This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 601: The Roar of the Chimera!

Chapter 601: Chapter 601: The Roar of the Chimera!

The War had entered its fourth day.

The brutal alley battles turned the street in front of the abandoned department building into a cruel meat grinder, with every inch of the paving tiles covered with thick bloodstains and torn bodies.

The originally uniform battle line, under constant tug of war, had become jagged, the earth bearing ghastly scars from the tilling of artillery and aerial bombs.

Ironically, the Land that had remained untouched by the three-year War that buried the United Human, now faced the baptism of iron and fire two centuries after the War’s end.

Humch, full of confusion, remembered what the boss had said—the Alliance’s offensive was at its end, their soldiers’ courage shattered by Delu’s thunderous voice, and they would soon be fleeing with their tails between their legs.

The recaptured ground was the best proof.

However—

Was that really the case?

"Boom—!"

The dense artillery fire started punctually, like a pressed black cloud, rolling over the street, each blast drawing nearer and nearer.

Green heads huddled within the concrete buildings on either side of the street, bobbing with the dust that occasionally shook loose.

Humch wasn’t afraid of the Alliance’s shelling.

The thing made a big racket indeed, but it was difficult to harm them behind concrete walls, and minor scrapes didn’t warrant concern.

In the end, a face-to-face battle was needed to decide the victor.

There was nothing to fear.

The shelling began on time and ended just as punctually.

A Centurion hunkered nearby shook off the cement debris and stood up, raising its weapon and bellowing.

"Chop them to pieces!"

Its chest vibrated with the shout, like a wild beast roaring at the sky.

"Oh oh oh!"

Inspired by that courage and barbarity, the mutant soldiers also rose, calling out as they grabbed their weapons and spread out to the exterior barricades, ready to fight with the Alliance soldiers.

Humch followed closely behind the guy in front.

Almost at the same moment he stepped out of the concrete debris, deafening war cries accompanied the rat-tat-tat of gunfire.

The street he was responsible for was one of the routes leading to the abandoned department building, with a collapsed overpass lying right in the middle of the intersection.

A lineup of derelict cars made natural cover; just throw on a few sandbags and mount a machine gun to create a makeshift bunker.

The Church continuously fed the city with ammunition; they didn’t have to worry about logistical supplies, only about stuffing death down those human soldiers’ throats—

Tracers flew chaotically across the street, like snowflakes whisked up in a storm.

From that invisible mist, Humch sensed something unusual; the fierce gunfire seemed as if the first day’s offensive had resurrected.

Wasn’t the Alliance already on its last legs?

Why had they... come back to life?

There was always an illusion in its heart that the people it encountered on the first day were the same ones facing it now.

The only difference was that they seemed to be much more skilled than on the first day and no longer charged headlong into the muzzle of the guns.

If it had been then, just one burst of fire would have been enough to bring them down.

But now, they had clearly mastered the techniques of combat, even if it was only some very superficial skills, it still caused immense trouble for them.

"Da-da-da—!" The machine gun continuously spat out flames, and in the foggy weather with extremely low visibility, hitting the target almost depended on luck.

Humming didn’t manage to get to the machine gun and could only aimlessly fire with a rifle he had picked up from somewhere, but he quickly felt lucky for being slow to react.

Before two bursts of smoke could emerge from the barrel, a scorching blaze exploded beside him with a "bang," splattering his face with shrapnel and boiling blood.

He turned his face to look and saw that the guy who had been spraying with the machine gun earlier was left with only half of his body twitching on the ground.

Having seen so many corpses, he had become numb to them, and a fellow with a bare upper body quickly grabbed the machine gun and continued to fire, pulling the trigger.

Humming didn’t exhibit any sadness over a brother with whom he had relieved himself dying; instead, a slight confusion gradually grew in his mind.

Could retaking this street under his feet really indicate that the Alliance was already close to collapsing?

However, this faint confusion lasted less than half a minute before it was interrupted by a roar piercing through the thick fog.

A giant wearing steel plates, with heavy and rapid steps, crossed one shattered barrier after another and suddenly barged onto the battlefield.

Its figure was as tall as a wall, and the steel draped over its body was as solid as a tank’s armor.

Seeing its arrival, almost all the mutants’ eyes lit up with frenzy, shouting out excitedly.

Humming was the same!

Big Guy!

The strongest warrior in the Tribe!

They simply couldn’t be naturally produced, and they’d never learn a few sentences of human speech in their lives, but every one that grew up became a named warrior!

They were born warriors!

"Roar—!"

The roar leaked from the gaps in the helmet as it charged forward, using its shoulder to violently slam into the closest piece of iron rust.

The human soldier in the exoskeleton drew a short axe to resist, but the axe looked like a toothpick against its massive bulk.

Humming clearly saw the axe that heavily chopped the helmet, leaving only a negligible white mark on the dark and foreboding steel, then the human soldier was sent flying by Big Guy’s smooth charge, crashing hard against a concrete building nearby.

A piece of rebar sticking out of the wall pierced right through his back, skewering the human soldier, who struggled with the rebar for a while before his head drooped and he moved no more.

"Roar—!"

The mutant Big Guy roared, picking up a steel rod from the ground, then immediately smashed it into the next iron rust.

Those human soldiers were clearly startled by the hulking figure, caught off guard for a moment by the giant charging through.

Crouching behind cover, Humming’s blood surged with excitement as he and the bunch of ruffians beside him cheered and hollered together.

It seemed that the roar of the mutants inspired Big Guy, who grew more valiant in battle at the center of the battlefield, wielding a steel rod several meters long.

In a blink, two more heavy exoskeletons were sent flying out, collapsing unconscious among the concrete debris.

Alliance Soldiers immediately raised their rifles, aiming fire at the behemoth, but the tracer rounds appeared no more substantial than toothpicks against its huge bulk.

Aside from scraping a few bullet marks on that thick arc of steel armor, not even a hint of substantive damage had been left behind; instead, it only aroused the ferocity of the big guy, who swung his steel bar even more vigorously.

The already chaotic position was smashed even more into a mess.

The human soldier leading the charge seemed to be shouting something, but it was unintelligible, probably a panicked scream.

However, what it didn’t know was that although these Alliance soldiers had been startled by the big brute, they were far from panicked.

For instance, Midnight Chicken Killing had seen this thing before, and many old soldiers from the Jungle Corps had too; they knew that although it was tough, it was far from invincible.

"Damn—this bomb gun can’t break its defense?!"

"Bro, you’re too close! Back up and shoot from a distance!"

"No time! Switch to the rifle!"

"Crap, the armor is too thick! Can’t get through it!"

"Then bring out the tube—"

Before the words had completely fallen, the engine’s roar came killing over from one side of the crossroads.

Midnight Chicken Killing, about to pull out the tube, turned sharply towards that direction and his heart leapt with joy the moment his sight met the headlights.

Chimera!

It’s the Skeleton Corps’ brothers!

The roaring engine, like a battle drum, accompanied the broad vehicle front as it entered the battlefield where gunshots were echoing incessantly.

Not a hint of dragging and slogging.

The protruding edges on the armored vehicle’s front slammed hard into the crotch of the huge mutant.

The big brute only felt his lower half being struck by a heavy hammer, and let out a painful cry; his feet were lifted off the ground by the massive front of the vehicle and he flew backward.

Just then, the rampaging Chimera came to a sudden stop; the big brute lost his balance and had no chance to steady himself, stumbling backward.

But the Chimera Armored Car didn’t give him a moment to catch his breath—the 37mm rapid-fire cannon aimed straight at his chest.

Then—

The deep barrel, like a black hole, mercilessly spat out a thick burst of flames!

"Bang bang bang—!"

The deafening cannon fire, like a battle drum being struck, released tracer bullets thick as pythons from the barrel, pummeling the big thumbnail-thick breastplate, each hit making it wail from the unbearable strain.

The staggering brute was powerless against the kinetic energy of the 37mm rounds and was directly pressed into the wrecked display window on the side of the street.

The bursting shrapnel and sparks kept flying out from that display window, occasionally accompanied by one or two ricocheted bullets.

The flickering firelight and thick smoke obscured the muddy swamp of carnage and also silenced the pained howl.

The staring eyes widened, fixating on the spot where the big brute had fallen, the excitement and bloodlust in his pupils fading away unnoticed.

All that remained was boundless fear.

In just a moment—

The warrior, who had come to this world with death and glory, named by the tribe chief at birth, was crushed into mincemeat by the sparks shot from that metal box.

Soon he saw the smoke-wreathed barrel slowly moving, aiming distantly at the position where he stood.

"Roar—!"

It was as if to vent the fear in his heart, he let out a series of exhausted roars, almost pulling the trigger of his rifle to the limit, trying to extinguish the howling storm with that fragile flame.

The other Mutants Soldiers around him did the same, pouring fierce firepower at the iron hunk standing in the center of the Battlefield, attempting to crush it with a barrage of bullets.

However,

in front of that several dozen millimeters thick equivalent armor, the bullets fired by light weapons were too weak, not even as useful as the axes they were swinging in their hands.

Almost at the same time as the panting roars were heard, streaks of lightning thick as Pythons had already lunged at the Mutant Soldiers, bursting into flashing flares on that hasty defensive position.

Sandbag bunkers were blown up everywhere, and the walls that could stop bullets were like children’s building blocks in front of the 37mm Rapid-fire Cannon.

Fortunately, there was no pain in that instant.

He just felt a flash before his eyes, then darkness, and all senses plunged into an endless abyss with that "splat"...

"Boom, boom, boom—!"

The rumble of the guns continued.

Until the entire street’s bunkers were baptized with Armor piercing incendiary bombs.

It seemed that wasn’t enough fun as the armored vehicle switched to High-explosive bombs, giving a thorough sweep to the gaps between buildings on both sides of the street.

Although gunshots were still continuing in the distance, the fight on this street had basically ended with the arrival of this armored vehicle.

The players of the Jungle Corps left their shelters one by one, holding Bomb Guns and advancing alongside the armored vehicle, shooting down the Mutant Soldiers trying to retreat with ammo boxes, reclaiming the position they had given up to the Mutants the day before.

"Nicely done!"

Whistling at the ceased-firing Chimera Armored Car, the Picheng Paratrooper wearing the "Iron Wall" Exoskeleton excitedly shot a thumbs up.

Although he wasn’t the one who fired.

The devastating firepower truly exhilarated him.

Gnome King Riches jumped down from the back of the armored vehicle, gazing at the grey-faced brothers of the Jungle Corps, and bragged with beaming pride.

"How about that? Isn’t our new equipment badass?"

Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "6666!"

Ground Model: "Got money now, brother!"

Gnome King Riches, embarrassed, chuckled and said,

"It’s mainly because our leader’s Game sold well."

Seeing his brothers casting hopeful glances at him, Brother Chicken, armored from head to toe, subtly shifted his gaze away, pretending not to see and started whistling.

Make money?

Not happening.

Be content with freeloading the NPC’s equipment!

Elena suggested with a comical face,

"That guy should just stay back in Ideal City and lug bricks, we can handle the fighting."

The hatch of the armored vehicle opened, and the Mole who climbed out put his hand on the side of the Gun Tower, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"Fuck, without my command, do you know where to go?"

These damn mutts!

Swearing like kings when the wind’s in their favor, and cursing my name when the tide turns!

It’s a real headache being an Army Commander!

Gnome King Riches said with a smirk on his face.

"Pssh, not to blow my own horn, but we’re not fighting an army. Beating these Barbarians who can’t even fix a cover, just rush in their faces and we’re done, right?"

The other players joined in, heckling and joking around.

"Exactly!"

"We don’t need any damn tactics, just go wild and it’s all good!"

"Dare you say that last push on the throttle wasn’t wild enough?"

Mole coughed awkwardly, feeling a bit shamefaced to admit it.

To tell the truth, he did go a little overboard, like just now there was no need to push that far forward, could’ve just sat back and picked them off from afar.

But that’s not important!

He already put on quite a show.

Felt great and that was all that mattered!

He reached out to press the communications button on his helmet, and with a clear of his throat, Mole decided to ignore the teasing and shouted into the comm channel.

"All squads, get ready to coordinate with the infantry and advance toward the ’Old Resident Settlement’ coordinates... the ruins of Singular Point City are over there, watch out for Mutants hiding in the buildings."

Quick responses came over the comm channel.

"Roger that!"

A satisfied expression played across Mole’s face.

It seemed that the Chimera Armored Cars were doing quite well on all fronts, not showing him up in front of the other armies.

However, his satisfaction only lasted a few seconds before an ill-timed voice came through the comm channel.

"...This is Chimera-3, we’ve run into a bit of trouble on our way to the assault point! Mutant anti-vehicle fire has damaged our engine, we’re stuck in the middle of the road—fuck, a sniper! Spread out! Get to the sides of the streets! Damn these sneaky bastards!"

The squad leader barked orders at his team while reporting the situation on the comm channel; despite his hasty tone, the intense clattering sounds in the background spoke volumes of the fierce firefight.

A sniper?

In this thick fog, they must be cheating, for fuck’s sake!

Mole was momentarily stunned, then became serious and promptly said,

"Report your position!"

While quickly confirming his location on the map and peering out of the observation window, the squad leader rattled off,

"600 meters southwest of the department store, there’s a subway station and an unmarked office building nearby... I’ve marked it on the map!"

Mole: "Where’s the sniper?"

Squad leader: "Judging from the gunshots, they should be southwest of us, off the firefight zone... I’m not sure of the exact position! Probably in the tallest building, or the one next to it."

"Circle the approximate location!"

"...Updated on the map!"

"Received! We’re on our way!"

After cutting the comm, Mole reported the sniper’s coordinates to headquarters, then tapped forcefully on the gun tower.

"We’ve got brothers in trouble, we’re going to bail them out... Damn, these guys just can’t sit tight in their cars, gotta show off riding on the back!"

Midnight Chicken Killing strode over, his Bomb Gun slung over his shoulder.

"Do you need our help?"

Mole glanced at his over-the-top gear and shook his head like a rattle-drum.

"No, no, just keep pushing forward, we’ll deal with that trouble and then double back to support you!"

Taking this guy along would mean unloading at least two or three infantrymen. The outfit sure looked tough, but mobility was definitely an issue.

Midnight Chicken Killing seemed not to overthink it and just grinned.

"Okay, good luck to y’all."

He watched as the Chimera Armored Car headed off towards the other side of the crossroads, then waved to his brothers who had taken control of the battle zone.

"Move out!"

...

The time hadn’t even reached noon yet, but the clash between the Alliance and the Qi Tribe had escalated rapidly, especially with the entrance of the Chimera Armored Cars on the battlefield, turning the tense situation into a one-sided slaughter.

Most of the tough guys in the Skeleton Corps were old soldiers who had squared off against army tanks in the deserts, and though urban warfare was new to them, they didn’t hesitate in a firefight.

In just a matter of hours, the Qi Tribe had lost all the positions they had snatched from the Alliance the day before, and their casualties had surged to the sum of the past three days.

Delu was seeing red, barking orders like a gambler, pushing the last of his men to attack the Alliance positions.

However, even from a bystander’s perspective, it was clear that his defeat was merely a matter of time.

Jia En had already given up on the fool, now focusing on setting up defenses in the vicinity of their research facilities, hoping to hold out for a week if all went well.

But if the Alliance continued to ramp up their assault, it was uncertain if they would abandon the research facilities and even retreat south from Brocade River City altogether.

After all, the Torch Church truly had no means to rein in those green-skinned thugs.

If they could, they would have done it already...

On the southwest side of the battlefield, an old man dressed in an exoskeleton quietly watched over the area from an abandoned building.

At the age of eighty, which meant burial for most on this Wasteland, his face only bore more wrinkles.

His name was Alzu, an Apostle and, like Eure, one of the more technically inclined.

The difference was that his faith was much more steadfast than that of the Old Soldiers from the Prosperity Epoch like Eure, nearly unshakeable.

If not for his distrust in machines, he would have long since uploaded his consciousness to the Holy Land to become a glorious Pioneer.

In fact, up till now, he remained skeptical of the Holy Land, a castle in the air, built with imperfect technology.

Luo Gan was the best proof of that.

Just as The Church was about to complete the last piece of the puzzle on this land, at that crucial moment, that guy went missing, failing to show up.

The Saint Heir had sent him here to investigate the disappearance of Luo Gan, while simultaneously fitting the final puzzle piece into place.

Although he had no evidence, from the moment he stepped foot on this land, he sensed the odor of betrayal.

That guy’s chip was still in place.

But it had become something else.

Besides betrayal, he couldn’t think of any other reason.

That’s why those elusive and intangible things are the least trustworthy; the human brain is the most perfect Holy Land in this world.

Lying not far beside him, a man with a crew cut was pulling the trigger of his sniper rifle, coldly spitting out the number "two" as his mechanical eye next to the scope slightly contracted.

In this dense fog with less than twenty meters of visibility, he seemed to see every subtle movement on the battlefield clearly.

Another person held binoculars in his hands, gazing at the fiercely contested battlefield in the distance, clucking his tongue softly.

"...The Alliance is really going all out this time, a total of thirty armored vehicles, that’s the equipment of a whole battalion."

It’s not easy to gather so many armors on the Wasteland.

However, remembering that the Alliance had recently inherited the industrial legacy of Giant Stone City, the man with the binoculars soon let it go.

His name was Chimo; he was an Executioner of the Tribunal, assigned to the same unit as the previously missing Mountain Falcon, responsible for assisting Alzu’s plan.

Unlike Mountain Falcon, however, he didn’t like to work alone and usually brought his partner along.

The one lying at his feet was his partner, named Tang He.

Due to a previous mission, this unlucky guy, targeted by a sniping Waste Land Wanderer, had one eye gouged blind, leading him to replace half his brain and his left eye with a prosthetic.

Perhaps due to the side effects of the surgery, he now constantly mutters about killing; a day without killing makes him uncomfortable all over.

No one knew what the world looked like through his eyes, but fortunately, The Church had plenty of "pastures" for him to wreak havoc on; the livestock being bred wouldn’t resist, just pick a couple out and let him kill them.

Because his brain wasn’t normal, aside from the topic of killing, Tang He hardly responded to him; thus, he communicated with the Apostle old man beside him the whole way.

Glancing at the distant battlefield for a while, Alzu slowly spoke up.

"I always feel like it’s not just the Alliance targeting us."

Chimo laughed.

"Oh? How can you tell?"

Alzu spoke up slowly again.

"The Alliance is more prominent in biotechnology; someone skilled must be helping them to suppress our technicians in electronic warfare."

Chimo frowned slightly.

"Are you suggesting it’s someone from the corporations?"

It seemed likely.

Yesterday, he tried to launch an electronic warfare attack on the communication system of the Iron Heart, but he was discovered by the other side the moment he moved.

He could feel that at least two different forces were hammering at him chaotically, sweating him out with cold sweat, and he hastily disconnected.

Just about, half his good brother’s brain would have been fried.

Alzu nodded slowly, then shook his head slowly.

"I’m afraid it’s not just the corporations; maybe even the Academy is involved."

Chimo frowned slightly.

The Academy...

If it were just the corporations, he wouldn’t be so worried.

Those guys always sized up their opponents, and unless the opposition was something as substantial as an Army, the council was unlikely to come out swinging from the start. And by the time those guys got serious, The Church would have already encompassed several provinces; they really wouldn’t need to fear them.

But to add the Academy into the mix was another story.

The combat power of those technicians was not strong; you could even say those guys were not made for fighting.

However, correspondingly, their strength in the technical field was ridiculously high, and their tentacles were widespread all over the Wasteland.

What’s more troublesome is that few people knew what they were up to or the motives behind their actions.

To make a vivid comparison, rather than the visible blades and shadows, he was more wary of the magic that was incomprehensible.

Scratching the back of his head, Chimo sighed, troubled.

"That’s tough... We’re just a bunch of small-timers; what honor and ability do we have to draw the joint condemnation of the Academy and the corporations?"

Alzu smiled insincerely, chuckling without humor, his dignified face unchanged.

"It’s all the same to me; sooner or later, those complacent insects will die at our feet."

After that, he turned and walked towards the stairwell.

Watching his retreating figure, Chimo called out.

"Where are you going?"

The answer that came from afar was not pertinent.

"I suggest you not underestimate them."

Chimo was momentarily stunned, confused.

Underestimate them? What did that mean?

Were they referring to the Academy and corporations?

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t figure out when he had underestimated those guys...

Just as he was thinking this, a buzzing sound gradually came from the distance. At first, it sounded like the buzz of mosquitoes, but it quickly grew louder, clearer, and more like the roar of propellers—

To be precise, it wasn’t like it.

It was!

Tang He, who was lying on the ground, suddenly changed his expression, moved his eye away from the scope, and hastily looked up at the sky, cursing under his breath.

"Damn..."

Soon, Chimo’s complexion changed too.

Behind the dense fog, rows of black crosses flew by low in the sky, dropping black dots as they passed.

His brother fired just two silent shots...

Didn’t expect a damn bomber squadron, did we?!