Chapter 508.1: The Eighth Person

"Roar!"

The deafening bellow echoed through the corridor, nearly cracking the alloy walls and floor.

Meng Liang clutched his ears, his face contorted in pain.

Peeking out with half his head into the hallway, he could almost see the shockwaves of dust stirred up by the impact.

“Holy shit... That thing is messed up!”

Dodging a deadly strike that came whistling through the air, Battlefield Cheerleader glanced at the door panel now embedded in the wall behind him, vibrating like a tuning fork, his face pale.

Good lord.

What kind of fucking fake sivir knockoff is this?! A war goddess?!

If that damn creature landed a solid hit, even the amazing and almighty administrator would probably be chopped in half...

He thought they were up against a shield wielding tank-type enemy, but to his surprise, the Rotten Knight had flung both shield and sword like javelins directly at him and Su Ming.

“Goddamn it...”

A steel rod had slammed right into Su Ming's chest as he struggled to get back on his feet.

Ignoring the burning pain in his chest, he forced his foggy mind to focus, grabbed the Gauss rifle that had fallen to the ground, and aimed it at the monster standing at the end of the hallway.

“Die!”

The moment his finger pulled the trigger, arcs of electricity started to flicker and dance in mid air.

Countless projectiles exploded from the chamber, roaring like a torrential rain at the Rotten Knight, sending sparks flying from its armor.

Unfortunately, they failed to penetrate its plating.

The Rotten Knight reached out its right hand, grabbed onto a door from a nearby room, and yanked it off with brute strength.

The two men’s expressions changed. While Battlefield Cheerleader kept firing, he shouted to Su Ming beside him, “We don’t have enough power! Can your thing... Can it charge up?!”

He remembered that the administrator’s Gauss rifle could charge shots, increasing the mass and penetration of a single round.

A fully charged shot could even pierce the armor of a Conqueror tank!

Clearly realizing how absurd the mutant’s defense was, Su Ming had already drawn a deep breath and raised his weapon before Battlefield Cheerleader even finished speaking.

The battery indicator dropped rapidly as the capacitor emitted a pale blue arc at its front. That eerie muzzle glowed with terrifying energy.

“I need time!”

“How long?” Battlefield Cheerleader gritted his teeth, reloading while glancing at the seemingly unharmed Rotten Knight after a full volley.

“Ten...”

Before he could finish, a howling gale surged forth. The Rotten Knight at the end of the corridor suddenly burst into motion like a cannonball.

Its wide, sweeping attack caught them both off guard. The flung door panel kicked up a gust like a hurricane and sent Su Ming flying with his weapon, rendering him incapacitated. Then, a horizontal slash sent Battlefield Cheerleader crashing into the wall.

“Argh!” Battlefield Cheerleader spat out a mouthful of blood-tinged spit after biting his lip. Seeing his rifle snapped in two, he flung it aside.

Good thing he instinctively blocked earlier, or that strike alone would've sent him straight to the forums.

The thought filled him with dread.

Such overwhelming strength... Quantified, the Rotten Knight’s strength stat might easily exceed 100!

Worse still, its speed and defense were just as monstrous, with a turtle-shell-like invulnerability and the tenacity unique to Evolved Type Slime Mold.

Even if a bullet managed to hit a weak spot, it couldn’t inflict a fatal wound.

It wasn't a fight between equals at all!

“Damn it...” Battlefield Cheerleader gritted his teeth, pulled out the short sword on his belt, and as the Rotten Knight charged again, slashed hard at its head.

A dull clang rang out!

It felt like his sword had struck a mountain. His hand stung from the impact, and before he could react, the door panel jammed against his chest sent him flying.

The body armor he wore dented inward, and he grunted as his back slammed into the ground.

Not far off, the short sword had only managed to shave off a thin layer of dark red fungal layer from the knight’s helmet.

Even his full-force blow hadn’t left a scratch on the visor.

But then again... That was an exoframe.

Battlefield Cheerleader let out a bitter laugh. If he’d known they were up against a Rotten Knight, he would have never come in the first place.

But regret was useless. All he could be thankful for was managing to save before this encounter.

Step by step, the Rotten Knight approached. It raised its right arm high, the door panel in its hand ready to crush him like minced meat.

But just then, its movement suddenly halted.

Cracking open one eye, Battlefield Cheerleader saw that the spot where he had landed a blow earlier revealed a palm-sized monocle.

It had previously been covered by thick fungal growth.

Behind the lens flickered an ominous red light, and suddenly faint blue waves scanned across its surface.

The exoframe, whose reactor had shut down and systems frozen, seemed to awaken after some dormant protocol was triggered.

Emergency power surged from a backup battery. Reversed mechanical drives locked the arm in place, halting its motion mid-strike.

Even though the flesh inside the steel had long since decayed, its lingering will still controlled the indomitable armor.

With a hiss of depressurization, a tube-shaped fusion battery ejected from its back. At the same time, a growl filled with static leaked from the helmet.

“... Kill... Me...”

There was no time to hesitate.

Su Ming, regaining some movement, propped himself up and hurled a tubular plasma grenade toward the Rotten Knight.

"... Silver tab is the switch! Plug it into the armor's power socket... It’s on its back!"

Understanding immediately, Battlefield Cheerleader snatched the grenade that rolled near him, rolled behind the Rotten Knight, and yanked out the fusion battery.

Then he pulled the grenade’s pin and jammed it deep into the loose socket.

“Get down!”

No need for Su Ming’s warning, Battlefield Cheerleader instinctively dove forward the moment he completed the action.

Almost simultaneously, a blinding flash burst from the knight’s back, scattering electrical arcs and plasma sparks everywhere.

Plasma poured into the armor’s internals, instantly roasting the fungal biomass into char.

AUGAHHHH!

A pained roar rocked the corridor.

As if drained of all strength by the flash, the red glow behind the tactical visor faded. The armor slumped forward and crashed to its knees.

Seeing the Rotten Knight finally defeated, Battlefield Cheerleader collapsed on the floor and exhaled deeply. Only after a long pause did he grit his teeth and push his numbed body upright.

At some point, Su Ming had walked up to the exoframe, silently watching it with his Gauss rifle in hand.

Removing the dented chest plate, Battlefield Cheerleader stepped up beside him.

“Someone you knew?”

“Yeah.”

Su Ming nodded silently.

Battlefield Cheerleader’s throat moved slightly.

He already had a guess, but still asked,

“He was...”

“Captain Lu.”

Su Ming didn’t say much else. He reached into the now-open helmet, retrieved a black card from inside, clutched it tightly, and tucked it into the lining of his exoskeleton.

It was the exoframe’s action log backup. The recordings inside might explain what had happened...

Hearing the lack of noise, Meng Liang cautiously emerged from the room.

Seeing the motionless armor, he swallowed hard.

“It’s over?”

“Yeah, it’s over.” Battlefield Cheerleader looked toward the room at the end of the hallway and said with a complicated expression, “The administrator’s office is just ahead.”

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

The three of them moved forward.

Battlefield Cheerleader placed his hand on the sliding door, expecting traps, but it opened effortlessly.

Behind it was a modestly decorated room.