booktalesy Chapter 100: The First Battle of an Ordinary Awakened Being in China – A Scene from the Investiture
Chapter 100: The First Battle of an Ordinary Awakened Being in China – A Scene from the Investiture
The East China Sea is the first line of defense.
At 3:17 a.m., the sea began to glow.
The moonlight did not obscure their fireflies.
Thousands of eyes opened from the depths of the sea, illuminating the entire nearshore area in a ghastly green light.
"They're here!!"
Inside the East China Sea frontline command post, the duty officer's voice was calm, but his hands were trembling.
On the radar screen, countless red dots emerged from the deep sea, and their numbers continued to climb. Three thousand, five thousand, ten thousand…
When the number jumps to 20,000, there's no need to look at it anymore.
The first to surge ashore was a crocodile-like crustacean, four meters long, covered in black scales, and rated as D.
Quantity: Uncountable.
Following closely behind is the larger deep-sea lizard, with six legs and the ability to spew high-pressure water jets from its mouth; its grade is C.
Further on, where the seawater was churning, several dark, hill-like shapes were approaching.
B-rank sea monster lord.
"Open fire across the entire front!"
The East China Sea defense line stretches 1,200 kilometers and is home to 70% of China's Awakened forces. At this moment, every firing point along this line lights up simultaneously.
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Songjiang section, the 37th Border Defense Squadron's base.
Squad leader Zhou Tiezhu, 34 years old, Awakening level B, profession: Heavy Warrior.
He is currently wearing a full set of A-grade heavy armor – "Black Tortoise's Defense".
From head to toe, everything is grade A.
This batch of equipment was airlifted directly from the Dragon Guard headquarters two weeks ago. Along with the equipment came a note with only five words: "Find it yourselves."
It's said that tons of these were moved out of some S-level secret realm, but does anyone know which one?
Just put it on and you're done.
Zhou Tiezhu didn't think about the source in detail. He only knew that after putting on this armor, he could crack the B-level target in the training field with one punch.
"Three rows at the front, one or two rows flanking the sides, unleash your skills, and there'll be plenty of supplies behind!"
Those monsters that only appear in secret realms are now appearing in the real world, which would send chills down anyone's spine.
The D-class armored beasts rushed onto the beach at an extremely fast speed, forming a dense, dark mass, like dumplings being dropped into a pot.
The three platoons of heavy infantrymen formed a horizontal line, their shields on the ground, their heels embedded in the sand.
The first wave of impact crashed into the shield wall.
The damage reduction mechanism of the A-grade "Black Tortoise" shield directly absorbed 70% of the kinetic energy, and the remaining 30% hit him, which was almost like a tickle.
"That's it?" The third platoon leader spat and swung his warhammer down in a wide arc.
One hammer blow at a time, like smashing watermelons.
The shells of D-class sea monsters are as brittle as paper in front of A-class weapons.
The first and second platoons flanking from both sides were even more ruthless, consisting entirely of assault infantry armed with A-grade power swords, making cutting through armored beasts as easy as cutting tofu.
The beach was cleared in three minutes.
"Reporting to the captain, the first wave of clearing is complete, with zero casualties on our side."
Before Zhou Tiezhu could speak, a deep roar came from the sea. The water exploded, and a twelve-meter-long deep-sea lizard slammed its six thick legs onto the beach, a white light flashing in its mouth—a high-pressure water jet.
Grade C.
"spread!"
The water jets sprayed out, cutting a thirty-meter-long trench in the sand. A soldier who couldn't dodge in time was hit on the left arm by the aftershock, leaving a white mark on his A-grade arm guard. He was pushed five or six meters away, tumbled over, got up, and cursed.
"Damn it, does it hurt or not?"
Zhou Tiezhu had already rushed up to the lizard.
He didn't use any fancy skills, just the simplest combo—shield stun, warhammer to smash joints, and then finish with a full-force downward slash.
The lizard's knee joint shattered, and its twelve-meter-long body crashed to the side.
The soldiers who arrived later swarmed forward, wielding swords, axes, and spears, aiming at the lizard's belly, which was unprotected by scales.
The C-grade lizard died instantly.
"Squad leader! That big thing in the sea is moving!"
Zhou Tiezhu looked up.
About 800 meters offshore, a "small hill" is slowly moving. Seawater slides down its back, revealing a gray-black shell covered with barnacles and corals.
B-rank sea monster lord - Abyss Turtle General.
The defensive power of this thing is so high that even a whole A-level squad would have to gang up on it and still not be able to break through.
Zhou Tiezhu licked his lips.
"Signalman, have you called for fire support yet?"
"Phew, the nearest reinforcements will be here in fifteen minutes."
"Fifteen minutes..." Zhou Tiezhu looked at the A-grade warhammer in his hand, and then at the thirty-seven fully armed brothers around him.
That's enough.
He slung the warhammer over his shoulder: "I want to test just how tough this new armor really is. Third platoon, charge head-on with me; first platoon, cut its hind legs; second platoon, find the soft flesh below its neck. Firepower team, blast all the armor-piercing rounds into its eyes!"
"Squad leader, that's a B-rank!"
"So what if he's B-rank?" Zhou Tiezhu grinned, patting his Xuanwu armor. "I'm fully equipped with A-rank gear, thirty-seven men, and one hundred and forty-eight pieces of A-rank equipment. He's just a lone B-rank; what makes him think he can beat me?"
"Let's get it!"
Thirty-seven people launched an attack on the B-level lord.
The Abyss Turtle General's attack methods were simple—water pressure cannons and physical crushing. When the water pressure cannons hit the Xuanwu Shield, the soldiers behind the shield were pushed back several steps, their boots carving two deep furrows in the sand, but they remained standing.
Needless to say, physical crushing was an understatement; the tortoise struggled to even turn around, while thirty-seven people circled around it, like a pack of wolves hunting a bison.
Warhammers and battle axes took turns striking the seams of the turtle's shell, the penetrating power of the A-grade weapons gradually tearing open the cracks. The armor-piercing rounds from the firepower team accurately hit the eyes, forcing the turtle to constantly retract its head, making it impossible to mount an effective counterattack.
Seven minutes later, the soft flesh below the turtle's neck was pierced through by the assault soldiers of the second platoon.
The B-level sea monster lord fell on the shallows of the Songjiang section.
Thirty-seven people, four lightly wounded, none seriously wounded, and none killed in action.
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The entire battle was recorded by a military drone.
Twelve hours later, the declassified video clips appeared on the Global Awakeners Forum.
The title is simple: "In the Songjiang section of China, a 37-person border defense squad killed a B-level BOSS-level monster with zero casualties."
The comments section exploded.
"Am I seeing things? A whole squadron? Thirty-seven people? Fighting a B-rank lord?"
"Look at their equipment, all A-grade! An entire border defense company! All A-grade! Do you know what that means?"
"The standard equipment for the frontline troops of the White Eagle Empire is a mix of B-level and C-level soldiers. And the entire border defense squadron of China is already A-level?"
"It's not just the Songjiang section. I just saw another video; a company in the Zhoushan section cleared out an entire C-level beast horde in twenty minutes, with a casualty ratio of 1:200. One to two hundred!"
"This is insane! Where did China get so many Grade A equipment? Is their logistics unlimited?"
No one can answer this question.
But everyone saw the same fact—when the sea monster army attacked the East China Sea defense line, not a single point along that thousand-mile-long coastline was breached.
It wasn't thanks to some S-class powerhouse who turned the tide, nor was it thanks to some mythical equipment that the outcome was decided.
It was every ordinary Chinese soldier, wearing their brand-new Class A standard equipment, who, with the most clumsy yet solid tactical coordination, wore down the sea monsters one by one on the shallows.
At the Longwei Base, Li Tianshan stood in front of the large screen, looking at the dense green dots on the East China Sea defense line—each representing a well-organized combat unit.
Nineteen hours of sea monster assault, overall casualty rate: 0.3%.
He turned to look at Lu Yan behind him.
The young man was staring at the movement trajectory of Lyatlantis in the corner of the screen, his brows furrowed, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the storage space at his waist.
"The sea monster is just an appetizer," Lu Yan said. "He's testing our limits."
Another video from the front lines was pushed onto the screen.
In the video, a young soldier covered in mud and sand gives a thumbs-up to the camera and grins, with a dead Class C sea monster behind him.