In the name of supernatural powers

Chapter 134 Fierce Battle

Outpost.

Built on the gorge where numerous rivers and streams converge into the three rivers outside the country, the mountain is composed of thick layers of sandstone, making it resistant to landslides caused by heavy rain.

The mountaintop is relatively flat and completely encased in thick cement walls, making the steep mountainside part of the wall itself.

By setting up firing positions above, the river can be directly controlled. Each year, simply releasing bait can intercept most aquatic creatures.

Even if a very small number of fish manage to escape, they can be intercepted through temporary outposts set up in the rear.

When Lu Zhao and his group arrived at the foot of the mountain, they could already hear gunfire coming from the mountain, and the firing positions on the observation tower were firing in short bursts from time to time.

“There are already water beasts swimming upstream to the border. Judging from the gunfire, their numbers shouldn’t be many; they might be the vanguard.”

Liu Qiang, sitting in the back seat, demonstrated his keen observation skills as always.

"This sound is not even .50 caliber, and the size is not very big."

His comrade mocked, "You know-it-all, you talk a good game, but don't give up after firing less than 500 shots."

Liu Qiang said, "The credit lies in how many monsters I kill, not how many shots I fire. My marksmanship is only matched by Brother Lu in the entire company."

Immediately, boos erupted, and even the comrades sitting in the back of the truck couldn't hold back anymore.

Soon, the convoy stopped about 500 meters from the outpost on a gentle slope, where soldiers stood guard with precision rifles.

Liu Qiang received the command, and the convoy drove up the gentle slope, with the sound of bullets whistling through the air from time to time.

Upon entering the camp, the bright searchlights were the first source of light they had experienced in the past few days, slightly dispelling the gloom in their hearts.

Oil and gas resources are precious in this era, but not to the point where even military units cannot afford them.

The outpost has always had ample reserves of gasoline and diesel, enough to generate electricity for at least a month without interruption.

The duty squad leader ran over, saluted Lu Zhao who had just gotten off the vehicle, and reported the situation.

Communications were basically paralyzed, but power supply was normal, food reserves were sufficient, ammunition and medicines were plentiful.

“Starting the day before yesterday, our class began to release the lure. There were no water beasts on August 3rd. On August 4th, a total of five appeared, all of which were killed. On August 5th, ten appeared, and only five were killed.”

"The group is mainly composed of frog-like mammals, and an armored crocodile was observed at 2 PM."

Frog-like creatures are amphibians and can be killed with ordinary rifle bullets, posing little danger.

Generally, a shot to the torso will result in death, while a shot to the thigh joint can greatly reduce the risk.

Crocodiles are reptiles covered in hard shells, as hard as cast iron, and some powerful individuals can withstand rifle bullets.

The weak points are the eyes and abdomen, but the abdomen is not necessarily fatal.

The typical method involves using anti-material sniper rifles or precision rifles to fire single shots at the eyes.

Overall, killing the monsters is quite simple.

Just as most humans are not superhuman, not all monsters possess special abilities.

Lu Zhao asked, "If we have to face attacks from more than five hundred water beasts every day, how long can the outpost's supplies last?"

The duty squad leader hesitated for a moment before replying, "If they are just frog-like beasts, they can last until the food runs out. If they are all armored crocodiles, or some more dangerous species, they should be able to last for a month."

"In extreme cases, we can even eat the flesh of monsters directly."

Lu Zhao said, "That's enough."

If the month is not over yet, then the Federal Military Commander will have arrived long ago. As long as we can hold out for about ten days, troops from other regions should be able to be mobilized as well.

The fear is that other places are also at war, making the situation in Cangwu even more critical, so everyone went to Cangwu to provide support.

Ten days should be no problem.

Lu Zhao climbed the watchtower. The mountains were silent and dark, and he could not see anything in the distance.

He could only extend his mental power to observe whether there were any water beasts at the entrances of the waterways on both sides of the river.

"Bring me mine grenades."

Soon, Liu Qiang brought over a mine-launching grenade launcher, which is a grenade launcher.

An iron barrel with a triggering device contains a mine, which uses a delayed detonation or a water pressure fuse, specifically designed to deal with water monsters that are unwilling to surface.

The hit rate is very low; it is generally used to force water beasts to surface.

boom!
With a crisp sound, a mine flew out.

Lu Zhao shot from a greater distance because he needed to calculate the distance he would be swept away by the current.

Three seconds later, accompanied by a muffled explosion, a searchlight shone on the water and a huge dark shadow appeared as water splashed.

The jet-black scales reflected the light slightly.

The soldier operating the heavy machine gun immediately opened fire, and the bullets hit it, sending sparks flying.

Holding the binoculars, Liu Qiang exclaimed in shock, "It's a crocodile! Its length is estimated to be over thirty meters. Even a large-caliber bullet couldn't penetrate its shell."

The enormous black shadow sank back into the water and, in Lu Zhao's mental perception, began to move away from the outpost, swimming towards the Three Rivers without entering the area.

Lu Zhao put away his gun and said, "It is about 36 meters long, which is beyond the scope of ordinary monsters. It has at least the strength of the second tier."

His mental perception extends within a range of 1,100 meters, allowing him to form a rough outline in a fan-shaped area similar to his line of sight.

If you use visualization techniques, the outlines will be clearer, and you will have all five senses.

However, Lu Zhao rarely uses it, partly because it is too mentally taxing, and partly because the smell and taste are somewhat unpleasant.

The most effective way to judge the strength of a monster is its size; the larger the size, the higher its ecological niche and the stronger it is.

First-tier individuals already possess supernatural abilities, while second-tier individuals possess at least weak-level divine powers.

Ancient gods are different from humans; humans are superior in developing supernatural abilities.

Lu Zhao stood on the watchtower for three hours, killing five water beasts, before descending when there were no more water beasts to be seen.

Liu Qiang said with a regretful expression, "The water is too turbulent. The carcasses were swept away and there's no way to recover them. A single frog-beast can sell for over a thousand yuan, and the skin of a crocodile can also fetch a good price."

A significant portion of the starting salary of 10,000 yuan for frontline soldiers comes from the monsters they hunt.

They can exchange it for money, and if they're bold enough, they can take some of the more readily available shares and sell them privately.

Even when things were difficult, Lu Zhao allowed people to sell crocodile skins.

Lu Zhao said, "I can send you to pick it up."

Liu Qiang immediately felt it was no longer a pity.

August 6th.

Lu Zhao took three bottles of safflower extract, trying his best to squeeze out his potential and strive to break through to the second stage in a short period of time.

Meanwhile, the second-tier armored crocodile kept probing the area. At three in the morning, it even nearly crossed the border.

If it hadn't taken the right-hand waterway, and there wasn't a small waterfall to cross that made it impossible to swim directly across, it might have really gotten away.

Having learned his lesson, Lu Zhao simply refused to come down from the watchtower.

Keep an eye on the left-hand waterway to prevent second-order crocodiles from entering.

At noon, the heavy rain subsided a bit.

A strange noise came from the wide river in the distance, and Liu Qiang picked up his night vision binoculars.

A group of catfish heads surfaced and surged toward them.

"A large group of water beasts is approaching!"

The sharp whistle rang out from the outpost, and the border guards reacted quickly, taking to their positions on the walls and standing ready for action.

When the catfish head got within a kilometer, a soldier used a grenade launcher to drop a decoy into the shallows below.

This is a drug specially developed by the federal government that can induce the frog-like creatures to enter their estrus cycle.

In this world, only mating and death are inevitable.

The frog-like creatures began to surge wildly towards the water where the lure was located, while the soldiers fired from above.

Lu Zhao did not fire; he remained on guard against the second-tier armored crocodile.

Suddenly, a muddy yellow water ball shot out from underwater and hurtled towards them.

The space on the wall was too cramped to hide in.

The water balloon exploded, drenching Lu Zhao and the three soldiers around him. The skin that came into contact with the liquid immediately sizzled.

Like sulfuric acid, it corrodes their skin.

The intense pain only caused them to groan slightly before they continued firing their guns.

Half an hour later, the first wave of water beasts was cleared out.

Lu Zhao sent the soldiers who had been splashed with water along with him to the infirmary.

After examination, their injuries varied in severity. For example, Lu Zhao, whose life force was highly developed, only had slight redness on his skin.

Those with low life development had their skin burned through.

The military doctor bandaged them up and applied medicine.

Lu Zhao convened a brief operational meeting with the squad leaders.

"Second-tier monsters already possess a certain level of intelligence, and lures are ineffective against them. We must develop a plan tailored to the specific circumstances, at least to guard against their sulfuric acid attacks."

In the past, Lu Zhao would have chosen to report to his superiors or lower the priority of the outpost's defenses.

Ant Ridge has a winding, narrow river channel; there's always a place where it can be dealt with.

Not every place has deep water.

Now we can only rely on the willpower of our soldiers to hold on, and we must not allow any water beast to cross the border.

In the afternoon, a second wave of water monsters attacked again.

The number is estimated to be at least 800, which is more than the total number in the past three years. Simple water lures are no longer able to attract all the aquatic creatures.

Lu Zhao had no choice but to send his soldiers out of the camp and arrange for a squad to place explosives on the left side of the river.

If necessary, the waterways that lead directly into the territory will be blown up.

The downside is that one side of the river is the road leading to the outpost, and once it's blown up, it will be very difficult for them to get there.

At the same time, it will also increase the difficulty of flood drainage in the rear.

The gunfire from the sentry post continued unabated into the night.

The soldiers returned, downed two mouthfuls of life-saving potions, and fell asleep clutching their guns. When they awoke again, they rejoined the battle.

The defense was no longer limited to outposts, but extended to two river sections three kilometers long on either side of the outposts. They needed to continuously deploy defenses and set up outposts along the way.

Climbing by grasping plant roots on steep mountainsides and running along slippery mountain paths.

On August 6th, it was estimated that 1,500 water monsters attacked, and five people died due to mudslides, landslides, and falling into the river.

On August 7th, the number of casualties reached fifteen.

After 40 hours of intense combat, the soldiers were extremely exhausted and no longer fit for outdoor operations.

Even though Lu Zhao had taken on the most dangerous section, he still couldn't prevent casualties.

He could see his soldiers fall into the water, or be pounced into the river by leaping frogs, but he was powerless to do anything about it.

All he could do was grit his teeth and clench his fists again and again.

'I firmly believed that victory would be ours, but because of my own weakness, I was unable to stop the deaths of my comrades.'

For the first time, Lu Zhao hated himself for being just a first-tier transcendent.

August 8th.

Lu Zhao decided to blow up a river channel.

At 3 p.m., a loud bang was heard, the mountain collapsed, the river was blocked, and the swift river water quickly formed a depression, swallowing the road they came from at a visible speed.

[Vitality: 49.1]

Lu Zhao put the blood analyzer away and called out, "I'm going to rest for a while. You all increase your vigilance."

"Yes."

The soldier on guard responded weakly.

Lu Zhao leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and sank his mind into a state of primordial chaos.

He needs a Taoist technique that allows him to fight underwater.
-
Hunyuan.

The Taoist temple was quiet. When Lu Zhao arrived here, he could no longer hear the noise of the rain and his mind relaxed slightly.

He entered the Taoist temple, knelt down before the old Taoist priest who was resting with his eyes closed, and pressed his head to the ground, saying, "I beg the teacher to teach me the Taoist arts that will enable me to fight underwater."

The old Taoist priest slowly opened his eyes and saw the students dressed in wet camouflage uniforms. A hint of surprise flashed in his calm eyes.

The physical body is reflected in the spirit, which is a symbol of the unity of inner and outer, and the perfection of divine will.

But he still hasn't made a breakthrough; the conventional sense of perfection doesn't seem to have filled him up yet.

Could it be that he can actually condense a Dao Heart?
(End of this chapter)