Chapter 99 – Breach!

Volume 3: Rising Winds and Clouds

After a week together, Wen Yu's strength had completely won over the brash young man who had once challenged him at every turn.

In Hao Yun's eyes, Wen Yu now stood on the same level as Kuangliu.

Even the way he addressed Wen Yu had changed-from "sir" at first to "Boss" now.

In response to Hao Yun's question, Wen Yu pulled out his communicator.

Unfortunately, the heavy radiation reduced it to a wash of static.

He tucked the device away again and looked over the Warriors around him. Every face was turned in shock toward the indistinct Bipedal Lizard pyramid in the distance.

"Everyone, listen."

His voice was not loud, but its calm drew every gaze to him.

"You can all see the situation. I'm not going to feed you some bullshit about how we're certain to win. Based on my estimate and the speed of that pyramid, it may already be impossible to stop. Those Level 5 Bipedal Lizards are going to reach the Outpost."

"But according to the original battle plan, that thing was never our strategic objective. It belongs to Headquarters."

"And in terms of strength, we don't have what it takes to stop it."

Wen Yu paused. He swept his gaze over the Military Warriors and their slightly vacant eyes, then spoke again.

"But do you know what humanity's greatest strength is?"

No one answered.

"Cooperation. A clear division of responsibility!"

"That thing…"

Wen Yu turned and pointed at the rapidly advancing Bipedal Lizard pyramid.

"We can't deal with it. But I believe Military Headquarters already has a solution. I'm certain of it!"

In truth, Wen Yu had no idea whether the Military had a solution. But whether they did or not, right now he could only say they did.

"We leave the big one to Headquarters. Our job is to intercept the Bipedal Lizards crawling out from under the front line. That is what we can do-and what we should do!"

His speech ended.

The battlefield remained silent.

From Wen Yu's perspective, it was rather awkward.

Clearly, speeches were not his forte. These Military Warriors were not so easily stirred by empty words, either.

Fortunately, someone else was present.

Xiao Xue clapped her hands, drawing most of the soldiers' attention, then spoke in a clear voice.

"From the moment you joined the Military, you became soldiers. Warriors. Heroes prepared to sacrifice yourselves for Huaxia at any time!"

"I know what you're thinking. I know what you're afraid of."

"If the Outpost falls, those monsters will block the Treasure Land's exit. We may become trapped in a sealed jar with nowhere to run."

"But remember this: if we refuse to fight-if we stand here trembling as we stare at that pyramid-then we will be the ones who die!"

"The Military has a saying: Soldiers do not fear death. Those who fear death should not become soldiers!"

"And I'll remind you of one more thing. In this goddamned world, the more you fear death, the faster it finds you!"

"So if you want to stay alive, pick up your weapons and prepare to fight!"

Her voice rose with every sentence until the final words came out as a roar.

The Military Warriors still possessed their basic discipline. Even those who had joined only after the Apocalypse considered her words for a moment, then quickly formed ranks in front of Wen Yu.

He nodded at the sight.

Whatever else might be said, their bearing alone proved that the Military still possessed formidable combat power and cohesion.

After a moment, Wen Yu spoke.

"The Military won't lose, and we won't die. But first, we do what must be done."

"We clear out the Bipedal Lizards emerging along the front and stop them from gathering to attack the Outpost!"

"Form groups now."

Wen Yu took out the map and handed it straight to Xiao Xue.

This sort of work was best left to a professional.

…

While Wen Yu hurriedly organized the soldiers, a steady stream of low-level troops and technical personnel evacuated through the Treasure Land entrance at the Outpost.

There had never been many such personnel stationed there. With the withdrawal proceeding in good order, they were all evacuated within a short time.

Then the second nuclear missile rose into the sky.

…

A two-hundred-kiloton nuclear weapon possessed terrifying power.

The Bipedal Lizard pyramid had already reached the midpoint between Demon City and the Outpost and was still advancing at tremendous speed.

When the new warhead detonated, the entire Outpost Treasure Land trembled.

Wen Yu and the others on the distant front line naturally saw the blast as well.

The violent shock wave snapped Wen Yu's clothes in the wind. Fortunately, Xiao Xue had predicted another nuclear launch, and everyone had already moved beyond its lethal radius.

Every person present, Wen Yu included, stared fixedly at the distant pyramid.

As the mushroom cloud slowly dispersed, a faint Black Light seeped through the smoke.

Wen Yu's heart sank.

Still ineffective.

The Demon Qi Matrix had stopped another nuclear strike.

"Look. Hasn't the Protective Shield grown much dimmer?" Xiao Xue asked.

Only then did Wen Yu raise his eyes and study the Demon Qi Shield carefully.

His gaze brightened.

"It did work!"

…

Wen Yu could see the damage the second nuclear strike had done to the Demon Qi Shield. Fang Wenhai, inside the Outpost, could see it even more clearly.

"Launch another hundred-kiloton nuclear weapon!" he shouted.

"But sir, the fallout and blast wave haven't fully dispersed. And it's too close now… far too close…"

"Launch it!"

Fang Wenhai roared at the messenger like an enraged lion.

…

At his command, a third nuclear missile rose into the sky.

The Demon Seed watched the missile and its trailing flame close in. Fury mounted in his eyes.

"Tell me-what the fuck is a weapon this powerful doing here?"

His murderous gaze fell upon the Black-skinned Demonic Creature at his side. The creature stammered, unable to answer.

Inside, it was on the verge of collapse.

How was it supposed to know what a nuclear weapon was?

The fire in the sky drew closer. The madness in the Demon Seed's eyes deepened.

"The remaining Demon Qi may not be enough to stop this attack. In that case…"

After calculating in silence, the Demon Seed released a pulse of mental energy.

The Bipedal Lizards within the shield immediately began to rearrange their formation.

With the Demon Seed and the Demon Qi Matrix at the center, they stacked themselves into a sphere.

That was his tactic.

Neither his life nor the Demon Qi Matrix could be allowed to come to harm. As for the Bipedal Lizards forming the outer layers, soon to become Cannon Fodder…

He could have as many of them as he wanted. Why would he care?

…

BOOM!

The third nuclear strike hit dead center.

Dust, smoke, and flesh erupted into the air. No drone feed was needed to see the Black Light of the Demon Qi Shield flare brighter than ever at the heart of the vast mushroom cloud-then be annihilated in an instant.

A rain of flesh followed.

"It worked! The Demon Qi Shield has been breached!"

At the front line, Wen Yu crushed the head of a Level 4 Bipedal Lizard with one casual blow and shouted the news.

The Warriors intercepting Bipedal Lizards across the battlefield heard him, and their morale soared. For a time, they drove the creatures emerging from underground back again and again.

"I told you there was no way a nuke could be useless!" Hao Yun shouted. He held a thick Hand Cannon in each hand, firing without pause.

Only Wen Yu showed a flicker of concern.

As the Class Holder with the highest Physical Attribute present, he could see farther and more clearly than anyone else.

The Demon Qi Shield had indeed been breached. But what came next…

…

The Outpost's Strategic Command Center was filled with dust, and cracks spread across every wall.

The third nuclear detonation had occurred too close to the Outpost. The resulting blast had already inflicted serious damage.

Fang Wenhai ignored the shattered glass underfoot and the dust swirling through the room. He stared intently at the images on the few screens still functioning.

They clearly showed that the Demon Qi Shield had been destroyed.

But the Bipedal Lizards inside had not suffered much damage.

The Demon Qi remaining in the shield had stopped most of the nuclear blast. What little force broke through was nowhere near enough to destroy the entire Bipedal Lizard pyramid.

Charred Bipedal Lizard corpses covered the exterior of the ruined formation. Then a long, thick tongue extended from within, coiled around one blackened body, and dragged it deep into the pyramid.

As if it were a signal, the entire formation stirred.

Countless tongues pulled the outer corpses inward. One Bipedal Lizard after another crawled out from the pyramid's depths. Several even bore huge pustules on their bodies, with new Level 4 Bipedal Lizards slowly taking shape inside.

Then the pyramid abruptly collapsed.

"Charge! Kill them all!"

A voice steeped in murderous intent rang out from the center of the swarm. An eerie mental pulse carried the command to every remaining Bipedal Lizard.

Then countless Level 5 Bipedal Lizards surged toward the Outpost.

There was no formation. The situation no longer allowed time to organize one. Their only task was to unleash their full speed and overrun the Outpost as quickly as possible.

Freed from the pyramid, the Level 5 Bipedal Lizards accelerated without restraint.

They swept toward the Outpost like an overwhelming tidal wave.

…

Fang Wenhai straightened his dust-covered uniform as he watched them approach, then issued his final order.

"Notify everyone. Defend the Outpost to the death and hold until reinforcements arrive!"

With that, he drew a massive bow taller than a man from his Spatial Ring and strode outside.

Fang Wenhai was no longer the commander of the Outpost.

He was a Level 4 Archer. A true Warrior.

…

Level 5 Bipedal Lizards were fast.

Before the pyramid collapsed, the formation had already carried them within a short distance of the Outpost. Now they needed only a few minutes to reach it.

Apart from a continuous barrage of missiles, the Military had no means of keeping the high-level creatures outside the walls. Bloody close-quarters combat had become unavoidable.

The Outpost still held a substantial number of Warriors. Over the past week, the Military had killed vast numbers of low-level Bipedal Lizards and received Magic Crystals from Faceless. It now possessed no small number of Level 4 Class Holders, and even more Warriors at Level 3 or above.

Led by Fang Wenhai and five Military Super Soldiers, they climbed directly onto the Outpost wall.

The wall stood less than thirty meters high. It could never stop Level 5 Bipedal Lizards whose bodies had grown to fifty meters in length.

When the creatures became visible in the distance, Fang Wenhai turned to No. 8.

"Did you notify Kuangliu?"

No. 8 shook his head.

"The radioactive fallout is blocking communications. We can't reach him yet."

Fang Wenhai drew a deep breath and spoke quickly.

"The moment communications return, order Kuangliu and Wen Yu back to reinforce us. We can't hold these Bipedal Lizards by ourselves."

No. 8 nodded in understanding.

Fang Wenhai turned to the communications officer beside him.

"Did Commander Lin say when the reinforcements would arrive?"

"It will take some time to reopen the entrance, but our reinforcements are already here!"

As the communications officer finished speaking, heavy footsteps sounded behind Fang Wenhai.