The spell's range covers the entire territory of China? Hand it over to the state.

Luofengpo, on the southwestern border.

The place name here is really unlucky, as if it is destined that even the legendary divine bird will have its wings broken here.

The air was thick with the nauseating smell of rust, mixed with the ozone fumes from burning high-energy explosives. The sky was like a tattered wad of cotton, blackened by gunpowder smoke, with only the occasional streak of a tracer bullet providing a sliver of light to this bleak world.

"Left wing! Watch the left wing!"

The shouts on the communication channel had become hoarse and broken. After a tooth-grinding sound of bones cracking, accompanied by helpless blind gunfire, everything fell silent.

Zhao Gang wiped his face; his palm was sticky and covered in warm liquid, he couldn't tell if it was his own blood or the blood splattered on by the bodyguard Xiao Zhang who had collapsed beside him. His left side was numb. The left mechanical arm of his military exoskeleton, "Po Jun," which had accompanied him through three years of combat, along with a layer of flesh inside, had been ripped off by an elite-level Wind Demon Wolf. At the severed point, exposed cables crackled and sparked, the intense heat charring the wound black and curling it, saving him the trouble of applying a tourniquet.

Who would have thought that during the day he was leisurely reminiscing about youth on the school playground, and at night he was burning his life in this meat grinder in this way.

"Chief of Staff... no, Old Zhao!"

Behind the concrete bunker nearby, a dusty figure tumbled and crawled over. This battalion commander, usually a tough guy with bones that could break, now had his face crisscrossed with black gunpowder and clear tear streaks. The barrel of his Gauss rifle was red-hot, and he was still trembling uncontrollably.

"We can't hold them off. The first company is gone, and the third company only had two men left when they reported their positions... These bastards are too fast! Our fire control radar can't lock on at all; it's completely useless!"

Zhao Gang leaned against the cratered, broken wall, panting heavily. His lungs felt like they were filled with red-hot iron filings; every breath was excruciatingly painful.

He looked up and peered through the gaps in the bunker.

In the past, books used the phrase "dark clouds looming over the city" as a figure of speech; now, it's a description of reality.

At the edge of their vision, the black horde of beasts resembled a giant carpet, being frantically rolled towards them by an unseen hand. And on this black carpet, streaks of azure lightning flickered.

That's a Wind Demon Wolf.

Although these creatures are called wolves, their size is comparable to that of a light sedan. Most deadly of all are the azure wind element shields flowing around them, which not only easily deflect the trajectories of small arms but also grant them monstrous acceleration that defies the laws of physics. When they swarm in packs, even S-rank powerhouses are doomed on the spot.

"Whoosh—!"

A sharp, piercing sound suddenly rang out.

Zhao Gang's eyelids twitched, and he instinctively pushed the battalion commander next to him into the mud.

Almost simultaneously, a green shadow swept across their heads. The firing positions behind them, which had been roaring with heavy machine gun fire just moments before, instantly fell silent.

Half a second later, the heavy barrel, along with the upper half of the machine gunner's body, slowly fell from the air and crashed heavily onto the wet ground.

This is the battlefield now.

You can't even see the enemy's face clearly, and before you can even feel fear, the death notice has already been delivered.

Zhao Gang spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva: "Too fast."

Humans' reaction speed is as sluggish as a silent film playing in slow motion compared to these strange beasts.

"Old Zhao, let's retreat!" The battalion commander struggled to his feet from the mud, gripping Zhao Gang's shoulder tightly. "Retreat two kilometers further to the second line of defense. That's the tank brigade's position. We only have infantry left here. Staying here is suicide!"

"withdraw?"

Zhao Gang gave a bitter laugh. He turned his head with difficulty to look behind him.

The night was dark, with only silent darkness in the distance. But he knew that just thirty kilometers behind them lay the city of Kunming, a city of lights shining brightly.

There were no towering city walls, no dense air defense network, only 20 million civilians who had not yet had time to evacuate.

"Tell me, why are we retreating? Didn't we make preparations long ago?"

Zhao Gang asked, "If we can't hold out, we retreat. But what about the lines behind us? How many lines of defense do we have to retreat from? When the beast tide rushes into the city, it won't just be a few hundred soldiers like us who die; it will be the elderly, the children, and our parents back home!"

The battalion commander was stunned, his lips trembling, unable to utter a word.

"We are indeed infantry, without armor or artillery."

"But we're still alive."

With his intact right hand, Zhao Gang drew his dulled tactical alloy knife from his waist. The cold blade reflected the distant flames of war, a sight both dazzling and tragic.

He leaned against the wall, slowly straightening himself. The severed mechanical arm swayed with his movements, making a clanging sound.

At that moment, an absurd idea suddenly popped into Zhao Gang's mind.

He remembered the student he had seen on the playground of Peking University High School during the day. That kid named Su Yun had awakened the unlucky five-meter shaman.

What did I say back then?

"Modern warfare is beyond visual range; within five meters is suicide."

Zhao Gang gave a wry smile.

What goes around comes around.

Who would have thought that just a few hours later, the so-called beyond-visual-range strike would become nothing but empty talk? It's down to hand-to-hand combat now!

If that kid's totem had a range of one kilometer, even if it was just a slowing totem, the battle wouldn't have turned out like this.

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs".

"Everyone has it!"

Zhao Gang took a deep breath and roared at the communicator, which was already crackling due to static interference, with all his might.

That shout actually drowned out the roar of artillery fire and echoed across the battlefield.

"Out of ammo, throw away your guns! Fix bayonets!!"

"If you don't have a bayonet, then grab the pin on your 'glorious' grenades!"

On the battlefield, the surviving soldiers, who had been so overwhelmed by fear that they couldn't lift their heads, were stunned for a moment upon hearing the order. Then, an emotion called "despair" reached its peak, rebounded from rock bottom, and turned into a hysterical determination.

Yes, it's all the same, either way we die.

Rather than being chewed up by these beasts, it's better to break two of their teeth and let them know how tough the bones of the Longxia people are!

Click!Click!

The sound of countless bayonets being cocked came together, crisp and clear like the death knell.

"Brothers!"

Zhao Gang was the first to climb out of his bunker and stand on the front line of the position, which was completely exposed.

The wind whipped up raindrops that lashed his face; it was the stench and shockwaves brought by the charging pack of wind demon wolves.

He looked at the blue Grim Reaper surging towards him like a tide, and raised the knife in his hand high.

"Our home is right behind us! If we back down, our family will all die!"

"For Longxia!"

"charge--!!!"

There were no grand pronouncements, no tragic accompaniment.

Only a few hundred men, knowing they were doomed, let out their final roars into the darkness.

"kill!!!"

They rushed out of the trenches.

Like hundreds of moths drawn to a flame, they recklessly crashed into the black flames that could devour everything.

……

Three thousand meters underground in the capital city, at the Kunlun Command Center.

Here, you can't hear the screams from the front lines, nor smell the pungent stench of blood.

Here, the only sounds are the soft hum of the constant-temperature air conditioner and the cruel reality on the huge holographic screen: the green dots representing the lives of soldiers are rapidly dying out.

A deathly silence enveloped the entire hall.

Everyone was staring at the screen.

The generals, who were usually unfazed even by the collapse of Mount Tai, were now digging their nails into their palms and biting their lips until they bled.

Looking at the faint dots representing the Longxia soldiers on the screen, instead of retreating, they launched a suicidal counter-charge against the red tide of beasts, like moths to a flame.

"They've gone mad...they've all gone mad..."

A young staff officer covered his mouth, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face.

This is suicide.

But everyone present understood why.

This was solely to buy even a second of escape time for the people behind the lines.

"Su Yun!"

Long Yi's voice broke the silence.

The old man's voice was no longer steady; it carried a tremor, a plea, and even a sob:

"Do it!!"

He didn't need to remind them at all.

Even before the bad news arrived from the front lines, Su Yun, who was standing in front of the command platform, had already taken action.

He looked at the screen.

Look at that middle-aged man who only has one arm but is still leading the charge.

Su Yun recognized him. Zhao Gang, the military observer who refused to give him a special recruitment contract because of the "five-meter range".

He was also a pure soldier.

"Don't worry, Staff Officer Zhao."

Su Yun said this softly to herself.

"This time, not five meters. This time, there's plenty."

The boy's slender fingers suddenly pointed in the air.

The action was so casual, it was like clicking a "confirm payment" button on a phone screen.

But deep in his mind, that golden blueprint covering 960 million square kilometers suddenly lit up.

The system notification sound exploded in my mind, like a resounding bell:

[Host's intention detected...]

[The F-rank skill "Mud Totem" is being unleashed...]

[Judging in progress... The talent "Territory is Territory" has intervened.]

[Approved. Current coverage area: 960 million square kilometers.]

[Skill level detected as too low, unable to match current range... Extracting historical context... Reshaping concepts...]

[Skill mutation complete.]

-

【Drawing a Circle as a Prison - Yunmeng Marsh (LV1)】

[Description: Once there was a vast marshland called Yunmeng, spanning nine thousand li in circumference, swallowing the Yangtze and Han rivers, its depths unfathomable. Those who entered this place felt as if they were treading on mud weighing a thousand pounds, or falling into an ancient abyss.]

[Effect: All hostile targets identified as "intruders" will suffer the "Spatial Stickiness" effect. Movement speed and attack speed are reduced infinitely.]

[Current consumption: 10 mana points (already deducted), maintenance consumption: 0 (Due to the characteristic of "All land under heaven belongs to the king," the consumption is compensated by the free energy of heaven and earth).]

[Note: On this land, even the wind has to stop without my permission.]

……

The front line at Luofengpo.

Zhao Gang had already rushed to the front.

The nearest Wind Demon Wolf King was just thirty meters away.

Thirty meters.

For a monster with such explosive power, it's just a matter of a moment.

Zhao Gang could even see the mocking and cruel glint in the wolf king's eyes. It lowered its body slightly, its hind legs tensed, and the surrounding azure energy swirled violently.

It is gathering strength.

The next second, it will shoot over like a cannonball, its sharp claws easily slicing through Zhao Gang's body as easily as cutting through a piece of tofu.

"Come on!!"

With red eyes, Zhao Gang used his last bit of strength to point the knife tip forward.

Die or die!

Eighteen years later, he'll be a hero again!

Whoosh-!

The wolf king moved.

It was too fast. So fast that Zhao Gang's brain had barely received the signal that "it moved" when the gaping, blood-red maw, dripping with saliva, was already in front of him.

A foul-smelling wind blew in.

Zhao Gang didn't even have time to swing his knife.

He instinctively closed his eyes, waiting for the icy, excruciating pain to begin.

……

A second passed.

Two seconds passed.

Three seconds...

The expected pain of a torn neck did not come.

The surrounding noise of shouts and gunfire seemed to become somewhat strange at that moment.

What happened?

I didn't feel like my soul left my body.

Are the services in the underworld so humane now that they can even give you an epidural when you die?

Zhao Gang opened one eye, somewhat bewildered.

Then, he saw a scene that he could never understand in this life, the next life, or the life after that.

That Wind Demon Wolf King is still there.

It was right in front of Zhao Gang's nose, less than five centimeters from his face.

Zhao Gang could even count the number of hairs on its nose and see the bright red flesh hanging from its yellowed canine tooth.

but.

The monster, which had been moving as fast as lightning just moments before, now seemed to be sealed inside a huge piece of transparent amber.

It maintained its fierce pouncing posture, with all four claws off the ground and its entire body suspended in mid-air.

It is not completely still.

It's still moving.

It is moving forward slowly, almost comically, like a movie in slow motion at 0.1x speed.

Its eyes were darting around frantically, filled with terror and bewilderment.

Its massive mouth, which should have snapped shut instantly and crushed Zhao Gang's head, is now slowly closing at the slowest pace it has ever taken.

"Click...sizzle..."

A very faint sound, like glue being pulled, came from the air.

It's not just this side.

Zhao Gang stared wide-eyed, looking past the wolf king in front of him towards the back.

The entire battlefield seemed to have transformed into a massive, absurd oil painting.

The black beast tide that covered the mountains and plains, tens of thousands of the once invincible Wind Demon Wolves and Shadow Leopards, were now all trapped in this eerie "slow motion".

Some of them leaped into the air, like clumsy balloons slowly drifting down; others were running, but their raised claws couldn't land, as if they had stepped into an invisible deep-sea mud pit.

Meanwhile, the Dragon Summer warriors, who were originally doomed and were weaving among them, were now staring blankly at the monsters around them, bayonets raised.

A young soldier, just about to pull the pin on his grenade, froze, his finger on the pin.

He watched helplessly as a sharp claw, which was about to grab his chest, slowly extended, moving even slower than his grandmother practicing Tai Chi.

The young soldier instinctively took a step to the side.

Its claws grasped at empty air.

"What... what's going on?" the young soldier muttered to himself. "Did this monster have a stroke?"

Zhao Gang was also stunned.

He tried to move his hands and feet.

Flexible, free, and without any sense of hindrance.

He tried to take another step forward.

The ground beneath their feet was solid and firm, neither turning into a trap nor exhibiting any unusual features.

But as soon as his gaze fell on those strange beasts, he could feel a visible "heaviness".

The feeling was as if the whole world, the surrounding air, the soil beneath one's feet, and even gravity were all repelling these outsiders.

The air turned into molten steel, and gravity increased a hundredfold.

Every strange beast that tries to run wild on this land is carrying the weight of the entire mountain on its back as it moves forward.

"Thump."

Before them, the wolf king, which had been suspended in mid-air, finally landed.

It didn't land lightly, but rather like an iron ingot slamming into the ground with a dull thud. Its limbs trembled, and it desperately tried to lift its head, but an invisible force pressed it firmly into the mud.

It was howling, but to Zhao Gang, the sound was drawn out, turning into a low, comical "Awooo."

Zhao Gang stared blankly at all of this.

He suddenly remembered that familiar, all-encompassing sense of déjà vu he had just felt.

That was the feeling that boy had experienced a few hours earlier on the school playground when he awakened.

"Conceptual rule determination... Friend or foe identification... swamp totem..."

Suddenly, several words mentioned in the documents popped into Zhao Gang's mind.

He suddenly turned his head and looked towards the distant north, in the direction of the capital.

Rainwater streamed down his cheeks and into his mouth, carrying a slightly salty taste.

He smiled.

First, he chuckled softly, then it turned into a maniacal laugh, so loud that tears streamed down his face.

"Hahaha! Good lad! Good lad!!"

As Zhao Gang laughed, he raised his battle sword, the blade pointing at the wolf king who was still struggling in the mud.

"This is your five-meter radius?!"

"This thing is actually what I said was useless?!"

"The whole group has it!!"

Zhao Gang's roar echoed across the battlefield once again.

This time, there was no despair, only a violent desire for revenge about to be unleashed, as if the anger that had been suppressed in his heart had found an outlet.

The soldiers around them, who had been prepared to die, were finally jolted awake from their shock.

The monsters, which were previously difficult to hit even with heavy machine guns, were now lying on the ground as if they had been paralyzed, at the mercy of others.

If we don't take action now, we'll be letting down all these "live targets" and our fallen comrades!

"Strike while the iron is hot! Kill it!"

"These bastards can't run anymore!!"

"Kill them all!!"

The situation completely reversed in that instant.

What was originally a one-sided massacre has turned into another one-sided massacre. Only this time, the roles of hunter and prey have been completely reversed.

Those wind demon wolves that normally couldn't even catch up with a car could only watch helplessly as a not-so-sharp bayonet slowly, yet inescapably, pierced their eye sockets.

Pfft!

Zhao Gang plunged the knife into the wolf king's neck, and scalding wolf blood sprayed all over him.

He pulled out his knife, wiped the blood from his face, and shouted at the sky with all his might:

Thanks!

I don't know if the boy can hear me.

But he knew.

The boy he judged to have "no future" saved his life, saved the entire camp, and protected the lives of 20 million people behind this defensive line!