Chapter 505: Tanks, Werewolves, Gambit

The collision sound was sharp and ear‑splitting, the keen "zila" noise sounded as if it were wrenching the bones of a living creature apart, making everyone in the convoy's heart jump.

Still, this is a military vehicle designed for sturdiness and ease of handling; its entire body is layered steel plates, and its weight far exceeds that of a field cannon.

So even though the side of the hull looked utterly mangled, a huge dent forming a pit, it still managed to withstand Lang Wangzi's savage ram without shattering on the spot, avoiding a heap of broken copper and scrap iron.

Yet this does not mean the Xinluo troops can rest easy, because the mountain road is treacherous and the infantry fighting vehicle, meant for high‑speed travel, is extremely unstable.

Now, under the massive lateral blow from Lang Wangzi, the driver panicked and the vehicle instantly lost control, careening off the mountain path toward the forest beside the road.

Then came a barrage of crackling, "ka‑cha, ka‑cha," as its sturdy front end demonstrated to everyone what "efficient chopping" looks like.

The only good news, judging from the replies in the chat group, is that everyone inside is fine—just a few broken bones and a near‑splintered skull, nothing fatal.

Moreover, wolf‑transformed A Xi Bao, though attacking wildly, did not follow the iron rule of exterminating the enemy completely; he stupidly chased after the target to deliver a follow‑up strike.

So they are safe—for now.

—In other words, Lang Wangzi immediately readjusted his posture and charged at the second‑slowest infantry fighting vehicle in the convoy!

This time he didn't use the "Iron Mountain Hold" move like Kun Kun; instead, as he neared the target, he kicked with his hind leg, leaping lightly into the air.

While pulling the serrated giant blade from his portable spatial gadget, he earnestly gathered power, twisted his waist, swung the sword, and let out a wolf's howl.

Though it's unclear what bonus the howl conferred, and the limits of A Xi Bao's strength remain unknown, the result was that the infantry fighting vehicle was sliced cleanly in half like a block of tofu.

Moreover, because the vehicle had been moving at high speed, it instantly split into two dangerous spinning tops, flinging the soldiers inside outward amid classic Hollywood‑style screams.

This time Lang Wangzi also remembered the follow‑up strike; he gently raised his left hand, gathered blazing flames, seized two large iron barrels, and sprayed each with fire.

……

"Oh, my God!"

When General Zheng was forced to cut off the vehicle's communication, his once‑steadfast face had turned ashen.

There was nothing to do; that heart‑piercing scream was just too terrifying…

Watching Lang Wangzi brutally slice a steel‑made infantry fighting vehicle like a melon made the Xinluo soldiers' hearts turn completely cold.

Although they had already witnessed such masterful tactics on the vast plain during the Luo Shen Shan battle two days earlier.

Yet soldier against soldier, commander against commander, these top‑tier enemy forces were not under the control of their low‑level officers; they were sent by the great powers, each dispatching experts for separate duels.

Since the Golden Cudgel never fell on them, the mountain‑patrolling sprites naturally couldn't gauge the true strength of the Great Sage.

But the great king who now dominates this cave is absent, or rather, the cave's "king" is only at the level of a White Bone Spirit.

If they were to encounter a freshly returned Hands‑of‑the‑Sea treasure‑bearing Handsome Monkey King from the Donghai Dragon Palace—utterly lawless and looking for a sandbag to spar with—…

—Massacre.

—One‑sided massacre.

"What, is that all you've got?"

After regaining his face, A Xi Bao couldn't help but speak up more.

He elongated his tone in a loud taunt, and, like playing Fruit Ninja, he hacked the lagging infantry fighting vehicle piece by piece, letting screams and explosions echo all the way.

But how precious that infantry fighting vehicle is—Xinluo has only acquired ten in total; with his killing style, they'll be whittled down to five in no time.

Moreover, the infantry fighting vehicle carrying the full officer corps, including General Zheng, wasn't at the front, so Lang Wangzi only needs to order two more "take‑outs" to get the freshest corn on the cob.

If they were to die here, they'd be stuck in a urinal like a fool, offline for a whole day…

The development speed on Xinluo's side, and even the facial losses, are likely to double again!

Therefore.

"General, I am Sergeant Si Mi Da, vehicle commander of the Downhill Tiger Unit; our entire crew requests to detach from the formation and stop the enemy's pursuit!"

Even the fully‑stocked bandits of Liangshan Marsh have many genuine heroes among the 108, let alone a nation's army.

Moreover, Xinluo now has only two tanks in the Yangyue World—one codenamed Downhill Tiger, the other Sea Dragon—and those qualified to ride inside were carefully selected elite troops.

So before General Zheng could reply to the vehicle commander's message, the commander Lu of the other tank also sent the same request.

Although it's not a life‑or‑death moment now, after years of hard‑scrabble, General Zheng can still tell whether someone is speaking sincerely or not.

He immediately turned back, scanned all the officers inside the vehicle, and growled.

"From now on, don't let me see you do any more filthy deeds, understand?"

With the general's approval, both tanks promptly left the formation, slowing appropriately while rotating their turrets.

"Hm?"

After taking that earlier hit, A Xi Bao no longer mindlessly brawls; he's actually been wary of those two oddly shaped iron lumps.

Though he truly doesn't know what exactly this tank is, its solid armor and oversized iron tubes give him a rough idea of its purpose.

So he didn't let the barrel lock onto him easily; instead he sheathed his blade and began rapid, agile movement, forcing the two tanks to sway helplessly left and right while trying to aim.

Inside, the humans were clearly out of options; as a circular hatch on the roof opened, two soldiers crawled out, braced the machine gun mounted on the roof, and opened fire.

This device's firepower was on a completely different level from any gun A Xi Bao had seen before—high rate of fire, high damage, capable of snapping a tree in a single shot.

Unfortunately, if there were more of these guns to form a dense fire‑net, a saturated attack, perhaps luck would grant a few hits.

But there are only these pitiful two, clanking alone… damn, better not.

He simply leapt a couple of times and, as if practicing a carefree supreme skill, dodged them all.

He gradually figured out the tank's specific role—it seems to mount cannons and firearms on a vehicle, granting them extra mobility.

Against ordinary professionals, this heavily armored iron behemoth would be a lethal weapon.

But against me…

A Xi Bao suddenly accelerated again; before the tank could react, he swung his serrated blade and leapt upward.

"Heh, think your cannon's impressive?"

"Then I'll chop it away now; see if you can still act tough!"

The next second, the blade sliced through with a whooshing wind, and with a "snap" it struck, scattering brilliant sparks.

Yet the blade's feedback was not the smooth feel A Xi Bao expected, but a harsh halt—his swing was blocked!

"Hm?"

A Xi Bao fixed his gaze and only then realized that the spot where his blade had stopped was not on the tank turret at all; on the contrary, it rested on a purple membrane between the two.

"This… what is this?"

The development of science and technology has no copyrights, so it wasn't only Huaxia that produced the anti‑demon projectile; in fact, nations worldwide are researching how to organically fuse Yang Moon technology with existing Earth science.

Huaxia's pioneering success in mounting the anti‑demon projectile on a tank further fanned the flames of this already hot proposal, catapulting it into one of the hottest topics among global research institutes.

Thus, the first project successfully realized by the White Eagle‑led United Nations Joint Research Association was a magical shield that could be installed on a tank.

Coincidentally, both prototype tanks were equipped with this module, and at this critical moment they successfully blocked A Xi Bao's lethal strike.

A Xi Bao's momentary daze also allowed the tank turret to lock onto him.

Then a shell burst from the barrel, Boom—, and amid deafening noise landed a solid direct hit.

Unfortunately, although it was a very wisely chosen armor‑piercing round, expecting it to pierce the defense of a level‑70 powerhouse was still somewhat fanciful.

So despite the dramatic display, it merely flung the airborne, power‑less A Xi Bao away, causing little actual damage.

Moreover, Lang Wangzi's strike was so ferocious that the shield seemed to catch it, but it had already burned out on the spot due to a sudden overload.

Considering the tank hull is likely not as hard as that shield, we might call it… the Famous Blade·Siming?

Therefore, if A Xi Bao doesn't trust that evil and lands another slash, the tank codenamed Chuhai Jiao will truly be split limb from limb, becoming a headless little tank.

But who's to blame? A Xi Bao is a very suspicious person.

Although the armor‑piercing round only scorched a seemingly shocking yet shallow gash on his chest, he still wouldn't gamble his life.

For a moment he even dared not pursue so closely, merely darting and weaving under machine‑gun fire, like a wolf from a Pu Songling tale trailing behind, waiting to pounce on the two "butchers".

Thus, after hearing another driver's warning, Sergeant Quan Yunye immediately retrieved from his personal pocket‑dimension a shell etched with red patterns, looking like a work of art; without a word, he opened the auto‑loader and jammed it in.

The gunner beside him was stunned.

"Sir, this thing…"

"Anti‑demon projectile."

Sergeant Quan cleared his throat lightly.

"It was swapped behind the scenes by the Joint Research Association for shield technology; don't let anyone hear about it…"

He paused a few seconds, then couldn't help but chuckle lightly.

"Seems everyone doesn't want to have only a gun or only a shield."

Trailing the tank, A Xi Bao suddenly realized something.

"…We've been busy hitting the tank; where did all those infantry fighting vehicles go?"

"Damn, they still ran away!"

But he didn't dwell on it; after all, they're just the defeated side—monks can run, but the temple can't.

Once he wipes out these two tanks, he'll go to their settlement; they'll die just the same!

Thinking that, his heart stirred; using the sharp turn ahead, he surged into the jungle, cutting a shortcut.

When A Xi Bao reappeared, he had already slipped to the tanks' flanks like a stalking hunter.

"Hehe, take my slash!"

Bad news: because the tank bore no distinctive markings, his slash struck the descending tiger and was blocked by the shield.

Good news: infuriated by this thing, A Xi Bao mustered courage, twisted his waist and swung his arm, and actually slashed the tank again.

Although the firepower of two heavy machine guns suppressed it, the slash never fully cleaved through, but it did tear a large piece of steel plate away.

"Oh!? Your shield is gone?"

Now that's an unexpected euphoria; since both tanks no longer have the Famous Blade·Siming protection, doesn't that mean I can just move a few times and individually name‑drop explode fireworks?

So A Xi Bao didn't rush; he drifted around twice, deciding to prioritize revenge, blasting the tank that had fired at him; now it looks…

And to ensure a killing blow, he let out a roar, using his racial trait to grant himself a strength‑and‑speed buff, then burst from the forest and swung a fatal strike at the tank.

However, at that crucial moment, the machine gunner's face suddenly showed ferocity and resolve; he let go of his weapon and unleashed magic.

A Xi Bao jumped in fright, thinking the opponent had another trump card, and hurriedly used a wind‑warding technique to slow his descent.

But on closer look, it turned out to be just an ordinary Earth Shield technique.

Not to mention his blade; perhaps even a casual breath from him could blow it to pieces.

Ha, he can't already be desperate, can he?

Raising the knife he held, a cruel smile curled his lips, as if he could already see the tank shattering in the next second.

But before one wave settled, another rose; the roar of artillery suddenly rang in his ears again.

He turned his head and saw that another tank was firing toward this side.

???

He froze for a moment, then suddenly came to his senses.

He's ruthless, but the opposite side also has ruthless people; perhaps they're using teammates as bait to ensure their shells hit.

But does it help? No use!

If I just casually cast a wind‑warding technique, I can adjust my form in the air, and then… wait!

Anyone who sees an enemy launching an attack toward them will naturally think the first target is themselves; that's human nature.

But if the opponent is truly a madman, firing at his own allies?

Right, as a high‑level warrior, A Xi Bao could see at a glance that the landing point of the scorching shell wasn't himself,

It's the tank in front of him?

(End of Chapter)