Chapter 26: Taking Precautions
The second defensive line was fifty miles away from Luoyu County. Eight hundred thousand Apprentice Level Nine Martial Masters, led by dozens of Earth-rank experts, were stubbornly resisting the impact of the beast horde. Do not be deceived by the sheer number of eight hundred thousand. You must understand that the second defensive line originally had a force of six hundred thousand, basically all core experts from the Mercenary Guild. Meanwhile, the three hundred thousand city guard troops from the first defensive line had retreated after their line collapsed, suffering significant losses, and only two hundred thousand remained after the retreat.
On the defensive front, the eight hundred thousand experts fought the beast horde with great tenacity. They did not skimp on energy for their thermal weapons, which spat out fire frantically. The powerful firepower temporarily relieved the pressure from the beast horde.
"Report, Commander. Everything is going smoothly. Our army of eight hundred thousand has sufficient energy reserves and firepower strong enough to have blocked the beast horde's path of advance." At the front-line command post, dozens of Earth-rank experts sat together, listening to the report from their subordinate.
"You may leave. Keep a close watch on the movements of the beast horde." Ma Chao, an Earth Ninth Level Martial Master and the highest commander of the entire city guard, who sat at the head of the table, waved his hand.
After the messenger retreated, Ma Chao's expression was very serious. "Everyone, news has come from the rear. The flying fur beast horde has been cleared out. I do not know how long our defensive line can hold."
"Lord Ma, everyone here understands why our defensive line collapsed a few days ago. If we do not deal with them, I fear this defensive line will not hold either!" an expert from the Mercenary Guild said.
"Indeed, indeed."
"The fact that hundreds of intermediate savage beasts have appeared in this siege is truly troublesome."
"Brother Hao and Brother Lan were both seriously injured because of this and nearly perished."
The savage beasts on the Fengxuan Continent can be divided into three levels: low-level, intermediate, and advanced. Each level is further divided into three ranks: low-rank, mid-rank, and high-rank. As for whether there are savage beasts above the advanced level, no one present knew, and even if they existed, they would be extremely rare.
Low-level savage beasts are the most common; their numbers are like the ocean, countless. Intermediate and advanced savage beasts live in the depths of the wilderness and rarely appear. The strength of low-level savage beasts corresponds to apprentice-level martial masters, while intermediate savage beasts correspond to the level of Earth-rank Martial Spirit Masters. Therefore, intermediate savage beasts are not to be trifled with. They are the main force and leaders commanding the beast horde in the siege. Generally, in a siege that occurs once every few decades, there are at most nearly a hundred intermediate savage beasts leading the charge.
However, this time, hundreds of intermediate savage beasts appeared, which was truly unexpected. The first defensive line collapsed and suffered heavy losses precisely because the Earth-rank experts did not intercept the brutal charge of the intermediate savage beasts in time. If it were not for the assistance of three Divine Sense Masters in the team, some of them might have perished because of it.
"Everyone, rest assured. The news has already been sent back. I believe County Magistrate Yan Huo will arrange for reinforcements to come," Ma Chao sighed.
Just then, a tall man walked in swaggeringly from outside and said, "Everyone, I just received news that fifteen nearby counties are being attacked simultaneously, suffering significant losses. They have also encountered many intermediate savage beasts. The most terrifying situation is over at Luoxing City, where dozens of advanced savage beasts, along with tens of thousands of intermediate savage beasts and countless low-level savage beasts, have surrounded Luoxing City."
Hearing this, everyone could not help but be startled. This kind of scene was a situation rarely seen in hundreds of years.
"What is going on? Why has it become such a big commotion? Are these savage beasts not afraid that the kingdom will send top-tier experts to completely annihilate them?"
"These savage beasts are truly courting death. Do they really think that just because we humans haven't completely exterminated them all these years, they can do whatever they want?"
"Abominable, abominable, too abominable! If we survive this ordeal, we must petition the kingdom to launch a full-scale war against these detestable beasts!"
Various words of anger, disdain, and contempt rose one after another.
"Alright, everyone, calm down. If we really wanted to annihilate them, it would be quite easy. Just pulling out any Half-God senior would be enough to sweep away these beasts. However, we cannot do that. They are like dairy cows, continuously producing beast crystals. For the sake of our overall development, we must keep them," Ma Chao stood up and intervened.
Everyone present fell silent. After reaching the Earth Rank, they could be considered to have entered the core stratum of human civilization. Even if they were at the very bottom of this core stratum, they understood the power of human civilization better than ordinary people. Truly wanting to annihilate these savage beasts would be incredibly easy.
"Yes, what we need to consider now is how to hold the county."
"Sigh, I fear it will be difficult. This time the beast horde is coming aggressively and is clearly premeditated. We do not have the advantage in strength."
After receiving Ma Chao's report, County Magistrate Yan Huo immediately realized the seriousness of the situation. He immediately dispatched one hundred Earth-rank experts and one hundred thousand Apprentice Level Nine Martial Artists to reinforce the front line, while also busily organizing the evacuation steps, preparing for the worst-case scenario.
You must know that in the entire Luoyu County, there were only about three hundred Earth-rank experts and only four Divine Sense Masters. Two were on the front line, and two were in the city. With this, the front line occupied two-thirds of the total number of Earth-rank experts.
Yan Huo also received news from Luoxing City. Luoxing City had actually been surrounded as well. However, this did not matter; Luoxing City had experts as thick as clouds, and it was almost impossible for the city to be breached. The strength of humans could not be shaken by savage beasts. The order from above was to try to ensure the safety of the children as much as possible; before the war started, it was best to evacuate the children first.
Yan Huo was both happy and depressed.
"Someone, invite the principals of all the schools to me. At the same time, issue an order to gather all students from the elementary academies of all schools, including children under six years old. Oh, and pregnant women as well. Gather them at the City Hall." Yan Huo wanted to activate the teleportation formation at the City Hall to evacuate the children to Luoxing City in batches.
Taking precautions, if they really could not hold, they would have to spend more energy to activate the teleportation formation. The teleportation formation was convenient, but it consumed too much energy. Now the whole city needed energy; the city defense formation needed energy, the eastern city wall needed energy for reinforcement, a large number of spirit energy rapid-fire guns and sniper rifles needed energy, the spirit power cannons used for city defense needed even more energy, and the production of many supplies also needed energy.
Although Yang Tong and the others had graduated, they were still counted within the category of the elementary academy. They were quickly gathered, boarded buses, and headed toward the City Hall. All government staff had been dispatched to organize the evacuation of the pregnant women and children.
Everyone understood that they had to complete all this work before the second defensive line at the front collapsed; otherwise, it would be too late. When facing disasters and foreign races, humanity displayed unprecedented unity and efficiency.