Chapter 60: Pursuit in the Flames of War

"Advance! Advance at all costs!"

"Get the tanks to the front to hold the line!"

"The vanguard company is wiped out, Battalion Commander..."

"The Seventh Company is gone... Send in the Eighth Company!"

"You lot, take the point!"

"Fight your way to the city center at any cost, push all the way to Peace Plaza!"

"Retake the White Pagoda!"

The chaotic radio chatter rang in Dai Longmei's ears once more.

From the dark tunnel ahead, the deafening roar of chain cannons echoed again.

"Watch out!"

"Exhaust all the void energy from within!"

"Keep those void shields up!"

Three thick, warped void shields hovered clumsily around Zhuifeng.

Yet it was precisely this unsightly armor of void energy that provided protection for the little horse galloping through the tunnel.

Dai Longmei and his two companions were thus able to swiftly cut through the tunnel caught in the crossfire of two clashing armies.

"Armor-piercing shell, loaded!"

"Target! A Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, two hundred and fifty meters straight ahead in the tunnel!"

"Loaded!"

"Fire!"

A fin-stabilized armor-piercing discarding sabot dart roared out of the barrel like a swimming dragon, striking the advancing Yangji infantry fighting vehicle directly.

The explosion of shrapnel detonated the anti-tank missiles mounted on both sides of the turret.

"Boom!"

The violent blast sent the turret, wreathed in serpents of fire, hurtling straight up into the roof of the tunnel, only to be deflected back down by the thick concrete slab, crashing directly onto the Yangji marines marching alongside the vehicle.

They were smeared across the concrete floor like spilled marinara sauce on a pizza.

Screams and the stench of burning gasoline permeated the tunnel.

"Haha, you bastards! Taste your Grandpa Longteng's golden pellets!"

"Oh my god, this battle is..."

Struggling desperately to maintain the void shield, beads of sweat streamed down Dai Longmei's forehead.

"Nine-Tails, are you sure this is just an illusion?"

"Why does it look more and more real to me?"

"Wuwu~ I think it's just an illusion generated by the influence of the void energy."

"After all, as you know, there is plenty of residual void energy left from the old days in this city..."

"Stuff like void energy—even an expert in it like me~ finds it awfully mysterious!"

"Let's not talk about this now," Lily asked anxiously. "How much farther to Peace... Plaza?"

"After passing through this long tunnel, there's still some distance to go."

"Faster, Zhuifeng... faster!"

Dai Longmei flicked the reins, urging the horse onward.

Yet for Zhuifeng, which had barely tasted food or water since entering the main city, trying to make it go any faster was clearly an impossibility.

"Bring me the recoilless rifle!"

"Hold back the Longteng tanks!"

"Damn it, sir! Look!"

The Yangji soldiers, who were attempting to stall the Ninth Armored Brigade with a handful of infantry fighting vehicles and recoilless rifles, watched in astonishment as a black warhorse galloped through the tunnel, carrying a strangely dressed Longteng man with glowing green eyes and two cute foxes.

"My Lord of Gods... what on earth is that?"

"Cavalry charging tanks?"

"Fire! Whether it's a horse or a tank charging at us, open fire!"

A barrage of fire composed of rifles and light and heavy machine guns rained down upon Dai Longmei and his companions.

Thanks to the defense of the void shield, however, the small-arms bullets were unable to inflict any effective damage upon them.

"The bullets were stopped mid-air?"

"Do they have gods helping them too?"

"The Yangji's ultimate weapon?"

"A Superman on horseback?"

Seeing the panicked marines, the commanding major felt his aquiline nose twitching with anger.

"It's just some eccentric knight on a horse!"

"How can flesh and blood stand against steel?"

"Fire! Fire!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Explosive grenades from twenty-five-millimeter autocannons poured out, mingling with various caliber bullets like a deadly bowl of heavy metal noodles, crashing down upon the heads of Dai Longmei and the others.

"Hah!"

Dai Longmei felt the veins on his right arm, channeling the void energy, bulging to their limits. Beside him, Lily felt dizzy and nauseous, barely able to hold on.

Yet their void shields still managed to withstand the tidal wave of leaden fire.

"On horseback?"

The commander of the advancing Longteng tank company couldn't believe what he was seeing through his periscope. But he also saw that the firepower of the Yangji resistance had been completely drawn away by the mounted warrior.

"Armor-piercing shell, load!"

"Fire!"

Several discarding sabot rounds whooshed toward the Yangji defense line. The opposing Bradley infantry fighting vehicle was instantly struck and burst into roaring flames.

"Overlord! This is Poseidon 3! The Longteng armored column has broken through our defense line!"

"All infantry fighting vehicles have been destroyed! Requesting reinforcement! Please..."

The makeshift fortifications hastily erected by the Yangji army were crushed beneath the heavy treads of the Type 85 main battle tanks, along with the Star-Spangled banner the enemy had brought along to humiliate the Longteng people.

Yet darting into the enemy's defense line even faster than the tanks was a little horse from the future.

"Thud!"

A void-infused arrow pierced clean through a communications soldier who was desperately requesting further orders from Overlord Command.

"Hell Knights... They're Hell Knights..."

Seeing the bow and arrow pierce right through the bulletproof vest out of thin air, and watching the bullets aimed at the cavalry miraculously blocked by nothingness, the Yangji soldiers plunged into utter panic.

"Hah! Who dares stand in my way!"

Relying solely on a horn bow and a surge of void energy, Dai Longmei actually cut his way out from amidst the fully armed Yangji marines, a scene comparable to something straight out of some exaggerated mythical drama.

"Out of the tunnel, turn left!"

Following Nine-Tails' navigation, Dai Longmei immediately jerked the horse's head to the left and galloped away.

"This tunnel is damn long, feels like we've been in here for over an hour!"

"How much farther, Nine-Tails?"

"About five more kilometers..."

"Kilometers?"

"Ten li!"

"Kill! Seize the key!"

The sound of intense gunfire behind them faded away once more.

"For the Star Gods!!!"

A familiar, screeching madwoman's voice rang in Dai Longmei's ears. A void-infused arrow grazed past his bronze helmet, followed closely by the gaping, blood-stained jaws of a white lion lunging from the side.

"Damn it, how unlucky!"

Dai Longmei swiftly drew his jade sword, the blade enveloped in jade energy, and swung directly at the white lion's head.

"Clang!"

A sharp longsword instantly parried this ferocious slash.

A resolute, scarred, and vicious face immediately reflected in Dai Longmei's eyes.

"It's you!"

Solna's chilling expression made Lily's heart tremble!

"We meet again~"

"Meat key!"

"Go to hell!"

A bolt of void energy hurtled straight toward Solna's forehead. Solna tilted his head to dodge the strike, then swung his foot in a side kick aimed at the galloping Zhuifeng, attempting to throw the three riders off balance and unseat them.

"Damn you bastards! Playing dirty!"

"Zhuifeng!"

Almost at the exact moment Solna's boot struck Zhuifeng, the sturdy hooves of the Liaodong warhorse simultaneously lashed out at the war lion's belly.

Almost simultaneously, both battle beasts lost their footing and veered off to the side.

"Hold on! Kid! Hold on!"

Dai Longmei clenched his knees against the horse's flanks, fighting with all his might to steady Zhuifeng's charging trajectory, narrowly preventing the mount from losing its footing.

Around them, the smoke-filled battlefield dissolved once more into cold, grey ruins.

Yet from the low roadside shrubbery, several more White Lion riders leaped down.

"For the Star Gods! For the Commander!"

"Seize the key!"

Crying out fiercely, the White Lion riders lunged toward Dai Longmei and his companions.

The shrieking roar caused Nine-Tails to panic all over again.

"Oh mom! More Star-people! Help!"

"Shut up! Careful I kick your butt!"

"Damn it all!"

"Troublemakers!"

"They're all damn troublemakers!"

"Move!"

Much as he wanted to settle accounts with this bunch that had been tailing them ever since the High Pillar, the top priority right now was to take back Lily's body and completely shatter the Star Dust people's ambitions of opening the Void Gate.

Longteng had fallen, but Tianyu must not!

Dai Longmei took the lead, galloping desperately toward Peace Plaza.

"Catch them!"

The dull, heavy thudding footsteps of the white lions pursued closely behind them.

Void-infused arrows streaked past their ears, trailing flickering deep-blue void flames that scorched the hearts of both Dai Longmei and Lily.

"Seize the key!"

"Catch her!"

"Screw you, Star dogs!"

Lily had always loathed being treated merely as a key.

"Lily, keep your composure."

"Once you get your body back, we'll settle this score with them sooner or later!"

Galloping hooves pounded across a battlefield dating back a millennia, and a new chase began anew.