Chapter 248: Divine Selection and Plunder

Tap! Tap!

Gunfire erupted from the rebels' position, the crisp pulse-gunfire echoing throughout the center of District 01.

Meanwhile, the Kelige charging forward to assault the position were under dense barrage fire.

But among the rebels' weapons, only heavy-caliber fixed machine guns, anti-tank weapons, and the artillery of armored units could instantly pierce or destroy the TPS-IV and CMC-700 powered armor.

However, the distance of an intersection passed in an instant; before excessive casualties appeared, the Kelige had already charged into the foul-smelling edge of the position.

Hum—!

The battalion commander who first charged into the position swung his Chain Sword, fiercely chopping at the left shoulder of the nearest rebel.

Grr—screech!!

Despite armor and bone blocking it, the Chain Sword cut through very 'smoothly', removing that part of the rebel's body comprising the left shoulder, right arm, and head.

Murky green blood sprayed all around, also splattering onto the battalion commander's powered armor.

As he finished the swinging motion, the battalion commander swung his left hand holding the explosive-arrow gun to the other side, pulling the trigger at the rebel whose abdomen bore a 'secondary mouth'.

A 'pfft!' shot.

A 'poof!' the rotten, swollen head exploded.

While the battalion commander dealt with the two rebels, the remaining Kelige likewise charged into the position and, with extreme speed, killed every enemy in sight.

In an instant, the position, already hard to describe in smell, became even more foul from flying blood, severed limbs, and torn bodies.

In training exercises, close combat required the UNSC's elite airborne troops to outnumber the Kelige five-to-one just to barely hold their own, and that was even with equal weapons and equipment on both sides.

Now it's not a drill, and those facing the Kelige are not elite airborne troops but rebel UNSC army soldiers.

In melee combat, it was as if a certain 'switch' had been flipped in the battalion commander and the Kelige, making them wildly frenzied in harvesting rebel lives.

For my Lord! Die, heretic!!

A rebel shouted, taking the opportunity to rush toward a Kelige surrounded on all sides, oblivious to his rear, and jammed the gun muzzle close-range into the weak spot at the lower back of the TPS-IV.

Tap-tap!

Poof! Pfft!

This time, the pulse bullet successfully pierced the TPS-IV; several warheads exploded inside this Kelige's body, bright red blood flowing out onto his powered armor, also causing him to stagger and collapse to the ground.

Hahaha! Die, heretic!

My Lord protects! Heretics are no threat!

Seeing that they had finally felled the invincible Kelige, the more than twenty rebels surrounding them released their long-suppressed fear with loud cheers, and thanked their master.

However, before this Kelige completely lost mobility, inside his helmet he ordered, via voice command, the powered armor's miniature cold-fusion reactor to overload.

Thus

Boom——!

The violent explosion instantly engulfed the twenty-plus rebels, and the shockwave also knocked down many rebels farther away.

From above, looking down.

The surviving Kelige, with this death-defying frenzied melee, actually suppressed rebels outnumbering them more than ten to one.

These guys are death gods!

Why? Why! Though we have my Lord's Blessing, how can we not be their match!

The Kelige completely disregarded their own conduct, plunging the rebels' morale into low spirits once again.

Some rebels even began to doubt themselves: why pledge allegiance to 'my Lord' for the so-called truth of life? And why rebel in the first place?

A bunch of trash!

Feiersi waved his curved blade, cleaving the two retreating rebels in half, then looked at the Kelige about to lunge at him, raising several twitching, writhing 'left hands' and gripping them tightly together.

Crack!

Accompanied by the sound of bones crushing, the Kelige stared down by Feiersi was, person and armor alike, squeezed into a ball by the overbearing Spiritual Energy.

After easily killing a Kelige, Feiersi then turned his gaze to the most ferocious battalion commander.

Crackle!

A bolt of Spiritual Energy lightning, twisted into a Z-shape and flashing green light, shot from Feiersi's tendril-like left hand, straight at the battalion commander's helmet.

Pop!

The Spiritual Energy lightning was extremely fast; the battalion commander had no time to react before being struck squarely.

Originally yellow-painted, the helmet was also scorched by the Spiritual Energy lightning, sending out wisps of black smoke.

Afterward, his body slightly stiffened as he tilted his head back and collapsed, motionless on the ground, unknown whether dead or alive.

Seeing the battalion commander motionless, Feiersi's twisted face broke into a grotesque smile, he raised his curved blade, and said contemptuously:

Even if these speechless guys are strong, they still lack the gods' Blessing, so... all of you, kneel before me!!

As Feiersi spoke, a visible ripple of Spiritual Energy spread from him as the center, quickly enveloping all the rebels and the surviving Kelige.

This ripple had no effect on the rebels, but it prevented the Kelige from attacking further and forced them to perform a double-knee kneeling motion.

!

The Kelige struggled with all their might; even if they could not endure, they would rather lie prone, completely unable to resist, than kneel before Feiersi.

Hah.

Looking at all the Kelige lying prone, Feiersi scoffed, glanced around at all the rebels, and shouted loudly:

This is the fate of opposing my Lord! Come on! Pry open these mute ones' helmets, feed them my Lord's bestowed nectar! Let's see if we can cure these mute ones!

Seeing Feiersi single-handedly turn the tide, the rebels finally regained confidence, then shouted in unison: 'Yes!!'

Next.

The rebels detached a team to fetch the equipment box holding the thick soup, while the remaining rebels went toward the immobile Kelige, preparing to pry open the powered armor's helmets to catch a glimpse of the Kelige's true appearance.

Uh

At that moment, the seemingly dead camp commander let out a low, pained moan.

He set down the tightly gripped burst arrow gun, freed his left hand toward the back of his head, and manually disengaged the helmet from the powered armor.

With effort, the commander finally removed the completely damaged helmet, revealing his true face.

It was vastly different from the appearance that the entire UNSC and the public had speculated.

People unfamiliar with the details, seeing through the Krig's special helmet, instinctively imagined them as terrifying "augmented humans" with faces of horror and skin studded with needles.

But the reality was the complete opposite.

The commander, after removing his helmet, had neat short hair, healthy fair skin, a rugged facial structure, and was rather handsome.

The only unsightly parts were his blood‑smeared left eye, the cheek beneath it, and two streaks of blood about to dry.

Just now, Fil's Spiritual Energy lightning caused the helmet's display to explode, injuring his left eye, and the full‑body electric shock knocked him into a brief blackout.

The commander tossed the helmet aside, reversed his grip on the Chain Sword with his right hand and jabbed it into the ground, using the leverage to rise to his feet, his right eye fixed on Fil, and he roared hoarsely:

"Combat Battalion of the 087th Regiment, obey! Keep charging! For the Master! For the Company! Follow me to exterminate the heretics of the plague Arcadia!"

He shouted in unison.

The commander gripped the Chain Sword with both hands, slashed fiercely at the nearby rebels who hadn't reacted yet, then sprinted toward Fil.

And the Krig, who should have been immobilized, now struggled to rise, also gripping their Chain Sword, and continued cutting down the fallen traitors beside them.

??!!

The unexpected turn killed many rebels present under the Krigs' blades before they could react.

"How could this be possible!"

Even the ever‑aloft Fil was astonished by everything unfolding before his eyes.

In its view, the Krigs were merely a bunch of Spiritual Energy‑less mute fools, so how could they withstand its Spiritual Energy pressure?

In less than the blink of an eye, the commander and over ten Krigs had already surged to a short distance in front of it.

"Damn it. A bunch of damned mute bugs!!"

Fil, reverting to a contemptuous attitude, released an even stronger Spiritual Energy lightning with its left hand.

"Piz! Pak!"

The commander was struck by lightning again, and the discharge also linked to the dozen or so comrades beside him.

His comrades were instantly blasted by the lightning, falling to the ground immobile, yet the commander could still advance toward Fil against the Spiritual Energy assault.

And this fierce Spiritual Energy attack merely slowed the commander's steps a bit.

!!

The occurrence of such an unbelievable situation caused Fil's corrupted brain to crash, and it kept muttering, "Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"

It was clearly a chosen one; the Spiritual Energy within its body could alter the course of a war.

So why could it not kill the "bugs" that were gradually approaching it!

But the commander cared not whether Fil was chosen; the instant he drew near, he swung the Chain Sword with both hands at full force, intent on gutting Fil.

Without a moment to think, Fil also swung his curved blade to parry.

"Clang!" the sound of metal colliding.

"Clack! Clack!" the titanium‑alloy chain continuously sliced the blade emitting an eerie green glow.

Both sides were locked in a stalemate.

No matter how one looked, the 'short' commander seemed to successfully suppress the three‑meter‑tall, massive, bulky Fil in strength.

Close‑quarters combat finally allowed Fil to see the commander's difference.

Upon closer inspection, it noticed a faint golden aura emanating from the commander, like...

... as if he had also received the protection of some "deity".

Considering this possibility, Fil's mutated visage displayed an extremely shocked expression.

Who is it?

Once the notion of its "deity" arose, Fil's faith began to waver, and it started, like the rebels, to contemplate defecting to "my master", unsure whether it was right or wrong.

"Lord, bless us!"

While Fil was stunned, the commander roared, lifted the curved blade, then spun, swinging the already serrated Chain Sword to slash at Fil's abdomen.

"Ssshh—!"

Even with the serrated edge, the Chain Sword easily tore through the black robe and the rotting skin beneath.

The strike left a gash in Fil's abdomen.

Ink‑green blood, mixed with rotting intestines and mutated organs, streamed out of the wound, spilling onto the ground.

Along with it, a swarm of fly‑like insects surged from Fil's body.

"Bzz~ Bzz~"

They swarmed toward the commander, buzzing like mosquitoes, ready to bite the skin now unprotected by a helmet.

But as soon as they approached, the faint aura from the commander scorched them, turning them to ash.

"Traitor, die!"

The commander, not satisfied with a single hit, seized the chance, swung the sword with all his might, and finally gutted Fil, shrinking the once plump, bloated body considerably.

"No, no."

Because its "deity" truly existed, Fil, still in a state of shock, kept retreating and was unable to mount any effective counterattack.

Looking again at the rebels' side of the situation.

Seeing Fil being brutally beaten by the commander, losing the seemingly invincible Spiritual Energy aid, and watching the surviving Krigs' eyes turn blood‑red.

"Run! Run quickly!"

"No! Stay away from me! Don't come near me!"

"Spare me, spare me, I was forced to join them."

Finally, the rebel troops whose corruption level was not severe completely collapsed.

Only the skin and armor stuck together, the abdomen grew like a second mouth, completely becoming the plaything of 'My Lord', the rebels still persisted.

But surrender and pleading and this persistence are futile; the Kriegers most hate traitors, mercilessly slaughtering all rebels.

Only the guy who chose to flee at the beginning was temporarily spared a life.

After all, the Kriegers are few in number; now we have no time to deal with them; first we must eliminate Feiersi and the black-robed worshippers who are praying; that is the primary task.

Believers are much easier to deal with than rebels, so the Kriegers put away their Chain Swords and adopted the simplest effective attack.

That is using hellfire rifles, Gauss machine guns, small missiles and grenade launchers to conduct a 'cleansing' sweep of the entire square.

The light pillar generated by the summoning formation, although not completely dissipated, has dimmed considerably.

After the comrades finish the 'cleansing' attack, the battalion commander also strikes down the battered Feiersi.

But just as the battalion commander was about to complete the beheading move.

!

Feiersi's turbid, chaotic eyes burst forth with green radiance, it rolled over, successfully dodging the Chain Sword aimed at its neck.

"Tsk, I can only make do with this body for now."

The Feiersi that dodged the strike, its voice sounded like it had become a 'person'.

It stood up again and advised the battalion commander: 'Child, you are ten thousand times stronger than this human body; join me, and you will gain even greater power!'

"Buzz—~hiss—!"

But the Chain Sword sliced through 'Feiersi's neck without any hesitation, causing its swollen head to fall to the ground, unable to say anything to the battalion commander.

Immediately thereafter, the corrupt body and head turned into a pool of foul green liquid, leaving only a curved blade still emitting eerie green light.

Merely, the light pillar of the summoning ritual did not disappear due to 'Feiersi's death.

Seeing this, the originally expressionless battalion commander couldn't help but furrow his brows, revealing a solemn demeanor.

But not long after, the light pillar dissipated on its own, which also shifted the battalion commander's expression to confusion.

———————

A few seconds before the light pillar disappeared.

Inside the bridge of the flagship of UNSC's 3rd Fleet, a Phoenix-class aircraft carrier.

Sui Bian, wearing a custom-made uniform, stood with his hands behind his back at the end of the bridge, gazing out at the rift space beyond the porthole.

【Detected that the host's subordinate Krieger captain successfully killed Feiersituoluoni, who was possessed by the intermediate demon 'Samaier' from the otherworld.】

At the same time, the system also detected Samaier, whose existence was exposed due to the possession act; its Spiritual Level is inferior to the host's.

But Samaier's state is not weak, so whether the host should consume 15000 points to conduct Spiritual Energy plunder on it?

(End of chapter)