High Martial: I Grind Professions

Chapter 252: Chapter 161: Four Years, Seeing Fang Chengwu Again

A crimson glow filled nearly the entire screen.

"Red alert!" Lin Zhan’s expression suddenly turned as hard as cold iron, his face layered with a grim frost. His voice, as if squeezed from the depths of his throat, had a metallic quality. "High threat level!"

The five team members behind him collectively held their breath. The suspicion on their faces was instantly replaced by shock and solemnity.

Red!

This meant the detection system had assessed the intruder’s energy level as high enough to cause devastating destruction to the county.

Furthermore, it signaled that the invading Demon Race was strong enough to pose an extremely high risk of perishing for the divine warriors on a conventional rescue mission.

Green meant safe, yellow was a danger warning, and red clearly indicated: "Significant risk of mass casualties and divine warriors dying in the line of duty."

The administrative divisions across the entire Blue Star were not drawn arbitrarily, but were based on the spatial node patterns where Stargates appeared.

In theory, a region on the level of a county should only see the appearance of small, temporary Stargates capable of allowing Flying Star Level demons to pass through.

But the red alert erupting in Bluestone County completely shattered this conventional understanding.

"Captain, what do we do?" At Lin Zhan’s side, Vice-Captain Zhang Li asked rapidly, his voice tinged with disbelief and raspy from the pressure. "According to procedure, we have to provide support, but..."

He didn’t finish his sentence, but the team members all understood what he meant.

The regulations required them to go, but there was a lot of leeway in *when* they arrived at the support site.

Should they rush over immediately, or... delay a little?

Past experience had repeatedly shown that invading demons from the Demon Race rarely lingered on Blue Star for long.

Their most common strategy was to exploit the information gap of the initial surprise attack to inflict maximum destruction before the Human Race could react.

The longer they delayed, the greater the probability that powerful human experts would hear the news and rush to the scene.

The demons couldn’t afford to take that gamble, either.

If by some chance a Marquis Level human was guarding this area, or if a Marquis Level expert was among the human reinforcements, then no matter how many of them charged out, it would be a suicide mission.

Therefore, Demon Race invasions often had an invisible time window.

It was for this very reason that when faced with an extremely dangerous red alert, especially when the target area seemed anomalous, some rescue teams would opt for a "technical delay."

Arrive a little late, and perhaps the demons’ window of opportunity would have already closed. They would have withdrawn on their own, and the risk would naturally be neutralized.

The upper echelons of the Human Race were well aware of this behavior, but most of the time, they could only turn a blind eye.

After all, from a cold calculation of combat value, the potential worth of a divine warrior prodigy who had reached the Bright Moon Realm, and their significance to the Human Race, could very well far exceed the loss incurred from a single county avoiding a catastrophic disaster.

However, there was not the slightest trace of calculation or hesitation in Lin Zhan’s eyes. His decision was as sharp as forged steel:

"We’re providing support! Depart immediately! At the same time, send a red alert distress signal to the High Command of Xin Huo University and the Jiangnan Province Base Headquarters! Move!"

"Yes, sir!" The five of them, including Zhang Li, responded in unison. All their misgivings were instantly suppressed by the command, the hesitation in their eyes transforming into resolute sharpness.

The duty to protect was carved into their very bones; there was no room for retreat.

Without a moment’s delay, the six figures transformed into blurry streaks of light, barely discernible to the naked eye, and shot like lightning into the dedicated high-speed aircraft launch channel next to the main hall.

VMMMM—BOOM!

A streamlined aircraft that had been on standby let out a low, powerful roar. Its entirely pitch-black fuselage gleamed with a cold, metallic luster as its anti-gravity engines instantly activated.

Under the immense thrust, the aircraft shot almost vertically from the ground, precisely piercing the already-open dome of the channel above. Like a black arrow loosed from a bow, it shot straight toward the sunset-dyed sky.

The immense acceleration was reduced to a minimum by the advanced anti-gravity device.

"Target locked: Bluestone County, west-side coordinates (X-748, Y-203). Straight-line distance: 573.2 kilometers! Engaging maximum engine thrust. Estimated time to arrival above target area: 1 minute, 37 seconds!" a synthesized electronic voice announced, cold and clear, inside the cabin.

"All hands, listen up!" Lin Zhan’s voice came through clearly to everyone. "Prepare for combat, highest alert."

"Understood!" The unified response was filled with grim determination.

The aircraft’s tail spat out incandescent blue flames as its speed climbed to an alarming level in an instant, tearing through the sky.

With unstoppable resolve, it sped toward the target area that the alert had painted scarlet—the place where the "gate" had bloomed.

A silent, heavy tension filled the cabin.

Only the steady yet heart-pounding, low roar of the engines echoed around them.

Everyone subconsciously tightened their grip on their weapons or mobilized the True Essence circulating within them, ready to erupt at a moment’s notice.

The cold air was thick with the lingering scent of gunpowder and the premonition of bloodshed.

They knew all too well that the crimson on the screen likely heralded a vicious battle—one they might not survive.

Just as the aircraft carrying Lin Zhan and his five teammates tore through the air, transforming into a streak of light and speeding toward Bluestone County five hundred kilometers away...

Deep underground, only a few dozen *li* from the Stargate, the Demon Race’s grand army had already finished assembling.

Twenty great demons of the Bright Moon Realm, exuding ferocious auras, stood like small mountains.

Behind them were one hundred elite demon soldiers at the Peak of Flying Star Realm, every one of them with bloodthirsty cruelty glinting in their eyes.

One hundred and twenty tyrannical demonic auras converged, forming a terrifying black pillar of energy that brutally smashed through the rock strata and shot toward the sky above.

The demonic aura surged to the heavens, churning the clouds above until they grew dim and murky.