Chu Tian and his two companions remained trapped inside the vehicle, waiting.
Despite the constant shaking from explosions and the trampling of beasts, the armored vehicle remained sturdy. It seemed surprisingly safe, apart from some dents in the armor caused by particularly strong beasts.
As the battle between the beasts and the humans defending the second defense ring raged on for an hour, the sounds of gunfire, explosions, and beast roars were the only things they heard. There were no more impacts on the vehicle from outside.
Chu Tian extended his psychic sense, covering an area of just over two hundred meters. Despite the close proximity, he could observe the ongoing battle between humans and beasts through his psychic sense.
Under his psychic perception, Chu Tian could see that the beasts' corpses had completely surrounded their armored vehicle, forming a natural defensive barrier.
Seeing this, Chu Tian couldn't help but chuckle and said to Notta and Hong Shang with a smile, "It seems the beasts are completely ignoring our 'cockroach' vehicle."
"What's happening outside now?" Notta and Hong Shang were not equipped with Chu Tian's psychic perception abilities, so they were in the dark about the situation outside.
Even if they opened the hatch, all they could see was darkness.
"We are buried beneath the corpses of the beasts," Chu Tian said with a smile. "It looks like we're safe for now. Let's hope this battle ends soon, or we won't know how long we'll be buried."
Chu Tian could clearly see that all the beasts were climbing over their fallen comrades to ascend the wall. Federation soldiers were firing their weapons downward, and rocket missiles from defense towers were continuously launched at the approaching beasts.
The battle had escalated into a fierce conflict. While the beasts lacked advanced human technology, they compensated with sheer numbers, relentlessly advancing toward the defense ring.
Watching the battle, Chu Tian recalled what Liu Wei had mentioned about the Fifth Human Base being breached by the beasts.
"By the way, Notta, Hong Shang, do you know what happened at the Fifth Human Base?" Chu Tian asked.
"We do," Notta nodded.
Hong Shang seemed less informed and remained silent.
"Did the Fifth Human Base have a defense ring before?" Chu Tian inquired, puzzled. "It seems that I haven't seen any second defense ring like the one here in our Third Human Base."
"Currently, we are in the process of establishing one for the Third Human Base. The second defense ring is being set up about 300 kilometers from the base's perimeter. Apart from the second defense ring, the plans for the third defense ring, which encompasses the Four Sector Zones, have already been laid out," Notta explained, showing a holographic projection on his personal communicator.
In the center of the projection was the Third Human Base, surrounded by the first defense ring, with the second defense ring further out. Beyond that was the third defense ring, covering the Four Sector Zones.
"Speaking of which, our Third Human Base has made the fastest progress in reclaiming lost territory. In ten years, we've reduced the original six Sector Zones to just four," Notta said proudly.
"You see, in the early days, not only A-rank beasts but even S-rank beasts roamed outside the Third Human Base. In the very beginning, humans had to hide and live underground."
As Chu Tian listened to Notta's explanations, he couldn't help but be amazed. It turned out that there was an apocalypse period, and in ancient times, there were people who could move mountains and seas, as well as Western mages and knights. However, during the apocalypse, the depletion of spiritual energy had led to the gradual disappearance of these exceptional individuals, and for a long time, these feats were regarded as myths and legends.
Chu Tian gradually learned about things he had never known before. For instance, there was an apocalypse period in this world, and in ancient times, people with extraordinary abilities could indeed perform incredible feats such as moving mountains and seas, just like mages and knights in Western mythology. However, during the apocalypse, the depletion of spiritual energy had led to the gradual disappearance of these exceptional individuals, and for a long time, these feats were regarded as myths and legends.
After Chu Tian had learned all of this, the armored vehicle's shell suddenly emitted a loud noise, accompanied by intense shaking. It caused all three of them to experience a ringing in their ears.
Chu Tian quickly used his psychic sense to investigate and found that a massive shell with a high explosive yield had exploded directly on the armored vehicle. If it hadn't been for the pile of beast corpses acting as a buffer, the armored vehicle might have been torn apart by the high-explosive shell. The explosion had also unearthed some of the beast corpses that had buried their vehicle, creating an opening.
The vehicle's onboard camera also clearly showed that many beasts had already climbed onto the city walls, and the area outside the city walls was filled with beasts.
As for the soldiers and mercenaries on the city walls, they were engaged in a retreat-and-fight strategy. There was no sign of panic; instead, they were retreating in an organized manner.
This made Chu Tian's eyebrows twitch slightly, as he suspected that something was amiss with the second defense ring. "Let's get out of here. Although the soldiers at the second defense ring are retreating, they don't seem to be running away. I suspect there's something like a massive anti-beast weapon hidden within that defense ring."
Chu Tian had noticed something unusual and quickly urged Notta to leave.
Notta didn't doubt Chu Tian's instincts and immediately started the vehicle, accelerating away. He didn't lower the armored windows, and they relied on the vehicle's cameras for visual information.
They raced through the battlefield, dodging beasts and craters left by explosions, until they had traveled over a hundred kilometers. Behind them, the Seventh Human Base was barely visible as a distant outline.