I will burn books and slay gods.

Inside the armored command vehicle, the air was almost frozen.

Aside from the roar of the engine and the occasional encrypted communication signal, the only other sound was the faint tapping of Wang Tiankuo's fingers unconsciously on the tactical tablet.

On the screen, the red dot representing Thousand Towers City was getting closer and closer, while the dark red ripples surrounding it, symbolizing a high-energy threat, had become so dense that they were almost connected, like a terrifying heart on the verge of exploding.

"Report, the vanguard reconnaissance convoy has sent back final confirmation." The communications soldier's voice was slightly dry.

"The outer barrier of Thousand Towers City has been confirmed to be completely ineffective; the residual energy indicates a violent breach."

"Within the city... there are no regular life signals, but a large-scale, high-intensity nightmare energy aggregation reaction has been detected. The energy level in the core area... continues to exceed the monitoring limit, with an estimated average level... above level seven, and there are multiple suspected level eight energy focal points."

Level 8.

This word is like a block of ice, sliding down everyone's spine.

The level seven Nightmare Beast has posed a great threat to this strategic situation. Even a level seven Nightmare Beast can only be fought against by experts at the Lamp Array Realm.

At this moment, there are only four people whose strength has reached the Lantern Array Realm.

In the Night Watchers' master file, each appearance was accompanied by heavy casualties and semi-permanent destruction of the area.

What exactly happened in Thousand Towers City?

Why would Shatuo summon so many Nightmare Beasts? Wang Tiankuo firmly believed that these Nightmare Beasts were definitely not meant to fight against them, the so-called Night Watchers.

Rather, there must be an even more dangerous plan involved.

Wang Tiankuo's facial muscles twitched slightly, but his eyes became even sharper, like knives.

"All crews, conduct a final equipment check. We're not going to our deaths, we're going to carry out a mission that must be accomplished. Remember your duties."

Wang Tiankuo's gaze swept over the encrypted channel again.

That was the message that the Eternal Spirit, the Supreme Yang God, had conveyed to him alone last night. And since this person was a member chosen by the Supreme Yang God alone, he was at the end of the convoy.

He pulled up the independent communication line identified by only one line of code, remained silent for a moment, and then connected.

"Chen Ye".

Wang Tiankuo's voice rang out clearly through the encrypted channel in Chen Ye's carriage, interrupting Chen Ye's communication with Huang in the spiritual space.

Chen Ye regained consciousness, opened his eyes, and in the dim light of the carriage, his gaze was clear and cold. "Dean Wang."

"We'll arrive at the designated outer area of ​​the city in forty-five minutes." Wang Tiankuo didn't waste any words. "Lord Zhiyang God assigned you to this mission, but didn't convey any useful information to me."

"Now, I need to know what I need to know about you, or... what you want to do?"

Chen Ye remained silent for two seconds.

Huang's warning echoed in his ears, but he could not directly reveal Huang's existence.

He carefully chose his words: "Dean Wang, I have received some... fragmented information about this crisis. I cannot disclose the source, but it is credible."

"The situation in Thousand Towers City may be more complicated than what is shown on the big screen; the gathering of Nightmare Beasts is not accidental."

"Conventional tactics have limited effectiveness against high-level Nightmare Beast swarms; we need to find the key."

Wang Tiankuo frowned deeply over the command vehicle.

"Fragmented information?"

"source?"

This statement is vague, but when combined with the involvement of the Supreme Yang Divine Rank, it seems quite substantial.

"To be more specific, what kind of key points?"

"The point where energy converges most unusually, or... the core of some kind of ritual or summoning."

Chen Ye recalled Huang's solemn tone, "There may be something higher driving the Nightmare Beast army."

"I can't predict exactly what it is yet, but once we encounter it, we must prioritize destroying or disrupting it at all costs, otherwise casualties will increase exponentially. Also…"

He paused for a moment: "Be careful, and be safe."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the communication line, broken only by the hissing of electricity.

Wang Tiankuo processed this information.

This goes beyond the scope of conventional intelligence and is almost metaphysical, but being in his position, he knows that there are many forces in this world that cannot be explained by common sense.

"Understood," Wang Tiankuo finally said. "I will focus on locating the energy source. Chen Ye, your independent operation privileges have been temporarily upgraded to Level A. If necessary, you may leave the formation, but you must maintain communication."

"Remember, your life is also important. We didn't send you here to be a disposable item."

"Yes," Chen Ye replied succinctly.

Level A clearance is almost the highest level of freedom of action that can be granted on-site, and Wang Tiankuo has given him a great deal of trust and space.

Communication was cut off.

Chen Ye closed his eyes again, his mind sinking into a connection with Huang.

"Senior, Wang Tiankuo has granted you access. Are there any more specific sensing capabilities?"

"All you need to do now is follow the directions I indicate. You don't need to worry about anything else," Huang explained to Chen Ye.

"I had no choice, did I?" Chen Ye replied calmly.

"...Yes. This is your tribulation, and also your trial. Beware of the nightmare beasts summoned from the deepest abyss; they may... have been imbued with some kind of 'will'."

The convoy continued its advance, and the surrounding desert landscape gradually became strange.

The originally barren yellow ground began to show abnormal purplish-black veins, as if the earth's blood vessels had been infected by toxins.

A faint, sweet, fishy smell permeated the air—the odor of highly concentrated negative emotions. Even with the armored vehicle's filtration system, it still caused a slight dizziness and irritability.

"Attention! Scattered Nightmare Beasts have appeared 5 kilometers ahead! Energy level... Level 5 to 6, number approximately 30!" the reconnaissance unit issued an alert.

"All crews, prepare for battle! Maintain formation, break through at high speed, and avoid unnecessary engagements!" Wang Tiankuo decisively gave the order.

Their target is Thousand Towers City; they cannot afford to be bogged down by the scattered troops on the outskirts.

Soon, a shadowy, distorted figure appeared on the horizon.

They come in all shapes and sizes. Some resemble enlarged and mutated insects, their carapaces shimmering with a metallic sheen. Others are rolling shadows with countless tentacles. Still others vaguely retain a human form, but their limbs are twisted, their faces are rotting, and their eyes burn with a mad, nightmarish fire.

Faced with this scene, Chen Ye followed closely at the back of the convoy.

With Huang's slight enhancement, his senses became exceptionally sharp, allowing him to "see" energy flows from a greater distance.

No… these Nightmare Beasts’ attacks seem crazy, but they are subtly coordinated.

They weren't just blindly throwing their lives away; they were consciously pushing the convoy in a certain direction, and... further away, an even stronger energy reaction was approaching at high speed!

"Dean Wang! Watch out at the two o'clock position! A high-energy reaction is rapidly approaching, at least at the peak of level seven, and there may be more than one!" Chen Ye immediately issued a warning through the encrypted channel.

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the sky at the two o'clock position suddenly darkened.

Two enormous black shadows, like falling meteorites, crashed down with a suffocating pressure not far in front of the convoy, causing the earth to tremble violently and dust to billow into the sky.

As the smoke and dust cleared, two terrifying figures were revealed.

On the left is one that resembles a giant lizard, but its back is covered with dense, purplish-black crystals that constantly flash with dangerous lightning. It is over fifteen meters long and the energy fluctuations it emits have reached the peak of level seven.

The one on the right resembled a bloated mountain of flesh, without a fixed shape. Its surface was constantly covered with pustules and tentacles, and a huge mouth covered with spiraling teeth had split open in the center. Its energy level was equally terrifying.

What's even more chilling is that the eyes of these two clearly leader-level Nightmare Beasts don't burn with pure, frenzied Nightmare Fire, but rather with a cold, almost intelligent, ghostly light.

"Eyes in the shadows..." Chen Ye felt a chill run down his spine.