Chapter 594.1: Keep Your Kingdom Of Heaven

“... Chosen one above...”

Just a few kilometers from the battlefield, beside an abandoned water tower, a man in hunting garb stood by the rusty railing, binoculars in hand, staring dumbstruck at the wrecked battlefield in the distance, muttering the same words over and over.

He was a hunter from Hope Town, named Liu Youxiong.

When the fog had first risen, the town’s pastor had uttered some mysterious words, and Mayor Ma had sent him to Pinecone Ranch to check the situation.

Liu Youxiong dared not neglect the task.

Not only because it was the mayor’s order, but because Pastor Wei had said the Apostle was enraged, casting divine punishment upon those who betrayed the Torch Church, the traitors, and heretics.

His heart had lurched. He feared such punishment might implicate his own family, yet he was also anxious to know what the divine punishment would be.

So he mounted his horse and galloped off. Halfway there, apocalyptic flames and thunderous blasts frightened the horse so badly it nearly threw him to the ground.

Scrambling up, he quickly sought higher ground and climbed the lonely tower by the abandoned building.

The next moment, he saw the scene.

In his pupils, boiling fire and charred corpses were reflected.

Liu Youxiong swallowed hard.

Is this... The divine punishment of the chosen Apostle?

But, isn’t this the wrong location?

Burning in hellfire were clearly those ugly beasts, the Mutant Humans who lived in the ruined city and ate flesh and blood.

He clearly remembered those man-eaters were supposed to be the hounds of the church.

So why...?

The warm breeze swept aside the gray-green haze, and swept aside his confusion.

His gaze brushed past the smoke pillar reaching skyward, and he saw the steel airship glowing faintly with sparks in the distance.

Soon another round of fire washed across the desolate plain, like a flurry of hammer strikes, strings of light swallowing the mutant ranks.

Even with his steadfast faith in the might of the Torch Church, he could see now this was not divine punishment. It was the wrath of the New Alliance’s administrator!

...

“Roar!”

His taunt had been flung back in his face, Kuru’s fury twisted across his features.

Raising his axe-spear, he released a bestial roar.

From the black mire, muscle-bound Mutant Human warriors snatched up weapons and hatred, bellowing as they charged the armored humans.

Had they been mere light infantry, the last bombardment would have left them crippled if not destroyed.

It was open wilderness with no fortifications.

And in that bombardment, the New Alliance had dropped more shells than the number of Mutant Humans present.

Yet in the blood of those beasts flowed the crystallization of Prosperity Era’s most advanced biotechnology.

Even with limbs blown off, faces charred beyond recognition, even hearts ruptured, arteries severed, skulls pierced with shrapnel... As long as they weren’t killed instantly, they could crawl back up from the mire, wielding even broken bones as weapons.

Their twisted faces, their bloodthirsty eyes, were like demons crawling from the abyss.

Not to mention fighting them, just standing before such beasts without collapsing in fear marked someone as extraordinary.

Unfortunately, their opponents weren’t ordinary people.

They were players.

Faced with boiling roars and suffocating bloodlust, their only thought was how awesome the development team’s design was!

“Holy shit... This is way too thrilling!” Clad in Iron Wall Heavy Exoskeleton and holding an XB-1 Howler, a player gulped.

Staring at the earth-shaking war cries, his eyes held no fear, only excitement and blazing fighting spirit.

He had missed the last brawl. This time, he had come!

The commander even said he might make it into the promotional video!

Letting his surging battle spirit burn, Midnight Pubg thrust forward the 19 mm gun barrel welded to his arm.

“Brothers...!”

There were no speeches.

For those beasts.

For these parasites sucking on civilization’s blood.

There had only ever been one thing to do.

As he pulled the trigger, he roared with all his strength.

“... Kill!”

Answering him came a chorus of boiling, searing cries.

“Kill!”

“For the New Alliance!”

“Awoooo!”

Their deafening roars seemed to shatter the clouds, drowning out even the tsunami of beastly howls.

Of the Mutant Humans who survived the bombardment, over 500 remained, scattered across a front several kilometers wide.

The Jungle Corps, deployed by helicopter, had only 120 men, but their morale was at its peak.

The instant the beasts entered range, Midnight Pubg fired first, and more than 100 heavy exoskeleton-clad players opened fire together.

Orange tracers slashed across the battlefield, blossoms of flame flickering in the muddy wasteland.

Under the barrage, charging Mutant Humans fell one after another, but soon the battle line stretched to both flanks.

These green brutes weren’t truly brainless. They just disdained using their brains when brute force sufficed.

Seeing the New Alliance’s firepower and armor, Kuru bellowed orders. Everyone was to press forward at any cost to close in on the human soldiers.

From his experience, once his warriors reached within ten paces, the two-legged beasts would lose their will to fight.

The battle would turn into a one-sided slaughter!

The gray-green fog cloaked the Mutant Humans’ charge. Though casualties mounted, their rush did not falter.

Their unit was unlike those faced before.

Though still green-skinned beasts, most bore mechanical augments, with far better weapons and gear.

Some carried heavy machine guns, some lugged mortars, others hauled baskets filled with grenades.

With powerful muscles, they hurled explosive shells like shot puts over 100 meters.

Mutant Humans converged from across the battlefield like a massive bowl clamping down on the New Alliance’s narrow front.

Seeing the lines closing in and the steel-armored figures, Kuru sneered, bloodlust gleaming in his eyes.

He swore he would kill that man who taunted him in the cruelest way.

But unease gnawed at him. Despite his unstoppable charge, the enemy troops did not retreat at all.

What were they planning?

Did they think a few exoskeletons could block them?

Something felt off.

These two-legged creatures seemed different.

But there was no time to hesitate. In a battlefield with visibility under 10 meters, in mere breaths, both sides collided and clashed hand-to-hand on soil plowed by shells.

“Die!”

A two meter tall mutant burst from the fog, shotgun spitting fire arcs at a New Alliance soldier’s chest.

Thumb-sized pellets dented the black armor.

The man didn’t even flinch, raising his gun to fire back a 19 mm armor-piercing round.

At 10 meters, it was within the kill range and still a safe distance away from the enemy.

The round slammed into the Mutant Human’s shoulder, a searing metal jet spewing fragments of flesh and bone.

The brute’s bloodshot eyes bulged before he collapsed wordlessly.

Looking at the kneeling beast, Prone Model grinned. “Fuck! You’re too fresh to duel me in a gunfight!”

Shame his swagger lasts less than three seconds.

Before his act was half-done, three or five more Mutant Humans stormed from the mire.

Calmly raising his gun, he pulled the trigger, only to hear a click. His heart lurched. He dropped the Howler and drew his axe.

At the same instant, a Mutant Human with a chainsaw welded to his arm lunged.

Steel-skinned skull scarred red, face twisted and savage, Prone Model finally met an elite cyborg Mutant Human!

Sidestepping the deadly swing, Prone Model stepped in, swinging his axe upward, hacking into the brute’s ribs.

He felt the crunch of flesh and bone; at least several lung pipes were severed.

“RWAGH!”

The green brute bellowed in pain, eyes bloodshot, muscles bulging. He yanked up the chainsaw before hurling it sideways.

Shame, his lethal second strike was dodged once again.

“Is that all, bro?”

The chains brushed Prone Model’s shoulderplate with a teeth-grinding screech. With cold sweat on his neck, Prone Model didn’t stop taunting his enemy.

Whether the Mutant Human understood or not, he shoved an explosive round into the latch on its chestplate, then smashed it with his axe.

The blunt blow struck the primer. As smoke hissed, sparks flared.

The brute staggered back, reaching to pluck the round from its chest. However, he stepped on a corpse and toppled, losing his last chance to fight back.

Boom!