「Outside the cave.」

Han Feng piloted the Falcon Fighter, steadily circling a thousand meters up in the sky.

He used the threat of his last two missiles to keep the Evil Cultists pinned down in the cave.

The three minutes dragged on, each second feeling like a year.

Finally, a massive shadow slowly emerged from the clouds to the northwest.

It was a shuttle-shaped airship, over a hundred meters long.

The airship’s entire body was covered in dark silver alloy Armor.

Its surface was inscribed with countless arcane blue Runes.

On both sides of the hull were four massive, ring-shaped Spiritual Energy Engines.

The engines were jetting pale blue flames.

At the bow was a heavy main cannon with a muzzle over a meter in diameter.

The main cannon emanated heart-pounding Energy waves.

This was none other than one of East Sea Fortress City’s ace aerial units, the Po Jun Level assault airship.

"Calling Falcon, this is Po Jun Seven."

"I am mission commander Xing Tianzhu, City Defense Army."

A man’s voice, steady but with a hint of arrogance, sounded over the comms channel.

"Good work, rookie."

"We’ll take it from here. You can return to base."

Han Feng wasted no words, replying immediately.

"Understood."

"The target is in the cave on the rocky slope directly below."

"Got it."

The response was brief and formulaic.

As soon as the voice faded, the bottom hatch of Po Jun Seven opened.

Eight figures dropped from the sky.

They wore no Wingsuits, simply letting their bodies free-fall.

A few hundred meters from the ground, jets of Energy erupted from their feet, bringing them to a steady hover in mid-air.

Through his Spiritual Vision, Han Feng could see them clearly.

The Battle Armor these people wore was completely different from what he was familiar with.

The Battle Armor was extremely form-fitting, barely over two meters tall, outlining the Martial Artist’s own physique.

Rune Circuits flowed with Energy across the Battle Armor’s surface.

A diamond-shaped Spiritual Energy Crystal Backboard on their backs was providing the Energy.

This wasn’t a bulky Mecha at all, but Power Armor designed to amplify a Martial Artist’s strength.

After the eight landed, they immediately formed a tactical formation.

Without hesitation, they charged directly into the pitch-black cave.

Han Feng knew his part in this was over.

He took one last look at the cave, turned the fighter’s nose, and flew towards the brightly lit Golden Ears Farm.

...

On the tarmac, the blood-red mist had long since dissipated.

As Han Feng landed the Falcon Fighter, once again performing his signature eighty-meter dead stop, the crowd that had been waiting anxiously immediately rushed forward.

"Han Feng! Are you okay?!"

Zhang Hao was the first to rush to the bottom of the ramp, his face filled with concern.

"What about them? Did you catch them?"

Wang Meng bellowed, hefting his Giant Axe.

Han Feng hopped down from the cockpit and said casually.

"I’ve got them trapped in a cave."

"The City Defense Army’s rapid response team has taken over."

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Trapped them? Haha! I knew you had it in you, kid!"

Wang Meng clapped Han Feng on the back so hard he nearly stumbled.

Just then, the sound of heavy footsteps approached.

Lei Zhen strode over with Wang Defa.

His one eye was locked onto Han Feng, his face radiating an unconcealable elation.

"Great work, kid! Beautifully done!"

Lei Zhen walked up to Han Feng and clapped a huge, fan-like hand heavily on his shoulder.

"If it weren’t for you this time, not only would the farm’s losses have been disastrous, but we would have been utterly disgraced!"

"Rest assured. I, Lei Zhen, will remember this contribution!"

"Once this is all over, you’ll be well-rewarded!"

Han Feng smiled.

"You’re too kind, Director Lei."

"Alright, you go get some rest."

Lei Zhen waved his hand, his expression turning serious again.

"I’ve still got a huge mess to clean up over here."

"The wounded need treatment, losses need to be tallied. I don’t have time to chat."

With that, he turned to leave.

"Direc-Director Lei, please wait."

Zhang Hao suddenly spoke up.

"Our Sharp Sword Squad may be here on a mission, but we’re also part of East Sea Fortress City."

"The farm is in trouble now, and we can’t just stand by and do nothing."

"If there’s anything you need, please just ask. We want to do our part."

Lei Zhen turned back and glanced at Zhang Hao.

Then he looked at Wang Meng and the others behind him, who had the same determined expressions.

A flash of approval crossed his single eye.

"Good! You’re all responsible young men!"

"Then forget about resting."

"Wang Defa, take them to help out. Clean up the holes left by those damned worms!"

"And while you’re at it, assess the damage to the underground Defense Array!"

"Yes, sir!"

Wang Defa replied in a deep voice.

And so, fresh from a major battle, the Sharp Sword Squad joined in the farm’s busy recovery work.

With the blood-red mist gone, the farm’s horrific state was laid bare for all to see.

The once-flat living quarters and tarmac were now riddled with massive craters left by the Tunnel Worms.

The foundations of many buildings were damaged; they now tilted precariously, looking extremely unstable.

"These damned worms!"

Wang Meng looked at a huge hole that had almost completely hollowed out the foundation of a dormitory building, grinding his teeth in anger.

"Why were the underground defenses like paper this time?"

Gu Yun also frowned, somewhat puzzled. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Logically, a stronghold of this level should have an underground Defense Array capable of stopping these Tier Two Demon Beasts."

Wang Defa, who was leading a team of guards using engineering equipment to fill the craters, overheard their discussion and walked over.

He sighed.

"Don’t get me started. We were all played."

Wang Defa pointed to a destroyed Rune node on the ground and explained with a grim expression.

"The farm’s underground warning Array was actually active the whole time."

"But it was sabotaged earlier by an Evil Cultist who had infiltrated."

"Sabotaged? Then why didn’t the alarm system go off?"

Zhang Hao asked.

"Their methods were very sophisticated."

Wang Defa shook his head.

"He didn’t destroy the Array directly. Instead, he used a special Evil Technique to paralyze the Array’s core."

"He simultaneously created the illusion that everything was normal, completely fooling us."

"It wasn’t until the blood-red mist rose that we realized our underground defense line was already an empty shell."

Everyone’s hearts sank as they listened.

So the enemy had long since laid a perfect trap; everything tonight had been meticulously planned.

Fortunately, although the facility damage was severe, there weren’t many casualties.

Most of the farm’s ordinary workers had hidden in the deep underground shelters.

The fortifications there were poured from high-grade concrete and were incredibly Solid. Even the Tunnel Worms couldn’t dig through them.

Although many members of the guard were injured, only a few were actually killed in action.

The biggest loss, instead, was the burned Purple Crystal Wheat Field.

Lei Zhen had immediately organized people to fight the fire with all their might, but nearly one-twentieth of the fields were still turned to scorched earth.

The direct economic losses were as high as several million Contribution Points.

Just as Han Feng was following Wang Defa and learning how to repair a damaged Energy line,

Wang Defa’s communicator suddenly rang.

After answering it and listening for a few moments, his expression turned incredibly peculiar.

He ended the call and looked up at Han Feng, who was not far away.

He opened his mouth as if to speak, but just let out a conflicted sigh.

"What is it, Captain Wang?"

Zhang Hao keenly sensed something was wrong.

Wang Defa hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice.

"News just came in from the Fortress City..."

He paused, his voice dropping even lower.

"They got away."