River Valley Manor

Mantan Valley Manor is truly a rare, beautiful place in this wasteland world.

At least in terms of scenery, that is.

A narrow river flows gently by. The uncontaminated water source moistens the surrounding land, creating a patch of greenery.

A wall built of rubble surrounds the large expanse of shade. Several buildings are dotted within, and the crops in the fields are growing vigorously, swaying with the wind as if showing off the coming harvest to the world.

It is nearly dusk now, and the water in the river bend reflects the light of the setting sun, shimmering with golden brilliance as if it were a mirror, making the surrounding scenery even more beautiful.

The sky slowly turns a pale orange, and the afterglow of the sunset gradually fades, replaced by a brilliant starry sky—Nuxiao Planet has no companion satellites, no moon—at this moment, the farm by the river bend is half-bathed in the sunset's afterglow and half-illuminated by starlight, presenting a beautiful and peaceful scene.

"It's really beautiful," Yan Fangxu remarked with emotion. "I haven't seen a sight like this in a long time. For ages, I've either been on a starship, or when I landed on Nuxiao Planet, all I saw was devastation. The last time I saw a scene like this was many years ago."

"I don't have the heart to break it either," Gu Hang replied as if chatting casually. "But I want the supplies I need even less to just sit here, only to be used by that man named Vaughan as a means to harvest the populace after driving up grain prices. Such a beautiful manor and farm are destined to be with me; we will make this place even better."

An hour ago, the troops led by Gu Hang had already arrived here and neutralized the perimeter sentries.

Following that, they began to rest nearby. The manor had become tense due to the loss of contact with the sentries, but he didn't care at all. His men had already surrounded the area; if someone wanted to run away, he could ignore them, but trying to leave with a large quantity of supplies was impossible.

The soldiers were resting, Gu Hang was watching the scenery, and the people inside the manor were trembling with fear.

Once the sun had just dipped below the horizon, the scheduled time for the attack arrived.

He said to Yan Fangxu beside him: "Let's begin."

The skirmishers began to assault outward, and four black armored vehicles drove out from the sparse woodland, the roar of their engines echoing through the valley. The lead Servitor soldiers, holding 'Assaulters', charged toward the defensive lines of the valley manor, the bullets they fired tearing through the air with shrill whistles.

At the same time, mortars began to bombard the valley manor, a series of explosions sounding like the roar of hell, with smoke filling the air and enveloping the manor. Wherever the artillery fire landed, vegetation was incinerated, the ground was shattered, and sparks and debris slammed into the manor's stone walls and roofs, emitting a series of thumping sounds.

The raiders immediately launched a counterattack, firing outward from behind buildings and rubble walls. The sound of gunfire intertwined, making it impossible to distinguish who was shooting; one could only see bullets flying through the air, kicking up dust and gravel.

The resistance of these raiders was very tenacious, and it was estimated that there were one or two hundred people inside. Braving the mortar bombardment, the hail of bullets, and the casualties, they still dared to stand their ground, pop their heads out, and return fire fiercely.

Regardless of their equipment level or combat will, they were much stronger than the 'Prisoner-Dead' bandits encountered previously.

The 'Prisoner-Dead' bandits still used hand-crafted iron pipe rifles, which were not only terrible in accuracy but also weak in power, failing to penetrate the Alloy Plasteel individual vests worn by the Servitor soldiers. The casualties in those battles were mainly caused by mutated Greenskin beasts.

The mercenary groups currently active around Revival City did not have such pathetic equipment. They at least had automatic rifles to use, their firepower was much, much stronger, the bullets had more power, and their accuracy was high enough. They were even equipped with machine guns.

By utilizing cover to strike at the attacking Servitor soldiers, they held the advantage, and Servitor soldiers fell to gunfire from time to time.

The fallen soldiers were not necessarily dead; their bulletproof vests and helmets, though lightweight, were made of Alloy Plasteel and had excellent performance, which could save their lives. Those who fell usually had leg wounds, and a significant proportion of them could return to the ranks after their injuries healed.

But overall, it was visible to the naked eye that the attack was not going smoothly. And as the attacking soldiers got closer to the manor, it became even less smooth. At closer range, the enemy's firepower would become more precise and fierce, and the casualties the soldiers would suffer would be particularly heavy.

When far away, it was difficult for the opponent to penetrate the individual vests, but at close range, even if they weren't pierced, there was a higher probability of being hit in the unprotected face, neck, or limbs.

Under normal circumstances, if Gu Hang wanted to take this manor quickly, he would have to pay the price in casualties. If he were to force the attack, he would likely lose half a company.

If he didn't want to suffer heavy losses, he would have to prepare for a long-term engagement. Digging trenches from the perimeter to extend inward, engaging in a prolonged standoff of exchanging fire, and having the mortars fire continuously until the opponent's manpower and ammunition were reduced to a relatively low level before launching the final total assault—that way, casualties would be controllable.

However, Gu Hang neither intended to suffer excessive casualties nor did he intend to spend a long time wearing these mercenaries down.

He did, in fact, have weapons that could settle the matter in one blow.

And there were two of them.

The first was those four Strider Type V armored vehicles. After closing the distance, the vehicle-mounted autocannons roared with continuous fire. The side-by-side 45mm twin autocannons fired rapidly, spewing out projectiles—whether they counted as bullets or shells—that swept across a section of the rubble wall.

Every large-caliber round carried immense destructive power; gravel splattered everywhere, and the wall was destroyed beyond recognition.

Those mercenaries relied on the wall for cover, but they simply could not withstand such a fierce attack.

The four Striders fired mercilessly as they advanced.

The shells tore through the walls and also tore through the bodies of many mercenaries, the gruesome sight of blood and gore making those nearby terrified.

After the Strider V opened fire, the intensity of the mercenaries' resistance was suddenly and effectively suppressed.

With the Servitor infantry company pinned down, the Waste Cave Infantry Company followed the four Striders to form the second wave of the attack. Even the mortar positions began to push forward as the Striders advanced. After closing the distance, the accuracy and destructive power of the mortars would also continue to increase.

Just then, a mercenary suddenly popped out from the side, carrying a cylindrical weapon in his hands. The structure of this thing looked somewhat crude, but it was undoubtedly a rocket launcher.

Whether this guy had a sudden stroke of luck or was truly an elite veteran with extraordinary ability, in any case, he landed a direct hit.

Aiming and firing, the rocket dragged a long tail of flame and struck an armored vehicle that was currently firing.

The mercenary smiled, immediately dropped the tube, and prepared to find new cover.

However, just as he ducked back behind the wall, he felt the wall beside him crumble, and he was flipped over by a great force, falling to the ground with a mist of blood before his eyes.

He saw his own hand fly away and saw his lower body not far away.

He realized his situation in despair: he had been hit by a large-caliber autocannon and his waist had been severed. The cover he relied on had failed to provide him any help, and the rubble wall had been smashed to pieces.

But what he found even more impossible was that the thing that blew him to pieces was the very vehicle he had hit with his rocket launcher.

The last scene in his eyes was the armored vehicle emerging from the smoke, without a single scratch on its skin.

Why?

He died in pain and confusion.