Chapter 522: Saviour Of The World?

If one were to view Zero City from the air, they would see that major parts of Zero City had become a battlefield.

A large area with a radius of hundreds of metres, with the central square as the centre point, had been flattened.

The instant the mushroom cloud rose upward, the violent explosion resulted in the levelling of the area involved. Naturally, that included all the combat personnel within the area.

The high temperature resulting from the large explosion liquidated all the buildings in the area. The use of the Plasma Bombs utterly destroyed the area. Half of the Sea of Love had transformed into a mirror like landscape under the wave of high temperature that washed over it.

Chaos descended upon the place.

There was no question about it. The enemy had broken through the first line of defence… more accurately, it had been completely decimated.

The over 50 AI-controlled Sentinel mechs stationed within the first defensive line had fallen in combat. Accompanying them were over 20 tanks and more than 30 combat aircrafts.

Additionally, there were also… … 40 combat personnel from the Angel Corps.

All of them were exterminated.

There were also some men from Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild and volunteers from the dispersed crowd of outsider Awakened ones from the north street.

After the utter destruction of the first defensive line, the area turned into a chaotic battlefield.

It seemed as though the forces committed by the invaders from the Player faction and Zero City’s defenders into the first wave of assaults were all of the technological type.

Tanks, battle mechs, combat aircrafts, War Bastions. All of those equipment, which were of the technological type had been thrown into this meat grinder of the first confrontation as though they were of no value.

Weapons and skills of the technological type were always superior to magic and physical type in terms of lethality and area of effect. At the same time… … there were more advantageous in terms of cost.

…

An energy beam pierced through a building on the south street. The building had been connected to the main defensive equipment. However, due to overloading, the defensive equipment had burnt down.

A battle mech from the Player faction marched forward through the south street. Following behind the mech were over 10 Players in protective suits. Using the mech as a shield, they swiftly moved forward.

A beam suddenly shot out from a building on the left side of the south street and moved toward the mech’s legs. The mech reacted by instantly deploying its energy shield, blocking the incoming attack. The Players who were behind it raised their weapons in unison and opened fire on the source of the attack.

An outsider Awakened had been hiding inside the distant building, using it as a sniping position. However, under the Player’s barrage, one third of the entire building fell. Naturally, nothing was left of the outsider Awakened hiding inside the building.

Naturally, that was not the end of the resistance efforts. A Thunderstorm Tank charged out from a corner of the street. Its turret quickly turned and launched a blast at the mech’s body. The mech’s energy shield began to fail and it was forced to take several steps back before falling down on the ground. However, the mech quickly thrust its arm into the wall of the building beside it. Tearing out a large portion of the concrete wall, it viciously threw it at the tank.

The concrete block struck home and the force behind the throw caused the turret’s barrel to become dented. Seeing that, the combat personnel inside quickly climbed out, but the Players had begun shooting. Wretched screams rang out in succession as three of the five combat personnel were killed on the spot. As for the other two, they rushed into the buildings and continued engaging the invading Player forces.

At that same moment, a Sentinel mech slowly moved out from a junction behind the mech. It quietly closed up the distance between it and the Player’s mech. When it had gotten close enough, it bent its knees and propelled itself forward. It spread open its arms as it charged at the larger mech.

It was like a child grappling upon the back of a full-grown adult.

However, none of the Players found this scene funny.

The reason for that was, the Sentinel mech’s body had begun emitting highly powerful energy waves of light.

“Spread out!”

Following a growl, the Players quickly scattered in all directions. Some of them even activated their own shields as they ran.

Boom!

The self-destructing Sentinel mech successfully blew off one third of the upper body part of the large-scale mech.

The exposed cockpit revealed that the Player pilot had been smashed as he was caught in the explosion.

As for the scattered Players, they were quickly greeted by a wave of long-ranged attacks.

Pew!

A Player’s leg was shot right through. His leg was not protected by his protective suit. After suffering from the attack, the Player screamed miserably and rolled around on the ground in an attempt to reach the building beside him. Unfortunately for him, another long-ranged attack followed.

This time, the attack pierced through his head.

…

Yang Yi observed his target, the one who was just shot through the head. There was no expression of triumph on his face and he rapidly kept his energy rifle before leaving the room – he simply jumped out from the window of the room, which was on the third floor.

The moment he landed on the ground, an explosion rocked out from above him. The room that he had used as a sniping point had exploded.

Yang Yi did not turn around to look at the room. Instead, he quickly made his way into another building.

“Killed two.”

“Three.”

“One.”

“Dick died!”

“Tate is seriously injured. I am the only one left in Team C!”

The voices of his team members came ceaselessly from the earpiece Yang Yi was wearing.

Yang Yi was a man with a heart of steel. No emotions appeared on his face and he quickly jumped into another building.

On the first floor of this building was the sign for one of the resident guilds. Yang Yi used one hand to climb up the second floor. Soon, he was running across the terrace of the building. Next, he found himself a satisfactory sniping position. There in the middle of two buildings was a very well hidden sniping position.

He then quickly pulled out his killer weapon from his Storage Watch. It was an Electromagnetic Cannon.

After quickly setting up the barrel part of his cannon, he aimed carefully at the invaders that were advancing through the south street.

He quickly found his target. An undamaged mech.

Its body was over 10 metres tall with a faint silver coating and a protective shield on its left hand – this was clearly a high-grade item.

Yang Yi quickly made preparations to open fire. It was at that moment that a voice came through his earpiece:

“Yang Yi, I am done for. Brothers, goodbye!”

Hearing that familiar voice, the corner of Yang Yi’s mouth twitched.

Next, he saw something through his monitoring screen.

A completely bloodied man whose protective suit was only one third intact and whose body was charred to the point of becoming unrecognizable jumped down from the third floor of a building beside the street.

The man’s landing position was directly behind the mech that Yang Yi was aiming at.

Behind the mech were three other invaders and two AI-controlled androids from the Player faction.

After falling on the ground, the bloodied man wasted no time. He was hugging onto an oval shaped object.

The Player closest to him reacted instantly. His face twisted quickly and he turned and ran. At the same time, he also activated and pushed the defences of his shield to the max.

“Plasma Bomb!”

Boom!

Yang Yi watched as blue coloured light instantly engulfed an area with a radius of over 10 metres on the south street. The explosive power of the Plasma Bomb smashed the silver mech down the ground and the two battle androids were reduced to scraps. As for the three Players, only one of them managed to get away. The other two failed to react in time. Failing to activate their defensive shield, they were inundated by the plasma explosion.

The defensive shield of the one that managed to react flickered and the Player was thrown tens of metres away in a miserable manner.

Then… an energy beam shot through his head.

…

Yang Yi lowered the energy gun in his hand and tossed it to the ground. Next, he quickly got into position behind his Electromagnetic Cannon. He started looking for another target.

After opening fire, a modified tank from the Player faction that was in the front most position on the south street was struck. The attack pierced its way through the tank and the resulting explosion engulfed the Players inside the tank and the two battle androids behind the tank. One of the Players was too close and failed to get away in time. A fragment of the blown up tank flew over toward him and cut off part of his shoulder.

Without hesitating, Yang Yi then abandoned his Electromagnetic Cannon. He turned and jumped down the building.

He had only managed to put a distance of less than 10 metres between him and the building before the building behind him was turned to ashes by flames.

Heat waves spread out and Yang Yi rolled his body across the ground. His mouth was filled with the taste of copper and he wiped his mouth only to find that there was blood all over his hand.

“I will kill even more Players for you… … little bro!”

…

The resistance erupting throughout the south street was extremely intense. It could even be called tragic.

The number of Players gradually grew. The teleportation matrix remained despite the destruction of the central square.

Batches after batches of combat units were sent in. Within 10 minutes after the first explosion, over a hundred Players had entered Zero City.

The number of combat units, on the other hand, was over 300. A large number of battle androids, tanks and mechs were sent in.

The Players seemed unfamiliar with the layout of Zero City. After entering, they did not immediately attack in the direction of the south street. Instead, they spread out like locusts.

The Sea of Love that had fallen into a ruined state was of no worth in the Players’ eyes. Thus, the south and north streets that were filled with buildings became the Players’ targets.

The Players’ advance through the north street appeared very smooth.

…

The Angel Corps did not defend the north street. Thus, the Players were able to advance far in just a matter of minutes. The Player team who made it farthest covered a distance of at least 500 metres.

Unlike the brutal experience in the south street, the resistances throughout the north street were sporadic at best.

There were only the few outsider Awakened ones there. Many of those who volunteered to join the battle died when the first line of defence in the central square was destroyed.

However, many of the outsider Awakened ones remained hidden in the north street area’s buildings. When the Players began advancing on the north street, the outsider Awakened ones had nowhere to retreat and were finally forced to finally fight back.

However, their fights were filled with tragedy.

While the outsider Awakened ones may not necessarily be weak, the teams of Player sent in were highly organized. The outsider Awakened ones were either fighting alone or in small groups of three or five. Their combat powers were uneven and there was clearly no cooperation between them.

Additionally, the weapons used by the outsider Awakened ones appeared unsuited for such a large-scale battle.

Behind a building on the north street area, an Awakened who was at his wit’s end activated his Body Technique skill and transformed into a two-metre-tall giant. His entire body was bursting with muscles and the protective suit he wore seemed as though it would split. He then used his large curved greatsword to furiously hack down two AI battle androids. However, the several Player manned mechs simply cleaved his body apart with their Beam Blades.

A female Awakened beside a fountain finished her chant and summoned out an Earthen Golem from the ground. However, in face of the might of two mechs, the golem lasted no more than 10 seconds before being broken into pieces. As for the female Awakened magus, she only managed to run a distance of less than 20 metres before a Player shot her with his electromagnetic-tier gun – the shot pierced right through her magic barrier.

Of course, that was not to say none of them managed to defeat any Players.

An Awakened inside a shop within the north street area summoned out a giant green dragon, which proceeded to smash a Player mech, the Player inside included, into pieces. At the same time, the dragon also breathed out its corrosive bile, which reduced two Players into bones.

The Awakened summoner jumped onto the green dragon’s back. With a mighty leapt that broke the roof of the building, the dragon soared into the air. However, it was quickly intercepted by seven to eight Player combat aircrafts. Tens of energy beams were fired upon it and the giant dragon held on for 20 seconds. Although it managed to destroy half of the combat aircrafts intercepting it, it was finally riddled with holes. It fell to the ground and the Awakened summoner was decapitated by a charging Player.

This summoner may have been a rather famous figure in the Awakened circle, but his death here was an inconspicuous one.

An Awakened archer moved like a dextrous monkey, jumping here and there through the numerous buildings. In his hand was a unique looking longbow. The tips of the longbow were inlaid with gems and it had an eye-striking shape, much like the equipment seen in the Dynasty Warriors game.

The archer’s marksmanship was remarkable and his weapon’s power was high. With one shot from his bow, he brought down a Player tank that had advanced a hundred metres forward.

However, before he could release the second shot, two mechs opened fire at him. The barrage of energy beams destroyed the building that the Awakened archer was in, burying the archer beneath the fallen ruins of the building.

In merely 10 minutes, the Players had advanced 500 metres into the north street area.

As for the south street…

Every few metres of advance by the Players would be accompanied by bloody losses.

Both sides were suffering from bloody losses.

…

Yang Yi’s physical strength was being rapidly consumed.

He could feel his heartbeat and rate of breathing becoming ragged. The constant running and hiding was taking a terrible toll on his strength.

He had already used two doses of healing substances, but those were unable to work properly and heal the damage his body had suffered – his thigh was punctured. Just now, he had ambushed two Players who rushed into the building he was in. He successfully killed one of them with a sneak attack but the other one successfully left his mark on Yang Yi’s thigh with a special dagger.

The dagger used was clearly a system weapon. After the dagger stabbed into Yang Yi’s thigh, blood kept flowing out from the wound non-stop.  Additionally, the use of healing type substances appeared near useless against the wound. Yang Yi checked his wound and saw that the wound had begun to crystallize.

This was obviously a form of magic – a very vicious type of magic.

After exchanging moves with that Player once, Yang Yi quickly concluded that he was no match for him and quickly fled. However, the Player was like a ravenous wolf and he constantly pursued him.

Yang Yi made his way past two alleys, leading his pursuer with him as he circled around a distance of over 100 metres. However, even after running past three buildings, he was unable to shake his pursuer off.

In the thick of the moment, Yang Yi had also tossed two Ghost Mines out, but his actions were easily found out.

Yang Yi instantly realized that he was facing an expert.

His strength was somewhere around [B+] class. However, this opponent of his must certainly be higher.

In other words, this Player was someone in the realm of [A] class. While he may only be in the [A-] class, he may also be of the [A] class.

Yang Yi understood that it was unrealistic to hope to defeat a higher-levelled opponent in his current situation.

The most sensible thing to do would be to run toward the Board of Patriarchs’ building, luring this expert there so that the experts from Zero City could finish him off.

However, Yang Yi chose not to.

He could still remember what his task was.

Delay the advance of the enemy through the south street, no matter the cost!

In other words, Yang Yi had no permission to retreat.

He had to die in the south street area. Not only that, he must do everything he can to delay the enemy advance until his dying breath.

He had already used up all the electromagnetic guns and cannons in his storage equipment.

His Ghost Mines were not effective.

Should they engage in a melee, Yang Yi still possessed an [A-] class blade. However, considering the difference in level between them, Yang Yi had no illusions about having any chance of winning in a melee against this opponent.

Thus, the only way left…

There was still one Plasma Bomb inside his storage equipment.

Yang Yi hastened his pace and dashed past a small street before rushing into a building.

He climbed up to the second floor and threw down his last two Ghost Mines down from the corridor.

He did not bother waiting for the sound of explosions. Instead, he jumped up to the rooftop of the building beside him.

“Team Thunderstrike! Headcount!” Yang Yi quickly whispered.

Only three replies came through the communication channel.

That caused Yang Yi’s heart to bleed.

“My fellow brothers, let us meet again in the next life! Assuming there is one.”

With a sigh, Yang Yi continued, “Long live Blade Mountain Flame Sea!”

Three other voices echoed him through the channel, “Long live Blade Mountain Flame Sea!”

One of them was coughing. It was clear that he was also injured.

Yang Yi jumped out again from the building. This time, he ran toward the main south street.

Behind him, the pursuing Player jumped down as well.

He was wearing an [A] class protective suit.

Additionally, he also brandished a Beam Blade in his hand.

Yang Yi rolled himself forward. When he got up, he saw that four battle androids and two Players had surrounded him.

One of the Players had already raised the Beam Rifle in his hand.

However, the high-ranking Player quickly waved his Beam Blade and said, “He is mine!”

Clearly, this fellow had quite the status.

The two Players behind Yang Yi quickly revealed vicious smiles as they stepped back.

The high-ranking Player then pushed the power of his Beam Blade to the max until it became like a raging torch and slowly approached Yang Yi.

“The one you killed just now is my partner. He had saved me three times before, my best friend!” the high-ranking Player said coldly.

Yang Yi had always had a calm and indifferent expression on his face. At that moment however, a look of ridicule now appeared on his face. “Oh? You mean to say I killed your boyfriend? Ha ha! There are even gays among Players?”

“I will mince you! And I will start with your mouth!”

Yang Yi sighed and stared intently at his opponent. He abruptly summoned out the Plasma Bomb from his storage equipment.

However, just as he was about to detonate it…

His body flinched and he screamed out in misery as blood sprayed out. His right arm, the Plasma Bomb included, was cut off.

The high-ranking Player lowered the Beam Blade in his hand.

Yang Yi’s shoulder was bloody, but the high temperature of the attack instantly cauterized the wound. Yang Yi lay on the ground, the pain nearly knocking him unconscious.

“Ant, did you think I was not prepared for your suicidal attacks?” The high-ranking Player sneered.

Yang Yi sighed and closed his eyes as he awaited his death.

As he was closing his eyes, he seemingly saw… … golden light.

…

One second later, Yang Yi opened up his eyes and saw the high-ranking Player standing before him sway… … his body had been cleaved into two. His upper body fell to the ground as his lower body tumbled down.

Yang Yi then saw someone standing behind the dead Player. That someone was maintaining a sword slashing posture.

The two battle androids and two Players who were behind Yang Yi had also been cleaved into two.

Yang Yi felt his head and quickly understood what happened. The power behind that figure’s sword slash cleaved the high-ranking Player, swept past his head and continued hacking apart the enemies behind him.

This level of power…

Yang Yi looked at the figure before him with a look of surprise.

Next however, he saw a familiar face. Guan Shan came running out from behind the sword-wielding figure. He dragged Yang Yi with him to the side of the street before turning his head to shout, “Xiaolian!”

“Bring him along!”

Without turning around, Chen Xiaolian rushed to the where the Players were attacking along the south street. “I will go buy you some time! We need the coordinate! Remember, only three minutes!”

The pain wracking Yang Yi’s body nearly made him faint. However, he stared at Guan Shan. “Why are you here? Who is that man?”

“He…” Guan Shan clenched his teeth as he propped the injured Yang Yi up with his shoulders. “He may be the messiah who will save us all!”

“Me, messiah?” Yang Yi finally had no more strength to stay awake. His vision darkened and he fainted.

Messiah.

That was the first ever term associated with Chen Xiaolian that Yang Yi had heard.

From this day onward and for the rest of his life, Yang Yi would always use this term to address the young man who had just saved his life.