Chapter 78: One Shot Wipes Out an Army

In the desolate wasteland outside Black Mountain, a fully armed mechanized column advanced at top speed. Engines roared, and thick gun barrels thrust skyward.

Light tanks, self-propelled artillery, pickups fitted with Gatling guns, trucks covered in welded steel plates, armored vehicles equipped with light machine guns, and open-topped troop carriers packed with soldiers of the Holy Army of Deliverance...

The convoy rumbled onward, kicking up endless clouds of dust.

This was the Radiant Path’s elite mechanized force, armed with enough firepower to reduce any major Refuge City to scorched earth.

Black Mountain was only ten kilometers away.

“We’re finished! It’s all over!”

“We should surrender!”

“Forget our home! We need to evacuate!”

The survivors inside Black Mountain looked utterly grief-stricken. The overwhelming disparity in strength was like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the flames of vengeance in their hearts.

Before the nuclear blast, Black Mountain might have been able to withstand this mechanized army. But the Radiant Path’s scheme had killed tens of thousands and crippled the city. It no longer had the strength to resist.

A mass evacuation began throughout Black Mountain. The residents abandoned anything they could not carry and rushed toward the open wasteland.

Leaving the safety and comfort of a Refuge City meant almost certain death in the barren wastes, but no one wanted to stay and become a slave of the Radiant Path.

Finn gazed at the towering plume of dust kicked up by the approaching army and let out a long yawn.

“Master, we need to go!” Olivia hurried over, her voice urgent.

She had found Jimmy amid the chaotic crowds and brought him to Finn. She had even secured an off-road vehicle, ready to flee at a moment’s notice.

Kenneth, the acting city lord, came running over as well, panting for breath.

“Please leave while you still can, Tier 5 Vanguard. I know you’re incredibly powerful, but no mutant can fight an entire army! If you protect us during the retreat, we’ll gladly recognize you as our city lord!”

“The Radiant Path is coming from the north, so we’ll head south,” Olivia said, grabbing Finn’s hand and trying to pull him toward the vehicle. “There’s a Refuge City called Chiapas to the south. We have no choice but to ask them to take us in.”

Finn nodded and climbed into the off-road vehicle.

“Turn around. Drive north.”

Olivia stared at him in surprise. “Why?”

“I’m heading to the Alderon Sea in the north.” Finn glanced at Jimmy. “Unless you want to get yourself killed, get out.”

Jimmy knew exactly what Finn intended to do. He also knew there was nothing he could do to help, so he hurriedly jumped out rather than become dead weight.

Finn pointed his thumb at the ground.

“Wait here. Don’t wander off.”

Jimmy straightened his back and saluted. “Understood!”

“Kid, don’t be an idiot!” Kenneth grabbed Jimmy by the arm. “Come on! The Radiant Path will start shelling us any minute!”

Jimmy shook off his hand and declared in a strong, ringing voice, “I trust Finn!”

“Stop trying to act tough!” Kenneth sighed deeply.

He gave them the sort of look reserved for people determined to get themselves killed, then stopped trying to persuade them and went back to organizing the evacuation.

“Master, can we really fight an entire army?” Olivia asked, her voice trembling.

Her palms were damp with sweat, but she still gripped the steering wheel tightly.

“Drive.”

Finn’s order was short and direct.

“Yes, Master!”

Olivia’s expression hardened, grim resolve filling her eyes. She floored the accelerator and spun the wheel.

The camouflaged off-road vehicle swung around, its engine roaring, and sped north, straight toward the Radiant Path’s Holy Army of Deliverance.

...

Across the vast wasteland, tank and troop-carrier tracks clattered relentlessly while armored vehicles rumbled alongside them. The Radiant Path’s banners flew high overhead.

The vast mixed mechanized formation of the Holy Army of Deliverance seemed unstoppable. All manner of steel war machines advanced side by side, raising an unbroken wall of gray-yellow dust.

At the head of the column was a black armored vehicle. Its engine growled as the cabin rocked from side to side.

A soldier in red robes peered ahead in surprise.

“Hey, what’s that little black speck up ahead?”

Another soldier raised a pair of high-powered binoculars and studied it for a moment.

“It’s an off-road vehicle coming from Black Mountain. Huh! The blonde driving it is gorgeous!”

“Seriously? Let me see!”

The red-robed soldier reached for the binoculars.

“Hold on! They’re from Black Mountain. We need to report this to the commander!”

Despite his words, the soldier with the binoculars continued staring without blinking.

“Maybe they’re here to surrender,” the red-robed soldier said with a lecherous chuckle. “Shame there’s only one pretty girl. Not enough to go around.”

News of the approaching enemy vehicle was quickly relayed to the commander of the Holy Army of Deliverance.

His order soon came back: Accept no surrenders. Kill them all and avenge their fallen fellow believers.

A tank slowly came to a stop. Its dark gun barrel traversed toward the distant black speck.

Bang!

A gun-launched missile burst from the barrel, traced a long arc through the air, and hit the recklessly oncoming off-road vehicle dead center.

An orange-red fireball erupted from the ground, throwing a huge cloud of dust into the air.

The armored column continued forward without slowing, as though it had casually crushed an ant beneath its treads.

Before long, however, a shocking report arrived.

The off-road vehicle was still heading toward the Holy Army of Deliverance.

It had not suffered so much as a scratch.

The commander studied it through high-powered binoculars for a long moment. In the passenger seat, he could just make out a blurry figure.

His expression instantly darkened.

“All units, halt! Prepare for a full artillery barrage!” he ordered. “That’s Finn, a Tier 5 Vanguard—the enemy who murdered High Priest John Schmid!”

Then he sneered.

“Arrogant bastard. Does he really think he’s invincible? Even Darius in his youth wouldn’t have dared to face a mechanized army alone. Since you’ve come here to die, you’ve saved me the trouble of hunting you down.”

The huge armored column gradually rolled to a stop. Gun barrels of every shape and size elevated skyward, forming a vast forest of steel.

“Fire!”

At the command, the entire formation unleashed a synchronized volley.

Like a spectacular burst of fireworks, countless artillery shells, rockets, and armor-piercing projectiles tore across the sky. With unstoppable force, they converged on the tiny off-road vehicle in the distance.

Dust filled the air. Explosions sent waves of fire surging upward, and the earth shook beneath them.

“That takes care of the idiot. Resume the advance,” the commander ordered impassively.

This time, no vehicle emerged from the smoke.

...

“We’re close enough. My turn.”

Finn jumped out of the off-road vehicle and landed on ground pockmarked with craters from the artillery barrage.

Olivia leaned out the window and cried anxiously, “Master, don’t go alone! Let’s turn around and leave while we still can!”

Finn said nothing.

He pulled a nuclear rocket launcher from his storage space, rested it on his right shoulder with one hand, and took aim.

Whoosh!

A nuclear rocket streaked through the dust on a bright trail of flame, hurtling toward the distant armored formation of the Holy Army of Deliverance.

BOOM!

It was as though a second noonday sun had burst into being on the horizon.

An immense nuclear fireball blossomed, and blinding white light flooded the world.

Above the fireball, a monstrous mushroom cloud slowly climbed into the sky—the terrifying signature of nuclear fission.

The Radiant Path’s elite mechanized force of the Holy Army of Deliverance—

Annihilated.