Battle Against the Ratmen

"Boom!!!"

Duanmu Huai descended from the sky and landed heavily on the ground, crushing several unlucky Ratmen beneath his feet.

He paid no attention to such trivialities. In the next moment, Ratmen surged toward him from all directions, while countless dolls descended from the sky once more and pounced on the Ratmen army.

Duanmu Huai did not expect the dolls to wipe out the entire Ratmen army. Although the dolls 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 very well bring out the Ghost Mansion. After all, undead were still troublesome in the eyes of most creatures.

They were merely passing through this place. 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 brought it down hard toward the front.

Lightning erupted in all directions, enveloping the Ratmen before him and instantly roasting a large mass of them.

He then charged forward with great strides, taking advantage of the chaos in the Ratmen formation caused by the doll army's assault, and drove straight into the heart of the enemy!!

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

"Kill-----!!!"

Just as the Ratmen were thrown into confusion by Duanmu Huai's charge, Brock led the Dwarfs into the fray as well, like an iron hammer smashing directly into the chaotic Ratmen camp.

When the Ratmen realized that the Dwarfs were attacking and frantically turned around to meet them, the furious Dwarfs had already charged in, roaring as they raised their axes high.

They intended to hack these bastards who dug tunnels everywhere beneath the earth into mincemeat.

The Dwarfs and Ratmen were practically hereditary enemies. For one thing, the Ratmen belonged to the Chaos faction and were naturally opposed to the orderly Dwarfs.

For another, both sides loved digging tunnels underground. Rivals in the same trade were enemies, and no one would tolerate another sleeping beside their own bed.

Now that they had run into each other, there was no chance of survival unless one side killed the other!!

Soon, the Dwarf forces also stormed into the Ratmen camp and began fighting them viciously.

The Dwarf warriors, clad in heavy armor and wielding battle axes and shields, led the charge.

Behind them were the Thunder Gunners and artillery crews, carrying firearms and cannons.

The Dwarfs were also one of the most technologically advanced races on the planet. They could even build mechanical equipment like helicopters, so mere firearms were no problem for them.

However, their opponents were not primitive people either. Ratmen technology was equally astonishing.

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

The Steam Gatling Guns held by the Ratmen spun furiously, spitting countless bullets toward the Dwarfs ahead in an attempt to stop their advance.

At the same time, the Death Runner Rats, cloaked and wielding twin blades, slipped through the shadows of the ruins like ghosts.

They attempted to bypass the Dwarf army in front, plunge into the rear ranks, and kill the Dwarf gunners and artillery crews raining fire down from behind.

For a time, both sides became completely entangled in a chaotic melee.

At the front, Duanmu Huai had also encountered his opponent.

"Roar-----!!"

A Rat Ogre of equally massive stature spread its arms and pounced straight at Duanmu Huai.

Its body looked like that of a bodybuilder's inverted-triangle Ratman, except it was far larger. It was nearly as big as Duanmu Huai in Power Armor.

The creature carried a Meteor Hammer in its hand and collided head-on with Duanmu Huai.

Of course, a mere Rat Ogre was not worth Duanmu Huai's attention—provided there was only one.

A group would be rather troublesome.

Like now.

"Ha!!"

Duanmu Huai endured the Rat Ogre's attack head-on, then smashed it to the ground with a single blow of his hammer.

At the same time, another Rat Ogre pounced at him.

Facing its attack, Duanmu Huai retreated one step without hesitation and crushed the head of the first Rat Ogre beneath his foot.

"Hisssss---!!"

Just then, a Ratman carrying a flamethrower quietly crept up from behind and pulled the trigger at Duanmu Huai's back.

"Whoosh-----!!!"

Green flames burst from the flamethrower, instantly engulfing Duanmu Huai and the Rat Ogre.

The Ratman excitedly raised the flamethrower and wantonly sprayed flames ahead—until an iron hand reached out through the blaze and seized its head.

"Eek eek!!"

Before the Ratman could struggle, Duanmu Huai clenched his fist with force, crushing its head to pieces.

He then flung out his left hand, throwing aside the Rat Ogre whose neck he had been gripping tightly, its body burned to a charred black by the flames.

"Rumble rumble rumble!!!"

But the Ratmen's assault did not stop there.

Just as Duanmu Huai discarded the Rat Ogre's corpse, a huge mechanical contraption came racing toward him from the front.

It looked like a gigantic yo-yo made of scrap metal. A rapidly spinning chainsaw whirled inside the gap at its center, attempting to tear everything into shreds.

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

"Hmph!"

Seeing the machine, Duanmu Huai snorted coldly and stepped forward.

Scarlet flames ignited across his armor once more. He tightened his grip on the warhammer and smashed it hard into the side of the Doom-Flayer!

"Boom!!"

The Thunder Warhammer struck the armor plating on the side of the giant yo-yo, instantly sending the Ratmen's prized war machine flying.

The enormous yo-yo tank spun through the air before crashing into the Ratmen army and exploding, instantly turning into a mass of burning scrap metal.

Under Duanmu Huai's charge, the battlefield had practically fallen completely under the Dwarfs' control.

Although the Ratmen used their ability to reproduce rapidly to unleash a human-wave tactic, these Ratmen were like seawater crashing against a dam before the steady Dwarfs, unable to create even the slightest wave.

However, things were not entirely smooth.

"Swish!!"

Just as Duanmu Huai swung his warhammer again and smashed a group of rats into mincemeat, a flash of cold light suddenly streaked through the darkness.

In the next moment, Duanmu Huai felt several sharp blades thrusting toward him.

He hurriedly raised his warhammer to block his chest, but the enemy's speed far exceeded his expectations.

After several light clangs, he saw a shadow flash past and land on the ruins not far away.

It was a Ratman wrapped entirely in a cloak. It held greenish blades in both hands, and another dagger was wrapped around its tail...

Do you think you're Zoro or something? You're even using Three-Sword Style?

As Duanmu Huai grumbled inwardly, the Ratman assassin flashed again and vanished before his eyes.

Its speed was so fast that Duanmu Huai could not react at all. He only felt his armor trembling repeatedly.

His Power Armor's durability was steadily dropping on the system display, but he could not see his opponent at all.

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

Duanmu Huai's Agility was only 4, and what he hated most were enemies with fast, nimble movements.

Fortunately, he had prepared for this as well.

Okegis!

Just as the Ratman assassin vanished again and launched another attack, Duanmu Huai silently called out to Okegis, who had been hiding nearby.

Hearing Duanmu Huai's command, the doll girl who had been hiding in the shadows raised her right hand toward him.

"Swish-----!!"

At that same moment, the Ratman assassin suddenly appeared from thin air and rolled backward, seemingly trying to evade some invisible threat.

But as it appeared and rolled, Duanmu Huai had already turned around, raised his warhammer, and brought it down hard on the Ratman assassin!

This is exactly what I was waiting for!!

"Bang!!!"

This time, the Ratman assassin finally failed to evade Duanmu Huai's attack and was struck directly by his hammer.

But the assassin was clearly no novice. The instant Duanmu Huai hit it, it hurriedly raised its three curved blades to block in front of itself, then used the force of his blow to shoot backward.

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

Unfortunately, this was where it met its end.

The Ratman assassin could not escape disaster. Its body suddenly came apart in midair, splitting open as if dismembered by invisible blades.

It turned into several shattered chunks of bloody flesh and limbs that fell scattered across the ground.

"Idiot."

Looking at the mutilated Ratman corpse on the ground, Duanmu Huai snorted coldly.

He knew, of course, that his opponent was agile and that he might not be able to kill it.

That was why he had already asked Okegis to set up a spiderweb trap made of doll strings around the area.

The moment his opponent ran into it, there was only one possible outcome: death!

Judging from the results, the plan had worked quite well.

I'm eating at a relative's house today, so there will only be two updates. By the way, I wish everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival.