Chapter 422: Resisting Fear and the Journey Home |
The shadow-formed dark domain expanded at an extremely rapid speed.
The members of the cultist army watched helplessly as they were swallowed by the darkness, their vision severely obstructed.
Guan Tong was currently being held high in the air by a hand formed from shadow. He wore blinders and aimed the Silver Hunt downwards, continuously pulling the trigger.
He didn't just fire Type 3 grenades and Missile No. 6, those high-damage area-of-effect rounds. Instead, the first things he fired were Type 4 smoke grenades and Type 5 EMP electromagnetic pulse rounds.
The smoke grenades could further block vision, rendering any attempts by the enemy to use vehicle headlights or illumination items to gain sight within the Shadow Domain futile.
The electromagnetic pulse rounds were to paralyze the vehicles, preventing the enemy from driving them recklessly to break out of the Shadow Domain from different directions.
After all, the Shadow Domain's range was limited. Every additional expansion would consume significantly more Mind Power. Compared to other individual Ascendants, Guan Tong's current Mind Power reserve was naturally vast. But compared to his own peak state and the high consumption required by his various abilities, it was already running low.
In this situation, saving wherever possible was crucial.
After the previously accumulated large number of smoke grenades and EMP rounds were fired, the cultist army within the Shadow Domain fell into chaos once again.
"Such heavy fog, I can't see anything!"
"Why are the vehicle circuits burning out?"
"It's an EMP!"
Boom! Boom boom boom!
Following the smoke and EMP, came the relentless barrage of Type 3 grenades and Missile No. 6.
They descended from the sky like heavenly fire, violently ravaging the cultist army trapped in the dark mist.
Amidst the screams, the cultist army wanted to retaliate but couldn't locate their target.
The previous [Snow Traces] mecha and shadow constructs, while formidable, were ultimately attackable targets. Everyone just needed to hurl their long-range attack items at them. Even if they couldn't destroy them, they could cause Mind Power depletion.
This tactic had indeed been effective. The reason why Guan Tong, Bai Xuewu, and even Chen Na's Mind Power had been draining so quickly was precisely because, facing tens of thousands of enemies, even if each person threw just one low-level attack item, the accumulated cost of defending against them was astonishing.
However, now trapped within the dark Shadow Domain, compounded by the heavy fog and EMP interference, they simply couldn't locate Guan Tong's position. Their targeted attack items couldn't lock onto a target, and their non-targeted items, thrown haphazardly, couldn't harm the enemy and instead frequently injured their own allies.
For a moment, everyone was thrown into disarray, being blown up or injured one after another.
Even worse, the electromagnetic pulse rounds temporarily jammed communication devices within the area. Those inside the Shadow Domain couldn't contact the outside, and those outside, seeing a "giant black sphere" blocking the highway ahead, hesitated and didn't dare act rashly.
Thus, Guan Tong bought nearly another precious minute. But soon, the commanders within the cultist army reacted and began issuing orders. The vehicle teams not yet caught in the Shadow Domain abandoned rescuing those inside and quickly dismounted to bypass it on foot, heading to attack the previously discovered defensive positions.
The cultist members from the rear ranks moved into action, abandoning their vehicles and running on foot towards the defensive positions.
Guan Tong knew about this situation but had no strength left to stop it.
If the Shadow Domain expanded any further, it would completely exhaust all his Mind Power. At that point, he would lose even the last option of retreating with his team.
But he knew his teammates could fight.
"These are cultists, not parasitized forms! Leave them to me!"
Silver Fox, noticing the people running on foot from the rear ranks weren't carrying "Scarlet Terra" related photos, knew these were Fire Thief Worship Cult followers. Unlike parasitized forms, cultists also feared the Scarlet Fear, hence they didn't dare carry the photos.
In other words, this cultist army consisted of parasitized forms disguised as cultists in the front ranks, while the rear ranks were actual cultists.
Silver Fox's figure flashed as she charged out, heading straight for the group of black-robed cultists running towards them.
The cultists, seeing the enemy appear, immediately surrounded her. But Silver Fox was too fast, moving like a ghostly shadow weaving through them. She took lives effortlessly, while the enemy struggled to even touch the hem of her clothes!
"Don't just surround her!" a Priest shouted, pointing at the defensive position. "There must be others inside! Split up and go there!"
Immediately, dozens of cultists abandoned surrounding Silver Fox and ran towards the defensive position instead.
Seeing this, Silver Fox immediately spoke through her earpiece. "Yang Ran, it's your turn!"
"I've been waiting forever!"
Yang Ran leaped out from the defensive position, raised both hands, and shouted at the dozens of approaching cultists. "Watch as Fire God Grandpa roasts you into kebabs! Starfire Meteor Shower!"
A few seconds later, numerous fireballs condensed in the air and rained down, burning multiple cultist members to death.
Some cultists who dodged the attack used their abilities or items to counterattack, while others drew guns and fired. Yang Ran felt nervous. Although he had defensive items, he was a bit slow using them and was hit several times in the chest by large-caliber bullets.
I'm done for!
That was his first thought when the bullets struck him.
Both fearful and feeling it would be somewhat laughable and embarrassing to be killed by gunfire.
But the next moment, he was shocked to find himself still standing. Looking down, although his combat suit had a large hole, his body didn't seem severely injured, just somewhat painful.
Since when is my body this tough, able to withstand large-caliber bullets?
Yang Ran was bewildered. The next second, he suddenly recalled a phrase:
Black pieces form the boundary, white pieces form the chain!
This was what Wenren Yizhi had said when giving them the black and white pieces. The ability of the white pieces was to link all piece holders, sharing the damage received.
Realizing this, Yang Ran manipulated flames to fight the remaining cultists while loudly asking through his earpiece, "I just got shot several times, but the damage seems to have been shared through the pieces! Are you all okay?!"
Bai Xuewu, hiding in the defensive position with depleted Mind Power, replied first. "So it was you. No wonder my chest suddenly hurt. I'm fine. Xiao Na is also okay."
Then came Silver Fox's urgent voice. "I'm fine too!"
"Uenoshi, go help Yang Ran," Guan Tong said.
He knew Silver Fox was currently surrounded by enemies and in great danger. Suddenly receiving shared damage would definitely be even more dangerous for her.
But sending Uenoshi to help Silver Fox wouldn't be as appropriate as helping Yang Ran, as Silver Fox's ability characteristics were more suited for solo combat.
Upon hearing this, Uenoshi immediately went to Yang Ran's side, helping him block the endless stream of cultists running towards them.
For a moment, the battlefield was divided into three sections. Guan Tong held back the largest number of enemies head-on with the Shadow Domain, while Silver Fox, Yang Ran, and Uenoshi each handled a section.
This equilibrium was extremely fragile, especially since the Mind Power of all four was being rapidly depleted. They couldn't hold on for much longer.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—"
At that moment, the sound of something tearing through the air came from the direction of the city skyline. Simultaneously, Li Meng's excited voice sounded in their earpieces.
"Combat weapon support has arrived! Wait for them to finish deployment, then immediately guide their operations! Other Ascendants will also arrive soon. Victory is within sight!"
Finally!
Several transport planes, using high-strength cables with multiple planes pulling one unit together, airlifted several "Annihilators"!
Upon reaching the designated position, the transport planes retracted the cables. War machines as tall as small buildings plummeted from the sky, crashing down amidst the enemy ranks. Raising huge clouds of dust, their mere impact crushed dozens to hundreds of cultists to death!
[Detected 'Annihilators' within guidance range. Device self-startup in progress]
After they landed, the remote control devices carried by Guan Tong and the others immediately emitted a sharp voice prompt.
[Startup complete. Guidance can begin]
Without hesitation, they used the devices to guide the "Annihilators" to attack the cultist army!
Upon receiving the guidance commands, these war machines bared their fangs, launching saturation fire strikes on the designated guidance areas.
For a moment, the sounds of rotating autocannons and explosions were incessant, like a symphony of war.
Only, this symphony sounded pleasant to Guan Tong and the others, but was a death knell for the cultist army. Especially on this open suburban highway with almost no defensive cover, they each became live targets for the "Annihilators".
Within mere seconds, thousands of cultists were annihilated by the concentrated firepower, utterly defenseless.
Guan Tong had already deactivated the Shadow Domain and retreated the moment the "Annihilators" arrived, saving himself from being attacked by them for being within the "guidance area" range. These steel behemoths wouldn't distinguish friend from foe.
As for the hundred or so cultists around the defensive position, they were now caught in a dilemma.
Retreating would put them within the "Annihilators'" attack range. Not retreating meant facing the combined assault of Guan Tong, Silver Fox, Yang Ran, and Uenoshi.
Guan Tong didn't want to expend more Mind Power, using only the Silver Hunt to blast these people. With the four of them coordinating, this group of over a hundred cultists rapidly dwindled.
When only a dozen or so remained, several cultists completely broke down. After exchanging glances, they lunged towards the nearest Silver Fox. "If we're all going to die, then let's die together!"
They tore open their outer black robes. The inside of the robes was actually plastered with high-definition photos of Scarlet Terra!
Silver Fox had been thinking of moving forward to finish them off, never expecting this situation. By the time those photos flooded her vision, it was already too late!
The intense fighting over the past hours had made her less alert than usual, so she hadn't managed to avert her gaze in time. When the Scarlet Fear effect took hold, she first felt a slight vibration in her inner jacket pocket—the place where she kept the black and white pieces.
Then, her left palm grew intensely hot. That was where Guan Tong had left the "Shadow Anchor" totem.
When the Scarlet Fear struck, the black piece's "boundary" effect and the mental stability anchor activated simultaneously. Silver Fox only felt the numerous terrifying images forming in her mind rapidly vanish as soon as they appeared! This prevented her from falling into an inescapable state of fear.
Gritting her teeth, she charged forward towards those "Scarlet Terra" images. Under the incredulous gazes of several cultists, she slit their throats!
"No... impossible..." a cultist gurgled, clutching his throat as he fell. "Why... can you..."
Silver Fox knew what this guy wanted to say.
"Why can you face the Scarlet Terra photos, keep your eyes open, and kill us?"
She sheathed her dagger, touched her chest, and looked at the totem on her left palm.
"Although I don't know which one contributed more... but it actually managed to resist the impact of the Scarlet Fear..."
She realized this result was of crucial importance and might be utilized to complete exploration before the rule ended.
"Silver Fox, are you okay?" Guan Tong arrived by her side at that moment. He had seen what happened to her, but he had immediately averted his gaze.
"I'm fine," Silver Fox said. "Captain, it seems both the anchor point you gave me and Wenren Yizhi's pieces were effective. The terrifying images generated by the Scarlet Fear in my mind were directly blocked."
"Let me see your totem."
Silver Fox raised her left hand. She had only glanced at it roughly before. This time, looking carefully with Guan Tong, they noticed that the double-triangle patterned totem was much dimmer compared to when she first received it, as if a large layer of its color had faded.
Silver Fox was immediately surprised. "Did it consume part of the totem just now?"
"It seems so."
Every totem Guan Tong gave out was condensed using his full Upper Limit of Mind Power, which was just over a thousand.
Now that the totem in Silver Fox's hand had faded significantly, it meant that the power of the Scarlet Fear in those brief few seconds had nearly exhausted the Mind Power contained within the totem—and without the effect of Wenren Yizhi's black piece, the consumption would likely have been even greater.
Silver Fox then took out the black piece from her inner jacket pocket. Looking at it, her heart skipped a beat.
The piece had cracked into two halves.
"After just a few seconds of exposure, the piece cracked, and the stability anchor totem is mostly depleted... The Scarlet Fear, no, the power of the rule is truly terrifying!" Silver Fox couldn't help but feel a wave of lingering fear.
Guan Tong beside her, however, seemed thoughtful.
The Shadow Anchors he gave others contained at most just over a thousand Mind Power.
But if he used it himself, he could continuously channel reserve Mind Power into the anchor point to maintain its effect.
Did this mean he could perhaps create more anchor points to help others, or attempt to explore the unknown within the Scarlet Fear?
... Now wasn't the time to think about this.
Guan Tong looked ahead. Several "Annihilators" were demonstrating their might, having nearly completely destroyed the attacking cultist army.
This army, composed of both parasitized forms and cultists, had almost no ability to resist these killing machines.
This involuntarily made Guan Tong wonder: If the "Annihilators" targeted me, could I use the Silver Hunt to fire EMP rounds to paralyze them?
With the overall situation settled, he was slightly tempted to try. But considering they were allies, he decided against it.
At that moment, several helicopters flew in from the direction of the city. They were official Ascendant reinforcements sent by Suroma.
After Guan Tong and the others briefed them on the situation, they handed over the remote control devices for guiding the "Annihilators" and then boarded one of the helicopters to return.
Their mission was complete. The cleanup could be left to these reinforcements.
"Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz—"
The same propeller noise that filled their ears on the way here was present again, only this time the mindset of the few passengers was no longer irritable, but relaxed.
On the way here, the situation was unclear, the dangers unknown. Now, returning victorious, their mindset was naturally different.
"Did we just save over a million lives this time?" Yang Ran couldn't sit still, wriggling with excitement written all over his face. "This is way more satisfying than filming a variety show! Though it was really dangerous too. Luckily, my teammates, and the Captain, are all so strong!"
Silver Fox gave him an encouraging smile, then looked down at the girl leaning against her chest. Chen Na, having maintained her [Perception Domain] for too long and perceived too many targets, had not only depleted her Mind Power but also exhausted her physical strength. She was now soundly asleep.
Uenoshi had put her oversized sunglasses back on, so others couldn't see her expression.
Bai Xuewu didn't say anything. This wasn't her first time on the battlefield, so she didn't have as many reflections as Yang Ran.
However, through this battle, she truly realized why Li Meng had previously said Guan Tong was the strongest in the team. His abilities weren't just powerful; they were comprehensive, so comprehensive that even her [Snow Traces] mecha with its multiple modules paled in comparison.
She looked at Guan Tong. He was, as before, looking out the window, his expression so calm it didn't seem like he had just been through a fierce battle.
If this team could be maintained... she thought, perhaps they really could accomplish any arduous task.
But she immediately dismissed that thought. Zhang Minglu had long told her that Guan Tong wasn't affiliated with the Countermeasures Research Office. This operation was only a temporarily formed cooperation. Once the cooperation ended, the team would naturally disband.