Time: Blood Moon Era, Day 21, Late Night
The massive alloy gate of Panshi Fortress slowly rose with a heavy rumble.
A silent and 肅殺 steel torrent slowly drove out from the protection of the fortress.
Leading the charge were three heavily modified “Mammoth” armored personnel carriers.
Behind them were more than a dozen armed off-road vehicles and troop transport trucks, painted with The Boulder's eagle emblem, their engines' low roars converging into a suppressed torrent.
The entire convoy was enveloped in a suffocating aura of killing intent.
Fear, like cold vines, coiled around the hearts of some new recruits.
But even more, there was ignited fury and… a sense of humiliation that had to be avenged after being provoked!
Inside the command vehicle, Qin Weiguo's face was ashen, staring at the real-time battlefield situation map. Zhou Zhengyang sat beside him, continuously receiving sporadic images transmitted from the forward reconnaissance drones.
“Report! Three kilometers ahead, entering the buffer zone on the outskirts of Ling Hui’s ruins! The road is severely damaged! Suggest a detour!” The scout’s voice came through the communicator.
“Proceed according to the planned route! Maintain vigilance!” Qin Weiguo’s voice was cold, “Report any anomalies immediately!”
“Yes!”
The convoy slowly drove into an even more dilapidated area.
This was once a transportation hub connecting the city and suburbs, but now it was like a junkyard ravaged by a giant beast.
“Attention! Something’s happening!” The scout’s voice suddenly rose, carrying a hint of tension!
Buzz—!!!
On both sides of the road ahead, behind mountains of car wreckage! Dozens of… crimson eyes instantly lit up like ghost fires!
Accompanied by teeth-grinding metal twisting sounds and low roars!
Dozens of Bone Eater Realm Rhinos, as large as bulls, covered in grayish-white bone armor, with exposed tusks, violently smashed through the scrap metal blocking their way! With an momentum of crushing everything! They fiercely charged towards the convoy!
“Defensive formation!” The commander roared hoarsely!
Da da da da—!!!
The heavy machine guns on top of the armored vehicles instantly spat out scorching tongues of fire! Metal Storm, like the Grim Reaper's scythe, fiercely swept towards the charging Bone Eater Realm Rhino horde!
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Bullets struck the bone armor, sending up a shower of sparks!
Emitting dull thuds!
But… the defense of these Bone Eater Realm Rhinos far exceeded that of ordinary ghouls!
Bullets could only leave shallow white marks on the bone armor! They simply couldn't penetrate! Only a few precisely aimed bullets hitting joints or eye sockets could make them emit painful roars, slightly slowing their charge!
“Roar—!!!”
One particularly massive Bone Eater Realm Rhino, enduring the hail of bullets! Its thick horn fiercely slammed into the side of the leading “Mammoth” armored vehicle!
Boom—!!!
The immense impact made the heavy armored vehicle tremble violently! The side armor instantly caved in and deformed! The vehicle body was forcibly pushed sideways several meters! Tires screeched piercingly and emitted thick blue smoke as they rubbed against the road surface!
“Damn it! Use armor-piercing rounds!” The commander roared!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The snipers on the armored vehicles calmly pulled their triggers! Specially made armor-piercing rounds, with a shrill whistle, accurately shot towards the relatively fragile joint connections of the Bone Eater Realm Rhinos!
Several Bone Eater Realm Rhinos let out painful wails! Their charging momentum was forcibly broken!
But more Bone Eater Realm Rhinos charged forward fearlessly! Their crimson eyes were filled with wild, bloodthirsty light!
Their thick hooves pounded on the ground, making dull thuds! The entire convoy instantly plunged into a chaotic battle!
“Damn it! Annoying bugs!” Xiong Yan’s irritable voice came through the communicator! His “Furnace” combat vehicle suddenly accelerated! The heat vents on both sides of the vehicle instantly erupted with dazzling red light!
Whoosh—!!!
Two terrifying pillars of fire, blazing white with a bluish-green halo!
Like a giant dragon’s breath! They violently sprayed out from both sides of the combat vehicle! Fiercely sweeping towards the Bone Eater Realm Rhino horde!
Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!!!
The terrifying high temperature instantly twisted the air! Wherever the flames passed! The Bone Eater Realm Rhinos let out agonizing, distorted screams!
Their bone-armored bodies rapidly melted and carbonized! Emitting a pungent, burnt smell! The hard bone armor was as fragile as paper under thousands of degrees of high temperature!
In just a few breaths! The charging Bone Eater Realm Rhino horde was forcibly burned into a charred passage! Dismembered limbs and carbonized torsos were scattered everywhere!
“Satisfying!” Xiong Yan’s voice carried bloodthirsty excitement!
The convoy seized the opportunity to accelerate, breaking through the Bone Eater Realm Rhino horde's obstruction.
But everyone knew, this was merely… an appetizer.
The road ahead was like walking on a thorny path to hell.
At a deserted gas station, they encountered a pack of Shadow Claw Cats, lurking in the shadows of the oil tanks, moving as swiftly as ghosts, their claws gleaming with a cold, eerie blue light!
These mutated beasts utilized the complex terrain and shadows, like the most deadly assassins, continuously harassing the flanks and rear of the convoy!
The soldiers had no choice but to dismount, forming a defensive perimeter around the vehicles, using dense firepower and abilities to clear them out!
Under a broken overpass, they were ambushed by a group of Corrosive Venom Lizards that spat highly corrosive acid!
Then, at the entrance of a deserted tunnel, a vital choke point on the way to the Zoo, they encountered the fiercest resistance!
“Roar—!!!”
A roar full of ferocity and destructive aura! Like a sudden clap of thunder! It violently exploded from deep within the tunnel!
Immediately after! A beast as massive as a small mountain!
Covered in thick bone armor as black as ink, shimmering with a metallic luster! Tusks like two curved giant blades! Eyes as crimson as blood… a Bone Eater Stage Peak mutated beast—the Iron-Armored Earth Dragon!
A super mutated beast evolved from an armadillo.
It violently smashed through the obstacles piled at the tunnel entrance! With a terrifying momentum of crushing everything!
It fiercely charged out! Its massive body almost completely blocked the entire tunnel entrance! Its thick tail swept horizontally like a steel whip! Creating a tearing shriek in the air!
“It’s a Bone Eater Realm! An Iron-Armored Earth Dragon! Open fire! Full power!” The commander’s voice carried a hint of desperate roar!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The armored vehicles' main cannons roared! Armor-piercing shells and high-explosive shells rained down on the Iron-Armored Earth Dragon!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Shells exploded on its thick bone armor! Flames shot into the sky! Smoke and dust filled the air! But… as the smoke and dust cleared! The Iron-Armored Earth Dragon's massive body only swayed slightly!
A viscous, dark red molten lava breath, emitting a pungent sulfur smell! Like a high-pressure water gun! It fiercely sprayed towards the convoy!
Sizzle—!!!
The molten lava breath fiercely struck the front armor of a “Mammoth” armored vehicle! Emitting a teeth-grinding corrosive sound!
The thick composite armor rapidly melted, turned red, and softened at a visible speed! The soldiers inside screamed in terror!
“Xiong Yan! Li Fan!” Qin Weiguo’s voice pierced through the chaos like an ice pick!
“Leave it to me!”
Xiong Yan roared!
The “Furnace” combat vehicle suddenly rushed to the very front!
The heat vents on both sides of the vehicle instantly erupted with an unprecedented dazzling red light! Two even thicker, even more scorching pillars of fire! Like two roaring fire dragons! They fiercely slammed into the Iron-Armored Earth Dragon’s molten lava breath!
Boom—!!!
Blazing white flames and dark red molten lava fiercely collided! Emitting a deafening explosion! A terrifying high-temperature heatwave instantly swept out!
Tossing surrounding rubble and discarded vehicle wreckage into the air! Flames shot into the sky!
Flames and molten lava frantically devoured and annihilated each other! Emitting “sizzling” crackles! For a moment, they were at a stalemate!
Just then!
A dark shadow, like a ghost, shot out from the shadows on the flank! Moving at extreme speed!
Leaving a blurred afterimage! It charged directly at the Iron-Armored Earth Dragon’s relatively vulnerable underbelly!
It was Li Fan!
He had left the assault vehicle at some unknown point! He was like a leopard merged with the darkness!
His dark golden scaled claws gleamed with a deadly cold light under the blood moon! Instantly tearing through the air!
Pfft—!!!
The claws were like red-hot steel needles! They fiercely pierced into the gap in the Iron-Armored Earth Dragon’s abdominal bone armor! Sinking in deeply!
“Roar—!!!” The Iron-Armored Earth Dragon let out a painful, distorted shriek! Its massive body suddenly trembled! The molten lava breath instantly ceased!
Xiong Yan seized the opportunity! He roared! The light from the two pillars of fire surged! Instantly overwhelming the molten lava! Fiercely striking the Iron-Armored Earth Dragon’s head!
Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!!!
The terrifying high temperature instantly enveloped the Iron-Armored Earth Dragon’s head! The hard bone armor groaned under the strain! Rapidly turning red, softening, and melting! Dark red blood gushed out like a fountain! Only to be instantly evaporated by the high temperature!
The Iron-Armored Earth Dragon’s massive body convulsed violently! Finally… it crashed to the ground with a boom! Kicking up a cloud of dust!
The battle ended.
But the entire convoy also paid a heavy price.
One armored vehicle was scrapped, three off-road vehicles were damaged, over ten soldiers were killed, and many more were injured.
The air was filled with gunpowder, blood, burnt smells, and… a bone-deep weariness.
Qin Weiguo’s face grew even darker.
This was just the periphery! Just… the “welcome ceremony” set up by that monster?!
The convoy finally arrived inside the Zoo, where it was eerily silent.
There were no ghouls roaring, no mutated beasts hissing, only the whimpering of the wind blowing through the ruins and… a heart-pounding, oppressive silence, like the calm before a storm!
Qin Weiguo got out of the vehicle and stood at the front of the formation. Xiong Yan and Li Fan stood behind him like guardians.
The soldiers quickly dismounted, using the vehicles and broken gate pillars to construct a defensive position. Their muzzles were vigilantly pointed towards the park, which was shrouded in darkness and ruins, like a gaping maw ready to devour people.