Chapter 59: Comet Striking the Moon

Chen Lai and Pskov’s assassination plan was simple: tanks would lead the way, leveraging the advantages of difficult night observation and poor aerial support to charge directly into the Skull Division's headquarters.

Then, utilizing the spoken spiritual commands of Ivan, Pskov, and Chen Lai, they intended to pull off something spectacular for Manstein!

Chen Lai was well aware that the Skull Division was a stronghold of hybrids. Perhaps they would be killed before getting close, or perhaps the depth of this realm far exceeded his imagination, meaning such a makeshift, on-the-spot strike might not yield great results.

Still, shouldn't they at least try?

Just as the protagonist in The Pursuit of Happyness said, never let anyone tell you that you can't do something. No one could predict what the next second might bring.

Whether they would retreat or not no longer mattered much to Chen Lai. Every time he entered a realm, he was captivated by its authenticity. Countless details allowed him to experience reality, to experience another kind of life.

Of course, if you asked him whether he wanted to hit the big time, the answer was still yes.

Crawling inside the Panzer IV driven by Menkov, Chen Lai gripped his hunting knife and gazed into the void.

There lay his lineage concentration, where the dragon blood density was now infinitely close to fifty percent. Perhaps in the very next second, he would lose control of himself and begin transforming into a Dead Servant.

"What is this deal with the golden blood? Why is it thrashing around so much? I can barely hold it down."

Fushiguro Toji's voice suddenly rang out, giving Chen Lai a fright.

"You're still here? I thought you hadn't followed me into this realm."

"Nonsense. The Heavenly Restriction is on you; I'm bound to you." Fushiguro Toji sounded irritated, seemingly straining to suppress something.

"I'm asking you, this golden blood—it's consuming your spiritual body. Is that alright?"

"…Of course it's not alright. Can you suppress it?"

"A piece of cake," Fushiguro Toji said, though Chen Lai felt it wouldn't be that easy.

Menkov started the tank from the driver's seat, and the Panzer IV began to move with a rhythmic clatter.

Of the original eight tanks—excluding two whose tracks were destroyed at the start and one discarded obsolete model—only five remained.

These five tanks were about to charge into a Prosen formation boasting over two hundred tanks, more than three hundred motorcycle troop carriers, countless Himmler bone-saws, and thousands of artillery pieces.

Across the steppe, aside from the clanking of tank tracks, the crunching sound of compacted snow, and the snapping clatter of flying pebbles, there was no other sound.

...

"If this partisan detachment cannot be found, then they will all be hanged."

Heinrich was casually chewing on broad beans at the moment, reprimanding Vlasov dismissively.

Vlasov, this puppet army leader, appeared quite imposing in front of the Rosa puppet troops, and Himmler had even bestowed upon him the title of "Marshal." Yet, someone of Heinrich's military rank could order him around at will.

"Yes, once the partisans are caught, they will certainly all be hanged," Vlasov said, nodding and bowing with a sinister glint in his glasses.

"You." Heinrich chuckled, pointing a finger at his nose. "The one who's going to be hanged is you! If these partisans still cannot be found, how is the General's safety to be guaranteed?"

"Ah, me?" Vlasov froze, the faces of the Rosa puppet troops following behind him flushing red, though none dared to utter a word.

At that moment, the sound of a cannon shot suddenly echoed from within the camp—it sounded like an armor-piercing shell!

Heinrich's previously smiling face instantly turned gloomy. He rushed out of the house in long strides, only to discover that a Panzer IV parked at the edge of the camp for refueling had been pierced through. The firing vehicle was another Panzer IV charging in from the rear!

With his sharp eyes, he immediately recognized that this must be an ace Panzer IV belonging to the rear-echelon "Armored Dentist," given the undeniable multitude of Iron Crosses inscribed upon it.

Yet, he quickly realized this was not a misfire, but rather a tank captured by the Rosas from them... It was truly hard to believe that today, with defeat cascading like a collapsing mountain, the Rosas still possessed the courage to charge at them!

Vlasov also emerged from the house, his gaze equally grave. He sensed a "Corpse Sunflower" approaching. The last time he had planted a Corpse Sunflower was in his old comrade Pskov.

At this distance, he could use his spiritual command once more to intensify the effect of the Corpse Sunflower, perhaps directly claiming the life of his old comrade.

However, Vlasov pretended to know nothing, turned around, and scrambled back into the house. The Prosen people treated him with such an attitude, yet he was still rushing up to help them—wasn't that being utterly spineless?

He even deliberately withdrew his spiritual command, allowing Pskov to go on a rampage to his heart's content!

Shells fired continuously, exploding within the camp. Chen Lai and his companions charged forward in their tanks, resembling Don Quixote tilting at windmills.

Such a sudden assault plunged the entire camp into chaos... This was not a large-scale Rosa offensive. If it were, the telegraph signals in the direction of Donetsk would have surged exponentially. Nor was it an airstrike; the Rosa air force had long since lost air supremacy.

This was merely a "spontaneous" suicide attack launched by Chen Lai and the Donetsk partisans, much like ants charging an elephant—the elephant unable to figure out where the ants had started biting.

"Fushiguro, the dragon blood—can you still control it?"

Chen Lai pressed his hand against the hatch cover of the tank, the veins on his forehead bulging.

He could see and understand clearly that his dragon blood concentration had already crossed the major threshold of fifty percent. Under normal circumstances, he should have turned into a Dead Servant long ago.

Yet, relying on Fushiguro Toji's "mental fortitude," he was managing to hold it down!

"I can control it, but if it continues to erode, it's hard to say what happens next," Fushiguro Toji spoke the truth. He could feel the erosive nature of the golden blood; much like a tarot deck, once the first card fell, the rest would tumble down in layers.

"Let go of it," Chen Lai said softly.

"What?"

"I said release the restriction on the golden blood. I don't have time. As long as I can maintain my sanity, the higher the degree of dragonization, the better!"

Chen Lai roared, the dragon blood surging within his blood vessels. Fushiguro Toji completely released the brake valve that the dragon blood held over human blood. From this moment onward, Chen Lai's descent would be counted in seconds.

The fifth second: the tank driven by Menkov heavily smashed open the outer fence of the camp, and Prosen soldiers inside walked out carrying rifles with their upper bodies bare.

The tenth second: Chen Lai pushed open the tank hatch, bullets rushing toward him like a spring breeze. His [Dragon Blood Concentration] had soared to an astonishing sixty-seven percent, and the rate was still accelerating.

The eleventh second: the fine dragon scales on his face deflected the bullets, and the few that struck vulnerable spots were caught between his fingers.

He leaped out of the tank and instinctively reached out to steady Menkov, but a flat-fired 88mm gun blasted over, reducing the entire Panzer IV to scrap metal!

Menkov was dead. The young man who had previously used the Siren's Song to awaken Ivan, the sunny youth who had previously tried to comfort Uliya, had just died in the artillery fire.

Ivan lost control. Before completely transforming into a Dead Servant, he used his willpower to issue a final command, granting Chen Lai and Pskov the maximum-tier [Lord's Retainer]!

Pskov activated Instantaneous, his previously aching thigh now completely healed. Under the empowerment of the Lord's Retainer, he could unlock 128 times divine speed!

He flashed into existence behind Chen Lai, pushing the heavy, transformed Chen Lai forward like an engine while frantically scanning the area for Manstein's location.

Finally, he saw it—the temporary military tent flying the black eagle and skull flag, with long antennas deployed outside. There was no mistake; this was Manstein's headquarters!