Chapter 53: Fierce Battle and Recognition

Outside the granary, gunfire and explosions mixed with the sharp hissing of the iron-toothed giant rats, making it extremely unpleasant to hear.

Spent casings scorched the ground all around the crowd, the air reeked of gunpowder mixed with the green blood spurting from iron-toothed giant rats torn apart by bullets, almost suffocating.

The vast majority of Xuanwu City's people were experiencing this for the first time; many could barely hold their Type 95 automatic rifles from fear, yet the instinct to survive kept them going until now.

The makeshift circular formation formed by three armored vehicles was now on the verge of collapse.

"Change magazines! Quickly change magazines!"

Many shouted hoarsely, tossing out their empty magazines and hastily pulling a fresh one from their tactical vests; with sweaty palms, this simple motion took several tries for many before succeeding.

Some even jammed the bolt while changing magazines due to extreme nervousness.

A lone iron-toothed giant rat that had slipped through leapt up, its stark white fangs about to bite through that person's neck.

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, the rat's head exploded in midair.

It was Han Ya.

Without turning her head, she fired a backhand shot in the midst of commanding, taking down that iron-toothed giant rat.

"Zoning out in battle—do you want to die?!"

"Yes… sorry, Captain!"

That soldier shuddered, his face turning deathly pale; without Han Ya's shot, he would likely have died on the spot.

The battle had been going on for nearly half an hour.

"Hiss—!!!"

It seemed that being unable to break through for a long time had made the rat swarm increasingly agitated.

Their assault suddenly became even more frenzied than before!

Hundreds of iron-toothed giant rats recklessly launched a suicidal charge, using their flesh and bodies to bodily push forward against the three-sided barrage of fire!

"Boom!"

A grenade exploded among the rat horde, hurling up vast chunks of flesh and severed limbs.

Yet the rats behind did not pause, trampling over their companions' sticky corpses and pressing onward!

The rat tide surged toward them as if endless; even the well-equipped Night Blade and Black Feather squads felt the pressure now.

The defensive line was being compressed bit by bit!

As for these twenty "new recruits" of Xuanwu City, they were already on the brink of collapse.

Their stamina was drained; each trigger pull left their arms sore and numb, the recoil making their tiger jaws ache, barely able to hold their weapons.

At this rate, casualties were only a matter of time!

Yet not a single person stepped back.

Each of them held back a breath, a spirit of refusing to lose.

Moreover, this mission was worth fifty contribution points; they insisted on persevering no matter what!

……

Inside the armored vehicle on the other side.

Gui Ying and Wu Ya were each analyzing the current battle situation via the tactical tablets inside their respective vehicles.

"Heh, a bunch of rookie newbies, but they've got guts."

Wu Ya looked at the image on the screen, the corner of his mouth curling into an intrigued arc,

"To hold out this long with no casualties yet—quite beyond my expectations!"

Gui Ying offered no rebuttal, but his gaze lingered more on Han Ya.

He knew well that although Xuanwu City's people looked utterly disheveled, their line had not broken; this woman accounted for at least seventy percent of the effort.

Their impression of Xuanwu City's scouting team had unconsciously shifted, from initial disdain to a preliminary acknowledgment.

These people perhaps still lacked tactical sophistication and were seriously deficient in combat experience.

But their fearless, blood‑hot valor and the spirited resolve to fight for their belief… that is what true warriors possess!

"Machine gunners! Extend firepower thirty meters to the left flank! Ease their pressure!"

Gui Ying suddenly picked up the communicator and coldly issued the order.

"Huh?"

Wu Ya beside him blinked in surprise, his face full of bewilderment.

Gui Ying gave no explanation, merely continuing to stare at the tactical tablet in his hand.

The battlefield situation grew ever more stalemated.

The number of iron-toothed giant rats seemed endless; they too seemed to sense that these humans were spent, and their assault grew ever more frenzied.

"Pfft!"

A Xuanwu City member failed to dodge in time; a giant rat sank its sharp teeth deep into his calf, even piercing his sturdy combat boot and embedding itself in the flesh.

"Ah!"

The intense pain made him let out an anguished cry, his body staggering, nearly collapsing.

Once down, he would be devoured by the swarming rat tide within a second, leaving not even bone fragments.

"Old Zhang!"

His comrade beside him bellowed, eyes blood‑red, raising the rifle butt to charge over and help.

But just at that critical moment!

"Hiss—!"

A strange, sharp whistle, carrying some kind of command, echoed from deep within the granary!

The next instant, those rats that had been frenziedly attacking, as if hearing a military order, abruptly halted their assault in unison and retreated like a tide back into the granary's dark, gaping doorway.

Huu… huu… huu…

The rat tide receded, and everyone suddenly felt as if all their strength had been drained; they went limp on the ground, gasping heavily.

"What… what's going on? How did they just retreat like that?"

A Qiang wiped the blood and sweat from his face, still shaken, and asked.

"Everyone! Don't let your guard down! Quick! Check ammunition, tend to the wounded!"

Han Ya, however, showed no slack; she forced herself to endure her fatigue and loudly directed everyone.

Her intuition told her that things were absolutely not that simple.

Inside the Night Blade and Black Feather armored vehicles, the atmosphere grew extremely solemn.

"Heh, it looks like a good show is about to begin."

Wu Ya stared at the granary door that had fallen back into dead silence, his voice hoarse.

Gui Ying's face showed an unprecedented solemnity.

"Notify everyone, prepare to meet the impact."

The two squads had far richer experience fighting mutant beast swarms than Han Ya and the others, and this bizarre sight before them could only mean one thing—their king was about to appear!

Sure enough, as soon as the words were spoken,

Thud… thud… thud…

A low, rhythmic thudding came from deep within the granary, each strike feeling like a heavy hammer pounding on everyone's hearts.

The earth began to tremble slightly.

A massive shadow slowly emerged from the doorway.

It was a giant rat over two meters tall and nearly eight meters long!

Its fur shone with an eerie metallic sheen, and its tiny eyes, utterly disproportionate to its size, flashed with a cruel red light.

Its two signature incisors were like sharpened sickle blades, flashing a chilling light in the daylight that made one's heart race.

Rat King!

That thought simultaneously appeared in everyone's mind.

PS: New book, please urge for updates, please collect!