Chapter 48: Shall We Spar?
The Howling Wind Emissary was dead, unrecognizable even as a human form.
The Priest who was previously blown apart by metal spikes was similarly unidentifiable, leaving behind only a pile of shattered remains.
The last one had a slightly better death, but only marginally.
He had an arm and a leg severed in mid-air, tried to resist after falling, but was brutally stabbed to death by the Marine elite who broke through his Wind Shield.
After the three Priests wielding storm powers perished, the wind quickly subsided, and the white mist dissipated.
In the brief period of chaos, the soldiers indeed faced confusion, and their firepower grid was affected.
Many monsters managed to break through, and over a dozen Abscess Spitters got within range, their sprayed pus causing casualties among the soldiers.
However, overall, the damage caused by this chaos was severe but not fatal.
With the wind and mist gone, the soldiers regained control of the battlefield. Despite the casualties, they managed to kill all the monsters that had breached the defenses.
The Abscess Spitters, which had fired a few rounds of biochemical projectiles, were also exterminated by machine guns and the autocannons of the Infantry Fighting Vehicles.
Despite the demise of the three Storm Priests, the battle was not over.
Though the monsters were somewhat under the command of the Storm Priests, they remained highly dangerous and continued to rampage after their leaders’ deaths.
They kept pouring out of the forest, attacking anything alive they could see.
Even though the monsters were still raging and the soldiers’ firepower was somewhat reduced due to earlier casualties, the monsters couldn’t break through.
The disparity in firepower was too great for these primitive creatures to overcome.
It is said that during large-scale, mature ‘mutant waves,’ more advanced monsters appear, beyond just the lowly Abscess Monsters and Spitters.
But at least Gu Hang and his forces didn’t encounter those this time.
The various incubation nests in the forest were still in the process of accumulating strength.
Given a few months, they might hatch and evolve, growing into a batch of high-level monsters, making the situation much more troublesome.
But for now, the Original Owl Beast Sect, in their haste to eliminate Gu Hang, prematurely accelerated the hatching of most of the nests, resulting in what appeared to be a massive assault but lacked high-level monsters, making the threat relatively manageable.
In a way, the actions of the Original Owl Beast Sect even helped Gu Hang.
The premature hatching of numerous nests and the gathering of a large number of monsters here allowed them to be dealt with collectively.
This reduced the workload for Gu Hang’s troops in clearing the mutant forest afterward.
As the battle continued, it became evident that the number and density of monsters emerging from the forest were significantly decreasing.
Clearly, they were not truly infinite.
After being heavily slaughtered, only a few remained.
Eventually, as the troops led by Yan Fangxu arrived at the scene, the battle had essentially reached its conclusion.
Upon learning that the Governor might be ambushed, he couldn’t just stay put and wait for rescue.
He proactively led his troops, slowly breaking through the encirclement in a measured and calculated manner.
In his mind, it wasn’t necessary to break through successfully; even if they could merely draw some attention away from the Governor, it would be beneficial.
As they advanced, the number of monsters they encountered suddenly decreased, as if they had all rushed off to another location.
He surmised that it was because the battle near the Governor had commenced, and he could even hear the roars of gunfire and artillery.
Thus, they quickened their pace and arrived at the battlefield, joining forces with the Governor. However, by this time, the battle was nearly over.
All he could do was lead the 3rd Battalion to join the fight and help clear out the remaining monsters.
Soon, no active monsters were left in front of the soldiers.
……
Popov stepped on a half-bodied Abscess Monster, which was pathetically crawling on the ground with its hands, trying to grab him.
After a moment of contemplation, he raised his pistol and fired at the monster’s head, putting it to rest permanently.
Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned around and saw the exhausted Yan Fangxu approaching.
His gaze naturally fell on Yan Fangxu’s corroded shoulder, where the clothing was rotting away, revealing reddened skin beneath.
Grinning, he teased, “Hey, Captain, looking pretty rough there.”
Yan Fangxu rolled his eyes and punched him in the chest, “You’re not much better, limping around like that.”
“All for coming to save you.”
At this, Yan Fangxu couldn’t argue, his face darkening a bit.
Popov, on the contrary, reassured him, “It’s not your fault. These worthless, despicable heretic traitors just wanted to ambush the Governor using you. It’s not your fault. Our task is to be the Governor’s sword and shield. Although neither of us did a great job today, I’ll strive harder from now on. What about you?”
Yan Fangxu looked at this officer who had risen from the depths of the wasteland with some surprise. Why was he suddenly making such a heartfelt remark?
He still didn’t know that the storm priest had reached Gu Hang and directly threatened the Governor’s life.
Even more, he had no idea how much seeing that had impacted Popov internally.
Captain Yan Fangxu didn’t quite understand, so he could only scratch his head and nod in agreement.
After bidding farewell to Popov, Yan Fangxu sought out Gu Hang.
The Governor was inside an Infantry Fighting Vehicle.
One of his old subordinates stopped him, “The Governor is resting.”
“I have something to report.”
The Marine was somewhat hesitant but still blocked his way, “But… Captain, the Governor is resting. It’s better not to disturb him.”
Yan Fangxu was once again taken aback.
This was not one of the soldiers recruited on Nuoxiao Star but a Marine he had brought down from the starship, one of his direct subordinates.
Their relationship had always been closer. To the point where, privately, they often complained about various things related to the Governor.
The soldiers were loyal to the Governor, but it seemed more out of duty and position.
But now, he could genuinely see respect for the Governor in his old subordinate’s eyes.
A question mark slowly rose in his mind: What just happened?
He didn’t think it was a problem for his subordinates to genuinely respect and be loyal to the Governor.
On the contrary, it was as it should be.
But that didn’t stop him from being curious about the reasons for these changes.
He gave up on waking up Gu Hang and instead pulled his old subordinate aside to inquire in detail about the recent battle events.
Upon learning the situation, Yan Fangxu fell silent.
The Governor was approached and attacked by heretical cultists but was unscathed, just a bit tired; the Governor’s psychic abilities had once again proven formidable; his old subordinates had undergone a rapid ‘special training’ under the Governor, resulting in dramatic improvements…
These pieces of information sounded like a fairy tale to Yan Fangxu.
Why was the Governor unharmed? Why did those cultists suddenly fall from the sky?
These could only be attributed to the wonders of psychic abilities.
The news that the Governor was a psychic master was something Yan Fangxu could barely accept.
After all, he knew the Governor was a psychic from day one; it was just that his abilities were more miraculous than before.
Yan Fangxu tried to convince himself that it was no big deal.
But the fact that his elite Marines could become stronger in such a short time? Just like the Governor trained those ordinary people?
Yan Fangxu found it hard to accept or believe.
He joked, “So, kid, are you now stronger than me? Want to spar?”
In the past, none of the Marines dared to accept. Captain Yan Fangxu was famously formidable in combat, and sparring with him was asking for trouble.
But now, things were different.
The soldier, somewhat excited, replied, “Sure, let’s do it!”