Chapter 57: Martial Law

Chapter 57: Martial Law

Speeding south along Bai Shazhou Avenue, after three kilometers they took the Qingling overpass, then continued onto the Qingling Expressway heading south, and the squad finally arrived at the Wushen interchange, on the outskirts of Hanshui City.

Though the twenty‑kilometer stretch had suffered from the wear of time and some sections were rough, the tracked cat‑vehicles got them through in just forty‑five minutes.

That pace left Xie Liu and the others astonished.

Could they really run that fast?

Of course they could.

With the constitution of a Holy‑Blooded, twenty kilometres in an hour was a breeze, and at full tilt they could cover it in half an hour.

But the problem was, if they actually ran that far, their stamina would be nearly exhausted.

And now?

They simply sat in the vehicle, feeling the breeze, chatting idly, watching the scenery roll by.

When they disembarked, nobody felt mentally or physically drained; they remained in peak combat condition.

The experience was utterly novel—even the Machine God Sect’s vehicles existed mainly for special transport purposes.

Using machinery to conserve energy and boost combat power gave them a fresh insight into the so‑called ‘Chosen Ones’ way of war.

No wonder they could unleash such formidable fighting power despite limited physical prowess.

Their study of combat tactics had clearly reached the point of splitting hairs.

Perhaps this, too, was a wisdom of the old era.

The three followed behind Chen Jian and He Shu, driving the two cat‑vehicles beneath the overpass into a derelict factory, hiding them there, then retrieved all their weapons and ammunition, returned to the overpass, and prepared to enter Hanshui City.

At that moment they were only three kilometres from the residential district of Hanshui City; from the overpass they could faintly see artificial structures concealed by vegetation.

Chen Jian ordered He Shu to launch the reconnaissance drone—a routine scouting move—but when the drone’s aerial feed returned to their smart goggles, both stopped in their tracks.

‘Something’s wrong.’

Chen Jian half‑crouched beside the guardrail, pulled out his binoculars, and scanned the distant city.

‘A large number of personnel are gathering at the city’s edge, armed with heavy weapons.’

‘One, two, three, four—I see twelve front‑loading cannons, large calibre, just like the ones we saw last time.’

‘The city’s guards are on alert.’

‘What are they planning to do?’

Hearing Chen Jian’s words, Zeng Yi instinctively rose to look, but Chen Jian grabbed him, thrust the binoculars into his hands, and said:

‘Use this to look!’

Zeng Yi took the binoculars, peered for a moment, and frowned.

‘The city is under martial law.’

‘All the city defense forces have been deployed; the Machine God Sect’s priests and friars are all out.’

‘I see elite protector troops in the rear—they’re not the ordinary city militia; they rarely appear.’

‘The Holy Blood Hall has also sent personnel—strange, they’re all wearing blood‑red robes; what’s going on?’

As his words faded, Xie Liu, who was likewise observing with the binoculars He Shu had given him, chimed in:

‘I see two Source‑Blooded behind Hanshui City; the Source‑Blooded haven’t shown their faces in at least a year—what are they up to this time?’

‘I don’t know.’

Zeng Yi shook his head, handed the binoculars back to Chen Jian, and continued:

‘We need to go in and see; maybe it’s related to the killing of that level‑three monster in the ruins.’

‘But that makes no sense—Xu Lie has clearly returned; if he’d already reported the monster’s eradication, why is Hanshui City still under lockdown?’

‘Shouldn’t they be celebrating instead?’

‘That’s also my question.’

Xie Liu’s expression grew grave; after a few seconds of hesitation he spoke up:

‘Chosen One Captain, I think you shouldn’t enter Hanshui City right now.’

‘The situation is too complex; we should try to negotiate first—you can follow behind us, and if anything goes wrong we can withdraw promptly.’

‘No problem.’

Chen Jian nodded decisively and added:

‘Keep the radio open; maintain communication.’

‘He Shu, prepare electromagnetic suppression.’

‘There are surely other long‑range communications devices in the city; when the Holy‑Blooded go out on reconnaissance they must ensure the city sentinels’ signals are blocked.’

‘Understood.’

He Shu immediately detached the directional jammer he carried and began scanning frequencies, while at the same time Chen Jian retrieved a cat‑vehicle, switched off its lights, and fell in with the advancing squad.

The five‑person team split into front and rear elements, spaced four hundred metres apart, moving forward.

Guided continuously by the drone, Chen Jian cautiously used cover to conceal himself, pulling over and proceeding on foot when they were eight hundred metres from Hanshui City.

After ten minutes they closed to within three hundred metres of the city’s first outpost. At that moment the Hanshui City defense forces had already noticed the three Holy‑Blooded approaching; through the drone’s view Chen Jian saw the leader raise a hand, as if signalling them to halt.

‘We are Holy‑Blooded, just returned from the ruins!’

Over the radio Chen Jian heard Zeng Yi announce their identity.

The opposing defense troops lowered their hands, gesturing the three to come closer.

The distance between them continued to shrink, and Chen Jian finally heard the defense forces’ voices over the radio.

‘Why did you take so long to come back? Didn’t the Holy Blood Hall notify you of the lockdown?’

‘Our communications gear is broken; we didn’t receive the message.’

‘The ruins are dangerous; we had no spare capacity.’

While speaking, Zeng Yi kept moving forward.

He poked his head out behind the defense troops, then asked curiously:

‘What’s happening? Why the sudden lockdown?’

‘You don’t know? You went to the Hanshui Ruins, didn’t you?’

The defense troops questioned, puzzled.

That question clearly put Zeng Yi on alert; after two seconds of silence he replied:

‘Yes, but we only reached the outskirts—we didn’t go deep—did something happen in the ruins?’

‘Exactly.’

The defense troops sighed, then explained:

‘That level‑three monster has entered its active phase; it nearly wiped out an entire Holy‑Blooded squad, with only one survivor making it back.’

The words fell, and Chen Jian and He Shuo, who were listening from behind, simultaneously entered a state of alert.

There's a problem!

They don't know the monster is already dead!

Or rather, someone doesn't want them to know the monster is already dead!

"Don't tell them! Just go along with it!"

Chen Jian hurried to speak, but just before his voice, carried by the radio waves, reached Zeng Yi, Li Shi beside him had already spoken.

"A level-three monster? Isn't it already dead?"

In an instant, the atmosphere between the two sides froze as if sealed in ice.

Zeng Yi turned helplessly toward Li Shi, his right hand already resting on the hilt of his sword behind him.

"From now on, you'd better not speak nonsense. Who told you the monster was dead?"

Li Shi nodded blankly, and the city defense troops opposite took a step back, then said:

"Yeah, that monster is already dead."

"Is that how it is for you?"

"You mimicking heretics, fire!"

"Fire!"

Two orders were issued almost simultaneously, one from the city defense forces, the other from Chen Jian.

He Shuo's 26 sniper rifle instantly spat out tongues of flame, and the city defense troops who had given the fire order immediately collapsed!

But it was already too late.

The sentry on the outpost had reacted, firing a volley from their single-shot rifles; Li Shi threw himself forward, raising his shield to block Xie Liu and Zeng Yi, and in an instant was struck by multiple bullets.

Chen Jian's 191 kept spitting out bullets, but even if he were faster, achieving precise hits at a distance of four hundred meters was no simple task.

The city defense forces held an absolute firepower advantage, and Li Shi roared:

"Get out! Don't worry about me!"

Zeng Yi brandished his long blade, weaving through the crowd with great speed, but after the gunfire rang out, Chen Jian saw other areas where equally swift Holy Blood warriors were rushing in.

If this continued, they would be dragged down to death.

Chen Jian took a deep breath and issued three commands in succession.

"He Shuo, take the 201 and lay down suppressing fire, suppress the enemy's firepower ahead!"

"Zeng Yi, Xie Liu, don't get bogged down in combat—bring Li Shi back!"

"Li Shi! Hold your shield high! Block them!"

(End of chapter)