Hero Hack: Reversing Heroes and Raising Harem-Chapter 223: Please Don’t Charge the Tank
Chapter 223: Please Don’t Charge the Tank
Brug charged through the broken alleys of BC-2, his massive frame crashing through debris and abandoned stalls.
His breath was heavy. His boots smashed into the ground with every step.
Dust swirled around him as he bolted between crumbling walls and empty streets, trying to lose any pursuers.
But as he turned the corner of an old building, something blocked his path.
A huge armored figure stood still, shield in hand, unmoving like a tower.
Brug’s body came to a stop. His eyes narrowed.
"...Aegisclad."
The figure didn’t flinch. His massive shield rose slightly.
"Iron Tuskrager. You’re here. That means you don’t need to run anymore."
Aerin Vellhart—Aegisclad—activated his class skill.
His armor flared with runes.
[Titanbrand Shift]
His shield expanded, energy lines glowing along its surface.
His body locked into a full defense stance.
Then, without wasting a second, he slammed his shield to the ground.
[Wallcrush Vault]
A thick rune-wall shot up behind Brug, sealing off the alley’s exit.
Another wall blocked his flank. He was boxed in.
Brug took a step back and snarled.
"How the hell did you know we were coming?"
Aegisclad didn’t move.
His posture remained firm, like the concrete beneath his boots was part of him.
"You don’t know?" he said calmly, one eyebrow lifting.
Brug’s breath grew louder, harsher. "Know what?"
Aegisclad gave a slight shake of his head, his shield lowering just an inch.
"Then it’s worse than I thought. Neuro said you had strength."
"Not much else. Turns out he was being generous."
Brug’s eyes burned.
"What did that twitchy freak do now? Set a trap? Leak false info?"
Aegisclad adjusted his footing, shield rising again, glowing faintly with a defensive aura.
"You walked into it on your own. We didn’t even need bait."
Brug’s fists clenched. "Say that again."
Aegisclad didn’t blink.
"It doesn’t matter anymore."
His calm voice cut through the tension like a blade.
"You’re not leaving this place, Iron Tuskrager. Not today."
Brug lowered his stance.
His skin started to harden. His gauntlets locked tighter around his fists.
"Stupid hero," he growled.
"You think you can trap me in a cage like that?"
His body began to change, his muscles swelling, his hide thickening like armored plates.
[Ironhide Shift]
Gray-brown skin hardened to metallic stone.
His eyes glowed red. His stance dropped into a charging posture.
[Tuskrush Charge]
With a roar, Brug launched forward like a rampaging beast.
His tusks led the way as he charged directly at Aegisclad’s wall.
The wall cracked from the sheer force.
But then, shockwaves burst from the impact.
[Echo Guard]
The energy rebounded from the wall, slamming back into Brug’s chest with brutal force.
His momentum stopped.
Brug stumbled backwards, boots dragging deep ruts in the cracked concrete.
His thick arms hung low, chest rising and falling.
He coughed once, then twice, spitting blood onto the ground.
His eyes, wide at first, narrowed into a sharp glare.
"The hell was that...?" he growled.
He looked down at his own chest, where the shockwave from his charge had struck him dead-on.
The wall hadn’t just stopped him—it hit back. Hard.
Across the small space between them, Aegisclad still hadn’t moved.
He stood tall behind his massive shield, his feet planted, his presence unshaken.
"I told you," Aegisclad said calmly.
"You rush in. I don’t move. You break yourself."
The glowing runes along his armor pulsed again.
His shield hummed with stored energy. Not a single crack. Not a single dent.
Brug wiped the blood off his chin with the back of his hand, eyes locked on the immovable figure.
His jaw twitched.
"So that’s how it is..." he muttered.
He rolled his shoulders. The gauntlets on his arms creaked.
His hide, still hardened from [Ironhide Shift], shimmered under the broken light.
Even with the pain in his chest, he grinned.
"Fine," he said, his voice rising. "Let’s see who breaks first."
He stomped forward once, the ground cracking beneath his heel.
His body was a wall of moving mass. His red eyes flared hotter.
Aegisclad responded by bracing his stance.
His shield locked with the ground. A faint circular pulse formed beneath him, slowly expanding.
[Unyielding Circle]
The moment Brug saw the zone activate, he growled low.
"A defense zone, huh?"
"Come in," Aegisclad said.
"But know this—inside here, you’re not the unstoppable one."
Brug’s fingers flexed, and his tusks glinted as he dropped into a charge stance again.
---
Drask stood still as the reinforced lab door slid shut behind him.
His arms crossed, his claws tapping slowly against his bicep.
Syvarn stood in front of a large curved monitor, hands moving quickly across the keyboard.
Data windows flickered open, and a full map of the city zones filled the screen.
Colored dots blinked across several sectors.
Drask’s eyes narrowed. "What is it you wanted to show me?"
Syvarn pointed at the map. "This. All of this."
He zoomed in on Sector BC-2, where multiple blinking dots had suddenly disappeared.
"These are our mutants," he said. "Each dot was a [Feral Beastkin] you released."
Drask stared. "They’re all gone."
Syvarn nodded. "Yes. And I now know how they found them so fast."
He opened a secondary screen.
"You remember how I told you I replicated the serum?"
"I didn’t replicate the original perfectly," Syvarn said, pulling up the serum formula on the screen.
"What I did was different."
He highlighted a section of the formula.
"This serum is only 1% from the leftover original—the last serum we had."
"The other 99% is my custom blend. I created a mix to enhance and react with that 1%."
Drask narrowed his eyes. "You mean... you stretched it?"
Syvarn nodded. "Exactly. That 1% was enough. It acts as the core trigger."
"My formula amplifies it, forces it to spread."
"With just a single dose of the original, I can produce hundreds of working serums."
He tapped the screen again. "But that’s not the only thing I discovered."
"That 1%—it’s not normal. Not beast-derived. Not human. Completely unknown."
Drask’s gaze darkened. "So?"
Syvarn looked up. "That unknown material... emits a signal."
"A unique wavelength. I didn’t notice it at first. But now—after tracking our lost mutants—I found a pattern."
He highlighted a waveform on the screen.
"This signal can be tracked. That’s how they found the ambush point before we even deployed."
Drask’s claws tightened. "You don’t mean..."
Syvarn nodded slowly. "Yes."
"The Hero Association must’ve retrieved one of the original serums—or at least the remains."
"And someone smart on their side found a way to track this wavelength."
Drask’s voice was low. "Damn it... They used our own tech to bait us."
Syvarn tapped a command and pulled up a side feed.
A security footage of the failed ambush, the heroes arriving early, and formations already in place.
"They knew where we’d send them. They didn’t react. They waited."
Drask stepped forward, fists clenched. "They’re not just defending anymore. They’re hunting."
Syvarn crossed his arms. "Which means... we need a new strategy."
Drask’s eyes stayed locked on the screen. "I’ll think about the new one."
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶