Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 789 Hand-to-hand combat

The smoke and dust from the explosion filled the surroundings. Benny struggled to his feet and found the lieutenant he had pinned down squinting and disoriented, groaning in pain.

The already damaged trenches were completely destroyed by the bomb, and mud, sand and gravel kept sliding down above the two men's heads. The area in the trench where supplies were piled up had now been blown into a large crater...

They were lucky enough that the heavy supply crates happened to be in front of them when the explosion occurred, absorbing the most violent impact for them and preventing the scattered shrapnel from turning them into sieves.

"How are the others?" The lieutenant weakly propped himself up, his face pale. "Ouch! My ribs... I think they're broken."

It was quite obvious from the tiny bit of pale pink foam oozing from the lieutenant's mouth that the broken sternum had likely punctured his lung.

Benny's new wound on his forehead burst open, and streaks of blood flowed down his brow. Just as he was about to straighten up to check the situation, he suddenly discovered that one of the three demon lizardmen who had just ambushed them was still alive at the other end of the trench!

That was the last one in the pack. Its two companions in front of it had clearly shielded it from bullets and explosions. Although it had lost an entire arm, it didn't seem to have lost its ability to move.

Seeing it slowly rise with a hunched back and laboriously condense a black crystal dagger in its hand, Benny immediately understood the other party's purpose... The enemy still had the ability to fight and intended to wipe out all the surviving soldiers here.

His usual rifle was nowhere to be found, and his revolver, which had just been emptied, wouldn't give the Black Lizard soldier in front of him a chance to reload, given the latter's speed.

Without hesitation, Benny drew the bayonet attached to the tip of his spear from his waist.

This standard-issue bayonet, issued to the military, is about the length of an adult's forearm. The handle can be folded for storage, and both sides of the blade have a blood groove, making it look exceptionally sharp and gleaming.

Holding the bayonet upright in front of his chest, Benny assumed a thrusting motion that he had mastered through daily training, his eyes fixed on the enemy charging towards him.

For a soldier from a humble background, Benny was no longer afraid of death.

Back in his hometown of Luyu Town, he neither starved to death from lack of food nor was he overworked to death by his employers' exploitation.

He also did not unfortunately contract the disease and die during his escape north when the plague broke out.

Upon arriving in the North and settling down, they endured the legendary, frigid winter that could freeze a person's fingers off, and fought dozens of battles, large and small, against nobles, the church, orcs, and demons.

He didn't die!
He's always enjoying his victories!

Since that's the case, even if I die here today... it won't be a loss!

In the blink of an eye, the enemy had rushed in front of him, and with a swing of his one arm, the black crystal dagger slashed horizontally towards his neck... If he couldn't dodge in time, his head would probably be cut off in an instant.

Benny's body jerked backward, narrowly avoiding the fatal slash. He then braced himself with his arms and pushed off with his legs, sliding backward a short distance along the ground to escape the enemy's weapon range before finally standing up.

He silently thanked himself for taking a short-acting stimulant before setting off, which not only shielded him from the trauma and fatigue of long battles, but also made his reactions and movements much more agile.

Of course... the side effect also gave him the illusion that he could defeat an alien soldier single-handedly with cold weapons.

The Black Lizard Warrior missed with his first swing and lunged forward again. Benny felt his body react faster than his brain, holding his bayonet horizontally and steadily blocking the downward slash.

when--

The black crystal dagger and the steel military dagger clashed instantly, producing a piercing sound.

Unable to withstand the immense force, Benny's knees buckled and he knelt heavily on the ground. As the enemy continued to exert force, he gritted his teeth and held on desperately.

The web between his thumb and forefinger split open from the excessive force, blood flowing into his palm and making the weapon he had been gripping so tightly slippery. The friction of metal sparked a string of sparks, and the lizardman suddenly released his grip, flicking his knife upwards and sending Benny's military knife flying, landing with a thud several meters away.

The stark difference in pure power between humans and other races was also clearly revealed at this moment.

Another close-range slash came at him diagonally. Benny could only kneel on the ground and dodge to the side. The tip of the blade sliced ​​across his chest along his shoulder. If it weren't for the bullet pouches strapped to his front, he would probably have been disemboweled immediately.

Even so, a huge wound across his chest instantly gushed out a large amount of blood, completely soaking his already muddy dark military uniform.

Just when Benny thought he was doomed, a gunshot rang out from behind him.

A scorching gust of air almost brushed past his ear, and the next instant, the enemy's head exploded, splattering thick, foul-smelling red and black pus all over his head and face.

The headless alien twitched twice before finally collapsing to the ground with a thud.

When he came to his senses, Benny realized that it was the lieutenant who had shot and saved his life at the last second.

After letting out a long sigh of relief, the side effects of the stimulant seemed to immediately overwhelm him... Benny was no longer able to turn around to check on his comrades, and collapsed to the ground as if completely exhausted.

The soil in the trench rustled as the lieutenant struggled to crawl to his side.

"Cough...cough! Benny?" A large hand supported his neck. "Stay awake! I'll stop the bleeding right now!"

Benny opened his mouth, only to find it filled with the metallic, sweet taste of blood. "Give me another short-acting stimulant...it hurts so much..."

"No, you've eaten enough..."

The lieutenant shook his head with a stern face and a firm gaze.

"Phew...really, they really don't want me to die a good death, Lieutenant...I don't even know your name."

"Pascal, Pascal Nelson." The lieutenant, enduring his own injuries, half-squatted up and hugged Benny's upper body, his blood-stained hands beginning to grope for his military pouch.

The regenerative medicine and hemostatic bandages have been completely used up.

“Nice name…” Benny blinked, feeling his eyelids getting heavier and heavier. “It even has a surname, tsk… you must come from a good family.”

"Then I want to eat the sea bass soup from my hometown..."

"White bread baked with newly grown winter wheat from the North would taste wonderful soaked in soup..."

Benny's dying ramblings, like the delirium of a drunkard, flooded Nelson's ears, but did nothing to hinder the two golden rays of light that suddenly rose from his palms.

He clasped his hands together and gently placed the golden light on the huge wound on Benny's chest, smoothing it over as if smoothing out the wrinkles in a piece of paper. The rolled-up flesh instantly closed up and healed, and the gushing blood stopped immediately.

"You...you!" Benny's eyes widened suddenly as he exclaimed, "You are...you are the Church's God..."

"Shut up!" Nelson hissed. "Save your energy. At least hold on until I get you to the field hospital."

His expression was unusually complicated at this moment, and a self-deprecating bitter smile appeared on his lips. "Isn't it better to survive first so that I can have the opportunity to report me to the higher-ups?"

(End of this chapter)