The Leader

The fight commenced with the 5th generation heavy-duty armament firing a heavy rocket into the thickest cluster of the rabid dogs, creating a brilliant orange fireball.

The air was filled with intense heat, and even at a distance of over 300 meters, Zane felt as if his hair might ignite.

A cheer went up from the convoy line; the power of that shell was indeed uplifting. Two-thirds of the rabid dog pack were wiped out instantly, and the rest were staggered by the blast's impact, reeling for a while before continuing their charge, only to be met with heavy-caliber machine guns.

The heavy-duty armament's dual-barreled machine guns, hefted by mechanical arms, aimed at the rabid dogs and roared into life. Fist-sized casings fell continuously to the ground with a metallic clatter, marking a relentless beating drum to the defenders' ears.

Any rabid dog struck by the gunfire exploded entirely; even if the Will Cage miraculously survived, the rotting bodies could only writhe helplessly on the ground, posing no further threat to the defensive line.

Under the 5th generation armament's onslaught, the entire pack was wiped clean in less than two minutes.

"That was amazing..." said a girl with a round face and soft features, still carrying some youthful innocence. She was a newcomer in the Grey Pigeon Squad, with only two missions under her belt.

Commander Lida, with her calm gaze, regarded the 5th generation armament: "Two minutes, approximately 2000 contribution points in ammunition spent. If we couldn't handle a single pack of dogs, the armament lab might as well resign en masse."

The newcomer stuck out her tongue, unable to believe the 2000 contribution points were spent in the blink of an eye. After all, she'd only earned 800 points from her two missions!

As the machine-gun fire ceased, there was no time to breathe a sigh of relief, as more shadows loomed on the horizon and similar packs appeared from the left and right flanks.

Again, groups of around a hundred rabid dogs each, across four or five packs, came charging from various directions.

This time, the rabid dogs were more cunning. Spreading out, they advanced in echelon formation like a gray flood towards the defensive line!

Lida's voice rang out through the communicators: "5th generation armament to attack the front, everyone else handle the flanks. Gunners, get ready and aim the Star Essence shells at the densest areas. It's still early in the mission, let's not use up all our ammunition here!"

As the heavy-duty machine guns of the 5th generation armament barked once more, the energy cannons of several Falcon combat vehicles began to hum with the charge. Subsequently, blue orbs of light, like shooting stars, streaked across the battlefield and descended upon the pack.

Exploding, the orbs sent out rippling waves that swept across the field. As the wave-like currents passed over, the sprinting rabid dogs suddenly stalled. Their bodies disintegrated, and along with their Will Cages, crumbled into neat, centimeter-sized particles.

Moments later, rifles and abilities wielded by soldiers and other Ascendants proficient in long-range attacks joined the fray.

Thus, in front of the defensive line, a dense and splendid web of fire and power unfolded, halting the majority of the rabid dogs.

The few that slipped through were left to the Ascendants, including Zane.

With the particle combat knife in hand, Zane lowered his center of gravity slightly, tensely focusing on the adversaries ahead.

Suddenly, a dark mass burst through the fire net—a male rabid dog charging straight for Zane.

The youth could see the human-like head with crazed blood-red eyes.

With a leap, the rabid dog lunged from above, aiming for Zane.

Zane's mind went blank, and on instinct, he rolled under the leaping dog.

His particle combat knife carved a dark arc, severing much of the dog's limbs, leaving the creature to gnash about on the ground. Then, its severed limbs scrabbled towards Zane.

A gleaming sword plunged down, piercing through the top of the rabid dog's head and emerging from its jaw.

With a twist, the red glow in the dog's eyes began to fade.

A foot planted on the dog's corpse, the sword's wielder pulled her weapon free and pointed at her head, "The Will Cage of these things is right below the skull. Either behead them or pierce directly through the cage, got it?"

Zane nodded, "Thank you."

The intense battle was brief. Five minutes later, it was nearing its end. Just as victory seemed certain, screams and cries erupted from the plaza behind the defensive line.

Zane had just beheaded another rabid dog when he glanced back to see more dogs appearing on the plaza. One of the female dogs had just detonated its rib-tumor bomb, blasting itself into the air while splattering toxic juices on several recovery team members.

The caustic poison quickly ate through their protective suits. The other male dogs charged into the crowd, biting at anyone in sight, throwing the recovery and medical teams into chaos.

A familiar figure caught Zane's eye—it was Xun, running towards the defensive line. But she was pushed down by a panicked man, and worse still, behind her, a male rabid dog, drooling disgustingly, charged towards her.

A faint light trailed from Zane's hair as the scene before him turned into a blur of motion. In his eyes, Xun and the rabid dog grew increasingly large.

Finally, Zane saw himself reflected in the girl's face visor, his body glowing with a misty silver light, and his particle combat knife slashing down in a black cascade upon the dog's head!

The rabid dog's tough skull was no match for the blade's cut, and Zane cleaved the dog's head and front body in two. The bisected carcass flopped powerlessly to the ground, blood spewing silently past Zane's feet.

Zane turned and helped Xun to her feet, "Are you okay?"

She shook her head.

Zane gestured towards the front line, "Let's get there fast."

Then he lifted his blade and sprinted towards the next threat.

This scene, witnessed by the commanding bald lady who was overseeing the battle, prompted her to remark, "Does the War God rank have such speed?"

Surprise flashed in Lida's eyes, and then she shouted, "Those bastards' attack is organized; there must be a leader among the pack. Find it!"

Her words had barely fallen when a hunter-class Ascendant called out, "Commander, at 1 o'clock, 800 meters away!"

The bald lady seized a pair of binoculars and peered in the direction indicated by the hunter.

A monstrous, mutated rabid dog, larger than the rest, appeared in her view.

It looked as though a male and female had been stitched together; half its head male, the other half female.

With two front limbs and four hind limbs, its dark red skin was flanked by grey-white ribs that protruded like armor across its sides.

Its arched spine sported three clumps of short, black spines; Lida would bet they were no mere decoration.

Through the binoculars, the beast's mouth opened as if howling commands, prompting several male dogs to trot away, seemingly executing their leader's orders.

Lowering the binoculars, Lida gritted her teeth, "5th generation armament, fire in that direction!"

"Acknowledged!"