Chapter 54: Black Tortoise Strikes! Massive Harvest!

The Rat King's massive body stood silently in the shadow of the granary's entrance, instantly bringing immense pressure upon everyone.

It did not attack immediately; its pair of eyes flashing with cunning red light slowly swept over everything on the battlefield.

In its gaze lay undisguised contempt and killing intent.

Like a seasoned hunter, before striking it first assessed the threat of each prey.

Finally, its gaze fell upon Han Ya and the others.

The Rat King's ferocious mouth curled upward, revealing a cruel sneer.

"Bang——!"

Just as everyone was stunned by the Rat King's terrifying aura, a muffled gunshot rang out without warning!

It was the sniper of the Night Blade squad!

He had lain in wait atop a deserted high-rise several hundred meters away, and the moment the Rat King appeared, he locked onto its head through his scope!

As the refuge's top sniper, he never needed to wait for orders; seizing the fleeting battle opportunity and firing decisively was instinct etched into his bones.

An armor-piercing round forged from a special alloy, designed to pierce heavy units, shot at supersonic speed precisely toward the Rat King's brow!

Boom!

A burst of sparks exploded on the Rat King's forehead!

Yet what followed made everyone's hearts skip a beat.

When the smoke cleared, the Rat King's massive body hadn't moved an inch.

On its iron-hard forehead remained only a white mark the size of a fingernail cap.

Completely unharmed!

"Roar——!!!!!"

The Rat King seemed to stagger for a moment, but the next second a torrent of fury erupted from within!

Obviously, though the shot hadn't injured it, it had utterly enraged the Rat King!

Next, from within the granary, a black tide surged forth once again!

But this time, the iron-toothed giant rats no longer charged mindlessly head-on as before.

Instead, they rapidly dispersed around the Rat King as their center, splitting into dozens of small streams that flowed from every tricky angle to flank the three squads' positions!

"Oh no! We're surrounded!"

This dispersed attack instantly put them in a bind where they could not cover both sides, making effective crossfire impossible.

Inside the armored vehicles of Night Blade and Black Feather, Gui Ying and Wu Ya's faces grew grim to the extreme.

"This beast… has become a spirit!"

They finally realized that the Rat King's terror lay not only in its fearsome defense but also in its intelligence, which could rival that of humans!

At this critical moment!

The Black Tortoise, which had stood silently behind the battlefield, finally moved.

"Roar……"

The next second, a miracle appeared.

"Boom——rumble——rumble——!!!"

At that moment, the hard concrete pavement was flung upward like a soft carpet by an irresistible massive force!

Yes, it was lifted!

Along with the hundreds or thousands of frenzied iron-toothed giant rats atop it, it was flipped over and then slammed back down!

"Pfft——!!!"

Countless iron-toothed giant rats, without even a chance to scream, were crushed alive into the earth by this sudden 'heaven-sent justice,' merging with soil and stone!

The whole process ended in less than ten seconds!

On the battlefield, only the Rat King remained, frozen mid-charge in its forward stance.

As a beast king, it possessed perception far surpassing that of ordinary mutants.

Just moments ago, it clearly sensed a terrifying aura that made its very soul tremble.

It was an absolute suppression from a higher level of life!

Run!

We must flee immediately!

"Hiss!"

The Rat King let out a terrified shriek, its massive body whirling around like a bolt of black lightning as it fled madly toward the granary's rear gate without looking back!

"You think of running now? Too late."

On Xuanwu City's walls, Lin Yue watched that black, desperate fleeing silhouette, a cold smile curling his lips.

He had finally forced it out with great effort; how could he let this energy point slip away?

"Black Tortoise."

He uttered the two words calmly.

"Roar."

The Black Tortoise gave a low, resonant reply.

The next second, the sturdy concrete walls and ground around the Rat King seemed to be endowed with life.

"Rumble——"

Countless fragments of stone and rebar instantly wrapped its massive body, forming a gigantic stone ball over ten meters in diameter!

"Hiss——!!!"

From within the stone ball came the Rat King's frantic roars and struggles!

But, everything was in vain.

The stone ball began to contract inward at a slow speed!

"Ga bang…… ga bang……"

The crisp sound of bones being broken inch by inch kept emanating from inside the stone ball, making people's scalps go numb.

Soon, the Rat King's struggles grew weaker and weaker, and eventually it disappeared completely.

The stone ball also stopped contracting, and just remained suspended in midair.

"Boom."

With a soft sound, the huge stone ball violently disintegrated, turning into dust that filled the sky.

In its place, only a patty of meat remained, mixed with shell fragments and entrails, completely unrecognizable in its original shape.

The battle ended amidst everyone's shocked gazes.

No one knew how long had passed before everyone finally snapped out of the immense shock.

When they entered the huge granary, its interior was even more chaotic than imagined.

Everywhere were gnawed‑rotted sacks and piles of rat droppings; the air reeked of rot and fishy stench, almost enough to knock a person out.

However, when they cleared away the outer debris and opened the heavy steel‑reinforced inner storage door, everyone was stunned by the sight before them.

On row after row of massive shelves sat bag after bag of neatly stacked food!

Wheat, corn, rice……

They were vacuum‑sealed in thick plastic bags, almost untouched by any contamination!

"My heavens…… just how much food is this?"

"Quick! Quick! Count the amount!"

After a preliminary count, there turned out to be nearly five thousand tons of uncontaminated food in this granary!

What does that mean?

This amount of food could support forty thousand people, well fed and clothed, for a whole year!

The strategic significance of this batch of food is immeasurable!

"Mr. Lin, we……"

Gui Ying walked up to Lin Yue, about to say something.

"I know what you want to say!"

Lin Yue, however, waved his hand,

"This harvest is not bad; Xuanwu City only needs one hundred tons. The rest, you take back to the shelter."

Having said that, he didn't give Gui Ying a chance to speak and turned to leave.

Under the power of Black Tortoise Earth Control, he easily transported that hundred tons of food into the newly built warehouse inside Xuanwu City.

When the city's residents saw the mountain‑high piles of food, the whole of Xuanwu City erupted.

Every face was lit with a heartfelt, radiant smile.

With this food, they no longer had to worry about their next meal!

Night fell, and the bonfire rose again.

Lin Yue gathered all twenty members of the guard team who had participated in this battle before the command room.

"Today, your performance leaves me very dissatisfied."