Chapter 91: Storm Trap
The Battle Nuns’ approach was correct.
The factory, already reduced to ruins by explosions, held little value for further bombardment.
The half-collapsed ruins, on the contrary, had become shelters for the survivors, and were even more solid than the original factory buildings.
To take them down, it would still rely on the infantry to fight.
If the only opponents were armed workers, two infantry battalions would be enough to handle them.
The number of those surviving armed workers wouldn’t be very large, and they lacked heavy weapons and military skills.
Even if they seemed fearless, it was only a matter of time before they were all killed.
Given the quality of the Governor’s soldiers, even in the most devastating and bloodiest close-quarter battles, the losses would still be limited.
As long as those blue-robed ones were eliminated, that would suffice.
The Nuns were doing just that.
They were indeed doing well, leading the soldiers forward with their heroic actions.
At the same time, after understanding the situation on the battlefield, the commanders of the 2nd and 6th Battalions involved in this battle also made plans to increase the frontline soldiers.
As a result, four infantry companies were thrown into the frontline combat, including the only company in the entire force with a special designation—the Wasteland Company.
With the blue-robed ones being targeted and eliminated in large numbers by the Battle Nuns, the remaining armed workers’ resistance became exceedingly difficult without the ‘artillery.’
The situation turned back in favor of the Governor’s soldiers.
Given this situation, the battle should be nearing its end.
…
After Gu Hang arrived at the scene and met with Pobov, Lambert, and others who were commanding the battle from the periphery, he used his telekinesis to lift himself and looked down from a high vantage point, seeing the battlefield roughly as described.
In theory, this situation should have reassured him quite a bit.
The Sisters of the Sacred Lily were quite diligent in facing the Heretical Cults; the soldiers fought with high morale, and although there were some casualties, they were entirely within acceptable limits.
Although one factory had been destroyed, it should have been the only place in Revival City capable of organized armed resistance. Once this battle was over, it should mark the end.
With this show of force, the remaining Alliance dignitaries would have no capacity for resistance and could only shiver under Lambert’s raised butcher knife.
However, at this moment, a sense of dread suddenly arose in Gu Hang’s heart.
It felt as if some great disaster was about to unfold before his eyes.
He immediately activated his Psionic Vision to survey the entire battlefield.
Gu Hang saw many faint traces of storm magic reactions.
Those armed workers had been pre-implanted with some kind of heretical energy, which could be detonated upon their death, or even while they were still alive.
The faint traces of storm magic that Gu Hang saw were likely these, which was normal.
As for the other stronger and weaker ones, they were probably the blue-robed heretical cultists who had emerged.
They were being thoroughly attacked by the Sisters of the Sacred Lily and dying quickly.
Following this momentum, in a few more hours, and certainly before sunset, the entire factory area could be completely cleared.
In short, at a glance, Gu Hang saw no issues.
So, what was the reason for his earlier sense of dread?
Could it be that it wasn’t a spiritual warning at all? Just that he was too tired recently, and his mind was playing tricks on him?
Thinking this, Gu Hang felt a bit more relaxed.
That would certainly be the best scenario.
Otherwise, if there really was a crisis, that would be troublesome.
With this thought, Gu Hang glanced at the battlefield again.
Still, nothing seemed wrong… wait a minute?!
Gu Hang furrowed his brows deeply.
It wasn’t that he saw something new, but he realized he might have overlooked something.
Those points of light, symbolizing storm magic, seemed a bit too numerous.
According to Pobov’s report on the previous battle situation, even if armed workers died, their corpses would be used as mines or shells and detonated.
The used corpse bombs, of course, wouldn’t have light points.
And when the Sisters of the Sacred Lily began to exert their power against the blue-robed heretical cultists, the soldiers followed suit, dealing with the remaining armed workers.
Without the control of the heretics, the corpses wouldn’t explode on their own. But even so, the soldiers kept their distance from those corpses that hadn’t exploded, ensuring they wouldn’t be caught off guard by an unexpected detonation controlled by any remaining heretic.
These leftover corpses would be a hassle to deal with later, but at least for now, they shouldn’t pose a threat to this battle.
However, the number of light points Gu Hang saw didn’t match up with the number of armed workers killed and those still resisting in the central ruins.
Moreover, quite a few points of storm magic overlapped with the locations of the soldiers.
Previously, he thought that maybe some soldiers had accidentally gotten too close. But on closer inspection, he noticed that the soldiers had no idea there were armed workers’ corpses beside them.
One or two people being careless might be normal; so many overlapping positions, that was not normal.
Were they all courting death?
Impossible.
Recalling the earlier situation, Gu Hang was suddenly struck by a thought: Were those the workers buried under the factory ruins, who had died in the bombardment caused by hundreds of shells?
Their bodies also contained storm magic energy, and they could be used as corpse bombs.
However, the earlier bombardment had caused a large-scale collapse of the factory area, burying many corpses or even live people under the ruins.
But being buried did not mean they were no longer a threat.
What if these thousands of bodies under the ruins were detonated simultaneously?
It would be equivalent to thousands of air-compressed bombs exploding below, and the resulting shockwave and air pressure would blow the seemingly solid and stable half-ruined area sky-high.
For those already deep within, the consequences would be devastating.
The four infantry companies from the 2nd and 6th Battalions involved in the battle might be wiped out, and even the six Sisters of the Sacred Lily led by Gretel could be heavily damaged.
Realizing this risk, Gu Hang didn’t even have time to communicate with Pobov, Lambert, and the others.
His command, delivered through psionic means, reverberated across the entire battlefield:
“This is Gu Hang. I order everyone to cease combat and withdraw from the factory area.”
“I repeat, immediately withdraw from the factory area!”
To ensure that Gretel, who was not his subordinate, understood his order, he specifically established a psionic communication line and sent his voice directly into her ear: “This place is likely a trap. Withdraw first, and we’ll reassess!”