Changes at the Front Line

front.

The Northern Seventh Defense Line, Sea City.

The setting sun, like blood, gilded the ruins of this dilapidated city with a tragic, dark gold.

Neither the bustling commercial streets of Chen Capital nor the foul-mouthed members of the large guilds' Strategy Group had anything to do with this city or its soldiers at this moment.

The city ruins remain unchanged, with a massive east-west rift constantly spewing out mist.

On the south side of the fissure, the exterior walls of all the buildings in that half of the city were still covered by a dark gray, viscous film that seemed to writhe like living creatures, with intertwined lines protruding from it, like thick blood vessels parasitizing the building surfaces.

roar-

A muffled roar suddenly pierced through the gray fog.

On the other side of the city, countless huge bulges rose up on the buildings again, and as slime splattered, the monster landed.

Soon, a tidal wave of monsters poured out of their lair and launched a new attack on the northern defense line.

Hundreds and thousands of Crawler scurried along the ground, their rough scales rubbing against each other with a teeth-grinding rustling sound.

If this had Monster Tide half a month ago, the forward squads on the defensive line would have already gone into hiding, ready to grit their teeth and use severed limbs, flesh and blood, and their lives to fill the gaps in the defense in the face of a monster horde of this size.

But today, the soldiers are not hiding, and the atmosphere on the front line is completely different.

Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, the soldiers' eyes no longer held the despair of facing death; Take Their Place with a murderous intent and excitement, as if they were sharpening their knives.

After a period of continuous rotation and clearance.

finally.

Most of the soldiers on the front lines in Sea City have received rewards from Sekiro and Titanfall.

The defense zone where Han Xiao is located.

"Prepare to engage the enemy!"

Han Xiao roared, signaling his soldiers to get ready.

Upon hearing Han Xiao's words, the soldiers began to advance on their own initiative!

The partition walls still stand, but the soldiers no longer have to risk their lives, clutching their melee weapons and hiding in the gaps to probe the enemy's defenses, as they used to.

The soldiers pulled out futuristic-looking firearms directly from their backpacks.

From the Titanfall instance, this is a weapon that requires no special conditions; you can use it simply by pulling the trigger.

Although they had experienced it during previous drills, facing the horde of monsters and gripping the familiar, heavy, mechanical firearms again still left many veterans feeling disoriented.

It's been such a long time since I've felt this way.

"Fire!"

But this feeling didn't last long.

Accompanied by the command.

The veterans immediately came to their senses and pulled the triggers.

The violent gunfire instantly illuminated the streets at dusk.

These standard firearms are many times better than the small-caliber pistols that couldn't even penetrate the defenses of the past.

While they couldn't exactly tear through the monster's thick scales like cutting tofu, at least under the combined fire of multiple targets, they finally regained some of the unparalleled prowess of carbon-based biological coolers.

Large-caliber bullets intertwined with a barrage of eerie blue energy projectiles, effectively knocking down and annihilating a large number of charging Crawler from dozens of meters away, their foul-smelling dark blood exploding on the street.

At the same time.

Not just at Han Xiao's node—every corner of the entire front line was unleashing a barrage of firepower!

The power of modern weaponry has finally been demonstrated once again.

However, there were simply too many monsters.

They are like an ant colony that cannot be eradicated; the rate of fire and ammunition of firearms are ultimately insufficient to completely wipe them out from a distance.

Stepping over the remains of their kind, more Crawler braved the hail of bullets and surged towards the front of the transverse wall like a mudslide.

The firepower suppression has reached its limit; now it's time for melee fighters to step in.

but----

Melee combat today is no longer the desperate meat grinder that required severed limbs and lives to be sacrificed.

"Cease fire! Raise your parachutes!"

Watching those Crawler squeeze in, suddenly prop up their front half, their shovel-like heads lifting up, their mouths glowing with a blinding dark red light.

Han Xiao issued another order.

Faced with that deadly breath that was once enough to melt steel bars and strike fear into the hearts of everyone.

The soldiers at the front did not flinch. They instinctively holstered their guns, took a half-step back, and swung their left hands forward sharply.

Click.

Wow!

A series of crisp metallic hinge clicks echoed simultaneously along the entire defensive line.

One after another, pitch-black [Loaded Umbrella] instantly opened, transforming into a seamless steel barrier.

Boom!

The dozen or so dark red death rays spewed out by the Crawler slammed into the umbrella surface, scorching sparks and shockwaves swirling wildly, but they couldn't penetrate the Loaded Umbrella at all.

The moment the breath ended, the Crawler froze briefly.

"Second wave, take your drugs! One 'Ungo's Sugar' and Yashariku's Sugar ' each! And eat a serving of rice! Then go up and chop! First wave, replenish your ammunition and prepare to continue suppressive fire!"

Han Xiao's hoarse voice echoed through the smoke-filled streets.

Without the slightest hesitation.

The second echelon of soldiers, who were waiting in the rear, immediately took out red candies from their backpacks, stuffed them into their mouths, and roughly chewed and swallowed them.

The crisp sounds of chewing echoed across the rear of the position.

Ungo's Sugar, lasting for thirty seconds.

Yashariku's Sugar greatly enhances physical attack power, also lasting for thirty seconds.

These items all come from the [Sekiro] dungeon.

Although the description suggests the numbers aren't very strong.

Especially considering the Ungo's Sugar" alone, it seems to only add 1 point of power, which is negligible.

However, this 1 point of strength bonus, combined with the exceptionally effective physical attack enhancement from the tested Yashariku's Sugar, is enough to cause a qualitative change, allowing the vast majority of frontline soldiers to break through the monster's defenses.

As soon as the soldiers finished eating the Consumable, their breathing became heavy, and the muscles in their arms bulged and stretched visibly, with veins protruding from their skin like writhing dragons.

Even the knuckles of their fingers gripping their swords made a cracking sound under the influence of the Consumable.

But this is not the end.

After finishing the candy, the soldiers immediately took out the faintly glowing grains of rice from their backpacks and swallowed them in one gulp.

The item, also from the [Sekiro] dungeon, restores 5% of health per second for 30 seconds.

This allows for a higher margin of error; as long as they aren't instantly wiped out, they have more room to maneuver.

"Kill!!!"

With the boost from the three Consumable, the soldiers in the second echelon gleamed with a terrifying ferocity in their eyes.

They bypassed their comrades who had just put away their [Loaded Umbrella], and like tigers descending from the mountain, they crashed headlong into the group of Crawler who were still in a dazed state after exhaling.

No longer do two or three people need to nervously stir up hatred like before, nor do they need to carefully search for those narrow gaps in the scales like performing surgery.

After taking the drugs, the tactic can be summed up in one word: slash!

Slash any monsters you see!

Click!

A soldier with only decent stats strode forward. Originally only good at scratching the Crawler, he raised his sword high and, with the help of the Ungo's Sugar and Yashariku's Sugar, slashed the long sword with a sharp whistling sound as it struck the Crawler's proud scales.

Amidst the flying sparks, the hard, keratinous scales that had once driven countless veterans to despair were no longer impenetrable.

The sword blade sliced through the scales with unstoppable force, severing the monster's neck.

They chopped his head off.

One hit kills!

The Crawler beside him pounced, wielding its sharp claws to tear a deep, bone-revealing gash in the soldier's thigh, but the soldier didn't even flinch.

Because almost the instant the wound appeared, [Rice]'s incredible healing effect was triggered.

Restores 5% health per second for 30 seconds.

It's not incredible, but it's sufficient.

The deep, bone-revealing bloodstain did not heal, but the bleeding stopped instantly, and the pain was suppressed below the threshold.

Without even flinching, the soldier swung his sword and cleaved the attacking monster in two, head and shoulder in one fell swoop.

This kind of combat method, which achieves miracles in a short period of time, gave all the soldiers an unprecedented sense of exhilaration.

In less than twenty seconds.

The high-level Crawler surged to the front of the transverse partition were hacked into a pile of mangled corpses by the ferocious Berserker, just like wheat.

certainly.

Not every soldier has such good attributes; even with bonuses, some still need several hits to kill a monster, and the Consumable don't last very long.

But they received more than just Consumable rewards in Lu Xiu's dungeon.

"Ugh!!!"

Someone let out a muffled groan.

The soldier was surrounded and attacked by several Crawler, and his arm was torn off.

But instead of retreating, the soldiers advanced, and with the [Ordinary Person's Courage] activated, they hacked and slashed even faster!

They can be described as fearless and undaunted!

Because even if I really die----

"I'm dead! It must have been the Crawler at the seven o'clock position that killed me! Let me kill!"

A soldier suddenly shouted, and with the [Loser's Obsession] triggered, Posture Bar appeared above his head.

When a player's health is ≤5% and they suffer Deadly damage, their health is immediately locked and turns gray, entering the [Obsession State]!

This is equivalent to having a second life!

An insanely powerful skill! Combined with Consumable! It makes the frontline soldiers like demon gods.

Han Xiao looked at the tragic yet one-sided scene of carnage ahead and was momentarily dazed.

Even if he knows more than the average player.

I also felt dazed.

Dark red, foul-smelling blood stained the gray cement floor, making it a muddy mess.

His comrades, at this moment, looked like demons crawling out of hell, exuding an aura more ferocious than monsters.

Some had their arms bitten off at the root, yet with the terrifying attribute transformation of [Ordinary Person's Courage], they grabbed a longsword with one hand and cleaved three Crawler in half at the waist; others, though their health points were zero, triggered [The Loser's Obsession], and still maintained their Posture Bar, like a tireless meat grinder, relentlessly hacking and slashing at monsters.

Although this scene was tragic, it was not the end, and it could be reversed.

Because severed limbs can be reattached on the spot using [Hand Sanitizer], and soldiers whose health is locked and turned gray can even recover 50% of their health after killing monsters marked by skills.

When did the front lines become like this?

Han Xiao watched this scene and couldn't help but think.

When did the Monster Tide that had weighed on all the frontline soldiers for four long years, forcing them to pay with their lives, become so fragile?

When did the way soldiers on the front lines fight become like this?

He already felt that the [Resident Evil] rewards had made a big difference to the front lines when they were first released.

Little did I know that was just the beginning.