Chapter 30#
Beheading#
As soon as Ning Feng opened the squad channel, he was rattled by Ou Jingshan’s loud voice.
“What are you doing?! Trying to get yourself killed?!”
“Oh dear, Captain Ou is so fierce. Be careful—your future wife might tattle to your daughter… cough!” His clothes were stained a deep blue, yet Ning Feng still laughed carelessly. He activated the twin-barreled heavy machine gun and sprayed wildly amidst the rain of poison stingers.
“Shut up, you idiot! Pull back immediately! That’s an order!”
Ou Jingshan was furious.
He watched the massive bugs, their bodies coiling like snakes, surging forward toward Blade one after another. The latter was caught by the ankle, awkwardly counterattacking on the only intact leg, stubbornly refusing to take a single step back. He wanted to help, but the pile of broodlings ahead blocked his path, and his clumsy body could hardly move an inch.
“Can’t do that.” Ning Feng caught his breath and swapped magazines. “If I pull back, I won’t get the sample, and I won’t save the person. Then Little Chenchen won’t have me in his heart anymore.”
“Have you lost your mind?!” Ou Jingshan hurled another grenade, scattering the bugs attempting to counterattack.
Even in this state, why bother about the sample? About saving someone? How could a lowly researcher compare to an experienced field commander?!
“Cough… Who says I’ve lost my mind…” Ning Feng erupted into violent coughing. His thick lips lost all color, and fine beads of sweat traced down his rugged face. He suddenly smiled, his gaze sharp, like a hunter lurking in the darkness.
“I’m serious.”
The moment the words fell, Ning Feng spun around, forcibly snapped off the damaged limb, and pressed his other foot against an alien bug’s head, using it to leap upward. In the split second of hang time, he tightened his grip on the trigger and opened fire fiercely.
【Charge! Charge!!】
【Protect the Overlord!】
【Kill him, kill him!】
Suddenly, a massive pit split open beneath his feet. A giant tunnel worm erupted, opening its blood-red maw toward Blade. The mouth was lined with dense, sharp teeth in concentric rings, lunging to bite down with overwhelming force. Nearby alien corpses were instantly swallowed and ground into pulp, emitting a putrid stench.
“Take this!” Ning Feng didn’t dodge. He flipped his hand, pulled out a pulse grenade, and tossed it lightly into the mouth.
The tunnel worm clamped its jaws shut and froze in place for several seconds.
Boom!!
A dull explosion. Orange chunks of flesh burst apart. The monster screeched and crashed to the ground, convulsing on the filthy surface.
“Tsk, disgusting.”
Pus splattered all over Blade, but Ning Feng only frowned, showing no pause. He drew a sonic emitter and threw it with all his might into the center of the swarm. Just as a bug leaped to swallow it, he shot it directly, detonating it on the spot.
Vwoom—
In an instant, a bizarre sonic wave swept through the entire cave, even causing the mech’s communication screen to flicker for half a second. All the alien bugs were stunned, standing motionless in place.
At that moment, the Overlord’s fleshy orb trembled, twitched, and opened its eyes.
And the bound Qiao Xi wrinkled his face, lifting his head in pain.
“Mm…”
He blinked.
Then he saw Blade plant both feet, spring into the air like lightning, and gracefully spin once midair. The light blade in its hand suddenly expanded, glowing and blazing hot. He could even clearly see the steam curling from the edge of the blade.
In a flash, it fell from the sky like a sharp sword.
【Die! You vermin!!】
Suddenly, a voice split through the minds, tearing through the consciousness of every bug. An overwhelming pressure shook them, mixed with a familiar trace.
【This aura… the Dominator?】
【Dominator, it’s the Dominator!】
【This man—he’s the Dominator!!】
…
“No!” Qiao Xi’s pupils shrank to pinpricks. He shut his eyes in terror.
Chk!!
The next moment, the blade fell.
The sword plunged deep into the eyeball behind Qiao Xi, right at the center of the massive pupil.
Sssss!!—
The Overlord shrieked in agony, its horrific cry nearly tearing eardrums in two.
Blade stood frozen in place, motionless. The cockpit warning lights flashed rapidly, and electricity crackled from the broken ankle joint. Yet it still gripped the bug’s hide, leaning its entire body forward, twisting its arm, enduring the creature’s frantic spasms.
The remaining bugs writhed in shared pain, but none attacked.
It felt like minutes passed, or maybe only seconds. The Overlord’s scream suddenly stopped. Its eyeball burst, splattering sticky, nauseating gel all over Blade. The bundle of tendrils still clung to the web, twitching faintly.
Finally, Blade pulled back the light dagger, flicked off the clinging flesh, and looked down at Qiao Xi with a cold stare.
The stench on its body left Qiao Xi dumbfounded. He looked up at the silver-white mecha standing in a mist of blood like a god of slaughter. Though it appeared filthy and battered, it still sent an uncontrollable shudder through his bones and teeth.
“No… no! Help!” He screamed, struggling frantically.
Blade was about to cut the bindings to let someone collect the sample, but it hadn’t expected such a violent reaction. It paused for a moment, thought, then simply knocked the person unconscious and lifted him.
By now, the swarm was in complete chaos.
They heard a sound, somewhere between a roar and a sigh, like a taut string snapping.
They grew restless, frenzied, and the next moment, began attacking each other wildly. A Thor smashed a Broodling underfoot. Two Hydralisks drove their blade-arms into each other’s flesh. A Viper dove into the swarm, spewing acid, while Suicide Flies crashed into larger bugs, taking them down together…
In an instant, pus, blood, and flesh sprayed everywhere.
**
On the surface, the marines quickly sensed the anomaly. The monsters that had been deep underground all burst out from the fissures, launching a mindless, frenzied massacre.
“Sir, the aliens are acting abnormally!” the pilot reported.
Watching the creatures slaughter each other on the screen, Yin Beichen frowned.
Individual aliens had almost no subjective initiative. Except for a few high-ranked ones, they were all tightly controlled. Without a controller, they became nothing but mindless killers, destroying everything around them.
That meant…
The Overlord had been killed?
Suddenly, the image of that roguish handsome face flashed through his mind. Yin Beichen’s heart tightened, and his expression gradually stiffened.
As if confirming his thoughts, the technician reported loudly: “Sir, we’ve detected unknown biological matter falling from the Nora unit!”
These were the broodlings of Exploders, which would self-destruct on the Overlord’s command. Now that they were all dead, it further proved that the Overlord controlling them had been beheaded.
A flicker of unnameable emotion rose in his blue eyes. Yin Beichen collected his thoughts, deployed personnel to gather at the stronghold for evacuation, and dispatched two combat squads to immediately reinforce Sector C.
After a pause, he asked in a low voice: “Sector C—can we make contact?”
The technician’s fingers danced across the console. After a long moment, he reported: “No signal input!” Seeing the officer’s dark expression, he added quietly: “Should we continue reconnaissance on Feng’s side?”
Yin Beichen stood still, his gaze at the screen growing increasingly obscure.
“Max bandwidth modulation. Continue detection.”
“Yes, sir!”
**
Back in the bug den, Ou Jingshan was also stunned.
“This…”
He had experienced countless battles, but he’d rarely seen a solo operation like Ning Feng’s—beheading a high-ranking Overlord. Still, he quickly snapped to, swapped magazines, and started clearing a path for retreat. This chaos wouldn’t last long; the bugs would certainly launch a frantic counterattack soon.
Just then, Ning Feng’s hoarse voice came through the voice channel.
“Captain Ou, come to the center.”
Ou Jingshan was puzzled.
Why go to the center now instead of clearing obstacles quickly? He rubbed his bald head and trotted over the corpses.
There he saw Blade’s cockpit half-open. Ning Feng jumped out, covered in blue grime. He stepped directly into the muddy rotten flesh, letting the disgusting chunks submerge his calves, and crouched over the Overlord’s severed limbs to collect samples, completely ignoring the risk of bug-toxin infection.
“Ning Feng, you…” Ou Jingshan’s eyes widened in shock, his expression complex. He opened his mouth, but the words stuck in his throat.
Ning Feng had no time for him.
A strange sweet-sour smell overwhelmed his sense of smell, resonating violently with the bug toxin inside his body. He strained every muscle to suppress the tremor in his fingers, rapidly collecting and sealing the samples.
Struggling back into the cockpit, Ning Feng shoved the samples and the unconscious Qiao Xi into the specialist mech’s arms. Panting heavily for a moment, he finally spoke: “The man and the sample—protect them well.”
After a thought, he emphasized: “Especially the sample.”
Seeing the other mech carefully store the items, Ning Feng unstrapped the external engine from his back and deftly attached it to the other mech. “I’ll cover you. Listen to my command. When I count to three, crank the engine to max power and fold out as needed.”
His voice was tight, hoarse, sounding as if he was suppressing some intense pain. Ou Jingshan frowned, sensing something wrong. “What about you?”
“Ah, you’re so naggy—this is the Blade, of course it’ll find a way. I’ve got another escape engine!” Ning Feng sounded impatient. “The energy packs I just gave you?”
“I’m warning you, don’t try to play hero.” Ou Jingshan looked highly suspicious, but he still handed over all the remaining energy packs.
“Get lost!” Ning Feng kicked him without hesitation.
Since the other had a plan, asking more would be meddling.
Ou Jingshan stood in the center of the cave as instructed, watching Blade laboriously pile all the pulse mines around him. A trace of unease crept into his heart. He rubbed his bald head and was about to ask again when he noticed the surrounding bugs beginning to stir awake. The lazy, deep male voice pulled back his attention.
“Captain Ou, get ready.”
“Alright.”
Ou Jingshan activated the engine. Amidst the rolling smoke, Blade limped to a corner.
“One.”
Ou Jingshan took a deep breath, body tense. Blade, meanwhile, raised its gun, found a bug head at a suitable height, and sat down on it.
“Two!”
The awakening bugs stirred restlessly. They spotted the target in the center and lunged fiercely. Ou Jingshan immediately activated his energy shield, but before the bugs could bite, the vigilant Blade turned them into sieves.
“Three!!”
The moment the word fell, the specialist mech’s engine roared to full power.
A fierce gale swept across the ground, thunderous noise filling the entire stone cave, deafening.
The awakened swarm surged like a nest of hornets. Just as they were about to reach the specialist mech, a massive explosion erupted from all directions. Nearby bugs were blown to pieces. Some with harder shells survived, but they were mangled and missing limbs.
Blade shouldered its energy gun and fired recklessly, ignoring the cost.
“Pull back!!” Ning Feng roared.
Under the torrent of suppressive fire, the specialist mech, shielding the hostage, struggled upward and finally broke through the bug blockade.
But though the engine was powerful, the mech’s heavy frame made it wobble in the air, unable to ascend quickly. Some bugs climbed up fellow corpses and latched onto the mech.
“I’m stuck!” Ou Jingshan called out.
Seeing this, Ning Feng hurled several energy packs and aimed steadily.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With intermittent violent explosions, thick black smoke shot straight to the cave roof. Debris and fragments flew everywhere like arrows. The shockwave blasted everything around tens of meters away. Bugs near the explosion center were torn to shreds. The blast wave rose and directly ripped apart the thin rock ceiling above.
Seizing the external force, Ou Jingshan made a sudden fold-jump and burst out of the surface.
Outside, the sunlight was blazing. He squinted, then let out a long sigh of relief.
“Damn! Made it!” Ou Jingshan rubbed his bald head in excitement. He wanted to see if Blade had followed, so he looked back down—
And saw Blade standing still, unmoving.
The silver-white mech was covered in grime. Its once-gleaming body was deeply scarred, most of the paint peeled off. Its right ankle was broken, wires exposed on its arm, and even the machine gun’s barrel had been chewed off, dangling precariously. The cockpit had a brutal gash, almost cutting it in half.
Blade sat lazily, gripping its energy gun tightly.
Bathed in the light streaming from above, it tilted its head upward, staring at itself. Then it raised one hand and gave a sloppy salute.
Toward the Norah’s position. Toward this world.
Ou Jingshan froze for a moment. Then, as if finally realizing, he shot to his feet and slammed his fist into the control panel.
“Ning Feng!!” he roared in fury. “You absolute bastard—you lied to me!!”
But in the squad channel, there was no response except for the rising alarms.