C20 Interception Battle

The frigid moon soared above the pitch-black firmament, with dark clouds coursing through the sky like water. Wang Changqing sat erect in the steel chair of the Lord Hall, his gaze fixed on the holographic projection of an A-shaped hill floating before him.

This hill lay a mere 110 kilometers from the Dawn Territory. Should the hordes of beasts charge at full speed, they would arrive within approximately 30 minutes.

At present, nearly 100,000 beasts converged upon the hill, a compact gathering of over a hundred wild species. Clashes were inevitable despite the presence of dominant creatures keeping order; skirmishes among the beasts broke out intermittently.

As Wang Changqing was poised to command the Mechanical Legion to commence their planned assault, an alert from his Mechanical Butler, Rafe, seized his attention.

"Master, a level 10 entity has been detected, 16 kilometers west of the A-shaped hill. A Nano Reconnaissance Robot conducting a close-range scout has been obliterated. This is the final transmission received from the destroyed unit."

Rafe projected the video onto the midair hologram. The footage began with the Nano Reconnaissance Robot detecting the energy fluctuations of the level 10 being and swiftly closing in on the target. As the view drew nearer, a horde of wild creatures was seen advancing rapidly in the distance.

The creature in question was a centaur, an oddity with the upper body of a human—head, torso, and arms indistinguishable from our own—yet the lower half bore the form of a horse.

The leading centaur, the level 10 entity, wielded a spear crafted from an enigmatic material, its muscular frame exuding formidable strength.

The Nano Reconnaissance Robot's final image captured the centaur glancing in the robot's direction before abruptly hoisting its spear aloft. The creature's upper body recoiled slightly as it hurled the weapon with a powerful flick of its arm. The spear, enshrouded in a brilliant cyan glow, sliced through the air, obliterating the robot suspended hundreds of meters away.

"Centaur? An intelligent being, it seems. Could they be the feared sovereigns of the wilderness, the ones the Huorong Principality dreads?" Wang Changqing whispered to himself, resolve hardening within him. With no path of retreat, he knew he must press forward into the dark.

"Rafe! Initiate the assault!"

The Mechanical Legion, comprising 500 eighth-level and 1500 seventh-level Combat Robots, had been on standby at the edge of the Dawn Territory. They now marched out from under the Energy Shield and advanced toward the A-shaped hill. At their regular pace, they would cover the 110 kilometers and reach their destination in just 15 minutes.

Shortly after the Mechanical Legion emerged from the protective Energy Shield, the wild creatures atop the A-shaped hill were on high alert—a development that Wang Changqing had fully anticipated. After enduring the relentless onslaught of the Mechanical Legion for a full day and night, it would have been astonishing if the wild creatures hadn't organized a force to keep watch over the Dawn Territory. Otherwise, Wang Changqing would have had serious doubts about their intelligence.

Five minutes into the march, the Centaur Clan, led by a formidable level-10 Centaur Leader, arrived at the A-shaped hill. Eight minutes after the Legion's departure, the Wild Beasts on the hill began to stir, roused by the Centaur Leader's thunderous roar. Thirteen minutes after setting out, the beasts came within striking distance of the Mechanical Legion.

"Attack!" Wang Changqing commanded, his eyes blazing with determination as he sat in the steel chair within the Lord Hall.

The Mechanical Legion responded to the attack command with precision, swiftly forming a blockade. The Defenders charged to the forefront, hunkering down and deploying their Energy Shields. Snipers took a knee amidst the ranks, steadying their long-range kinetic sniper rifles and seeking out their targets. Destroyers unfolded their missile racks, arming the fragmentation missiles for launch. The Butchers, positioned close to the Defenders, had the indicator lights on their Rapid-Fire Cannons glow to life, signaling readiness.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

A hailstorm of metal bullets, like a swarm of locusts erupting into the sky, left nearly invisible trails as they hurtled toward the oncoming horde of beasts.

"Awoo~"

"Roar~"

The vanguard of level-5 Wild Beasts, riddled with high-velocity bullets, collapsed in agony, quickly engulfed by the mass of creatures surging behind them. Even those beasts that had activated their Energy Shields upon their charge were no match for the firepower of the Mechanical Legion's lowest-ranked level-7 soldiers.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

At that moment, the Destroyer launched a shrapnel missile, its white tail flame tracing a graceful arc across the sky before whistling down upon the beast horde.

The explosive roar of the missile rivaled the wrath of a thunder god, sending shivers through the more timid creatures of the Wild Beasts.

A barrage of shrapnel missiles rained down, detonating upon impact. The lethal spray of metal fragments and the devastating blasts felled a swath of Wild Beasts. The energy shields of the lower-level creatures proved as effective as tissue paper, offering no resistance. The razor-sharp shrapnel sliced effortlessly through the shields of level five and six beasts, reducing their flesh to pulp and creating a macabre downpour of blood.

Within the horde, some beasts began to falter, but the majority, driven by their primal instincts, roared defiantly and surged forward in a relentless charge.

The Mechanical Legion's onslaught was unyielding. A relentless metal tempest battered the beasts, reaping scores of lives, while Wang Changqing's experience points soared.

From a bird's-eye view, despite sustaining heavy casualties under the Legion's assault, the beast vanguard continued its slow, inexorable advance. According to data from the Mechanical Butler Rafe, in 13 minutes, the Wild Beasts would close in to a range where they could unleash their skills.

With time's passage and at great cost, the beasts finally pushed to within 400 meters of the Mechanical Legion—twice the maximum skill range Wang Changqing had on record and the threshold of his designated warning line.

As the Wild Beasts breached the alert perimeter on the light screen, Wang Changqing didn't hesitate. "Initiate the second phase of the blockade!" he commanded.

The Mechanical Legion, save for the stationary Defenders, divided into two contingents. One group began a strategic retreat while engaging the enemy, and the other surged at full throttle toward the secondary defensive positions.

With their firepower suddenly halved, the Wild Beasts' advance quickened. As they closed in to 300 meters, a brilliant display of multicolored light erupted from their vanguard. Then, a volley of skills—Ice, Fireball, Wind Blade, Water Ball, Fire Spear, Earth Spear—hurtled forth from the throng, each one a deadly harbinger of the battle's next phase.