Chapter 75: Probing

Chapter 75: Probe

Chen Jian had anticipated the Mechanical God Sect's retaliation, but he never expected the first strike to come from the Water Ghosts of the Blood Skull.

"I swept your camp, killed your leader, and now you're hunting me down?"

"That doesn't make sense!"

"I took down the Blood Sun General; they are the leader of the Terror Demons—what does that have to do with you?"

"Wasn't there supposed to be internal strife between the Water Ghosts and the Terror Demons?"

Chen Jian looked at Zeng Yi, who wore an equally bewildered expression.

Before Chen Jian could speak, he rushed ahead and asked Huang Yu:

"Did the Water Ghosts of the Blood Skull ever attack Huangshi City before?"

"Occasionally!"

Huang Yu, running toward the southern waterway leading to the Yangtze while observing the situation, replied:

"But never in such numbers! There are at least a hundred Water Ghosts here—I don't know where they came from!"

Under the moonlight, Chen Jian saw the waves churning on the distant river.

He lowered his night-vision goggles to check; indeed, as Huang Yu said, the number of Water Ghosts swiftly swimming toward them was enormous.

"Mobilize all defense troops and residents, distribute weapons, and immediately take up positions by the river!"

"Do not fire blindly; the water will block the bullets. Wait until the Water Ghosts come ashore before shooting!"

"Understood!"

Huang Yu turned toward the residential area, while Chen Jian's seven‑man squad rushed to the riverbank, seized advantageous terrain, and prepared to intercept.

Even Li Shi, whose wounds had not yet healed, dragged his lame leg onto the ground.

His massive frame seemed mismatched with the 191 in his hands, but he strained to aim, adapting to the unfamiliar weapon.

The seven scattered soldiers' fields of fire crossed, forming an invisible wall of flame even before they fired; any Water Ghost that landed would be instantly engulfed and reduced to ash.

Chen Jian did not believe that over a hundred Water Ghosts lacking any ranged attack could pose a serious threat to Huangshi City; even if they scattered in assault, they could at most cause a little disturbance.

They were not Blood‑Blessed; their speed fell far short of surpassing the lateral movement of a gun barrel.

Let alone seven steps—give them two, five steps, and they still couldn't outpace a semi‑automatic weapon.

Thus the Water Ghosts were merely a nuisance, not a danger.

But the question remained: where had all these Water Ghosts come from?

Their sense of smell was so keen, so acute that they had detected Huangshi City—a soft persimmon—so quickly?

Something was off.

At that moment, Huangshi had organized every able‑bodied resident for combat; the vetted defense troops carried the 191, while others mostly wielded crude weapons left behind by the Mechanical God Sect.

There were single‑shot rifles, muzzle‑loaders, and even what looked like hand‑crafted fowling pieces.

Chen Jian did not expect them to inflict much damage with those weapons; his goal was merely to have them "participate" in the fight.

As long as they could hold out through one battle, the 191s stored in the 7025 fortifications would be more than enough for these thirty‑odd people.

"Everyone form a line and hold the lakeshore!"

"Find cover, obey orders—I'll say when to fire, then fire!"

"Do not retreat, do not advance, and above all, do not leave your cover!"

Chen Jian issued the same command as before, and this time it was carried out to the letter.

A few minutes later, all combatants were in position.

Although their faces bore a hint of tension, they seemed truly resolved not to flee.

The concept of "obey orders" began to take root in everyone's mind; Chen Jian walked the line, patting the shoulder of each soldier—whether squatting, standing, or lying.

"Hold your ground, don't disgrace us!"

"Follow my orders, fight alongside me!"

"Fire with confidence; if the sky falls, we'll hold the front!"

After the patrol, Water Ghosts began to trickle ashore along the nearby lake.

What surprised Chen Jian was that these brain‑less Water Ghosts did not blindly rush en masse; instead they gathered at the bank, as if waiting for their numbers to swell before charging.

"Isn't that just what we wanted?"

Chen Jian spoke into the radio:

"Shen Yue, He Shuo, deploy the 201 machine guns to lay down crossfire."

"Hold fire until they reach 100 meters, then open fire—focus on suppression, don't wipe them all out at once; leave some targets for the civilians to practice on."

"Understood."

"Understood."

As the order was given, the dozens of Water Ghosts that had gathered launched their charge. In the night, their shadowy forms looked somewhat terrifying.

The line wavered slightly; Chen Jian spoke again, issuing another order:

"Lei Jie, turn on the lights!"

"Received!"

Instantly, the lights mounted high on Huangshi City blazed to life.

The residents on the line instinctively glanced backward, and what they saw was a burly, formidable silhouette illuminated by the light.

"Fire!"

Chen Jian roared, squeezing the trigger of his 191.

That gunshot rang out like a signal, igniting the whole battlefield; gunfire crackled back and forth, and the charging Water Ghosts were caught in a "not too dense" barrage, and within seconds an entire layer of them went down.

Their steps did not halt; the Water Ghosts in the water kept coming ashore.

As the distance closed, Chen Jian could clearly feel the gunfire along his line becoming frantic, losing its rhythm.

Just then, Shen Yue and He Shuo opened fire simultaneously.

The light machine guns on each flank spat out a long burst, and every Water Ghost that entered the hundred‑meter range fell one after another.

Pressure eased instantly; even the slowest‑loading powder gun managed a second shot.

No rousing speech was needed, nor a pistol‑wielding supervisory squad; at that moment the line steadied completely.

Everyone realized a mountain‑strong force stood behind them, unyielding, backing every action they took.

The rhythm of fire slowed, but the lethality surged.

The defense troops wielding the 191 grew accustomed to the new weapon they had never used before, aiming deliberately; even if it took a dozen rounds to hit a target, once the line held, the damage they inflicted began to mount impressively.

Shen Yue and He Shuo didn't even need to fire, because the stabilized line began to self‑repair its gaps.

Within minutes, the Water Ghosts' assault collapsed entirely; the survivors fled in panic back into the river.

Only then, belatedly, did the residents caught up in the battle finally react.

Did we win?

We won just like that??

Having long suffered under the oppression of the Machine God Sect, they had already lost faith in their own abilities, no longer even believing they deserved victory.

Yet the acrid smell of smokeless powder rekindled their belligerent, martial instincts.

Everyone sensed, deep in their blood, a faint stirring beginning to awaken.

Chen Jian rose to his feet, lifted his rifle high, and shouted:

“Cease fire!”

“We have already won.”

“This is the first victory, and the beginning of countless victories to come!”

“Good!!”

Cheers tore through the night sky; Chen Jian lowered his rifle, his expression returning to solemn calm.

He spoke into the radio, issuing his orders in a low voice:

“Hesuo, take Zengyi with you and go forward, using a drone to scout upstream along the Yangtze.”

“These water ghosts must have a source—find it somehow!”

“Understood.”

Hesuo and Zengyi slipped silently into the night, while at the same moment a drone buzzed aloft.

Chen Jian felt, faintly, that the contest with the Machine God Sect had officially begun.

Elsewhere, on the Yangtze River.

A Machine God Sect steamship, its engines shut, lay moored at the bank; Xu Lie raised his binoculars, gazing at the churning water.

After a moment, he spoke to the Machine God Sect adept beside him:

“The water ghosts can’t get in.”

“They have armed the remaining civilians of Huangshi City; with their firepower and reconnaissance, we have no hope of pulling off a trick.”

“Inform your people to send more reinforcements.”

“To take Huangshi City, we need more cannons.”

“Lots and lots of cannons!”

(End of chapter)