Chapter 553: Occupying the Seventh Defense Zone

Vulkan, holding his Power Hammer, his Ceramite Battle Boots treading on the blood-stained floor, looked at the scene before him with a grave expression; a thick scent of rust mixed with the stench of rotting flesh rushed toward him.

Huokan, following behind Vulkan, spoke up to explain to him.

"Father, this is the Breeding Ground where the Aliens hold the survivors. Perhaps you should put on your helmet..."

Before Huokan could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Vulkan.

"Huokan, I understand your good intentions, but those imprisoned here are our kin! They have endured torture here, spending countless days and nights in this place! I only hate myself for arriving so late, letting the survivors here become what they are now."

Huokan's tactical flashlight swept across the stacked metal cages, and the bodies huddled behind the iron mesh suddenly began to tremble violently.

Seventeen adult survivors were crammed into a six-square-meter cage meant for swine, their wrists and ankles locked in barbed Restraint Rings, with shards of iron embedded in their festering wounds.

Huokan set his Bolter aside, gripped the cage holding these survivors with both hands, and exerted sudden force with his arms, tearing the entire cage open.

The survivors inside were startled by the commotion and began to stir.

Looking at these terrified survivors, Vulkan suddenly felt a bit of envy for Angron's ability to absorb the negative emotions of others, as that would allow these survivors to gradually regain their sanity.

Thinking of this, Vulkan's reddened eyes narrowed slightly.

That's right, he could have Angron come over to help these survivors; he believed Angron would be very willing to help with this.

"Where is Dabeiwenqiao?"

Vulkan scanned his surroundings and noticed that the other Salamanders were busy releasing the survivors from the cages; suddenly feeling that someone was missing, he spoke to Huokan.

"After we rescue the imprisoned survivors, we will bring them to the Central Plaza in the Breeding Ground. It is large enough to hold all the survivors there, allowing Dabeiwenqiao to quickly sever the connection of the Control Marks."

"Hmm."

After Huokan handed these survivors over to a passing Salamander, he brought Vulkan to the center of the Breeding Ground, where they saw a dense crowd of survivors, all of whom bore neat incisions on their bodies.

Dabeiwenqiao was using his psychic powers in batches to sever the Control Marks on these survivors; those whose Control Marks were severed showed little reaction, as if they had become numb to everything around them.

Just then, Vulkan saw Kuayasi, who had been pursuing the Beast Race Priest, and two other Salamanders hurrying to find him; Kuayasi spoke to Vulkan in a rushed tone.

"Father, we have captured that Alien. It says it has an important piece of intelligence and wants to make a deal with us."

"Important intelligence?"

Vulkan automatically ignored the last part of Kuayasi's sentence, his reddened eyes narrowing as he pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Bring that Alien here and have Dabeiwenqiao pry its mouth open. Remember, record the footage and upload it to the Military District."

"Understood!"

Soon, a Dongnuowu, whose limbs had been broken and only its head remained functional, was dragged in by Kuayasi and thrown onto the Central Plaza.

Dabeiwenqiao had been waiting there; looking at the Alien that could only move its head, a corner of his mouth curled beneath his sharp-angled helmet.

What a filthy Alien.

"I... I have important intelligence! Let... let me see... your leader!"

Most of the teeth in the Dongnuowu's mouth were gone. Facing this silver-white Two-legged Sheep, the Dongnuowu assumed he was the chieftain commanding these Two-legged Sheep and spoke in broken Human language.

"Shut up! Alien! You actually want to see the face of the Emperor! Are you worthy? Now, confess everything you know!"

Psychic energy surged around Dabeiwenqiao as his right hand slowly reached toward the Dongnuowu's head. As the psychic energy poured into the Dongnuowu's head, the Dongnuowu let out a painful shriek.

"Ah!!! I!! No!!"

Soon, Dabeiwenqiao threw the Dongnuowu, now a heap of a corpse, onto the ground and flicked his right hand to shake off the remaining filth.

"Lord Vulkan, the intelligence has been sent back to the Military District according to your orders."

"Hmm, continue severing the Alien Control Marks here. I will leave a few men to help you. The Aliens in the Outer City are still putting up a desperate resistance, and I must finish them off as soon as possible."

"As you command! Lord Vulkan!"

Vulkan looked at Kuayasi, lifted the Power Hammer leaning to the side, and his deep voice rang out.

"Let's go, we depart to finish off those Aliens! For the innocent!"

Seventh Defense Zone Outer City.

As the sky gradually brightened, the Seventh Defense Zone also welcomed a new light.

After the Valkyrie Transport conducted several rounds of fire support, only scattered Beast Race remained, making their final stand among the ruins.

Alicia soldiers used their Gravity Umbrellas to deal with these non-threatening Beast Race warriors, their Akatelun Laser Guns harvesting their lives.

When a Beast Race warrior suddenly leaped from a pile of rubble, the soldiers in the front row immediately kicked off the ground and took to the air; the hum of their unfolding umbrella wings and the light of the Akalunte Laser Guns bloomed simultaneously.

"For the Emperor!"

Amidst the roar, a Laser Beam pierced the forehead of that Beast Race warrior, and the warrior then collapsed into the ruins.

"It's fortunate that these Aliens don't pour out endlessly, otherwise we wouldn't be so relaxed right now."

An Alicia soldier, holding an Akalunte Laser Gun, joked with a teammate beside him.

"Perhaps they only look like that on the outside; they don't seem very strong in other aspects."

An Alicia Sentinel Mech was walking down the street, its two hinged legs stained with the blood and scattered remains of the Beast Race.

The pilot caught a glimpse of a green shadow flashing on the second floor of a half-collapsed building through the observation window and aimed the Heavy Bolter at the building.

The Heavy Bolter fired, blasting the Beast Race warrior hiding behind the wall into pulp.

Not until noon did the desperate resistance of the Beast Race in the Outer City gradually fall silent, and every Orc corpse burned quietly in the flames.

The Salamanders' helmets reflected the sunlight. As the rescued survivors stumbled out of the Breeding Ground, they were blinded by the glaring sun; it took a long while before they gradually adapted to the surrounding environment.

Those survivors whose spirits had not yet collapsed felt their eyes moisten again. This time, they finally did not have to cry out of fear; just like that glaring sun, they too would welcome a new life.

Sheng Wolun held the child in his arms, his body trembling with excitement. He shivered with his cracked lips and opened them with all his might.

"This... this... this is not a dream! This... this is not a dream! We... we have escaped that hell!"

Xiumini touched the sunlight with her severed fingers; the sunlight shone onto her face through the gaps between her fingers. Feeling the warm sun, a smile appeared on Xiumini's scarred face.