Chapter 66: Armored Behemoth

Chapter 66: The Armored Behemoth

Chen Jian and He Shuo burst out of the inn, the innkeeper behind the counter instinctively reaching for a weapon under the desk, only to be knocked down by a casual punch from Chen Jian as he passed.

By now, all disguises had been stripped away; the weapon rack on Chen Jian's mechanical exoskeleton bristled with claws and fangs, exuding a ferocious aura, and in combat mode, as he sprinted, the dust kicked up beneath his feet seemed to herald the arrival of a war monster.

At the inn's doorway they split up—He Shuo took the lead to seize the assault point, while Chen Jian covered from behind with his Type 191.

The rapid-fire mechanism was set to single-shot mode; with drone and counter-sniper radar support, each of his bullets struck precisely at the city defense troops who had already raised their guns or were about to.

“Bang! Bang!”

“Bang!”

After three consecutive shots, the garrison on the street scattered in panic, fleeing away from him.

At the same moment, Xie Liu and Zeng Yi's side also erupted in continuous gunfire, as they used the newly learned Type 191 rifles to clear the gathered city defense troops.

“Xie Liu, Zeng Yi! Expand the operational range!”

“The city defense troops’ fighting spirit is lower than expected! Don’t seek casualties; focus on deterrence and shock!”

“Understood!”

The electromagnetic shielding had been lifted, and over the radio came Zeng Yi’s somewhat muffled reply.

At the instant his voice arrived, Chen Jian heard the gunfire of the rear-mounted 301 heavy machine gun.

“Boom-boom-boom—”

Bullets sprayed sideways, kicking up a cloud of dust and smoke at the edge of the residential area about six hundred meters away; then Lei Jie reported:

“Mortar rapid fire completed!”

“Detonation countdown twenty seconds, impact point marked!”

“Understood!”

Chen Jian replied, and simultaneously the 3D map on his tactical visor unfolded, two hand-drawn parallel dashed lines flashing briefly.

That marked the landing spot of twelve mortar shells.

The explosion of those mortar shells would open a corridor for Chen Jian and He Shuo to approach the fortress of the Machine God Sect’s church.

Denying any chance of retaliation—this was Chen Jian’s demand, and the action they were now executing.

“Three hundred meters, close to within two hundred meters in fifteen seconds!”

Chen Jian issued the order again; He Shuo, gripping his Type 201, moved swiftly in standard battlefield maneuver posture, while Chen Jian advanced steadily with his rifle lowered, covering about fifty meters behind He Shuo.

Fifteen seconds later, He Shuo reached the designated position, dropped to the ground, set up his tripod, and opened fire on a church‑perimeter guard who had reacted and tried to retaliate.

At the exact moment the gunfire rang out, the mortar shells that had been fired earlier finally landed.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

Two lines of fire stretched forward; the few newly organized church guards were instantly thrown to the ground.

Chen Jian’s steps did not cease; he kept calling out targets with his Type 191 on the exposed guards, and within a few short seconds four of them fell.

He maintained a distance of roughly a hundred meters from the mortar impact points, and after the final mortar shell exploded, the first shell from the automatic grenade launcher landed fifty meters ahead of him.

What is infantry‑artillery cooperation?

Infantry‑artillery cooperation is not artillery pounding then infantry charging; the ideal state is that, the instant the artillery blast wave dissipates, infantry already strides forward on the lingering vibration into the trench!

No army in the world can achieve that.

But indeed, there is an army that can compress the safe distance of infantry‑artillery cooperation to the limit.

A unit called the ‘Wan Sui Army’ can, under mixed barrage of 155mm, 150mm, and 105mm calibers, push infantry to within 150 meters of the impact point.

And if the cover is small‑caliber mortars, that distance can be pulled in as close as fifty meters.

Just as Chen Jian is doing now.

Even a professionally trained soldier cannot withstand such an assault, let alone Chen Jian’s opponents—a mob wielding modern weapons yet still clinging to absurd religious fanaticism.

Under the sustained fire of the Type 201, even those church guards who happened to avoid being pinned by the shells had no chance to flee.

The high‑penetration 7.62mm rounds struck their torsos dead‑on, punching through their heavy iron armor and then fragmenting into razor‑sharp shards that continued to rend muscle and bone.

The reserve fighters of the Third Church Guard realized the gravity of the situation; all who could still move withdrew into the church fortress.

At the same moment, Zeng Yi’s side received new information.

“Someone has launched a flare signal!”

“The Second Church Guard is rushing to your rear! About three hundred meters away!”

“Li Shi! Lay down suppressing fire!”

Chen Jian issued the order immediately; after a brief silence, the 301 heavy machine gun spat bullets toward the advancing Second Church Guard.

At fifteen hundred meters, even with optics, even a seasoned heavy‑machine‑gun veteran would find it hard to hit a person.

Moreover, Li Shi doesn’t even understand the characteristics of this gun; all he can do is try to keep the sights on target and then strain with all his might to press the trigger.

Missing is normal; hitting would be uncanny.

——

But that actually doesn’t matter at all.

His role is suppression and intimidation.

The deterrent power of a 12.7mm round far exceeds what a normal human can endure; when you see a bullet tear an entire wall to shreds, even if that wall is tens of meters away, you instinctively slow your steps, lower your body, and seek cover.

The Second Church Guard trying to rush back for reinforcement was instantly intercepted, and in those few seconds, as the automatic grenade launcher fired its final explosive round, Chen Jian had already advanced to within sixty meters of the church fortress.

Around him there was no opposition—only a massive steel door.

“Arm the rocket‑launcher with assault rounds!”

“Received!”

“Received!”

Shen Yue and Lei Jie replied simultaneously; meanwhile, the weapon rack on Chen Jian’s exoskeleton unfolded.

“Boom!”

“Boom! Boom!”

Three successive explosions rang out; a huge crater blossomed in the church’s outer wall, and the iron door struck head‑on by two assault rounds was torn apart and collapsed in the blast.

The door gaped open.

Chen Jian continued his order:

“Lay down grenades!”

“Understood!” He Shuo, following the advance, ran and pulled the pins on two thermobaric grenades, almost simultaneously with Chen Jian, and tossed the grenades through the doorway into the church.

A deafening roar, thick smoke billowed inside the church, yet their firepower suppression had not yet ceased.

After calibration, Lei Jie had already deployed the grenade launcher.

Three consecutive grenades arced precisely into the church; the blast waves of the high‑explosive rounds shook dust from the outer walls in a fine mist, smoke filled the air, and the interior of the church was almost impossible to see.

“Thermal imaging engaged, prepare to enter!”

“Understood!”

He Shuo and Chen Jian simultaneously lowered their night-vision goggles; in the fused thermal view, the smoke became their best cover.

—

Indeed, without smoke grenades, the demolition charges could still be used, albeit barely.

They swept left and right, scanning the most dangerous corners along the wall; each fired, taking down three enemies, then kept their barrels moving to designate moving targets.

Inside the church there had been at least fifteen enemies, but after the barrage only four or five could still stand and act.

And those four or five church troops instantly became souls beneath the gun.

“Finish them!”

Chen Jian gave the order again.

Sporadic gunfire crackled; in less than twenty seconds, not a single living thing remained here.

At that moment, Zeng Yi's voice came through Chen Jian's earpiece.

“Have you gone in?”

“The city defense forces have scattered; I and Xie Liu are going to intercept the second regiment of the church troops!”

“There’s a basement in the church! Beneath the Trinity altar!”

“The priest should be in there; that’s his ascetic chamber!”

“Understood!”

Chen Jian signaled He Shuo; after a quick search, they indeed found the ascetic chamber whose door hadn’t even been closed yet.

“Take him alive or kill him?”

He Shuo asked.

“Let’s try to take him alive first.”

Having said that, he fired a volley of faith‑filled shots into the basement, then shouted a warning:

“Come out now, or I’ll blow you up!”

The ascetic chamber fell silent for a moment, then a hoarse voice spoke.

“Don’t kill me, don’t kill me.”

The priest, clad in the black‑gold robe of the Machine God Cult, stepped out of the basement; Chen Jian stepped back a few paces and fired his 191 without mercy, striking the priest’s knee.

Next came his two arms.

He Shuo stared at him in surprise and asked:

“Didn’t you say we wanted him alive?”

“Alive for five minutes is still alive; first we neutralize his mobility— that outfit looks dangerous.”

“That makes sense.”

He Shuo decisively put another round into the priest’s other leg, then, after confirming he could no longer move, dragged him out and tore open his robe.

And beneath the priest’s robe lay a bundle of cylindrical explosives.

“Disarm it, wake him up!”

“Understood!”

He Shuo stripped the explosives away in a few quick moves, then punched the machine‑priest in the liver.

The priest, who had fainted from pain and fear, awoke again from the agony; Chen Jian wasted no time and asked bluntly:

“What happened in Huangshi City? And where are the people here?”

The priest’s face twisted in pain, yet he still sneered and said:

“Heretics, you are heretics.”

“Heretics are doomed to destruction; the divine light of the Trinity will utterly melt you!”

“Howl, heretics!”

“The holy effigy of the Trinity will soon trample your puny bodies!”

Chen Jian had his gun aimed at the priest’s head, but just then Lei Jie’s voice crackled again in his earpiece.

“A monster is rapidly approaching from the north!”

“It must be the one from the Huangzhou ruins!”

“Holy shit, it’s wearing metal armor!”

“Someone’s on its back!”

Chen Jian’s heart clenched; the drone’s feed streamed into his smart goggles.

On the screen, a massive quadruped beast was sprinting toward Huangshi City.

Where it passed, dust and smoke rose, and atop its back flickered a flame.

Someone was splashing scorching embers onto its head, using that method to steer its direction.

This is “Mongol.”

And obviously, those people on its back are the slaves of the Machine God Cult!

Blasphemy.

What blasphemy this is.

The venerable Machine God Cult, consorting with aliens!

Chen Jian had already figured out what the Machine God Cult had been doing in Huangshi City.

Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger of his 191.

“Bang!”

The priest’s skull exploded, and Chen Jian said:

“They’re nothing but petty scoundrels.”

“Everyone, get ready—swiftly mop up the remaining foes, then intercept that beast outside Huangshi City!”

(End of chapter)