Section 457: Relentless Pursuit
Thump, thump, thump!
Sang Tie’s impact mecha pierced through seven or eight unknown creatures in an instant, like skewering candied hawthorns. In a way, it could no longer be called piercing—tearing apart was more appropriate. The formidable bodies of these unknown creatures were as fragile as paper under such an impact, shattering into pieces in an instant.
The frontal armor of the impact mecha was its strongest point, which was why impact cones were often their weapon of choice. Head-on collisions were also the safest method.
Dense as rain!
Beside Sang Pu, countless impact mechas charged at the oncoming unknown creatures at the same high speed. The mechas and the creatures collided and separated in an instant, each impact spraying a shower of blood. Amid the flying blood, dismembered limbs scattered everywhere.
One of the unknown creatures turned to flee, but it was already too late. A sharp pain struck its waist, followed by an overwhelming force that sent it flying uncontrollably to the side. At that moment, it seemed to recognize the half of a body flying in another direction. Stunned for a moment, excruciating pain immediately surged over it like a tide. It nearly passed out from the agony, but the corner of its eye caught a glimpse of its own lower body, now empty, gushing blood.
Its eyes widened abruptly, staring in disbelief at its lower half. Its face was so contorted with pain it was almost unrecognizable. Before it could process what had happened, another wave of intense pain struck, and it instantly lost consciousness.
A sharp bone wing extending from the side of an impact mecha cleanly split its head in two. The speed was so fast that the expression on its now-divided face was still faintly discernible—bulging eyes filled with terror and disbelief, as if trying to say something.
In the vacuum of space, sound couldn’t travel. Yet the dense, storm-like collisions filled the entire area covered by the mecha group. Every impact of flesh against mecha made one’s heart clench violently. Here, power and speed, savagery and primitiveness, life and death were interpreted to the extreme.
Enemies were everywhere. Sang Tie and the others didn’t need to lock onto specific targets. In such a chaotic and complex environment, diligently searching for one’s target would undoubtedly be a foolish endeavor.
Sang Tie was well aware of this. Their mecha formation was incredibly dense, like a fine-toothed comb, with each tooth sharp and deadly. What would it feel like to be raked by such a comb? Sang Tie and the others provided the answer: stripped of skin and flesh, leaving behind countless deep, bloody grooves!
The scene unfolded too quickly. Every spectator was overwhelmed by the intense and fierce battle, struggling to catch their breath. It was too brutal! Compared to space battles filled with laser beams, this scene was undoubtedly more savage, bloody, and shocking. Heavy breathing was audible throughout the crowd. The holographic screen was silent, yet the intense, almost violent collisions seemed on the verge of tearing the vast screen apart.
Compared to what was unfolding on the holographic screen, those so-called blockbuster movies were nothing more than child’s play. People watched in horror as the events on the screen unfolded.
Although the He Yue Star Domain was highly competitive and filled with various factions, life for ordinary people had always been relatively peaceful and comfortable.
But the world had changed! They suddenly realized that death and war were so close to them. Panic and unease spread through the crowd. Pale-faced adults covered their children’s eyes, not wanting them to witness such a bloody and terrifying scene.
Sang Tie’s expression remained cold and unmoved. So far, his achievements were glorious. In such a short time, he had lost count of the number of unknown creatures he had killed. The current battle situation, which seemed like a slaughterhouse to the people of the He Yue Star Domain who had never experienced large-scale warfare, was nothing more than a routine engagement for butchers like Sang Tie and his kin. Having been tempered by the beast tide, the Sang Clan was no longer inexperienced in large-scale battles—a quality none of the Three Great Families possessed.
Though Sang Tie appeared rough and battle-hungry, he was actually meticulous, especially in combat, where he possessed exceptional talent. Soon, he keenly noticed subtle changes on the battlefield. Due to the continuous impact on the unknown creatures, the speed of the impact mechas had decreased. Impact mechas lacking speed were weak in attack—a flaw every member of the Sang Clan knew well.
Just then, Sang Pu’s slightly weary voice came through the communication channel: “First wave attack squadrons, immediately retreat from the battlefield in a flanking maneuver. Maintain formation.”
As expected of A’Pu, able to see everything clearly even without being on the front lines, and his timing was impeccable. Sang Tie silently praised him without hesitation. All surviving mechas from the first to the tenth squadrons immediately dispersed diagonally in all directions.
The departure of these gods of death gave the unknown creatures a moment of relief. But before they could retreat back into the purple mist, they惊恐地 discovered another wave of gods of death had already reached them!
The unknown creatures, having just let their guard down, now faced a devastating blow.
※※※※
Red-Tailed Beasts—this was the name Ye Zhong had given to these unknown creatures. Of course, Mu had no objections. Well, “Red-Tailed Beasts” was undoubtedly more reasonable than something like “Organism Number One.” Various signs indicated that the injured Red-Tailed Beast before him was likely the king of its group. Ye Zhong was determined not to let it escape.
Ye Zhong knew that his earlier success in injuring it had involved a fair bit of luck. He never liked entrusting his fate to something as elusive as luck. Would he be so lucky next time? He didn’t even entertain the thought.
The best solution now was to beat the drowning dog—to thoroughly resolve the problem once and for all.
He pursued the Red-Tailed Beast closely, not daring to relax for a moment.
His luck today seemed quite good. So far, he hadn’t lost track of it. In such a complex environment, even Mu’s scanning systems were unusable, and the scanning systems of the Han Jia mecha were practically worthless. Being able to rely solely on hydrogen-sodium lights to keep close pursuit was no easy feat.
The Red-Tailed Beast fled swiftly toward the periphery.
Ye Zhong was now very grateful for having destroyed those fleshy nodules along the way. If another Red-Tailed Beast—even an ordinary one—suddenly appeared now, the situation would immediately reverse.
The one fleeing in desperation would no longer be the Red-Tailed Beast, but himself.
He kept his eyes wide open, afraid of missing any detail. In such a complex environment, he could lose track of it at any moment. If that happened, finding this Red-Tailed Beast again would be nothing short of a fantasy.
Ahead was a turn formed by a thick soft tissue structure. Ye Zhong remembered clearly that he had entered the core area of the purple mist from here earlier.
He grew anxious. Sang Pu and the others had been fighting the Red-Tailed Beasts outside earlier. The battle there must have been intense. Trying to encircle and eliminate such a highly lethal and agile advanced Red-Tailed Beast there would inevitably incur casualties. More importantly, the space there was larger, with countless gaps all around. The Red-Tailed Beast could easily escape by slipping into any one of them.
Just as it seemed this pursuit was about to fail, with half of the Red-Tailed Beast’s body already past the turn, something unexpected happened. The Red-Tailed Beast, as if suddenly frightened, abruptly pulled back and changed direction, flying toward another path.
Ye Zhong was momentarily stunned but quickly reacted and gave chase. The Red-Tailed Beast’s hesitation allowed Ye Zhong to close the distance slightly.
What was happening outside? This question arose in Ye Zhong’s mind, but he quickly pushed it aside, focusing entirely on pursuing the injured Red-Tailed Beast fleeing ahead.
The Red-Tailed Beast was very familiar with the terrain here. If it weren’t for its injury slowing it down, Ye Zhong would have lost track of it long ago. Even so, Ye Zhong had to exert all his effort to barely keep up.
This was a true test of mecha piloting skills—twists and turns, one curve after another. An ordinary pilot would have been dizzy from all the continuous directional changes. But for Ye Zhong, continuous directional changes were one of his strong suits. Still, after such a ordeal, he wasn’t faring much better. However, Ye Zhong was inherently resilient, and he forcefully suppressed the discomfort from the prolonged directional changes. He knew this was the best chance to eliminate this Red-Tailed Beast. If he missed it, the next opportunity wouldn’t come so easily.
He kept a death grip on the Red-Tailed Beast, not daring to relax for a moment.
Just then, after avoiding a soft tissue structure, Ye Zhong’s view suddenly opened up, but his heart sank. He and the Red-Tailed Beast had entered the blank area filled with ordinary Red-Tailed Beasts.
However, the scene before him shocked even the usually unflappable Ye Zhong.
As far as he could see, the bodies and dismembered limbs of Red-Tailed Beasts floated everywhere. These cold, pale-gray corpses drifted quietly in the space, densely packed and innumerable. The nearby soft tissues had been brutally ravaged, their skins torn and flesh exposed, all fluids drained, their dark-gray surfaces devoid of any luster. As for the fleshy nodules on these soft tissues, without exception, all had been punctured.
The Red-Tailed Beast that had just entered this area stiffened abruptly, then turned its head and glanced at Ye Zhong.
Its crimson eyes were now blood-red, its face contorted into a狰狞 mask.
The hairs on Ye Zhong’s body stood on end. Startled, he braced for battle, ready to face the enemy. A cornered beast will fight—a common trait among living creatures. Ye Zhong had no intention of letting himself fall here.
But to his utter astonishment, the Red-Tailed Beast actually turned and fled again, its speed even faster than before.
After a moment of stunned silence, the Han Jia mecha immediately accelerated, pushing full throttle in relentless pursuit.