The soldiers who were originally watching the excitement at the training grounds immediately assembled there. Those not present quickly flew in from all parts of the camp.
The base's defense work was on a rotation system; some personnel were on outer perimeter duty while others could rest.
When hostilities occurred, the alarm would sound. Soldiers on the defensive fortifications would prepare for battle, and the moment the enemy appeared, they would immediately deliver a decisive blow.
Meanwhile, other soldiers not on duty would immediately gather at the training grounds, form ranks, and prepare for combat. Once the defensive formations became unfavorable or casualties became too heavy, they could be deployed immediately to fill the lines.
Under normal circumstances, for low-intensity battles, the rotational guards could handle them independently and repel the enemy's offensive.
However, exceptions occurred. Occasionally, there would be large-scale incursions by demons, requiring all personnel to engage and fight desperately against the enemy's attacks.
Throughout these fifty thousand years of combat, there had been instances of front-line bases being breached by demons. Once a base was broken and demons swarmed in, the base would face catastrophic destruction.
Very few soldiers managed to successfully retreat.
Base eighteen, as one of the earliest bases deployed to the battlefield, had always been at the forefront. It had been breached several times, but each time it was retaken by the positive plane.
It could be said that the entire Base eighteen was stained with blood, guarded with their lives by generations of soldiers.
The Flying Feather flew high in the sky. Wan Lei and the others were in the cockpit, gazing into the distance.
On the distant horizon, a dense demon army appeared. These demons, piloting their steel flying fish, were hurtling towards Base eighteen.
"Let's go, the enemy is here. This time, we're going to have a bloody good time."
Xia Yubing, with an excited expression, was eager to push the throttle of the Flying Feather.
"Wait a moment."
Wan Lei stopped him.
"Don't rush. We are now under the jurisdiction of Base eighteen. The base has regulations that during wartime, all adventure squads must obey the commander's orders. If we rashly charge out now, we might disrupt the commander's deployment. Regardless of whether we earn merit or not, we will be held accountable.
Let's wait for the orders to arrive."
Wan Qianxin folded his arms and frowned.
"What if the orders never come? If the demon offensive isn't strong, and the rotational guards can resist it on their own, requiring our adventure squad to not participate, wouldn't we miss a good opportunity to engage?
In that case, we wouldn't get any battle merits."
Wan Lei pondered for a moment and then said,
"If that's the case, we'll go to the defensive fortifications. We won't go out, but we'll bombard them from here. We'll kill as many as we can, picking off kills.
We came here for merit points. If they don't let us participate, what's the point of playing?"
"Alright."
"By the way, what about the merit points for killing demons? Last time we killed hundreds of thousands of demons, and each of us only got a thousand points. This ratio is a bit low."
"Oh, the battle merit points system is like this: killing a hundred mortal realm demons gives one merit point, killing a lower-tier demon lord gives one point, killing an upper-tier demon lord gives ten points, killing a low-grade demon god gives a thousand points, and an upper-grade demon god gives ten thousand points.
We killed quite a lot last time, but most of them were killed by the proton annihilation cannon. We didn't kill many with our own hands.
Moreover, most of them were mortal realm demons, so the merit points awarded were not high."
Wan Lei nodded upon hearing this and looked at the boundless demon army before him, calculating silently.
"There are at least a million of these demons before us, possibly more. With so many demons, there must be many upper-tier demon lords, and perhaps many demon gods. If we kill them all, we'll earn millions of merit points.
No wonder the disciples of the Five Elements Hall are all willing to come to the battlefield. Once they get here, merit points just pour in."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Wan Lei speechlessly.
"Big brother, can you calm down? Don't have merit points filling your head. The enemy is numerous, but our soldiers are also many. Millions of merit points will be divided among millions of people. How much will each person get?
Besides, the military doesn't have merit points; they accumulate military achievements. Killing a hundred mortal realm demons only gives one merit point, so how do you compensate those mortal realm soldiers?
Only demons killed by Five Elements Hall disciples are counted in the merit point system. And if you want to get so many merit points, you need to have the strength for it. Our small team alone cannot contend with the opposing army.
Most importantly, it's not like demons attack you every day. Such events are encountered only after long intervals. We are just lucky to have encountered one right after arriving.
Moreover, the demons aren't foolish. If they know they can't win, why would they foolishly come to offer themselves up? Demons are warlike, but not suicidal.
Although fighting earns a lot of merit points, the risk is also huge. They are here to destroy your base, and if the base is destroyed, your head might be lost. What good are merit points then?
You mark my words, there will definitely be many demon gods among them, possibly even upper-grade demon gods. These will definitely be handled by the Golden Immortal and Boundless Realm experts in the base."
After hearing Wan Qianxin's words, Wan Lei also sighed. Looking at the demons before him, he felt somewhat unwilling but helpless.
These were all pure merit points…
On the churning earth-yellow sea, the demon army carried by the steel flying fish finally flew into Base eighteen's firing range. Without any orders, the soldiers, whose instincts had long been honed for war, opened fire.
Instantly, the city walls unleashed a barrage of fire. Countless lasers, shells, lightning, and flames poured towards the distant demon army.
The demon army fell in waves, dropping into the bitter sea, while subsequent troops continued to charge forward fearlessly.
The steel flying fish opened their gaping maws, and attacks carrying a deathly aura surged towards the city walls.
In front of the defensive fortifications, countless defense soldiers held shields, forming a defensive line to withstand the enemy's attacks.
The demon army was too numerous. Under such concentrated attacks, the defense soldiers on the walls of Base eighteen immediately suffered heavy casualties.
As soon as a section fell, subsequent soldiers immediately filled the line. Medical soldiers carried the wounded soldiers to the rear for treatment. Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.
The demon offensive was hampered by Base eighteen's terrifying firepower, preventing them from reaching the city walls. Thus, the demons established a defensive line outside the city walls and engaged in a fierce exchange of fire with the soldiers of Base eighteen.
The previously silent sky was now covered by laser fire and endless black demonic energy.