Inclining his body, he charged towards the crowd. Frenzied bullets struck the black armor, failing to leave even a superficial scratch. Nie Yun's improved ZX7-type combat suit could fully withstand attacks from large-caliber assault rounds; only the sensation of pain remained unavoidable.
Upon contact, halting abruptly in place. The soldier directly in front pressed his muzzle against 13's forehead. The soldiers strangely fell silent.
Pulling the trigger—the bullet ricocheted. 13 recoiled instinctively; hearts pounded wildly. When 13 lowered his head, those four blue eyes remained as azure as ever.
Raising the knife-wielding left hand, cleaving downwards diagonally. The soldier who had just fired stared blankly at his own chest; two layers of ceramic body armor were neatly severed. Blood spurted forth; he collapsed onto the ground, convulsing continuously.
Terror spread throughout the contingent of several thousand.
"Ah!" This was a frenzied group. Raising every weapon available, they attacked the black demon. Before the monitors, Hideaki roared hoarsely, "Maintain composure, all of you! Do not approach him!"
Yet, no one could hear.
Killing—merely the act of swinging a blade. Blood—merely sprayed liquid. Shouting—utterly meaningless. Numerous heavy weapons and helicopters lacked any opportunity to fire. Amidst the crowd, 13 ambulated slowly; surrounding soldiers launched attacks while treading upon the corpses of their comrades. Yet, regardless of the hail of bullets, this black demon seemed utterly insensate. Even the speed of his blade swings failed to decelerate by a fraction.
Within this world of blood, frenzied individuals face two choices: either descend further into madness, or attain exceptional composure.
It had to be acknowledged; those selected by Hideaki were indeed elites. Soldiers began gradually retreating. When 13 found no further targets to slay, he was already targeted by the smoothbore cannons of two tanks.
"Let's see you survive this!" Hideaki roared, seemingly possessed.
Two cannons simultaneously fired armor-piercing rounds. Shifting sideways half a step to evade one, positioning the COOL-FIRE5 horizontally across his chest to block.
13, standing stationary, suddenly flew towards the adjacent building, forcefully crashing through the thick wall. Abruptly, the world returned to silence.
Just as everyone prepared to cheer, a bullet penetrated the still-smoking cannon barrel.
"Boom!" The tank exploded from within.
"Not finished yet!" Rising from the ground, aiming the COOL-FIRE5 at the other tank. The outcome was identical.
Devoid of earlier gentleness, 13 charged out of the building, directly into the crowd. Retreat? Even the broadest avenue couldn't accommodate dozens of tanks and three thousand troops. The formation descended into chaos, lacking order.
The entire troop column stretched nearly 400 meters. 13 had advanced merely 50 meters, yet fatalities exceeded 300.
Utterly devoid of tactics, merely pure slaughter. Each stroke of the blade ended a soldier's life. 13's black armor had already transformed into dark crimson.
"That bastard!" Miyamoto, also observing everything, cursed through gritted teeth. Any commander witnessing their soldiers being slaughtered like livestock would react similarly.
Glancing at his watch, a strange smile surfaced on Hideaki's face.
"Helicopter squadron, listen! Open fire upon 13's position!" Hideaki issued the brutal command.
"But Commander, doing so will inevitably result in friendly fire casualties," the field commander protested.
"Those caught in the crossfire sacrifice themselves for the nation; they are heroes of the country. Our people will remember them forever!"
"Yes, sir!" This time, the commander displayed no hesitation. After all, in R-nation's history, sacrificing oneself for the country represented the highest honor...
13 reached the base of a ten-story building. Suddenly, the holographic screen flickered strangely. Thirty aircraft simultaneously locked onto his area. Without hesitation, disengaging from the crowd, he sprinted towards the building. Dozens of missiles launched, whistling through the air. A group of soldiers, still celebrating their escape from the demon, stared blankly at the friendly weaponry hurtling towards them.
"Boom!"
Even the earth trembled. A fifty-meter diameter area transformed into ruins. No survivors remained within the blast radius. Even nearby tanks were overturned by the shockwave. The column was severed into two halves.
The building began to collapse. Along the wall, a familiar figure emerged. 13 actually sprinted straight upwards towards the rooftop, as if upon level ground. Witnessing such footage, Hideaki and Miyamoto were rendered speechless.
The nearest pilot reacted first, pressing the cannon firing button. Large-caliber bullets swept upwards from the ground towards the running 13; concrete debris scattered.
Reaching the rooftop, executing an extreme crouch, deactivating the gravity device, leaping backward. Trailing bullets shredded the spot where 13 had just crouched.
Like a solitary leaf in the wind, completing a full rotation before descending. Landing precisely atop the helicopter's radar apparatus. Vibrations from the rotating propeller transmitted through his feet. One couldn't help but feel relief for 13; deviation by even half a millimeter would have rewritten the outcome.
The pilots of the other aircraft remained speechless. The preceding series of actions resembled acrobatics, fundamentally unbelievable...
"Excellent sniping position!" 13 had no time for relief. Raising the COOL-FIRE5, firing continuously. The speechless pilots mostly perished from headshots. Aircraft, losing control, plummeted one after another. To the soldiers below, they descended like "bombs."
The final aircraft remained beneath his feet. Watching comrades shot down one by one, the pilot's nerves neared collapse.
Firing the suspension system towards an adjacent building, anchoring it. Aiming the muzzle downwards. Firing simultaneously as 13 departed from the aircraft that had aided him.
Thus, the aerial threat was neutralized...
Landing safely on the ground, only then discovering the area was remarkably open. This fifty-meter gap became the optimal buffer zone. Armored tanks on both sides aimed their cannons directly at the slowly standing 13.
Within the armored vehicle held captive behind, everyone understood what transpired outside...
The two statue-like guards, hands gripping rifles, palms sweating.
No one spoke.
The vehicle interior was terrifyingly silent. Baozhu gave Uncle a meaningful glance. Both secretly clenched their fists.
"Move!" As Baozhu shouted, she had already attacked one of the soldiers. Uncle rose almost simultaneously.
Feeling no significant exertion, the two seemingly formidable soldiers failed to block even a single punch from Uncle and Baozhu.
Although the guards were dealt with, the dilemma of escape remained.
13 was outside; Zhenxian sensed it. Clutching the bullet in her hand, silently praying for him...
Surveying the surrounding combat vehicles, 13's gaze held not a trace of emotion. The hand gripping the Titan combat knife trembled faintly. Superficially, 13 appeared like an immortal demon, yet unbeknownst to anyone, the blow parrying the cannon shell earlier had fractured two of his ribs. His body, aside from armored sections, turned dark purple. Extreme exertion depleted his stamina; movements lacked previous fluidity.
Perhaps today marks the end here...
13 sighed silently. This was a tragic decision 13 made. To fight thusly until death would suffice...
No need to utilize SEED...
His own outcome was destined to be death; undertaking these actions held no meaning...
At least she could survive. If she surrendered what they desired, Zhenxian should be able to continue living in the world...
Suddenly feeling utterly ludicrous. Clearly knowing death awaited, yet still rushing here to rescue others. If he could endure for a moment, wait until stability returned before infiltrating R-Army headquarters, the survival rate then would be significantly higher. That represented the most prudent battlefield analysis. Yet, simply unwilling. Upon witnessing Zhenxian's pained expression when touched by Hideaki, he couldn't wait even a single minute longer. His heart merely repeated incessantly, "Do not wish for her to feel sorrow again, do not wish for her to feel grief again, even if I must die..."
The result—acting like an imbecile, single-handedly challenging an entire troop contingent.
Likely, upon learning, 1 would rap his head again. Would 36 still offer a couple of sarcastic remarks? 24 and Nie Yun would probably be heartbroken? After all, he was so willful, like a capricious child. Everyone had consistently tolerated and cared for him.
A feeling of compromise emerged. Yet, Hideaki remained unaware; the 13 standing there constituted a living, breathing threat. As long as 13 still held a weapon, he remained the most dangerous existence in the world...
Glancing at his watch—the rapid troop collapse disrupted the plan somewhat. Further sacrificing ordinary personnel would be inexplicable to superiors; his arrangements were nearing disarray...
Only the final recourse remained!
Hideaki issued a despicable order.
The armored vehicle from the rear slowly drove forward. No one noticed that atop the spot where the original armored vehicle halted, a manhole cover remained improperly sealed.
Zhenxian was inside? 13 fundamentally understood Hideaki's intention.
Stopping side-by-side along the "defense line," drivers swiftly evacuated. An adjacent tank deviated its aim, muzzle now pointed directly at the armored vehicle's compartment.
"All units, listen!" Hideaki issued the final command. "Maintain this posture! Do not move! He will also cease all action. Merely hold for ten minutes, and we win. He will be dealt with by our subsequent forces... Simply wait quietly..."