My Apocalypse Territory-Chapter 73: One Shot
Shocked, panicked.
Originally, this battle had been going smoothly. Most of the Demonized Beasts had perished in the artillery fire, and Awakeners only needed to cooperate with the military to exterminate the remaining beasts.
Perhaps shouting "666" a few more times.
It wasn't supposed to be difficult.
That's what everyone thought.
Until the appearance of that gigantic Demonized Beast, they still hadn't despaired. With the crystallization of human technology, there were tanks, cannons, and missiles. How could it be impossible to deal with a single Demonized Beast?
Yet reality proved utterly powerless.
Their emotions fluctuated dramatically, from full of hope to current despair.
Chen Yi's squad was comparatively forward in the lineup. Originally, he was thrilled by the opportunity to pick off more Demonized Beasts, but now, he wished he could quickly run back to Lindong.
Standing here gave him no sense of security at all.
It felt like he could be crushed into powder by the red flesh-whip at any moment.
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on ƒreewebɳovel.com.
"What tier is this Demonized Beast exactly?" A team member couldn't help but mutter to himself.
"Don't know, but it probably far exceeds our expectations. Who knows how many tiers there are in the Awakening Tier?" someone else added.
They were unclear about the tier division of the Awakening Tier.
However, in their perception, the aura of the gigantic Demonized Beast was terrifyingly immense.
It felt like massive waves surging, while humans were like standing on rocks facing a colossal wave, utterly insignificant.
Even though they were several kilometers away, that overwhelming sense of oppression still made it hard for them to breathe.
Their bodies trembled, and a strange scent drifted from various places.
Even running away became a luxury.
…
Command Center.
Everyone was dumbstruck.
After taking damage, the gigantic Demonized Beast became even more ferocious, roaring as it stepped forward.
Its movements seemed slow, but with the beast's size, each step covered dozens of meters.
Unstoppable.
As the gigantic Demonized Beast drew nearer, someone snapped to, "Quick, escort the leader to safety!"
Lu Jianjun slammed the table, "What joke is this? In the face of danger, if we leave, what happens to the Sanctuary, and what about the hundreds of thousands of survivors?"
His subordinate pleaded, "Leader! The second artillery battalion is ready to fight to the death, but you are the linchpin of the Sanctuary; you can't afford to take risks!"
"What nonsense are you speaking! Do you want me to become a deserter?"
The gigantic Demonized Beast drew closer step by step.
From inside this temporary command post, they could already feel the tremblings of the ground.
Lu Jianjun looked into the distance.
It wasn't just the gigantic Demonized Beast; emerging continuously from that sandy vortex were other Demonized Beasts.
They had originally hidden underground, having evaded the bombing by missiles. Now, they were all emerging.
Lu Jianjun couldn't help but ask himself, do Demonized Beasts have intelligence?
If not, how else could one explain this deliberate, conscious behavior of hiding.
He shook his head, pushing the thought aside.
At this moment, the situation had become severely dire. The Sanctuary, which had had the upper hand, was now in imminent danger!
Inside the command center, many looked tense and worried, but no one chose to flee.
Perhaps out of fear, they were still standing their ground.
This was their duty and responsibility as soldiers.
Lu Jianjun swept his gaze across, took a deep breath, "It's not time to give up yet, whether for ourselves or for the hundreds of thousands of survivors behind us. We can't give up. Have the analysis team quickly find this giant beetle's weak point, and also, get the special combat team moving, prepare to use the experimental Model 1 Energy-gathering Cannon."
…
Rooftop.
Tang Yu watched the gigantic Demonized Beast unleash its power, silently speechless.
The strength beyond the Awakening Tier was unexpected.
Originally, he had thought this Demonized Beast would be powerful, but he hadn't expected it to block even missiles.
Even though the gigantic Demonized Beast seemed seriously injured, in his Perception, the opponent's aura hadn't weakened much.
Was Lindong Sanctuary done for?
Tang Yu wasn't sure.
Against such a powerful enemy, he felt helpless too. If this Demonized Beast attacked his Territory, he would probably have to abandon his home and leave.
If his Territory was elevated one more level, creating higher-level defense buildings, perhaps he could qualify to face this kind of Demonized Beast.
He felt a sense of urgency.
It was still poverty that limited his power.
After returning this time, he needed to quickly open up the market in Lindong to earn enough Source Crystals.
Additionally, if he could upgrade his Territory by one more level, he might try using the defense buildings to eliminate the Demonized Beasts near the Source Crystal Mine.
That could be another way to make money.
He thought.
He saw a team of Military Awakeners pushing forward.
The tank's main cannon thundered; many high-level Awakeners in the military fought fiercely, clearing a path.
In the center of the team, there was a flatbed truck welded with a bulky device.
This was a piece of black tech weaponry still under experimentation, cobbled together by the Science Academy—the Energy-gathering Cannon.
Tang Yu had discussed it with Dean Sun before.
Simply put, it involved extracting energy from the Source Crystals and then firing it after condensing and concentrating it.
The kill zone might not be extensive, but the penetration power was sufficient. This had also become a research direction for the science academy after the apocalypse.
Pre-apocalypse firearms, originally designed for use against humanity, were inadequate against Demonized Beasts, which had increasingly stronger defenses. Missiles were designed for precise long-range strikes, but now, even precision strikes had become challenging, let alone having insufficient power.
When they reached a certain distance, several operators began to manage the device.
Energy was extracted from the Source Crystals one by one, lighting up the scale indicator on the Energy-gathering Cannon.
"Energy charged at 10%..."
"Energy charged at 20%..."
The super-sized Demonized Beast seemed to perceive the threat and turned its direction toward them.
At the same time, more Demonized Beasts surged, crashing against this Military team.
Indeed, these Demonized Beasts were controlled!
The battle was fierce, with lives lost constantly.
The super-sized Demonized Beast was getting closer.
From a distance, artillery boomed, blasts illuminating on the Beast's shell, but it did nothing to stop its advance.
"How much energy is charged?"
"Fifty percent."
"Quicker!"
"This is already the limit; any faster and the entire Energy-gathering Cannon would burst."
At that moment, on the ground near the super-sized Demonized Beast, countless pebbles rose, condensing into huge rocks, crashing down towards the Energy-gathering Cannon like cannonballs.
The special ops team captain roared, sprouting wings from his back, flying up into the sky.
His wings, sharp as knives, sliced the huge rocks in half, crashing them down around him.
Other Awakeners and ability users also displayed their Divine Skills, intercepting these flying rocks.
Several armed helicopters flew in, their mounted missiles targeting and boomingly shattering the rocks.
"Energy charged at 80%..."
"Energy charged at 90%..."
Clack, clack, the entire Energy-gathering Cannon emitted a creaking sound of being overwhelmed.
At that moment,
The super-sized Demonized Beast drew even closer, a red fleshy limb raising high, ready to smash down viciously.
The special ops team captain took a deep breath, flying up alone, his wings slashing against that limb.
The next moment, the limb trembled, and the captain, like a human cannonball, was thrown back, smashing into the ground and creating a crater, his life or death unknown.
Another fleshy limb also rose, ready to sweep down.
A helicopter, out of missiles, piloted by someone with a resolute look, rammed directly into the limb.
Boom!
The limb crashed down, deflected slightly by the helicopter's impact, landing not far from the Energy-gathering Cannon.
The ground was crushed into a trench, dust obscuring the figures of the entire team.
However, neither the Awakeners nor the operators showed fear, and none fled.
There was only one chance.
No one wanted to fail at the last moment; they could not afford to fail!
In the distance, on the rooftop,
Tang Yu took a deep breath.
"Let's go, let's also fight the Demonized Beasts."
He felt he had to do something, even if he couldn't help much.
He still had to do something.
Simply because,
The blood had not yet cooled.
In that moment, some capable and spirited Awakeners too intercepted the Demonized Beasts, significantly reducing the pressure on the Military special ops team, freeing up more hands to harass the super-sized Demonized Beast and buy that little bit of time.
The casualties of the special ops Awakeners grew, and the Energy-gathering Cannon finally completed charging.
A thick beam of light shot out, blindingly bright as if it were a star shining.
At the same time, accompanied by the painful roars of the super-sized Demonized Beast.
The light dissipated.
Tang Yu saw that the Beast, from its lower jaw to its back, had a gaping hole penetrating it completely.
The terrifying aura quickly dispersed.
Tang Yu also let out a sigh of relief.
Only to see, after firing its only shot, the hastily assembled Energy-gathering Cannon began to emit black smoke, apparently scrapped.
Just one shot.
Therefore, this was only an experimental model and was far from stable.
Moreover, Tang Yu also saw the shortcomings of this type of Energy-gathering Cannon.
High consumption, short range were minor issues, but most importantly, the charging time for the Energy-gathering Cannon was too long, and the fixed way of firing meant it only had a chance of hitting such super-sized Demonized Beasts.
Against the more agile and small ones, even if only at the Body-shaping Realm, it would be difficult to hit.
The biggest problem was solved,
Yet the danger persisted, the remaining Demonized Beasts still plentiful.
At the Lindong Sanctuary Alliance Army's side, most of the mercenaries had been scared by the super-sized Demonized Beast into losing their senses, and now, with no more terrifying aura to suppress them, many turned and fled.
They no longer cared about the mission.
