Chapter 1219: The Calm Before the Storm

The battle reached a stalemate. Aside from Fei Ningxiao’s maniacal laughter echoing through the sky, the entire battlefield fell dead silent.

Even the heavily bandaged, wounded victims merely gritted their teeth, glaring fiercely at the Blood Boiling Race beast without letting out a single cry of pain. It was as if everyone had reached an unspoken agreement. To cry out in pain felt like surrendering to the alien race.

Wang Yetao and the other two Ninth Grade experts hovered in the air, surrounding Fei Ningxiao. Their brows were tightly furrowed as they pondered their next move. They had just received a message from the Dao Sect. It would likely take an hour for Marshal Yuan Longhan to arrive as backup. The biggest problem now was how to stall Fei Ningxiao for that hour while keeping the Research Institute as safe as possible.

Firstly, the earthquake could not be stopped. By burning his Zenith power, Fei Ningxiao triggered a collision in the deep soil across a three-hundred-mile radius, with the Research Institute right at the epicenter. Fortunately, countless resources had been poured into fortifying the Research Institute when it was first built. It was already designed to withstand natural earthquakes, or else it would have collapsed long ago. Even Dongdu City, which wasn’t at the epicenter, was currently suffering from varying degrees of aftershocks.

Of course, there were no casualties in Dongdu City for the time being. Only a few old buildings had tilted, and thanks to the Investigation and Arrest Bureau maintaining control, basic order hadn’t devolved into chaos. The only good news now was that the equipment in the Research Institute’s Underground City remained undamaged. The collapsed soil on the surface was merely superficial. The Underground City had three entrances, currently guarded by three Sixth Grade major generals, with one stationed at each.

In truth, the three Ninth Grade experts weren’t overly concerned about just an earthquake. The reason they had frantically bombarded Fei Ningxiao at all costs earlier wasn’t to kill him. After all, a Zenith was incredibly hard to kill, and the three of them knew their own limits.

Wang Yetao and the others had made a different discovery. As long as the bombardment Fei Ningxiao endured surpassed a certain threshold, the seismic waves he triggered would weaken significantly. He was likely struggling to focus on both offense and defense—after all, a Zenith wasn’t an Immortal. If they could continuously bombard him, the Underground City might be able to hold out for roughly another hour.

But things had taken a turn for the worse. Because the second shield had been corrupted by Fei Ningxiao, the three Ninth Grade experts didn’t dare launch any more attacks. The seismic waves were intensifying at a visible rate. At this pace, the Underground City wouldn’t even last half an hour.

They were caught in a dilemma. If they didn’t attack, the Underground City would eventually collapse. But if they did, the gale within the second shield would expand further, and in a short while, even the third shield might be destroyed. Moreover, with Fei Ningxiao’s blood continuing to spread, who knew what other terrifying consequences might unfold. By then, almost none of the researchers trapped in the Research Institute would survive.

Within the second shield, there were only eight Grandmasters. Three Sixth Grade major generals were guarding the three entrances to the Underground City. The remaining five Grandmasters, including Zhao Zhuangyuan, had to maintain the operation of the third shield. Without external reinforcements, it was absolutely impossible to transport the wounded out through the blood-colored storm.

That damn Fei Ningxiao. What sort of conspiracy was he plotting? Why did the second shield block even the human race? It was a devastating move that cut off their escape, driving everyone to despair. The low-level Martial Artists who could freely enter and exit had practically negligible combat power. Amidst the fierce gales, these people could barely protect themselves, let alone rescue others.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!

Inside the second shield, the howling wind sounded like the wailing of ten thousand ghosts, sending shivers down one’s spine. The battlefield remained deadlocked. Thanks to Bai Ziqing, Gu Feizi, and Su Yue’s efforts at the shelter, further casualties were almost impossible. The wounded could safely wait to receive medical treatment.

Outside the second shield, all the Grandmasters who had rushed over as reinforcements were charging at it at all costs. Everyone was racking their brains and pushing themselves to the limit, desperately trying to break through the barrier.

It was infuriating. Subjected to some unknown corruption, the second shield had spiraled out of control, turning into an insurmountable chasm that no one could cross. And inside the second shield lay a true living hell.

The three Ninth Grade experts didn’t dare to rashly bombard Fei Ningxiao. As a result, the earthquake grew increasingly violent, which, in turn, led to more and more casualties in the Underground City. Although the Underground City wouldn’t collapse, many structures would still fall, making it inevitable for the researchers to get hurt.

The third shield was precarious, constantly battered by the frantic hurricane. Its crumbling state left many breaking into a cold sweat. The wounded in the Underground City didn’t dare climb up, while the wounded inside the third shield couldn’t be transported out.

The battle had plunged into the most disadvantageous situation possible for the human race. It seemed the Research Institute’s only remaining fate was to watch the Underground City be torn apart by the earthquake and wait for its ultimate defeat.

“Damn it, we’re in a dead end.” Su Yue had just saved a severely wounded victim. Taking advantage of a brief moment of rest, he gazed into the distance.

Countless reinforcements had gathered in front of the second shield. Yet, no matter how many people the human race had, they simply couldn’t get in. The sheer helplessness was despair-inducing. Moreover, the color of the shield was growing darker and deeper. It had morphed from its previous light red into a deep, bloody crimson.

Most terrifying of all was the horrifying hurricane whipping back and forth within the shield. The gale was mixed with building debris. As it spun, it was even more gruesome than a meat grinder—it was an absolute killing machine.

“This is bad. Really bad!” Wuteng Feng also glared at Fei Ningxiao through gritted teeth. If they couldn’t come up with a solution soon, this beast really would destroy the Divine Land’s century-old foundation of scientific research.