Pretending to be a genius starts with the civilization advancement assessment.

Chapter 78 Flesh Millstone

The soldiers relied on their strong fortifications to unleash a barrage of firepower efficiently, with only a few soldiers suffering sporadic scratches from bone spikes or acid.

"Attention! A heavily armored target has appeared at the 10 o'clock position!" the observer shouted a warning.

Several Abyssal Rhinoceroses and Abyssal Bears with an energy level of about 200 charged forward despite the hail of bullets. Ordinary rifle bullets clanged against their thick carapaces, having little effect.

"Armor-piercing rounds! Aim at the tracks... uh, aim at the leg joints!" The commander of a Thunder tank quickly corrected the order, and the turret began to slowly rotate.

"Boom!"

A 125mm armor-piercing round accurately severed the front leg of a rhinoceros, causing it to collapse to the ground. The infantry fighting vehicle that was cooperating nearby immediately began to bombard its relatively vulnerable abdomen with its machine gun, quickly killing it.

"Well done!" the infantrymen cheered.

However, the attacks of the Abyss Beasts are not static.

Before long, abyssal beasts with ranged attack capabilities appeared.

Dozens of corrosive alpacas hid behind the herd, their swollen throat pouches pointed at the human positions.

"Night Owl, deal with those spitting guys!" The special operations team immediately guided the helicopter to clean up the area.

As the roar of rotors filled the air, a Night Owl attack helicopter swept past like the Grim Reaper, its 23mm chain guns below the nose spitting fire, raining down shells that turned the herd of corrosive alpacas into sieves.

The battle lasted for about twenty minutes. A thick layer of dust had accumulated in front of the first line of defense, and gray spirit crystals were scattered all over the ground, but no one went out to pick them up.

As per the pre-arranged plan, Nie Chang decisively gave the order:
"Forward crews in areas A and B, provide alternating cover and withdraw to the second line of defense. Mortar teams, fire smoke grenades!"

With a few thuds, smoke grenades exploded in front of the position, forming a milky white barrier.

The soldiers moved swiftly, using trenches and pre-cleared passages to retreat methodically to their pre-arranged positions fifty meters away, near the more fortified bank building and shopping center.

The abyss beast lost its sight and blindly rushed through the smoke screen, only to run headlong into the second line of defense with even more intense firepower, as well as crossfire from newly built firing points on the flank.

Trading space for time and using fortifications to wear down the enemy is a crucial part of the contingency plan.

Just then, the observer noticed that several unusually bright red dots on his portable detector suddenly accelerated and rushed into the battlefield.

Elite Abyss Beasts of the Stardust level arrived one after another and joined the battle.

A porcupine with sharp blades ignored ordinary bullets, its back spurs bristling, ready to fire.

"High energy reaction detected at 4800! Coordinates 221, 154! Entire company, fire immediately!" The artillery observer at the front line practically roared out the coordinates.

Almost the instant he finished speaking, artillery shells from the rear artillery positions roared in, and the dense explosions instantly engulfed the spiky porcupine and a large number of abyssal beasts around it.

As the smoke cleared, the porcupine, its skin torn and bleeding profusely, was visibly sluggish.

Two Night Owl attack helicopters, which were already on standby, swooped down, their rocket pods spewing flames as 70mm rockets rained down on it like hail, further widening the wound.

It let out a painful roar and tried to struggle and resist.

"Final blow!"

A Heavy Halberd shoulder-fired anti-tank missile, hidden in a side building, locked onto it.

"call out!!"

The missile, trailing a plume of flame, precisely penetrated the wound created by artillery fire.

Boom!

The violent implosion finally brought this powerful elite abyss beast to its end. Meanwhile, another Shadow Abyss Leopard, with its ghostly agility, evaded artillery fire and helicopter pursuit, managing to break through the first line of fire.

"We can't let it get close to the main position! All heavy firepower, concentrate your attack!" Nie Chang ordered.

Tank main gun armor-piercing rounds, attack helicopter machine guns and rockets, shoulder-fired anti-tank missiles—almost all available heavy firepower was instantly unleashed upon this monster.

In the deafening explosion and relentless attacks, the Shadow Abyss Leopard was finally blasted to pieces.

The battle was extremely fierce, but thanks to thorough preparation, well-defined firepower, and flexible tactics, the human defenses remained steadfast.

Casualties were strictly controlled within the contingency plan, totaling more than 20 people, mainly caused by the first attack from the ranged elite-level abyssal beasts.

Soldiers on the front lines took turns replenishing ammunition and repairing fortifications, while logistics personnel risked their lives to move back and forth.

Artillery and air force became the main force, repeatedly using terrifying long-range firepower to break up and weaken the dense attacks of the abyssal beasts, which were then cleared out by the front-line troops.

In the old department store's monitoring center, waves of red tide surged on the screen, their intensity seemingly slowly diminishing.

Zhang Weidong and Zhao Tan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Time passed by minute by minute.

As the last Abyssal Leopard leader let out a mournful cry of despair under the combined fire of several tank main guns and anti-tank missiles, the leader-level units of the three miniature Abyssal Nests ultimately failed to make much of a ripple in the face of the human army's meticulously prepared steel torrent and heavy firepower network.

Nie Chang glanced at the time on his watch; forty-five minutes had passed since Lin Yi began neutralizing the poison.

Victory seemed within reach; all they needed to do was hold on for the last fifteen minutes.

However, Nie Chang's tightly furrowed brows did not relax at all; instead, the tension in his heart only tightened further.

Because the cost is enormous.

In order to annihilate these Stardust-class Abyss Beasts that arrived one after another, the troops' reserves of heavy anti-armor ammunition were rapidly depleted.

He had just received a report from the logistics officer that the remaining anti-tank missiles and heavy rockets were, at best, only enough to effectively deal with the strength of another 5 to 6 ordinary Stardust-level elite Abyss Beasts.

Just then, Zhang Weidong's increasingly serious reminder came through the earpiece again.

"At the front-line command, the leader of the small Abyss Nest, along with two Stardust-class elites, has broken through the last line of long-range artillery and is expected to arrive at the front line within five minutes."

five minutes!
A terrifying leader with 17900 source energy points, plus two Stardust-level elites.

The existing heavy firepower is more than enough to deal with the two Stardust-level elites, but the rest is simply not enough to pose a threat to the leader unit. If a monster of that level were to break into the position, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Thinking of this, Nie Chang subconsciously turned his gaze to the absolute core of this battle, the person who had guaranteed, "Leave it to me."

Lin Yi.

At this moment, Lin Yi was still maintaining the posture of pressing down with one hand, and the blue source energy beam was still steadily injecting into the nest vortex. But Nie Chang suddenly noticed that Lin Yi's right hand, which had been hanging naturally at his side, suddenly brushed across his waist and seemed to take something out from it.

The movement was subtle and quick; if Nie Chang hadn't been watching him intently, he would have barely noticed it.

That was by no means an unconscious action, but a final preparation before the battle with a clear purpose.

What is he going to do?
Is this his backup plan?
Nie Chang's heart began to race involuntarily. He stared intently at Lin Yi's right hand, all his attention drawn to it.

On the position, the soldiers had received the warning, the last anti-tank missiles were set up, the heavy machine guns were pointed at the southern street where the Abyss Beast leader was about to appear, and the tanks began to adjust their turrets. A suffocating sense of oppression filled the air.

In the distance, a terrifying pressure, as if it were a tangible force, rolled in, and one could even faintly hear a low and violent roar.

(End of this chapter)