Free Web NovelChapter 292: Chapter 292: Five Command Nodes
The destruction of the first command node changed the battlefield immediately.
The beasts near the eastern wall lost rhythm. Thunder wolves that had been circling in packs began lunging individually. Bull charges lost timing. Winged lizards above the wall scattered instead of diving together. The defenders of Stormbreak Fortress seized the opportunity.
Commander Lei Shuo’s voice thundered through the wall horns.
"Counter-volley! Grounding spears! Now!"
Dozens of storm-grounding spears flew from the walls and pinned beasts into mud. Militia teams dumped wet clay over lightning channels. Healers dragged wounded soldiers behind shield screens.
Qin Yuheng’s team withdrew through a storm of claws and lightning.
They did not escape cleanly.
A Thunderhorn Alpha smashed into Qin Yuchen’s guard, sending him sliding several meters through mud. Qin Lian took a shallow cut across her shoulder from a lightning lizard’s tail. Qin Mo’s formation sled nearly overturned when a serpent surged through a puddle beneath him.
Qin Yuheng covered them.
His sword flashed again and again, cutting beasts that came too close. His thunder movement drew attention, but he controlled the output carefully. Too much lightning would attract the Siege King’s storm sense.
By the time they returned to the eastern gate, the first wave had broken.
A panel appeared.
[Thunder beasts defeated: 137 / 500]
[Command Nodes destroyed: 1 / 5]
[Eastern Wall Stability: 46%]
[Fortress Defender Preservation: 91%]
Qin Mo collapsed against a wall.
"I hate that the numbers look good. It encourages continuing."
Qin Yuchen wiped mud from his face.
"We need four more nodes."
Qin Lian looked toward the north.
"Second node is moving."
That was bad.
The nodes were not fixed structures. At least some could move with the beast herd.
Commander Lei Shuo met them at the inner gate.
"You broke one."
"Yes," Qin Yuheng said. "But the remaining nodes may adapt."
Lei Shuo nodded grimly. "The western wall is seeing unusual movement. Beasts are pulling back from there."
Qin Yuheng looked at the battle map.
A gap had opened west. Too obvious.
"Bait."
Qin Mo groaned. "They are beasts. Why are they using bait?"
"Because the nodes command them."
The second node likely wanted to lure defenders out, then strike the eastern wall with a hidden wave.
Qin Yuheng adjusted.
"We do not chase west. Reinforce east and send scouts north."
Lei Shuo looked at him.
"You are sure?"
"No. But likely."
The Living Values Compass remained steady. Not false urgency, just tactical uncertainty.
Qin Lian led two fortress scouts along the northern trench. She returned twenty minutes later.
"Second node behind storm mist north-east. Hidden beasts preparing charge."
Qin Mo pointed at Lei Shuo.
"He was right."
Lei Shuo looked at Qin Yuheng with new respect.
Qin Yuheng did not waste time.
"Second strike needs support from wall artillery. Can you fire grounding bolts into the mist?"
Lei Shuo nodded.
"Three volleys."
"On my signal."
The plan was riskier than the first.
The second command node hid behind storm mist that distorted vision and sound. Direct entry would expose them to ambush. Qin Mo proposed anchoring a corridor through the mist using storm-grounding spikes, but he needed time inside range.
Qin Yuheng decided to combine fortress artillery, Qin Lian’s scouting, and his command field.
They left through a side trench with fifteen fortress volunteers—not under Qin Yuheng’s personal control, but under Lei Shuo’s temporary assignment. This reflected the Thirteenth Gate lesson. Qin Yuheng coordinated; fortress command remained involved.
The storm mist swallowed them quickly.
Sound became strange.
Beast roars came from wrong directions.
Qin Mo placed the first anchor.
Lightning struck nearby.
He flinched but kept working.
Qin Lian moved ahead, marking safe path through shadow flickers.
Then the ambush hit.
Thunder serpents burst from the mud, wrapping around two volunteers. Qin Yuchen cut one free. Qin Yuheng severed another serpent’s head. Qin Mo activated emergency grounding rings.
The volunteers held better than expected.
They trusted the plan.
The second node pulsed inside the mist.
A voice-like beast command rolled through the air.
Attack the anchors.
The beasts changed target immediately.
Qin Mo shouted, "They know what I am doing!"
Qin Yuheng’s eyes sharpened.
"Then we protect him."
He expanded Gate Thunder Command Field to the strike group with explicit consent.
"Willing link only. Hold formation. Protect anchors."
The volunteers accepted.
The field steadied them through the mist.
Three volleys of grounding bolts came from the wall.
Qin Yuheng raised his hand.
"Now!"
Bolts pierced the mist and struck around the node. The storm mist thinned for five breaths.
Enough.
Qin Lian cut the outer pulse threads.
Qin Mo completed the anchor corridor.
Qin Yuchen and the volunteers blocked beasts. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
Qin Yuheng charged.
This node had learned from the first. It released storm feedback before he reached it. Lightning blasted outward, burning his arm and forcing him back half a step.
Pain shot through his body.
But his Primordial Thunder Emperor Body endured.
He did not strike directly.
Instead, he took out a reward from earlier floors: the Silent Storm Body Tempering Crystal resonance token from the Thunderless Storm Plain. It suppressed external storm rhythm for one breath.
One breath was enough.
He stepped inside the feedback gap and drove his sword into the node’s base.
Crack.
The node pulsed violently.
Qin Mo shouted, "Again!"
Qin Yuheng struck a second time.
The node exploded. freёweɓnovel.com
[Thunderstorm Beast Command Node destroyed: 2 / 5]
The storm mist collapsed.
But the explosion revealed something new.
At the node’s center was not only beast crystal.
There was a red-black shard.
Qin Yuheng’s gaze chilled.
False sun residue?
No.
Qin Mo inspected quickly.
"Not Blood Sun. But command corruption. Similar structure. The Tower beasts are using external command logic."
A floor mechanism.
Still useful.
The thunder beasts were not mindless. Their command structure mirrored enemy networks: nodes, pressure, adaptation, bait.
Qin Yuheng stored a small safe sample.
They withdrew again.
The battle continued into the night.
By midnight, they had destroyed two nodes, defeated over two hundred beasts, and preserved fortress defenders above eighty percent.
But the Siege King had not moved.
It waited.
Qin Yuheng knew why.
It was learning.
Like Mo Cangyan.
The second day would be worse.
