First Time Fighting a Source Beast of the Same Rank, So Damn Exhausting

Old Wang's accusations were not entirely unfounded.

The order to abandon supplies and retreat collectively had indeed come from Chen Yuan.

While the original intention was to preserve their forces, it had objectively given the enemy an opening to exploit.

Chen Yuan trembled with rage, pointing at Old Wang, his lips quivering as he struggled to speak.

When had he ever been subjected to such slander?!

"You... you're full of shit!"

"Chen Yuan, with a single command from you, all field teams and shelters discarded their strategic supplies. Isn’t that suspicious?" Old Wang grew increasingly agitated, spittle flying as he spoke.

Even some staff who had previously trusted Chen Yuan without question now began to waver.

The doubts Old Wang raised were impossible to ignore.

Just then, a young operator’s fingers flew across the control panel.

Seconds later, his face paled, and he looked up sharply. "Report! The C-4 zone surveillance feed was replaced with a 45-second loop twenty minutes ago! The real-time feed has been cut off since then!"

"Only someone with clearance here could’ve—"

The truth was laid bare in an instant.

Every pair of eyes in the room turned toward Old Wang like daggers.

Old Wang merely offered a resigned smile.

He’d stalled Chen Yuan long enough.

It was sufficient.

"Why...?" Chen Yuan’s voice was thick with anguish and disbelief. "Why?! Wang Zhenguo! Why the hell would you do this?! What has Great Xia ever done to wrong you?! How can you live up to your name?!"

Old Wang—Wang Zhenguo—shed his facade, revealing a twisted, venomous expression. "Everything has wronged me!"

"Knowing resistance is futile, yet you keep sending us to die, just like in this operation."

"My wife, my son—both were forced to carry out suicide missions with guns to their heads."

"And then what? The commanders sit safely in the rear? Get promoted for their ‘brilliant leadership’?"

"What about my son and wife? Their names crammed into a list of hundreds during the post-war briefing, flashed on screen for a single second?"

"Damn it all! Those on the front lines just have to obey orders and die, while cowards like you, Chen Yuan, get to overthink and cling to your lives in the rear."

"I lost my wife, my son, and got a ‘special promotion’ out of pity. But you—a spineless coward—how the hell did you climb this high?!"

"None of it matters now."

"‘The God’ is coming. This rotten world will be cleansed!" Wang Zhenguo spread his arms, his expression manic. "And all of you will be sacrifices for the new era!"

"You bastard!" Chen Yuan roared, yanking out his weapon and leveling it at Wang Zhenguo.

At that moment—

BOOM—!!!

A deafening explosion erupted from outside headquarters!

The entire command center shook violently.

On the main screen, the pale-blue energy barrier flickered precariously.

The cyan tenth-tier Origin Beast, which had been hovering at the battlefield’s edge bombarding them from afar, suddenly seemed empowered by some immense force, unleashing a strike rivaling that of an eleventh-tier.

Then, under the horrified gazes of everyone—

CRACK!

The energy barrier in that sector shattered like glass under a hammer, exploding into countless shards.

A gaping breach over ten meters wide was torn open.

Thick clouds of ash, reeking of the Origin Beasts’ foulness and frenzied aura, surged through the breach like a flood.

Chen Yuan took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm. "Take this traitor away! Lock him up under heavy guard!"

He swiftly returned to his command post. "Little Liu, attempt remote restoration of the energy supply immediately! All available engineers, grab backup power modules—we’re reinforcing the barrier nodes by force!"

"But Chen Yuan, there are already Origin Beasts breaching—"

"I know it’s dangerous!" Chen Yuan cut him off. "But we have no choice! Teams One, Two, Three... hell, everyone who can still fight, follow me! We’re clearing a path for the engineers!"

He turned to Su Qi. "Brother Su, at this point, command is irrelevant. The only variable is that tenth-tier... Keep an eye on it. If it moves—"

"Put it down."

Su Qi nodded. "Understood."

At the breach, several massive high-tier Origin Beasts roared as they charged in, their crimson eyes locked onto the headquarters’ metal doors.

The quickest-reacting security teams were already engaging.

Though the doors were a last line of defense, they couldn’t afford to let the beasts get close.

The clash of blades, flashes of card-based abilities, and the beasts’ claws and fangs collided in a cacophony of thunderous impacts.

But their resistance seemed pitiful against these creatures—most at seventh or eighth-tier, with two even at ninth-tier.

A security officer was sent flying by a ninth-tier wolf-like Origin Beast, his chest caved in, blood gushing—clearly beyond saving.

Then—

A black blur streaked past like a ghost.

An eighth-tier bear-type Origin Beast, its massive paw raised to crush a defenseless fighter.

The man shut his eyes, bracing for death.

The expected pain never came.

He opened his eyes.

Chen Yuan, eyes bloodshot, held his blade against the bear’s paw, his voice strained to the point of distortion. "Damn... first time fighting an Origin Beast of the same tier. This is fucking brutal."

"All remaining combat personnel, to the breach! Hold it at all costs!"

"Guardian Jiang will be here in half an hour."