Chapter 524 - 37: Charging In

ROAR!

Beneath the high heavens, artillery fire raged endlessly.

Several fighter jets tore through the clouds, their exhaust flames trailing long white streaks. The missiles they dropped blossomed into fireballs on both sides of the canyon. Rubble and dirt shot dozens of meters into the air before crashing against the rock walls with heavy thuds.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!

Amidst the deafening uproar, the Rebel firepoints along the canyon passage took direct hits. Concrete bunkers were shredded like paper, and the heavy machine guns inside, along with their gunners, vanished into the flames.

On the flanking mountain paths, proximity mines were detonated by the bombardment. A chain of explosions spread along the ridgelines, hurling debris into the air and exposing the utterly unrecognizable paths beneath.

"Push forward! Push forward!"

"Engineers, clear the mines! Armored vehicles, provide cover!"

The soldiers of the Alliance Country crouched low, steadily advancing behind the armored vehicles. Sappers wielding detectors carefully swept every inch of the ground. From time to time, a proximity mine would detonate, kicking up waves of dust.

Witnessing this scene, a voice roared, "Damn it! It’s those bastards from the Alliance Country! Open fire!"

At the canyon entrance, the Rebel embrasures and artillery muzzles continuously spat tongues of flame. Heavy machine gun bullets poured down like a torrential rain, striking the frontal armor of the vehicles and sparking wildly.

Mortar shells arched out from behind the fortifications, landing on the Alliance Country’s attack route. They blasted shallow, scorched craters into the earth, prematurely detonating proximity mines in an attempt to force back the frontline troops.

Meanwhile, anti-aircraft missiles blasted out from the underground base’s silos, streaking straight toward the high-altitude fighter jets.

The battlefield descended into a grueling stalemate. Countless artillery shells turned into fiery crimson meteors, bombarding the earth and raising billowing clouds of dust amidst the endless roar of explosions.

"Kill them all!"

"These Alliance scumbags are nothing but trash!!"

The Rebel soldiers hid behind their concrete fortifications, squeezing the triggers of their heavy machine guns.

Just then, someone suddenly shouted, pointing toward the canyon passage. "What is that?!"

Amidst the smoke and waves of dust, a black silhouette was actually walking forward, passing right through the formation of tanks and armored vehicles.

Artillery fire exploded right beside him, and shrapnel grazed the hem of his clothes.

He neither dodged nor ran. He merely maintained a leisurely, unhurried pace. A black cat rested on his shoulder, and his left hand gripped a sheathed long saber as he stepped closer and closer to the base.

"Playing tricks! Shoot him!" a Rebel machine gunner roared, pulling the trigger.

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!

A hail of bullets poured out, lashing toward the figure like a fiery whip.

Yet, bizarrely.

Amidst a series of muffled THWACK THWACK THWACK sounds, every single bullet simply brushed past him, striking the dirt and rocks by his side.

He was clearly standing right there, his steps ceaseless and his posture unchanged, yet the shower of bullets simply could not hit him, as if they had veered off target from the very beginning.

"Something’s wrong!"

"Damn it, don’t just stand there! Shells! Use the artillery shells!"

Muzzles turned, and several grenades howled through the air.

Just as they were about to blast the target to pieces.

SHING!

A flash of saber light illuminated the area.

The grenades were cleaved in half in midair, and the ensuing explosive blaze swallowed everything.

By the time the smoke cleared, the figure had vanished from his original spot.

"Where did he go?!"

"Over there! Look!"

The Rebel soldiers widened their eyes, finally catching sight of a streak of black light.

The figure had actually stomped the ground and launched himself forward, crossing all the firepower blockades in an instant and bolting straight for the alloy walls of the base entrance.

His speed was unfathomable. Every step he took generated shockwaves in the air, allowing him to cross dozens of meters at a time.

The next instant.

BOOM!

The streak of black light slammed into the alloy wall.

The entire canyon trembled from the impact, and the sturdy fortifications of the Rebel Base were torn open with jagged cracks!

Inside the command center of the underground base.

Tan Shanzhong had returned at some point. He stood before the holographic screen, his face as dark as stormy waters.

"Signal interference?" he demanded, staring at the intelligence officer in front of him with an icy tone. "Are you saying someone tampered with our detection systems?"

"Y-yes, sir." Cold sweat beaded on the intelligence officer’s forehead. "The army from Fortress Mountain City arrived at least a week earlier than we anticipated. They set up high-power signal jammers outside the canyon, completely disrupting our long-range detection systems."

At those words, the expressions of the many Law Enforcement Officers present darkened.

No wonder the army from Fortress Mountain City had arrived so suddenly. Their prior intelligence had been flawed, leaving them entirely caught off guard.

"Sir, what should we do?" a Law Enforcement Officer asked in a deep voice. Given the current situation, they could no longer afford to assign blame for the intelligence failure; they needed to figure out how to fend off this attack.

"What are you afraid of!" Tan Shanzhong swept an icy glare over him. "The base’s fortifications are more than capable of withstanding a large-scale war. Even an army of a hundred thousand couldn’t breach it easily.

"The Alliance Country’s tactics are always the same tired, old tricks. At most, they’ll have a few Superpower Level fighters leading a strike team to break through."

His voice was sinister yet brimming with confidence.

As a Peak Transcendence Level expert, barely anyone below the Non-human Level could rival him, let alone break through the defenses and charge all the way in here.

"Exactly." Someone nodded in agreement upon hearing this. "Based on our previous intelligence, the Alliance Country only has one Inspector who is even worth noticing.

"Even if the Yao Capital sent a new Transcendence Level expert as backup, they wouldn’t necessarily risk diving so deep into our defenses."

Hearing this, the crowd exchanged glances, all feeling that these words made sense.

Especially when they saw Tan Shanzhong’s composed and confident demeanor, their hearts settled. Infected by his self-assurance, they began to feel that winning this battle wouldn’t be a problem.

Consequently, just as they were discussing tactics and preparing their follow-up actions.

BOOM!

The entire base violently shuddered. Dust and debris rained down from the ceiling, and the holographic screen flickered and shook intensely.

Tan Shanzhong’s expression stiffened, and the eyelids of the other Law Enforcement Officers twitched.

"What happened?"

All eyes instinctively locked onto the flickering screen while a communications officer frantically operated the console to stabilize the signal.

Looking at the display, they saw a commotion at the base’s Entrance Three. Artillery flashes erupted repeatedly around the heavy alloy doors, indicating a battle was taking place.

"Could the Superpower Bureau have already sent a strike team?"

"Don’t panic. Ge Hu is personally guarding that area. Even an Exploration Level expert would find it hard to break through his defensive line."

BOOM!!

Before the speaker could even finish, a tremendous disturbance rippled across the screen.

The next instant.

The heavy alloy doors in the video feed blasted open, and a figure was sent flying backward.

Ge Hu, the very man they were just praising as a formidable Exploration Level expert, crashed into the rear metal wall, burying himself into a dented crater in the steel.

The expression of shocked fury on his face was frozen in place. His eyes bulged wide, and a thin line of crimson blood trickled down from the center of his forehead.

"This..." A Law Enforcement Officer abruptly stood up, his face filled with shock and suspicion.

Even Tan Shanzhong furrowed his brow tightly, staring at the blown-open alloy doors.

The metal around the breach was shattered and mangled. Through the smoke and dust, they could see the rocky canyon walls outside, as well as corpses strewn haphazardly across the ground.

And at this very moment.

CRUNCH...

Amidst the sound of footsteps on debris, a figure in black slowly sheathed his saber and strode inside.

The surveillance footage locked onto his face.

It was an ordinary-looking face, but his gaze was as cold and apathetic as a blade.

"Is this..."

"The Inspector of the Northwest Army?"

BUZZ!

The holographic screen suddenly shorted out, plunging the feed into pitch darkness.

Tan Shanzhong’s face turned incredibly grim, and the other Law Enforcement Officers exchanged bewildered, panicked glances.

Before they could even collect their thoughts.

Another muffled explosion echoed from the upper levels of the base.

It was obvious that the enemy had already breached the interior, and absolutely no one could stop him.

Inside the base corridor.

SQUELCH!

Lu Chao stood tall as he sheathed his weapon, fresh blood dripping from the surface of the Ink Blade.

The corpses of Rebels lay strewn across the ground behind him, including a Superpower Level Law Enforcement Officer who had been decapitated with a single strike.

"Yow~"

Ghost Element stood by the corpse of the Superpower Level expert, taking the opportunity to devour the lingering Spiritual Power into its own body.

Immediately after.

Its ruby-like beastly eyes narrowed slightly. Invisible Spiritual Power rippled outward in all directions like water waves.

Surprisingly, it used this ability to detect nearby surveillance cameras and hidden defensive fortifications. It even mapped out the corridor terrain of this entire floor with crystal clarity, relaying the information to Lu Chao through their Spiritual Link.

Nodding inwardly, Lu Chao offered it a word of praise. His own Life Sensing could only detect living organisms; it was incapable of mapping out terrain or inanimate objects.

It was safe to say that Ghost Element’s abilities in this regard were exceptionally well-suited for wartime infiltration.

"Let’s keep going, then."

CLACK CLACK!

Lu Chao continued forward, his boots stepping on the silver-gray metal floors as he traversed the corridor.

Yue Zhenhong, Zhu Chen, and the others hadn’t wanted him to take this risk and even intended to accompany him, but in the end, they couldn’t sway his decision.

It wasn’t arrogance on his part; it was simply because he already possessed Non-human Level combat prowess.

Having too many people around would only complicate matters and restrict his movements.

Operating alone allowed him to break through these defenses far more effectively while leaving behind enough strength to guard the ground troops against surprise attacks. It was a win-win situation.

"Yow~"

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Ghost Element climbed back onto his shoulder, letting out a soft, low trill.

It had sensed subtle movements in the corridor ahead. Lu Chao, utilizing his Life Sensing, had also discovered numerous life signatures rapidly approaching.

With a normal expression, he continued marching down the metal corridor.

The moment he rounded a corner.

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!

A dense barrage of gunfire suddenly erupted from straight ahead.

Over a dozen Rebel soldiers, gripping submachine guns, stood in front of an alloy door and opened fire on him in a sweeping spray.

Additionally, three heavy machine guns embedded into the walls were activated, locking onto him and continuously spitting tongues of flame.

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!!

The Ink Blade swept out horizontally, conjuring over a dozen flashes of saber light in a mere instant.

Every single bullet was deflected by the blade or slashed apart straight down the middle.

Lu Chao pressed forward step by step, his pace not slowing in the slightest as he made a beeline for the group.

This sight filled the Rebel soldiers with terror. Someone couldn’t help but roar, "Grenades!"

SWISH SWISH SWISH!

Several high-explosive grenades were hurled toward Lu Chao, clattering sharply against the ground in front of him.

He glanced down. There was a highly destructive directional landmine planted into the corridor floor right beneath his feet, which he had just stepped on.

In a split second.

CLICK!

BOOM!!

A deafening explosion rang out, engulfing and utterly destroying more than half of the corridor.

Huddled at the far end, the Rebel soldiers held up riot shields to block the flying debris. Swallowing hard with faces full of fearful uncertainty, they stared at the explosive smoke and dust.

"Is... is he dead?"

HUM!!

As if in response, a flash of saber light cleaved through the air.

The smoke and dust were sliced right down the middle, violently dissipating.

From the scorched, molten, and shattered floorboards, Lu Chao emerged without a single scratch, calmly striding forward.

"This..."

STEP!

Just as the panicked murmur faded, a crisp footstep echoed from right behind them.

To their horror, Lu Chao had already brushed past them, his long saber quietly slipping back into its sheath.

SHING!

SQUELCH SQUELCH SQUELCH SQUELCH!!

Countless sprays of blood erupted, dyeing the metal walls and floor a gruesome red.

The Slicing Force Saber Technique’s Wind-Splitting Skill had blossomed once more. Whether it was the sturdy riot shields or the flesh-and-blood bodies clad in stab-proof vests, everything the saber light grazed was cleanly bifurcated.

"Urgh... Gurgle..."

Amidst a series of blood-choked gurgles from men dying with their eyes wide open, severed limbs and bisected corpses fell in a tangled heap across the floor.

The ground turned into a bloody swamp, and gory splatters bloomed like plum blossoms on the walls.

Only a single Rebel soldier remained. Eyes bulging, he slumped onto the freezing metal floor.

Terror, sheer horror, and the aura of death completely overwhelmed him.

He subconsciously looked up at the man in black towering before him, staring down with cold indifference.

Before he could even harbor a hope of survival, the black cat on the man’s shoulder twitched, and its ruby-amber eyes instantly met his gaze.

HUM!!

The Rebel Warrior’s body stiffened. His eyes lost focus, utterly compromised by an illusion invasion.

Only then did Lu Chao retract his gaze, turning his attention to the keypad on the heavy alloy door.

"Open the door."