Forty Millenniums of Cultivation Chapter 3520: Side Story: city of trapped beasts (Ⅸ)

"The signal!"

Ding Bell spotted it as well.

In the vast stretches of the wilderness, magnetic storms occur frequently, making wireless communication unreliable. Even wired cables are often severed or devoured by monsters.

Consequently, inspired by the "Flag signals" used in maritime travel, the soldiers and inhabitants of the wasteland developed "Light language." By utilizing various flashing frequencies, they can maintain basic communication even when spiritual and magnetic interference renders all other methods useless.

Having been raised in the wilderness, Ding Bell was naturally familiar with the "Language of the lamp."

"It's a human!"

The young girl beamed with joy. "Uncle Yang, we need to hurry!"

"Hold on, stay alert!"

Yang Yi’s brow furrowed in concern.

He couldn't be certain if this was truly a person or a deceptive trap set by monsters.

If it were a human, why would they risk transmitting light signals in a city crawling with beasts?

However, the throbbing pain in his internal organs and the growing numbness in his limbs served as a grim reminder that he could no longer afford to hesitate.

The sounds of scuttling nearby and the shifting shadows in the dark also warned him of the perils of taking a longer route.

They were out of options.

It was time to gamble everything.

"Move! Get to the source of those flashing lights as fast as possible!"

Yang Yi and Ding Bell sprinted forward like arrows released from a bow.

Initially, the path through the Sleeper Cell ruins was unobstructed and free of monsters.

But soon, Yang Yi glimpsed a black beetle out of the corner of his eye, its triangular head emerging from behind a pile of rubble.

"No!"

Yang Yi’s heart plummeted into a dark abyss.

He feared it was another ambush.

Before he could even react to the thought, a crystal bullet wreathed in electricity arrived with a thunderous crack, shattering the black armored beetle's head.

"A sniper?"

Yang Yi turned his head in disbelief toward a dangerous-looking building hundreds of meters away, where the echoes of gunfire rang out.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Hidden deep within that dilapidated structure, a sniper was methodically firing to provide cover for Yang Yi and Ding Bell.

A single bullet could only take down one creature.

Against the massive tide of monsters occupying the city, it was hardly enough.

However, the sniper’s blatant gunfire was sufficient to draw the gaze of every monster in the vicinity.

Attracted by the noise, a horde of beasts charged madly toward the sniper's building.

The area surrounding Yang Yi and Ding Bell suddenly cleared.

"He’s—"

Despite her youth, Ding Bell had grown up in the wilderness. She understood that in a ruin infested with monsters, a hidden sniper firing repeatedly without relocating was suicide.

No skilled sniper would be ignorant of such a fundamental rule.

"He is making a path for us."

Yang Yi’s eyes shimmered. "That sniper must have spotted us from his vantage point. He is sacrificing his life to distract the monsters, buying us the time we need to get away!"

"..."

Ding Bell stood with her mouth agape, unable to process the sacrifice.

"Move."

Yang Yi gave her a firm tug. "We cannot let this hero die for nothing. We must not waste the chance he gave us!"

With her mind a total blank, Ding Bell was pulled along by Yang Yi. They stumbled forward through the wreckage, racing toward the spot where the "Light language" had signaled.

Suddenly, a deafening explosion roared behind them.

Looking back, they saw the building where the sniper had been hiding engulfed by a rapidly expanding sphere of fire.

The entire structure, along with the monsters scaling its walls, collapsed into a heap of burning rubble—a fiery tomb.

"Over here, this way!"

While the roar of the explosion and the building's collapse distracted the remaining monsters, a low voice called out to them from ahead.

The pair scrambled toward the sound and discovered the wreckage of a broken crystal chariot, its turret missing, lying against a ruined wall.

Within the hollowed-out remains of the chariot, there was a hidden space.

Tucked beneath the debris was a narrow, winding tunnel about thirty-five meters long, shaped like a cat's ear.

Inside were two Federation soldiers, their bodies wrapped in blood-soaked bandages and smelling of smoke.

Both men were severely mutilated.

One soldier had lost his right arm at the elbow and his left leg below the knee. His remaining leg was twisted in several places, swollen into a dark purple mass that looked ready to burst at the slightest touch.

It looked as though he had been chewed on by a beast and barely escaped its jaws.

The second soldier was deathly pale. His bandaged torso was bulging as if his internal organs were trying to spill out of his wounds.

Worse still, his eyes were bound with thick gauze; he was completely blind!

Despite this, the one-armed soldier gripped a Blaster tightly.

The blind soldier was fumbling to help his comrade reload, while also sharpening a saber—engraved with the nine-star ascending dragon emblem—until its edge gleamed with a lethal, cold light.

Upon hearing Yang Yi explain their identities and their mission, the two soldiers were filled with relief.

In return, they provided Yang Yi and Ding Bell with vital intelligence.

Although the city's garrison and the various Cultivation sects had been overwhelmed and scattered during yesterday's surprise attack, the resistance had not ended.

Survivors and soldiers hidden among the burning ruins had not stopped fighting.

Since the monsters held the advantage during the night, the remaining forces had gone into hiding to protect the last of the civilians, waiting for daybreak.

As dawn arrived and the magnetic interference began to subside, orders from headquarters finally reached the tactical crystal brains of the soldiers and Cultivators still in the city.

The scale of the Beast Tide in Razor City was now known to the high command.

Three rapid-response units of the Federation Army, along with numerous Cultivators from the surrounding sects, were currently racing toward the city.

An advance force of three crystal battleships was scheduled to strike at 9:30 A.M. Heaven’s Origin Standard Time. Their goal was to secure the Razor City Mining Technical School and establish a bridgehead for the main army.

The command ordered all remaining forces to move toward the school while the monsters were distracted by the aerial assault, protecting survivors at all costs.

This Beast Tide was massive, likely led by a Demon King.

Razor City was about to become a brutal war zone.

As a final resort, the Federation might even use carpet bombing to clear the area.

If the survivors failed to reach the Mining Technical School and remained in the heart of the city, their chances of survival would drop to zero.

"Officer Yang, *cough*, you can see our condition. We have to stay here; we aren't capable of escorting anyone to the school."

The blind soldier gave a ragged, bitter laugh. "We were desperate and didn't know what to do. Thank the heavens you arrived!"

"Once the battle begins, we will provide all the cover fire we can to protect your rear."

"Please, these children... I'm entrusting them to you!"

The two wounded men struggled to shift their mangled bodies aside.

Only then did Yang Yi and Ding Bell notice a small opening behind them, barely larger than a burrow.

Three terrified children were huddled inside.

The oldest was perhaps eight, while the youngest was only four or five.

Not every child possessed the natural talents of Ding Bell.

These three were pale, shivering, and paralyzed by fear.

"We fought our way back here, but so many died, including their parents. They are the only ones left."

"They shouldn't have to die here. Please, take these chain-sabers and Blasters!"

Every gaze turned toward Yang Yi.

As the only adult and the only able-bodied Cultivator present, Yang Yi felt his throat go dry and his face flush with shame.

"I... I will do it!"

He cleared his throat and spoke firmly. "Even though I am badly hurt and my Qi is nearly gone, as long as I have breath in my body, I will get these children to the Mining Technical School safely!"

Ding Bell looked at Yang Yi, who was barely older than her and trembling like a leaf, and then at the two blood-soaked soldiers.

Her eyes welled with tears.

The Ding Bell of yesterday would have cried and refused to leave, begging Yang Yi to find a way to save the soldiers too.

But today, she felt she had finally grown up. She understood that the mission had to be completed at any cost; she could no longer act like a spoiled child.

"Uncle, was that sniper your comrade? What was his name?"

Ding Bell took a shaky breath, fighting to keep her tears from falling.

She knew she couldn't save these two soldiers.

Just as she couldn't have saved the sniper who sacrificed himself to protect them.

She simply wanted to remember their names.

So that one day, she could avenge them!

However, the blind soldier shook his head.

"No, we didn't know him. we only realized he was there because of a distant light signal at dawn."

"There are many other Federation soldiers and Cultivators scattered in these ruins, too wounded to move, just like us."

"When the interference cleared, they all would have received the same orders. They know their duty."

"So do not fear. When the fighting starts, just run forward. No matter how grim it looks, someone will always stand up to protect you!"

"But what about you?"

Ding Bell choked out the question. "Uncles, tell me your names! I want to remember who you are!"

The two soldiers shared a smile.

They opened their mouths to answer.

But at that exact moment, a colossal roar split the sky.

It sounded as if the heavens themselves had cracked open, pouring down a flood of thunder.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

The ruins—and the entire city of Razor—began to tremble violently, as if an earthquake or a volcanic eruption were imminent.

This was the sheer force of crystal battleships descending through the clouds, flying at low altitudes and tearing through the air!

It was exactly 9:30 in the morning.

The human counter-attack had officially begun.

Ding Bell strained to hear the names of the two soldiers.

But their voices were completely swallowed by the thunderous roar of the battleships.

Just like the sniper.

Just like all the resistance fighters and victims who had been buried in the ruins since the night before.

They were all nobodies.