Chapter 98 – Planting Mushrooms

Volume 3: Rising Winds and Clouds

What followed was a deafening explosion and an enormous mushroom cloud.

Then came the blast wave, sweeping countless stones, clods of earth, and scraps of flesh across the battlefield. A vast cloud of radioactive fallout followed close behind.

The unknown force carried within the radiation made Wen Yu's body feel unwell for a moment. He recovered almost immediately.

A Class Holder's Physical Attribute granted a certain resistance to radiation. Of course, even Level 3 or Level 4 Class Holders could not remain in a place like this indefinitely.

Ten days to half a month would not pose much of a problem, however. Even if symptoms appeared, a bottle of Healing Potion would be enough to resolve them.

For Wen Yu and the others, the supersonic blast wave posed the greatest threat.

It hurled an immense volume of sand and soil through the air, each particle striking the Class Holders like a projectile.

Even that did not cause serious harm to the people here, the weakest of whom was only Mid-Level 3. At worst, the impact knocked a large number of them off their feet.

They were nowhere near ground zero, after all. Their position barely grazed the edge of the nuclear weapon's lethal radius.

…

The unexpected blast left Wen Yu dizzy and disoriented. By the time his head cleared, the surrounding Warriors were sprawled across the ground in every direction.

"Everyone all right?"

He shouted louder than necessary because the violent explosion had left his ears ringing.

Fortunately, the Warriors who had remained here were all at least Peak Level 3. Combined with their distance from the strike zone, neither the tremors nor the sound of the blast had caused any serious injury.

A bout of dizziness, of course, had been unavoidable.

Xiao Xue climbed unsteadily to her feet. Her formerly immaculate uniform was now so caked in dust that its original color could barely be seen. When she saw Wen Yu shouting something, she rubbed her ears.

"What did you say? I can't hear you…"

Wen Yu waved a hand to show that it did not matter.

"Huh? What did you-"

Before Xiao Xue could finish, a gust drove a mouthful of sand between her lips and sent her into a coughing fit.

Wen Yu shook his head helplessly.

The nuclear blast had damaged everyone's hearing to some degree, but they would recover before long.

With that thought, Wen Yu ignored Xiao Xue as she continued spitting out sand and looked toward the distant Bipedal Lizard pyramid.

He wanted to see how much damage the nuclear weapon had done.

Unfortunately…

The Bipedal Lizard pyramid was completely untouched.

…

Inside the Outpost's Combat Command Center, Fang Wenhai had watched the entire nuclear strike unfold.

The planned hundred-kiloton warhead had struck the Bipedal Lizard pyramid head-on.

Then the main screen dissolved into static.

Silence filled the Combat Command Center. Everyone waited for the result.

After a long while, the image finally returned. Fang Wenhai saw the Bipedal Lizard pyramid standing motionless in its original position, still stacked in formation.

The nuclear weapon had not inflicted any significant damage.

Its only effect had come at the instant of detonation, when the tremendous force of the blast collided head-on with the Demon Qi Shield. The resulting pressure had crushed several Bipedal Lizards near the Demon Qi Matrix into meat patties.

Beyond that, it had accomplished nothing.

Fang Wenhai stared at the still-glowing Demon Qi Shield Generator on the screen, bitterness tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Order every noncombatant in the Outpost to evacuate immediately."

He issued the command calmly, hesitated for several seconds, then continued.

"Evacuate everyone below Level 3. Tell the Academy of Sciences to activate the Armored Clone Corps. Notify Headquarters that the Military's three elite special operations units are to enter the Treasure Land, and request additional weapons, ammunition, and equipment. Tell Kaldor and Commander Lin to open the Treasure Land entrance immediately. Then order the Second Artillery Corps to launch a two-hundred-kiloton nuclear warhead!"

One of the staff officers behind Fang Wenhai objected at once.

"They're too close now. The destructive radius of a two-hundred-kiloton nuclear weapon will reach the Outpost. Shouldn't we reduce the yield?"

Fang Wenhai shook his head.

"I ordered the noncombatants evacuated so they wouldn't be caught in the strike. Anyone at Level 3 or above can survive the outskirts of the blast."

He paused, then spoke with deadly seriousness.

"And right now, you shouldn't be questioning my decision. You should be carrying out the damned order!"

The roar of a Level 4 Class Holder silenced every person in the room.

"Move! Now!"

As Fang Wenhai's voice rose, the Military personnel around him sprang into action.

He ignored the bustle at his back and stared fixedly at the pyramid, which had already stacked itself together again. His fists clenched hard.

The situation seemed to have gone beyond everything the Military had anticipated.

…

On the front line, Wen Yu stared at the Bipedal Lizard pyramid as it resumed its advance. Then he glanced back at the Military Warriors climbing groggily to their feet, a bitter smile on his lips.

"The nuke didn't work…"

Xiao Xue stopped rubbing sand from her eyes. Her voice trembled as she asked, "That can't be. Nuclear weapons are the most powerful weapons humanity possesses. If even a nuclear strike doesn't work, then…"

If nuclear weapons were ineffective, the nature of war would change. Humanity would lose the beyond-visual-range attacks at which it excelled, and warfare would take the form demanded by the Apocalypse.

Class Holders… and Demonic Creatures… locked in direct combat.

Bloody. Brutal. Catastrophically costly.

"They should still have more powerful nuclear weapons," a voice called from a short distance away.

A humanoid figure clawed its way out of the sand.

"Humanity's whole system of technological warfare can't become obsolete before we've even reached Level 5… can it?"

The figure paid no attention to the dust covering him. He simply stared at the distant Bipedal Lizard pyramid, murmuring to himself.

It was the Military's Super Soldier No. 2-Hao Yun.

Wen Yu remained silent until Hao Yun spoke again.

"Boss, what do we do now…?"