Chapter 524 - 358: Artillery Barrage (Part 2)

Chapter 524: Chapter 358: Artillery Barrage (Part 2)

They were all Martial Artists at the peak of the Opening Veins realm!

Combined with the terrifying strength and defensive bonuses provided by their power armor, their combat strength far exceeded others of the same rank, enough to pose a threat even to a Divine Sight Realm Martial Artist.

And this time, they had sent three at once, which showed just how seriously they were taking Wu Liangchen.

A sharp glint flashed in Wu Liangchen’s eyes. Instead of retreating, he advanced!

THUD! THUD! THUD!

A series of dull collisions rang out in quick succession.

Wu Liangchen didn’t draw his blade. Instead, he met their alloy combat blades and armor head-on with his bare fists. His fists looked like mere flesh and blood, but each impact unleashed an unimaginable, terrifying power that made their armor hum and their energy shields fluctuate violently.

One of the armored soldiers saw an opening and swept his combat blade horizontally, attempting to cut Wu Liangchen in half at the waist.

Wu Liangchen neither dodged nor evaded. He held the index and middle fingers of his left hand together as a faint golden light swirled around his fingertips. Instantly concentrating the power of the "Suppress" technique from his Magic, he precisely tapped the flat of the blade.

VMMMM—

With a strange, reverberating hum, the rapidly swinging combat blade seemed to plunge into a swamp. Its speed plummeted, and most of its force was instantly dissipated.

Immediately after, Wu Liangchen balled his right hand into a fist and punched out like a cannonball, smashing it brutally into the armored soldier’s chest.

CRACK!

A sickening crunch echoed as the special alloy chest plate—strong enough to withstand large-caliber bullets—was caved in by the single punch. Spiderweb-like cracks spread out instantly!

The massive body flew backward, crashed heavily against the metal wall behind it, and slid to the floor. The energy core on its chest flickered a few times before going dark completely.

A one-hit kill!

Seeing this, a flicker of horror passed through the eyes of the other two armored soldiers. But their movements only grew more frantic, their attacks becoming a raging storm.

Wu Liangchen spun, dodging an energy beam while simultaneously whipping his left leg out like a lash. It struck an armored soldier’s knee joint with perfect precision—a relatively weak connection point in the power armor.

THUD!

Amid the dull thud, the armored soldier let out a muffled grunt. His left leg gave way, and he staggered to one knee. Before he could readjust his stance, Wu Liangchen was already on him, bringing his elbow down like a hammer, striking the neural interface at the nape of his neck.

’Another one!’

The last armored soldier was completely seized by terror. He abandoned his attack and turned to flee from this demon-like man.

But it was too late.

Wu Liangchen’s figure moved like a shadow, instantly appearing behind him. He spread the fingers of his right hand and clamped down on the soldier’s helmet like an eagle’s talon.

"Sp..."

The voice was cut short.

SNAP!

With a crisp crack of bone, Wu Liangchen crushed the armored helmet and the skull within. A spray of red and white mixed with shattered metal fragments flew through the air.

The entire battle, from the appearance of the "Sledgehammer" squad to its complete annihilation, had lasted a mere dozen seconds. Wu Liangchen stood amidst the three sparking armored wrecks, not a speck of dust on him, as if he had just crushed a few troublesome insects.

However, the brief but intense battle had still bought his pursuers some time.

Shrill alarms were already blaring from all directions, and the sounds of more footsteps and roaring engines were rapidly approaching. The encirclement was tightening at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Wu Liangchen’s gaze was calm, without a hint of panic.

He bent down, picked up a dropped energy rifle, and checked its power pack. Then, with a few leaps, he nimbly climbed to the top of a towering, abandoned smelting furnace, agile as a monkey. The view was wide open—a perfect sniper’s nest.

He raised the rifle, his cold gaze locking onto a few figures that had just appeared in the corridor below through the scope.

BANG!

A ghostly blue beam of energy accurately struck a Dome soldier in the head. The man fell backward without so much as a grunt.

A single peek meant instant death.

For the next few minutes, this place became a kill zone.

Any enemy who tried to approach or exposed themselves to Wu Liangchen’s line of sight had their life reaped by a precise energy beam the very next second.

Precise. Efficient. Deadly.

The encircling troops began to change their strategy. They stopped their blind assaults and instead used cover to advance cautiously, all while calling for heavy fire support.

Their intention was clear: to trap Wu Liangchen completely on this high ground and then overwhelm him with absolute firepower.

WHIRRR—

A black helicopter hovered in mid-air not far away. The cabin door opened, and Schiller’s figure appeared in the doorway.

He looked down from his high vantage point at the smelting furnace, which now resembled a lonely island, a smile of certain victory on his face.

"Welcome to my hunting ground, my unknown friend."

His elegant and clear voice echoed through the entire abandoned factory district via a loudspeaker. "Your performance has been a delightful surprise. It’s been a long time since anyone has given me such a wonderful experience."

"However, it’s time for the game to end. I look forward to seeing if you can maintain that composure when I’m breaking your bones, inch by inch."

He seemed in no hurry to launch the final assault. Instead, he savored the process of cornering his prey and watching its final struggles.

However, on the furnace platform, Wu Liangchen’s figure had vanished.

He didn’t respond to Schiller’s taunts. Instead, during a lull in the enemy’s fire, he used the furnace’s complex steel frame as cover and silently concealed himself.

At the same time, he cleverly planted the few high-explosive grenades and energy packs he had collected, along with several small energy cores he had stripped from the Sledgehammer squad members, on key load-bearing points and likely climbing routes on the platform.

Booby traps!

Soon, a few soldiers attempting to climb the furnace from the side to launch a surprise attack triggered Wu Liangchen’s first trap just as they reached the halfway point.

BOOM!

A massive explosion erupted, flames soaring into the sky. Accompanied by blood-curdling screams and the sound of twisting, breaking metal, the soldiers and the steel frame they were climbing were blown to smithereens!

Then the second, the third...

Traps planted in different locations were triggered one after another. Each explosion claimed the lives of several soldiers, causing considerable chaos and losses for the cautiously advancing Dome forces below.

And yet, they couldn’t even catch a glimpse of Wu Liangchen!

"Useless!"

Schiller’s face finally darkened. His elegance and composure vanished, replaced by a trace of anger at being toyed with.

He never expected that his opponent, even in such a desperate situation, would still have the presence of mind to set traps and counter-attack!

"All units, pull back!" Schiller’s voice turned ice-cold. "Heavy weapons, prepare! Raze that damned furnace to the ground!"

’If I can’t find the rat, I’ll just destroy the rat hole!’

The order was given, and the Energy Cannons and heavy weapons, already in position, began to roar!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!!!

A deafening series of explosions merged into one continuous roar as scorching energy beams and high-explosive shells rained down on the massive smelting furnace!

Steel twisted, structures collapsed, and flames and thick smoke shot into the sky! The entire abandoned factory trembled violently, as if it were the apocalypse!

The violent bombardment carpeted the area for a full minute.

When the smoke and dust began to clear, the once-towering smelting furnace had been reduced to a twisted, smoking pile of rubble, its original shape unrecognizable.

A cruel smirk touched Schiller’s lips. He refused to believe that any flesh-and-blood being could have survived such a ferocious bombardment.

"Go in and search! Find his body—no, find every last piece of him for me!" Schiller ordered coldly.

The soldiers cautiously stepped into the still-smoldering ruins, searching carefully.

However, ten minutes passed... then twenty...

There was nothing but scorched metal and shattered concrete.

No body, no blood, not even a single fragment that could be suspected of being human tissue!

The ghost-like enemy, right under their noses, amidst this world-destroying bombardment, had once again... vanished!

"Where is he?!!"