Thank goodness I had the upper hand

The whirlwind formed a pair of swirling wings, granting the Howling Wind Divine Envoy explosive speed!

He charged straight at Gu Hang!

As long as he killed Gu Hang, his mission would still be complete.

The soldiers, who looked exceptionally elite, seemed to have realized what he was planning. Half of them went to suppress the other surviving divine envoy, while the rest tried to stop him.

Bullets flew at him, but the Storm Shield faithfully did its job and wasn't easily breached. Two soldiers who were close by blocked his path, drawing short blades and trying to engage him.

The soldiers' reaction speed and agility left the Howling Wind Divine Envoy stunned.

He was moving at incredible speed. The turbine wings' burst of acceleration was so fast that ordinary people couldn't possibly react in time, much less intercept him.

But these soldiers could.

Their willpower was just as astonishing.

Getting close to him meant enduring the full force of the storm. High-pressure wind blades sliced through their combat uniforms, carving countless wounds into their bodies. Yet they stood firm, their resolve unshaken.

More importantly, the short blades in their hands really could cut through the wind around him.

That was a decidedly superhuman level of power!

If he hadn't reacted quickly and detonated a Wind Bullet between himself and one of the soldiers, blasting the man away, he would already have been stabbed.

But he could only blast one of them aside.

The other soldier drove his blade deep into the Howling Wind Divine Envoy's body.

If the wind hadn't helped him deflect the blade at the last moment, it would have pierced his heart instead of his abdomen.

Even so, his situation was still dire.

The soldier swiftly released the hand holding the blade, ignored his bloodied wound, and snatched up his Electromagnetic Rifle, ready to unleash a burst at the divine envoy at point-blank range.

If those shots hit, the Howling Wind Divine Envoy would likely die on the spot.

His Storm Shield had been pierced by the blade just moments ago, and he couldn't be sure it would withstand the Eagle's shots.

At the critical moment, the Howling Wind Divine Envoy went all out.

He spread his arms and charged forward instead of retreating, embracing the soldier and preventing the special forces elite from firing.

His physical strength was no match for his opponent, and he would be overpowered in moments. But then his Storm Sorcery surged to its full power!

Wind blades spun around him in an instant, mercilessly tearing into the soldier's body.

The plasteel inserts wouldn't be easily destroyed, but they didn't cover the whole body. The combat uniform was sliced open by the high-pressure wind blades, and then they cut into flesh.

Blood sprayed everywhere, scattering in the wind.

In an instant, a whole man was sliced apart, leaving only his gun, ballistic inserts, helmet, relic fragments, and broken bones...

Covered in blood, the Howling Wind Divine Envoy didn't dare pause for even a moment.

In that desperate moment, he had unleashed nearly all his strength, which was how he'd managed such a horrifying display. But he had already experienced firsthand the capabilities of these elites, whose gear was nothing like that of ordinary soldiers. The short blade still lodged in his abdomen was proof enough.

If he hesitated even a moment longer, the nearby soldiers would rush him.

If he could create some distance and rely on the Storm Shield to block bullets, he might be able to kill all the soldiers. But Gu Hang was there, able to interfere with precise psionic spells; he couldn't put any distance between himself and his enemies; the Storm Shield was far less effective against blades at close range than it was against bullets; and his physical strength and fighting skills were only marginally better than an ordinary person's. He was at a severe disadvantage against those elite soldiers.

He gritted his teeth and forced himself to unleash his power again.

The pair of storm-turbine wings formed by his sorcery roared violently. Once again, he burst from a standstill to his maximum speed!

And this time, no one stood in his way!

He charged at Gu Hang at tremendous speed. As he skimmed above the ground, he tore through the thin white mist!

He was like an arrow!

The next instant, he slammed into Gu Hang, knocking him bodily into the air.

The raging wind completely engulfed Gu Hang.

The Howling Wind Divine Envoy was even more brutal with Gu Hang than he'd been with the soldier he had just torn apart. He overloaded his Storm Sorcery once more, even at the cost of suffering a devastating backlash. He had to make sure Gu Hang died.

Gu Hang hit the ground hard.

Then he got back to his feet.

The Howling Wind Divine Envoy stared at him in disbelief, unable to understand what had happened.

He'd poured in enough power to tear Gu Hang's entire body to pieces. So why did the governor look completely unharmed?

He clenched his teeth and tried to unleash his power again, but this time the gale didn't answer his call. Instead, a sharp pain seized his lungs, as if the wind were slicing through his chest from within.

He couldn't hold back. His body doubled over, and he opened his mouth and vomited a great mouthful of blood, along with fragments of his lungs.

As the pain eased a little, he raised his head and saw the Infantry Fighting Vehicle beside him, its autocannon aimed straight at him.

It opened fire.

In an instant, several large-caliber autocannon rounds shattered his already fragile Storm Shield, then destroyed his body.

Gu Hang still felt a little shaken.

As soon as the enemies appeared, he'd sensed that one of the three was especially powerful. When dealing with them, he'd divided his strength accordingly.

The other two had gone more or less as expected. One had died before even landing; the other might as well have been dead. Even with his hands and feet broken, he'd still tried to resist, but three or five special forces elites had pinned him down and stabbed him to death.

But the strongest one had still surprised him.

He'd already been trying to interfere. When that fellow had been intercepted by the Marine Elites mid-flight, Gu Hang had secretly struck at him again. Without that, the man wouldn't have been stabbed in the belly so easily.

But Gu Hang hadn't expected that, despite having pushed his sorcery to its limits and taking a blade to the abdomen, the man could still unleash such astonishing power. Not only had he used the storm to dismember a Marine Elite in a horrifying fashion, he'd also managed to charge at Gu Hang and knock him bodily into the air, with the violent storm sweeping around him without pause.

Under normal circumstances, Gu Hang should have died, just like the Marine Elite who'd been torn to pieces.

What saved him at the critical moment was the talent he'd gained the last time he raised his personal level to LV2: Aura of Protection.

It didn't need to be activated. It triggered automatically whenever he took a hit.

It really had saved Gu Hang's life.

After he'd been knocked into the air, Gu Hang could feel the raging winds constantly clashing with and wearing away at his psionic power.

The gale was so powerful that Gu Hang's psionic power was almost gone in an instant.

Fortunately, the wind's force had come and gone quickly. It was all the power his opponent had unleashed in one burst. Once Gu Hang endured it, there was nothing left.

Still, with that attack weathered, Gu Hang's psionic power was all but drained.

But he wasn't alone. The Infantry Fighting Vehicle could take care of the final step for him.

Watching the enemy, blasted to pieces and surely beyond saving, Gu Hang breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness I had the upper hand.

Good grief, the female captain has more heart reactions than the protagonist?

You thirsty readers... I mean, there sure are a lot of readers with good taste.

P.S. There was a data bug earlier: there are 11 T3 Marines, not 9. It's been corrected! Thanks for pointing it out!