Chapter Twenty-Six: Breaking the Siege

The first bullet struck true, hitting the energy core just as it began to erupt within the bird's beak.

"Clang—pop!"

A piercing sound of metal bursting rang out.

The Vermilion Bird's beak seemed to be struck by an invisible giant fist; the gathered energy instantly spiraled out of control, triggering a localized explosion that charred its head black. Parts scattered in every direction, and the light in its spirit-stone eyes dimmed to nothing.

The second bullet arrived almost simultaneously, aimed directly at the core transmission joint at the base of one of its wings.

"Crack—boom!"

The complex transmission structure proved pathetically fragile before the specialized armor-piercing round.

Bronze gears shattered, and wooden bearings snapped.

The Vermilion Bird let out a distorted, teeth-gritting metallic wail. Its massive body instantly lost balance, trailing black smoke and sputtering sparks. Like a real giant bird shot from the sky, it spiraled crookedly and plummeted headlong into a cluster of abandoned residential buildings in the distance.

"Boom!"

The other Vermilion Birds circling in the air seemed shaken by the sudden downing of their companion; their offensive stalled for a heartbeat, and they quietly increased their altitude.

Heavy footsteps echoed from every direction.

More Xuanhu-type Mechanical Garrison Warriors smashed through the walls at the end of the alley and pushed over half-collapsed houses, step by step compressing the space Chen Jin had to maneuver.

Chen Jin hauled Nuonuo up from behind the broken wall and hoisted her onto his back.

The Xuanhu extended their arms into giant shields that collided with a dull roar. Long halberds and battle-axes protruded from the gaps in the shields, forming a wall of death that pressed ever closer.

"Tch." Chen Jin clicked his tongue, his gaze sharp as a blade, rapidly scanning the surroundings that were being almost completely sealed off.

Nuonuo, on his back, seemed to feel the suffocating pressure, her small hands gripping his clothes tightly.

The initial probing skirmish was over; the enemy had clearly adjusted their tactics.

One Xuanhu lunged forward, its massive bronze feet crushing the stone floor into powder.

It slammed its shield heavily onto the ground with a thunderous "thud." Immediately after, the armor plating on its shoulders slid open, revealing honeycomb-like apertures—

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!"

Countless high-speed crossbow bolts sprayed out like a swarm of venomous bees! A saturated, area-of-effect barrage.

Chen Jin's pupils constricted as he rolled sideways repeatedly.

Carrying Nuonuo, he moved like a nimble civet cat, rolling along the ground within the extremely limited space, narrowly avoiding the densest part of the arrow rain.

At the same time, the Vermilion Birds in the air coordinated their attack.

They no longer dove to charge their energy, but instead maintained a safe altitude, their wings vibrating at high frequency. Feather-blades poured down like a torrential downpour, forcing Chen Jin to keep moving, draining his stamina and restricting his room to dodge.

"Bang! Bang!"

Chen Jin struggled to find a moment of balance mid-roll and fired both guns. The bullets struck the shoulder launcher of a Xuanhu that was currently firing bolts with pinpoint accuracy.

"Clang! Boom!"

A small-scale explosion occurred inside the launcher, sending up black smoke as it temporarily misfired. But another Xuanhu immediately filled its spot, shielding the damaged one as they continued their advance.

Chen Jin realized that destroying one or two individual units could no longer turn the tide of the battle.

The enemy's numbers far exceeded his expectations, and they were using the simplest of tactics—positional advancement and fire saturation—to force him into a dead end, step by step.

He attempted a proactive close-quarters strike, hoping to exploit the fact that these hulking machines were clumsy at turning.

However, the moment he rushed out two steps, the feather-blades of two Vermilion Birds crossed in the air, sealing his path forward. Simultaneously, the massive battle-halberd of a Xuanhu to his side swept across with a gale that tore through the air!

Chen Jin was forced into a sharp stop and retreat, his body arching backward in a deep bend as the blade of the halberd grazed past the tip of his nose.

"Crack!"

The halberd slammed into the ground where he had been standing, leaving a deep trench.

An opening! The moment the Xuanhu's weapon was stuck in the ground, a cold light flashed in Chen Jin's eyes, and the Symphony of Myriad Phenomena rose once more! His target was the joint under its arm, unprotected by a shield.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

He fired three shots in an instant, the bullets striking the exact same point in near-perfect succession.

The first bullet was deflected by the thick armor, sending sparks flying.

The second bullet finally gouged through the plating, leaving a deep crater.

The third bullet drilled into the interior through the breach!

"Grit—boom!"

A teeth-gritting sound of twisting metal erupted from within the Xuanhu. Its entire right arm stiffened violently before hanging limp, the halberd in its hand clattering to the ground.

Success! But that was all.

The Xuanhu had only lost a portion of its combat capability; it continued to hold its shield with its remaining left arm, slowly retreating, while another intact Xuanhu immediately took its place.

Chen Jin's breathing grew heavy.

The fine beads of sweat on his temples were quickly washed away by the cold rain.

It wasn't just his stamina; the drain on his mental energy was becoming particularly pronounced.

Every shot from the Symphony of Myriad Phenomena required the consumption of a portion of his mental energy.

The continuous high-precision firing and dodging caused a dull, throbbing ache to begin radiating from his temples.

Nuonuo, on his back, seemed to sense his exhaustion and whispered, "...Uncle, are you tired?"

Chen Jin did not answer.

If things continued like this, he would truly be worn down to death right here.

He probed his consciousness into his personal mark, and a gray stone shard about the size of a fingernail fell into his hand.

[Five Yin Lost-Track Mist Barrier]

Category: Consumable

Refined by alchemists by sealing tomb-derived yin-evil energy mixed with specific mineral powders into a talisman.

Upon being crushed, it rapidly releases a large-scale, highly obscuring gray-black smoke. The smoke contains faint traces of yin-evil energy, capable of interfering with most detection arts or mechanical sensing cores based on "spirit energy" or "yang energy," lasting for approximately ten breaths.

Note: A trick of the eye for escape, a ghostly ruse, yet when walking the world, it is better to be prepared than sorry.

Chen Jin crushed the stone shard in his hand without the slightest hesitation.

"Puff—"

With a soft popping sound, the stone shard instantly transformed into a churning mass of gray-black smoke, expanding at an astonishing speed and completely swallowing the area within a dozen paces of Chen Jin in an instant.

The effect was immediate.

The scarlet spirit-stone compound eyes of the Vermilion Bird-Type Mechanical Annihilation Wing, which had been locked tightly onto Chen Jin, seemed to lose their target; most of the feathered blades they fired lost their accuracy, striking into the thick fog or the surrounding buildings.

The Xuanhu-type Mechanical Garrison Warrior on the ground also fell into a brief state of chaos.

Their heavy footsteps became hesitant, and their advancing formation showed a clear stagnation.

The yin-evil mist had caused significant interference to their sensory systems.