Chapter 234: Special Recruits—The Sangheili

Boom! Boom!

Plasma bursts that missed their target exploded across the grass and trees, causing minor detonations. 014 easily dodged most of the attacks, especially those plasma shots without tracking capabilities.

After all, when Thunder Warriors entered battle or were in a focused state, they experienced something akin to "bullet time."

Unless it was a Gauss weapon or a magnetically accelerated projectile moving at five to seven times the speed of sound, it was difficult to hit a Thunder Warrior who was running at full speed.

However, a barrage of firepower could still pose a threat to a Thunder Warrior when it reached a certain volume.

At this moment, 014 was facing just such a critical situation.

After evading the large plasma bursts from the hover tanks and heavy infantry, a dense wave of smaller plasma projectiles followed right behind.

Buzz! Buzz!

The magnetic deflection field of his Titan armor successfully repelled some of the smaller plasma shots.

However, many still struck his armor, leaving large scorch marks.

Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!

A barrage of pink crystalline needles, glowing faintly, seemed to have a slight tracking function and flew directly toward 014.

Seeing this, he increased his speed and raised his left arm to protect his relatively unarmored neck.

Thunk! Thunk!

More than a dozen crystals embedded themselves into 014's left forearm.

Boom! Boom! BOOM!!

The crystals exploded in rapid succession, and a cloud of thick smoke and blood mist enveloped his 2.8-meter-tall frame.

Dead.

Is he dead?

The Grunts and Brutes at the front stopped firing, giving their plasma weapons a chance to cool down to avoid overheating from prolonged use.

Just as they began to relax, assuming victory, 014—having lost his left forearm but quickly stopping the bleeding—used the cover of the smoke to change direction and charge toward a defensive outpost's flank.

Still alive?!

"Roar!"

Seeing the enemy so close, a Brute let out a deafening roar and tried to smash 014's head with the butt of its rifle.

But before it could act, 014 swung his chainsword with one hand, bringing it down on the Brute's face.

Buzz! Crack! Splatter!

The chainsaw blade effortlessly tore through the Brute's helmet, skull, and brain, turning its upper body into a mess of blood and gore. Its body collapsed to the ground, twitching slightly before going completely still.

!!!

Seeing 014 easily slay a Brute much stronger than themselves, and then watching him peer down at them with the faint golden glow from his helmet's visor—

"DaDakuwabu (Don't... don't kill me)," the Grunts broke down, collapsing to the ground and begging for 014's mercy.

Thud, thud.

Fortunately for them, the Thunder Warriors had been ordered to kill all hostile Covenant forces, excluding the Sangheili and Unggoy.

So, 014 turned away, sparing the Grunts instead of slicing their comically shaped bodies with his chainsword as they had feared.

Meanwhile—

More Thunder Warriors, who had run out of ammunition and now wielded chainswords, arrived at the open field, drawing much of the fire away from 014.

Soon, 014 reached the edge of the gravity lift.

He now faced off against the massive "heavy infantry" equipped with large-caliber fuel cannons.

Though the Thunder Warriors lacked full autonomy, making normal communication impossible, their helmet monitors quickly scanned the heavy infantry and displayed essential information on 014's screen, allowing him to tailor his combat strategy to their species.

The information displayed identified them as "Mgalekgolo."

These Mgalekgolo, or "Hunters," were not like humans, Elites, or Grunts. They were actually colonies of worm-like creatures that lacked individual intelligence, relying solely on instinct in their natural state.

However, when grouped together, they formed a collective intelligence capable of communication and understanding, making them invaluable to the Covenant as heavily armored ground units.

These Hunters were among the Covenant's most formidable ground forces.

At that moment—

"Roar—"

The Hunter nearest to 014 let out a low growl, raising its heavily armored shield arm and swinging it toward him.

However, the swing was painfully slow from the perspective of a Thunder Warrior, allowing 014 to dodge it with ease. With a single step, he moved behind the Hunter.

Buzz—slash!!

The rapidly spinning chainsaw blade cut through the unarmored, soft waist of the Hunter.

"Roar!!"

With its structure disrupted, the Hunter let out a pained cry before disintegrating into a swarm of harmless individual worms.

"Whoa!"

Leeman, who had arrived at the battlefield and witnessed 014 single-handedly destroy all the Hunters near the gravity lift despite losing an arm, couldn't help but marvel:

"No wonder Dr. Ashford personally oversaw the development of these biological weapons. Impressive."

By now, the open field was entirely under the control of the twenty Thunder Warriors.

The Brutes had met gruesome deaths, with their heads and chests either destroyed by chainswords or severed in half like the Hunters.

The Jackals, being smaller in size, had merely lost their heads to the Thunder Warriors, spared from much further suffering.

The Grunts, true to form, fled in a panic toward the surrounding forest.

As for the Elites, to avoid accidental killing, the Thunder Warriors had smashed their energy shields with their massive strength, followed by a careful application of "physical sedation."

Thus, nearly a hundred Elites lay unconscious in the grass, forced into the deepest sleep they'd ever experienced.

The Elite tank drivers weren't spared either, dragged out of their cockpits and knocked out by the Thunder Warriors.

Of course, not all of the Thunder Warriors emerged unscathed.

Six Thunder Warriors had lost limbs due to the point-blank crystal explosions.

Three more had been completely obliterated by large-caliber plasma cannon fire, shattered beyond any hope of recovery.

But as high-end biological weapons of Atlas, even in a situation where they ran out of ammunition, forced into melee combat and outnumbered thirty-to-one, they had only suffered fifty percent casualties. These were impressive results by any standard.

"Roar..."

The red-armored Elite following Leeman let out a low growl of resignation after seeing the scene unfold.

It seemed it had lost the battle fair and square.

"Hey! Buddy, don't be so down!"

Leeman lightly tapped the Elite on the shoulder with a grin:

"I'll need you to help me negotiate with your commander soon. And! My father is arriving here shortly. I'm sure it won't be long before your Sangheili people become special recruits for Atlas!"

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