Human Cannon

Outside the wall, Outpost 14 was in the midst of a fierce battle.

"Fuck! How many waves is this now? It's... endless..."

A blood-soaked brute braced himself at the outpost's main gate, spat, and tossed aside his rifle—which had just clicked empty with a Kacha—before reaching behind the door to grab a massive battle axe.

The moment the axe touched his hand, his muscles bulged; its weight was clearly no joke.

"This junk just doesn't hold up. Guess I'll have to chop these bastards myself."

Before him surged a horde of twisted, skinless humanoid creatures.

Sequence 340, [Slaughter] Path: Sprinter.

They were blindingly fast but paper-thin in defense, usually dealt with by ordinary firearms. The problem today was that something had spooked them, and they were charging the outpost in a frenzy.

Their numbers were overwhelming, and with their speed, they seemed unkillable—wave after wave.

After several assaults, the outpost's already scarce ammunition was nearly spent, forcing them into melee.

"It's been this long, and no reinforcements yet?"

Another team member stared toward Base City, seeing only the usual thick fog.

Within the mist, all electronic devices failed; communication relied entirely on Awakened of the [Radiance] Path. Though their abilities varied, their core trait was piercing the fog—with enough training, they could master special transmission methods.

As the outermost early-warning outpost of Base City, its garrison typically consisted of a five-person Awakened squad plus one low-tier [Radiance] Awakened.

But earlier, their [Radiance] Awakened had been severely wounded by an unknown [Nightmare] Path Calamity, her spirit damaged, leaving her unconscious. Before losing awareness, she'd barely managed to send a distress signal.

They could abandon the outpost—Base City wasn't far, and the direction was clear—but without [Radiance]'s protection, they'd inevitably get lost in the fog.

That was the mist's most troublesome trait; no one had yet figured out the principle.

The brute roared, hefted his axe with both hands, and charged into the enemy like a whirlwind.

The blade arced, cleaving several Sprinters in two, but more threw themselves at him fearlessly, nearly burying him.

"Hah!"

He shook his massive frame, swung the axe again, and cleared a space.

As a Second-tier Awakened with a body-enhancement type, a pack of First Order Calamities couldn't take him down that fast.

But his teammates were struggling.

"Captain Xiong! Right flank! The right flank's breaking!"

Xiong Yu turned to see the side wall buckle under the crimson tide, smashing open a gap and forcing the two defenders there into a retreat.

His heart sank. He wanted to fall back and support them, but the enemies in front surged forward, pinning him in place.

A grim thought crept into his mind: they couldn't hold...

Just as his focus wavered, a dull boom echoed from deep within the fog.

"Boom!"

A tearing roar followed, closing in fast, and struck the empty ground right at the breach with pinpoint accuracy.

Before Xiong Yu could see what hit him, a violent and chaotic wind field, carrying orange-golden flames, erupted among the Calamities.

A dozen Sprinters packed together didn't even have time to react before they were swallowed by fire, burned to ash, leaving only a shocking patch of scorched earth.

"What... was that? A new type of Incendiary Bullet?"

One team member muttered, dazed.

His comrade snapped to faster:

"Reinforcements are here!"

Xiong Yu was only briefly stunned. That blast... if he hadn't been ready, he'd be dead or crippled.

He had no idea which squad had managed to haul out heavy artillery, especially a model he'd never seen, but there was no time to dwell on it. Reinforcements were reinforcements.

"Don't get distracted!"

He suppressed his emotions and bellowed:

"Reinforcements are here! Hold the line, damn it! Don't embarrass us in front of our allies!"

Through the fog, a modified off-road vehicle, faintly glowing with Golden Light, tore through the mist, racing toward Outpost 14.

Jiang Mian leaned half her body out of the sunroof, the "cannon" in her hands still trailing faint white smoke.

Clearly, that strike had been her handiwork.

The result matched her expectations: the Fire Seed had been plenty powerful, instantly devouring those dozen Sprinters.

But due to her low sequence and tier, the feedback wasn't as much as she'd hoped.

By her estimate, such low-tier creatures—twenty of them equaled a single normal Second-tier Calamity—still fell far short of her target of twenty-five.

"Did you actually hit?"

From the back seat, Qin Wu squinted, staring into the distant mist.

Originally, when Jiang Mian said she could hit whatever she aimed at, he'd been half-doubtful. He'd had Gu An call out a spot, and Jiang Mian fired with almost no adjustment. Now, it seemed...

"Hit!"

Gu An confirmed.

His [Explorer], true to its name, had a basic ability to pierce through mist within a certain range.

Outpost 14 was very close now; he could make out the general layout and had called out a spot for Jiang Mian—some distance from the outpost's wall. As long as it wasn't too far off, there was no risk of friendly fire.

Of course, the fundamental reason was that Jiang Mian's ability to sense targets through Flowing Wind still worked normally in the mist.

Hearing Gu An's answer, Qin Wu finally relaxed.

He'd been worried that on a bumpy, moving vehicle, with Jiang Mian in her first real combat, she'd likely make a mistake.

Now it seemed his worry was unnecessary. The girl's marksmanship was genuinely good, and her mental fortitude far surpassed her peers.

As for Jiang Mian's glasses, or rather her vision problem, he subconsciously brushed it aside.

Talent and gun sense were inherently mysterious things anyway, and later on, such issues would naturally disappear as her abilities strengthened.

"Good! Li Huan, Gu An, prepare to dismount and engage the enemy head-on."

The outline of the outpost ahead was now clearly visible, and Qin Wu began issuing orders methodically.

"Roger!" the two replied in unison.

"Su Wanning, take Jiang Mian and find a suitable position. Be ready to heal the wounded at any time. Once the battle's over, rendezvous with us immediately."

"Understood."

From the driver's seat, Su Wanning nodded and subtly slowed the vehicle.

Jiang Mian ejected the hot casing and loaded another Incendiary Bullet.

They were this close now; she didn't need to hold back anymore. She'd just do whatever felt best.

Under Su Wanning's control, the car executed a sharp drift and stopped behind a slightly elevated dirt slope.

The instant the vehicle came to a halt, Li Huan shot out of the door like an arrow from a bow.

With a low shout, an invisible Sha Qi coiled around him, and his Second-tier aura erupted without restraint.

He charged first into a group of Sprinters, his long halberd crawling with faint red veins. With a light swing, he instantly dismembered several Sprinters that were closest.

Gu An followed closely behind, cleaning up the ones that slipped through.

Atop the dirt slope, Jiang Mian set up her sniper rifle, took aim at the densest cluster of Sprinters, and gently squeezed the trigger.

If you find this book enjoyable, to avoid losing it next time, please remember to add it to your bookshelf.