Chapter 764: Charging Forward
Chapter 764: Charging Forward
In the open area, the military strategy of the Former Imperial Court was based on the direction of the aurora's descent. They quickly calculated several possible routes for the relic holders to return to their base and formulated a plan.
After the central army's review and approval, the plan was immediately communicated to all troops via telegram. Soon, artillery units scattered across various locations mobilized swiftly, pulled by a large number of mutated mules.
Within just a few hours, multiple cannon batteries were set up along the main routes, and hot air balloons rose into the sky.
This mobilization involved a total of over 400 light and heavy cannons. However, due to the vast expanse of the wilderness, the number of cannons in each area was not significant.
The troops would use the observers in the hot air balloons above and the airship sentries to identify and locate the targets. Once within range, they would launch long-range strikes on those areas.
In some special locations, especially along the routes leading to the Daxun base, there were multiple well-camouflaged fortified bastions, each equipped with several heavy-caliber cannons.
These positions had never been exposed before. If the relic carriers managed to break through the heavy interception ahead and passed through the predetermined sections, they would not hesitate to bombard those areas.
Chen Chuan had already left the unknown territory and arrived on the plain. In reality, this area was still filled with forests and rivers of various sizes, and the terrain was undulating, not a flat expanse with nothing to hide.
However, strictly speaking, although this area was no longer marked as uncharted on the map, apart from some explored fixed paths, most of the land was still extremely dangerous.
If he followed the path and traveled day and night without rest, he would be able to return in at most two days and one night.
Just then, as if out of nowhere, the sky suddenly darkened, and the convergence zone plunged into night within an instant. But with the relic's aurora shielding him, he did not encounter any anomalies.
He had already allowed his mount to rest while depicting the ritual, so he had no intention of stopping now. Instead, he continued to charge forward.
About two hours later, the sound of propellers could be heard above, and an airship appeared. The airship's lights shone down, but although the relic had an aurora, the light on the ground was not very bright, only a faint glow that allowed one to discern the silhouette of a man on horseback.
A telegram was immediately sent from the airship: "We have approached the target. It is currently moving from Sector B, Position 38, towards Sector C, Position 56, at a speed between Level 2 and Level 3."
There was an artillery position nearby. Although the terrain prevented them from directly seeing Chen Chuan's location, based on the regional coordinates and the relic's aurora, they immediately fired a round of artillery at that area.
Chen Chuan seemed to sense something and looked up. He saw a burst of fire not far from him, followed by another, and then lights flashed near and far, accompanied by consecutive explosions.
However, he remained unmoved. With his transverse force and second self, as long as he wasn't directly hit by a shell, it wouldn't pose much of a threat to him.
In such a vast area, the chances of being hit directly were minuscule. Even if he did encounter it, his psychic power would warn him in advance, giving him enough time to dodge.
The situation was more likely to cause problems for the horse, but fortunately, the Dragon Nose Horse was a mutated creature bred for survival on the battlefield. It remained calm amidst the sound of artillery fire and maintained its galloping speed.
Even when shrapnel and fragments of grass and mud flew onto the horse's body, its resilient hide deflected them.
Chen Chuan carefully observed the situation. These shells were not meant to kill him directly but to intercept and force him to take a detour. Where the shells didn't land, there might be even bigger traps waiting, so although the surroundings seemed dangerous, it was actually safer.
However, he couldn't afford to be careless. After some thought, he leaned forward, jerked the reins, and the Dragon Nose Horse beneath him sensed his intention, increasing its speed.
With this, the packhorses behind him couldn't keep up.
But he didn't mind leaving those horses behind. He now carried all the essential items on his person, and with the relic, he didn't need to worry about the night or things like tents. He could even discard small psychic field creatures, thunder cannons, and other items.
As for Chao Ming, he had been left far behind, as long as he remained within the range of the relic's aurora. In the vast convergence zone, no one would pay attention to a slightly unusual bird lizard.
As he charged forward, he suddenly noticed a low-lying forest ahead. It seemed quite large, an ideal place to hide from the artillery fire, but he didn't enter it. Instead, he pulled on the reins and went around it.
Inside the forest, more than ten machine guns were positioned at different locations. If Chen Chuan had come from there or even just approached, they would have opened fire immediately. But with his decisive detour, they could only watch helplessly as he left.
To avoid being spotted, the machine gun position was not set up on high ground, limiting its shooting range. At this moment, even if they fired, they couldn't hit him, so they could only watch as Chen Chuan departed.
Even though the area here was avoided, the offensive elsewhere was relentless. Aside from the continuous booming of cannons in the rear, a rustling sound suddenly emerged from the forests on both sides, as a large flock of mutated flying birds rushed towards Chen Chuan.
Chen Chuan's eyes flashed slightly. If it weren't for the need to attract that fighter and conserve some stamina, he would have already sprinted at full speed. However, he had to persist, so he looked up at the approaching birds and unleashed his psychic power!
In that instant, the surrounding birds seemed to freeze for a moment before falling from the sky in unison.
Meanwhile, in the rear, the military officers on the cannon battery were observing the aurora with telescopes. Upon witnessing this scene, they gasped in surprise, and their hearts were further shaken after seeing the data reported by the observer.
Based on the area where the birds fell, they estimated that Chen Chuan's psychic power had reached an astonishing range of over seven hundred meters. Considering that he was still running at the moment, he would definitely try to conserve stamina, so this might not even be his full strength.
The military officers present looked at each other, seeing the astonishment in each other's eyes. Generally, elite fighters' psychic impact range was only three to four hundred meters, and those who reached five hundred meters could already hold a place in the world. But this seven hundred meters... it was simply on another level.
No wonder this person was able to become the final winner in obtaining the relic.
They also felt a sense of relief, as they heard that the previous elite squad that launched the raid had almost none of its members return. It seemed that the person before them was responsible, but because they themselves were not outstanding enough, they had not been chosen to join the raid, and now there was no need to risk their lives by confronting him.
Almost at the same moment, the commotion in the convergence zone was transmitted to the rear base and the Daxun Defense Department through their informants.
On the spatial screen in the Defense Department, the communications officer in the command center said excitedly, "Commissioner Liang, our informant in the Former Imperial Court has sent a message confirming that the person who broke through the encirclement with the relic is Chen Chuan! He is currently heading towards our base!"
Commissioner Liang remained calm on the surface upon hearing this news, but his heart was not at ease. He was well aware of the difficulties in obtaining the relic, but even so, he hadn't expected that their side would still manage to secure it.
He asked in a deep voice, "What about the others? What about Old Xu and his team? Any news?"
The communications officer replied with some regret, "We haven't received any news about Captain Xu and his team yet."
In a 6, 9, 1, and 9, there is no mistake in the version!
Commissioner Liang paused for a moment before saying, "Regardless, we cannot let the relic fall into the hands of the Former Imperial Court."
He immediately instructed the communications officer, "In my name, immediately convene a military director-level meeting. Within five minutes, everyone must be present."
The communications officer saluted and loudly affirmed the order.
Less than three minutes later, commanders from various frontlines appeared on the screen.
Commissioner Liang spoke in a deep voice, "You should all be aware of the situation by now. I need you to come up with a plan to ensure the receipt of the relic, but I also require the safety of the escort personnel to be guaranteed!"
After a brief pause, one of the commanders responded, "I believe that after dawn, we should immediately send a large army to advance and create the appearance of an attack, providing cover for Chen Chuan's return.
However, we have the Former Imperial Court's army confronting us in the front, so we can't bypass them to do this. We can only divide our forces, which may leave the rear of the base vulnerable. For the sake of caution, we need to request additional troops from the Central City garrison."
The other officers agreed with this statement. After facing off against the Former Imperial Court for so long, they understood each other well. There was no chance of launching a surprise attack; it would be a matter of overwhelming them with superior numbers. Only by having twice their strength could they possibly succeed.
Just as Commissioner Liang was about to respond, a prompt tone sounded, followed by the voice of his female assistant, "Commissioner, there's a special envoy from headquarters with an urgent matter who needs to meet with you immediately."
Commissioner Liang was taken aback. At this moment... But then he thought about it and seemed to realize something. He temporarily paused the meeting and went to the reception room.
A man of average build, wearing glasses and with an ordinary appearance, arrived. Upon seeing Commissioner Liang, he saluted and then took out a document from his briefcase, holding it with both hands and presenting it to him. "Commissioner Liang, this is the official document from headquarters for you to review."
Commissioner Liang took the document and, after glancing through it, his eyes revealed a hint of surprise. After a while, he took a breath and nodded to the special envoy, "I understand. I have an important matter to attend to, so please excuse me for a moment."
He instructed his female assistant to receive the special envoy on his behalf and then returned to the conference room. However, at this moment, he noticed that his steps were unusually steady and powerful.
He raised his head and addressed the commanders, "I will be deploying troops shortly. This matter is of great importance, and I am granting you all the permissions allowed by the Defense Department. Under the premise of ensuring the safety of the escort personnel, you can fight without restraint."
...
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(End of Chapter)
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