"Da da da, ka..."
The gunfire ceased.
Xu Ruiyu subconsciously pressed the trigger twice, and after confirming that no bullets had been fired, he quickly reloaded.
As he changed his clothes, he turned his head to look at the approaching Calamity Beast.
The foremost Calamity Beast is already a hundred meters away!
"No, there are at least three or four thousand left, right? Can they hold on?" Xu Ruiyu looked up at the approaching Calamity Beast.
"We have to hold on, even if we can't!" Qin Ye said from the side.
"I know, but what if we can't hold on?" Xu Ruiyu replied.
"Can't hold on?" Qin Ye turned and glared fiercely at Xu Ruiyu. "If you can't hold on, I'll kick you off the stage first!"
Xu Ruiyu shrank back, realizing he had just said the wrong thing.
He quickly reloaded, then raised his gun again, pointing it at the horde of beasts below.
Bullets rained down relentlessly, but most of them only managed to hit the corpses of their own kind and the rocks carried by the Calamity Beast.
But one after another, the Calamity Beast tumbled backward and fell to the ground.
The hillside was already piled high with corpses, forcing the remaining Calamity Beast to step over the remains of their own kind as they climbed, further slowing them down.
Even so, they are still getting closer step by step.
Getting closer and closer.
Xu Ruiyu could even see the firelight reflected in the eyes of some of the Calamity Beast, and the sharp white teeth revealed when some of the Calamity Beast opened their mouths.
The question he had just been thinking about flashed through his mind again.
If so many Calamity Beast were to ascend, could we really hold them off?
Just then, a voice, old yet powerful, seemed to ring in my ears.
"Don't move it! I'll say it again, no matter what, the firepower cannot be moved back!"
Xu Ruiyu turned his head and glanced at it.
Not far away, the old commander was staring intently down below.
His face was taut with wrinkles, like an old lion driven to the brink of despair.
What can't be moved?... Xu Ruiyu was a little puzzled, but still looked away.
I could still faintly hear the old commander's voice in my ears.
"Not enough is not enough! Even if it's not enough, we have to keep bombarding that direction! Keep executing! That's an order!"
After a moment of silence, something seemed to be said on the other end, and the old commander's voice suddenly rose, almost roaring.
"Then fill this gap with your life!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Ruiyu felt the sounds around him suddenly become blurred.
The old commander was still speaking, but because of the distance and the fact that his voice had been lowered, he could no longer hear him clearly.
A moment later, Xu Ruiyu caught a glimpse of several soldiers walking up to the old commander. After some persuasion, the old commander finally stepped down.
Xu Ruiyu wasn't surprised by this, after all...
Xu Ruiyu refocused his attention and looked ahead.
The Calamity Beast drew closer.
Eighty meters.
Seventy meters.
Sixty meters.
The stench of blood emanated from the Calamity Beast's mouth.
"Everyone, rotate shifts in an orderly fashion, prepare for close combat!"
New instructions resounded in everyone's ears.
Xu Ruiyu stood still, continuing to fire the heavy machine gun.
But around him, some retreated, while others moved forward.
The relevant contingency plans have already been prepared.
When the Calamity Beast finally charge forward, the Fourth Tier will be at the very front, forming the first echelon; the Third Tier will be behind, forming the second echelon; and the others will be further back, continuing to attack with firearms.
Although he has only been aware of the Origin Power for about a year, he has already cultivated to the Third Tier by relying on the Origin Crystal he obtained!
A large portion of the first batch of warriors to enter have already reached the Third Tier!
Xu Ruiyu watched the surging tide of beasts, his hands trembling almost imperceptibly.
This time, it's really different from before!
"Squad leader, can you really hold on?" Xu Ruiyu asked again.
"Even if you can't hold on," Qin Ye raised his eyes, his gaze unwavering, and replied once more, "You have to hold on!"
"Squad leader!" Xu Ruiyu said again.
"Why are you spouting so much nonsense?!" Qin Ye glared at Xu Ruiyu.
"Who was your suicide note primarily addressed to?" Xu Ruiyu asked.
Upon hearing this, Qin Ye fell silent.
He paused, looked away, and said:
"For my wife!"
"Oh!" Xu Ruiyu responded blankly. Usually so talkative, he didn't know what to say at this moment.
"And you?" Qin Ye asked.
"Give it to my mom!" Xu Ruiyu replied.
"Roar--!!!"
A roar.
As a Fourth Tier Calamity Beast closed in, it suddenly hurled the corpse of its own kind at them.
With a loud "boom," the metal city wall trembled slightly as it was struck, and many of the soldiers on it were sent flying straight into the city.
Subsequently, a Rotting Armor Scorpion bypassed the Fourth Tier members blocking its way and climbed onto the city wall.
It flung aside the mangled corpse of its kind from its claws, opened its ferocious jaws, and pounced on the nearest warrior!
"Court death!"
A figure suddenly crashed in from the side, a military knife plunging viciously into a gap in the carapace of the Rotting Armor Scorpion's flank!
It was that soldier's squad leader, a veteran in his forties.
The Rotting Armor Scorpion, in pain, lashed out with its stinger, piercing the squad leader's shoulder.
The old soldier groaned, but clung tightly to the Rotting Armor Scorpion, falling backward with it.
The two people and the beast fell from the edge of the city wall.
"Squad leader--!!!"
The warriors' screams were drowned out by even more roars.
The second one, the third one, the fourth one...
The Calamity Beast surged up from the edge of the city walls like a black tide!
The battle instantly escalated into its bloodiest and most primal phase.
Bullets continued to fire, and missiles continued to whistle through the air.
But unlike before, now there are many more muffled sounds of blades cutting into carapaces, sharp teeth tearing through flesh, dying screams, and angry roars.
Xu Ruiyu swung his sword, severing the front paw of a Second Tier Shadow Wolf, and then stabbed it through the throat with a backhand strike.
Warm wolf blood sprayed all over his face, its stench was pungent and offensive.
Before he could wipe it away, he dodged a Rotting Armor Scorpion's attack by sidestepping it, and with a swift upward slash of his longsword, he cut a gash in its abdomen.
Internal organs and foul blood gushed out, and the Rotting Armor Scorpion collapsed, convulsing.
But from the side, a Dragon-Taunting Lizard's tail had already lashed out!
Xu Ruiyu had no time to dodge and could only raise his left arm to block.
"Snap!"
A clear sound of bone cracking.
A sharp pain shot through his brain, Xu Ruiyu's vision went black, and he staggered backward.
The Dragon-Taunting Lizard opened its massive jaws and bit down on his head.
"Roll!"
A large blade slashed hard at the side of the Dragon-Taunting Lizard's face, but it didn't break through its defenses; it only knocked the lizard off to one side.
Qin Ye roared, raising his broadsword once more, ready to slash at the Dragon-Taunting Lizard again.
"Squad leader, thank you..." Xu Ruiyu had just opened his mouth when he saw a Shadow-Claw Dire Wolf silently pounce from behind the squad leader.
Be careful carrying it on your back...
He hadn't finished speaking.
The Shadow-Claw Dire Wolf's claws pierced Qin Ye's chest from behind, the claw tips protruding from his chest and dripping blood.
Qin Ye froze, looking down at the claws emerging from his chest. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
He slowly turned his head, glanced at Xu Ruiyu, his eyes filled with confusion and resentment, which finally turned into a dimness that was hard to describe as either relief or regret.
Then, his body went limp.
Xu Ruiyu's breath hitched for a moment.
He seemed to hear some sound nearby—was it his commander roaring in the distance? Or were other officers shouting? He couldn't make it out.
All I could see was blood.
Splattered blood, splashed blood, flowing blood, blood staining the city walls.
My face was hot and wet, my mouth tasted salty and fishy, and my nasal cavity was filled with a rusty smell.
"Ah--!!!"
I don't know who roared first.
Then one figure after another rushed forward.
Use a knife to chop, a shovel to smash, a fist to punch, and a tooth to bite.
Some had their necks bitten off by the Calamity Beast, some had their skulls smashed, some had their chests pierced by tail hooks, and some had their bellies ripped open by sharp claws.
But no one backed down.
If we retreat, the city lies behind us; if we retreat, our comrades still fighting below will have died in vain; if we retreat, the city will be gone.
Xu Ruiyu gripped the long knife tightly with his still-functioning right hand, while his left arm hung limply at his side.
He spat out the blood and foam from his mouth, looked at another Calamity Beast that pounced on him, grinned, revealing his blood-stained teeth.
Then, they went to meet them.
The blade and the claws clashed once more.
Blood was splattered on his face once again.
Warm, viscous...