The Allied Forces' front line moved.
No. 055's orders coursed through the entire army like an electric current.
In just twenty minutes, the defensive line that had been passively taking hits for two days transformed from a stubborn rock into a steel beast ready to spring.
On the holographic projection, the flow of troops was clearly visible.
Units originally scattered across the area were efficiently contracting and assembling toward the center.
The three most elite assault battalions were pushed to the very front of the vanguard. The soldiers silently gripped their weapons, their bodies taut as drawn bowstrings, their eyes burning with a desperate resolve.
Seven heavy enchanted ballistae slowly rotated, their massive muzzles silently aiming at the canyon bottleneck that would decide life or death.
On the logistics line, scrawny Simian Race soldiers carried supply crates far exceeding their own weight, darting through the gaps in the enemy's attacks to stuff the last batch of potions into the assault team's hands.
The entire Allied army, this precise war machine, had been wound up again.
And the key that had set all this in motion was just a single badge, casually produced by the pink-haired girl.
Hao Chi watched this scene, a strong sense of unreality enveloping him.
The stalemate he had run himself ragged trying to break for two days had been completely overturned by Lin Qingyue within half an hour.
"What exactly is that badge of yours?"
He finally asked, his voice low.
"A souvenir from an old friend," Lin Qingyue replied casually.
"A souvenir can make a self-disciplined military AI grant you maximum authority on the spot?"
"Ever heard of personal charm?"
Lin Qingyue patted his shoulder.
"Some things simply cannot be calculated by data models."
Hao Chi shut up.
He felt that if he kept pressing, his worldview might shatter.
The people from Tianshu University definitely had some kind of wiring problem in their heads.
He decided to ask a more practical question.
"Captain Lin... can I ask... how exactly are you planning to 'clear the field'? I mean... what specific methods will you use?"
"Just watch."
"...No, at least give me some mental preparation! The entire army's lives are on the line!"
Lin Qingyue turned her head and gave him a very serious look.
"Let me ask you something, are you afraid of flashbangs?"
"Huh?"
"Friendly reminder: don't look directly at it later. I won't reimburse you if you go blind."
This warning caused Hao Chi's heart to sink completely, his palms covered in cold sweat.
The sunset's afterglow stained the canyon's cliffs a bloody red, like the ribs of a giant beast hanging in a slaughterhouse.
Dusk was the moment the bugs were most frenzied.
Their phototactic instinct was awakening; even a tiny spark could drive them all mad.
And what Lin Qingyue was about to do was ignite a sun right in the middle of this bug nest.
No. 055 had cleared a protruding platform at the very front of the fortress for her.
This place had once been a crossbow artillery position, now only charred wreckage remained, but its location was perfect: commanding the heights, facing the canyon directly, with an unobstructed view.
Of course, there was no good scenery in that view.
Only bugs.
Endless bugs.
Standing on the edge of the platform, Lin Qingyue finally faced the full picture of this desperate battlefield.
A dark green tide filled every single crevice of the canyon.
On the ground, countless Mantisfolk piled up and writhed, forming a living, undulating earth of death.
In the air, the flying bug swarms blocked the last of the daylight, the vibration of a trillion wings merging into a soul-shattering hum.
The rock walls on both sides were also covered in beetles, densely packed, as if the mountains themselves had grown grotesque living scales.
This wasn't an army.
This was a natural disaster.
A living sea of death that could devour everything clean.
Lin Xiyue stood silently beside her sister, her giant shield already held horizontally in front of her.
It wasn't for defense, but because this world-destroying pressure had already triggered her Guardian instincts.
On Su Wan's fingertips, fine ice crystals had unconsciously formed.
As a Mage, she could sense the chaotic field formed by that Insect Tide, which was wildly distorting space and elements.
"This scale..."
Su Wan's voice was taut. "Even a Forbidden Spell has a limited area of effect. A one-kilometer depth, sweeping the entire width... are you sure you can do it?"
Xia Lian crouched on the other side, using the tip of her bow to brush aside her wind-blown bangs, and added softly.
"Captain, from what I recall, you don't seem to have ever used any map-clearing skills."
The teammates' worries were clearly transmitted to Lin Qingyue's ears.
She did not answer.
Behind her were Hao Chi and his guards, so tense they were almost walking with their hands and feet on the same side.
Further away were the thousands of Allied Forces elites assembled and awaiting orders.
Everyone's gaze was focused on this slender figure in pink.
"Is that person... really going to be able to do it?"
A young Simian soldier asked his comrade beside him, trembling.
"The Commander already gave the order, so what's with all the nonsense?"
The old Yaungol soldier beside him spoke in a muffled voice, but the veins on the back of his hand gripping the battleaxe were bulging.
"But she's just a Priest..."
"Shut up, just watch."
Lin Qingyue suddenly put away her staff.
She stretched her wrist and neck, her joints letting out a series of crisp pops.
After finishing her warm-up, she turned around and looked at her sister.
"Xiyue."
"Yes?"
"No matter what you see later, don't come up."
Lin Xiyue's brow furrowed. "Is it dangerous?"
"No."
Lin Qingyue smiled, a smile that carried a hint of troublemaking madness.
"I'm afraid you'll block my shot."
Lin Xiyue rolled her eyes at her in speechless exasperation.
What time is it, and she's still thinking about showing off.
"Su Wan, I'll start the timer when I begin. After sixty seconds, No. 055 will order the general assault. Help me keep the field in check and don't let the grunts break our formation."
"Copy that." Su Wan's gaze was grave.
"Xia Lian."
"Here!" Xia Lian instinctively straightened her back.
"Record this."
"...Huh?"
"For bragging rights later."
Xia Lian: "???"
This Captain, in the face of a World-Ending Class disaster, is actually thinking about preserving video footage for future humblebragging.
Is this... a good mindset, or does she just not take hundreds of thousands of bugs seriously at all?
With the arrangements complete, Lin Qingyue once again faced the surging abyss.
The wind blew from the sea of bugs, carrying a nauseatingly thick stench of blood and decay.
Her long pink hair danced wildly in the wind, her robes fluttering.
She closed her eyes.
Her consciousness sank into the System Space.
Card after card shone in her mental world, her consciousness sweeping past familiar faces.
Finally, it stopped on a card that had never been touched before.
The back of the card was a deep blue, surrounded by a ring of eternal flames.
The front showed a young girl in an academy uniform. Behind her stood a cold, massive, and devastatingly beautiful silver mecha.
[Firefly Trial Card].
Coverage Area: As far as the eye can see.
Burst Intensity: Full Burn.
Additional Attribute: Fire.
Fire was always the berserk form of light.
"You're the one."
Lin Qingyue's consciousness touched the card, and she silently thought.
"System, Firefly Trial Card, activate!"