MTLNOVEL Chapter 217: Chaos
At this moment, on the west bank of Qili Lake.
The battle had reached its final moments.
The Battle Group Commander of the Supreme Army's Second Battle Group was covered in blood, his face torn open by the claws of a monster, leaving a huge wound.
His eyelids had been ripped apart, exposing his brow bone and eyeballs, looking terrifying and fierce.
Just now, he personally operated a huge cannon, firing a round at the level-two Qinyuan Mother Body that had caused great trouble for the Supreme Army.
Less than two kilometers away, whether it was the Holy Trinity's blessing or incredibly good luck, the shell actually hit the monster precisely.
Along with a massive explosion, the twenty-meter-high Qinyuan Mother Body instantly became a pool of shattered flesh and blood.
The Supreme Army soldiers witnessing this erupted in cheers, but then fiercer attacks layered on them without pause.
Caught off guard, the Second Battle Group Commander was struck by the monster's claws, but the cannon barrel in front of him absorbed most of the attack.
Even so, he nearly perished under such a tricky swipe.
When he fell, a fearless soldier rushed forward to stand before him, using a rocket launcher to decisively kill the monster, which wasn't that large.
But he himself was pierced by the monster's claws, dying in front of the Second Battle Group Commander.
The blood stained his vision red, and the Second Battle Group Commander tried to blink, only to find he'd lost this ability.
He violently shook his head, trying to fling the blood out of his eyes, but such actions were futile.
The rifle in his hand was already so hot the barrel had turned red, he extracted a jammed bullet and inserted a magazine into the chamber.
"Everyone spread out immediately!"
"Do not bunch together! Don't give those alien creatures a chance to attack!"
"We don't need to kill them! We just need to hold them off as long as possible!"
He shouted orders and then pulled the trigger, aiming at the distant monsters once again, emptying all the bullets in the chamber.
The searing bullets spun out, one after the other, into the huge monster's body.
It seemed to have not sustained fundamental damage, but the bullets stirred within, genuinely slowing its movements.
Subsequently, a bundle of hand grenades was thrown.
As the grenades fell under the monster, explosions followed.
"Boom!"
The shockwave and shrapnel opened a bloody hole in the monster's vulnerable abdomen, and the Second Battle Group Commander staggered and fell, then got back up shouting:
"Nicely done!"
"Who was that!"
"The glory of the Holy Trinity shines upon you!"
"It was me!"
Someone grabbed his arm from the side and dragged him back quickly.
"You need to retreat to the rear! There is a doctor! He will bandage you!"
"Let me go! That's an order!"
The Second Battle Group Commander struggled to get up, his blurred vision unable to see the face of the person dragging him.
"Your orders don't work on me!"
"Go get bandaged now! We still need you to continue fighting!"
At this point, the Second Battle Group Commander finally recognized the voice of the person.
"Don't worry about me!"
"Go command your Third Battle Group!"
"They need you more than I do!"
"The Third Battle Group has almost no one left..."
The Third Battle Group Commander's voice was slightly low, but quickly became stern.
"Stop struggling!"
"We all need to retreat!"
"The main force has already crossed Qili Lake, they are setting up positions!"
"We only need to hold for 10 more minutes!"
"Just 10 minutes!"
"You must survive!"
"There's no time!"
The Second Battle Group Commander shook off the other's hand, then reached out his left hand to grab a gun from the ground.
"Even if they establish a position, we can't retreat smoothly!"
"These monsters move too fast, their targets are clear!"
"The ones at the front are just low-level monsters used as cannon fodder, while the real killers are hiding behind!"
"We can't retreat..... I'm going to the Holy Trinity's Heaven in a more glorious way!"
"At least try!"
The Third Battle Group Commander also raised his gun, then said:
"Come with me! Quickly!"
His voice was unquestionable, and after a brief hesitation, the Second Battle Group Commander finally chose to comply.
He turned around and staggered as he ran, while more soldiers were retreating towards the lake shore alongside him.
The temporarily constructed defensive line had completely fallen, precious ammunition and heavy equipment were beyond reach.
"Start the steamship! Prepare for evacuation!"
He heard the Third Battle Group Commander shouting orders, and soldiers familiar with the steamship immediately rushed up.
A moment later, billowing white steam rose, and the remaining less than fifty soldiers from the three battle groups gathered loosely around the steamship carrying hope, establishing the final line of defense.
"Follow my orders!"
"Everyone aim at the monsters on the right!"
"Ready!"
"Fire!"
"Bang bang bang bang bang ----"
With a command, bullets were densely concentrated on a single target.
With all heavy firepower lost, these soldiers had to resort to the most primitive means of attack.
But the good news was, such an attack was effective.
As hundreds of bullets simultaneously hit the huge monster, the immense impact pinned it in place.
Its armor was pierced, its flesh torn apart.
The monster's body suddenly collapsed, and the soldiers immediately focused on the next target.
"Ready!"
"Fire!"
.....
By this time, the continuous bleeding had completely stained the Second Battle Group Commander's upper body red.
He was enduring a massive dizziness, losing all capacity for thought.
All he could do was follow the Third Battle Group Commander's orders, mechanically aiming and firing like an ordinary soldier.
The bullets were almost gone.
And on the east bank of Qili Lake, the long-awaited artillery barrage had yet to sound.
There was no time left.
Through blurred vision, the Second Battle Group Commander could already see the terrifying monster that made his body involuntarily tremble.
Its massive body, twisted and entwined like writhing worms, was advancing, and the mucus exuded a rancid smell, detectable even from nearly a kilometer away.
Each tentacle bore a hammerhead-shaped head, and the corrosive liquid spewed from its huge mouth corroded everything before it without discrimination.
That was "Beikun."
A level-two monster that had once caused enormous casualties to the Mechanical God Sect.
It was not resilient nor agile, but its size was unbelievably enormous.
Even when directly hit by the big cannon, it could quickly contract and reorganize, like an indestructible earthworm, reconfiguring itself.
The last time the Second Battle Group Commander saw it, he'd lost nearly a hundred brothers.
And this time...
Perhaps it really was time to see those brothers who died before him.
He sighed deeply, his gaze shifting to an ammo box nearby.
Then, suddenly, he dropped the gun in his hand, recklessly picking up a crate of grenades.
"What are you doing!?"
The Third Battle Group Commander shouted, noticing his actions and trying to pull him back, but now, his movements were surprisingly nimble.
As if he'd burned the last energy in his body.
He charged forward, rushing towards the monster.
The distance was already close.
He began to feel exhausted.
But just a little longer.
Just another hundred meters, and he could enter the grenade's kill zone.
---- But why was the monster getting further away?!
Was he running too slowly?
Confused, the Second Battle Group Commander looked into the distance.
And at that moment, he suddenly realized, it wasn't that he was running slowly.
It was that the monster was retreating!
No, not just that monster.
All the monsters were retreating.
They had lost their direction.
The Second Battle Group Commander looked back, seeing his brothers gesturing for him to retreat.
He glanced at the grenades in his hand, then looked across the lake.
At that moment, he suddenly felt a little...
Ridiculous.
What exactly happened?
This question might never have an answer.
But at this moment, artillery on the far side of Qili Lake finally started sounding...