Chapter 276: Annihilating a City

Chapter 276: The City’s Destruction

After gauging the monster’s lethality, Jin Zhong barely had time to tend to his brothers’ remains; he simply gathered himself and immediately led the remaining warriors toward Liangxi.

At that moment they were thirty kilometers from Liangxi, completely out of the cellular net that cloaked Jinling New City, with no transport trucks at their disposal.

He did not know whether he could arrive in time.

Yet now he could only try, by any means.

“There’s no time to return to Yanling for transport; we must run!”

“Drop every burden, take nothing but rifles and grenades!”

“We must reach Liangxi at the fastest possible pace.”

“The creature’s gait is not swift; we still have a chance!”

While sprinting forward, Jin Zhong shouted to the remaining sixty men.

“For the honor of the Sacred Trinity!”

“For the honor of the Sacred Trinity!”

The ranks answered with a roar.

And this would be their final cry in the long, relentless chase.

The company cast aside all else, like a silent host of knights charging forward with fierce resolve.

They blocked their ears, covered their eyes, and before them stretched only the endless road ahead.

The sturdy bodies of the Holy Hall Guard Brigade became their last bulwark; a thirty‑kilometer sprint, a task near impossible for ordinary troops, was made possible by them.

Breath and footfall grew rhythmically even on the relatively even ground; Jin Zhong glanced at the map on his drone’s screen and saw that in the hour since departure they had already covered twelve kilometers.

Yet the road ahead would grow ever more arduous.

The disparity in stamina among the men began to show, and the once‑tight formation stretched thin.

Jin Zhong kept at the front; he knew that under the present circumstances he could not tend to those who fell behind.

The surrounding monsters had largely been cleared; they would be safe.

The greatest peril now lay ahead!

How far did that monster still stand from Liangxi?

Had the mechanist cult’s guard forces at Liangxi responded?

Had the city’s civilians begun to evacuate?

Where had they fled to?

Had the Huaxia army been mobilized?

If they were swift enough, their aircraft should already be overhead, should they not?

A weapon that can annihilate every foe should also be able to blast that beast to death, oughtn’t it?

Jin Zhong’s heart clung to hope.

He wished he had merely overestimated his own role.

He hoped the Huaxia forces would react without delay.

At this point, no allegiance, no creed mattered.

As long as Liangxi’s civilians survived, he would wield every power, employ every method.

Their breathing grew ragged; two hours had already slipped by.

Only five kilometers remained.

Jin Zhong launched his drone, yet at that moment he saw no trace of the monster.

Instead, not far from Liangxi’s walls, two massive fresh craters yawned.

Huaxia army!

They have arrived!

Jin Zhong exhaled a long breath.

“Stop!”

“Rest for five minutes!”

At the command, the forward‑marching column finally halted.

The warriors collapsed onto the ground, sweat soaking their garments through.

“011, this is Jin Zhong’s Guard Brigade!”

“Repeat, this is Jin Zhong’s Guard Brigade, over!”

“Have you reached Liangxi City? Has the monster been eliminated?”

“Acknowledge and reply, over.”

Jin Zhong gasped into the radio; moments later, Fuxi’s voice crackled in his earpiece.

“011 received.”

“The forward support unit is fifty kilometers from Liangxi, expected arrival in two hours.”

“The air force has completed one bombing run on the monster and is preparing a second.”

“The next strike will arrive in five minutes; coordinates have been uploaded to the map—avoid the blast zone.”

“Understood.”

Jin Zhong replied tersely.

Yet a question suddenly rose in his mind.

What sort of creature can endure a full bombing run and still require a second?

So the first barrage failed to achieve its intended effect?

A flicker of worry crossed Jin Zhong’s eyes, and he pressed on:

“Did the bombing fall short of expectations? Over.”

“It did not meet expectations.”

Fuxi answered succinctly:

“A two‑kilometer radius around Liangxi is now designated a lethal danger zone; proceed with extreme caution.”

“Copy that.”

Jin Zhong let out another long sigh.

He guided the drone onward, and as it descended, a harrowing tableau unfolded before him.

Corpses.

Corpses lay everywhere.

The civilians who could not evacuate fell one by one onto the streets of Liangxi City; in their final moments, they seemed not to feel the pain of suffocation, only to swoon like their own comrades, choked by lack of oxygen.

And once they collapsed, there was no chance of escape.

“​At least a few hundred have died.”

Jin Zhong’s voice was low.

“​No, it’s more than a few hundred.”

The army medic beside him suddenly interjected.

“​The corpses we see now are only those who attempted to flee.”

“​They didn’t retreat because of the monsters’ arrival.”

“​They fled from the bombings, from the terror of the aircraft!”

“​Two hours passed. The city’s guardian troops never organized an effective evacuation.”

“​The death toll is likely far higher. This entire city has already perished in the monsters’ hands.”

When the words fell, Jin Zhong’s heart jerked sharply.

The whole city?

Liangxi may not be a great metropolis, but it houses nearly three thousand souls.

If all of them were slain by this level‑two monster’s onslaught—

—what a colossal loss that would be!!

How shall the sanctuary account to the faithful who trust them??

At that moment, the whir of a propeller sliced through the sky.

Jin Zhong looked up; the familiar aircraft dove toward the city, dropping two bombs into a corner of the streets.

“​Boom!”

A tremendous explosion roared.

Dust and smoke billowed, and moments later a voice crackled over the radio—Fuxi’s.

“​This is 011, calling Jin Zhong’s Guard Brigade.”

“​The main monster has been eliminated; proceed into Liangxi City and organize rescue operations immediately.”

“​Take precautions to avoid bacterial infection.”

“​Understood.”

Jin Zhong rose, raising his hand to the guards.

“​Everyone, prepare for combat.”

“​Follow me into Liangxi City!”

An hour later, Jin Zhong’s unit inched toward the city’s rim.

The nearer they drew, the more the horrific tableau unfolded in stark clarity.

As the medic had foreseen, the actual casualties in Liangxi far exceeded Jin Zhong’s estimate; those uncounted victims had simply been “smothered” within their rooms.

One thousand?

Two thousand?

Jin Zhong could no longer tally the exact death toll.

Now only one question gnawed at him.

Did anyone manage to escape?

How many escaped?

He pressed his squad toward the Mechanical Faith Church where the city’s defense office stood, constantly scanning the fallen bodies, desperate for a miracle.

But no miracle came.

They were all already dead.

Without timely protective suits, they had likely been infected by the bizarre fungal colonies, leaving no chance of survival.

Condensation gathered inside the suits, sweat streamed down his forehead. Jin Zhong kicked open the church doors, expecting to see the corpses of priests and clerics strewn on the floor, but instead—

There was nothing at all.

“​Where are the people??”

In that instant, something within Jin Zhong shattered completely.

He refused to accept the reality before him, swiftly combing the interior of the church, then asked:

“​Where are the guardian troops? Where are the priests and clerics?”

“​They… probably left first.”

The medic’s tone turned bitter as he replied:

“​They must have received the warning, yet they did not organize a civilian evacuation, choosing instead to depart ahead of everyone.”

“​How could that be possible?!!”

Jin Zhong’s voice was hoarse.

“​What right do they have to act so? They had no justification whatsoever!”

“​I need not even question their faith!”

“​Even if they fled, why couldn’t they take the city’s civilians with them??”

“​They owed nothing! All they needed was to issue a simple notice!”

“​If they lead the way out, the civilians would surely follow!”

“​It’s illogical. It’s illogical.”

“​The boat.”

The medic spoke again abruptly:

“​There are no boats left.”

“​The guardian troops left first, for they had to ensure a vessel for themselves.”

“​They departed from Taihu.”

“​They did issue a notice, but only after reaching the boats and a safe distance.”

“​They were too slow.”

“​Some people in the city have already fled, but their numbers are few.”

“​Sinner. Heretic!”

Jin Zhong erupted in fury, unaware that the ones he branded “heretics” were the very brothers he had once trusted most.

—

No, perhaps it is not merely these “heretics” who are at fault.

It is the sanctuary.

It is the saint.

The saint’s reformation of the Guard Brigade has stripped Liangxi of the brigade’s protection, and without those most loyal warriors and the most faithful commander to restrain them, the local Inquisitors have lost the purity of their faith.

In that moment, Jin Zhong suddenly felt a wave of despair.

What, then, is truly right?

The previous saint erred; he had hoped this new saint, his once‑closest companion, would change, yet barely after taking office he wrought this great mistake.

‘We must cleanse the heretics.’

Jin Zhong spoke each word with deliberate pause:

‘Launch the drone, track the Inquisitors toward Taihu.’

‘They must stand trial, they—’

‘Base 011, calling Jin Zhong’s Guard Brigade.’

Before Jin Zhong could finish, a voice of Fuxi crackled again in his earpiece.

‘Guard Brigade received, go ahead.’

‘We have found the colony still not fully eradicated, a resurgence remains possible.’

‘Two kilometers east of Liangxi City, 900 meters from your position, a suspicious heat signature was detected, presumed to be the colony monster’s “guide.”’

‘Coordinates marked, proceed swiftly for containment.’

‘Understood!’

Jin Zhong answered at once.

Guide?

Indeed.

This so‑called ‘Level‑2 monster’ differs greatly from the others he has seen; it seems to lack intelligence, a mindless puppet driven by something else.

It is a marionette.

And now, the one he must capture is that very ‘puppet‑master’!

Jin Zhong spread a paper map, quickly briefing his men on the situation.

The squad surged forward, fanning out in a sweeping formation toward the target zone.

The drone had already taken flight; Jin Zhong piloted it over the area, seeking traces, but the instant he lowered its altitude a dark silhouette flickered at the edge of the screen.

Immediately after,

‘Bang!’

The drone seemed struck, its power sputtering out in an instant.

‘There!’

Jin Zhong had no time to weigh the loss of the drone.

Only one thought raced through his mind:

It knows to hit the drone first; it wants to flee!

If he does not seize it now, the chance may never return!

Quick—he must be quick!

He pushed his speed to the limit, and his men closed the circle around it.

In a mere thirty seconds, the group formed a loosely knit ring.

Jin Zhong kept issuing orders, the encirclement tightening.

When the radius shrank to two hundred meters, the so‑called ‘puppet‑master’ finally revealed its true form.

It was a humanoid monster.

It even wore clothing.

But on its back bulged a massive cyst.

From the cyst seeped a faint teal vapor, ever‑flowing.

‘Open fire!’

Jin Zhong ordered at once.

‘Bang bang bang bang bang—’

The Type‑75 rifle spat flame, a hail of bullets pouring forth.

Just as the barrage fully enveloped the creature, it sprang upward with uncanny agility, clinging to a nearby tree trunk and climbing.

Did you think you could escape that way??

Jin Zhong lifted his barrel, trying to bring the monster down.

But in that very instant—

‘Boom!’

A muffled explosion tore the cyst on the creature’s back asunder.

The monster then plummeted from its height.

This.

Self‑detonated??

A thick green smoke billowed from the ruptured cyst and vanished into the air.

The creature had long since been dead, and the follow‑up fire shattered its remains into fragments.

Jin Zhong could not grasp the purpose behind its final self‑destruction.

A desperate gamble?

That, too, seemed off.

Furrowing his brow, Jin Zhong immediately reported the latest to Base 011, then received orders to ‘return to Liangxi City, hold position and await reinforcement.’

With a heavy veil of doubt and a vague unease, Jin Zhong led his team back to Liangxi.

Yet upon entering the city, he suddenly sensed something amiss.

The whole city seemed to writhe.

The ground itself undulated.

Even the walls seemed to pulse.

But when he focused his gaze, nothing was there.

Instinctively, Jin Zhong halted, held his breath, and stared into the city; this time, he finally saw the source of the anomaly.

It is not the ground that is writhing.

What writhes are the tiny “dust” particles drifting in the air.

That second‑tier monster is reconstituting itself!

It has not yet been destroyed!

In merely a few minutes, in the heart of Liangxi City, a dim, slate‑black hue began to coalesce.

The creature regained its shape.

Jin Zhong’s beard rose like a bristling banner, his eyes splitting at the corners.

Yet now he possessed no means at all to oppose the beast.

“Base 011, this is the Jin Zhong Guard Brigade.”

“The monster has been reborn.”

“We need reinforcements!”

“Bombs can’t kill it.”

“Fire! We need fire!”

(End of chapter)