Chapter 80: Beset on All Sides

Chapter 80: Surrounded on All Sides

Any battle that devolves into close-quarters melee becomes horrifically bloody and brutal.

Chen Jian had already resolved to cut down half of the men in his grasp, then charge forward, relying on the exoskeleton’s strength and protection to meet the Holy Blooded head‑on.

After all, Ceng Yi and Xie Liu had covered Lei Jie while he deployed the big ‘bounce‑bounce’, and Li Shi was still nursing severe wounds, his combat effectiveness severely limited.

To win, there was truly nothing left but to fight desperately.

But when the melee commenced, he suddenly realized he had not yet pushed this exoskeleton to its absolute limit.

Indeed, even seasoned special‑operations troops could hardly keep pace with the Holy Blooded’s speed once they closed in.

Yet what human strength cannot achieve, machines can.

The exoskeleton’s built‑in laser targeting system, coupled with eye‑tracking lock‑on, almost turned Chen Jian’s tactical goggles into a crude golden helmet.

Wherever his gaze fell, the 201‑class aircraft mounted on hardpoint 1 automatically swiveled its muzzle, and with the aid of stepping motors it locked onto enemies at unmatched speed.

Yes, the mount wasn’t rock‑steady and the intelligent servo wasn’t perfected, so the shooting accuracy was questionable.

But what of it?

With an extra weapon to suppress the close‑range foes, Chen Jian could focus on using his 191 to pick off distant enemies.

The personal armory never fights low‑stakes skirmishes.

Even in the gaps between shots, Chen Jian could unfold hardpoints 2 and 3, firing a rocket‑propelled grenade at the slower shield‑bearing Holy Blooded.

Explosions rang out, shrapnel flew.

The rocket detonated on impact with the shield, then tore the Holy Blooded behind it to shreds.

Such terrifying lethality even caused the advancing Mechanist Divine Teaching’s protector troops to hesitate for a heartbeat, and upon seeing Chen Jian and his comrades bravely holding the front, the fighters of Huangshi City surged with renewed zeal.

They had never seen a battlefield, but they were no strangers to war, nor to the Mechanist Divine Teaching’s methods.

A crowd shouting ‘Charge at me!’—how many could actually shout ‘Charge with me!’?

Even if they lacked the courage to rush forward, staying behind cover and firing a few rounds under artillery fire was the least they could do.

In an instant, the protector troops were forced back.

Amid this lull in fire, He Shuo and Shen Yue’s machine guns began to roar.

What about changing ammo?

Screw that!

When the 201’s magazine ran dry, they simply switched to the 301 and the heavy machine gun—nothing but a red‑hot barrel, relentlessly suppressing.

The battle erupted hastily, yet in a fleeting moment it reached its zenith.

The protector troops began to retreat, but the Holy Blooded pressed forward, clinging to their sense of ‘honor’.

When the last Holy Blooded squad, shielded by their shield‑bearers, stormed into Huangshi City’s cover, they sliced the city defender’s weapon from his hand and ripped open his belly.

As the longsword swung again toward the now‑defenseless defender, Chen Jian arrived at the same instant.

He too was drawn into close‑quarters combat.

He lunged, raised his hand, the exoskeleton’s hydraulics hissed, the stepping motors screamed.

The next second, a 7.62 mm bullet struck from above, shattering the Holy Blooded’s skull; blood spattered across the defender’s face, who, on the brink of death, snatched up the rifle knocked to the ground and wildly pulled the trigger at the Holy Blooded lunging at Chen Jian’s back.

‘Bang‑bang‑bang‑bang‑bang—’

Though he was firing in semi‑auto mode, he produced the effect of a slam‑fire trigger, as if by miracle.

The Holy Blooded staggered and fell; Chen Jian spun back and drove his heel down hard.

No matter how hard your bones, they could not withstand that boot driving into the chest!

Ribs shattered, blood gushed; Chen Jian hesitated not, and as his eyes shifted, the 201‑class aircraft on hardpoint 1 opened fire automatically.

The last Holy Blooded trying to flee the cover was dragged down by the heavy rounds, a dense hail of bullets piercing his body and embedding into the soft earth.

The Holy Blooded with ruptured lungs emitted a hoarse, bellowing gasp.

And this was the final wail of the sudden battle.

Smoke drifted away, the bombardment ceased.

The joint raid plotted by the Mechanist Divine Teaching and the Holy Blood Hall had been thwarted, but Chen Jian knew the ordeal was far from over.

‘Lei Jie, have you broken out?’

Chen Jian called over the radio; moments later he received Lei Jie’s reply.

‘We have reached the designated departure point.’

‘We are detouring via the northwest; the road is terrible.’ ‘Estimated ten hours to the drop‑off point.’

‘Current Yangtze flow is about two meters per second; after release we expect nine hours to reach the predetermined detonation site.’

‘We will return after the detonation.’

‘Understood.’

Chen Jian exhaled.

This fight was not meaningless; at least, under the cover of artillery they had managed to send Lei Jie’s team out.

The outcome now rested in their hands; in twenty hours they would give the Mechanist Divine Teaching’s vermin a lesson they would not forget.

Chen Jian set down his walkie‑talkie, gazed at the trench stained red with blood.

The city defenders, having snatched victory from the jaws of death, looked at him with reverent awe; Chen Jian extended his hand, the defender hesitated a moment, then gingerly grasped the gauntlet‑encased palm.

‘Get up, press on your wound.’

Chen Jian hauled him to his feet and said:

‘Stay sharp! We’ve won! Fall back—your mission is complete!’

‘Yes, sir!’

The defender stood straight; Chen Jian shook his head slightly and spoke:

‘From now on, don’t call me sir—there are no sirs here.’

‘In daily life call each other comrade; on duty use your title.’

‘From now on, you will call me regiment commander.’

Meanwhile, in the direction of Yuezhou.

On the steamship, Xu Lie watched the sole Holy Blooded scout who had escaped from Dazhi Lake return, his expression grave.

He reached out and clapped the scout’s shoulder, then said:

‘The Holy Blood Hall has summoned twelve Source‑Blooded to come; they will avenge you.’

‘Moreover, the overseers of Han Shui City will also arrive.’

‘In the name of Holy Blood and the Holy Father, the guilty shall surely be punished.’

‘Rest assured, your sacrifice was not in vain; our enemies are already on the brink of death—they cannot hold out much longer.’

"Can we really not hold out much longer?"

The scout turned his gaze toward the direction where the sunset shone, his voice trembling slightly.

The horrifying slaughter remained vivid in his mind; he even wondered whether he was fighting men or monsters wearing human skins.

Those few warriors clad in metal armor seemed like tireless, emotionless killing machines, ceaselessly reaping lives on the battlefield.

Over a hundred elite fighters had been reduced to just a dozen or so.

Had it not been for his need to relay the intelligence, he likely would have died there like the others, defending the honor of the Hall of Holy Blood.

Such a powerful enemy—where could they have come from?

He turned to Xu Lie and voiced the question burning in his heart.

Xu Lie did not answer; he merely let out a long sigh and then spoke:

"No one knows where they came from."

"But I know where they are headed."

"They are only a few dozen strong; even at their most elite, the God‑Chosen probably number no more than twenty."

"The Machine God Cult and the Hall of Holy Blood have set aside their differences and united."

"At the latest, tomorrow—ten hours from now—the Protectorate's Vanguard Brigade, rushing from Jinling, will arrive here."

"When the sun rises, we will launch the general assault."

"Bury these heretics all in the grave!"

(End of Chapter)