Breaking the Siege

"What do we do?"

"I'm a prisoner! I didn't get a gun earlier!"

"What else can we do? Hold the line until we die!"

"I don't have a gun! I don't have a gun! I don't have a gun!"

"I'll operate the Stubber. Take my Laser Rifle!"

Some prisoners were still alive. They had only tools like shovels and hammers in their hands. They were the smart ones; at least they knew to find nearby soldiers and fight alongside them. That was why they had survived.

The bunker's fixed Stubbers spewed half-meter tongues of flame, while beams of laser fire shot out through the firing slits.

Their presence greatly eased Qin Mo's burden. He no longer needed to clear out enemy infantry, only target the bomb carriers among the Rebel infantry and keep an eye out for armored vehicles like tanks.

But there were too many rebels. Sooner or later, they would reach the bunker, and Qin Mo realized he had to prepare for close combat.

As he attacked the enemy, he swept his gaze across the battlefield.

Kalon had died at some point, his scepter planted in the ground.

A Chainsword stood upright amid a pile of corpses.

Qin Mo immediately held out his hand.

The two weapons floated into the air, spinning as they flew into the bunker and landed on the ground.

This was telekinesis, Qin Mo's third ability after conjuring fire and lightning.

Qin Mo was not only looking after himself; he was looking after everyone else as well. He used telekinesis to manipulate the weapons and equipment scattered across the battlefield, pulling bulletproof armor into the bunker and distributing it to the others.

This armor, intended for the Planetary Defense Force, was inferior to that used by the Astra Militarum, but it could still stop bullets. It would shatter after taking only a few hits.

Besides the bulletproof armor, Qin Mo also retrieved bayonets and more Laser Rifles. These Laser Rifles were a submodel of the M35 rifle and could mount longer bayonets.

Just as Qin Mo focused on fighting and preparing for battle, the sound of artillery firing came from afar.

"We're done for." The soldiers locked in fierce combat raised their heads to look at the sky.

Everyone was crammed into an open-topped bunker. If the shells landed, they would all be wiped out in one go.

"Stay focused on the fight!" Qin Mo stopped everything he was doing and looked up at the sky, forcing himself to remain completely focused.

The shells were already incoming, and Qin Mo could sense every one of them. He even knew there were twenty in total.

The shells were not a single whole, so using his final ability on them was troublesome for Qin Mo.

After trying once, Qin Mo shifted his attention from the shells to the air.

The shells fell, but instead of breaking through the air ahead, they exploded midair as though they had struck the ground.

Qin Mo distorted the physical laws of part of the air, briefly making it as hard as metal. This was his final ability, besides conjuring lightning and fire and using telekinesis.

Qin Mo, the soldiers, and the prisoners who had not been blown to death were about to face another trial.

The Rebel soldiers had suffered heavy casualties in the firefight. They intended to drown the stubbornly resisting enemy in a charge, so they fitted bayonets onto their Laser Rifles.

"How much ammunition do we have left?" Qin Mo asked the others.

"Reporting, none left."

Hearing this answer, Qin Mo said nothing and merely spread his hands.

The Chainsword lying on the ground floated up, its hilt dropping into Qin Mo's right hand while he gripped the scepter in his left.

The surviving soldiers silently picked up their Laser Rifles and fixed bayonets to them as well.

The prisoners, who had never learned how to use bayonets, picked up tools such as hammers and shovels instead.

Before the melee began, Qin Mo watched the enemy surge toward them. He wanted to say something stirring to raise morale, but he was not good at speeches. After thinking it over, he still could not come up with anything to say.

But at a time like this, they did not need especially inspiring words. Qin Mo knew that those fighting alongside him needed only a slogan.

"It is my honor to fight alongside you." Qin Mo pressed the button on the hilt, and the Chainsword's teeth began spinning with a roar. "For the Emperor!"

"For the Emperor!"

Everyone roared and charged out of the bunker.

One prisoner ran at the very front with a shovel raised high, quickly vanishing amid the Rebel soldiers.

Qin Mo had no time to worry about the others. He sprinted forward, built up momentum, and leaped into the very center of the rebels.

His right hand swung the Chainsword, hacking down enemies, while his left raised the scepter high and smashed it into the ground.

A sea of fire spread in all directions without a single blind spot, clearing out an area. The empty space was quickly filled by surging Rebel soldiers, who immediately crashed into the lightning that spread out next.

"Kill him with bombs!"

"For the Savior!"

Hearing the shouts, Qin Mo turned and aimed the scepter toward their source. A bolt of lightning shot from the Double-headed Eagle emblem, piercing every enemy carrying bombs and those behind them.

The feeling of using power beyond mortal limits to fight hundreds alone thrilled Qin Mo. He did not notice that the scepter was not amplifying his abilities; it merely acted as an extension of his arm.

"Shell them!"

After turning and cutting down an enemy, Qin Mo suddenly heard someone roar.

"But our comrades..."

"Shell them!"

Qin Mo immediately grew anxious. At that moment, he could not concentrate fully enough to alter the laws of physics, which meant the bombardment would inevitably fall around them.

But just as he worried, a flash appeared in the distance, followed by the thunderous boom of an explosion.

Something occupied by the rebels had been blown up. Qin Mo did not know what it was, but it was evidently extremely important to them, because every one of them began running frantically toward the explosion.

Even when Qin Mo buried his Chainsword in an enemy's head, that enemy continued moving toward the blast until he completely lost consciousness.

The battle ended when the rebels vanished without a trace.

"Fuck..." Qin Mo sat on the ground, gasping for breath as he looked around for anyone still alive.

The survivors trudged wearily toward Qin Mo and sat beside him.

When they had entered the bunker, there had been around two hundred survivors. Now, fewer than twenty remained.

"Grey." A young soldier stepped forward and gave Qin Mo an Aquila salute. "What do we do next?"

"You're asking me?" Qin Mo was somewhat surprised.

After all, he was just a prisoner—and a Psychic Power prisoner at that. There was no reason these soldiers should follow his orders.

Yet upon hearing Qin Mo's confusion, Grey and the other survivors were confused as well. Only then did they realize that, logically speaking, they should not be following Qin Mo's lead.

But logic was one thing. What they should actually do was another.

"Let me think." Qin Mo did not want to abandon them. After all, he not only wanted to survive, but also wanted to shed his identity as a prisoner.

"That thing around your neck." Grey pointed at Qin Mo's neck. "Doesn't it affect you? Should we take it off?"

"What?" Qin Mo froze. He reached up and touched it, only then remembering that he still had a Psychic Suppressor Collar around his neck.