CHAPTER 363: CHAPTER 169: FEROCIOUS MERCENARIES

A few hours later, in Han Shui City.

Li Xian stood in front of the bridge, staring tensely at the monster on the other side of the river.

It was a creature not uncommon in the wasteland, called a "Blade Armor Beast." It resembled a giant lizard but without the cumbersome long tail, replaced by a degenerated, stubby tail vertebra.

Its hind legs were incredibly strong, pairing with its less-than-10-meter-long body, allowing it to burst out with astonishing speed in an instant.

Li Xian still remembered his first battle after joining the Church Protection Army was to hunt such a Blade Armor Beast near Jinling City.

At that time, he was still a newcomer.

But for some reason, he felt no fear towards the monster.

Perhaps it was the guidance of faith, or maybe a desire for power, for achieving accomplishments; in any case, during that battle, though he only had a shabby single-shot rifle, he still charged forward without hesitation.

Many brothers in the Church Protection Army died under the monster’s claws or were so terrified by the low, heavy roar issuing from its mouth that they couldn’t move.

Their blood splattered on his face and body, but it was like an adrenaline rush, spurring him on continuously.

At the end of that battle, he and two other brothers charged directly to the monster’s feet.

He kept pulling the trigger, bullet after bullet penetrating the monster’s body.

After emptying all the bullets, his comrade seized the opportunity and finally threw the explosives in his hand into the monster’s mouth.

With the explosion, the monster’s corpse eventually became the ladder for him to climb upward.

----Back then, he was utterly fearless.

But why, now that he had so many weapons, so many warriors, was he still so tense, so terrified?

It was just a Blade Armor Beast after all!

Li Xian took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his racing heartbeat induced by the monster’s roar.

Then he gave the order:

"Prepare the artillery!"

"Aim for 100 meters in front of the monster, wait for my command!"

"Don’t rush to fire, its speed is fast, wait until it gets closer to shoot!"

"Yes, Sir!"

A Red Priest holding incense walked towards the raised cannon barrel, seemingly intending to pray to the Mechanical Soul as per the Church Protection Army’s convention.

This was a ritual that had to be performed before each battle, but this time, Li Xian suddenly felt extremely annoyed.

"Red Priest, step back!"

"Don’t interfere with the Fire Cannon Priest’s aim!"

"Prayers can wait until after the battle; the war situation is urgent, and the Mechanical Soul won’t mind the momentary delay!"

Upon hearing this, the Red Priest turned back to look at Li Xian in surprise.

He didn’t understand why Li Xian wanted to stop the prayer, but upon noticing the unwavering determination in his eyes, he sensibly stepped back.

Without his interference, the Fire Cannon Priest standing by the cannon quickly completed the calculations.

Following the Fire Cannon Priest’s guidance, the Mechanical Servants swiftly adjusted the cannon, aiming at the monster across the river.

A silent Cannon Formation stood in stark contrast to the distant howling monster, with both sides seemingly signaling their "threat" in their own ways.

Li Xian’s heart was pounding faster and faster, as he tightly gripped a Conqueror rifle. When he saw the monster start to advance towards the bridge, he pulled the trigger without hesitation.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Gunfire rang out, immediately followed by the line infantry in front of the Cannon Formation opening fire simultaneously.

"Bang bang bang bang bang----"

The continuous gunfire tore through the silent air, the bullets penetrating the Blade Armor Beast’s body, causing it to let out a soul-stirring roar amidst its frenzy.

"Roar!"

Here it comes!

Li Xian’s muscles tensed as the Saint Blood warriors led by Zhou Qin beside him also drew their weapons.

They would be the last line of defense.

If the Church Protection Army’s artillery had not killed the monster by the time it broke through the bridge, those Saint Blood warriors would have to do everything they could to stall it, giving the artillery a chance to retreat.

"This is very risky."

Zhou Qin began to speak.

"Once it breaks through the bridge, your Church Protection Army could face annihilation!"

"I have no choice."

Li Xian’s fingers started to tremble slightly, his nerves reaching a peak, but the thought of "retreating" became increasingly faint, nearly disappearing.

"I can only do this."

Li Xian continued:

"This is an excellent opportunity, just a lone monster."

"Destroying it would not only weaken the monster siege’s forces but also test the limits of our troops."

"Moreover, it could boost the confidence of my troops."

"Confidence is the most important; we desperately need a victory...."

"But you’re just gambling!"

Zhou Qin frowned and said:

"This is, after all, a level four monster. If we can’t stop it, if we lose, we..."

"No need to say more."

Li Xian raised his hand, aiming at the advancing monster, and fired a burst of bullets.

"Bang bang bang bang bang----"

The gunfire roared, smoke billowing.

He then continued to say:

"This was always a gamble."

"Betting that the Huaxia Army would come to save us in time is a gamble, betting that we can hold out for a week is a gamble, facing a level four monster head-on is also a gamble!"

"But as long as we win once, our chances of winning will expand continuously!"

"Prepare for battle!"

Li Xian’s voice was almost hoarse, and seeing his somewhat hysterical expression, Zhou Qin fell silent.

He stared directly at the monster in front of him and drew the long knife from his back.

At this moment, the third volley from the line infantry had finished, and they began to slowly retreat.

After them, the Church Protection Army, holding single-shot rifles, stepped up, firing as they withdrew.

The dense gunfire retreated along the bridge, the monster’s movement had been slowed, and at this moment, Li Xian finally seized the opportunity.

"Fire!"

He ordered loudly.

A few seconds later, the ear-splitting sound of artillery firing came from the cannon formation.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The shells dragged smoke as they flew towards the distant monster, Li Xian watching expectantly at the trajectory of the shells, but the next second, his pupils suddenly contracted.

Too slow.

In the instant of the artillery strike, the monster, as if sensing something, suddenly dashed forward several dozen meters.

And the shells that were supposed to land around it instead just skimmed over its head in a low arc!

Li Xian’s hair stood on end, he suddenly realized that he had overestimated the capabilities of his artillery unit.

Even though he was doing his utmost to guide them to imitate the combat style of the Huaxia Army, they ultimately were not the Huaxia Army.

In fact, they couldn’t even imitate it well!

There was no time left.

The distance between the monster and the Church Protection Army, who had not yet retreated below the bridge, was less than a hundred meters.

In just a few breaths, those brave warriors would be completely torn apart!

Li Xian’s face twisted in anguish, and at this moment, he finally began to doubt the meaning of his gamble.

But he had no room for regret.

He instinctively took two steps forward, heavy helplessness engulfing him completely.

The fate of this city seemed already destined at this moment......

Zhou Qin calmly followed beside Li Xian, speaking:

"Retreat."

"We will cover."

"There’s still a chance, we still..."

"Bang!"

Before he finished speaking, an explosion suddenly sounded.

Then, a massive flame exploded at the monster’s feet, while behind everyone, chaotic, dense, and frantic roars were heard.

"Kill it!!"

"The team that kills it can go to Jinling New City!"

"Get in there! Get in there, damn it! Don’t let the Wolf Group beat us to it!"

"Grenades! Grenades! Get up there!"

....

Strange voices came from afar to near, and Li Xian turned back in astonishment, a squad that seemingly appeared out of nowhere was sprinting past them.

Then those men charged directly towards the distant monster.

As if that wasn’t a monster, but a giant... bounty?!

He suddenly understood, these people were all mercenaries.

But, since when did mercenaries have such good weapons?

All of them had semi-automatic rifles, bullets pouring as if they were free, they even had rocket launchers......

Li Xian stared in shock at the backs of those people.

A thought flashed through his mind.

Is this the Huaxia Army’s reinforcement?

Are they planning to use these people to take out all the monsters near Han Shui City??

No, how is that possible?

Or is it.....

Are these mercenaries just the beginning?