pjbooks Chapter 102 Border Anomalies
Chapter 102 Border Anomalies
Black Wind Canyon, on the western border of the Dragon Kingdom.
The setting sun, like blood, hung on the horizon at the edge of the Gobi Desert, dyeing the entire wasteland a somber, unsettling dark red. Wind swept in from the depths of the canyons, carrying fine sand and a faint, sweet, metallic scent. The warning lights of the border post spun silently in the twilight, casting their dark red light, one stroke at a time, onto the white-washed Chinese flag on the outer wall of the post.
Commander Zhao Tiecheng stood atop the watchtower, his binoculars held high for a full twenty minutes. He was forty-seven years old and had guarded the western border for twenty years. He had seen sandstorms, monster tides, and the black clouds that surged from the eastern horizon on the day the apostles descended. But he had never witnessed anything like this.
"Command center, this is Blackwind Canyon Outpost No. 3." He pressed the communicator, his voice hoarse and restrained. "Since 4:00 AM this morning, the activity frequency of monsters deep in the canyon has been steadily increasing. As of 6:00 PM, at least twelve waves of monster migration have been observed, each wave consisting of more than a hundred monsters. They are all heading east—towards the Dragon Kingdom."
A piercing static crackled through the communicator, followed by the response from the border command center's duty officer: "Outpost No. 3, command center received. Your observation data is consistent with other outposts. Throughout the entire western border, from north to south, all outposts are reporting the same anomaly. The General Administration has activated Level 3 combat readiness. Continue monitoring and report any developments immediately."
Zhao Tiecheng put down the communicator and raised the binoculars again. Deep in the canyon, dust filled the air.
"Old Zhao." Lieutenant Chen Yan climbed up the watchtower, his face grim. "The patrol team just found a body at the entrance to the canyon."
Zhao Tiecheng put down his binoculars and turned his head.
"It's not ours," Chen Yan said in a low voice. "It's from a monster. A C-rank armored rhinoceros, its entire chest cavity was ripped open from the inside by something, and all its internal organs were gone. But its shell was intact—not even a claw mark."
Zhao Tiecheng remained silent for a moment. The C-rank Armored Rhinoceros boasts defensive capabilities ranking among the top three of C-rank monsters. Its shell is as hard as alloy armor; attacks from ordinary Awakened Beings can't even leave a scratch. To tear its chest cavity open from the inside without damaging its shell—this is something no ordinary predator could do.
"Notify the command center that an unknown high-level monster is suspected to have appeared in Blackwind Canyon, and suggest raising the combat readiness level to—" He paused for a moment because a scene appeared in the field of vision of the binoculars that made his blood run cold.
Deep within the canyon, in the dust tinged crimson by the twilight, a flag slowly rose. Torn, dark red, almost black, woven from an unknown material, it fluttered silently in the wind. Embroidered on the flag was an ancient rune—a skull entwined by nine snakes, each snake's eye socket burning with eerie green flames.
Zhao Tiecheng had seen this rune before.
In the history textbook of the Awakeners Academy, in the chapter before the chapter on the arrival of the Apostles, on the page where human civilization was first crushed to the ground by another force.
"The Nine-Serpent Demon God Banner." His voice was hoarse, unlike his own. "This is a demon, not a monster. It's a real demon. It's the banner of the Seven Great Demon Gods!" He gripped the communicator to his mouth, almost shouting, "Command Center! Black Wind Canyon Outpost Three! Nine-Serpent Demon God Banner confirmed! Repeat, Nine-Serpent Demon God Banner confirmed! Demons! It's demons!"
There was a full three seconds of silence on the other end of the communicator. Then, the alarm lights across the entire western border command center flashed on simultaneously. The piercing sirens pierced the twilight of the Gobi Desert, echoing from the northernmost snow-capped outpost to the southernmost oasis outpost, pulling the two-thousand-kilometer-long border into a state of wartime readiness at that moment.
When the message reached the command center of the Imperial Capital's Special Administration Bureau, Chu Tianxiong was presiding over the weekly strategic analysis meeting. The holographic projection screen, which had originally displayed a global map of the Apostles' Temples after their collapse, was forcibly switched to a real-time satellite map of the western border the instant the alarm was triggered. On the map, the two-thousand-kilometer-long border was being illuminated by red dots—each dot representing a sentry post, and each post reporting the same information.
Nine-Headed Serpent Demon Banner. Unknown high-level demon. Abnormal demon migration. Large-scale energy fluctuations appear deep within the canyon.
Chu Tianxiong stood before the holographic projection screen, his hands gripping the edge of the control panel, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force. His eyes were fixed on the area marked in red on the map—Black Wind Canyon, the largest monster habitat on the western border of the Dragon Kingdom, a forbidden zone that humans had never ventured into for three hundred years. Now, the energy readings in that area were visibly soaring.
"Energy level." His voice was hoarse.
The technician's fingers flew across the keyboard, bringing up the energy fluctuation curve from the depths of the canyon. On the screen, the curve was climbing upwards at an almost vertical angle. C-level. B-level. A-level. S-level. Then it broke through the upper limit of S-level, entering a range that had only appeared before during the Apostle's Descent event.
"The readings are still rising." The technician's voice trembled. "They've already surpassed the peak of S-rank. If they continue to rise at this rate, they'll break through to SS-rank within ten minutes."
The command hall was deathly silent. Then, Ye Wuhen's voice came from the doorway.
He placed a paper intelligence report on the control panel. The paper was yellowed and had burn marks on the edges, clearly indicating that it had just been sent back from a frontline outpost using the most primitive means of communication—electronic communication was no longer reliable under the interference of strong energy fields.
"Blackwind Canyon Outpost No. 3 confirmed its first non-demon signal three minutes ago. A Demon King-level energy fluctuation."
Ye Wuhen raised his head and looked at Chu Tianxiong. In his deep and weary eyes, worn down by years and battles, was reflected the ever-expanding red area on the holographic projection screen.
"The Demon Realm has moved."
Zhou Tianze stood behind him, arms crossed, the broken spear resting on his shoulder. His left eye was fixed on the energy curve on the screen, his usual rugged smile gone. "Seventy-two Demon Kings. Each one is at the peak of S-rank, the strongest few have already touched the threshold of SSS-rank. For three hundred years, the Demon God Realm has been holed up in the abyss, only sending low-level demons and demon generals to harass the border. This time, they sent out Demon Kings. He's testing us. Testing us."
Luo Qinghe stood by the window, her right hand repeatedly flexing and clenching its fingers. Her gaze shifted from the bustling night view of the capital city outside the window to the yellowed paper intelligence report on the control panel. Along the edge of the report was a line of small, handwritten words, hastily and carelessly written, clearly penned by the outpost commander at the last minute—"They are not here to prey. They are here to occupy."
"Does Elder Chen know?" Luo Qinghe asked.
Chu Tianxiong nodded. "I've already notified them. They're on their way to headquarters."
The door to the command center opened again. When Chen Beiyuan walked in, he wasn't wearing his usual navy blue Chinese-style jacket; instead, he was wearing a dark gray combat uniform. His hair was completely white, tied in a small bun at the back of his head. He had a thin face, high cheekbones, and deep-set eyes, but his eyes were unusually bright. Everyone straightened up at the same moment. Ye Wuhen's fingers moved away from the sword guard, Zhou Tianze's rugged expression softened, and even Chu Tianxiong lowered his hands from the control panel.