Atlas of Heaven and Man

After being struck, Yu Lie rolled on the ground to dissipate the force.

As he got up, he witnessed the astonishing scene before him.

He was incredibly shocked. He had personally experienced the power of this bug. Its interior also contained mutated tissue, and combined with its inherent weight, he couldn't withstand its charge.

Yet, this person casually sliced it in half with a wave of their hand. Such strength…

But a thought struck him, and his heart couldn't help but surge with excitement.

The newcomer was from the Special Operations Group. To be honest, Chen Bitong placed too much pressure on him, but if the Operations Group had this kind of strength, then they had a chance to deal with Chen Bitong.

He calmed himself. This person hadn't exposed his identity, either because they didn't know or because they had other plans. In that case, he could only remain hidden.

Fang Zhixin, on the other hand, revealed a hint of nervousness. Having followed Chen Bitong the longest, he had seen the most and recognized the origin of this attack: "This is… Dividing Force… No, more than that…"

Dividing Force was merely a relatively difficult force to master in the military, but ordinary people wouldn't display such power. This attack was likely a combination of mental and physical strength, resulting in such destructive force.

This was an opponent on the same level as Teacher Chen.

After unleashing the attack, Lao Hu didn't pay attention to the bisected bug but stared intently at Chen Bitong.

Yu Lie and Fang Zhixin both saw his outwardly astonishing attack, but he was more wary of Chen Bitong's silent and invisible evasion of the beetle earlier.

He was certain that Chen Bitong hadn't moved at all.

Therefore, he deduced that Chen Bitong had likely established a connection between his mental power and the rift, entering the gap in the rift for a moment, which allowed him to avoid being hit by the beetle.

To achieve this, it wasn't just a matter of cultivating mental power to perfection; it also required unique skills and talent.

But he had never seen similar methods from Chen Bitong before.

Was it something he mastered in the last five years, or…

Regardless of the reason, he had to reassess Chen Bitong's strength.

He then spoke in a hoarse voice: "Chen Bitong, of the teammates who were with you, besides me, some died, some were crippled, but in the end, only you were called a hero.

Is your so-called reputation really yours alone? I don't accept that. But after today, you will no longer be a hero."

Chen Bitong said calmly, "I've never thought of myself that way."

Lao Hu snorted and said, "That's what I hate most about you. You clearly benefited so much, yet you act like you don't care."

A dangerous glint appeared in his eyes as he said, "Then let's leave it at that…"

As he spoke, he slowly raised his hand, lowering his stance, looking ready to attack. At the same time, he exuded a dangerous aura and invisible pressure.

Yu Lie and Fang Zhixin in the back became tense. Although they were relatively far away, they could clearly feel this pressure, making them feel suffocated.

In contrast, Chen Bitong didn't emanate anything. He stood there as if he didn't exist.

Just as the two were about to fight, lightning flashed in the rift, and movement came from within. Fang Zhixin and Yu Lie exchanged a look and immediately turned back to the rift.

Several shadows simultaneously emerged from the rift. As those shadows gradually grew larger, with a boom, a row of mounted soldiers charged out at an extremely fast speed.

Leading the charge were three Third Limit Duty-Bound Warriors, lined up side by side, five meters apart. The horses' chests, viewed from the side, almost formed a horizontal line. Ropes connected the horses, maintaining a consistent rhythm during the high-speed charge, while the three warriors held their spears level, pointing forward.

Yu Lie and Fang Zhixin's expressions changed. Not to mention the momentum that pressed down like a high wall, just the coordinated aura of the three, relying on the connecting ropes, almost combined their strength into one, which couldn't be confronted head-on. Knowing they couldn't block it, the two quickly moved to the sides to avoid it.

Just as this row of mounted warriors charged out, another row followed closely behind, composed of mounted soldiers below the Third Limit.

And after one row, another row followed. This was the Old Imperial Household's "Nine-Ranked Horizontal Formation," with a row of Duty-Bound Warriors as the vanguard, and the remaining rows as ordinary mounted soldiers, ranging from one to nine without a fixed number. One formation passed, and then another followed, repeatedly charging, which could break through even the most solid formation on the battlefields of the old era.

Then, if another batch of experts charged out of the rift, they could attack them from the front and back, instantly killing them in the formation.

Therefore, they were forced to abandon this idea and had to retreat from the encirclement.

The leader spurred his horse onward, guiding the rear guard of cavalry forward, his lance aimed at the seemingly insignificant back of Chen Bitong. However, as they charged, their horses and men passed right through him, as if they had only scattered a phantom image.

Old Hu's eyes were solely fixed on Chen Bitong. Seeing the Duty-Bound Knight approaching, he impatiently said, "Get out of my way!" He slapped the spear shaft with one hand, striking the spearhead. Yet, the force of the blow sent the opposing knight and his horse flying sideways together.

Then, with a leap, he lunged towards Chen Bitong. Wherever his figure passed, the heavy cavalry rushing towards him instantly exploded, leaving a huge gully plowed into the ground. Covered in shattered flesh and blood, he thrust a finger towards Chen Bitong's face.

Outside this area, Emergency Team Two, dispatched by Commissioner Liang, had arrived at their location, standing on a high billboard observing the scene.

One of them, with a full beard, around forty years old, had a deep and indifferent expression. He wore a dark blue tie at his collar and a crisp, dark grey administrative hall uniform. This was Nie Guanshan from the Administrative Hall.

The other, a man around thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with short hair, thick lips, and narrow eyes, carried an air of disdain for everything. He had a cigarette in his mouth, and although he wore a military uniform, his hat was tilted rakishly, and his uniform was casually draped over his shoulders. This was Battalion Commander Yang from the Defense Department.

According to the Defense Department's assessment, both of these men were on the same level of strength as Chen Bitong. However, Chen Bitong's reputation and prestige were far beyond what the two of them could ever achieve.

After arriving, they didn't rush in. Instead, they stopped at a distance to observe. Therefore, after seeing Chen Bitong evade the bug's attack, they reached the same conclusion as Old Hu.

Yang Can squinted and said, "This wasn't mentioned in the intelligence. Chen Bitong has this ability. With his experience, he almost never fails in a one-on-one fight in front of the rift."

Even if the two of us join forces, it would be difficult to pose a threat to him."

Nie Guanshan agreed with this assessment. With such skill, as long as the rift was still there, he could rely on it. Even a comprehensive artillery barrage of that area wouldn't pose a threat to Chen Bitong.

He looked at Old Hu, who was fighting Chen Bitong: "If we add him, it would be enough."

Yang Can immediately rejected the idea: "Impossible. The people from the Provisional Committee will not cooperate with us in any way. It would be good enough if they didn't hinder us."

He said, "I still think the previous tactic is feasible. Although the situation has changed, as long as someone can restrain Chen Bitong when we attack, it can still be done. We need to request another helper from above."

Nie Guanshan said, "It won't be easy to find someone like that in a short time."

Yang Can, with a cigarette in his mouth, said indifferently, "That's not our problem. Let the Defense Department figure it out. If they can't find such a helper, we'll refuse to fight. We don't need to fight battles we're not sure of winning."

Nie Guanshan nodded and said, "Since Colonel Yang is of this opinion, then let's make the request."

Inside the command center, Commissioner Liang quickly received the application submitted by the two men, along with the reasons stated above. He also discerned their meaning from the wording: if there weren't suitable personnel, they would refuse to fight.

He frowned slightly. Because these two men were participants in the plan from above, they had a certain degree of autonomy and advisory power, and could refuse tasks they deemed inappropriate.

The best solution at the moment was to transfer another team over.

He still had Team One in his hands, whose strength was no weaker than Team Two's. However, he couldn't concentrate all the teams with this kind of combat power in one place. That would be both wasteful and more difficult to control.

Not to mention that they were about to face the sixth and even seventh wave of splitting, he also had to consider the more dangerous situations that would arise later.

But if he didn't use these people, where could he find suitable candidates?

After thinking for a long time, he said to the female assistant, "Connect me to Captain Chen."

At this moment, Chen Chuanzheng stood before the rift, leaning on his saber, guiding the Spirit Illumination Return method, using his mental power to absorb the essence from the other world as much as possible, while also remaining vigilant.

In the beginning, there were still people coming towards this area, but later, the number gradually dwindled. Perhaps they realized that it was difficult to break through here, and also learned that the split sub-bodies here had been destroyed, so this place was no longer valuable. The teams hired by the company naturally had no need to pay attention here anymore.

And those fighters who longed to get close to the Heavenly Gate, after discovering that this place was heavily guarded, also turned around and left. Because there were still rifts forming in other parts of the Central City, they didn't need to stubbornly fight here; they could go elsewhere to find opportunities.

But even without these people, various creatures would still constantly emerge from the opposite side, including some that would cause great trouble. A large number of creature corpses had already fallen around him at this moment.

At this time, the boundary screen flickered. He was about to connect the communication when suddenly, there was a shaking in the light on the other side, as if some big guy was about to come out.