27.3%!
That glaring number burned itself into the retinas of every ordinary soldier.
The fighting spirit their hard-won victory had kindled faltered.
The casualty rate was too high!
Of their 110 soldiers, nearly thirty would die!
The giant monster dragging a furnace behind it, its body radiating sulfur and rage, only had to stand there to crush the courage they had just found.
David's electronic eye caught the sudden spike in his soldiers' heart rates and the violent trembling of their gun barrels.
He felt a pressure he had not known in a long time. It came not from the enemy, but from the ten living people behind him.
"Hold steady!"
David's voice carried over the squad channel.
This time, though, the simple order did little.
Even he knew their conventional attacks would probably do no more than tickle that monster.
Just then, a wholly different command cut through every scrap of noisy battlefield data and reached deep into the minds of all the Ascenders.
It was not the cold synthetic voice of Tianshu AI, but Season Star's voice, touched with languor and carrying absolute authority.
"Oh? We've hooked a big one."
"Since it's here, let's give it a good fight."
"Authentication Protocol: Divine Manifestation approved."
"Ascender Overlimit Module unlocked."
The instant her words ended, the blue Energy Conduits that had been flowing gently across the dark-gray armor of Leo and the other nine Ascenders erupted with blinding light!
Bzz—
An energy surge far more terrifying than before burst from their bodies!
If the Ascenders had been elite super-soldiers before, the activation of the Divine Manifestation protocol turned them into ten walking Spokespersons for gods of war in the Mortal World!
David felt an immense torrent of data take control of his consciousness.
He could no longer feel his body.