Chapter 391

Zhang Wei, commander of the 2nd Company of the Sichuan Province Public Security Armed Forces, had remained in the rear and felt uneasy about this operation from the very beginning.

Advance ahead of the others with the army and seize the city? That’s not what Regimental Commander Shao ordered.

The doubt Zhang Wei had been harboring only grew when they deliberately bypassed the allied forces engaged in combat ahead of them and continued their advance.

“Senior Colonel Wang, are you certain our regimental commander approved this operation?”

The middle-aged senior officer frowned at Zhang Wei’s question.

“Why are you curious about that?”

“No matter how I look at it, something seems wrong. Our regimental commander clearly ordered us to conserve our strength in the rear and guard headquarters…”

“Ah, you mean that little regimental commander.”

Zhang Wei’s expression hardened at the senior officer’s mocking tone toward Shao Shen.

“Regimental Commander Shao Shen holds the same rank as you, Senior Colonel Wang. And he’ll soon be promoted to major general.”

“That ignorant child simply got lucky. As if awakening as an A-rank Hunter weren’t enough, that Korean bastard’s performance landed him on the promotion list too. Considering how quickly he’s risen through the ranks, perhaps he has some decent guanxi in political circles.”¹

“He may be young, but he’s just as capable. He’s also well respected enough that he treats us like brothers.”

The senior officer ran a hand along the baton he was holding.

“I’m well aware that Hunters don’t recognize rank and seniority. But this is wartime. This order came from Senior General Liao, the commander.”

“From the commander himself…?”

“That’s right. So if you don’t want to obey, turn back now. Just understand that doing so will constitute disobeying orders.”

“…!”

“I merely want to shorten our advance time. The circumstances make it unlikely, but if any monsters remain, we’ll wipe them out and rescue any civilians in danger. That’s all. Understood?”

Zhang Wei remained silent for a long while before nodding and stepping away.

The Public Security Armed Forces were generally treated as a separate organization outside the military, but this was wartime. Defying Senior General Liao, the commander of the western front, was by no means a wise choice.

“What did he say?”

Zhang Wei answered his subordinate’s hushed question.

“He says it’s an easy operation, so we should shut up and follow him. If we refuse, it’s disobeying orders.”

“Do you believe him?”

“If you mean the first part, of course not. But the second part is probably true. What do you think?”

“Of course I don’t believe him. That bastard Senior Colonel Wang has risen this far on a single connection to the Princelings despite having no ability. Everyone says he’s Senior General Liao’s lapdog.”

“And this is an order from that very Senior General Liao. We’ll have to endure it for now, even if it smells rotten.”

“Damn it.”

“But Senior Colonel Wang might be telling the truth. Most of the monsters in the area are probably engaged with our forces. With our current strength, we should be more than capable of handling a few stragglers.”

Zhang Wei looked around him. In addition to the hundred Hunters, including himself, there were around twenty tanks and five hundred infantrymen. Three combat helicopters were advancing overhead, securing their field of vision.

Please, let there be no significant casualties.

Perhaps Zhang Wei’s wish reached the heavens, because what he feared did not come to pass.

The small town near Suining City, which they entered with every sense alert, had been utterly devastated by monsters. Apart from that, the ruined downtown area was deathly silent.

Monsters such as goblins and orcs occasionally sprang out, but they posed no threat whatsoever.

—Kieeeek!

Slice!

After cutting down a dozen or so monsters at the head of the column, Zhang Wei felt slightly more at ease.

“Seeing how monsters of different species are appearing separately, they must be stragglers that broke away from the main group.”

“Just as expected. What did I tell you?”

The officer’s smug response grated on him, but this was still better than the alternative.

Thinking so, Zhang Wei silently nodded. Then he froze at the senior officer’s next words.

“You want us to split up our forces?”

“That’s right. Under these circumstances, finding survivors as quickly as possible should be our priority.”

“But Senior Colonel Wang, we haven’t even been inside the city for an hour yet. We should advance a little farther toward the center before—”

“Impertinent.”

“Pardon?”

“You Hunters may be better at combat, but I’m several moves ahead of you when it comes to tactics. I currently hold command authority, so shut your mouth and follow my orders.”

“…!”

“Didn’t you hear me? Or should I give the order directly to your subordinates?”

“…I’ll do it.”

“You have a detailed map, I assume. Then we’ll meet at the central square in two hours.”

The officer gave Zhang Wei a hateful smile and was about to climb into an armored vehicle when—

Whoooosh—boom!

Zhang Wei blinked blankly. When he wiped his face with his palm, it came away covered in sticky blood.

It was an endless red, and unmistakably human. The officer’s body, its entire upper half already gone without a trace, rolled out of the armored vehicle.

Thud.

A suffocating silence descended.

Zhang Wei was the first to regain his senses.

“Everyone, prepare for battle!”

“Monsters! Monsters have appeared!”

“Tank!”

“Th-The regimental commander has been killed!”

The Public Security Armed Forces Hunters were the first to respond to the shouts. The soldiers grasped the situation a moment later.

And waiting for them, already thrown into utter chaos by their commander’s sudden death, was an even more horrific death.

Whoooosh!

A single sound of splitting air.

A streak of light, fired too fast to see, swept through the soldiers marching in orderly ranks.

Boom-boom-boom!

The streak of light burst dozens of people like balloons as it advanced, then finally pierced the armored vehicle moving under the protection of the infantry.

The streak punched through its tough outer shell and buried itself deep inside. The sight made Zhang Wei bellow like thunder.

“Everyone, get clear!”

But before his voice could reach them, the thunderous roar that erupted the next moment swallowed everything.

KABOOM!

The armored vehicle exploded in a red flash and black smoke. Its fragments became hundreds, thousands of blades, tearing into everything around them.

Soldiers and even the lower-ranking Hunters who failed to react in time. Countless people fell like sheaves of straw.

Their lifeless bodies did not so much as twitch.

“…!”

“W-What the hell is this…?”

Zhang Wei roared at the people standing frozen like statues.

“Spread out! Everyone, spread out! Get as far away from the tanks and armored vehicles as possible!”

But the soldiers were experiencing real combat for the first time in their lives, and their bodies refused to move. Their still-unseen opponent did not let the confusion go to waste.

Whoooosh!

The sound of death rang out again.

This time, however, there was more than one streak of light.

Boom! Boom-boom-boom!

“Aaaaargh!”

Flames surged upward, and screams flooded the air.

The roughly twenty armored vehicles and tanks were disabled in the blink of an eye.

The three combat helicopters circling overhead also shattered into countless fragments and crashed to the ground.

Boom! Clatter, clatter.

Amid the horrific scene—a veritable mountain of corpses and sea of blood—Zhang Wei felt a chill run down his spine.

At least an A-rank monster. And not just one or two.

Ironically, it was the most accurate judgment Zhang Wei would make that day.

Ssssss.

Between dark alleys and collapsed buildings. Atop a building that was still burning.

Ten figures appeared like black mist, staring at the hundreds of surviving humans with blazing violet eyes.

A groan escaped Zhang Wei’s lips when he spotted the figures mounted on warhorses stripped down to the bone.

“…Death Knights.”

Once noble, they were knights of death corrupted by dark magic.

The very Death Knights that had vanished from sight after the Great Cataclysm along with the Lich had appeared. And there were no fewer than ten of them.

The first word that came to Zhang Wei’s mind was death.

Is this where it ends?

Death Knights were beings that surpassed A-rank monsters.

A hundred Hunters and the military forces still remained, but Zhang Wei already knew.

There would be no escaping the net they had cast.

But…

“I have no intention of dying quietly.”

Zhang Wei was not alone in that thought.

Unlike the soldiers, who were so terrified they could barely hold their guns properly, the Hunters of the Public Security Armed Forces raised their weapons with eyes full of resolve.

“You don’t have to do this.”

One of the platoon commanders answered Zhang Wei’s quiet words with a blunt question.

“But you do?”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought you here.”

“No one brought us. We followed you. We’ve survived more than ten times thanks to you, Company Commander. It was about time we faced something like this at least once.”

He spoke as though it were nothing, but he could not hide the tremor in his voice.

Zhang Wei licked his parched lips as he stared at the ten motionless Death Knights.

“Fight with everything you have, and make sure at least one of you survives. That’s all I have to say.”

A thunderous cheer erupted in place of an answer. With their fear driven away, the Hunters’ eyes shone like morning stars.

If they had wanted safe and prosperous lives, they could have chosen another path.

But instead of becoming bodyguards for wealthy entrepreneurs or working as mercenaries, they had joined the Public Security Armed Forces out of honor and a sense of responsibility as Hunters.

This was a battle they could never retreat from.

“Forward! Sons and daughters of the people, descendants of Zhonghua!”

Zhang Wei roared with all his strength and was about to charge the nearest Death Knight when—

Rumble-rumble-rumble!

It was almost instinctive.

Along with the violent tremors came the sensation of an immense presence. The surviving humans turned their heads, terror making every hair on their bodies stand on end.

Where many eyes turned, a black knight was slowly crossing the ruined downtown area.

Red eyes flashed beneath a helmet pulled low. The breath of death poured from between his bloodless lips.

—Sar, Garosh.

A language of the demon realm that no one could understand.

But the next moment, Zhang Wei realized what the words meant.

Kill them all.

The ten Death Knights charging from every direction were reflected in Zhang Wei’s wide-open eyes.

Slice!

The massacre began.

Splash.

A horse’s bony hoof stepped into a pool of blood.

The Death Knights approached the black knight, who was gazing down at the corpse of Zhang Wei, the middle-aged Hunter who had resisted until the very end, and dropped to one knee.

—Lord. Your next command.

The next command.

After a moment of silence, the black knight suddenly extended a hand.

Whoosh—slice!

A black streak of light lashed out like a whip, cutting through concrete and rebar.

The building collapsed at an angle. Inside the exposed space, humans were crouched together with their hands clamped tightly over their mouths.

“Jinjin. Honey. It’s okay, it’s okay…”

“Sniff… sob…”

“Dada?”

A human male and female.

And…

A being so infinitely small and light that it was impossible to distinguish whether it was male or female.

Perhaps that was what they called a child.

Child. Child?

Where had he heard that word before?

The black knight pushed the sudden question aside and extended his hand. Every human within sight had to be annihilated.

That was the order he had received.

But—

—…?

For some reason, his hand would not move forward.

The creatures were clearly so weak that the snap of a finger would turn them into a handful of blood and make them disappear. And yet it was as if an invisible barrier surrounded them.

—What are you?

At the black knight’s eerie voice, the child squirming in its parents’ arms suddenly burst into a wail.

—This is…

The black knight abruptly raised his head and stared into the distance, then wheeled his horse around.

The Death Knights questioned their leader’s sudden action.

—Lord?

—We’re returning. Now. At once.

—Then we will take care of the humans—

—We’re returning. Now. At once.

That was all.

The ten Death Knights knelt in salute, then spurred their horses after their leader.

Just before they vanished like mist, the black knight’s red eyes settled on the three humans who had survived by a miracle, then moved away.

Whoooooosh.

A wind heavy with the smell of blood swept through the corpse-filled ruins.