315: Chapter 315 Initial Setback, Critical Situation

In an instant, a blood-colored crack exploded from beneath Lei Sha's axe, pouncing toward the Chen Family position like a roaring beast.

Sand and stones flew as the air blast made it impossible to keep one's eyes open.

"Xiao Dao! Move!" Chen Wuwang roared from inside the dawn. His finger hovered over the main cannon's activation button, but he didn't press it—the tracking System was still flashing red text: [Target Obscured, Unable to Track].

"Understood!" Chen Xiaodao growled. His mechanical arm exerted sudden force, and he shot forward like an arrow from a bow.

Before the sword left its scabbard, the intent arrived first.

His right foot stomped the ground, causing it to crack instantly, and his figure flickered as he cut into the left side of the enemy formation. In the next breath, his longsword was unsheathed, and a cold light exploded!

"Meteor Sword Intent—Rainfall Form!"

The sword light fell like a torrential downpour as seven consecutive arcs of Sword Qi slashed out.

Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!

Three men didn't have time to raise their shields; a chill swept across their necks as their heads flew into the sky. Blood sprayed out, staining the yellow sand red.

"Dammit! This kid is so fast he's not even human!" someone shouted.

"Form a formation! Quickly!" an armored brute roared. Seven men immediately raised their shields to form a semicircle. Spiritual light flowed, condensing into a pale yellow light membrane.

Chen Xiaodao sneered. Instead of retreating, he advanced, turning his blade to strike directly at the gaps in the shield formation.

"Want to block me? Too late!"

The tip of his sword tapped the edge of the first shield, using the force to leap into the air. His second strike already slashed toward the shield-bearer's wrist.

The man reacted extremely quickly, pulling back his hand, but his shoulder plate was sliced off, revealing a wound with mangled flesh.

"Good! Push them back another step!" In the mecha cockpit, Chen Tiezhu's blood was pumping as he slammed the console. "Xiao Dao, slaughter your way through them!"

But before his voice finished echoing, a sudden change occurred.

Three enemies on the right side suddenly threw out black tripwires. Runes flickered on the ropes, and upon hitting the ground, they turned into a thick black mist that spread rapidly.

"Smoke bombs!" Bai Ling cried out from a high vantage point. "They're toxic and corrosive!"

Chen Xiaodao frowned, pulling his sword back for defense as he retreated hastily.

But he was half a step too late. The black mist touched his left shoulder plate, and with a sizzle, green smoke rose as the metal surface began to peel away.

"Shit!" he cursed. A soft 'click' came from his mechanical arm joint as stray currents surged, making his entire arm feel slightly numb.

"Don't get bogged down in combat! Fall back!" Chen Wuwang's voice turned cold. "They were prepared for us."

"I know." Chen Xiaodao gritted his teeth, staring at the enemy formation pressing forward again. The Battle Intent in his eyes hadn't died out, but it was now tempered with caution. "These people... aren't some disorganized rabble. They're trained."

On the other side, Chen Tiezhu also moved.

Behind and to the side of the dawn, the engine of a silver-gray mecha, the 'earth dragon type-i', roared. Its drill spun at high speed, emitting faint blue electric arcs.

"I don't believe you hicks can stop technology!" He shoved the control levers forward. The mecha charged, the drill plunging into the ground to advance through the earth.

"I'll dig right through you dogs!"

The mecha was like a shark entering the sea, vanishing underground in an instant, leaving only a rolling wave of soil behind.

But just as the drill reached a depth of sixty feet, the ground suddenly trembled.

Buzz—!

Three blood runes emerged from underground, arranged in a triangle, and activated instantly.

A bizarre suction force pulled at the mecha, causing its power System to stall abruptly. Red lights on the dashboard flashed wildly.

"Warning! Abnormal energy fluctuations! Core temperature skyrocketing!"

"What the hell is this?!" Chen Tiezhu hammered the panel. "Cut the power and restart! Hurry!"

But no matter what he did, the drill kept spinning while the mecha was pinned down by some mysterious force.

Looking up, dozens of vine-like energy chains burrowed out of the ground, wrapping around the armor like living things, tightening their grip.

"Damn! These things can move?!" He pulled the levers desperately, but the mecha wouldn't budge. "Someone! Anyone! Where's the comms?!"

He grabbed the communicator and roared, "Headquarters! Headquarters! This is Tiezhu! Signal is being jammed! Repeat, jammed! I need support! Now!"

The only response was static.

"Dammit... these people are so freaking insidious!" Sweat beaded on his forehead as he gripped the control levers so hard his knuckles turned white. "Want to trap me? I'll plow this ground into dust!"

He slammed the emergency power button. A red light flared from the mecha's back as a high-temperature molten flow sprayed from the armor's gaps, making the chains sizzle.

But as soon as one section broke, new chains grew back rapidly, as if they were infinite.

"Regenerative?!" His pupils shrank. "This is a freaking Living Array!"

Meanwhile, on the central battlefield.

Bai Ling hovered in mid-air, her hands forming seals as the Nature Compass spun rapidly before her chest.

"Ice Domain Barrier—Activate!"

Frost erupted from her palms and spread quickly. The ground froze, causing nine enemies about to charge to slip. Their movements slowed, and they were soon frozen up to their knees, unable to move.

"Nice!" a Chen Family member shouted. "Young Miss Bai's technique is divine!"

"Don't celebrate too early." She bit her lip, her face slightly pale. "This barrier won't last long."

Sure enough, at the back of the enemy formation, a person quietly raised a hand, holding a crimson talisman between their fingers.

"Break."

The talisman ignited, and a fire snake burrowed into the ground, instantly detonating the earth fire.

Boom!

The ice surface shattered, and a shockwave slammed directly into Bai Ling's chest.

She let out a muffled groan as her body jolted violently. A thin line of blood leaked from the corner of her mouth, and she fell from the sky.

"Bai Ling!" Two clansmen rushed forward to support her.

She waved them off, struggling to stand steady, leaning on the ground as she panted. "I... I can still cast... it's just my mana can't keep up..."

"Don't push yourself!" the clansman said urgently. "You've already overextended!"

She shook her head, frost gathering on her fingertips again, but the light was faint; she couldn't even condense a single snowflake.

"No... the World Tree resonance... is being suppressed..."

In the distance, Lei Sha stood on a high slope, watching all this with a sneer.

"Three pieces of trash dare to fight for territory?" He spat. "Cyber Cultivation? Nothing more than this."

He raised his axe and pointed it at the dawn.

"Pass the order! Fire Crossbow Team, aim at that iron shell! Spearmen formation, press forward! Pin them to the ground right here!"

With the order given, the second wave of enemy reinforcements pressed forward in full force.

Twenty fire crossbows fired simultaneously. Flaming arrows fell like rain, causing sparks to continuously erupt from the dawn's armor.

The spear formation advanced in a wedge, closing in step by step and compressing the Chen Family's room for movement.

"Patriarch!" Chen Xiaodao retreated to the main defensive line. His left shoulder plate was heavily damaged, and his mechanical arm was leaking electricity. "The right wing can't hold! There are too many of them!"

"I know." Chen Wuwang sat in the cockpit, data flashing wildly in his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye. But no matter how he adjusted the frequency, the main cannon couldn't lock onto Lei Sha.

"The Spirit Array interference is too strong... the System has flagged it as 'High-Dimensional Obscuration'..." he muttered to himself, his fingers tapping on the console. Da, da, da—the rhythm grew faster and faster.

"Order all personnel to switch to defensive mode," he finally spoke, his voice as heavy as a thousand pounds of iron.

"Xiao Dao, withdraw to the flank and protect the transport vehicles. Tiezhu, escape if you can; if not, hold the cockpit at all costs. Bai Ling, switch to auxiliary spells and stabilize the wounded."

"Received!"

"Understood!"

"I'll... do my best..."

In the comms channel, each response was heavier than the last.

Chen Wuwang slowly raised his hand, hovering it over the main cannon button once more.

This time, he didn't hesitate.

But at the very moment he was about to press it—

"Warning! Energy fluctuation exceeds limit! Main cannon charging interrupted!"

The screen flashed, and red text jumped out.

His gaze turned cold.

"...We've been played."

It turned out that long before they arrived, this land had been tampered with.

The blood rune array didn't just trap the mecha; it was secretly interfering with the spiritual energy flow of the entire area.

Their technology relied on a stable supply of Spiritual Qi, and the enemy had already severed that lifeline.

"Patriarch!" a panicked voice from a technician came over the comms. "The cooling System has failed! The power unit is about to blow!"

"Shut up!" Chen Wuwang growled. "Manually switch to the third circuit! Now!"

"But... but it won't connect! The interface is rusted shut!"

He slammed a fist onto the console. His knuckles split open, and blood slid down the metal panel.

"...We... are being countered," he murmured, feeling powerless for the first time.

The mecha couldn't move, the Sword Cultivator was surrounded, the mage's mana was depleted, and logistics were paralyzed.

From all directions, the enemy pressed in.

Fire crossbows fired again, spears drew closer, and the shield formation closed the circle.

Chen Xiaodao gritted his teeth and gripped his longsword tightly, refusing to let go even though his arm was shaking.

Chen Tiezhu stared fixedly at the control panel in the cockpit, sweat dripping from his chin.

Bai Ling was half-kneeling on the ground, supported by clansmen, her face as pale as paper.

And Chen Wuwang remained seated inside the dawn, his finger hovering over the button like a frozen statue.

The wind swirled the yellow sand across the battlefield.

Broken armor and shattered blades were scattered everywhere.

In the distance, Lei Sha raised his giant axe and laughed wildly:

"Tear it apart for me!"