56: Chapter 56 Joint Attack, First Test of Strength

As the wings of a night owl skimmed over the eaves, the monitoring screens in South River Valley exploded with red alerts.

"Enemy attack! Approaching from three directions, total numbers exceed eight hundred!" Chen Tiezhu's voice tore through the silence, the dry rations in his hand crushed directly into crumbs.

He sprang up from his low stool, and without blinking, he began tapping rapidly on his terminal. "Western mountain pass, North Ridge cliff, South River shoals—they've all moved! The Spiritual Qi fluctuations are a mess; these aren't scouts, they're coming for the main gate!"

Before his voice had even faded, a flash of silver light appeared at the top of the high tower. Chen Wuwang was already standing on the central command platform.

With his cloak yet untidied, his right Mechanical Prosthetic Eye had already deployed a 3D battlefield projection, data streams cascading across his vision like a waterfall.

He instantly locked onto West Ridge—that low-lying area with sparse vegetation was the weak zone where the Thunder-Fire Ambush Array had just been buried yesterday.

"Condition Level One," he said, his voice not loud but overriding all other noise. "Switch all Spirit Arrays to combat mode. Maintain the camouflage layers and activate the traps. Let them in."

As the command was passed down, the entire main city of the Chen Family instantly tensed up.

Hidden compartments in the city walls slid open silently, and miniature Shock-Burst Talismans were embedded into the ground;

The Bottom-Mounted Turrets beneath the riverbed began to charge slowly, their energy-conduction wires heating up slightly;

Beneath the seven rocky platforms of West Ridge, the Thunder-Fire Crystal Cores began to resonate, and the anchoring points wrapped in red copper wire emitted a faint blue glow.

The enemy forces arrived extremely quickly.

Three teams approached in a wedge formation. Leading them was the green banner of the Zhao Clan from the Frontier, followed by the grey-robed Loose Cultivators of the Wang Family and the light-armored squad of the Li Family.

Their footsteps were hurried, their eyes filled with probing intent and greed.

Last night had only been scouting, but tonight they had come out in full force. Clearly, they believed the Chen Family was merely bluffing and intended to topple them in one fell swoop while their Foundation was still unstable.

"Hahaha, what kind of bullshit Spirit Array is this? Isn't it just a few beams of light to fool people?" a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Zhao Clan laughed loudly, raising his hand to strike the pale gold barrier of South River Valley with a palm strike.

The palm wind hit the light and shadow, and the ripples spread out as it passed through without any resistance—it truly was an illusion!

"As expected, they have nothing real!" The morale of the Wang Family team surged as they accelerated, charging straight for the main stronghold gate.

But the moment they stepped across the midline of the riverbank, the ground shook violently.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Twelve pillars of mud erupted from the riverbed as the bottom-mounted shock turrets detonated in sequence.

Shockwaves swept across the water's surface, and dozens of Cultivators charging at the front were tossed aside like kites with broken strings, crashing into the rock piles on the opposite bank amidst a chorus of wails.

The river water boiled, and sand and stones mixed with shattered spiritual energy fragments sprayed into the air, reflecting the moonlight like a rain of blood.

The formation fell into chaos.

"Let the first three waves into the ambush zone." Standing on the high platform, Chen Wuwang lightly tapped his brow, calling up the energy distribution map. "Detonate the West Ridge Thunder-Fire Array."

"Yes!" Chen Tiezhu roared, slamming down on the control Jade Slip.

The seven rocky platforms of West Ridge simultaneously lit up with blinding red light as the leyline resonance was instantly triggered.

Serpents of fire surged from underground, weaving into a net that completely enveloped the subsequent waves of enemy forces.

Explosions rang out one after another, and the firelight dyed half the sky red.

Those Cultivators who had been so arrogant moments ago were now scurrying like rats, some not even having time to form hand seals before being shaken to the point of vomiting blood and collapsing.

"Good! What a satisfying fight!" Chen Tiezhu punched the control pillar, cracks spreading along the metal.

But at that moment, a loud boom echoed from in front of the main gate.

"Dong—!"

A dark figure holding a giant hammer slammed it violently against the gate's barrier.

It was an old man at the Early Stage of the Golden Core realm, his Face covered in scars and his eyes brimming with ferocity.

Behind him, over thirty elites had formed a small array and were pushing their spiritual power to the limit, attempting to force a breach.

"Earth-Shattering Hammer, open for me!" the old man roared, swinging his Lifebound Treasure once more. The hammerhead, carrying an earthy yellow Spiritual Pressure, smashed down ruthlessly.

The barrier shook violently, spiderweb-like cracks appearing across it.

"Trying to force your way in?" Chen Wuwang sneered, his finger tracing through the air. "Xiao Dao, I'm leaving this to you."

A clear whistle came through the communication channel.

The shoulder hatch of the 'pojoen-hao' mecha popped open, and Chen Xiaodao leapt into the cockpit. Blue light flowed through his left mechanical prosthetic limb, and the neural interface synchronized instantly.

He grabbed the control stick, and the thrusters ignited with a roar.

"Meteor Sword Array, engage!"

Thirty Sword-Type Mechas soared from the landing pad, forming a formation like a cluster of stars.

Chen Xiaodao led the dive. Thirty Laser Swords unsheathed simultaneously, their blades cutting through the night sky and leaving behind scorching light trails like falling meteors.

The enemy looked up, their pupils shrinking.

"What on earth is that?!"

Before they could react, the first wave of the strike had arrived.

Chen Xiaodao piloted the 'pojoen-hao' straight at the Golden Core Elder, crossing his arms as the Laser Swords forcefully parried the Earth-Shattering Hammer.

The sound of metal clashing was deafening, and sparks flew everywhere.

Using the recoil, his back thrusters fired suddenly, and the mecha flipped, circling to the opponent's rear flank.

"You want to fight close quarters? I'll accompany you," he whispered. With a twist of his hands, the sword blades slashed diagonally.

Chii—!

The sword light was like lightning, slicing right through the hammer's handle.

The Elder turned back in horror, only to see thirty mechas already forming a sword net, descending from the sky.

The sword arrays interlaced, and spiritual power resonated; the ground was plowed into deep furrows, and the enemy's small formation was instantly torn apart.

The remaining allied forces completely collapsed.

"Run! Run quickly—!" someone screamed, throwing down their weapon and turning to flee.

Some scrambled into the mountain forests, not even stopping for their companions' cries for help.

The Golden Core Elder also disregarded his Face, activating an Escape Talisman and vanishing into a cloud of green smoke in a panicked retreat.

Only smoke and wreckage remained on the battlefield.

The disciples of the Chen Family stood atop their mechas, pumping their fists and roaring.

Their young Faces were filled with excitement, the humiliation suppressed for years being completely released at this moment.

They were no longer a small clan that anyone could bully, but a new power holding sharp blades.

Chen Xiaodao sheathed his swords and returned to the line, standing on the shoulder of the 'pojoen-hao'. He gazed toward the retreating enemy with a cold expression.

The mecha's outer shell was smoking slightly, and the temperature of his left prosthetic limb had yet to dissipate, but he remained motionless, like a war god guarding the borders.

Chen Wuwang still stood upon the high platform.

His cloak was stained with dust, and the mechanical lens of his right eye flickered as he reviewed the battle damage data. The System interface hovered quietly, and three heavenly secret instructions appeared as usual, their content unrelated to the current battle. He didn't even look, swiping his finger to close his Sea of Consciousness.

"Recall the troops," he ordered, his voice steady. "Maintain alert on site."

As the command was passed down, the mecha squad slowly pulled back, lining up in wait. There was no pursuit, no cheering, only cold discipline and restrained power.

Chen Tiezhu sat by the South River Valley control pillar, looking down to check the energy consumption curves of the turrets.

The values on the screen were stable, with no overload damage.

He breathed a sigh of relief, pulled half a piece of dry rations from his robe, took a bite, and then remembered something, cursing under his breath: "Damn it, if I'd known, I would've buried two more sets of turrets."

He didn't leave, nor did he rest; he just sat back down on his low stool and continued to stare at the monitoring screens. He knew that this night was far from over.

A wind blew from the mountain pass, carrying the scent of scorched earth and metal.

Chen Wuwang stood at the edge of the high platform, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield.

The defectors lay scattered everywhere, broken Magical Artifacts were strewn across the ground, and several banners had been trampled into the mud. He raised his hand and entered a set of encrypted commands.

The air rippled imperceptibly.

The invisible protocols were activated once more.

All Spirit Arrays returned to a low-power standby state, their appearances unchanged, but their traps fully active.

What the enemy saw was a wall of bronze and iron, but what they didn't realize was—this wall would bite.

He didn't smile, nor did he order a victory celebration.

He just gently stroked the Titanium Alloy Dagger at his waist, his thumb passing over a deep scratch on it.

That had been left three years ago when the Zerg slaughtered the village.

In the depths of the distant mountain forest, the last fleeing shadow disappeared into the darkness.

Standing on the shoulder of the mecha, Chen Xiaodao slowly raised his right hand, making a tactical confirmation gesture.

His low voice came through the communication channel: "Target has left the main battlefield, speed is decreasing, suspected to be injured."

Chen Wuwang nodded, his gaze never wavering.

"Maintain surveillance," he said. "They will be back."

The wind grew even stronger.