sounded intimidating.

But in Ye Ninghan's eyes, these so-called Crystal Rock Titans and high-energy electromagnetic mechs...

...were no different from paper toys in front of those liquid metal monsters.

If they really fought.

The opponent's front row would tank the firepower, Shadow Lurker assassins would cut into the back row, plus the swarms of insects and poisonous fire that would obscure their vision.

This coalition of three million would definitely collapse the moment they made contact!

"Ye Ninghan! What are you doing!"

In the communication channel, Zhao Xinghe's voice made Ye Ninghan's ears ache.

"Has the main cannon finished preheating? Give me a barrage of firepower immediately! Carpet bomb that brat's front line! Don't delay everyone from dividing the Source Crystals!"

Zhao Xinghe's urging was like a bucket of cold water, jolting Ye Ninghan awake from her fear.

Carpet bombing?

With what? With our lives?!

Ye Ninghan gritted her teeth, her hands swiping across the control panel.

"Full channel command change! All firepower Systems are to be deactivated! Power cores are to be overloaded to one hundred percent capacity!"

"Cancel attack formation!"

"All troops, activate maximum-level energy shields and ascend vertically! Immediately! Right now!"

Following her orders.

On the left flank, thirty thousand heavy hovering gunships simultaneously retracted their barrels.

Their thrusters spat out tail flames.

Three hundred thousand high-energy electromagnetic mechs quickly activated their anti-gravity devices, following close behind.

The technology-side troops, without any warning, rose directly from the ground and accelerated rapidly toward the high altitude.

This scene left the entire coalition defensive line in a brief state of stupefaction.

Zhao Xinghe was stunned.

The young master of a conglomerate beside him also had his mouth agape.

"Ye Ninghan, are you crazy!" Zhao Xinghe roared on the public channel, "What are you pulling your troops up for? Are you trying to desert in the face of battle?"

Ye Ninghan stood in the command tower, looking down at the scions of the prominent families and conglomerates who were still wearing blank expressions.

She opened the all-channel voice broadcast, her voice surprisingly calm.

"Zhao Xinghe, the Ye Family is withdrawing from this Source Crystal vein. You all can play by yourselves."

Once these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the coalition channel.

Ye Ninghan ignored the noise.

Out of a bit of sentiment from belonging to the same provincial capital circle, she left one final message.

"For the sake of us knowing each other, I'll give you a piece of advice."

"Right now, immediately, clear the way. While he hasn't made a move yet, get out of here quickly."

"That Lin Yuan... is not someone you can afford to provoke."

Having said that, Ye Ninghan cut off the communication directly.

The technology-side army turned into a rain of blue meteors, fleeing toward the high altitude of the planet without looking back.

Afraid that if they were a second too slow, they would be kept there by the monsters below.

On the wasteland, the wind and sand howled.

The originally impregnable nine-family defensive line suddenly revealed a gap due to the sudden withdrawal of the left flank.

The remaining nine people had faces as ugly as could be.

"Coward! Simply an incorrigible coward!"

Zhao Xinghe kicked the shoulder of his Crystal Rock Titan, trembling with rage.

"Before the fight has even started, she's been scared out of her wits by a commoner! How could the Ye Family produce such trash!"

The twin brothers who controlled the Light and Dark Cavalry sneered: "An embarrassment. When the grand exam is over, I want to see how Ye Ninghan can hold her head up in the provincial capital circle!"

"Good riddance! With one less person, we'll get a bigger share!"

"Exactly! Who does she think she is? Without her, our coalition of eight families can still crush that commoner!"

"All troops, fill the gap on the left flank! Prepare for battle!"

After a brief moment of shock, the scions of the prominent families erupted into even more intense fury.

They viewed Ye Ninghan's retreat as a trampling on the dignity of the prominent families.

They one after another mobilized their Divine Power, preparing to vent all this fury onto Lin Yuan on the opposite side.

Ten kilometers away.

Lin Yuan stood on the shoulder of the Tyrant, slowly lowering his right hand which had been ready to issue the attack command.

He looked at the shrinking blue dots in the sky, his eyebrows slightly raised.

"What's the situation?"

Lin Yuan was a bit confused.

He had been preparing to have his entire army press forward and flatten this bunch of guys blocking his way.

As it turned out, the opposing left flank suddenly just flew away.

Not a single shot fired, just running away.

"Internal strife over uneven spoils? Or some new tactic to lure the enemy deep?"

Lin Yuan rubbed his chin.

However, whatever.

In the face of absolute strength, all fancy tactics are futile.

Missing one troop unit will only make it easier for him to kill them.

Lin Yuan turned his gaze back to the coalition of eight families that had filled in their formation.

"Since some people are in such a hurry to die, then I will grant their wish."

Demon Suppression Fortress, VIP viewing room.

Inside the spacious and luxurious hall, the air had solidified.

Just a few minutes ago.

These top bigwigs of Tianhai Province...

...were still holding crystal glasses filled with red wine brewed from high-grade spiritual fruits, watching the big screen with relish.

"The nine-family coalition, this lineup configuration is perfect."

"That kid is too arrogant. He doesn't know how to assess the situation, crashing directly into such an iron plate."

"Three million troops are enough to exhaust his proud mutated legion to death."

"A commoner is a commoner after all. Without elders to guide him, he has the force but lacks the big picture. He can only obediently surrender."

The heads of the prominent families flattered each other, their words filled with contempt for Lin Yuan.

In their view, Lin Yuan was about to pay the price for his recklessness.

However.

When the blue dots representing Ye Ninghan's technology-side troops on the screen...

...suddenly broke away from the defensive line and fled in the opposite direction without looking back...

...all discussion in the hall came to an abrupt halt.

The Ye Family head sat on the sofa, the red wine glass in his hand frozen in mid-air.

He widened his eyes, watching the trajectory of Ye Ninghan's retreat on the screen.

His expression turned from red to white, and then from white to green.

"This rebellious daughter..."

The Ye Family head's voice was trembling.

Disgraceful! Too disgraceful!

In front of the province's bigwigs, in front of the military top brass.

The direct-line Prodigy cultivated by his own family's resources had actually been scared into deserting by a commoner without firing a single shot!

Several friendly conglomerate leaders around him silently averted their gazes, pretending not to see Ye Changkong's embarrassment.

Other family heads also looked at each other, completely unable to understand this move.

Fleeing before the battle.

Selling out allies directly.

In the dictionary of the prominent families, this is an extremely shameful act.

Patriarch Xiao Tiannan sat in the main seat, his fingers tapping on the armrest also stopping.

His brows were slightly furrowed, his eyes gloomy.

Although it wasn't the Xiao Family's people who ran.

But with Ye Ninghan running like this, it was a slap in the face to the entire Tianhai Province prominent family circle!

Just at this moment, an abrupt laugh broke the awkwardness.

"Hahahaha!"

Deputy Commander Chen Tie, sitting in the front row, leaned back in his chair and laughed out loud.

His mechanical prosthetic eye glowed red, with no attempt to hide the mockery on his face.

"Brilliant! Truly brilliant!"

Deputy Commander Chen Tie turned his head and looked at all the bigwigs of the Tianhai Province prominent families present.

"Who just said that the top one thousand on the leaderboard were all your family's scions?"

"Who said that commoners lack the big picture and can only obediently surrender?"

Deputy Commander Chen Tie pointed at the big screen, his voice raised.

"Is this the Prodigy of a prominent family that you claimed had deep foundations and was fed with massive resources?"

"The fight hasn't even started."

"The other side hasn't even blown the horn for the charge."

"Your pride and joy, the top student, has already wet her pants, sold out her allies completely, and run away with her tail between her legs?"

Deputy Commander Chen Tie stood up, his hands pressing on the table, staring down the Ye Family head.

"Family Head Ye, your Ye Family's 'situational awareness' and big picture view have truly opened my eyes."

The Ye Family head's face flushed red, unable to say a single word.

He could only clutch his wine glass tightly.

Hearing this, several military generals immediately joined in the attack, erupting into unbridled, raucous laughter.

"Hahahaha, Old Chen is right. This tactical maneuver, this aerial mobility, is truly a sight to behold."

"Isn't it? She didn't even have the courage to fire, just sold out her teammates directly."

"It seems the prominent family scions have put all their tactical points into how to run away!"

The military was already unhappy with these prominent families and conglomerates that occupied resources but were unwilling to risk their lives on the front lines.

Now that they had caught an opportunity, their mocking firepower was fiercer than the last.

Patriarch Xiao Tiannan let out a cold snort.

"General Chen, don't speak too soon. Ye Ninghan is a coward, but that doesn't mean the others are."

Patriarch Xiao Tiannan looked at the screen.

"The remaining coalition of eight families still has over two million troops."

"The defensive line is still there. That Lin Yuan wanting to take this mineral vein won't be that easy."

Commander Xiao Lie sat in his original seat, downing the strong liquor in his glass in one gulp.

He put down his glass and finally spoke up.

"Then open your eyes and watch clearly."