Battle Against the Ratmen

"Boom!!!"

Duanmu Huai fell from the sky and crashed heavily onto the ground, crushing several unlucky Ratmen beneath his feet. He paid no attention to such trivialities. The next moment, Ratmen surged at him from every direction, while countless dolls descended from above once more and pounced upon the Ratmen army.

Duanmu Huai did not expect these dolls to wipe out the entire Ratmen army. Although they could be summoned without limit, their attack power was simply too low. Moreover, this was a joint operation with the Dwarfs, so he could not exactly bring out the Ghost Mansion. After all, Necrotic Beings were troublesome in the eyes of most creatures. They were merely passing through, and it was better to avoid unnecessary complications. Besides, they were only Ratmen. It was not as if this was his first time fighting them!

"Boom!!"

Duanmu Huai raised his Warhammer high and smashed it down with all his might. Lightning erupted in every direction, engulfing the Ratmen before him and instantly scorching a huge number of them to ash. Then he strode forward, taking advantage of the Doll Legion's assault throwing the Ratmen formation into disarray to charge straight for the heart of their forces!

There were no Corrupted Cultists this time, so Duanmu Huai did not need to worry about getting covered in viruses!

"Kill—!!!"

Just as the Ratmen were thrown into panic by Duanmu Huai's assault, Brock led the Dwarfs into the fray as well, like a massive iron hammer smashing directly into the chaotic Ratmen camp. By the time the Ratmen realized the Dwarfs were attacking and turned in alarm to meet them, the furious Dwarfs had already reached them. Roaring, they raised their axes, ready to chop these bastards who dug tunnels all over the underground into mincemeat.

The Dwarfs and Ratmen could be considered hereditary enemies. On one hand, the Ratmen belonged to the forces of Chaos and were naturally at odds with the Order-aligned Dwarfs. On the other, both sides loved digging beneath the earth. Rivals in the same trade were destined enemies, and no one tolerated others snoring beside their bed. Now that they had met, there was no way they would let the other side live!!

Soon, the Dwarf troops charged into the Ratmen camp and began slaughtering the Ratmen. Dwarf warriors clad in heavy armor and armed with battleaxes and shields led the charge. Behind them stood Thunder Gunners and artillery crews wielding firearms and cannons. The Dwarfs were one of the most technologically advanced races on this planet; they could even build machines like helicopters, so ordinary firearms were hardly a problem for them.

However, their enemies were no primitives either. Ratmen technology was equally astonishing.

"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!!!!"

The Steam Gatling Guns in the Ratmen's hands spun wildly, spewing countless bullets at the advancing Dwarfs in an attempt to halt their assault. At the same time, Death Runner Rats clad in cloaks and wielding twin blades flitted through the shadows of the ruins like ghosts in the dark, attempting to bypass the Dwarf army at the front and strike directly at the rear, where the Dwarf gunners and artillery crews were pouring out firepower.

For a time, both sides descended into a chaotic melee.

At the front, Duanmu Huai also encountered his opponent.

"Roar—!!"

A similarly massive Rat Ogre spread its arms and lunged directly at Duanmu Huai. It looked like a hulking, inverted-triangle Ratman bodybuilder, only far larger—nearly as large as Duanmu Huai in his Power Armor. It carried a Meteor Hammer in its hand as it slammed into Duanmu Huai.

Of course, a mere Rat Ogre was not something Duanmu Huai would take seriously—provided there was only one.

A whole group of them would be rather troublesome.

Like right now.

"Hah!!"

Duanmu Huai withstood the Rat Ogre's attack head-on, then smashed it to the ground with a single blow. At the same time, another Rat Ogre had already pounced at him. Facing its attack, Duanmu Huai did not hesitate to turn and step back, while simultaneously crushing the first Rat Ogre's head beneath his foot.

"Screee—!!"

At that moment, a Ratman carrying a flamethrower quietly crept up behind him and pulled the trigger at Duanmu Huai's back.

"Whoosh—!!!"

Green flames erupted from the flamethrower, instantly engulfing both Duanmu Huai and the Rat Ogre. The Ratman excitedly raised its weapon and sprayed flames wildly ahead—until a gigantic iron hand reached out from the blaze and seized its head.

"Squeak!!"

Before the Ratman could struggle, Duanmu Huai clenched his fist, crushing its head into fragments in an instant. Then he swung his left hand, flinging aside the Rat Ogre whose neck he had been gripping, now burned into charcoal by the flames.

"Rumble!!!"

But the Ratmen's assault did not stop there. Just as Duanmu Huai threw away the Rat Ogre's corpse, a massive mechanical construct came hurtling toward him from the front. It looked like a gigantic yo-yo made of scrap metal, with rapidly spinning chainsaws whirling in the gap at its center, trying to shred everything to pieces.

This was the Ratmen war machine—the Doom-Flayer!

"Hmph!"

Seeing the machine, Duanmu Huai snorted and stepped forward. Scarlet flames once again blazed across his armor. Then he gripped his Warhammer tightly and smashed it with all his strength into the side of the Doom-Flayer!

"Boom!!"

The Thunder Warhammer struck the armor plating on the yo-yo's side, instantly sending the Ratmen's prized war machine flying. The enormous yo-yo war machine spun into the air, then crashed into the Ratmen army and exploded, becoming a heap of burning scrap metal in an instant.

Under Duanmu Huai's charge, the battlefield had almost completely fallen under Dwarf control. Though the Ratmen employed their prolific breeding to unleash a sea-of-rats tactic, before the steadily advancing Dwarfs, they were like seawater crashing against a dam, unable to raise even the slightest wave.

However, things did not go entirely smoothly.

"Whoosh!!"

Just as Duanmu Huai swung his Warhammer again and smashed a group of rats into pulp, a cold glint suddenly flashed through the darkness. The next moment, he felt several sharp blades stabbing toward him. He hurriedly raised his Warhammer before his chest, but his opponent's speed far exceeded his expectations. After several light clangs, Duanmu Huai saw a dark figure flash past and land atop nearby ruins.

It was a Ratman wrapped head to toe in a cloak. It held sickly green blades in both hands, and a dagger was tied around its tail...

Who the hell did it think it was, Zoro? Three-Sword Style too?

As Duanmu Huai grumbled inwardly, the Ratmen Assassin flashed again and vanished from before his eyes. It was so fast that Duanmu Huai could not react at all. He could only feel his armor trembling repeatedly. The system showed his Power Armor durability steadily dropping, yet he could not see his enemy anywhere.

Damn it, what a pain. I hate agile bastards...

Duanmu Huai's Agility was only 4. What he hated most were opponents like this—quick, nimble, and elusive. Fortunately, he had prepared for this.

Okegis!

Just as the Ratmen Assassin vanished once again and launched another attack, Duanmu Huai silently called out to Okegis, who had been hiding at the side all along.

Hearing Duanmu Huai's command, the doll girl hidden in the shadows raised her right hand toward him.

"Whoosh—!!"

At the same time, the Ratmen Assassin suddenly emerged from midair and rolled backward, seemingly evading some invisible threat. Yet at the very moment it appeared and rolled away, Duanmu Huai had already turned around, raised his Warhammer, and smashed it down at the Ratmen Assassin with all his strength!

This was exactly what I'd been waiting for!!

"Bang!!!"

This time, the Ratmen Assassin finally failed to evade Duanmu Huai's attack and was struck directly by his hammer. However, this assassin was clearly no amateur. The instant it was hit, it hurriedly raised its three curved blades in front of itself and borrowed the force of Duanmu Huai's blow to shoot backward through the air.

Though it said nothing, Duanmu Huai could practically imagine its line just from that rat-faced expression.

Hahaha, you fell for it! This is my escape route!

Unfortunately, this was as far as it got.

The Ratmen Assassin flying backward did not escape disaster. Instead, its body suddenly split and came apart in midair, as if dismembered by invisible blades. It became several mangled chunks of flesh and broken limbs that fell to the ground.

"Idiot."

Duanmu Huai snorted as he looked at the mangled Ratman corpse on the ground. Of course he knew the enemy was agile and that he might not be able to kill it himself. That was why he had long since had Okegis set up spiderweb traps made from doll threads around the area. Once it ran into them, death was its only outcome!

It seemed the plan had worked quite well.

I went to a relative's house for dinner today, so there are only two updates. Also, happy Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone.