Chapter 393.1: Limited Authority

In the Heart of Steel in the skies above...

The cannon barrels along the ship slowly shifted their angles, locking onto the dense fog.

Inside the cabin, the main gunner held a piece of paper brought by a messenger, issuing orders to the assistant gunner.

"Adjust the cannon settings."

"Shooting parameters set!"

"Load the high-explosive shells."

"Ready..."

"Fire!"

The fuses were pulled simultaneously as three orderly blasts of gunfire rang through the air. Flames and smoke rolled into the thick fog.

Standing next to the observation port, a soldier with a telescope around his neck glanced outside, unable to see where the shells had landed.

Only three muffled booms drifted over, with no sight of the explosions.

"The fog is too thick. I can't see anything." The main gunner pressed the walkie-talkie on his shoulder and waited some time before shouting into it.

"Confirm hit! Cease fire."

"Roger."

Smoking shells were ejected from the cannon, and another soldier dragged them with a cart, throwing them into a wooden box in the corner of the room.

The next second, the spotter walked up to the main gunner and asked, "Sir, do we have any commands to follow today?"

"No," the main gunner replied.

The spotter continued in confusion, "Then what are we shooting at?"

The main gunner glanced at the paper in his hand and casually tossed it into the nearby bin.

"We’re shooting at General McClennan's target."

The assistant gunner, interested, chimed in. "That two-story-tall big guy?"

"Who else?" the main gunner chuckled, "Other than that guy, who else is worth our commander's constant attention?"

The observer laughed lightly as he looked outside. "Picking such a foggy day..."

It was well known that rainy and foggy days were not ideal for hunting. Not only was visibility limited, their scopes would fog up and even their perception would be weakened by their environment. The accuracy and reliability of their weapons would also be affected.

But for the mutants accustomed to the jungle... It wasn’t a large problem. It was especially so for Deathclaws.

The humid environment actually made them even more dangerous.

"That native said, 'The most dangerous place is the safest place'... Whatever, we're done for today anyway," the main gunner said indifferently, tossing his gloves aside.

The three 100mm cannons were the only reinforcements promised to the hunting team, and it was not their concern whether they were effective.

All they needed was for their shells to hit the front lines. Anything else wasn’t his problem.

It was also then that the city district tens of kilometers away from the airship was thrown into chaos as the 100mm shells hit the streets.

The cracked concrete road was like mud plowed by a harrow, with concrete debris and broken stones scattered everywhere.

Flames and wisps of steam rose together, and the Deathclaw at the center of the explosion let out a piercing howl.

Its eyes were blinded by shrapnel, its spine pierced by armor-piercing shells, its flesh charred... Although all these wounds were healing rapidly, the continuous damage had utterly enraged it.

The serum was blown to bits in the bombardment, but that no longer mattered.

The passage from the shelter to the research area had already been cleared, and the serum would continue to be produced. All it needed to do was to get another bunch of fools to fetch more from the lab.

As for those people in front of it...

No... They weren’t people in its eyes. They were mere ants!

All it wanted was to kill them!

"I will tear you apart!"

"I'll gouge out your eyes, your intestines... And I’ll feed them to the dogs!"

The malicious curses echoed with the piercing howls in the dense fog, as a dozen hunched figures appeared from within.

Some stood on the street, others climbed on rooftops or broken walls, their blade-like claws and sharp teeth rubbing together. Their amber pupils filled with a thirst for flesh as they rushed at the Order of the White Bear on the other side of the street.

Those creatures were its offspring.

Although they were significantly smaller than the giant Deathclaw, they were still a bit larger than the LV14 Garbage who was somewhere in Shelter 404.

"Oh my GOSH! We’re under attack by a bunch of Garbage-kuns!” Though Tail was screaming, she showed no fear. Instead, she looked rather excited.

Roshan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as she yelled, “Why are you suddenly so excited?”

"Don’t you find it thrilling to face powerful enemies?” Tail’s eyes sparkled as she grinned. “Don’t worry Roro, we have reinforcements too!”

Clearly, they weren’t the only ones present. Long before they arrived, the Death Corps had already set up an ambush.

Almost at the same moment the Deathclaws revealed themselves, close to 300 shadows appeared in the fog.

Gas masks hung before their chests as all of them carried entrenching tools on their belts. Their bayonets were already fixed on their rifles.

The giant Deathclaw, Yong, narrowed his eyes slightly.

270 seventy people...

More than half of them were awakeners...

A flicker of apprehension passed through those amber pupils, but it was quickly blown away by a snort of disdain from his nostrils.

So what if they had 270 people with more than half being awakeners? I already surpassed the limits of humanity!

Every cell in its body was a crystallization of pre-war life science technology.

It considered itself an Immortal King, a creature that stood at the top of the food chain by its physical prowess alone, and it would eventually become the overlord of the planet!

Whether they were humans, mutants, or those rotting Slime Molds... In its eyes, they would all bow at its feet!

"Lowly ants..." It rubbed its claws on its footpads, and from its blood-drenched mouth came a roar. "Tear them apart!"

The piercing screams surged toward the players like a tidal wave.

Looking at the oncoming Deathclaws, everyone was filled with fighting spirit, their blood burning in their veins.

Not a single trace of fear could be seen.

And naturally, no one took the slightest step back.

A sharp whistle pierced through the fog, placing an unstoppable buff on all the players present.

For the Death Corps, charging straight at the enemy was the ultimate tactic.

It was also the battle strategy they were best at.

"Brothers! Charge!"

"DEMACIA!"[1]

“AWOO!"

Hot metal collided with flesh as gunfire echoed through the streets.

There was no need to aim. Wherever they shot, they would hit something anyway.

After emptying the last bullet in the magazine, the charging players of the Death Corps didn't stop. Instead, they raised their bayonets to meet those sharp claws.

Both unstoppable waves collided, and they were like meat grinders rolling together. Flesh and blood flew everywhere.

Yong’s amber pupils were filled with astonishment as it looked at the exchange. There was even a trace of disbelief in them.

Not too long ago, it encountered a 100-man squad from the Army. Back then, it casually reaped a few lives and all of them started running away in horror.

But these people...

They seemed utterly unaware of what death was, and they had no intention of retreating even a single step!

When the bullets ran out, they used bayonets, entrenching tools, even rocks and rebar picked up from the god knows where... Their barbaric fighting style struck fear even in the heart of beasts.

These people... They’re simply lunatics!

As more and more of its children died in the melee, Yong finally couldn't help but roar, taking the lead to charge at the group of fearless ants to carry out a more bloody slaughter.

The real battle had just begun.

...

It was an hour later by the time the street regained its original calm.

With the rays of dawn shining in the distance, perhaps it wouldn't be long before the fog covering the streets would dissipate...

The barely alive Yong lay in the middle of the street.

Its body was entwined with iron chains, and it was covered in blood. It was like Prometheus bound to a rock.

Its ideals were not to bring light and heat to the world, but malice and darkness.

As it said, half the chaos in the lands originated from Shelter 79, and it was the one who opened Pandora’s Box.

Those wounds no longer healed. As players discussed on the forums, its recovery ability had its limits.

Continuous damage accelerated the consumption of its vitality and if it didn’t replenish energy by eating, the damage would soon surpass the limits of its regenerative abilities.

As players fired one hot metal shell after another into its body, it ultimately couldn't hold up and collapsed.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Although the players also suffered significant casualties... What type of boss raid had no deaths?

According to the agreed rules, each sacrificed player would receive at least 300 silver coins as compensation. It was equivalent to three days' worth of income.

Those brothers who died were probably already boasting on the forums by now. Indeed... What they did was worth boasting about.

That was a two-story-tall Deathclaw they were talking about! It was the first time they had seen one since the Beta server opened.

"Speaking of which, I forgot to ask, what was Plan B again?" Panting, Eye Owe Money leaned on an old car. He wiped the blood off his forehead and looked at Construction Boy.

Before Construction Boy could answer, Sideline Slacking, sitting nearby, laughed and answered for him. "Plan B means that we’re out of plans."

Construction Boy nodded. "That's right, what plan do we need? We’ll just charge at the enemy."

If Drumhead Washing Machine was present, he would definitely agree with them. But unfortunately, his head had flown off somewhere during the battle.

According to their discussion with Tail before, If the sneak attack didn't take Yong down, they would all go up and beat him up together. Well, that was actually the plan that had been discussed in the first place.

Actually, Construction Boy felt that Plan A was completely superfluous.

Before officially triggering the boss battle, the health bar of the boss would be locked. How could the developers allow it to die to a sneak attack?

No matter what, they had to face the Deathclaw in the end.

Might as well just charge and beat him up from the start.

1. FOUND THE DEMACIAN, He’s in the Death Corps ☜