Chapter 136: The Armament Overhaul Begins, Dire Border!

impossible.

Cheng Mingye’s eyes widened.

How could an ordinary heirloom kill me?

But what's with this sense of crisis in my heart... This is clearly a sign of death!

call……

The log troll raised his hand, and the huge metal structure made a terrifying whistling sound in the air. It was just a simple lift and drop, and Cheng Mingye's sense of crisis in his heart had reached its peak!

"Wait!" Cheng Mingye suddenly shouted.

interest……

The huge metal structure stopped steadily a few meters above Cheng Mingye's head, and the wind it brought swept it down, making his white coat rustle.

Something is wrong. This is not an illusion. I will really die!

Seeing the log troll stop its attack, Cheng Mingye's tense body suddenly relaxed subconsciously. His breathing couldn't help but become a little rapid, but he still stood where he was and did not retreat.

"What's going on..." Cheng Mingye frowned.

Suddenly, he thought of something and took out the forbidden engine that had fallen into death cooling.

"...Is this the effect?"

Cheng Mingye's eyes fell on the derivative effects of [Bloodline Hatred].

...When attacking and killing a summoned beast whose species is not a machine or a sentient being, it will be disconnected from its operator.

"Can this effect still work on me?"

Cheng Mingye's mouth twitched.

He is not a summoned beast, but the means by which he ensures his immortality is related to several summoned beasts... However, these soul cards are his pinnacle works that he has adjusted countless times, and the connection with himself has a very high priority. Normally, no soul card should be able to cut off the connection.

Even if there is, it shouldn't be from the hands of a young card maker like Cang...

He stood there silently until his breathing completely calmed down, then Cheng Mingye suddenly smiled.

"That's right...it's time to upgrade the deck."

Turning around, Cheng Mingye casually wiped the huge log troll behind him, and it turned into a stream of soul card fragments and returned to his hand. Cheng Mingye straightened his clothes that had been blown to pieces and walked out of the protective shield.

"...You're not going to try anymore?" Yu Cang didn't understand Cheng Mingye's behavior just now. "And the ability of [Conscious Life]..."

"No need. This is just an ordinary soul card." Cheng Mingye put on his glasses. "The data is like this, and my perception is like this too. There will be no problem with it. Just use it normally after you get out. Leave the reporting to me, and the Intake Bureau won't give you any trouble."

"……All right."

Although he felt that Cheng Mingye’s testing method was very unreliable, since he said so, Yu Cang had no choice but to believe him.

Anyway, as long as I can eliminate the possible hidden dangers and use this soul card properly, nothing else matters.

Cheng Mingye handed the forbidden engine back to Yu Cang.

"Let's go, go back first."

…

In the next few days, Yu Cang's life became a little monotonous.

I'll just implant a few entries in the morning, take Qi'er to the treatment bureau for training in the afternoon, and if I have time, take the weeping girl out for a walk.

Cheng Mingye personally experienced the Weeping Girl's ability to collect emotions at the treatment center that day. There was nothing wrong with it. It was just as the Weeping Girl said. What was extracted was only the energy generated when emotions changed.

So, after Yu Cang tried it himself, he allowed the Weeping Girl to go out and collect her emotions.

These days are the peak tourist season for the Fire Festival, and in crowded places, the mood swings are dramatic and noticeable. One moment you might be filled with anticipation and excitement, the next you might be filled with rage and exhaustion.

In short, the emotional power in the forbidden engine accumulated very quickly. However, Yu Cang had never used emotional power before, so he had no specific idea of ​​how much emotional power it actually had.

I think there should be quite a few.

The entry for the Reception Bureau was finally extracted.

They are: Legendary Item: [Seal], Epic Item: [Analysis], Rare Item: [Control], Common Item: [Isolation]

Judging from the entry, it seems to be very promising, but seeing that the major armament reform is already imminent, Yu Cang put it aside after several failed attempts.

And so, soon, the day of major armament reform arrived.

Lei Wanqing arrived on time by plane the day before. Originally, he didn't need to come, as he was not on the jury this year. But who could have said that the project in the ancient capital was so competitive this time? Who would dare to challenge all the optional projects at the same time?

He had to see the expressions of other military regions on the spot!

Therefore, he worked hard on the things at hand these days and finally made some time to come to Yujiang.

"What? The question was changed?" Lei Wanqing raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, and I heard that there have been some changes to the original projects." Yu Cang said, "No specific arrangements have been released yet, and I don't know what has happened."

"Then..." Lei Wanqing pondered for a moment, "In that case, why not just be safe and not report everything..."

"I have reported everything."

"Uh." Lei Wanqing was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. "You kid... when I suggested this to you, you thought I was being too assertive. Now it seems like you've been wanting to do this for a long time, right?"

"Don't talk nonsense." Yu Cang spread his hands, "I just don't want to give up halfway."

"Okay... Seeing you're so confident, I feel relieved." Lei Wanqing patted Yu Cang's shoulder, "You go to the venue first. I'll go talk to some old guys."

"good."

The site for this major military overhaul is still abroad.

Although it was outside the borders, it was actually quite safe. Yanguo would regularly dispatch troops to clear out the wild beasts near the border. As for Yujiang, since it was an open border city and a major military overhaul was about to take place, the borders had already been cleared over and over again.

Therefore, Yu Cang did not see many wild beasts along the way. Even if there were, there were only two or three big cats and small cats, which were quickly eliminated.

After leaving the Tianjiang Great Wall and walking several kilometers, a sentry post appeared in front of Yu Cang. The place was not big, and when Yu Cang arrived, many teams had already gathered here.

Just as Yu Cang was looking around curiously, Lei Wanqing had already entered somewhere and pushed open the door of a small house.

"Hey, old guys." Lei Wanqing grinned, "You haven't retired yet?"

Inside the room, a long table was placed in the middle, with six figures sitting on both sides. They all looked quite old, but were all dressed in military uniforms and had sharp eyes.

An old man turned his head and frowned.

"...Why the hell are you here?" Jiang Shan rubbed his brows. "I agreed to serve on the jury only after hearing that you weren't on the jury this term. How come I can see you here?"

"You're being polite." Lei Wanqing walked to the table, pulled a chair over and sat down naturally. "We're from the ancient capital, so why can't I come and watch?"

"Heh." Jiang Shan laughed. "I heard that the ancient capital has been in a lot of trouble recently. If you come here at this time, don't ruin your reputation before you retire."

Lei Wanqing laughed heartily: "Well, don't worry about that. It seems that it's still a long time before I retire."

Jiangshan's mouth twitched, and he opened his mouth to say something when a voice from the side interrupted him.

"Old Lei, you're well prepared." Qiu Zhong threw a stack of documents on the table. "I see... your Gudu Military District has submitted all of its projects this year. What's going on? Did Gudu find something that makes you so confident?"

Lei Wanqing suddenly smiled triumphantly.

Finally someone asked me.

"Of course...everyone, I'd like to apologize first. We, the Ancient Capital, will gladly accept the first place this year."

"Hmm?" Everyone's expression changed slightly.

There are major military overhauls every year, but not every year will produce a first.

If the entry is truly too poor, the first prize will be temporarily shelved and not awarded.

In fact, since the birth of the major armament reform, there have indeed not been many firsts. After all, it is not easy to produce armaments worthy of being promoted to the entire army.

What kind of achievement makes Lei Wanqing so confident that he can take first place?

For a moment, everyone was curious.

But there is no way. Before all the projects are completed, they can only get the name of the results but cannot see the specific content.

But this name is too abstract... Department of Mechanical Engineering? Are you kidding?

"Lao Lei, even though you're very confident, I have to say this upfront." Jiang Shan tapped the table with his finger. "You're so flamboyant, but if I'm not satisfied with any of your projects, I'll give you zero points for that achievement. Do you understand?"

"It doesn't matter." Lei Wanqing grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. "I dare to do this, which means I have absolute confidence - just wait and see."

Seeing Lei Wanqing like this, everyone's curiosity was immediately aroused.

They wanted to ask more questions, but at this moment, the picture on the screen in front of the table changed, and the major armament reform had begun. Everyone could only suppress their curiosity for the time being and focus on the game first.

…

Yu Cang came to a very spacious hall where many people from other military regions were already sitting.

He took Qi'er and Lin Yunqing to find their seats, and not long after, Wanquan found them.

"How is it?" Yu Cang asked.

"The news has arrived. The location is in an alternate dimension called 'Nightmare Boundary,' and the entrance to the space fragment is within the outpost." Wan Quan whispered, "To be honest, this is the first time I've heard of this alternate dimension..."

"Is there anything special about this alien space?"

"Oh, look here." Wan Quan took out a folded leaflet and pointed at the text on it. "It says that the Nightmare Boundary is shrouded in darkness year-round. This darkness is extremely strange and cannot be dispelled by ordinary lighting methods. Light can only penetrate about four meters before being swallowed by the darkness."

Yu Cang pondered: "So, the field of view is only four meters... How can we play this?"

What can you see at four meters... A bigger summoned beast would be more than four meters, right?

"Yes... However, there is a mineral called 'Phantom Crystal' within the Nightmare Border. It is said that the light emitted by this crystal can illuminate the darkness of the Nightmare Border. However, the Phantom Crystal requires energy to drive it. Soul energy can also be used, but it requires a continuous infusion. This will cause great mental stress to the person activating the Phantom Crystal, almost rendering them unable to fight.

"Many wild beasts live within the Nightmare's borders. They all feed on Phantom Light Crystals. So once a Phantom Light Crystal glows, it will immediately attract a large number of wild beasts to attack."

Yu Cang nodded in understanding. "So that's how it is... It sounds like the environment in this alien space is quite harsh. Are there any resources produced there? Why would the association value it so much?"

Wan Quan shook his head: "I don't know about that. It's not mentioned in the intelligence."

"Okay... But if the environment is just like this, then it's actually not bad." Yu Cang smiled, "Our deck is enough to deal with this environment."

Wan Quan also laughed.

"By the way, I'll give you guys a duel shield. This is outside the country, after all, and it's very dangerous." Wan Quan stood up and took out a few soul cards. "This is the duel shield the association just gave us. It's said to be the latest technological achievement, and it's different from ordinary duel shields."

"Oh?" Yu Cang looked at the thin shield covering his body with some curiosity. "Aren't they all the same? What's the difference?"

"The difference is huge," Wan Quan said. "When a normal duel shield shatters, it only creates a gust of wind that deflects surrounding attacks. If you're unlucky, the person being protected can still get hurt. But this duel shield, when it shatters, directly activates a teleportation array, sending the protected person to a safe place. This way, there's virtually no chance of accidental injury."

"Oh? So good?" Yu Cang's eyes lit up.

There is also a teleportation function.

Yu Cang's mind moved, and he directly started the entry extraction on this duel shield.

I saw a six-hour countdown appear on it.

"Six hours..." Yu Cang's eyes lit up.

Looks like there's something good!

At this time, Wan Quan also added duel shields to Qi'er and Lin Yunqing in turn, and then said, "Master, it's about to start over there. I have to go over there to watch... You guys stay for a while."

"Okay." Yu Cang nodded in agreement.

Not long after Wanquan left.

A soul card suddenly opened on the wall in front of the hall, and an unfamiliar picture appeared inside.

There looked like a tower, not high, only seven or eight meters. On the top of the tower were piled some crystals emitting a faint blue light, which was now covered by a large canvas.

It was only morning, but it was already dark all around. The faint blue light was the only source of light in the darkness.

Yu Cang understood.

It seems that this is the border of the Nightmare...The crystal emitting a faint blue light should be the Phantom Light Crystal.

but……

Yu Cang looked at the edge color of the soul card in front of him and was silent.

Red, this is a heirloom card...

Even broadcasting requires a legendary soul card to complete... How terrifying.

From this image, the world within the Nightmare's borders was pitch black, but if you looked closely, you could still make out things. But Yu Cang knew that this was probably the effect of the Legendary Card... The effect of the Legendary Card was limited to this. If you were actually there, you probably wouldn't be able to see anything at all.

Just as Yu Cang was sighing, a light flashed above the tower and a figure appeared there.

This is the first required item, defending a single-soldier stronghold.

The schedule of the Armament Overhaul competition is very simple. The teams compete in turn, and it takes about three days to complete. Then, the teams that win the ranking will have the opportunity to go on stage to introduce their achievements.

Those who don’t have a ranking can only be spectators.

Now, the broadcast soul card is divided into three areas, each area showing the image of a tower. Obviously, this project is being carried out by three teams at the same time.

As the picture appeared, the originally noisy venue gradually quieted down.

Everyone's attention was focused on the screen.

…

Shi Xi is a soldier from Mudu and is also the candidate to participate in the individual stronghold defense project.

Being able to participate in this project, Shixi is naturally the strongest in their company. In addition, with the special card deck, although Shixi is only level four, he can hold on for a long time even against a level five opponent.

After being teleported to the top of the tower, Shi Xi immediately began to observe the surrounding environment.

...I can't see anything.

This was Shi Xi's only feeling.

The only thing that appeared in his field of vision was the top of this small tower. Apart from that, no matter which direction he looked, he could only see the purest darkness without any details.

Shi Xi came to the edge of the tower, looked down, and immediately took a breath.

This...how high is this?

Pure darkness cut off the tower four meters away from him. Although Yu Cang and the others could see through the soul card that the tower was only seven or eight meters away, Shi Xi didn't know.

Four meters away, his vision was suddenly swallowed up by pure darkness. Coupled with the fact that the wind was a bit strong at the top of the tower, he even felt like he was dozens of meters high in the air.

“…Can’t fall.”

Shi Xi turned his head and looked at the things on the roof.

The line of sight was only four meters, and even the small roof could not be seen completely when standing on the edge, but fortunately, there were those dim light crystals under the canvas, so that the view of the tower top was not too bad.

But that was all. The darkness around him gave Shi Xi the illusion that he was the only one in the world. He looked up at the sky, but he couldn't see even stars or clouds. There was only a monotonous darkness, and a feeling of loneliness arose spontaneously.

"Let's finish this project early." Shi Xi immediately took out his soul card and began to prepare. "The environment here is pretty good. It's quite good for me."

Bang!

The soul card's shadow shattered, and a figure landed lightly on the ground. It turned out to be a giant wolf with pure white fur.

The giant wolf's hair is very soft, and it doesn't even look like hair. It looks more like a bunch of smoke gathered together, surging like waves as the wind blows, which looks very beautiful.

After the giant wolf landed, Shixi raised his hand again, and a soul card flipped open at his side. Shixi reached in and pulled out a longbow that was almost as tall as a person.

This bow has no bowstring, but as soon as Shi Xi pulls it, a wisp of smoke will automatically float out from the surface of the giant wolf beside him and condense into an arrow in the longbow. The air in Shi Xi's hand is pulled and twisted, as if a transparent bowstring made of air flow is held in his hand.

This is the result of their pastoral work.

This deck is composed of the rare summoning card Mist Flame Wind Wolf as a supplement, the equipment card Giant Wind Longbow as the main one, and other auxiliary soul cards.

The combat method of this deck is very simple. The Mist Flame Wind Wolf can devour the strong wind on the battlefield and condense it into "mist flame" on its surface, while the Giant Wind Longbow can transform the mist flame into bows and arrows. The more mist flames there are, the higher the damage of the arrows.

This deck's strengths are obvious. It only has two core Soul cards, so even with full decks, there's still plenty of room for supporting Soul cards. And in teamfights, if a significant number of Mist Flame Wind Wolves can simultaneously deliver all their Mist Flames to one person, their next arrow will be incredibly terrifying, practically capable of instantly killing an epic.

Of course, there are disadvantages. The Mist Flame Wind Wolf needs to devour the wind to provide mist flames. If played as described above... it can even vacuum the battlefield in an instant.

After detecting that Shi Xi had used up a tube of soul energy, the canvas covering the dim light crystals immediately shattered and turned into soul card fragments that dissipated into the air.

These canvases were surprisingly also summoned by soul cards.

Without the cover of the canvas, the light of the ghostly light crystals expanded a little, but still did not exceed the limit of four meters - after all, Shi Xi did not inject soul energy into these ghostly light crystals now, and the naturally stimulated light alone was still not enough to dispel the darkness.

Squeak!!

squeak!

Some tiny sounds suddenly came from the air, and were getting closer and closer. Something had sensed the light here and was coming quickly!

The tiny cries grew louder and louder, coming from all directions like a tide, and Shi Xi's face suddenly became serious.

So many wild beasts!

Feeling that his soul energy had recovered a little, Shi Xi threw down another soul card. After the phantom shattered, a short totem stood on the ground.

Rare card: Wind-Calling Totem!

The race is a creation, and as long as it is present, it can continuously gather air from afar, forming a tornado-like phenomenon around it.

Shi Xi wanted to throw out a few more soul cards, but the tiny sounds were already approaching. His face tightened, he turned around, bent his bow and shot.

There are two scoring criteria for this project: one is the duration of persistence, and the other is the preservation of the phantom crystal!

If the wild beasts destroyed too many phantom crystals, the score would not be very high.

So Shi Xi made a prompt decision, pulled the longbow, and the white and gray smoke condensed at his fingertips, forming three slender arrows in the blink of an eye.

"go!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three arrows flew out and disappeared after flying only four meters, but from the screams coming from the ears, it seemed that all three arrows hit the target!

"Okay." Shi Xi was not surprised. He raised his bow, turned around and shot several arrows.

Hit it again!

A smile appeared on Shixi's face.

It’s okay, not too difficult.

Although limited vision is indeed troublesome, it is not difficult for him to locate the opponent by sound. As long as he maintains fire suppression, his score in this item should be high.

It's just a bit weird... Judging from the sounds, the attackers should be some small flying wild beasts. In Shi Xi's imagination, they should be creatures similar to bats.

But judging from the speed at which the sound is approaching, the flying speed of these wild beasts... isn't it a bit too slow?

After such a long time, no wild beast has been seen flying into the four-meter field of vision.

If it could fly in, then his Mist Flame Wind Wolf could also join the battle, and maybe the battle could be resolved faster.

...Never mind, let’s clear out a space as soon as possible.

Countless air was sucked in from afar by the wind-attracting totem, forming swirling air currents all around. These air currents also caused damage and could slow down the wild beast's offensive, but more importantly, they provided him with a steady supply of ammunition!

Shi Xi listened to the noisy sound coming from his ears, raised his bow, and the mist and flames condensed into an arrow. The difference was that this time, there was a fireball in the front of the arrow that was constantly burning with mist and flames.

This time the arrow has an explosive function!

Shi Xi's mouth curled up slightly. Personally, he really liked this kind of explosive arrow. The feeling of a super long-range explosion was so cool. It was a pity that he didn't use this kind of arrow very often.

Today's environment is just right.

However, just when Shi Xi was about to shoot the arrow...

The noisy sounds around suddenly stopped!

Without any warning, it disappeared!

"What……"

Shi Xi paused, looking around in confusion.

what happens……

The darkness swallowed up all the light, and at this moment, it seemed to swallow up all the sounds!

The sudden absolute silence made Shi Xi's hair stand on end, and a sense of horror instantly spread throughout his body.

No, it wasn't absolute silence... There were also some sounds, as if it was the sound of some huge object rolling over sand and gravel. This sound had been there before, but it was not obvious among the squeaking sounds in the sky. When the squeaking sound disappeared, it immediately rushed into Shixi's ears.

Is there something huge nearby... Shixi held the arrow, but did not shoot immediately, because the sound surrounded the entire tower, and Shixi had no idea where to shoot.

Moreover, if there really is a giant of this size, ordinary arrows will be useless and you must first identify the vital points before shooting.

But... how could this happen? There were so many small wild beasts just now, how could they suddenly...

Shi Xi swallowed his saliva and felt a chill in his heart.

No, you have to look carefully!

Shi Xizhuan quickly ran to the side, raised a dim light crystal, and after injecting soul energy into it, a dim blue light suddenly radiated out.

"This..." Shi Xi's eyes widened slightly, "What the hell is this!"

What's this!

As the light of the phantom crystals gradually expanded, a huge outline that surrounded the entire tower in the center continued to emerge from the darkness. If it were just this, it would be fine. Shi Xi had seen many giant wild beasts in his daily life, but...

Its thick limbs twisted on the ground. This wild beast looked like a starfish, but much more ferocious than a starfish.

Countless thick limbs were tangled together, making people worry that it might tie itself into a knot. No one could count the number of limbs it had, but it was definitely more than five.

What's even more terrifying is that countless tiny mouths are densely packed all over his body, but at this moment, they are all tightly closed.

"Wait." A guess flashed through Shi Xi's mind, "Those sounds just now, couldn't they all be made by it..."

The next second, the wild beast confirmed its guess.

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

As if sensing the light of the dim light crystal, the wild beast suddenly went into a riot. The tiny mouths around it opened irregularly and emitted countless shrill screams. Its complex body was getting closer and closer amid the screams!

"Fuck!" Shi Xi blurted out.

No, even if you are a wild beast, isn’t it a bit too much for you to look so disgusting?

Even if this place is dark and no one can see what you look like, you can't look so casually!

But seeing it rushing towards him, Shi Xi didn't have time to think about it. The dim light crystal fell from his hand and fell down the tower with light. The mist and flame wind wolf beside him devoured the air flow desperately. The endless mist and flame condensed in the giant wind longbow, and an unprecedented giant arrow took shape!

The mist and flames were blazing, and the longbow was fully drawn, but Shi Xi was reluctant to shoot.

Where exactly is the weakness of this damn thing?

There are mouths all over his body, and you can't even tell where the head is or where the weak points are!

"Never mind!"

Shi Xi gritted his teeth and shot out a long arrow of mist and flame. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the darkness.

For a moment, the squeaking sound became louder, and the shrill screams in the air became more miserable in an instant. The exaggerated sound waves even triggered the duel shield on Shi Xi's body, creating layers of ripples on the surface.

Shi Xi's expression was a little ugly.

"Didn't hit the vital point..."

Shi Xi raised his hand and wanted to shoot another arrow, but it was too late.

The thick flesh tightened in an instant, the tower was crushed directly, and the light on it disappeared instantly.

(End of this chapter)