Chapter 151: Lie Low and Grow Strong

"Zhang Chu, the three high-energy curtain walls have now been set up. Let's fall back to the landing point first."

Seeing the Orcs closing in, Chen Long suggested that everyone retreat to the final defensive wall to preserve their active strength.

"I agree!"

Zhang Xueying chimed in on the spot.

Facing the rapid charge of fifty Orcs, the martial artists at marker point 515 were extremely nervous.

Wang Peng and the others had witnessed the berserk beast-transformation of the Orcs before.

This time, it was a group assault by fifty Orcs.

In terms of combat power output, apart from Zhang Chu, a 7-star dual-power warrior, everyone else was practically cannon fodder.

Not to mention the martial artists from the Martial Arts Administration who came along.

Their usual training was limited to the Star Beast Forest in the Boundary Monument Hall, and they had zero experience fighting Orcs.

Coupled with spending too much time sitting in offices, facing the Orcs, they were no different from cannon fodder.

"Fall back!"

At Zhang Chu's command, everyone began to retreat.

As the captain of this vanguard team, he had to ensure the safety of the others.

All three defensive lines consisted of high-energy curtain walls. Even if they couldn't kill the Orcs, they would at least drain their stamina.

Just moments ago, to deal with the star beast tide, Zhang Chu had already used "Berserk Devour."

If he wanted to slay Orcs and break through to the 8th star, he had to make use of advantageous terrain and deploy the mental combat technique of "Electric Vine Entanglement."

Clearly, the flat terrain of marker point 515 was not suited for group combat.

Soon, everyone retreated behind the final defensive line in Qingcheng Valley, standing by in strict formation.

Boom, boom, boom!

In less than five minutes, the Valkyrie fighter jet transmitted synchronized video footage.

All fifty Orcs triggered their beast-transformations simultaneously. Towering two and a half meters tall, they relied on brute force to forcefully breakthrough the first high-energy curtain wall.

"Damn, these Orcs are simply too strong! The high-energy curtain wall didn't even kill a single Orc; only a few sustained minor scrapes."

Viewing the scene through his tactical glasses, Chen Long was shocked.

"At the rate they're going, they'll reach the second defensive line in fifteen minutes at most. I'm afraid it won't hold for long!"

"We must request long-range firepower suppression!"

It was Fan Dayong's first time witnessing Orcs in their beast-transformed state, and it was utterly heart-stopping.

The attack pattern of the Orcs was basically that of land tanks. Furthermore, every single one of them wore defensive combat armor, pushing their defensive capabilities to the absolute limit.

"I'll contact headquarters immediately."

Without delay, Zhang Xueying quickly established remote contact with Chen Tianxiang and Luo Zhidong, requesting long-range artillery support.

Soon, Chen Tianxiang fed back the news: all long-range firepower from the Martial Arts Administration was currently deployed as reserve support for the Armament Division, covering several other lines on Canglong Mountain, and not a single shell could be spared right now.

This news panicked the martial artists present.

Facing the Orcs head-on in close combat seemed unavoidable.

"Damn it, I'd like to see just how outrageous these Orcs are today! Worst comes to worst, if I die today, this young master can still make it onto the Martial Arts Administration's Hall of Heroes, which would at least bring honor to my ancestors."

Chen Long pulled out a pair of swords from his storage ring, adopting a posture of throwing caution to the wind and fighting to the death.

Everyone entered Level 1 combat readiness, watching helplessly as the Orc army charged toward the second defensive line.

"Director Fan, I'll leave this place to you."

Zhang Chu, who had been silent all this time, finally pulled his gaze away from the map of Qingcheng Valley.

"Teacher Xiaochu, what are you planning to do?"

Guessing Zhang Chu's intentions, Zhang Xueying hurriedly tried to dissuade him: "Last time, a single Guyue almost cost you your life. Now there are fifty Orcs; you must not take such a risk."

"Right!"

"If you kick the bucket here, my dad will probably skin me alive."

"Xiaochu!"

Amidst everyone's objections, Zhang Chu still chose to head to the second defensive line alone.

"Rest assured, I cherish my life and never do things I'm not confident about. This 'Pride of Binzhou' title isn't just for show."

Rejecting the requests of Zhang Xueying and Wang Peng to follow him, Zhang Chu quickly headed toward the second defensive line alone.

Along the way, Zhang Chu swiftly activated the signal jammer on his tactical glasses.

In an instant, Zhang Chu vanished from everyone's sight.

"Could this kid be about to give us another surprise?"

Far away at the Martial Arts Administration command center, Chen Tianxiang saw that Zhang Chu's feed had been blocked, and initiated a video call with Zhang Daoyi: "Old Zhang, your future son-in-law is going to take on fifty Orcs all by himself. I've sent the coordinates to your computer. You'd better rustle up some long-range missile support."

"What the hell? If anything happens to my son-in-law, I'll never let you hear the end of it."

Zhang Daoyi, currently stationed at the Canglong Mountain command center, was shocked upon hearing the news.

Taking on fifty Orcs alone was nothing short of suicide.

One had to know that the combat generals of the Armament Division, using fusion combat techniques, averaged five people fighting a single Orc, and casualties were still inevitable.

"Issue the order: once the star beast tide at marker point 320 is cleared, immediately launch high-energy missiles five kilometers ahead of coordinate 514 in Qingcheng Valley!"

This order was broadcast over an open channel.

All the martial art generals participating in this battle heard Zhang Daoyi's roar, including the vanguard team led by Zhang Xueying.

"Teacher Xueying, don't worry. With the City Lord making a move, Zhang Chu will definitely be fine," Fan Dayong comforted her.

"I hope so."

Zhang Xueying also let out a slight sigh of relief.

With aerial strikes from long-range missiles, at least Zhang Chu's chances of winning would increase a bit.

Meanwhile, Zhang Chu, having disabled his tactical glasses, was unaware of Zhang Daoyi's order.

Marker point 514, where the second high-energy curtain wall was located, was situated in the only dense forest in Qingcheng Valley.

The trees in the dense forest towered into the clouds, making it an ideal place for concealment.

Most importantly, there were vast patches of vines within this dense forest.

Zhang Chu leaped up, climbing the tallest tree, from which he could just see the high-energy curtain wall 200 meters ahead.

Along the way, Zhang Chu had specifically asked the Vine Demon several times whether it could control the vines in the dense forest.

The answer he got was: absolutely.

This gave Zhang Chu a new idea.

As long as the Vine Demon could control all the vines in the forest, he could use the "Puppet Technique" to temporarily grant the Vine Demon the mental combat technique of "Electric Vine Entanglement."

Electrocution, anesthesia.

Once the Orcs were anesthetized, he would have the opportunity to annihilate them.

A whole batch of Orcs at the 7-star level and above.

After rough calculations, Zhang Chu figured he probably, maybe, had a chance to break through to the 8th star.

"Rumble!"

Just as Zhang Chu and the Vine Demon finished plotting their ambush, a violent tremor shook the ground.

Fifty beast-transformed Orcs approached the high-energy curtain wall like crazed monsters, launching wave after wave of frantic assaults.

"Good grief, these bastard dogs don't lack combat power at all. Star beast tides are absolute lightweights compared to them!"

With a flick of Zhang Chu's mental power.

A purple vine extended from his palm, taking the shape of a child: "Zhang Ziteng, whether I can promote to the 8th star today depends entirely on you."

In an instant, hundreds of vines within the dense forest surged into restless action under Zhang Ziteng's control.