Boom! Boom! Above Dawn City, black clouds roiled with flashes of red lightning. This was not the natural color of lightning but the sky, scorched red by smoke and raging fires!

At this moment, within Dawn City, Silent City and the Skybreaker Ship were patrolling the skies. From the largest atmospheric creature lurking above the black clouds, countless crimson spikes erupted like meteors, tearing through the sky. Numerous ships and aerial patrol fighters crashed down.

An alpha-core device was launched from the Phoenix Society’s ground air defense position. It accelerated rapidly to hypersonic speed and pierced straight through the cloud layer.

Boom!

A massive circular explosion cloud illuminated half the horizon like a white hole suddenly appearing over Dawn City. The destructive shockwave instantly evaporated the clouds and rain, blasting a visible hole in the dark sky.

On Silent City, Qian Suxun stared at the skyline where even the air had been turned into a near-vacuum. The atmospheric creature had only half its body exposed. Like an ancient sea monster from myths, countless tentacles, as large as buildings, reached down from the clouds, strangling the human fleet below.

On the main bridge, Mochizuki Shinji, monitoring the energy fluctuations of Sky Touch, immediately commanded Silent City to fire a Hyperion directional constraint cannon the moment the alpha-core weapon detonated!

A giant white missile broke the sound barrier with a roaring crack, tearing through the dark heavens and arriving over the battlefield in an instant. It then unleashed a vector pulse, veering sharply downward. In a flash, six petal-like energy concentrators unfolded beneath the missile. Its core began spinning, emitting a dazzling white light aimed at the atmospheric creature’s central life tentacle. An energy torrent exploded like a solar corona!

Mochizuki Shinji’s calculation was flawless. At that moment, the atmospheric creature, still holding on to its defense field weakened by the alpha-core blast, was pierced through by the orbital weapon’s energy beam. The violent light sliced through the sky for kilometers like a sword, causing all the tentacles hanging from the clouds to writhe wildly.

Then, with the Hyperion cannon’s precise hit, the sky suddenly went silent. As the fleet’s concentrated fire rose, survivors in the city below looked up in shock to see something falling from the clouds!

“Something’s falling!”

“In the Dawnlight District direction!”

“Watch out!”

Amidst the black clouds, a fiery object crashed down with a roar. Mochizuki Shinji’s targeting system zoomed in—it was a block of biological tissue connected to three giant tentacles, plummeting like a meteor!

Below, in the streets where a dozen convoy defensive lines held firm, the garrison troops guarding the city immediately broadcasted on the comm channel:

“Retreat! Get back fast! Something’s falling!”

Chaos erupted as crowds on the streets scattered in panic. But the massive biological block, like two skyscrapers falling from the sky, was too fast for ordinary people to outrun.

At that moment, several figures appeared in the sky. Lu Xingchen streaked like a blazing meteor, a fiery trail blazing behind him as he soared above the city at night. His entire body was aflame, and behind him, Mach-speed afterburners roared as he charged straight at the falling tissue, hands gathering energy for twin incendiary blasts!

“Divine Incineration!”

Boom! The inferno instantly reduced the biological mass to several burning fragments, churning into thick molten slag and evaporating.

Meanwhile, KIKI and Jiang Yun used their abilities to sweep survivors and soldiers from four street blocks away at the last second. Thousands felt themselves lifted by a fierce wind and escaped from the collapsing tissue below.

Boom! The massive biological block crashed into streets and buildings, sending dust and debris flying. Dozens of nearby blocks in defense were hit by the dust storm, sweeping away all survivors.

“Some of it fell into the city!” KIKI looked upward, breathing heavily.

“Still manageable,” Jiang Yun said gravely, eyeing the devastated blocks. “Fewer are retreating outside the city. Looks like the west and south city walls are holding for now.”

Below the chaotic city, Mochizuki Shinji’s gaze was sharp. On his monitor, the small atmospheric creature was slowly retreating to lower altitudes. At the same time, countless strange entities appeared to receive a command and gathered to dive toward the city and the Skybreaker fleet for cover.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Faced with the small-scale impact, the radar showed only bursts of heavy firepower aimed upward at the sky.

Beep beep beep

A voice crackled from the Infinite train’s comm system—Chen Sixuan reporting: “Small groups of aberrations are attacking the northern city walls, trying to encircle the entire city!”

On Dawn City’s fourth ring light rail, a heavy train resembling a black dragon raced at full speed, sparks flying from the tracks. All windows were open, and thousands of Unlimited Alliance members inside and on the rooftop fought fiercely.

Ning Jing, Shu Qin, Xiao Qing, Lolo, A Min, Lü Chang, and Miao Lu—gene evolvers wearing power armor—moved skillfully atop the train, firing continuously.

On the Infinite train’s first car roof, Chen Sixuan, clad in Black Eagle power armor, pierced two flying wing beasts with a single shot. Observing fierce cannon fire and countless monsters climbing the northern walls, she reported: “Reinforcements have been sent. The mech brigade is concentrated in the south and west. That side won’t hold much longer!”

At the convoy’s rear, Sasha, piloting the Interstellar Predator mech, said, “Then let’s go help!”

“Good!” Ning Jing responded. “If Wall 1 falls, everyone retreats to Wall 2 and the inner city!”

On the streets below, a convoy assembled around heavy-armored base vehicles sprinted along the main roads, clearing monsters from ground and sky. This convoy was the Steel Blaze team led by Jian Zeyang in the outer city. Most vehicle weaponry came from the Finger Group, but the team was mainly composed of impoverished outer city convoy veterans.

In the lead vehicle, Jian Zeyang ordered Ke to drive at full speed while he operated a large pulse cannon, slaughtering monsters relentlessly.

“Steel Blaze team, charge with me!” Amidst the desperate night, Jian Zeyang felt a mix of fear and excitement. This was his first real battle as a military leader, and the outcome would determine everyone’s survival.

“Sweep around the underground shelter’s defense points. Don’t let those monsters break in!” Jian Zeyang shouted.

“Zeyang!”

At Star City Rail Station, Jian Xuwei saw the fiery glow to the east and warned over the channel: “The walls might break. Your convoy needs to be careful!”

“If the walls fall, we’re finished—no safety left, sis!” Jian Zeyang shouted back, firing pulse beams into the sky.

At Twin Star Tower’s command center, Ye Lan stood motionless before the command screen since the battle began. Reports flowed in constantly, but the situation looked grim.

Since the Day of Apocalypse, humanity hadn’t faced such a massive aberration onslaught or a war of this scale. Yet Phoenix Society’s senior commanders and staff watched the battlefield in dread.

This extinction-level event was the Star Abyss’s first direct assault, confirming the Crescent Moon Plan’s intelligence.

It was a test by a dark civilization—and the last one.

“Don’t talk about sending out S-levels. The sheer numbers are endless,” Xu Zhenyue said, frowning at dozens of combat screens. “The monsters in the dark just keep coming without stop...”

Ye Lan said slowly, “But every soldier we lose is one fewer we have.”

Xu Zhenyue said sternly, “Our investigations show that aberrations below special level or A-rank are mass-produced by the Mother Nest inside the Star Abyss. Due to time dilation there, thousands of monsters are ‘manufactured’ every minute. S-levels absorb their energy to repair and strengthen themselves. If our firepower can’t break this cycle, the city’s fall is just a matter of time.”

Former Federation senator Xu Yan spoke gravely: “The mutations inside the city are worsening. Soldiers on the Wall 1 frontline are mutating. The darkness’s invasion is too intense.”

“Report: large waves of aberrations are converging from the north and east!”

“Report: firepower is critical on the northern front!”

Hearing this, Xu Zhenyue frowned. “Are there new S-levels?”

“None detected so far.”

Xu Zhenyue said grimly, “They’re probably attracted by the wall firepower. The south and west walls are too strong, so the monsters are diverting, encircling the city to find weak spots! The garrison and Iron Guard Brigade main forces are all focused on the S-levels. If the rear is breached, the city will descend into chaos!”

He immediately ordered: “Deploy reserve and defense units to assist the north and east sectors.”

“Yes!”

“All directions are surrounded...” Ye Lan watched the real-time frontline footage of the eastern and northern enemies. The massive waves of monsters pouring from the night seemed to be encircling Dawn City from all sides. She frowned: “This doesn’t look like just a diversion. Such a huge wave shouldn’t wait this long to encircle.”

She turned and said, “It looks more like they received some command signal...”

At this moment, everyone felt the air constricting, suffocating.

In the original west suburb, Sector 8, the Emperor-class mech Suzaku smashed through city streets and hordes of aberrations at high speed, maneuvering around the side of creature #18 Wanderer.

This grotesque multi-legged creature had a deep crimson maw like an abyss. No eyes or other features were distinguishable. Around the maw were countless clawed legs moving in cycles, and every movement released bundled gray-green smoke that corroded buildings.

Because of this, Huo Jiang’s mech division and special operations battalion had to avoid close combat, focusing on ranged attacks.

“Try cutting off a few legs first!” Bai Ye suggested inside the Suzaku cockpit.

“Got it!”

At this moment, six self-guided thermite rounds unfolded like Suzaku’s wings, arcing through the air and converging on the Wanderer. Before impact, a black glass-like defense field appeared irregularly on the creature.

But Bai Ye and Su Rui had witnessed the defense field’s strength before. The thermite rounds detonated mid-air, lighting the battlefield sky like meteor fireworks, with intense thermite illuminating the night like a waterfall of sparks.

The Wanderer was instantly enveloped in the three-thousand-degree thermite burst. Even under the defense field, large areas of its tissue were scorched and burnt.

“Ang-wing!!”

The Wanderer cried out in pain, spewing acidic mist toward Suzaku. But the mech had already moved. From a smoke-covered rear position, Suzaku, glowing with crimson energy lines, wielded twin plasma diffraction swords and leapt out with precise form.

“Storm Tactics!”

“Storm Tactics!”

Bai Ye and Su Rui shouted in unison. Crossing their plasma swords, they swung their arms. As the acid mist defense field faded, they sliced off the Wanderer’s thickest leg mid-air. Suzaku’s multiple thrusters ignited, violently propelling the mech as it rotated, spiraling its plasma swords to carve four massive gashes.

Pfft!

Black-green foul liquid sprayed out. The Wanderer writhed wildly. Suddenly, the multi-legged beast twisted and whipped an acid-covered leg from behind toward Suzaku.

“Force off!”

“Nitrogen spray!”

Caught off guard, Bai Ye and Su Rui twisted the mech’s upper body, crossing arms to block. As acid began corroding Suzaku’s composite armor, copious white nitrogen sprayed from the arms, freezing the mist and liquid on the surface. Still, the mech was blasted backward, smashing several city buildings and sliding hundreds of meters.

In an instant, hordes of aberrations swarmed Suzaku like ants. Inside the cockpit, Bai Ye, regaining composure, pressed a button.

Boom!

Suzaku’s joints unleashed powerful plasma flames, incinerating a cluster of aberrations in seconds.

“Su Rui, wake up!”

Bai Ye called to his wife. The shockwave rattled their spirits, causing nosebleeds, but they ignored it. Both stood, unsheathed plasma swords in hand. Under the spotlights, thick black-gray mist blended with the night, drifting rapidly toward Suzaku and the mech brigade and walls behind.

“Dodge the acid mist!” Su Rui shouted. They retreated swiftly, but the acid mist surged past Suzaku’s front, melting composite armor on the front and right leg. Alarms blared inside the cockpit.

“Leap!”

The couple gritted their teeth and bent their knees. Suzaku’s leg thrusters fired, launching the 22,000-ton mech into a vertical leap.

Behind, Iron Guard Brigade’s mech forces were engulfed by acid mist, their metal shells corroding. Countless soldiers succumbed to the acid and toxic fumes, screaming as they died.

Wall 1 suffered worse—acid mist swept over nearly a kilometer, and defenders turned to dust in seconds. Automated artillery and turrets shut down.

“Run!”

“Dodge!”

Countless people vanished without a sound. Some surviving soldiers crawled up on the wall, staring at the deathly silent ruins. Fear didn’t have time to strike before commanders shouted:

“Don’t freeze! Set up weapons again!”

“Air defense cover!”

More soldiers rushed into the deadly zone, filling gaps. But many aberrations had already climbed the wall, releasing dense mist from fog spiders. The aberrations began spreading like a tide.

At the southern riverside, Sector 5, S-level creature #11 Earth Surge roared thunderously. Like a volcanic titan resurrected underground, its march caused widespread earthquakes. Surrounding city buildings crumbled into rubble.

Its thick outer layers resembled mountains and hills, with black-gray thick smoke seeping from cracks and chasms. Even missile strikes only produced stone-like fragments after huge explosions.

Like a moving mountain, it ignored all firepower and advanced relentlessly. Surrounded by a tidal wave of aberrations flowing beneath like water, it pressed toward multiple southern city walls.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Amid the smoke, a massive blue mech with two nuclear power cores burst forward. Emperor-class Xuanwu charged with its giant magnetic rail shield in its left arm.

Earth Surge sensed the threat and lowered its head, revealing mountainous horns. It emitted powerful infrasound waves that distorted the air in front of it.

“Attack!”

Inside Xuanwu’s cockpit, brothers Qin Yue and Qin Chuan gritted their teeth. The magnetic shield held off the infrasound waves. Qin Yue extended his right arm, deploying a giant high-frequency blade chain sword dozens of meters long, hydraulic spine retracting, arcs of electricity sparking.

“Decapitate!”

“Decapitate!”

The brothers shouted, swinging the chainsaw blade fiercely at Earth Surge’s neck.

Scrape scrape scrape!

A sharp slicing sound echoed. The chainsaw cut like a skyscraper, shearing off a large "mountain" atop Earth Surge’s head. Massive chunks of horn-like keratin crashed down. But no blood or tissue spilled.

Seeing this, the brothers retracted the blade and smoothly raised Xuanwu’s right arm. The mechanical fingers and wrist joints rapidly transformed into a triangular plasma phase ring.

“Activate plasma cannon!”

“Activate plasma cannon!”

Boom boom boom! Three plasma cannon shots blasted Earth Surge’s face. The thousands-of-degrees plasma detonated, bathing the area in azure ionized light.

Earth Surge roared and staggered back two steps, shaking the ground.

“Firepower cover!”

Seeing this, the Qin brothers shouted. Nearby, two 60-meter Interstellar Predator mechs appeared, deploying rail star cannons. Over a hundred Iron Guard-3, Guardian-X, and Vulcan mechs formed an iron wall, pouring fire into the area.

In an instant, barrages of cannon fire, lasers, flame jets, and metal storms covered Earth Surge and the aberration tide. Two dazzling star cannon beams melted gorges on the ground and focused on Earth Surge’s head.

Under this intense firepower, nearly one-third of Earth Surge’s “mountains” and armor were cut open, and its tissue exploded everywhere.

“Is it down?!”

After minutes of relentless fire, smoke and dust filled the battlefield. During the lull, an Interstellar Predator pilot reported over comms:

“Wait!”

Qin Yue frowned at the holographic display of aberrant energy fluctuations and shouted: “Prepare for shockwave!”

Ding!

Suddenly, all saw that aberration corpses and black gas were controlled by some powerful force, rapidly converging toward the firepower crater in the center. A high-frequency sound shrieked.

Next moment, a huge dark red shockwave spread in a spherical wave, blasting the Iron Guard Brigade and garrison mech units away. Dust and debris exploded outward for kilometers.

Only Xuanwu and two Interstellar Predators withstood the shockwave. Buildings and corpses were flattened, forming a one-kilometer diameter crater of destruction.

Beep beep beep! Multiple alarms sounded in Xuanwu’s cockpit. The Qin brothers regained focus, staring at the center. Earth Surge was now covered with aberration limbs and skin patches coated in a black tar-like liquid, its whole body pitch black. Its two bloodshot eyes emitted twisted waves of fear. As the “tar” shifted, Earth Surge’s size seemed to grow...

“Confirmed: S-level aberrations can absorb kin energy to proliferate!”

Qin Yue’s eyes trembled as he shouted over comms:

“We must kill it in one strike!”

“Chainsaw ready!”

Xuanwu raised the high-frequency blade chain sword again. But then the center began violently shaking, dust billowing. Qin Yue and Qin Chuan noticed and fired two plasma cannon blasts.

When the plasma detonated, they saw a massive sinkhole forming on the ground. The city and river trembled.

Watching Earth Surge disappear, Qin Yue checked the seismic waves on the monitor and suddenly paled.

He had detected two different seismic signals!

“Bad! Retreat!”

The Qin brothers’ faces changed. They quickly pulled Xuanwu back several steps. Suddenly, in the river behind, turbulent waves exploded as a hundred-meter-tall dark monster burst out. Its fangs tore off Xuanwu’s magnetic shield-bearing left arm!

“Damn it!” Qin Chuan yelled. Qin Yue clenched his teeth:

“Horizontal slash!”

Vrrr!

The brothers reacted swiftly. Before the severed arm fell, they swung the chainsaw blade in a wide arc. The blade howled through the air, severing half the underground beast’s head clean off.

Boom boom boom.

The giant underground worm wasn’t dead. It quickly burrowed to escape. Qin Yue and Qin Chuan raised their chainsaws again, but a massive silhouette slammed into the beast with an infrasound shockwave, sending it flying.

Earth Surge!

The underground beast rapidly dove underground, ground trembling as it headed kilometers toward the city walls.

The garrison noticed the anomaly but couldn’t react in time. As artillery roared, the monster burst from the earth, smashing into Wall 1. The reinforced concrete crumbled, leaving a huge breach.

Vrrr!

A rail star cannon fired from the wall, piercing the dying beast. But hordes of aberrations flooded the breach like a broken dam.

“Ah!!!”

Xuanwu braced against Earth Surge’s charge, sliding with hydraulic joints screaming.

Seeing the wall breached, Qin Yue roared:

“Jet sword!”

Qin Chuan heard him. The brothers synchronized, retracting chainsaws and holding the severed arm and shield. They struck Earth Surge with the magnetic shield, then threw the arm hard. Seconds later, with a roar of air, the shield and left arm crashed into the breach, raising a dust storm that shattered many aberrations.

The breach was mostly sealed, but Earth Surge seized the chance, blasting Xuanwu away with a close-range infrasound wave, crashing into the river. Water flooded the mech’s interior, warning lights flickering...

“Report: a special-level aberration appeared south of the city. Xuanwu is heavily damaged, submerged in the river, no survival signals detected.”

“Special-level? How many?”

“More than one. Two new biological fluctuations detected west of the city, likely both special-level!”

West City!

Over 200,000 survivors scattered across dozens of blocks fought to repel monsters flooding inside. Wang Hongyuan of the Unlimited Alliance’s Hongyuan Trade Union led a convoy stationed in a commercial district, with heavy fighting above and below.

“Why are there more monsters inside?!” Wang Hongyuan fired a rocket launcher, blasting several emerging creatures and cursed.

“Captain, that side fell?”

“Which side?”

A subordinate pointed west. Wang Hongyuan turned to see the city wall a few kilometers away ablaze. Amidst towering flames, a horrifying wave of aberrations poured through the wall. Large aberrations destroyed the main structure, leaving huge cracks and gaping holes. Though soldiers fought fiercely, monsters overwhelmed the defenses.

“Damn it, isn’t there a big mech over there? Where’s Suzaku?!”

Wang Hongyuan’s face turned pale. Before he finished, a massive red blaze exploded in the sky. A giant mech smashed through a wall section and crashed into the city, turning several blocks into ruins and debris. Dust billowed. Suzaku knelt amidst broken streets, its armor burning.

Ding!

Hydraulic oil and coolant mixed with rainwater, pooling into a glowing blue puddle beneath. Three deep half-meter claw marks scarred the chest armor, the metal edges twisted from heat, exposing flickering circuits and broken pipes.

One plasma diffraction sword was broken. The turbine engine casing was pierced by the monster’s tail spike. Broken cooling fins jutted like shattered wings. Yet the core reactor’s roar remained strong.

“Bai Ye! Bai Ye!”

Inside the cockpit, blood-smeared Su Rui called out to the neurologically connected but unconscious Bai Ye.

While battling the Wanderer, two sudden special-level aberrations caught them off guard. Though Suzaku’s agility prevented dismemberment, they suffered serious damage.

A fierce wind swept in, quickly extinguishing Suzaku’s flames. Led by Qinuo, an ability combat team gathered at the western city line. Power armor flew overhead. KIKI’s face was grave.

“The south can’t hold either. At least three or four special-level aberrations appeared. How can we handle this?!”

“Seal this breach first!” Qinuo ordered.

“The walls are collapsing. Hurry, support them!” survivors shouted.

“Quick, don’t let monsters into the city!”

“Charge!”

Countless voices echoed on the survivor channel as garrison troops and Iron Guard Brigade armored vehicles and units surged toward the wall breaches. Above and below, multiple survivor convoys converged into an iron flood rushing to the western city walls.

They had no choice. Their families and children were inside shelters. If the walls fell completely, countless lives would be lost.

Lu Xingchen flew with the ability team, arriving at the walls. He unleashed his once-proud ability moves, slaying waves of monsters. But the hundred-meter-high Wall 1 was riddled with holes and collapsing. Soldiers fell in despair.

The wall trembled.

“Open fire! Full fire coverage!”

The commander’s voice exploded over comms. The next second, artillery arrays on the walls roared simultaneously. Blue electromagnetic cannon beams tore through the night. Rocket trails rained down like meteor showers. High-explosive incendiary bombs ignited a sea of fire in the wasteland outside.

But the light illuminated the true nightmare.

Outside the walls, endless aberrations poured forth—twisted monsters of all sizes flowing like tides, more warped than any tide.

Farther away, more horrors writhed: flesh mountains, blood-red vines covered in eyes, giant beasts pieced together from corpses...

“It’s unstoppable...”

A man with a gun was consumed by terror, his mind blank as the hopeless monster tide crashed toward him. He trembled and backed away.

“Even the emperor mechs can’t stop them. It’s over. Completely over...”

On the walls, out-of-ammo garrison soldiers searched for weapons. When one picked up a heavy machine gun and turned, his sight met a huge crimson abyssal maw surrounded by countless segmented spikes like a hunting net, continuously swallowing dark gas.

Seeing this, dozens of soldiers froze, their eyes bloodshot as darkness began infecting them.

“Fire Fist!”

Boom! Suddenly, a great blaze descended from the sky, hitting the giant maw. Lu Xingchen rushed past, shouting:

“Heroes, don’t give up!”

His cry jolted the group from the brink of unconsciousness. They broke into cold sweat and raised their guns to fight back.

KIKI flew in swiftly, grabbing huge stones and building debris to block damaged wall breaches. She shouted to Lu Xingchen: “Watch out for that S-level!”

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers, Iron Guard troops, ability users, and survivors pushed toward the walls, trying to stop the monsters flooding inside. But as wall damage worsened, aberrations poured in endlessly like a tsunami, overwhelming the forces. The encircling groups were forced to retreat into the streets for urban combat.

“Shelter 13’s passage has been opened!”

“Rescue them quickly!”

Chaos reigned over the channels. At a western underground shelter entrance, a dozen troops guarded a whole block. Suddenly, a steel convoy burst out of the monster horde, firing fiercely to surround the street, forming another iron defense line.

This was Jian Zeyang’s Steel Blaze army.

To the east, a fifteen-kilometer-long armed train line resisted the dense aberration flood on the city’s high rail. The tracks were broken and the train stopped—this was the Infinite combined train.

At 22:12, a quarter of Dawn City had fallen. Monsters poured inside. All defensive lines fought desperately.

Large areas were lost. Fleets crashed continuously in the sky.

In the west, Wall 1 partially collapsed. The ground surged with a tsunami-like aberration wave rising from the darkness.

“Emergency report: Sector 5’s creature #11 Earth Surge has disappeared from the area. Target is approaching the west city wall!”

“Two S-levels are about to enter through the west wall!”

“Report: patrol recon aircraft detected massive dark energy fluctuations west of the city!”

At Twin Star Tower command, the battle was near losing control. Ye Lan’s face was grim as she watched recon footage. In the dark flood, besides the Wanderer and approaching seismic signals, about 60 kilometers northwest, a massive humanoid shape swung its arms rapidly, radiating overwhelming power like an infernal deity toward Dawn City.

Meanwhile, below in mountain valleys, the dark flood surged forward, driven relentlessly. They crushed villages and towns like mudslides in the pitch-black night.

A powerful dark invasion infection spread rapidly. Soldiers and survivors on the western wall felt an overwhelming dread. Infection levels in the city shot to level 4. Tens of thousands began mutating in despair.

Corpse Drivers!

“Corpse Drivers appeared!!!”

“Damn...”

“Infection level 4 already. The army can’t hold!”

“We can only fall back to Wall 2!”

“Casualties keep increasing. The first mech division of the southern garrison is nearly wiped out.”

“If Corpse Drivers enter, level 5 infection is inevitable...”

In the command center, senior leaders shouted urgently.

Standing before the command screen, Ye Lan glanced at the death toll and the sprawling uncontrolled red infection zones, then without looking back said to Su Jin:

“Has the resonance device received the signal?”

“Not yet!”

Su Jin’s face was heavy as she stared at the device screen reading 0%.

“What is that?”

At that moment, Xu Yan suddenly asked.

Everyone turned to the direction he indicated.

The northern and eastern city wall observation stations were sending monitoring alerts.

At that moment, soldiers fighting desperately on the walls noticed distant lights flickering in the darkness.

The commander confirmed it was light—car headlights. Initially, only a few, but gradually more and more lights pierced the darkness, illuminating the fields.

Dazed.

Static crackled in the commander’s comm channel. He could barely hear over interference and turned up the volume.

“Dawn, this is Dawn Watch Alliance Lin Qingyu. Identify friend or foe. We are rushing to assist!”

“Dawn, this is the Wanderers Alliance. I am Yu Huaian! We’re on our way to support!”

The commander’s breath trembled as he frantically twisted the comm dial. More voices flooded in like a torrent:

“We are Wind Whisperers convoy...”

“The Common Alliance is back with 150,000!”

“Dawn, this is Steel Bastion’s Xu Yufei...”

“Dawn, Dawn, this is Full Metal Frenzy convoy... 37 kilometers away.”

“Dawn, we are...”

“Protect Dawn City!!!”

“Dawn City belongs to our Dragon Kingdom!!!”

“To hell with the S-levels!”

“Die if we must! Charge!”

On the walls, soldiers and survivors guarding Dawn City gazed toward the darkness and saw trucks, armored vehicles, off-roaders, base vehicles, buses...

Thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands!

A flood of light surged across the dark wasteland like a vast Milky Way.

Meanwhile, at Twin Star Tower command center, Su Jin’s resonance device monitoring progress suddenly jumped from 0% to 1%.

A faint, intermittent signal echoed through the hall:

“Secondary propulsion deceleration...”

“Re-entry attitude adjustment...”

“Landing site calibration...”

“Attention Dawn City...”