Intelligence from the eastern sector of Dongfu City came back faster than the beat of a bird’s wing.
Twenty kilometers wasn’t such a great distance.
The enemy had opted for a compromise in the placement of their Teleportation Gates, aiming to minimize the travel distance while still ensuring their own safety.
However...
As the rotor blades of the first attack helicopter began to spin, its engine roaring to life, it ascended from the ground. By the time it had climbed to an altitude of over a hundred meters, a Storm Giant Eagle circling in the distance had already locked onto its position.
Once the Summoner in the rear established a sensory link, a cold glint of human intelligence appeared in the eagle’s sharp eyes.
"One attack helicopter sighted. They’re making a big show of it. Location is above the Fissure Gorge."
After he sent the report over the radio, air-raid sirens began to blare in Qixia Border Town behind him, as well as at the Eastern Domain border where Teleportation Gates E-1 and E-3 were located.
The information was quickly relayed to the central command of the Combat Defense Department, and from there, out to every Forward Base.
As it happened, attack helicopters were also spotted on the skyline west of the city.
"So the enemy’s Army Reserve really did show up. A bunch of disgraceful traitors."
Naturally, they had prepared for such an attack.
Using tanks or heavy armored vehicles wasn’t realistic; they were completely unsuitable for high-speed assaults through forested terrain.
They also had methods for dealing with attack helicopters. One crucial factor was that the ground-attack missiles mounted on the choppers themselves had a limited range—about six or seven kilometers at most.
As long as they could establish aerial defenses and launch attacks from outside the enemy’s effective range, the helicopters would never get a chance to launch their missiles.
It was at this moment that Su Chen and his group, who were en route to Qixia Border Town, caught sight of something. From their vantage point above the sea of trees, they could make out the figures of numerous experts flying out from the Forward Base.
’It’s begun.’
This mobilization undoubtedly meant they had discovered the location of the enemy’s Teleportation Gates.
Ever since the disaster caused by the Parasitic Tide in Qixia Border Town, security in the area had been airtight. No one dared to let their guard down.
Su Chen peered into the distance. Thanks to his superior long-range vision, he was actually able to spot more than a dozen tiny black dots on the far horizon.
’Even helicopters are involved. They’re really pulling out all the stops.’
"Time to go meet them head-on."
No sooner had he spoken—
VMM!
—than the Light and Dark Particles around him surged violently. Aurora Flash activated in an instant.
A streak of light enveloped his form, and in a flash, he warped far into the depths of the forest.
Su Chen couldn’t take the others with him, and he had no obligation to carry them along.
「A few minutes later.」
They arrived above the familiar altar-like structure. The wild-spawned Rune edifice was still standing. Farther in the distance, the missile pylon on a heavy Apache helicopter suddenly flashed with fire.
FWOOSH!
A plume of fire erupted from its tail.
This was no ordinary orange-red flare. It was tinged with the twin glows of Enchantment. A Spellcaster had infused it with the Rune Power of an Acceleration Rune, allowing the missile to break the Sound Barrier just moments after launch, leaving a blinding trail of light in its wake.
The forces of Oran City were no fools. They knew the helicopters’ ground-attack missiles had a limited range and would need the supplementary boost of an Acceleration Rune to extend it.
The addition of a Damage Rune was clearly meant to enhance its destructive power.
Of course, this Enchantment process took considerable effort, making it impossible to launch all the Hellfire Missiles from the pylon in a single volley.
"Enemy missile inbound! The target is definitely the Teleportation Gate!"
An elite investigation squad up ahead, codenamed "Shunying," immediately relayed the intel.
The figure of a Fire Mage erupted, spraying streams of fiery projectiles into the air in a wide arc. It was an attempt to create a makeshift flare screen, hoping to decoy the incoming missiles.
"It’s no use!"
someone cried out.
"These missiles are obviously semi-active laser-guided! They’re immune to heat decoys!"
They don’t rely on GPS or require any external networks or data links, allowing them to function at full capacity even in this post-apocalyptic environment.
However, the air suddenly crackled. A blinding arc of electricity exploded overhead, sending a pulse wave rippling outward.
A Four-Star Thunder Prelate who had hurried to the scene unleashed their Lv. 7 Thunder Element skill: Overload Pulse.
Two missiles passing through the electrified grid immediately spun out of control. Their internal electronics were instantly fried by the ultra-high-frequency electromagnetic pulse. Like iron birds with broken wings, they plummeted from the sky and slammed into the dense forest, where they exploded violently.
But inevitably, some slipped through the net.
Two other missiles streaked past, having already broken Mach 1.2. The defenders could only watch helplessly as the projectiles tore through the sky, heading straight for the Teleportation Gate at Qixia Border Town.
’It’s up to the rear guard now.’
There were other countermeasures in place...
No one let up. They pushed themselves to fly even faster, hurtling straight toward the distant Apache helicopter.
The enemy escorts were numerous, and rather than wait in a defensive formation, they charged forward to meet the assault head-on.
In the time it takes to tell the tale,
the scene shifted back to the Teleportation Gate at Qixia Border Town. A Lv. 7 Optical Barrier Skill had long since concealed the structure’s true appearance. Furthermore, to deceive the missiles’ laser seekers, an Illusion Technique had been used to create two fake ’Teleportation Gates’.
Above the forward city wall, layers of Water Mirror Screens had also materialized, a further attempt to block the incoming missiles.
"There must be a ground observer using a portable laser designator for guidance,"
a soldier stated with conviction.
"We haven’t detected any aerial targeting platforms, which means there’s definitely a disguised infiltrator from yesterday’s wave among the personnel on the ground."
They just couldn’t root them out at the moment.
If the magical disguises failed to be effective, they would have to rely on the two top-tier Thunder mages at the front.
That was their crucial last resort.

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