11: Chapter 11 The vanguard of the insect swarm was less than five miles from the mountain gate, and that dark, swarming shadow was rapidly approaching.

The Zerg tide's vanguard was less than five li from the Sect gate, that mass of oppressive black shadows rapidly closing in.

Accompanied by a slight tremor, the drill bit of the first excavation unit finally successfully bit into the surface layer of the mineral vein.

Gravel splattered, spiritual energy pipelines hummed to life, and the guide rails slowly pushed forward.

Chen Wuwang stood before the control console, his knuckles resting on the edge, tapping rhythmically as if listening to the heartbeat of the machine.

The mechanical prosthetic eye in his left eye glowed with a pale blue halo, scanning the data stream of the entire mining tunnel—temperature normal, pressure stable, spiritual energy feedback values rising steadily.

It worked.

At least for this moment, it was stable.

The mountain wind rolled in with mineral dust from the east, carrying the metallic, fishy scent mixed with Spiritual Qi.

In the distance, black smoke was already rising from the chimney of the Artifact Refining Workshop. With Uncle Tiezhu's temper, once he lit the furnace, he wouldn't stop. Chen Wuwang's lips twitched, and just as he wanted to breathe a sigh of relief—

The sky suddenly turned green.

It wasn't the sunset glow, not lightning, nor the reflection of spiritual patterns when a talisman array was activated.

It was a viscous, cold green that seemed to seep from the underground, like rotting moss crawling across the sky.

The entire cloud layer was dyed a ghostly green, the light and shadows flowing like a tide, one wave pressing over another, sweeping over the mountain ridge and swallowing the northwest outpost.

Chen Wuwang's fingers stopped.

He looked up abruptly, his mechanical prosthetic eye instantly switching to long-range imaging mode.

As his vision zoomed in, on the cliff line three hundred li away, dense black dots were surging out from the fissures in the ground, blotting out the sky like an inverted dark cloud.

Those things had wings, no eyes, and twisted bodies; they emitted a low-frequency tremor while flying, like thousands of dull knives scraping against bone.

The swarm.

And not the kind that wandered around in scattered groups.

It was a tide.

"Beep—beep—beep—" The alarm blared.

On the control panel of the automated mining System, red lights flashed everywhere; all excavation units automatically locked, and the spiritual energy circuits entered an emergency cutoff state.

The vibration frequency shifted from steady to high-frequency trembling, and the ground began to bounce slightly, as if some behemoth were rapidly approaching underground.

Before Chen Wuwang could move, the door was kicked open. Bang!!!

The heavy alloy door of the main hall was blown off its hinges, slamming into the side of the control console, sparks flying everywhere.

A figure stumbled in, his mecha tattered, the armor on his left arm broken and falling off, revealing charred circuits and blood-soaked bandages underneath. It was Chen Xiaodao.

He knelt on one knee, his knee cracking the floor, his right hand gripping the sword hilt at his waist tightly, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper grinding on iron:

"Patriarch! Over thirty thousand low-level flying insects have crossed the cliff! The vanguard is less than ten li from the Sect! The insect cloud directly ahead is forming an encirclement!"

Before he could finish speaking, he spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground.

Chen Wuwang stepped forward. He didn't help him up, but instead raised his hand to press on his own left eye, whispering: "Access remote surveillance of the West District."

His mechanical prosthetic eye hummed, and three real-time images instantly overlaid in his vision: the northwest outpost had collapsed, with several corpses gnawed clean remaining in the wreckage; the swarm's vanguard was only eight li from the Sect gate, moving extremely fast; further away, ground fissures were continuously expanding, as if the entire earth were being ripped open.

His pupils constricted sharply.

It wasn't a random attack. It was aimed at the mineral core.

"They know," he whispered, "The mineral vein has appeared, Spiritual Qi has surged, and the Zerg Broodmother has sensed it."

Chen Xiaodao looked up, his face stained with blood and ash, but his eyes were terrifyingly bright: "I destroyed two guiding talisman arrays and delayed them for half a quarter of an hour... but I couldn't stop them."

"You've done enough." Chen Wuwang patted his shoulder, with heavy force, "Get up, don't kneel."

Just then, heavy footsteps came from the entrance of the hall. Chen Tiezhu had arrived.

He wasn't wearing a protective suit, just a dirty leather apron, clutching a heavy forging hammer in his hand, his knuckles white. His face was covered in charcoal ash, but his eyes were hotter than a furnace.

He stood at the entrance, neither entering nor retreating, his voice so low it sounded like it was squeezed from underground: "Patriarch... the current spiritual array can hold for at most a quarter of an hour."

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing: "Level two defense... has never been tested in actual combat."

The air froze.

The control console's alarm was still blaring, the red light flashing on and off, casting faces in alternating light and shadow.

Chen Wuwang didn't look at him, nor at Chen Xiaodao, just stared at the swarm data stream on the screen, his fingers tapping the edge of the control console again—click, click, click—the rhythm twice as fast as before.

He knew what Tiezhu was afraid of. Afraid the System would crash. Afraid the mechas would be sent to the battlefield before being fully calibrated. Afraid that the clansmen would just see hope, only to be torn to shreds.

He was afraid too. But he couldn't show it.

"Then we'll test it now." He finally spoke, his voice not loud, but like a blade hacking into stone.

The next second, he opened his eyes wide.

Blood-colored spiritual patterns exploded from deep within his pupils, spreading like a spider web, instantly covering the entire whites of his eyes.

He slammed his right hand down on the activation button of the central control console, and the clan-wide broadcast System started with a roar—

"Activate Level Two Defense Protocol!"

"All combat members board your mechas, non-combat personnel retreat into the underground fortifications!"

"Execute now!"

The moment the order fell, the entire Chen family's great array hummed and vibrated. Defense nodes hidden throughout the mountain lit up one by one, spiritual energy conduits supplied power across the board, and a dull mechanical whirring came from underground, like the low growl of a behemoth before waking.

Chen Wuwang withdrew his hand, the blood patterns not yet dissipated.

He stood where he was, hands braced on the operating interface, his knuckles white from the force. His gaze swept across the screen: the swarm was seven li away, six li, five li... speed undiminished.

"Xiao Dao." He didn't turn his head, "Go to the equipment area to change your weapon System, don't push yourself."

Chen Xiaodao gritted his teeth and stood up, dragging his tattered mecha as he turned and left, his steps staggering but fast. When he passed Tiezhu, the two exchanged a look; they didn't speak, but they both understood.

Tiezhu took a deep breath and turned to rush toward the Artifact Refining Workshop, his heavy hammer swinging in an arc in his hand.

"I'm going to check the mecha deployment status! The first batch must be able to move!"

He ran in such a hurry he almost tripped over the threshold, but he didn't even stop.

Only Chen Wuwang remained in the hall.

The alarm was still piercing, the red light flashing, casting half his face in crimson, the other half in gloom. The three old scars on his right cheek burned faintly, as if the Zerg's claws were clawing at his memories again.

He looked down at his hand. His knuckles stopped tapping.

Then he slowly raised it and pressed a black button at the very bottom of the control console.

That was the switch for the direct passage to the spiritual array core. As long as he pressed it, he could immediately arrive at the main control array eye and personally take command.

But he didn't press it. It wasn't time yet.

He had to wait. Wait for the swarm to get closer, wait for all the clansmen to be at their posts, wait for the System to give the next instruction—if it would really sound at a time like this.

In the distance, the first insect cry tore through the sky. Sharp, shrill, like countless people screaming at once. Immediately after, the second, the third... the sound of thousands upon thousands of wings beating merged into one, like the rolling of thunderclouds before a storm.

At the foot of the mountain, people had already begun to move toward the underground fortifications. Children were carried into the tunnels, the elderly hurried along leaning on crutches, and the men from the Medicinal Field group carried boxes of spiritual plant seeds, looking back at the Sect gate as they ran.

They didn't fear death. But they didn't want to die in vain.

Chen Wuwang finally moved. He released the button and turned toward the hall entrance. His footsteps were steady, leaving an impression with every step. The blood patterns were still burning in his eyes, like two undying flames.

Just as he stepped over the threshold, the wind rushed at him, carrying the putrid, fishy scent unique to the swarm. He looked up.

The sky had been thoroughly illuminated by the green light, the clouds churning like boiling water. The Zerg tide's vanguard was less than five li from the Sect gate, and the mass of oppressive black shadows could be seen with the naked eye, rapidly approaching, blotting out the sky.

"Come on then," he whispered, his voice almost swallowed by the wind, "Let's see if you devour the mineral vein... or if I use your shells to pave the way for new mechas."

Just then—deep within his Sea of Consciousness, a whisper quietly sounded.

[In three quarters of an hour, the West Ridge earth vein will crack; one Zerg egg core can be collected.]

Chen Wuwang's footsteps paused. The corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.