Chapter 551: The Fearless (1/2)
Chapter 551: The Fearless
Translator: OneshotwonderEditor: Hitesh_
”Are you deaf? Haven't you heard me?” Seeing none of the soldiers obeying his command, Si Ke shouted out at the top of his lungs.
”My lord, we understand your concerns, but none of us can bear this humiliation any longer. I quit! I will lead whoever wants to follow me out of our bunker and fight to the death.”
”Yea, Captain! We will follow you wherever you go!”
”You, You!” Si Ke's hands trembled out of sheer fury. He watched as Jan Si and a dozen other strongest guard-captains removed their badges and threw them onto his desk.
”Brothers and Sisters, follow me!” Jan Si announced as soon as he threw down the badge.
”Lead the way!”
…
The golden colored dark one had been slaughtering innocent civilians for a while, but he had found no idea target to collect gene samples yet. Suddenly, his nose twitched as he sniffed out something in the air. Sensing the promise of a potential target, he flew himself right in front of Jan Si.
As the dark one folded his crinkly bat wings, his rat-like face gave the human soldier a ”welcoming smile.” A forked tongue slithered out of a hairy mouth as a few words were squeezed out form its narrow windpipe.
”Excellent... I thought all of you humans are cowards. But you, you are different.”
The dark one's sudden descent had startled many civilians. These new breed of dark ones were able to fly much longer distances than their predecessors, and therefore, were able to harass settlements far beyond the human defense line. Their attacks were able to catch humans off guard, and they often used fear to deal a blow to the humans' morale.
Jan Si was shocked by the dark one's ability to speak human language. But he quickly gathered himself. ”I have no time to chitchat! DIE!”
Without any hesitation, he plunged his blade at the dark one. The dark one opened up his wings and lifted himself off the ground in an attempt to dodge. ”Haha, you are the only soldiers who have dared to stand in front of me so far. I will give you a chance and allow all of you to attack me at the same time.”
KOM!
A hulking centipede-like Zerg landed right beside the dark one, kicking up a plume of dust. One dark one paired with one mutant primitive Zerg was the standard makeup of a Zerg team.
”Don't you dare look down on me! If you consider yourself a true warrior, let's fight one on one!” Jan Si announced.
”Captain, what are you talking about? We don't have to play fair with these monsters! They don't deserve it.”
”Shut up, and stay out of this!” Jan Si commanded; he didn't even spare his followers a glance.
”What a fool! Your friends are trying to save your life. Have you just found out how powerful I am? Haha…well, it is already too late!” The dark one laughed loudly in the air, his voice laced with conceit.
Before Jan Si walked out of the bunker, he still had a sliver of hope that he might be able to overcome the dark one. But, after he had a taste of its power, he knew that he had no chance in surviving the fight.
In order to save the lives of his followers, he challenged the dark one into a one on one duel. However, having his ruse being seen through, he knew he had no option but to double down on his original plan of ganging up on the dark one.
”Formation!” Jan Zi ordered.
From the dark one's point of view, he saw not only rows of human soldiers, but also arrays of data regarding each soldier's ability and power. He was disappointed to find out that none of these soldiers qualified as gene samples. However, they were perfect materials for his nasty personal hobbies.
As soon as the soldiers readied their weapons, the dark one disappeared. Jan Si was the first to have sensed danger, but before he could utter a warning, the dark one had pierced the hearts of two of the level eighteen soldiers. The dark one's attack outright ignored the defense of the METAL suit.
Jan Si turned around and attacked the dark one with abandon. However, the cunning enemy picked up two more human victims and flew off. Meanwhile, the centipede Zerg was wreaking havoc in the streets a few blocks away. It seemed utterly disinterested in the safety of the dark one, perhaps because it knew that the dark one needed no protection at all.
”What a foolish and selfish idiot!” Si Ke grunted. Although Jan Si could be stubborn at times, he had been a solid soldier and a loyal companion to Si Ke until now. It would be heartbreaking to see his best soldiers die in vain. The loss of such a powerful warrior would knock his reputation and fame down a few notches as well.
By then, it was evident that the dark one intended to toy with his prey before he dealt the killing blow. He picked off Jan Si's followers one after another, provoking him and leading him deeper into madness. If Jan Si were a level twenty one warrior, he might still be able to save one or two of his followers; but, he was only level twenty.
In five minutes or so, nearly all of Jan Si's followers had died, leaving the general so helpless and frustrated that he thought he was going mad.
”A*shole! Come at me! How about picking on someone of your size?”
The last two soldiers smartened up as they stood back to back with each other, covering each other's rear.
”Lao Dao, Da Qiang, steady! Don't break out of the formation. This b*stard wants to lure us out, so don't fall for it.”
”Captain, he killed our best friends. I can't stand it!”
”Pull yourself together! Otherwise, all of us will die here. Is that what you want? To let that jerk laugh at our dead bodies?”
Jan Si finally realized something was amiss about the dark one in front of him. Not only had it evolved into a humanoid body, but its mind was also eerily human. Picking off the weaker opponents first and then focusing on the stronger ones was the tactics often used by human warriors.
”Although he is faster and stronger than us, he has a very weak defense. Let's take our time and plan our attacks.”
As a level twenty warrior, Jan Si had the ability to gauge the power of the dark one accurately. Each dark one had their own unique abilities; this one had not only reached the legendary level, but also excelled in speed and offense. However, its speed and agility came at the cost of a weak defense.
The dark ones conducted these raids very often, and the humans had seen all kinds of dark ones. Some dark ones excelled in speed, some in strength, and some even in making battle strategies. There were so many different traits that practically no two dark ones were the same.
Since this dark one had incredible learning abilities, Jan Si wagered that it must have specialized in speed and brain functions. Like just human warriors, it was almost impossible for a dark one to be good at every aspect of warfare. Those very few who did served directly under the dark lord, and were rarely seen during such small skirmishes.
The loss of Jan Si's comrades' lives was a wake-up call for the captain. This dark one was exceptionally smart, and he had been purposely aggravating the human soldiers to break out of their ranks so he could pick them off one by one.
Bang, bang, bang!
After another slew of attacks, the three-person formation became even tighter as the three soldiers each took a half step back to cushion the blows. Jan Si had to marvel at the incredible might of his opponent.
”Captain, let me lure him away! We will all die here if we stay together.” Lao Dao announced. Even as he spoke, the dark one jabbed a bone spear at Jan Si. He blocked the attack with his blade, but the impact sent a shock through his body. His super METAL shone brilliantly after absorbing the most damage of the blow.
”Just let me do it!” Da Qiang shouted. To lure the dark one out meant using one soldier's life to buy some precious time for the other two to escape. Was losing one life really that much better than losing two anyway?
”You two are not strong enough; I will lure him away myself. Run!”
Jan Si left the formation and charged at the dark one. The dark one rose to the bait, as it stormed toward him. Jan Si didn't flinch; he doubled down on his attack as he raised the blade high above his head and channeled all his might into its sharp edge.
However, at this moment of life and death, the giant centipede Zerg came back to help its partner, going straight for the other two weaker and defenseless soldiers.
Zzeng!
In a blink, Lao Dao fell into the Zerg's death clutch. However powerful a level nineteen warrior was, he didn't stand a chance against the giant centipede.
It was evident by then that this dark one was highly intelligent. It had ordered the giant Zerg to pretend to be uninterested in the fight in order to lower the human soldiers' guards. The giant centipede only lashed out at the most critical moment of the battle, with the element of surprise on his side.
The dark one jabbed a bone spear through Lao Dao's shoulder blade. Instead of killing the human soldier right away, it lifted its prey into the air and shouted. ”I have heard that humans possess a special chemical reaction in the brain called humanity. I often wondered if that were true. Now, tell me, human, are you willing to die for the others?”
”Captain...don't mind me. Kill this SOB!” Having his body pierced through, Lao Dao couldn't start his GN force. He was as vulnerable as an ordinary human without any military training.
Da Qiang squeezed his lance tight in his hand as he urged Jan Si to make a move, ”Captain!”
But unlike Da Qiang, Jan Si remained calm. ”What do you want from us?”
”Am I not clear? I want an exchange. Cut your arm off, and I will let go of his.” A sly smirk found the dark one's face. Equipped with high intelligence, these dark ones were much worse to humans than those mindless brutes.
People in the city poked their heads out of their covers to watch the dramatic fight. Everyone knew that to make a deal with the dark one was to shake hands with the devil himself. Including Jan Si, everyone wished that they could ignore the offer and save Lao Dao. However, Jan Si simply couldn't watch his best friend die while he knew there might be a chance in saving him, regardless of whether the chance was actually real or not.
Suddenly, Jan Si heard a painful cry: Lao Dao had tried to sacrifice himself for his friends, but the dark one stopped him by jabbing a bone spear into his spine, paralyzing him from the neck down.