Chapter 24: A Premeditated Battle
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
During wartime, military orders had to be immediately and unconditionally followed.
The driver from the military made an urgent stop without waiting for An Xiaoxue to say anything.
“Don’t be fl.u.s.tered. We are going to abandon the vehicle soon. But before we do that, press down on the red handle in front of your seats and take out the emergency equipment. Then, get off the vehicle.”
The students didn’t respond and started moving. An Xiaoxue reminded again, “Don’t be nervous. We have told you about this before we got onto the bus.”
All of the students on the bus were elites.
Furthermore, they had decent fighting capabilities from the physical training they had been through.
Even though many of them were fl.u.s.tered, they could still follow instructions.
Xu Tui quickly returned to his seat. Cheng Mo had already pressed down on the red handle for him. He immediately retrieved the emergency equipment.
There was a battle shield that had been disguised as the back of the bus seats. It was 80 centimeters tall, 50 centimeters wide, and an inch thick. It weighed about 10 pounds and was made out of a special material. They were told that it was bulletproof when they got onto the bus.
There was also a helmet as well as a battle dagger that the students could use to defend themselves.
The third-year students, who had all been through many years of physical training, had stamina and power equal to that of an adult. They could defend themselves to a certain extent with the equipment.
Amid the loud sounds of the impact, the bus came to a stop in a low ditch. The tilted bus acted as a natural defensive cover.
The two emergency doors from both ends of the bus opened at the same time. All of the people on the bus jumped off within five seconds.
An Xiaoxue and the two security guards were the last two people to get off the bus. Cha Yifeng, who had been tied up by a super-fiber boronated rope, was thrown out of the bus.
“Raise the shields and protect your vital points. Await reinforcements!”
An Xiaoxue moved to the front of the students while she was firmly giving her instructions. Her chin was slightly raised. Her hair danced with the night breeze.
In that instant, the students who had been fearful of how An Xiaoxue had turned into a female Shura suddenly felt extremely at ease.
A rain of sparks appeared in the sky once again.
The fire was aimed in the direction of the escort cars.
Xu Tui’s heart squirmed when he saw this scene.
Their military strength would be severely impacted if the heavy weaponry on their escort cars or the escort cars themselves were destroyed.
Then, the fate of the students would…
“When in history were traitor organizations able to act so brazenly within the Huaxia Sector? This is completely different from what is reported on the television…”
Just as Xu Tui’s heart was sinking, the defense forces on their side finally started an effective counterattack.
They quickly shot electromagnetic disruption missiles and high-performance bait missiles into the air.
The once-neat formation of the rain of fire that a.s.saulted them from above suddenly became messy and unorganized.
They exploded in the air.
Only a few of them hit their target.
Flames, explosions, the smell of gunpowder, and the cries of the students merged into one. The students who had just left Jincheng Prefecture felt as though they were in another world.
Was this the world they knew?
Abruptly, Xu Tui suddenly remembered a common saying that he saw on the television. The reason for their peaceful lives was that someone else was bearing their burdens for them.
Several hundred people charged toward them on personal flying devices.
The soldiers had managed to get into a reasonable defensive formation within a short time with Colonel Liu Tianhu personally leading the operation.
Flames danced everywhere. Flashes of electricity burst out from time to time. An epic battle unfolded.
It was only at this moment that Xu Tui realized that more military personnel were protecting them than he expected.
The security guards from the escort cars were by their sides protecting them. However, more than a hundred soldiers were still fighting in the battle.
Most of the military personnel must have disguised themselves as students.
Many times, what people feared the most was the unknown.
There was not much to fear now that the enemies had shown themselves.
The heavy weapons on the escort vehicles also started to rain bullets on the enemies.
A few of the enemies who did not manage to avoid the attacks in time were instantly shot down.
As time pa.s.sed, more and more of the heavy weapons on the escort vehicles got activated and joined the battle.
The enemies attacking them were being forcefully suppressed by the immense firepower.
This scene made many students heave a sigh of relief.
However, almost immediately, a cold grunt of extreme dissatisfaction came from behind them.
“Useless! We planned this for such a long time, yet we still miscalculated.”
Suddenly, Xu Tui looked to the ground in extreme fear.
Xu Tui suddenly felt the ground start to rumble when he heard the cold grunt.
“Careful! Move away from the ground!” Liu Tianhu, who was commanding the battle, let out an angry roar.
The soldiers already had a conditioned response to Liu Tianhu’s orders.
Most of the soldiers left the ground immediately. Some scaled up the trees, while others jumped onto the roof of the cars. Those that could do jumped on the spot.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Sharp spikes of earth rapidly protruded out of the ground and flipped the escort vehicles over.
The heavy weapons were instantly rendered ineffective.
The defensive formation also crumbled as the soldiers had to jump away.
Some of the students instantly let out startled screams.
“Mystery Branch Superb Type!”
“Is this the Earth Element Affinity of the Mystery Branch Superb Type?”
“The enemy is at least a Level B Genetic Mutant. He might even be a Genetic Evolver. He might even have a strong Extreme Branch guard by his side.” An Xiaoxue’s expression was extremely grave.
At around the same time, the flash of a blade appeared beside the earth-element superb individual. The blade was sharp without parallel!
The earth-element superb individual’s attacks rained down constantly. The soldiers rapidly suffered heavy casualties.
At the same time, the enemies who had been freed from the suppression of the gunfire started to surround them.
“It’s a familiar situation. Do you miss it, old friend?”
Liu Tianhu licked his lips. He suddenly took out a long spear from the black box that the special agent behind him had delivered.
“Charge!” Liu Tianhu let out a roar of fury.
He tapped his foot gently onto the ground and became like a high-speed guided missile. He sent the bladed guard of the enemy flying and blasted toward the earth-element superb individual.
He had immense speed.
He had traversed 40 to 50 meters in the second after he roared.
Liu Tianhu’s roar had made Xu Tui’s throat a little itchy. The blood in his body was boiling.
At this moment, Xu Tui looked up to Liu Tianhu.
Liu Tianhu fought off two enemies alone with his unparalleled spirit. The earth-element superb individual was caught off guard.
The enemies around them started to support the earth-element superb individual with their gunfire.
However, Liu Tianhu, in his current state, was like a G.o.d of war.
He allowed the bullets from the ordinary guns to rain on his body.
These guns only managed to tear open his military uniform. It could not leave a scratch on his nano ultralight armor.
A high-intensity bullet flew toward him from time to time.
Liu Tianhu either avoided the bullet with ease or raised his spear toward it to send it flying.
He was so fast that even his after-image was hard to capture.
He even managed to take down one or two other people from the enemy force while he forced the earth-element superb individual back.
His sudden advancement had the ferocity of a tiger.
Liu Tianhu displayed his abilities to their fullest extent. The elite commanders under him also charged forward. Some of them were like Liu Tianhu. They were unafraid of the guns and had startling battle capabilities.
“Is this the strength of an Extreme Branch fighter?”
Xu Tui, who was raising the battle shield in front of him, glanced toward An Xiaoxue.
The Mystery Branch ability that An Xiaoxue demonstrated just now was also extremely powerful.
Would the battle come to an immediate end if she joined in the fray?
Xu Tui was deep in thought when he suddenly heard a slithering sound.
Many pairs of eyes suddenly appeared among the evening hills. The evening wind that was blowing toward them brought along a stench as well as several low growls.
An Xiaoxue’s expression changed drastically. “Even the modified humans have appeared. Is this ambush prepared beforehand? Just how much information did you reveal?”
An Xiaoxue stomped her foot fiercely onto Cha Yifeng’s face and used the momentum to take to the air. She extended her fingers and released 30 small silver pills that were about the size of a match head.
The next instant, the silver pills which looked like toys that a girl had just thrown out, increased in speed as An Xiaoxue widened her eyes. They pierced through the air.
Over 30 beasts that were pouncing out of the forests died on the spot.
It was also at this moment that an extremely horrific creature appeared in the forest in front of them.
It was a monster with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a tiger. It even had a long tail. The modified human that An Xiaoxue spoke of appeared not far away from them.
“We didn’t prepare it for too long. Just an hour or so.”
The modified tigerman snickered as it flicked its tail in the wind. Two hundred beasts of various species roared as they charged out of the forest. There were even 11 merciless flying beasts above their heads. All of the beasts pounced toward the students.
Flames burst out everywhere.
The security guards and the teachers-in-charge who had not taken part in the battle finally took action.
However, perhaps it was because Cha Yifeng had fed the enemy forces with information, at least a third of the animals that were being controlled by the modified tigerman surrounded the students of Bus 3.
That included the 11 merciless flying beasts.
Almost instantly, An Xiaoxue took to the skies again and tossed out her silver pills. While the silver pills were eliminating over 30 of the animals, An Xiaoxue had already charged toward the modified human.
“Are they all sick in the head? They are not giving me any reinforcements. How are they expecting me to capture the students and complete the mission?” The modified tigerman looked toward An Xiaoxue, who was charging toward it, with a fearful expression.
Further away, three bolts of lightning blasted toward An Xiaoxue with a deafening sound.
That was the roar of a high-powered electric sniper.
An Xiaoxue’s expression changed. She abruptly extended all five of her right fingers.
The next instant, the five silver rings on An Xiaoxue’s fingers shone with incandescent light.
As if it was a miracle, the charged bullets of the high-powered electric sniper, which had blue tails as they were flying through the air, suddenly stopped in front of An Xiaoxue.
They let out a crackling, buzzing noise.
Then, the electricity slowly dissipated and the bullets fell onto the ground.
However, the enemy continued to shoot with the high-powered electric sniper.
Bullet after bullet from the high-powered electric sniper forced An Xiaoxue to remain where she was.
It seemed as though there was a transparent barrier in front of An Xiaoxue which blocked off all of the electric bullets. It even stopped some of the bullets from the regular guns that were flying toward the students.
Further away, the modified tigerman snickered. It charged toward the students from Bus 3, who had split into four to five teams and were raising their shields in a defensive formation.
The ferocious beasts that were being controlled by the modified tigerman charged alongside it.
In a mere instant, one of the students got carried up into the air by a ferocious condor. The student screamed in fear.
One of the security guards quickly raised his gun and shot at the condor, wanting to save the student.
Whoosh!
The body of the modified tigerman abruptly charged past the guard.
The security guard lost his head. His body was still in a raised shooting position.
This horrifying scene caused the students to scream in fear.
Xu Tui, Cheng Mo, Gong Ling, and an unknown male student were grouped together and had their shields raised. Their breathing became heavier as they saw the animals charging toward them.
An Xiaoxue had killed over 60 beasts during her two waves of attacks. There were also a few beasts that had died at the hands of the security guards. At this moment, at least 30 animals were pouncing toward Xu Tui and the rest of the students.
Tragedy struck the next instant.
As generations of genes were pa.s.sed down, these natural animals had become even more ferocious. They had doubled in power from 100 years ago.
However, these beasts were being controlled by the modified human.
Their primary goal was not to kill or injure.
Their target was to capture the students alive.
A giant snake slammed its tail onto the battle shields of the students and sent two students flying backward.
An agile-looking leopard sunk its teeth into a student and dragged him away.
The pathetic cries for help made An Xiaoxue anxious.
However, she was being locked in place by the high-powered electric sniper and could not move away.
Suddenly, An Xiaoxue started to bleed from the corners of her eyes, her ears, and her nostrils. An Xiaoxue started moving forward while she pushed the bullets of the high-powered electric sniper backward.
She managed to make her way close to where the enemy wielding the high-powered electric sniper was.
“A’Hu, complete your mission faster. This woman is about to go mad,” a sound rang out from behind.
The modified human, A’Hu, did not speak. Instead, it continuously let out strange roars and urgently controlled the beasts to capture the students alive.
“Carefully, wild beasts are approaching us.” Gong Ling’s voice was trembling.
“Don’t worry. There’s me!”
Cheng Mo pushed the battle shield aside slightly with his left hand and slowly stood up. He looked at the giant mountain cat that was pouncing toward them and took on a battle stance. He said with a trembling voice, “Little Tui, I’ll actively attack. The three of you should run toward Miss An Xiaoxue. You’ll have a much better chance of being saved there!”
Xu Tui felt immensely touched.
Cheng Mo was the one who took the most beatings when they fought in the small forest in school all these years.
Gong Ling and the other male student were so touched that they did not know what to say.
However, Xu Tui pulled Cheng Mo back. He tossed the shield in his hand toward Cheng Mo and said, “Protect my back.”
Roar!
The stench from the mountain cat’s mouth a.s.saulted them. The group could see the saliva suspended around its fangs.
The mountain cat jumped toward them from far away.
Five meters!
Three meters!
Suddenly, Xu Tui flicked his right hand.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
They heard the sounds of two objects piercing through the air.
The mountain cat, whose body had been tense as it was pouncing toward them, suddenly became limp and fell onto the ground.
Two steel b.a.l.l.s had entered its brain through its eyes. It was as dead as it could be.
A look of surprise flashed past Gong Ling’s eyes. She suddenly let out a cry of exclamation.
“Snake! Snake!”
A large python that was over 5 meters tall slammed its tail furiously toward them. It slammed Cheng Mo, who was holding the battle shield with both hands, onto the ground. Cheng Mo bled from the side of his mouth.
However, it did not have a second chance to attack.
The eyes of the snake suddenly exploded into a mist of blood, and the snake slumped onto the ground.
The sounds of something piercing through the air rang out above their heads.
Cheng Mo struggled to get up and raised his shield to protect Xu Tui’s back.
He had to protect Xu Tui’s back.
A falcon with a wingspan of over 5 meters was a.s.saulting them.
This falcon was exceptionally agile. It immediately flew past Cheng Mo, who had his shield raised, and sunk its steel claws into Gong Ling’s shoulder. It immediately carried Gong Ling up into the air.
Gong Ling screamed in pain.
“Save me!”
At the same time, Xu Tui flicked his right hand again.
The sound of objects flying through the air rang out again. The falcon had just grabbed onto Gong Ling and had not had the time to fly up high before it fell from the air.
A guaranteed hit at a 3-meter distance…
Xu Tui’s bean-flicking technique had become an eye-exploding technique!
Gong Ling was saved.
Far away, the modified human, A’Hu, that was commanding the beasts with the roar of a tiger suddenly furrowed its brows. It looked toward the direction where Xu Tui and Cheng Mo were at.