Chapter 49: Unable to Leave

Chapter 49: No Way Out

The squad of eight moved swiftly toward the Baishazhou Bridge, and once they crested the sparsely vegetated viaduct, Chen Jian switched off his exoskeleton’s power, yet their advance did not slacken in the slightest.

Fifteen minutes later, the eight reached the bridgehead of the Baishazhou Bridge, subsequently utilizing simple cover to erect a temporary bridgehead fortress.

By this time, the monstrosities landing from Tangxun Lake had already reached the site of their previous clash with the moles, and the images captured by the drone fully exposed the creature's silhouette.

Staring at the footage streaming onto his smart visor, Chen Jian felt his mind go blank.

He had envisioned countless possibilities, but never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that the thing which had repeatedly broken the Mechanicus, the thing that prevented even the lightning-fast and highly agile Sanguinary scouts from sending out intelligence, actually looked like this!

It was neither a beastly horror like the moles and mantises, nor a humanoid aberration like the Broodmother in Chuansha City; if one had to put a name to it—

The thing resembled nothing so much as a giant bullfrog fused with a tortoise shell.

Its immensely developed leg muscles were blanketed in thick, barbed scales, while its forearms were absurdly long, utilizing only the elbow joints to touch the ground during movement, so much so that its elbows had already sprouted tumor-like scar tissue.

Its forward-thrusting front claws were similarly armored in scales, the sharp bone talons gleaming with a sinister, translucent amber under the moonlight, mowing down swathes of low-growing flora with every sweep.

Most terrifying of all was the creature's head, concealed beneath its jagged carapace; it had entirely lost any standard skeletal structure, resembling a lump of dough rolled into a sphere and then violently smashed onto a gravel-strewn floor, the jagged stones embedded deep within the dough, stretching the skin and muscle tissue into a state of utter, grotesque distortion.

This thing was not the least bit endearing.

Particularly in the eyes of the Sanguinary scouts who lacked night-vision gear, when the monster unleashed its power to leap and plunge from the sky, the suffocating aura of dread almost robbed them of the courage to look upon it directly.

It was small wonder the previous teams had perished at its hands.

Its sheer, hyper-mobile agility absolutely vindicated its title as a "Class-3 Monster."

Xu Lie looked toward Chen Jian, seemingly wanting to ask for his plan.

Yet Chen Jian merely lay prone on the ground with cool composure, aiming his Type 191 at the target while speaking in a hushed tone:

"This thing is rather peculiar; its entire body is a carapace structure."

"Leaping that high—putting strength aside, can its skeletal structure even withstand it?"

"The Broodmother we encountered in Chuansha City could barely wobble along a path, relying on its tentacles to drag itself forward."

"We must find a way to ascertain the exact composition of its physical anatomy, otherwise—"

"At a time like this, I don't see any need for that kind of research, do you?"

Xu Lie finally could not help but cut Chen Jian off; by now, the monster had finished inspecting the mole carcasses on the ground and let out a piercing howl.

Accompanying its howl, a vast number of anomalous thermal signatures instantly materialized within the drone’s field of vision.

"It's the moles."

Chen Jian calmly issued his command:

"The moles and this Class-3 monster truly share a symbiotic relationship—by the way, have you guys not given this monster a name?"

"No... but is that the point right now?!"

Xu Lie was already prepared to evacuate; he distinctly noticed that the abnormal din surging toward the viaduct was already very close.

If they didn't leave now, would there even be time?

If they were surrounded by these moles and their whereabouts exposed, the moment that Class-3 monster pounced, even if you all are the Chosen, you won't be escaping at close quarters, will you?

I have no desire to die here!

"Of course it's the point; without a name, our subsequent orders lack a target designation."

"Fine, let's just call it the Bullfrog."

"Lower the drone's altitude, maintain surveillance."

"He Shuo, use the anti-materiel sniper rifle to engage the target, test the enemy's armor ballistic resistance."

"Lei Jie, set up the mortar; no matter what, let's give him a shell first!"

"Shen Yue, suppressive machine gun fire at the target's head, disrupt its senses."

"Other Sanguinary members, stand fast on the spot; if any moles close in, eliminate them immediately!"

"We're not running?!"

Xu Lie stood dumbfounded.

"Run? Can you outrun it?"

"The thing clears a hundred meters in a single leap; we might not even outrun it in a helicopter."

"We can only fight first, fighting while withdrawing!"

"...Fine."

Xu Lie could only remain in place to keep watch, and by this time, Lei Jie had already unslung the mortar from his back weapon rack, adjusting the mils. "Bang!"

The heavy sniper rifle in He Shuo's hands let out a dull, explosive roar, and a precious 12.7mm armor-piercing incendiary round erupted from the bore, striking the monster's head squarely from 1.2 kilometers away.

A flash of fire sparked and vanished at the moment of impact; the bullet effortlessly bored through the irregular scales of the monster's head, burrowing beneath the flesh.

"Roar—"

The monster tumbled to the ground with a wail, yet it surged back to its feet a mere instant later.

In any case, the cavitation effect caused by a 12.7mm round was far too limited against its colossal frame; wanting a one-shot kill was truly not that simple.

"Continue firing at the carapace, test the carapace's ballistic resistance!"

"Understood!"

With the command given, another armor-piercing incendiary round was unleashed.

Sparks flew in all directions; this time, everyone could see that the effect of this single round was considerably limited.

Did it penetrate?

It did.

The heavy carapace could not withstand an armor-piercing incendiary round capable of perforating 20mm of homogenous steel plate, but the problem was that after penetration, the lethality it inflicted was practically negligible.

It simply wasn't dealing any real damage!

Chen Jian gained a preliminary understanding of this Bullfrog's protection rating, and after a swift analysis, he arrived at a rather simple conclusion.

"We can only shoot the head."

"Even armor-piercing incendiary rounds can barely punch through; the weapons in our hands will scarcely cause any damage detonating against its body."

"Damn, it's a pity the sniper grenade ammunition is entirely spent."

"Had I known, we should have saved it for here!"

"We must find a way to pin it to the spot... Lei Jie, fire a round to test it out first!"

"Copy that!"

Lei Jie, having long since loaded the ammunition, pulled the trigger immediately; the extended-range high-explosive fragmentation shell plunged from the sky, accurately striking the monster's carapace.

"Boom!"

Following the detonation, shrapnel swept across the area.

But just as Chen Jian had anticipated, this single high-explosive fragmentation shell inflicted almost no substantial harm upon the monster.

It was merely knocked to the ground by the blast's shockwave, staggered a few steps, then rose again.

At that moment, it had locked onto the squad's position, onto the head of the Bai Sha Zhou Bridge.

Without hesitation, Chen Jian deployed his weapon rack.

Immediately, four sleeve-arrow missiles spewed forth!

Accompanied by a piercing whine, three missiles hurtled toward the monster's abdomen, while the fourth, after an uncanny turn, streaked straight for the beast's constantly writhing head,

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

"Boom!"

Four explosions followed in rapid succession, flames leaping upward.

The power of the CL-20 charge was terrifying; once the smoke cleared, the monster's head had been torn open into a gaping wound.

Blood poured forth, bones shattered.

The monster tried to roar again, but could emit no sound.

It could only steady its body, fixing its gaze on the squad's direction.

Then, with a mighty leap,

the monster lunged straight at them!

(End of Chapter)