Chapter 691: Remote Electric Therapy

"Bang!"

With a dull thud as a heavy object hit the ground, one of the assault team members at the base of the boarding tower—holding a pneumatic shield—suddenly staggered, eyes rolling back, and collapsed straight down.

"Ambush!"

The sergeant, noticing this, froze in shock, immediately ordering the soldiers to scatter and calling for backup from behind, hoping for suppressive fire.

Yet even after the support team rushed over and swept every possible hiding spot—even dismantling part of the floor—they still couldn't find the attacker's whereabouts.

Worse still, since the first assault soldier fell, it was as if some unknown plague was spreading rapidly—one soldier after another rolled their eyes back and collapsed.

Whether hiding behind pneumatic shields, behind the tower's steel beams, or retreating into cleared rooms, none could stop the mysterious attacker's strikes. The assault team couldn't locate the enemy, nor could they understand how their comrades kept falling.

Everyone was safely behind cover, no limbs exposed, yet it was as if Death himself was calling out their names—one after another, eyes rolling back, collapsing every few seconds, and the rate of casualties kept accelerating!

"Retreat! Front ranks become rear ranks, shield-bearers hold the rear—fall back now!"

When the thirtieth soldier collapsed, unconscious for no apparent reason, the sergeant, who had held on through sheer grit, finally broke under pressure and issued the order to abort the sweep and retreat immediately—everyone instinctively exhaled in relief.

Unfortunately, the soldiers didn't get to relax for long.

Although the number of soldiers suddenly collapsing dropped sharply after the assault team began retreating, less than fifteen seconds later, the unseen "Death" followed them down.

In the soldiers' terrified expressions, more and more kept collapsing mid-retreat, eyes rolling back without warning—not just the trailing assault team, but even the front-line support team began dropping, blocking the escape route.

He wants to annihilate us all!

Realizing the "Death"'s intent, seeing their comrades lying unconscious on the ground, the assault soldiers grew even more panicked.

At first, the sergeant had tried to maintain order, but once he too rolled his eyes back and collapsed, the previously orderly retreat descended into total chaos.

One soldier after another, eyes wide with terror, shed their heavy gear and sprinted desperately downward, constantly dropping without warning, constantly tripping over fallen comrades, only to collapse themselves moments later under Death's call.

In less than two minutes, nearly a hundred men lay sprawled across the five-hundred-plus steps of the staircase.

Whether from the initial assault team or the later support team, all had lost consciousness, lying motionless on the ground—the entire boarding tower fell utterly silent, save for the breathing of the unconscious.

…

I overestimated myself…

After confirming all who entered the boarding tower had been felled, Leon, having activated the Holy Pendant over a hundred times, let out a long breath and rubbed his aching temples.

Under the condition of avoiding mass deaths, the Holy Pendant's mental shock ability was stable and efficient—no need to show himself to incapacitate targets, and the physical cost of activation could be covered by 【War Counterpart】, making it theoretically the fastest and safest combat method.

Unfortunately, 【War Counterpart】 could replenish physical stamina endlessly, but it couldn't compensate for mental depletion.

Each use of the Holy Pendant to launch a mental shock meant forcing one's will against the enemy's will—like a man who trained his skull to be iron-hard, smashing watermelons one after another with his head; use it too often, and even he'd suffer a concussion. Had the assault team not been terrified by the unknown method, causing their morale to collapse rapidly, those hundred mental clashes alone would've been enough to break Leon.

I must change tactics!

Estimating his condition, Leon realized mental shocks alone wouldn't handle so many soldiers—he immediately shifted strategy, began climbing back up, and set up his long-dusty sniper rifle at the mid-level of the boarding tower.

If he truly used the Black Goat's ability to incite the guards to kill each other, he could certainly escape safely—but unlike the Blood Night at Lyne, these soldiers outside the tower were merely doing their duty, committing no unforgivable sins.

He himself carried three survival abilities: the Goat's Horn's 【Blood War Without End】, the Goat's Heart's 【Dominant Proxy Death】, and as his final trump card, 【Wine Immortal】—he had no need to slaughter them all.

So the most suitable course now was to temporarily disable their command system, then break out during the chaos, pretend to be downed, complete the "future" loop, and only after Joshua's soul flame departed, rise up and fully escape the encirclement!

Solid. That's the plan.

…

Five fully armed elite squads—all wiped out in just over two minutes since the first gunshot?

Watching the now-silent boarding tower, the officer waiting outside felt his hand trembling slightly.

What's going on inside?

The troops who entered had pneumatic shields and standard light arms—even a medium automatic weapon. In large-scale warfare, clearing fortified positions rarely required more than this.

With the assault and support teams advancing steadily in sync, even if hundreds of armed rebels were hiding inside, they shouldn't have posed any real threat.

Even if the interior wasn't rebels but another similarly equipped military unit, given the elite status of the assault soldiers, they should've held out for at least a little while—how could they fall silent so quickly?

Just as the guard commander hesitated, staring at the boarding tower like a beast ready to devour him, wondering whether to send another team in, other military units stationed on the perimeter rushed over.

"Matthew! What's happening inside?!"

A tall commander, flanked by soldiers, approached and grabbed the guard commander who arrived first, growling anxiously:

"We set up so many checkpoints—how did someone slip in?

And where are your men? I saw you send the assault team in—why is there no sound inside? What's going on in the tower?"

"Inside the tower… watch out!"

"Bang!"

With a sharp crack as air was torn apart, a nail shot out from the middle of the boarding tower, piercing through the gap between two pneumatic shields and thudding into the ground nearby.

There's a sniper?

Seeing the bullet crater just a step away, the two commanders turned pale, cold sweat soaking their undershirts—they were grateful the sniper had missed; otherwise, they'd have died right there.

But before they could call for their guards, a tiny dog paw emerged from the crater and pushed out a strange deep-purple crystal.

Is that… Thunderstone?!

Recognizing the sudden crystal as the Thunderstone stored in the airship's cargo hold, both commanders' pupils shrank violently, then spun around and fled.

Unfortunately, before they could complete their turn, the tiny dog paw slammed down hard—the deep-purple Thunderstone shattered instantly, torrents of crackling electricity bursting forth and completely engulfing their figures!

(End of Chapter)