128: Chapter 128 Command with Composure, Tactical Adjustments

The roaring continued to reverberate through the rock strata, and the black smoke from the burning spore filaments hung overhead like a gray curtain.

Chen Wuwang stood at the edge of the scorched earth, his dagger thrust into a crack in the ground. His hand remained still, but his fingertips tapped three times on the hilt—the exact same habit he had before pressing Enter when writing code.

He understood.

The Mechanical Prosthetic Eye's spectrum mode was still running, and data streams slid past the edge of his vision like a waterfall.

The vibration waveforms triggered by those explosions moments ago matched perfectly with the moments the swarm's movements lagged.

It was no coincidence; the resonance frequency had pierced through their neural conduction chains.

"They fear vibration," he whispered, the corners of his mouth twitching. "This swarm relies on a collective consciousness to synchronize their actions, but no matter how strong their biological structure is, they cannot withstand physical resonance."

Before he could finish speaking, the sound of metal grinding came from the fault on the left.

A heavy mech drove out from the shadows, its tracks crushing scorched bones as its cannon barrel slowly raised.

Inside the cockpit, Chen Tiezhu's face was pressed against the monitor, his fingers dancing rapidly across the control panel.

"Family Head!" his hoarse voice came through the communication channel. "The earth dragon's secondary arm is destroyed, but I salvaged its shock cannon and installed it on the 'po shan'. It works! Tell me how to fight!"

Chen Wuwang looked up, his gaze sweeping across both sides of the battlefield.

At the front breach, the Heavy-Armored Soldier Ants were advancing in formation, their shells gleaming with an oily luster; every step they took made the ground shake;

On the high rock walls, the Stingers' abdomens were distended, and green mucus dripped onto the rocks, hissing and smoking;

In the air, the Flying Bees circled in alert, their compound eyes locking onto every blind spot in their firepower.

Conventional tactics were useless. Ammunition was bottoming out, the mechs were overheating, and the defensive line was held together by human lives. If they dragged this out for another half-quarter of an hour, no one would make it out of this cavern.

They had to apply pressure on separate fronts to disrupt their synchronization rhythm.

"Tiezhu!" He leaped onto a broken rock ridge, his voice exploding. "Take the mech formation and cut into the left fault. Use the shock cannon to bombard the rock walls—not to kill the insects, but to create secondary vibrations! I want their neural networks in chaos!"

There was a pause in the channel.

"Understood!" Chen Tiezhu roared back. "Tuning frequency to the resonance band, targeting the weak points of the earth's veins! Give me thirty seconds to calibrate!"

"Xiao Dao!" Chen Wuwang immediately turned to the other side.

The Sword Cultivator Team was huddled behind a collapsed bunker. Chen Xiaodao was kneeling on one knee, his left mechanical joint sparking, but when he looked up, his eyes were still as sharp as blades.

"Here!"

"Take the Sword Cultivator Team and charge the front breach. Don't get bogged down in fighting; just sever the central nodes." Chen Wuwang pointed to several glowing glands flickering deep in the lair. "See those green-glowing tumors? Those are their information relay stations. Sever all of them for me!"

"Received." Chen Xiaodao stood up abruptly, the Meteor Sword unsheathed by three inches, the blade slicing through the air with a sharp ring. "Brothers, follow me and break through!"

Both teams moved simultaneously.

The mech formation advanced along the fault, tracks crushing rubble, cannon barrels aimed at the cracks in the rock strata; the Sword Cultivator Team leaped from the bunker, their footsteps light and fast, advancing toward the front breach under the cover of smoke and dust.

But as soon as they started moving, problems arose.

The first round of shock cannon fire erupted, the shells hitting the rock wall and blasting apart debris, but the frequency was wrong. The vibration waves scattered chaotically, and the swarm only paused slightly before continuing their advance.

"It's off!" Chen Tiezhu roared in the channel. "The geological feedback is too noisy; I need to recalculate the resonance points!"

Meanwhile, on the front battlefield, three Stingers suddenly leaped down from the high rock crevices, their tail needles spraying mucus. Two Sword Cultivators couldn't dodge in time, their armor corroded with large holes, and they staggered back.

"Xiao Dao! The right flank is exposed!" someone shouted urgently.

Chen Xiaodao gave a low shout, his left arm forced to charge, a string of electric arcs bursting from the mechanical joint. He shot out like an arrow, the third stance of Meteor Sword Intent, "Falling Star," slashing down fiercely!

"Sshhh!"

Three insect heads flew up, the mucus sizzling as it splashed onto the sword blade. Before he had even steadied himself after landing, he waved his hand and ordered: "Two people, help the wounded retreat. The rest of you, form a 'Triangle Assault Formation' and press forward with me! Don't stop!"

They charged into the breach.

But the insectoid race reacted extremely quickly. The Heavy-Armored Soldier Ants immediately changed formation, and a three-sided encirclement was forming.

If they dragged it out for another ten breaths, the Sword Cultivator Team would be completely engulfed.

Chen Wuwang stood on the high ground, blood-red patterns flashing in his pupils, as the Mechanical Prosthetic Eye instantly pulled up a 3D topographic map overlaid with the vibration wave model.

He stared at the data jumping on the screen, his fingers sliding rapidly across his wristwatch.

Found it.

"Tiezhu!" He spoke abruptly, his speech speed like a rapid-fire talisman gun. "Tune frequency to 7.8 Hertz, phase shift 0.6—hit their neural beat! The second bombardment must hit the F-3 sector precisely!"

"Received! Calibrating—three, two, one, fire!"

"Boom—!!"

This time, the shock cannon shell drilled deep into the rock strata before exploding. The shockwave traveled along the cracks in the earth's veins, and the entire left rock wall trembled violently, the frequency hitting the sensitive band of the insectoids' neural conduction perfectly.

In an instant, the movements of all the insectoids stalled in unison.

Their compound eyes flickered in disorder, their arthropod limbs twitched, and even the Flying Bees rolled and tilted in the air. That feeling of coordinated oppression that made it hard to breathe vanished for 0.3 seconds.

Now is the time!

"Xiao Dao! Do it!" Chen Wuwang blew a tactical whistle, short and sharp.

Chen Xiaodao had already been gathering momentum. Taking advantage of the moment the swarm was in disorder, he unleashed his full Meteor Sword Intent. The sword light, like a meteor, tore through the smoke and dust, rushing straight at the three glowing glands inside the lair passage.

The sword passed, followed by three muffled thuds.

The three tumors burst in response, green plasma spraying out, as if some kind of biological circuit had been forcibly severed.

The insect tide's offensive stalled.

The Heavy-Armored Soldier Ants, which had been pressing forward step by step, suddenly lost their direction and spun in place; the Stingers on the high ground stopped charging their tail needles, their antennae waving wildly; even the Flying Bees began to collide with each other, falling onto the scorched earth.

"It's effective!" someone roared in the channel. "They're in chaos! They're really in chaos!"

"Attention all units!" Chen Wuwang's voice was steady but carried an unshakeable force. "They fear vibration! Continue the pressure, suppress their rhythm! Mech team, maintain the bombardment frequency; Sword Cultivator Team, push forward and clear a safe passage!"

The defensive line stopped retreating.

The veteran spat out the ash in his mouth, picked up his talisman gun, and reloaded. "I told you the Family Head wouldn't let us die in vain! Fire! Give it everything you've got!"

The teenager gritted his teeth and charged out of the bunker, his muzzle spitting flames, burning a Worker Ant trying to crawl up into charcoal. There were still tear stains on his face, but his eyes were different now.

Chen Wuwang still stood on the rock ridge, his dagger unsheathed and held horizontally in front of his chest like a banner.

He didn't smile, nor did he shout for victory. He knew this was only the beginning; the real counterattack hadn't even started yet. The insectoid progenitor was still deep inside, and a greater storm could arrive at any moment.

But for now, at least they had held their ground.

At least, no one was asking "how much longer can we hold out" anymore.

He looked down at his wristwatch; new orders hadn't been generated yet, and old data was still flowing. The Mechanical Prosthetic Eye continued to scan the battlefield, capturing every vibration feedback.

In the distance, Chen Tiezhu adjusted the cannon angle inside the mech cockpit, cursing while his hands remained as steady as an old craftsman's.

Nearby, Chen Xiaodao led his men deep into the passage, his left arm still sparking, but his steps were firm. Wherever his sword pointed, no one dared to block.

The smoke and dust had not dispersed, and the battle had not ceased.

But the situation had already begun to turn.