This Game Is Too Real-Chapter 746: The Decisive Battle That Determines the Fate of This Land!
Chapter 746: Chapter 746: The Decisive Battle That Determines the Fate of This Land!
Deep within Blood Mountain, a dark and profound cave was hidden.
Silent scriptures were slowly chanted in a nonexistent void, as statues, imbued with an ancient scent, slowly opened their eyes.
Each one bore names and surnames, being the strongest among the countless Green-Skin Big Guys and the champions among the myriad plague monks. They were also his most satisfactory masterpieces.
Yet, they were far from true perfection, just like the deceased "Ollon," merely a prior work that had not taken hold.
Nevertheless, as a vessel for momentarily housing his soul, they were more than sufficient.
He didn’t mind a brief condescension.
To meet that individual, he needed a body that could traverse the Mortal World.
"...The fourth phase of heaven has restarted, eternal heaven has descended, and all creatures on earth shall become followers of the lord, embracing the supreme evolution."
"My lord is everything, and everything is my lord."
The statue at the very center opened its eyes, revealing a horrifying green glow.
That eerie light seemed to lock onto a figure outside the cave, a deep blue silhouette.
There was no mistake.
That deep blue-coated Police Power Armor was indeed the relic of Mr. Manager.
Now, another Manager from a different shelter was using it.
A chilling smile slowly formed on the monster’s face, while an ominous voice emitted from its gaping maw.
"I see you."
The trembling of the earth was gradually approaching, interrupting his drifting thoughts.
The past of Shelter No. 117 was just that, a bygone era.
Today, they were no longer the noisy young lads who once opened doors to venture into the Wasteland that sought to save the world.
After years, they had borne witness to the incurability of their species—they knew all too well that merely opening a few doors was not enough to salvage this fallen Wasteland.
They would bring fundamental liberation to these obstinate brethren still struggling in their death throes!
Dust from an explosion drifted into the cave as an Alpha with a Gas Mask charged in.
Upon seeing the group of monsters, a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes, but without hesitation, he immediately raised his Gauss Rifle.
Blue electric arcs sparked within the barrel as rounds accelerated to the limit filled the tunnel.
Expectedly, the monster should have been riddled with holes.
However, to his surprise, a massive force struck his chest, sending him flying through the air amid a blast of spore smoke.
He slammed heavily against the wall, the pain originating from his chest, and an involuntary groan of pain escaped his lips.
"Ah—"
If not for the Bullet-proof armor on his exoskeleton absorbing 90% of the damage, that blow could have been fatal.
"Corrosive explosives... all units be aware."
Looking at the corroded armor plates, he reported the incident while struggling to his feet, simultaneously picking up the rifle that had fallen to the ground.
It was then that he saw a three-meter-tall figure step through the gray-green smoke.
It had a humanoid shape, but was starkly non-human, its body covered in rotting folds akin to a "Swamp Beast."
Marked across its body were blood holes oozing dark red blood, wounds left by Mass Bombs.
Terrifyingly, the vermin-like entities within the blood holes visibly intertwined at high speeds, stitching the wounds together like a Nanoscale Therapeutic Needle enhancing rapid healing.
A flicker of astonishment passed through the Alpha’s eyes, but it was fleeting.
He quickly drew the short-barrelled grenade launcher strapped to his side and fired an Incendiary Bomb.
Yet, the monster’s speed exceeded his expectations, as it nonchalantly swung its arm, batting away the smoke-trailing incendiary bomb with ease.
Flames shot out deep within the cave entrance, along with trails of spark-laden smoke.
Watching the cave lit by the burning flames, the astonishment in the Alpha’s eyes gradually turned into despair.
There were nearly fifty creatures like this monstrosity!
"...What do you think of the name ’Plague Champion’? I really am not good at naming my creations."
Overlooking the soldier who kept retreating, the leading monster wore an unnerving smile.
Facing the aimed rifle, it felt a touch of boredom.
These incomplete "counterfeits" didn’t even know how to beg for mercy, pitiful like the slugs in a marsh.
It raised its right arm and forcefully smashed down, the heavy keratin blade chopping the silent individual in two with a wet slap.
"The rotting smell" was indeed emanating from this person’s belly.
Pushing aside the chest, it even saw the twisted "larvae."
Even though these creatures tried hard, they were unable to mend such a fatal wound.
Indeed.
The human body was still too weak.
Shaking off the intestines and blood from the blade’s tip, it turned to the group of ravenous Plague Champions, bellowing in a deep voice.
"Kill them all!"
Like ravenous wolves, the Plague Champions burst out in a hungry roar, rushing toward the cave’s entrance, thus unveiling the curtain to a bloody massacre.
"Oh, oh, oh!"
The Alpha Special Mobile Force, having penetrated into the depths of Blood Mountain, immediately found themselves embroiled in a bitter fight.
In that spacious palace, the chosen prophet Sodo saw a glimmer of hope for victory. He pulled at his bulging frog-like cheeks and issued a rallying cry to the reinvigorated plague monks.
"Grind those human things to pieces—!"
"Throw them all in the pot! Boil them into soup!"
...
Not only were gunshots reverberating through the caves of Blood Mountain and the military bases, but the positions at Broken Blade Mountain were also erupting with flashes of fire and billowing gun smoke.
Almost at the same time that the gray mist rose, the mutants—the Big Guys and Goblins hiding in the tunnels—burst forth like they had received a signal, launching a fierce attack on the allied forces’ positions.
Stationed here were the 1st Regiment of Mechanized Mountain Division No. 100 and a few officers from the army along with players from the Alliance.
The sudden outbreak of battle caught these new soldiers, who were on the frontline for the first time, completely off guard.
The Spring Water Commander had thought these "Treachery-tainted rookies" would bungle terribly, but their performance in battle exceeded his expectations.
Their sophisticated exoskeletons and rifles guaranteed a baseline of combat power while the diverse prosthetic plugins significantly enhanced their survival capabilities on the battlefield.
Although they indeed showed severe inexperience tactically, even experienced old soldiers might not have fared better against those rookies equipped with automatic aiming devices.
At least the "expensive ones" didn’t perform much worse than those cheap mercenaries.
The remnants of the Stone Axe Family, like waves crashing onto a beach, quickly suffered heavy casualties.
Apart from those mutants who wouldn’t die even with their heads blown off, which caused some trouble for the rookies, the rest—big green-skinned guys and Goblins—were shot en masse within the caverns.
The firefight on Broken Blade Mountain ended swiftly; the leader of the group quickly took stock of the casualties—20 dead, 39 injured, nearly a thousand mutants killed.
Regarding the players, since mostly old players who stayed at the positions to watch the excitement were present, there were no casualties.
With the demise of the remnants of the Stone Axe Family, every last bit of pus lingering in the crevices of Broken Blade Mountain was squeezed out.
But the pervasive gray mist showed no signs of dissipating.
Gunfire continued to echo from the front to the rear, especially near the military base, which was worrying.
Edge Shoveling wiped the blood off his engineer shovel and approached the Spring Water Commander, speaking sternly,
"Alpha is struggling to hold on. The Manager has asked us to go up and help them. Could you check on the military base?"
"We’ve already received orders to fall back. The Manager set up rally beacons at the military base... Apart from our Storm Corps, Brother Mole’s Skeleton Corps will also be there."
Spring Water Commander tapped twice on the VM screen, looking at the map, his face involuntarily took on an appreciative look.
"So, the ’environment card’ can be played like this too. These guys still have some tricks up their sleeves."
Despite facing a bunch of anti-human lunatics, he couldn’t help but commend their tactical elegance.
If he had been the one to receive this card, he probably wouldn’t have thought of a better play.
Perhaps Brother Guang, their card master, could have.
From some details, it was evident that their Manager knew how to play his cards right.
For instance, ordering the two airships to withdraw from the foggy area immediately was the correct decision.
On the surface, the gray mist couldn’t stick to the airships, but what was hidden in the mist was another story.
"Have you also started playing cards?" asked Edge Shoveling, both crying and laughing.
Spring Water laughingly replied,
"No, I was just using a popular analogy to explain. Initially, I thought they were playing a clear-field strategy, but it turned out the clear-field was just a decoy—they had another trick hidden beneath our feet."
He paused, then continued,
"If nothing goes wrong, the main event should be tonight. If they have already planned to play this card, it must be for more than just causing us a little trouble. They must know that these alone won’t be enough to defeat us."
Edge Shoveling’s expression turned solemn.
"Is everything okay on your end?"
"Our end? Are you kidding?" Spring Water laughed heartily, speaking in a teasing tone, "We’ve never been afraid of anyone even when we had no airships, let alone now that we have two."
"Two starships on the face, tell me how we could lose?"
...
While the Death Legion and Storm Corps were assembling towards Blood Mountain and the Wasteland of the military base, the chaos at the military base gradually drew to a close.
Near the Imperial camp.
General Babita was hiding under a table, his body shaking uncontrollably.
Only when the gunfire outside quieted down a bit did he tentatively crawl out.
"Damn... where did these things come from?!"
Looking at the mess outside, his face was full of terror.
Especially when he saw the Alliance’s Chimera Armored Car firing at the Clone soldiersiorces, the fear etched on his face was indescribable.
The Army and the Alliance were fighting?!
But...
Why now?
His brain was momentarily incapable of processing such complex information, or rather, he was completely out of sync with most people here.
Especially when he saw the Weilante People also exchanging fire with those clones, his brain nearly crashed, unsure of whom to help.
Madness...
All madness!
This Wasteland really has some damn issues!
Joining the Sticky Community was a mistake from the start. If only Duke Garava hadn’t walked those extra 100 kilometers east, none of this would have happened!
They should never have made contact with the other Survivor Forces on the Wasteland, just selling cattle and slaves had been good enough.
If it hadn’t been for that series of accidents and mistakes, the Poluo Province should still be that peaceful sanctuary, and he should be enjoying his life in his estate.
But now was not the time for regrets. Matters of such magnitude were not for a general like him to decide.
Finally calming down, he turned back to his deputy also hiding under the table and shouted,
"What about our troops? Get them assembled quickly!"
The deputy made a constipated face, looking mournful as he spoke,
"...Sir, our troops are scattered outside, only your personal guards are inside the base."
General Babita immediately shouted in urgent fury,
"Then what are you waiting for! Gather them up!"
"Yes, sir!"
Even though reluctant, the deputy had no choice but to toughen up and rush out the door.
Leader of Thousand Makur was in charge of suitable farm garrisons, just needed to find that guy!
Watching his deputy leave through the door, Babita paced back and forth inside the barrack, thoughts flying fast in his mind.
Just then, a Weylent Military Officer with two soldiers marched briskly through the door.
Seeing the tall nose bridge, General Babita’s anger on his face dissolved and he quickly put on a smile to greet him.
"Friend, what exactly is happening outside? Why are you targeting those Clones—"
"You can’t see what happened with your own eyes?"
The Weylent officer scowled and cursed, then bellowed, "Check your men immediately, we need to know how many are infected! This is an order from the Allied Forces Commander! Complain to Chu Guang about anything wrong!"
General Babita was stunned.
"Infected?"
"Yes, if you inhale too much of that mist outside, you’ll end up looking like those executed Clones," the officer pointed with his chin at the window, mocked Babita whose face was turning pale, "If you’re scared, better run home to mommy. This isn’t a place for you."
Typical of a civil official to rear such spineless creatures.
Although General Modlin had advised them to be a bit polite to these people, since he found them acting all high and mighty, peering down their noses, he’d given up on any pretense of courtesy.
Watching the Weylent officer turn and leave, Babita’s complexion grew even paler.
He was indeed frightened.
If it weren’t for the Emperor’s command, he’d have fled this troublesome place by train at once.
After what felt like an eternity, his deputy returned scrambling and crawling back, face full of panic.
"Sir..."
General Babita’s eyebrows shot up as he glared at the man demanding,
"What now? Speak up properly!"
Faced with his superior’s interrogation, the deputy with a mournful face said,
"Leader Makur is dead! Those... those rats have revolted!"
Babita gasped, eyes widening.
"Revolted?! Those damn rats? How dare they!"
These incompetent fools!
He’d been providing well for them, even spared them from eating dirt, and this is how they repay his kindness?
Truly the shame of the Empire!
"No, I don’t know... it’s rumored to be related to that mist, it’s a bio-weapon from the Torch, they breathed too much of it, turned into cannibalistic creatures."
The deputy’s face was pale, trembling as he spoke, while Babita grew increasingly fearful.
Remembering the words of that Weylent person earlier, he suddenly felt his own throat ache.
Could this be a sign of poisoning?
Swallowing hard, he couldn’t stay a moment longer; he stepped towards the door to leave but then remembered the cannibalistic rats outside the military base and stopped.
Thoughts raced through his mind.
Perhaps spurred to brilliance by desperation, he actually came up with a life-saving idea and quickly grabbed his deputy to ask,
"...Where is the Marshal of the Allied forces? You know, the Manager from the Alliance!"
The deputy hesitated,
"At the corner of the camp, in the Battlefield Research Institute... Sir, shouldn’t we go to the Weylante people?"
Babita replied almost instantly,
"Those guys are only reliable when there’s something in it for them, not when it truly counts."
Dusk gradually sank into the boundless valley, and the night devoured the blood-stained wasteland.
The sky echoed with the shrill screams, like demons mocking the human world.
A humanoid giant beast, about three meters tall, undulated in the air, its powerful wings flapping behind it.
By human standards, its facial features were downright ugly, and it had long canine teeth hanging over its chin.
His name was Kupo, one of the Apostles in the district ruled by the "Beast King."
At this moment, he wore biological power armor developed by the Torch Church.
And with him, dressed in the same gear, were hundreds of "people" floating in the nearby airspace!
In addition to them, followed tens of thousands of batwing people.
These were mutant infants, synthesized through special culture dishes, and controlled just by the Mind Interference Module of the biological power armors.
Commands need not even be issued, as even if they were thrown onto enemy lands, letting them feed and hunt by instinct, they could cause immense trouble for Torch’s enemies.
The related technology had already been experimentally completed in the Brocade River City district; they had enough incubators and organic matter to breed these creatures.
Not even large caliber artillery could stop the expansion of the tide-like wave.
"...We have already started the electronic warfare with the allied forces, but that is not our forte. It’s probably only a matter of time before their radars burn through us."
Hearing this from a comrade nearby, a cruel smile appeared on Kupo’s face.
"No matter! It has been enough."
Their target was never the two retreating airships; instead, they had aimed at the military base from the beginning.
Not only was the command hierarchy of the allied forces stationed there, but also biological experts from the Alliance and corporations.
Especially the latter posed a much greater strategic threat to Torch than the two airships.
To lure those people to the front line, they had invested heavily, releasing enough research materials and gradually giving them to the allied forces through three positions.
He was very aware of the attraction of those research materials to scientists.
Considering the allied forces’ crushing momentum at the frontline, some ambitious researchers would be drawn to the area in order to get firsthand data as quickly as possible.
Now, the time was ripe; it was time to close the net.
"... Remember your targets, inflict all possible casualties on all combatant and non-combatant personnel in the military base! Do not bother to verify their identities, unless they surrender and confess their identities voluntarily!"
"Now! Charge with me!"
He roared excitedly and led the dive toward the ground.
Under the leadership of the hundred Apostles wearing biological power armor, tens of thousands of batwing people in the nearby airspace charged toward the military base simultaneously.
The formerly tranquil fog boiled like heated water.
As if receiving the call to attack, those zombie puppets dominated by Nago mycelium rushed toward the direction of the military base, as if drugged.
Previously, they moved under the guidance of their instincts and spores, but now they responded to the call from heaven—or rather the signals from the Mind Interference Device.
The hundred biological power armors equipped with Mind Interference Modules were the source of the signal.
Watching the "Eaters" surge like a tide, many soldiers serving in the Southern Construction Corps’ Punishment Camp showed surprised expressions on their faces.
A soldier who used to be a gang member in the slums of Giant Stone City couldn’t help but exclaim.
"Damn it! Is this the ’Tide’?!"
Isn’t the Tide something that only Spring City has?
How could it be that after the tide ended in Spring City, it started appearing outside of Spring City?!
It wasn’t until a roar from behind that he was snapped out of his stupor.
"Fire! Everyone fire! Are your weapons just for show?!"
Streams of fire poured from heavy machine guns, the orange-yellow tracers piercing through the dense fog, dancing on the plain.
And it wasn’t just machine guns—
Artillery positions and Wild Bull walkers deployed within the military base also unloaded fierce firepower, creating dazzling fireworks across the wilderness.
Bodies were continuously crushed on the ground, but it wasn’t long before new ones emerged from the soil.
These were not temporary fabrications.
Instead, these were "fruits" that had been completed a long time ago, except that they, along with "heaven," had been buried deep beneath the soil.
The firefight surrounding the military base gradually escalated from sporadic gunfire to intense combat.
And at that same moment, radars aboard two airships and at the military base all simultaneously detected the threat from above closing in.
Finally receiving the order to launch, one Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machine after another vibrated its wings and took off from the apron, darting toward the fog-blanketed sky.
The Skeleton Corps’ armored troops were crossing the wastelands near Mafu Town.
Chimera Armored Cars and 24 Type 2 Tanks disengaged from their transport trucks and formed an attack array on the boundless wilderness, heading full-speed into the pervasive gray-green haze.
The Death Legion, reinforcing the Blood Mountain frontline, also completed their assembly and charged toward those led by the plague monks, the "Plague Champions."
The shaky twilight finally vanished, and the night completely enveloped the war-torn wasteland and mountain ranges...
All the cards had been revealed, and all chips were now on the table.
Without a single sign, yet fully understood by everyone, the decisive battle that would determine the fate of this land had quietly begun.
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless one!
...
(Thanks to book ally "Miao Miao Sen Sen" for the alliance leader reward!!!)
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