The smell of gunpowder was choking, mixed with scorched earth and blood, like a red-hot saw rasping through the throat.
"Charge!!"
Liao's roar sounded distorted through the ringing in his ears. He led from the front, the barrel of the Gift of Freedom Heavy Bolter in his hands already glowing red. Every pull of the trigger sent massive recoil numbing the web of his hand, but he felt no pain.
Behind him, nearly a thousand ragged Resistance Army soldiers surged like a burst dam, flooding over blackened shell craters and charging at the ninja who had once stood high above them.
"Suicidal fools!"
Kitsuchi rose from a pile of rubble, covered in dust and grime, with a bloody gash across his right arm from shrapnel. But he was still Iwagakure's stabilizing pillar. Chakra at the brink of Kage Level erupted from him in an instant.
"Earth Release: Earth-Flow Rampart!"
Rumble—
A thick earthen wall twenty meters high rose from the ground, stretching across the Resistance Army's path. Dense bullets struck the wall and kicked up countless clouds of dust, yet they could not penetrate the defense condensed with high-density chakra.
"A bunch of bugs with toys. You think an ambush is enough to turn the world upside down?" Kitsuchi's eyes were sinister as he formed seals with one hand. "Earth Release: Rock-Iron Cannon Technique!"
Above the earthen wall, countless stones gathered into cannonball shapes and crashed down on the Resistance Army like a torrential rain.
This was the foundation of ninja power. Even after being bombarded by heavy artillery, as long as they still had a breath left, they remained "gods" in the eyes of ordinary people.
"Spread out! Move!" Sato roared, throwing himself over a terrified, frozen boy.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Massive rocks slammed into the crowd, blood spraying