Chapter 379
*Rumble!*
A massive tremor reverberated through the ground.
Xiao Shen, a twenty-year-old youth, stared at the horizon in disbelief.
‘How are the monsters that should be thousands of kilometers away… here?’
This wasn’t a question Xiao Shen alone was asking.
A thousand hunters from the Public Security Armed Forces and five thousand soldiers of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, all stationed at Chengdu International Airport, shared the same shock and disbelief at the reality before them.
– *Screech!*
– *Groooar!*
From low-rank monsters like Goblins and Orcs to higher-ranking ones like Trolls, Ogres, and Lycanthropes, a vast horde of monsters filled the horizon, charging forward with a cacophony of terrifying roars.
As the distance between them closed rapidly, someone let out a desperate shout.
“Form ranks by units! Assemble! Asseeeemble!”
“Fire! Fire at will!”
*Ratatatata! Boom!*
The People’s Liberation Army hastily formed ranks and unleashed a barrage of firepower under their superior’s orders, but the effect was minimal.
The unexpected assault by the monster horde left the ordinary soldiers, who lacked any special abilities, paralyzed with fear. The weapons they fired were only effective against the low-rank monsters at best.
“There are too many monsters!”
“Pilots!”
“Get the jets in the air! Bomb them from above!”
The desperate shouts of the commanders were drowned out by the savage roar that echoed from the sky above.
– *Kyaaa!*
“T-Those are…”
“Wyverns! There are Wyverns!”
Massive figures flew in against the backdrop of the setting sun.
Leading the charge were Wyverns, known as the terrors of the sky, followed by dozens of Griffons and Gargoyles.
The A-rank monsters dove steeply, their multi-meter wings angled as they swooped down on the jets that had yet to take off.
*Crash! Boom!*
The powerful wingbeats lifted the multi-ton machines off the ground, and their claws, imbued with magic, shredded the jets’ metal bodies like paper.
Metal fragments, flung with tremendous force by the explosions, rained down on the pilots who were rushing to their planes.
*Thud! Crunch!*
Instant death, with not even a scream left behind.
Guns roared to life under the commands of the recovered officers, but the powerful magical hides and skins of the monsters merely deflected the hundreds, even thousands, of bullets.
– *Kikikikii!*
The monsters’ mocking laughter sent a shockwave of terror through the humans, making their hair stand on end.
“This… This can’t be…”
The horde of monsters filled both the ground and sky, and their resistance to gunfire only solidified their status as true monsters.
“M-Monsters…”
“I have to live! I’m not dying in a place like this!”
The fear of death spread faster than any plague.
As the soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army began to retreat one by one, there was one person who, instead, stepped forward.
“Do not retreat!”
The young man, barely out of adolescence, Xiao Shen, shouted with eyes ablaze.
Emblazoned on the chest of his armor was the Five-Star Red Flag, the national flag of the People’s Republic of China.
“Who are we?!”
At his question, those who had been ready to flee halted.
Xiao Shen glared at the oncoming horde of monsters, now only a few hundred meters away. He shouted again, this time with a voice like thunder, from beneath his helmet.
“Who are we?!”
His shout was like fire, igniting the blood of those around him.
Xiao Shen raised his spear high.
“We are the descendants of China! Brothers of the People’s Liberation Army and the Public Security Armed Forces!”
His spear shone with an aura, glowing like the setting sun as it shot into the sky.
*Ssshh*
“Let’s go! Let’s wipe out these monsters!”
“Waaaaaaah!”
The deafening roar shook the earth beneath their feet.
Led by Xiao Shen, the hunters of the Public Security Armed Forces gripped their weapons and charged at the monster horde like raging tigers.
“Don’t fall back! Show them the might of China!”
“Uraaaah!”
– *Groooar!*
– *Awooo!*
The humans’ battle cries and the monsters’ roars intermingled as the two sides clashed, becoming one writhing mass.
*Boom! Crash!*
The earth and sky trembled with the impact, and death rained down from all directions.
“Aaaagh!”
– *Kueeek!*
Screams and explosions echoed from all corners of the battlefield.
The aura-infused sword of an A-rank hunter cleaved through the neck of a Lycanthrope, while an Ogre’s massive club crushed several hunters, sending them flying as blood and gore splattered everywhere.
Two hunters who had just taken down a monster and were about to strike their next target were suddenly overshadowed by a massive figure above them.
– *Kiiiii!*
*Slash!*
A Gryphon’s talons, sharpened by its dive, tore through the hunters’ bodies and armor alike.
As the Gryphon searched for its next prey, a large ball of fire flew towards it.
“Fireball!”
*Boom!*
With a thick cloud of smoke, the Gryphon, which had been gliding through the sky, wavered. The ranged unit on the ground, lying in wait, seized the opportunity.
“Now!”
*Bang! Bang bang bang!*
A barrage of spells and mana-charged arrows pierced the Gryphon.
As it fell with a dying screech, the flying monsters let out enraged roars.
– *Kyaaa!*
The aerial monsters diving towards the ranged unit were met with a wall of modern weaponry made of lead and steel.
“Open fire, all at once!”
*Ratatatatata! Boom!*
Countless rifles and heavy artillery roared to life, with dozens of tanks belching fire at once.
Though they couldn’t compare to the power of mana, the force countered the monsters’ magical defenses, making even the aerial monsters falter.
– *Kiiit!*
“It’s working!”
“Don’t aim anywhere else! Go for the eyes!”
Most monsters, imbued with magic from birth, could easily shrug off physical attacks. But their eyes, protected only by thin membranes, were a vulnerable spot that could be damaged even by modern weaponry.
Seeing the monsters hesitate, the division commander, who had been watching the battle closely, excitedly waved his command staff.
“More! Keep pouring it on! Don’t let those monsters move an inch…”
*Kuwaaaah!*
His voice was abruptly cut off.
A Green Wyvern unleashed a Poison Breath, covering a hundred-meter radius, and the division commander, along with the command staff, was dissolved in a cloud of potent acid.
“Division Commander!”
“The command post…!”
In the blink of an eye, the People’s Liberation Army lost hundreds of soldiers and top officers, sending them into a state of panic.
Officers, non-commissioned officers, soldiers—it didn’t matter. Everyone was frozen in terror, staring at the horrific scene before them.
“This can’t be…”
“This isn’t right. This can’t be happening! This wasn’t part of the mission!”
The scream of one soldier voiced the feelings of everyone there.
Even though they had brought in their full strength just in case, their main mission was to meet up with foreign Hunters arriving soon at Chengdu International Airport, escort them, and act according to orders from above.
No one had mentioned the possibility of a monster horde attacking from thousands of kilometers away.
“What on earth…”
“We’re going to die. We’re all going to die.”
The fear they had momentarily forgotten descended upon the People’s Liberation Army once more.
They weren’t hunters from the Public Security Armed Forces fighting at the front lines; they were ordinary people wielding modern firearms.
And their ominous premonitions quickly became reality. Worse than anything they had imagined.
– *Ones who will serve.*
A voice, fragmented and choppy, like a radio signal plagued by static, echoed eerily across the battlefield.
A black mist crept over the soldiers’ heads from somewhere.
– *The dead shall rise and serve.*
And then, a horrifying transformation began.
*Ssshhh…*
The dark energy, like a black cloud, spread over the blood and corpses, weaving through them like a web.
It infused the cold, lifeless bodies with new power and souls, binding them with chains.
*Crack, crackle!*
A legion of skeletons, reanimated by this dark magic, began to rise from the pool of death.
Satisfied with the countless dead they had bound into their service, ‘those entities’ laughed.
– *Kik, kikikik.*
– *Grrrr, kikiki.*
—
– *Grrrr.*
With a low growl, a man rose to his feet.
He wore armor with the Five-Star Red Flag emblazoned on it and held a massive axe, just as Xiao Shen remembered the A-rank hunter.
‘…Yao Wei.’
But Xiao Shen couldn’t bring himself to say the man’s name aloud, nor could he call out to him.
Because he knew the man before him was no longer the person he once knew.
‘Ah, no…’
If Xiao Shen hadn’t witnessed Yao Wei being decapitated just ten minutes ago, if he hadn’t seen him now rising with his severed head tucked under his arm, he would have believed that the man before him was still his friend and comrade.
But now, Yao Wei was gone. Xiao Shen’s lips trembled as he uttered the name of what his friend had become.
“*Dullahan*.”
A headless knight. A *Dullahan*.
Xiao Shen bit his lip as he looked at his former comrade, who had been turned into a high-rank undead monster. Something hot began to stream down his cheeks.
“I’m sorry. Truly…”
– *Grrrr!*
With a monstrous roar, the *Dullahan* charged at Xiao Shen.
In response, Xiao Shen surged forward like the wind, spear in hand.
Once, they had often sparred like this. What had started as friendly duels had turned into a daily routine, with Xiao Shen always emerging victorious. Afterward, Yao Wei would grumble about losing.
‘You little brat, no manners at all! Can’t you just lose once?’
‘Haha. Let’s go eat. The loser buys, so it’s on you again today, Yao Wei.’
‘You’re loaded, you know that? I swear, one day I’ll make you pay for a meal.’
But that day had never come, and now it never would. Xiao Shen had always won, and now, for the last time…
‘Goodbye. Thank you… for everything.’
*Whoosh! Slash!*
The *Dullahan’s* axe cleaved through the air, but Xiao Shen’s spear, wreathed in aura, slashed across the *Dullahan’s* torso.
A clean line was drawn from the waist up, and the headless knight’s body slowly collapsed.
*Thud.*
Xiao Shen looked down at Yao Wei’s fallen form, his eyes burning with anger.
“How dare they… How dare they do this…”
Just half a day ago, they had been laughing and chatting together, and now his friends and comrades were undead monsters.
The Hunters of the Public Security Armed Forces were known for their strict discipline, but they were not cold-hearted machines without blood or emotion.
Now, as they fought with the resolve to die, the Hunters faced a new fear—an unexpected and harrowing fear.
“Get a grip! It’s me, Liu Renqin! Liu Renqin!”
“B-Brother…!”
– *Grrrr!*
*Slash! Boom!*
Screams and the sound of death echoed from all directions. While nearly half of the Public Security Armed Forces had fallen, the monster horde had only grown stronger, their numbers continually bolstered by the fallen.
‘Am I going to die here?’
For the first time in his life, Xiao Shen considered the possibility of his own death. The normally bright and cheerful young man was consumed by despair at the hopeless situation.
‘We didn’t receive any warning. The communications must be down, and there will be no reinforcements… This is really the end.’
*Slash!*
After cutting down yet another undead monster, Xiao Shen looked up at the sky and let out a hollow laugh.
The twilight was beautiful. Soon, the sun would set, and darkness would descend, never to lift again.
‘At least the last sky I see isn’t so bad…’
Wait, what?
Xiao Shen blinked in confusion as he saw something massive rapidly approaching the battlefield from the sky.
‘A plane?’
*Kwoooosh!*
The enormous, burning aircraft hurtled toward the battlefield, accompanied by a deafening roar.
“Hey, monsters!”
“…What?”
Not just Xiao Shen, but everyone on the battlefield looked up.
A voice, filled with madness, thundered across the sky like a clap of thunder.
“Brace yourselves!”
Brace… for what?
Xiao Shen soon understood the meaning of those words.
*Rumble!*
The massive body of the plane plowed through the battlefield, wreaking havoc on everything in its path.
