Hunter of Mysterious Creature

Chapter 891 - 117: Fierce Battle (Part 2)

Unlike the ragtag bunch temporarily assembled in the Hunter group, these individuals have remarkably high combat capabilities, military discipline, and loyalty. Unlike the symbolic role of Commander Chen Jing, they are the most crucial command unit of this Hunter group.

"If these Hunter groups were composed of such people, combat efficiency would greatly improve," Candle Dragon whispered beside Sun Hang. "Currently, every order has to be repeated several times, and the reaction speed and execution of other Hunters and mercenaries are far less than that of professional soldiers... If it were the City Defense Army of Dragon City here, it wouldn’t just be the cleanup of zone number three, they would probably be clearing zones seven and eight by now."

The three major families have issued each member of the Hunter group a pair of tactical goggles. These tactical goggles connect directly to the vehicle’s command system. With the assistance of an intelligent combat system, the entire battlefield is divided into over a dozen zones. The boundaries and numbers of these zones appear on the AR display of the tactical goggles, making the dynamics of the battlefield clear at a glance.

This feature makes it less strenuous for the retired veterans to command this ragtag group.

After all, it’s just a matter of firing towards the corresponding numbered zone. For this group of professional Hunters and mercenaries, as long as they’re not complete rookies on the battlefield for the first time, they can basically manage it... Not to mention, the Hunter group of the three major families does have some entry barriers, so true rookies can’t get in.

Chen Jing also shared the data with Sun Hang and his team. Although Sun Hang doesn’t have tactical goggles, he can still see the battlefield zone divisions via a tablet computer connected to drones.

At this moment, Mr. Jin, clad in heavy power armor, is fighting alone at the edge of the pit in Zone Sixteen. He almost single-handedly blocked one-fifth of the Fungus Puppets climbing out of the pit.

Meanwhile, the majority led by Chen Jing have just cleared the Fungus Puppets from zones one and two and are advancing over the ashes on the ground towards zone three.

"Things should change soon..." said Sun Hang.

"How do you see that?" Ya Qiaoxi put down the binoculars and asked.

"Several hundred Fungus Puppets have already been completely wiped out, and the ’reclaimed nutrients’ returning to the main body are just those few parasitized Hunters... For such a losing trade, the creature down in the pit certainly wouldn’t be willing. So why does it keep producing Fungus Puppets and sending them up to die?"

"To stall for time?" Ya Qiaoxi glanced at Sun Hang, seemingly trying to find an answer in his eyes.

"What’s the purpose of buying time? Escaping is impossible, as its mobility is too poor, and it can’t travel through the hard rock layers... Delaying its destruction? That’s even less likely. Knowing it’s doomed, any desperate counterattack, per its supernatural nature, isn’t something these people can withstand..." Sun Hang analyzed one by one. "Then there’s only one possibility: it’s preparing a big strike."

"What kind of strike could this creature have?" Ya Qiaoxi stared at the images transmitted back by the drone with a puzzled expression.

"I don’t know," Sun Hang shrugged. "But we should find out soon enough."

With the suppression of modern weaponry, zones three and four were also cleared smoothly, but at this moment, the situation on Mr. Jin’s side began to gradually change.

The reason for the change in battle conditions was simple — the fuel for the double-barrel heat melt was depleted.

Mr. Jin discarded these heavy weapons and drew two rapidly spinning Chainsaw Swords from his back, slashing continuously among the Puppet hordes.

The number of weapons power armor can carry is limited. The double-barrel heat melt and oversized fuel backpack left no extra capacity for Mr. Jin to carry other weapons. His only remaining weapons were these two Chainsaw Swords for close combat.

Compared to conventional melee weapons, Chainsaw Swords can easily cut through the tough hides of supernatural creatures, making them a standard close combat weapon configured within military power armor units. When the chainsaw on the blade spins at high speed, the intimidating roar it produces is unmatched by any dagger or military knife.

But when facing these Fungus Puppets, which can’t be killed with cuts, the effect of the Chainsaw Sword is poor. The sliced Fungus Puppets pile up at Mr. Jin’s feet, and before long, they envelop the feet and legs of his power armor. New fungal threads sprout from these Puppet fragments, intertwining and sticking together, rapidly forming a cocoon-like structure, engulfing Mr. Jin’s entire lower half!

"Warning! Warning! The outer armor is corroding! Estimated to hold for another one hundred and twenty seconds!"

"Warning! Backpack thrusters damaged! Lost jumping and hovering capabilities!"

"Warning! Right hand Chainsaw Sword engine damaged! Chainsaw has stopped operating!"

One bad news after another hit Jin Hongyi’s ears, filling him with frustration. He swung the malfunctioning right hand Chainsaw Sword as a blunt weapon, smashing it into two attacking Fungus Puppets. But as he tried to swing the left hand Chainsaw Sword again, he found it got stuck on something and couldn’t lift it at all.

Turning his head, Jin Hongyi realized the Chainsaw Sword had embedded itself into a Fungus Puppet’s chest, and this Puppet was gripping the high-speed spinning chainsaw with both hands. A large amount of fungal threads clogged the gaps of the chainsaw, causing its engine to groan under the strain... Moreover, other Fungus Puppets closed in, attaching themselves to the Puppet holding the Chainsaw Sword, merging body to body, finally forming a huge mass of flesh that trapped the entire Chainsaw Sword inside.

"Warning! Left hand Chainsaw Sword engine overheating! Warning! Chainsaw chain breaking! Warning! Warning! Warning!"

"Motherfucker!" Jin Hongyi cursed, the words clear as day, as he released the left-hand sword grip, throwing a punch directly at the head of the Fungus Puppet holding the Chainsaw Sword, now mostly melded with the flesh mass except for its head and arms.

The head of the Fungus Puppet was smashed flat instantly, but it didn’t prevent it from continuing its assault on Jin Hongyi.

Countless arms sprouted from the meat mass, waving madly. As soon as they touched any part of the power armor’s surface, they clung on tightly. More fungal threads would then creep from these arms, covering the power armor.

Jin Hongyi struggled fiercely, but at this moment, the power armor’s auxiliary computer suddenly stopped its alarm. The abrupt change left him momentarily stunned. The next instant, the screen in front of him — also the helmet visor — suddenly appeared with countless fine cracks.

Jin Hongyi realized that the power armor was written off... and so perhaps would he be next.

He tried to break free from the grip of the Fungus Puppets and move forward, but the power armor, which had protected him, now became a prison that confined him when it ceased functioning, preventing even simple actions like raising his arm or taking a step.

Under these circumstances, the only response was to abandon the armor and escape. However, with the spore concentration outside, even if he crawled out of the power armor and the Fungus Puppets didn’t attack him, he would be parasitized by spores and become nutrition for that insectoid creature.

"Damn, after recklessly charging in for years, is this really where it ends?" Jin Hongyi felt unwilling. He didn’t fear death, only that this kind of death seemed so frustrating.

"Self-destruct...the engine of this power armor can self-destruct?" As this thought crossed Jin Hongyi’s mind, with a crisp cracking sound, his shattered helmet visor completely broke into pieces, countless fungal threads surged into the helmet, filling every tiny gap inside...