No screams, no panic, just action.
"Switch all plans to combat mode!" Louis ordered, his voice clearly reaching everyone’s ears, "The front line must not retreat, the second line must not be chaotic, and the third line should be ready for backup."
On the other side, at the northern valley of the Red Tide Territory, the army of insect corpses slowly poured in through the narrow valley entrance.
Their forms twisted and frenzied, their skin cracked and peeled, bones jutting out like blades exposed to the air.
In their eyes, mouths, and ears, purple-black mycelium pulsated, as if some form of life was struggling to hatch within them.
They were born from the deep layers of the Nest, having shed human rationality, yet retained a certain terrifying "combat instinct."
These insect corpses had no thoughts, but their movements were not purely blind charges.
The Nest in the Cyan Rock Rift, with its deep-seated will gradually awakening, had begun to command in a primitive yet ruthless manner.
It was learning, it was adapting.
It was slowly becoming a true war machine in every sense.
Understanding how to scout, how to flank, how to analyze the reactions of its prey.
So the army of insect corpses did not choose to attack directly but instead stealthily infiltrated from the northern valley side, aiming decisively at the southeastern flank of the Red Tide Territory.
It was a seemingly weakly defended "no man’s land," guided forward by a few light riders harassing and fleeing through the forest.
The Nest perceived no activity at the front, with the Red Tide Army avoiding battle and retreating.
It had sniffed out a "weak point".
Thus it ordered the insect corpses to advance faster, confident and arrogant, as if already seeing the city ruins and the corpse mountains on the scorched earth after corruption.
Little did it know, this was exactly the first deadly trap laid by Louis.
........
To the south of Red Tide City, on the top levels of a defensive Earth Tower, layers of citizens surrounded the only small window, sealing it tight.
That small window was the only "eye" on the third floor of the Earth Tower from which one could glimpse the battle situation.
Initially, people scrambled to look, some raising stools, some carrying children, and even some bringing dry food, planning to guard it to the end.
Crying, shoving, and cursing mixed into one cacophony.
Finally, the head of city management couldn’t stand it anymore and shouted: "Are you here to watch the battle or to go to a market?! It’s a mess like a pot of porridge, the enemy would laugh their heads off!"
He looked around, his gaze shifting before pointing at a lanky young man: "Rock! You, who always shout about tavern stories, saying your ancestors were traveling poets? Now use that skill! You watch, we listen!"
The young man was stunned for a moment, then straightened his back: "Alright!"
He pushed through the crowd, stood before the window, adjusted his shoulder-length cloak, like a storyteller taking the stage.
However, just as he was about to speak, a "doom doom doom" sound came from beyond the distant mountains, as if the earth itself was trembling violently.
Rock’s heart tightened, leaning out to see, he found that amidst the billowing smoke, waves of insect corpses were surging forward like a flood.
Their limbs twisted, neither human nor ghost, in the darkness akin to nightmares waking.
Even though they were still far away, it was clear as day that those monsters were wantonly heading toward the valley.
The citizens behind him stirred: "Speak quickly, what’s going on?!"
Rock swallowed hard, forcing out a calm smile: "Everyone, don’t panic! Seeing this monster tide is actually our Red Tide Lord’s ingenious plan—to lure them into our trap!"
In his heart, he was drumming: How could I know Lord Louis’s plan, I’m just making this up, aiming to stabilize the scene.
Unexpectedly, the "lie" he spoke next actually came true.
"Boom——"
Atop the mountain, dormant machinery suddenly detonated, huge wooden spikes carried unstoppable force, whistling down the slope.
Landing with a boom, instantly crushing the front row of insect corpses, blood and limbs splattering, the scene terrifying as if a mountain deity had unleashed punishment.
Rock’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets, but his mouth quickly kept pace: "Did you hear that!? That is the first deadly trap laid by our Lord—rolling logs into the fray, divine punishment descends!"
"Roar!!" The citizens got excited too, someone shouted first: "Well done!"
No sooner had the words been spoken than the ground suddenly sank, a wall of earth collapsed on one side, black oil spouted, bursting into purgatory-like flames, incinerating the insect corpses in front.
Rock waved his hand in line with the situation: "Now see the second trap—pitfall collapse!"
"Boom——!!"
Rock swallowed hard, barely catching his breath, when suddenly red light flared up on both sides outside the window.
Accompanied by the mechanical roaring like rust, flamethrowers let loose with a roar, orange-red tongues of fire wriggling like snakes, instantly forming a fiery barrier at the mouth of the valley. The insect corpses struggled before the firewall, their wailing screeching and piercing.
"Boom——Boom——!!!"
Iron plates fell, flamethrowers extended from the barricades on both sides, like war dragons opening their mouths, fire sweeping across!
"Finally, the third blockade fire wall—flamethrowers activated, demonic flames sweeping across, incinerating bodies, extinguishing courage!"
"The mouth of Purgatory has opened!" Rock shouted, "It is the rage of ground fire, the heart of the Red Tide, the embodiment of our citizens’ anger!!"
"Wooahhh——!!!" Even the children screamed this time, everyone stomping on the floor, "Long live Lord Louis!!"
As Rock was about to breathe a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that his rhetoric had barely stabilized the situation, just as he was about to comfort the gradually relaxing citizens.
However, a sudden roar broke his thoughts, shaking the entire Earth Tower.
"Boom——!!"
A deafening explosion, like thunder splitting down, sending hearts into a frenetic rhythm.
Rock turned sharply, eyes sparkling with undisguised shock and excitement.
It was a Magic Explosion Bullet.