Chapter Sixty-One: Crushing with Overwhelming Force

“Savage Charge!” Shen Lie roared. His body turned golden yellow, and he plunged into the monster horde like a maddened bull.

The difference between Awakened was indeed enormous. The mutual restraint between abilities also played a major role in determining the outcome of a battle. Du Lili’s Fire Dragon Technique was practically the spider monsters’ natural enemy; even the two double-mark spider monsters did not dare approach her lightly.

Under such circumstances, Shen Lie was able to show his strength as well. He alternated between Doom Hammer and Savage Charge, once again unleashing the combination he had used against the toad monsters. After a furious, storm-like barrage, one of the double-mark spider monsters was beaten into a meat patty.

Excited, Shen Lie picked up a dark-red crystal and, while no one was paying attention, slipped it into his spatial gourd before continuing to search for his next target.

The two of them rampaged through the monsters like tigers among sheep. Before they had even used the explosives, they had already killed more than twenty spider monsters, including one double-mark monster. The Awakened under Zhang Kaitai stared in stunned disbelief. They were all Awakened, and they all used supernatural abilities—so how could the difference between them be so vast?

“Shen Lie, don’t get bogged down in the fight. Use the explosives!” Shen Lie was reveling in the slaughter when Du Lili suddenly came over and called to him in a low voice. He immediately came to his senses. Although his and Du Lili’s abilities countered these monsters, the bloodline power within their bodies was limited. The spider monsters were arriving in wave after wave, and there was no way they could kill them all in a short time. Besides, if they attracted that three-mark spider monster, they would be finished.

Based on Shen Lie’s deductions and experiments, the number of patterns on a spider monster’s back seemed roughly equivalent to the number of nodes ignited by an Awakened. A double-mark spider monster was about as strong as an Awakened with two ignited nodes. However, the abilities of Awakened varied wildly. They might counter the spider monsters, or they might be countered by them. It all depended on the specific circumstances.

If igniting one node counted as reaching the first level, then Shen Lie was currently a fully developed second-level Awakened. He had also mastered two offensive abilities, so dealing with a squad of double-mark spider monsters would still be well within his capabilities. With the enhancement from the star force between his brows, he might not even be at a disadvantage against two double-mark spider monsters at once.

Yet all of this depended on having sufficient bloodline power or star force. At present, he had none of Professor Liu’s replenishing potions to use. Once his energy was exhausted, even the highest level would be useless.

Shen Lie now had a clear understanding of his own strength. He had also collected quite a few crystals during the battle. When he heard Du Lili’s cry, he immediately yanked open his backpack, pulled out the explosive packs, and used them like grenades. He pulled the fuses and threw them into the monster horde; in the blink of an eye, more than twenty had been sent flying.

Du Lili also began throwing explosive packs while retreating. They had come to provide support for Zhang Kaitai, not to engage in a life-or-death struggle with these monsters. Now that their mission was complete, the spider monsters could be left to the military. Individual ability could not determine the outcome in a situation like this.

Although the explosive packs were not as powerful as Hu Chenggang had claimed, there was strength in numbers. With thirty or forty of them thrown together, more than a dozen spider monsters were blown apart. The others were shaken into a panicked retreat, and even the remaining double-mark spider monster could do nothing to control the situation as it shrieked incessantly.

“You go on ahead. I’ll follow!” Shen Lie saw several crystals exposed on the ground ahead and suddenly felt reluctant to leave. Each crystal could greatly increase his bloodline power. It would be a terrible waste to leave so many behind.

“What are you doing? Hurry up! We don’t have a vehicle anymore!” Du Lili had stayed beside Shen Lie the entire time, and she immediately scolded him in a low voice.

Shen Lie understood what she meant. Without a vehicle, they could not return as quickly as they had come. The main force was more than a thousand meters away, and getting back was not something they could accomplish in an instant.

“Not good! Another group of monsters is coming this way!”

“Heavenly King Shen, Heavenly King Du, move!”

“Go!”

Shen Lie cast one last pained glance at the crystals, stamped his foot, and turned to run. The monsters on the other side had begun to stir restlessly after seeing reinforcements arrive. He had noticed several double-mark monsters among the newcomers, and there even seemed to be a three-mark monster lurking at the very rear. If they did not run now, they really might be left here for good.

“Ah! What’s that?” Shen Lie and the others had only run a few dozen meters when they heard a series of shrill whistles. Then objects trailing thick smoke streaked across the sky above them, following arcing trajectories before landing among the monster horde behind them.

A deafening explosion shook heaven and earth. The monsters behind them suddenly scattered in panic and fled in all directions. Countless were killed outright, while the number seriously or lightly wounded was impossible to count.

“They’re rockets! Rockets! The division commander has reached the camp!” an Awakened officer in a major’s uniform shouted excitedly.

There were now only two rocket-artillery launch vehicles left in the force. They were the military’s most important ultimate weapons, and without Zhang Kaitai’s order, no one had the authority to use them.

The monsters behind them were driven back yet again. Shen Lie was also shaken by the power of such a large-scale weapon. And this was after its strength had been weakened by the gray mist; otherwise, the damage would have been even more terrifying.

“Perhaps humanity really does still have some hope.” Like Shen Lie, Du Lili was seeing such a scene for the first time. After a brief moment of stunned silence, she spoke with renewed excitement.

“Let’s hope so.” Shen Lie was not so optimistic. He had witnessed too many bizarre things in the other world. The giant winged insects alone were beyond the ability of ordinary weapons to deal with. Conventional weapons would eventually be eliminated. If humanity wanted to reclaim its living space, it could only begin with the evolution of its bloodlines.

“Let’s go,” Shen Lie said with a sigh.

With the support of the long-range heavy weapons, the retreat became much easier. Shen Lie was still thinking about the crystals inside the spider monsters, but he did not dare go back. Those rockets could not distinguish between spider monsters and allies. If he were not eaten by the monsters, only to die beneath friendly fire, that would truly be more unjust than the legendary injustice suffered by Dou E.

“Thank you for your assistance, both of you. On behalf of everyone in the 925th Infantry Division, I extend our gratitude!”

The moment Shen Lie and the others returned, they received a warm welcome. Hu Chenggang solemnly saluted the two of them. His gaze held both envy and respect, and when he addressed them as Heavenly Kings, his reverence was utterly sincere.

Hu Chenggang had watched Shen Lie and Du Lili’s performance through high-powered binoculars and had seen everything clearly. He was not the only one. Many others had witnessed it as well. The situation that should have meant certain death for their military Awakened squad had been handled by the two of them as effortlessly as swatting flies. The military squad had numbered twenty people, while the two of them had been alone.

What did that signify? It meant that their entire group of Awakened could not match even one of those two. It meant that although they were all Awakened, the disparity in strength between them was worlds apart.

No wonder even someone like Professor Liu had treated the two with respect. No wonder even the arrogant Gu Fangcheng had not dared use force against them. So that was where the truth lay.

In this apocalypse, strength was the only foundation.

“No need to thank us. Commander Zhang took good care of us throughout the journey, so consider this the Red Mist Group’s repayment. However, I don’t think the current situation is optimistic. The spider monsters seem to be multiplying the more we kill them. There may well be a spatial rift nearby. I don’t think remaining here on the defensive is a wise choice.”

Shen Lie voiced his suspicion, though it was only a suspicion. The exact situation still needed to be investigated.

“The command headquarters suspected as much long ago. Commander Zhang was wounded and is currently conferring urgently with the staff officers about what to do next. But if we don’t hurt these beasts badly first, even if we break through, we won’t be able to escape in peace. Far fewer people will survive.”

Shen Lie nodded silently. If the force chose to break out, the entire group would certainly be unable to remain together. The scene that followed would be one of scattered crowds fleeing in all directions while monsters pursued them. Just imagining it sent a chill through him.

“Brother Shen!”

“Uncle!”

Shen Lie was about to say something else when he suddenly noticed several figures running anxiously toward them. Looking closely, he saw that they were Zhang Jing and little Tao Tao, with Li Xue’s frail figure following behind them.

“What are you doing here?”

A warmth spread through Shen Lie’s heart. In this frigid age, there were still people who cared about him.