Chapter 546: Hammer Blast and Seven Hours

Maintain formation.

Don't move.

Those soldiers wearing octopus helmets, using walkie-talkies or a radio-like tone, warned the human prisoners on the platform.

I told you not to move!

Some soldiers armed with batons also struck and beat the prisoners.

Just by looking at their armbands and nameplates, one could tell these arrogant, hot-tempered soldiers belonged to the United Empire's National Guard.

These National Guard troops were poorly equipped, most carrying only batons, swing batons, or pistols; they were more like security guards than soldiers.

However, some soldiers wore heavier gear and larger helmets, their octopus-like compound eyes flashing a faint blue light; they stood silently in the corners, ever vigilant, and could be called true professional soldiers.

They carried different rifles and submachine guns, their armbands and nameplates distinct from the National Guard, displaying the words 'United Army'.

Since both the National Guard and the United Army wore octopus helmets, it was impossible to tell whether the faces behind the visors were human traitors or alien scum.

However…

A bunch of traitors.

Lackeys.

However, some prisoners would take advantage of the guards' distraction to mutter curses under their breath.

It seemed the poorly equipped National Guard were essentially collaborators, while the United Army might be the so-called alien scum, or perhaps some other deformed product.

Buzz—!!

Just then, a loud 'hiss' came from the west.

Everyone looked toward the sound and saw the Razor Train rapidly approaching, beginning to slow before it would enter the platform.

Soon after.

The Razor Train then entered the train station and stopped at the platform crowded with many prisoners, National Guard troops, and United Army soldiers.

Sigh… we're dead.

What's there to fear? Better to die quickly and be done with it.

How do you know you'll die painlessly? We're headed for the Reformation Factory, buddy.

Seeing the Razor Train come to a halt, many prisoners couldn't help but voice their feelings.

Some were fearful, anxious, or confused; others accepted reality calmly, too lazy to dwell on it.

But all the prisoners knew that once the train doors opened and they stepped inside, they had already embarked on the journey to death.

As for why they were arrested and made prisoners,

The vast majority of them, unable to endure hunger, had chosen to steal food but lacked escape experience, falling into the hands of the collaborator National Guard.

The remaining prisoners were either secretly or openly aiding the remnants of the old society's great-state military, or assisting civilian resistance guerrillas in their transfers.

Whether the crime was as minor as stealing food after two educations, or as serious as aiding 'rebellion' punishable by death, the United Empire side had no intention of making distinctions.

As long as a crime was committed, they were all taken to the Reformation Factory for reformation.

In conjunction with the United Empire constantly extracting Earth's oceans and moisture, this shows the United Empire never regarded Earth as a colony, at most a resource-gathering point.

So, as the defeated race, what right do we have to reason with the United Empire?

Anyway, we're all going to die; it's just a matter of time.

But…

When the prisoners had prepared themselves for death, and the National Guard and United Army were about to catch the next train, the Razor Train's side door stubbornly refused to open.

Had it malfunctioned?

Immediately, a National Guard stepped forward to inspect, trying to manually pull the latch to open the carriage door so the prisoners could enter.

Soon.

The National Guard successfully opened the carriage door at the center.

However, just as this collaborator was about to enter the carriage for inspection, a gun barrel of cannon caliber appeared, aimed straight at his face.

In the depths of the dark gun muzzle existed a already-loaded, copper-golden, huge bullet.

?

What is this situation?

Clang!!

Pfft!!

Before the collaborator guard could react, the distinctive report of the explosive-arrow rifle rang out, along with the sound of skulls shattering and brains spraying, echoing throughout the train station.

And the explosive-arrow bullet that shattered the skull, its force undiminished, shot toward the crowd of guards chatting together, and then…

A loud 'Boom!!' of violent explosion followed, replacing the previous gunfire.

As for the guards gathered there chatting, they didn't even get to scream before being shredded into pieces by shrapnel and the instantaneous shockwave.

Thud, thud!

Afterward came the heavy footsteps of a giant stepping down from the train onto the platform.

All that could be seen was a giant who had blasted a group of National Guard with a single shot—the captain of this six‑person rookie squad, Dante.

Even before the Razor Train arrived, Dante and his brothers had already heard all the chatter on the platform.

Collaborator?

Traitor!

Alien scum plus human traitors—this was just pouring oil on the fire of the Astate's anger.

Thus, when the train arrived, Dante directly expended a standard explosive bolt, thereby announcing the Astate's arrival to the entire City 13.

Buzz! Buzz—!!!

The five brothers who followed Dante out of the carriage, upon reaching the platform, instantly activated their Chain Swords, causing the blades with a disarming edge to spin wildly.

Immediately after…

Pfft! Screech!!

It was the guard squad, still in a state of shock and unable to react in time, whose bodies were shattered and blown apart by the force of the disarming stance before the blade chains could actually cut them.

Pap! Psh!

Shredded flesh, fresh blood, and organ tissue were scattered everywhere.

In an instant, a cloud of blood mist rose over the station.

Fire! Fire!

Cannot lock onto target!

At that moment, the elite United Army quickly formed up, pouring into the platform in teams of two or four, and communicated with each other in a radio-like tone.

Unfortunately, 'they' could not observe the Astate recruits' movement trajectories at all, not even with the helmet monitor's assistance.

Finally, 'they' prepared to carry out an indiscriminate volley attack, using a dense barrage to compensate for their lack of reaction.

But Dante had already seen through the United Army's intentions.

This squad leader stowed his bolt rifle, freed his hands, and with a slightly forceful jump reached the right-side entrance of the platform, then looked down from above, gazing at the two United Army soldiers nearest him.

At the same time, because Dante kept his stance unmoving, the entire United Army on the right side of the platform finally got to see the towering figure of an Astate.

!!

The United Army showed no great surprise, and immediately prepared to pull the trigger.

But Dante's speed was even faster.

Boom!! The fist wind howled.

The two United Army soldiers closest to him were blown apart by Dante's right hook, and the nearby United Army soldiers suffered the same fate.

Either Dante grabbed their heads with his palm and crushed them with a squeeze, or he seized their shoulders with both hands and tore them apart by pulling left and right.

Moreover, one United Army soldier had his heart ripped out by Dante, and as he fell, Dante's right foot stomped and crushed half of his body.

It could be said that the brutality was turned up to the max.

Even including Dante, these six Holy Angel recruits look like nothing but friendly 'nice guys' no matter how you look at them.

But in the eyes of the guard squad and the United Army, they were nothing less than madmen with a tendency toward crazy violence!

For battles that could be settled with guns, they instead insisted on using chain swords, with both hands and feet.

The guard squad and the United Army deem the Holy Angel recruits crazy, but that only shows their shallow experience; otherwise 'they' would suffer a far more cruel and painful death.

Because the Holy Angels' fighting style is relatively mild, if the Space Wild Wolves came—whether recruits, reserves, or full legion members—they might flay skin and rip out spines bare-handed at the station.

Ten-plus seconds…

Just a brief ten-plus seconds.

Over a hundred national guard squad and United Army members were brutally slaughtered, during which only sporadic gunfire sounded on the platform.

Jesus Christ! What the hell is going on?!

Dead… all dead?

Suka… they're so tall! Are they even human?

At that moment, the human prisoners with chains on their hands and feet finally snapped out of their shock, and began to express their feelings, wanting to flee and hide, but…

The battle is already over!

Is there still a need to hide?

Most importantly, the six giants who suddenly appeared on the platform and utterly crushed the guard squad and United Army—whether friend or foe still unclear—combined with the past year of high-pressure life, have made these human prisoners let go.

Anyway, we're all going to die; we might as well just stay put and wait for death instead of wasting effort on fleeing and resisting.

Now.

The six Holy Angel recruits, covered head to toe in bloodstains, had four of them keeping watch outside the train station; Ze Lin, skilled in Spiritual Energy, closed his eyes and was releasing Spiritual Perception and Spiritual Probe toward City 13.

Finally, the captain Dante, however, walked toward the group of human prisoners who dared not speak out or flee.

One of them, about twenty years old, seemed to have become a prisoner after being reported by neighbors for assisting the remnants of a great nation; he originally had a fearless face.

But as Dante approached, the youth had no choice but to gradually lift his head and tilt it back, until Dante stood before him, his massive body blocking the view and sunlight…

Kill me quickly!!

The youth, suppressing his fear and the instinct to kneel, closed his eyes and shouted loudly.

However, after waiting a moment, the youth felt no pain from the instant his head would be blown apart by a punch, but he noticed that his hands seemed to be lifted and raised by the opponent.

?

This made the youth involuntarily slowly open his eyes, just in time to see Dante using his freed right hand's index finger and thumb to pinch the chain binding his wrist.

With a force.

Then came a 'click!' as the chain was actually snapped by Dante's pinch?!

And Dante, bending low, repeated the same procedure, pinching apart the iron chain binding the youth's feet, restoring his freedom.

What the hell is going on?!

The youth was dumbfounded.

And Dante, not minding the details, pointed to a nearby 'patch' of guard squad and said: 'Those human traitors should have keys; go find them and help free the rest of the prisoners completely.'

Yes… good… okay!

The youth was somewhat incoherent, but he realized that the three-meter-tall giant before him was not an enemy, but an ally!

Having a giant ally, isn't that a hope for overthrowing the United Empire's rule?

However, the youth didn't dwell on it; instead, enduring his stomach discomfort, he ran to the guard squad area where no intact corpses lay, felt out a dozen or so keys, and freed the other prisoners from their chains.

At the same time.

Dante also surveyed the crowd of confused human compatriots, raising his voice: 'I am an Astate recruit of the Human Empire, named Zerte·Dante; you can call me Dante.'

Do not doubt or fear our human identity because of our appearance and height; this is truly a normal phenomenon in our universe.

Now, to ensure your safety, please board the Razor Train behind me in an orderly fashion and withdraw to an abandoned town sixty kilometers away.

Upon hearing Dante's words, all the prisoners were silent at first, but after the youths and more and more compatriots used keys to help release the chain restraints, the prisoners finally realized they were truly free.

They then walked toward the Razor Train, which once symbolized death and now represents the path of life.

As for deception?

Please…

Those six giants tore apart hundreds of humans and "mixed‑blood hybrids" with their bare hands, their strength so great they needed no guns.

For such beings, why waste Bar's effort inventing lies about "other universes" or the "Human Empire"?

Moreover, the regime governing Earth now is the United Empire, which operates across multiple universes and dimensions, so Dante's words are not particularly surprising in comparison.

On the other hand, the Holy Angel Recruit side.

Dante's original plan was to launch a massive slaughter of alien abominations in City No. 13, but after rescuing this group of human prisoners, the primary objective shifted to first establishing a base to house compatriots, then advancing again toward City No. 13.

Moreover, with these prisoner compatriots, their party finally could learn what had happened on Earth.

Beep—! Beep—!

Soon, the entire city rang with shrill sirens.

It was clear that the Holy Angel Recruit had slaughtered over a hundred military forces in a split second, drawing the ruling class of City No. 13's heightened attention.

However, all human compatriots had finished boarding.

Under Bar's brief modification, the Razor Train removed all surveillance and tracking functions, launched half an hour early, and sped away toward the outskirts of City No. 13.

And the ground and aerial pursuers dispatched by the United Forces were overwhelmed by the Spiritual Shock released by Ze Lin, who expended massive mental energy to crush and slay them.

This forced City No. 13 to reassess the pursuit cost, and during that interval, the Razor Train had already fled far away.

Thus, the Holy Angel Recruit squad successfully rescued nearly seven hundred compatriots from the United Empire.

————————

…

Not long after.

Sixteen kilometers east of City No. 13.

Inside the carriage, Dante was conversing with a group of compatriots.

From the conversation, it can be known that the date on Earth is April 14, 2005.

The reason Earth has taken its current shape and humanity is enslaved stems from a full‑scale invasion eleven months ago.

Compatriots call it the "Seven‑Hour War."

As the name suggests, this war involving every nation and force worldwide ended within seven hours with humanity's defeat.

Facing the United Empire's invasion, the human army was utterly no match.

However, before the Seven‑Hour War, Earth had already endured four years of alien species harassment.

(End of Chapter)