Chapter 421: The Cultist Legion's Blockade Battle |
On the suburban highway, the cultist army's vehicle convoy was densely packed, filling the broad eight-lane dual carriageway.
Looking out, the end of the massive convoy couldn't even be seen, surging forward like a flood.
An army of this scale couldn't have been organized on a whim. The parasitized forms and the Fire Thief Worship Cult must have planned this operation long ago, intending to use the power of this rule to counterattack the Human Consortium.
At the very front of the army, eight military armored vehicles advanced side by side, their bodies plastered with high-definition pictures of "Scarlet Terra." The method seemed comically crude, yet it had proven highly effective during the previous advance.
The Suroma defense soldiers, unable to engage in visual combat, were already at a huge disadvantage. Coupled with insufficient defensive preparations and a failure to anticipate the enemy launching such a large-scale, army-style offensive so quickly, their defensive line had rapidly collapsed.
Thus, when Bai Xuewu's nearly three-meter-tall mecha appeared, it was naturally detected by the cultist army at the first moment. They quickly responded. The eight armored vehicles at the very front maintained their formation, while multiple vehicles behind accelerated out onto the side lanes, driving across the muddy ground to approach in a flanking maneuver.
The reason Guan Tong's squad could know the enemy's movements wasn't through visual observation, but by listening to Chen Na's narration.
She was currently giving 120% of her focus, quickly describing what she considered to be the enemy's more important actions.
"Dozens of vehicles are accelerating over from the left and right. Each vehicle has four or five people, but their Mind Power isn't high. Brother Guan, you need to stop them."
Following Chen Na's guidance, Guan Tong manipulated the Shadow to lie in ambush on both sides of the highway along the enemy's advance routes. When the vehicle tires made contact with the shadows, the "sense of touch" was simultaneously relayed to Guan Tong.
Chen Na spoke at the same time, "Brother Guan, your Mind Power and the enemy's have overlapped!"
Since she could sense the enemy's Mind Power, she could naturally also sense those shadows Guan Tong had sent out.
With touch and perception corroborating each other, Guan Tong immediately manipulated the shadows to transform!
*Pssht pssht pssht pssht! Bang bang bang bang!*
The shadows spread across the ground all instantly sprouted sharp spikes. The tires of the vehicles driving over them were all punctured. For a moment, the sounds of tires bursting were unending. The flanking vehicle groups on both wings fell into chaos. Vehicles, out of control, crashed into each other and rolled over.
"The cars have all flipped!" Chen Na exclaimed joyfully. "And these overturned cars are blocking the roads on both sides. The ones behind will have a hard time going around now; they'll have to push aside the cars in front first."
Hearing this, Silver Fox and the others felt a surge of joy. Although their abilities were limited, preventing them from joining the fight, they were all intensely focused on the situation, not daring to slack off.
"Sister Bai, the enemies directly ahead of you are now less than two hundred meters away!"
"Less than two hundred meters. At this distance, I have a good grasp."
"Sister Bai, be careful! Multiple Mind Power signatures are rapidly approaching you. They must be long-range attack items!"
Upon hearing this, Bai Xuewu immediately activated her mecha's energy defense module. The next moment, she felt the mecha shudder from enemy attacks hitting it.
But she discovered the energy consumption of the defense module was almost zero. She immediately realized it must be because the shadow attached to her mecha by Guan Tong had blocked the vast majority of the attacks.
"The enemy is numerous, but you need to take the initiative to attack." Guan Tong's voice sounded in her earphones at just the right moment. "Your mecha consumes Mind Power too quickly. If you can't inflict heavy casualties and create psychological deterrence among the enemy during its existence, we'll be even more passive. You can allocate more energy to offense. I'll handle defending against enemy attacks for you."
Although Guan Tong hadn't been captain for long, out of a sense of responsibility, except for Wenren Yizhi whom he'd only met once, he had made an effort to understand the ability characteristics of the other team members.
Among them, Bai Xuewu's [Snow Traces] mecha, after two years of continuous development and modification, was now equipped with multi-functional modules for melee combat, ranged combat, defense, and mobility. Its strength was its all-around, jack-of-all-trades capability. Its weakness was its excessively high consumption.
If she activated all modules at once, her Mind Power would be rapidly drained by the mecha. Therefore, Guan Tong now needed to shoulder part of the burden for her, using the Shadow to construct a layer of Shadow Armor enveloping the entire mecha body, allowing her to stop using the defense module function.
"Received!"
Having trained for months on the Black Flag Country frontlines, Bai Xuewu had already adopted a military-style discipline of obeying orders once combat began. Since Guan Tong was the captain now, she would follow his command.
*Whoosh—*
She immediately deactivated the defense module, concentrating energy into the mobility module.
Blue nitrogen gas erupted from the leg nozzles, and the mecha rapidly accelerated, dashing to the front of the enemy convoy.
The parasitized forms and cultists in the convoy were shocked. The mecha that was a hundred meters away moments ago had suddenly appeared right in front of them. Moreover, it was different from the "white mecha" they had seen from afar earlier. What now stood before them was a completely pitch-black mecha, as if it had suddenly changed its paint job. Compared to before, it had lost some of its purity and elegance, gaining a more menacing and murderous aura.
Bai Xuewu manipulated the mecha to activate the melee combat module. A red and a blue Power Sword instantly appeared in its hands. It crouched and slashed outwards!
*Boom boom boom boom!*
Even the sturdiest armored vehicles at the front were sliced apart and exploded like tofu, along with the enemies inside them.
Before the enemy could react, nozzles under the mecha's feet and shoulders erupted with gas. The powerful thrust propelled this true war machine to leap high into the air before plunging down into the middle of the cultist convoy, hacking left and right, wreaking havoc everywhere!
With Chen Na's perception guiding her, Bai Xuewu was able to deactivate her visual module. With Guan Tong's Shadow Armor assisting in defense, she was able to deactivate the defense module.
The energy saved from these modules was all concentrated into the "attack" and "mobility" modules. This transformed the [Snow Traces] into a star of slaughter. In moments, it had chopped apart and exploded over a hundred vehicles, killing hundreds of enemies!
Due to her fierce assault, the front ranks of the cultist army were in disarray. But these parasitized forms not only didn't flee, but instead, each one seemed to throw their lives away, flooring the accelerator or throttle to drive their vehicles crashing into the mecha.
"What are they doing..." Chen Na, sensing all this, couldn't understand. "They'd rather crash and blow themselves up than run away?"
"What? Driving to crash and explode themselves?" Although Yang Ran couldn't see, hearing Chen Na's description allowed him to imagine how brutal the scene was. "They're truly a bunch of lunatics!"
"Whether it's parasitized forms or cultists, the vast majority of individuals likely lack free will." Silver Fox spoke very seriously at this point. "According to the ongoing research of Dr. Zhang from the research office, parasitized forms are completely obedient to the commands of the 'Prophet,' while cultists are completely obedient to the commands of the Your Holiness. Even if the command is to go to their deaths, they will obey."
"Truly terrifying..." Yang Ran said. "No wonder I heard it's almost impossible to turn parasitized forms or cultists. Sending spies to infiltrate their groups is also extremely difficult."
"Such existences will ultimately perish." Uenoshi, who had hardly spoken, spoke up unusually. Perhaps she was thinking of Yuzawa Jun, who had once similarly held absolute power in Sakura Prayer Country and could casually order his subordinates to their deaths.
"Their purpose in doing this is to accelerate the depletion of our Mind Power." Guan Tong stated.
Just as he said, although the enemy's front ranks were in some chaos due to the dominance of Bai Xuewu's mecha, the convoy from the rear continued to detour from both sides.
The strategy employed was simple and direct: using various long-range attacks, coupled with suicidal vehicle crashes into the mecha, and flanking maneuvers to force Guan Tong to mobilize more shadows to block them, all with the intent to quickly wear down Guan Tong and the other two.
There was also command within the cultist army. Both the mecha and the shadow spikes that punctured tires were enough to prove the identities of those blocking the way.
The former, due to its active performance on the Black Flag Country frontlines, had long been hated to the core by the parasitized forms. The latter was the famously renowned "Shadow."
These two individuals were powerful. Rather than pursuing their elimination, it was better to rapidly exhaust their Mind Power through saturation attacks.
Once Ascendants lacked sufficient Mind Power to sustain themselves, no matter how strong their abilities, they couldn't be utilized.
"Huff, huff... I don't have much Mind Power left."
Before long, Bai Xuewu was panting heavily. This series of charges and kills had eliminated many enemies, but the mecha's consumption of Mind Power was truly immense. Currently, she had less than one-tenth of her Mind Power left.
"Withdraw first. I'll handle it alone." Guan Tong said.
"You still have a lot of Mind Power?!"
Bai Xuewu was simply incredulous. Not to mention Guan Tong's earlier consumption from forcefully breaking the Magic Array, just during these few minutes of joint combat, his Mind Power consumption had to be greater.
Bai Xuewu knew she only needed to fight on the highway's front. But Guan Tong's shadows were partly used to protect her mecha and partly sent out along both sides of the road to block flanking enemies. His consumption was probably more than double hers.
"Not a huge amount, but definitely more than you."
"..."
"Once the mecha disappears, you'll be in great danger. Withdraw to cover immediately."
Guan Tong adopted a commanding tone. Bai Xuewu gritted her teeth slightly and immediately used the last bit of her Mind Power to launch two missiles, blowing up several vehicles before retreating. The Shadow Armor covering her mecha automatically detached, transforming into a towering shadow wall that blocked the long-range attacks aimed at her, covering her retreat.
As soon as Bai Xuewu returned to cover, she glanced at Guan Tong, who was bowing his head, eyes closed, concentrating on manipulating the shadows, and immediately contacted Li Meng.
"Is the support not here yet?!"
Now only Guan Tong was holding the line alone. But even he, how long could he block so many cultists? One minute or two?
"The 'Annihilator' will be deployed immediately. Three more minutes!" Li Meng replied. "The Ascendants they sent are also about to arrive on-site for support!"
Hearing this, the group's hearts sank. Three minutes didn't seem long, but in this situation...
"This can't continue."
Guan Tong also realized his Mind Power was being consumed too quickly. The consequence of him alone manipulating shadows to block a massive army for three minutes would be that all his reserve Mind Power might not even be enough.
Silver Fox picked up a pair of blindfolding goggles left behind by a Suroma soldier and put them on. With a flick of her wrist, she gripped two daggers tightly. "I'll go help your shadows reduce the pressure."
Just as she was about to stand up, Guan Tong pressed her shoulder. "Wait. It's too dangerous for you to go up like this."
"Big Sister Silver Fox going into melee is indeed too dangerous. Let me do it!" Yang Ran puffed out his chest and said loudly. "I'll cover my eyes and let Xiao Na guide me to a suitable distance to release my flames. I'll burn at least eight hundred or a thousand of these bastards to death!"
"No." Guan Tong immediately vetoed.
"But Captain..."
"It's not that your ability isn't good. It's that Xiao Na has reached her limit."
The group was startled by his words and all looked at Chen Na.
Only then did they notice her small face was already covered in sweat, and her body was trembling slightly.
They suddenly realized they had overlooked that Chen Na, who had been continuously maintaining her [Perception Domain], was also rapidly consuming her Mind Power!
"I, I can still hold on!" Chen Na opened her eyes and said resolutely.
Guan Tong shook his head. At that moment, Uenoshi suddenly suggested, "Troupe Leader, I remember you can summon the living dead. Summon them. I will transform them into Serpent Servants to join the battle and block the cultist army."
Serpent Servants!
Hearing this, Guan Tong's eyes lit up.
Indeed, in terms of combat power, the transformed Serpent Servants, while not comparable to slightly stronger Ascendants, were far superior to the living dead.
"Good. Let's do that."
Given the urgency of the situation, there was no time to worry about the potential exposure of Uenoshi's ability. Guan Tong took out the [Corpse Whistle] and blew it repeatedly. A large number of living dead crawled out from the surroundings. Uenoshi removed her sunglasses. Under the gaze of her vertical pupils, these living dead underwent genetic mutations, transforming into half-human, half-serpent Serpent Servants.
This scene startled Bai Xuewu and Yang Ran considerably. The two weren't familiar with Uenoshi, only knowing she was an Ascendant sent by Sakura Prayer Country. Seeing her always wearing sunglasses, a mask, gloves... not exposing a single patch of skin, they already found her mysterious and strange.
Hearing her address Guan Tong as "Troupe Leader" just now had made them even more curious.
But now, as she removed her sunglasses, revealing those bizarre serpentine eyes and the scales around her eye area, both felt an inexplicable sense of horror. Was she human or a snake?
In contrast, Chen Na and Silver Fox were much calmer. They had known Uenoshi longer and understood her better. However, Silver Fox noticed at this moment that scales had also covered the area around Uenoshi's eyes, leading her to suspect Uenoshi's ability had likely developed further.
The transformed Serpent Servants, under Uenoshi's command, leaped out of cover and charged towards the cultist convoy. When they approached within a certain distance, they opened their mouths wide, spewing emerald-green venom from their mouths. Some parasitized forms failed to dodge in time. Upon contact with the venom, they immediately screamed in agony, writhing on the ground in pain.
The cultist army immediately launched a counterattack. They attacked the various spikes and high walls formed by Guan Tong's transformed shadows while also splitting off personnel to eliminate the Serpent Servants.
Furthermore, through observation, they discovered the cover where Guan Tong's group was hiding and began mobilizing forces to charge towards it.
Although the number of transformed Serpent Servants was considerable, it was far from enough compared to the cultist army, only capable of delaying them for twenty or thirty seconds.
There were still two minutes until the reinforcements arrived. Chen Na and Bai Xuewu were almost out of Mind Power and could no longer fight. Silver Fox, Yang Ran, and Uenoshi were limited in their ability to exert their full strength. The situation was critical.
In that fleeting moment, for the safety of the group, Guan Tong considered the idea of retreating. Just as Li Meng had advised him before coming, if the situation became untenable, he could choose to withdraw.
But if they left, the war machine "Annihilator," about to be deployed, would have no one to guide it and couldn't exert its combat effectiveness. Then these minutes of fierce resistance would lose their meaning.
As his thoughts raced, Guan Tong stood up.
"What are you going to do?" Bai Xuewu immediately asked.
He took the Silver Hunt out from his storage ring. "The enemy has discovered our hiding place. Once they get too close, it will be extremely dangerous. We must stop them."
Seeing Guan Tong's actions, Chen Na grew worried and grabbed his arm. "Brother Guan, are you going out? Don't!"
"The effective range of this weapon is limited. I must leave cover and get closer to the enemy to use it." Guan Tong explained.
"What about the Scarlet Fear?" Silver Fox asked calmly. "Those guys have plastered their vehicles with pictures of Scarlet Terra. You'll definitely see them if you go out. If you wear the blindfolding goggles, then..."
"Exactly." Guan Tong said. "If only I can't see, it's indeed a disadvantage. But, if both I and the enemy can't see, then it's an even playing field."
Uenoshi, hearing this, guessed something. "You mean..."
Guan Tong nodded, put on the blindfolding goggles, and the next moment, countless shadows spread out from around him. The Shadow Domain rapidly expanded.
He himself couldn't see, but he would also use the Shadow Domain to block the enemy's line of sight, making the cultist army unable to see either!
Seeing this, Silver Fox's heart stirred. She also stood up, her daggers flashing with a cold light. "If everyone is in a state of darkness, unable to see, then I can also rely on my speed to help quickly inflict casualties on the enemy. After all, there's no need to worry about accidentally hitting teammates."