BOOM! A thunderous roar exploded from the direction of the Black Lake. Lin Xian and his team, in the middle of laying high-speed rail, instinctively turned to look. Under the shroud of darkness, they caught a glimpse of a massive silhouette launching into the air. At the same time, the comms channel flooded with panicked screams:

"Sky Serpent!!" "Run!!" "It’s definitely an S-Class!!"

Lin Xian’s heart clenched. And it wasn’t just him—everyone could see the hulking shadow. A suffocating pressure bore down on them, making it hard to breathe.

If it really was an S-Class, Lin Xian knew his Gravity Lens alone wouldn’t be enough. Back in Xilan City, it had taken tens of thousands of people, fortified gun platforms, the 7th Investigation Corps, and even Unit 01 just to take down a single S-Class scout. And right now, they had only a few hundred train cars and several thousand people.

That left them with just one option: rapidly consolidate firepower and defensive lines. Meanwhile, as long as Lin Xian could scan the survivors from the rear carriages for Dark Marks, he could determine the creature's classification.

In moments like this, they absolutely could not afford chaos.

“That thing’s massive... this time, we might not make it.” Standing at a high vantage, Shi Diyuan’s gaze was sharp, his tone grim. It was rare to hear such pessimism from him.

“Hrah!” Ning Jing smashed a twisted monster crawling out from under a carriage with one punch. The blast of force from her fist rippled out, knocking the creature away. She landed beside Shi Diyuan, voice tense: “We have to collapse the line now—or we’ll be eaten alive all the way down!”

Shi Diyuan nodded, and immediately led his team up a tall tree. With cover fire from a few others, he began directing the convoy to fall back.

With clear orders, the retreating motorcades began moving in an organized direction.

The makeshift rails for the traction teams extended farther. Lin Xian continued building track at full throttle, aided by a drone overhead handling nearby threats and surveying terrain. He adjusted the curve of the rail to follow the swath of forest Fire Bro had already torched. His Mechanical Heart operated at max speed. Tracks dropped simultaneously from both his left and right arms.

Beside him stood the Infinite Train's Assault Teams 1 and 2, forming a protective perimeter. KIKI and Fire Bro fought in the skies. The 1130 CIWS on the train had already emptied its fourth ammo cycle.

As soon as new track was laid, a bruised Old Mo rushed in with his engineering crew to secure the foundation. The Infinite Train’s steel wheels rumbled forward once more.

Explosions rocked the dark forest. Fires burned on all sides. From within the flames and the shadows, more eerie entities crawled out. Onboard the Infinite Train, the glow of the Hell Black Chrysanthemum flickered erratically. Every burst of suppressive fire weakened the Dark Mark—but every new creature that emerged pushed it back.

At last, the submerged cars—Ocean and Parrot—made it ashore. Black water gushed out from the breached compartments, along with hordes of aquatic monsters. Large and small, bizarre worms, black leeches—grotesque, endless. The few survivors from those two convoys had already begun retreating toward the rear with Red Qiangwei’s team.

“Use flamethrowers! Burn them all!!” “We’re almost at the support perimeter—hold the line!”

Hundreds of fighters surrounded the train, firing as they fell back. Several ability users who charged into the forest didn’t survive more than a few skirmishes. The main force of those two convoys was essentially wiped out—only a few dozen remained combat-capable.

“Fire Bro! KIKI! Rear losses are too heavy—the monster tide might break through. Push outward!” “Got it!” Hearing Ning Jing’s command, KIKI and Fire Bro redirected their assault. The front of the convoy had nearly broken formation—any further collapse could spiral into a full rout. After establishing a defensive perimeter, they had to stop the downward momentum immediately.

Chen Sixuan also recognized the danger. She had Lin Xian, Da Qing, and others head to support. A Bai remained under the roof of Dragon Mountain No. 1, firing crimson laser beams from atop the vehicle.

Each sweeping laser blast reduced pressure on the defensive line. A Bai had become Dragon Mountain’s miniature death cannon.

At the front, two derailed trains were still barely powered. Their interiors were overgrown with aquatic weeds and grotesque tentacles—an unnerving sight.

BOOM BOOM! From the marsh came the crushing, boiling roar of mud exploding under pressure. A massive shadow surged forward, flattening trees in its path. Its blue-green scales gleamed in the firelight. Its twisted, coiling form struck fear into every soul. All they saw were rows of jagged fangs charging in.

“Look out!!” “It’s that serpent!!” “All fire on target!!” “Rocket launchers ready!!”

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM! The rear convoys opened up with everything they had. Fire and shadow danced in chaotic flashes. Finally, they saw it clearly: a massive serpent head lined with hundreds of glowing crimson eyes, from largest to smallest, arrayed across its crown.

Just the sight chilled everyone to the core. Many people’s minds went blank, their spirits cracking.

“Don’t look at its eyes!!” “Fire Fist!”

In the sky, KIKI and Fire Bro’s voices rang out. A giant inferno rained down as Lu Xingchen’s pyrokinetic tornado—wrapped in explosive force—descended.

The fireball fused into a spiraling inferno hundreds of meters wide and tall, forming a blazing red Dragonfire Tornado.

They had used this combo before—Fire Bro’s flames pushed to their terrifying peak.

The skies above the forest ignited. Hundreds of meters of trees were instantly scorched. The air burned. Eerie entities within screamed and twisted in agony.

The serpent’s head plunged into the tornado. Feeling the heat, it recoiled. But then—

Its coral-encrusted body swept sideways. A massive shockwave erupted, laced with Dark Invasion energy, smashing the tornado backward—toward the train!

KIKI dropped all her silver blades, focused her telekinesis, and pushed forward—trying to hold it back.

From the sides, Ning Jing and Xiao Qing charged in. Both wore power armor. Using their leg boosters, they sprinted through trees and leapt toward the serpent’s head.

“Hrah!”

Ning Jing’s full-power punch smashed under the serpent’s jaw, cracking her armor. A two-meter-wide crater bloomed in its scales, dark red blood pouring out.

On the other side, Xiao Qing launched herself using her grapple hook, flipped midair, and dragged her gunblade across the serpent’s head in a flashing arc of sparks. Alloy blades vibrated violently as they sheared through scales and flesh.

But the serpent was too massive. Their iron-shattering blows only scratched it. Worse, its black fog sprayed out in waves, forcing Dragon Mountain’s reinforcements to retreat under pressure.

Thwip! Like a meteor, Lu Xingchen soared from the flaming cyclone. His eyes locked onto the colossal serpent—just one exposed segment was already over a kilometer long.

“Foul creature—taste my Heavenly Fire!”

Vmmmm! A spiraling vortex formed in his hand. Blue flame engulfed it. He clutched it with both hands—then launched it.

“Divine: Skyfire Sword!”

A high-temperature flame blade, dozens of meters long, roared out like a jet, surrounded by sonic booms and Mach rings.

BOOM!!! The fire sword punched through the serpent’s lower jaw, burning a massive hole.

Lu Xingchen tried to redirect the blade—but the recoil launched him upward. KIKI used her powers to catch him midair. He stabilized and slashed again—cutting down hard.

Then—

The serpent’s eyes flared crimson. Coral spikes along its body erupted, spewing thick red smoke. The smoke twisted into a living shell, wrapping around its body.

The fire blade hit it—and vanished.

No heat. No impact.

“What the hell? A shield?” KIKI was stunned. No one could explain it—it didn’t look blocked, but the flame simply disappeared.

Then came the horror:

The entire serpent was now wrapped in crimson fog, slithering through the black forest like some evil god. Every inch of it was terrifying.

“Fall back!!” Seeing their attacks fail, Ning Jing called Xiao Qing back. KIKI and Fire Bro also retreated.

Shhhhhh~

The crimson fog serpent slithered around the rail line, coiling toward the distance—circling them like a predator preparing to strike.

KIKI saw this and shouted:

“It’s trying to surround us!” “I see it!”

Lin Xian’s drones scanned in all directions. His mind and Mechanical Heart worked at full capacity. With visibility improving, the battlefield was within his full control.

“Stay on it. Collapse the line now!”

Meanwhile, Chen Sixuan and Sun Yuzhen arrived with the Hell Black Chrysanthemum to the rear line.

“Lin Xian! They’re marked at Level 4! That thing’s not an S-Class!” Chen shouted over the comms.

It was a small relief—but a real one. Dark Mark levels don’t lie. That serpent, whatever it was, wasn’t on the level of the Black Thorn in the Clouds. They might just survive this.

By now, Lin Xian had finally completed a circular rail formation—but not a full loop. From the start, Dragon Mountain No. 1’s rail-laying machine had also begun laying an inner ring in the opposite direction.

This meant—by disconnecting the convoy at the midpoint and pulling the front half into the inner ring—they could quickly form a dual-layered defensive formation, saving half the time and limiting the defense perimeter.

As expected, the two-tiered spiral train formation rapidly took shape. The more damaged or weaker convoys were guided into the inner ring, while the stronger assault groups held the outer circle.

As the main force pulled back...

After reaching the center of the vehicle formation, the two trains acted like steel barriers, providing a tremendous sense of security for the thousands of survivors behind them. Once sealed together, the area inside—already scorched by flames—became a temporary resting ground amid the terrifying black night. Meanwhile, threats and monster tides began to stir all around the circular perimeter formed by the train.

Since both the Ocean Convoy and Parrot Convoy had been completely scattered and overrun with Eerie Entities, Lin Xian made the call to decouple and abandon all thirty-plus carriages of both convoys. For safety reasons, he began absorbing those residential carriages as material supplies.

As the flooded cars were devoured, a rush of waterlogged supplies and lurking Eerie Entities burst out. They were swiftly slaughtered by the battle-ready survivors stationed nearby. The recovered materials were picked up and distributed by the remaining members of both convoys, who didn’t hesitate to load them onto other trains.

In this situation, everyone from all convoys had cast aside their differences. Their lives now rested on the same front line—and Lin Xian had gained much-needed material supplies.

With the Allied Train now forming a temporary double-helix formation, hundreds of carriages connected head-to-tail like a mechanical dragon. The advantage of human coordination began to emerge.

"All convoys, establish defense zones! Gene-evolved and Ability Users in power armor up front! The rest of the fighters, stay in support! Watch for aerial targets!" Lin Xian shouted his orders.

"Support crew, grab the supplies and get to cover! Move all ammo to the front! Guns—keep cross-loading magazines!"

"Luo Yang, take a team and set up the High-Voltage Arc Wall!"

"Got it!" Luo Yang and his team immediately sprang into action.

"We’ll help too!" The technical teams from other convoys, responsible for trap installations, joined in as well.

Shing! A sword-whistle from Monica cleaved a deep trench across the front of one zone. She ordered, "Light the flame trench!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Her team, seasoned veterans, moved swiftly.

Golden streaks flashed along the outer perimeter. Qian Dele, his face splattered with some kind of unidentified flesh, barked coldly, "Xiaomeng! Thermite grenades!"

BOOM! The napalm charges and thermite rained down like molten metal, igniting the defense zone ahead in blinding, incandescent fire. The searing trench greatly weakened the monster surge from the dark forest beyond.

All turret guns, machine guns, and missile systems redirected toward the perimeter. In just over an hour, the panicked survivors had rallied into a solid frontline. The encircled formation—roughly 7 kilometers in diameter and 2 kilometers wide—gave every survivor something solid at their back.

Top-tier combatants fought on the frontlines under heavy cover from vehicle-mounted weapons. Support teams climbed atop carriages to man machine guns and cannons, suppressing the Eerie Creatures flooding in from the forest. Anti-air guns and aerial weapons stitched firepower into the sky. The circular defense held fast, its storm of bullets pinning down the invaders several hundred meters away.

"Dmn it, I don’t care what the hll you are—if you’re carbon-based, my 12.7’s gonna tear you to pieces!" A burly man roared from a carriage roof, clutching a Gatling gun, morale blazing.

"Hold the line, brothers! They’re not getting through!"

"Get the wounded inside, quick!"

"Light up that hillside with the flame canisters—don’t let them climb!"

On the Infinite Train’s section of the perimeter, Shasha piloted the Fire God Mecha, holding the very front. Behind her, Daluo and Liang Lei led the core strike force, firmly defending all twenty-seven carriages of the Infinite Train.

"KILL KILL KILL!!" The Fire God Cannons thundered. Explosions erupted non-stop as Shasha piloted the mecha with increasing finesse. The hardened assault squad looked on, stunned that this young girl was handling the front line so skillfully.

"This girl’s got guts!"

In the open ground within the formation, internal crew from dozens of convoys frantically set up supply lines. Injured fighters and salvaged supplies were carried into various carriages for treatment. Every convoy pitched in, sending ammo to the frontlines. No matter which direction needed help, a call for bullets was immediately answered from the rear.

Even the younger boys and girls dashed about, hauling gear and gathering spent shells. Boom boom boom. Above the steel perimeter, anti-air guns, vehicle-mounted grenade launchers, AA cannons, railguns, the 1130 CIWS, rocket launchers, and missiles formed a dense, crisscrossing barrage that tore the night sky into a shimmering mix of crimson and sapphire.

At the outer perimeter, warriors in Yijin City Power Armor and Ability Users manned heavy machine guns and plasma flamethrowers or wielded high-energy melee weapons to directly resist the monstrous wave.

BRRRRRRRT! On the Infinite Train, the 1130 CIWS shredded a swarm of bat-like creatures into a rain of minced flesh.

Lin Xian continued absorbing the carriages from the Ocean and Parrot convoys. His primary goal: material collection for ammo production. The automatic bullet press machines roared nonstop. Spent casings were gathered in huge piles and rapidly reused. All around him: thunderous gunfire and screaming.

From the lake to the formation, in just under two hours, over 500 people had died—proof of how brutal this encounter had been.

But since forming the train defense ring, casualties had stopped increasing. The heavy firepower now kept the Eerie Entities at bay—outside the hundred-meter perimeter.

People were slowly adjusting to the terrifying pressure of the Dark Invasion. The entities in this forest weren’t overwhelming in number—but their nature was deeply unpredictable. Unknown large-sized Eerie Entities and hard-to-detect tiny monsters caught the survivors off guard. Toxic clouds, corrosive fluids, and erratic attacks—every encounter here was new for Lin Xian and the others.

This wasn’t a matter of combat levels. Even a mere C-Class Eerie Entity could be deadly with unfamiliar powers.

Another reason casualties didn’t skyrocket: those 1,000 sets of Lone Wolf S Tactical Power Armor. High-tech battlefield sensors, radar, and heavy protection gave each convoy a core team that could withstand the first wave.

Thanks to that, total collapse had been avoided.

Lin Xian had now become the production hub of the defense. A mobile fountain, pumping out firepower for thousands.

Bullets. Materials. Explosives. Electric nets. All rolled off the line in batches. Li Yi and Old Mo led the internal crews, including the kids, delivering everything to the front.

Xiaotian and Xiaole were working tirelessly—seemingly unfazed by the horror around them. Even five-year-old Duoduo was crawling on the ground with a group of kids, picking up hot bullet casings and carefully loading them into her small bucket with practiced ease.

Lin Xian’s expression darkened at the sight. These kids were far too young. He felt a pang of guilt seeing them out there.

Just as he was about to tell Li Yi to bring them back inside, he suddenly furrowed his brows.

The corruption here was so intense—yet none of the kids had mutated. The worst they experienced was fainting or vomiting.

Could it be… that children have stronger mental resistance than adults?

That thought flashed briefly through Lin Xian’s mind— Just then, Chen Sixuan’s voice came through the comms:

"Lin Xian, that serpent’s getting close!"

Lin Xian jolted upright.

He hadn’t joined the battle yet because he was waiting for that thing.

Now that it had shown up, he called out the strongest Ability Users from the convoys:

"KIKI! Fire Bro! Qian Dele, Monica, Brother Shi, Sister Ning—grab A Bai! Let’s take that serpent down together!"

This was it.

Everything hinged on this.

Lin Xian didn’t know if the monsters of this dark forest could be completely wiped out.

But as long as that massive crimson-smoke-covered serpent prowled the perimeter… None of them would escape a Level-4 Marking and total annihilation.