Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 130 Narrow Road
The Torch Relay Base, Command Center.

Zhuang Fan said to the assembled armored soldiers, "This battle is about brains, not brute force. Don't think about how many people you kill. After you've provoked them, hurry up and run."

He turned to Hua Xin: "Take eight catmen to meet up with Jetta, and bring six power armors with you."

Hua Xin was taken aback.

“Since we’re going to pretend, let’s make it convincing. The Apocalypse Cult is mainly composed of mutants, so it’s even more normal for Catwoman to be mixed in. Those idiots in the Blue Blade Gang will easily fall for it.”

Hua Xin immediately understood and nodded in acceptance.

Next, Zhuang Fan began to assign combat missions against the Apocalypse Cult's strongholds:
"Cole, you take ten veterans and are responsible for breaking through their lines. But at the same time, you'll also be responsible for covering the rear and ensuring the main force's final withdrawal."

Cole responded calmly, without saying anything more.

Zhuang Fan paused, then said solemnly, "The number of people who go to war must be the same number who return; not a single one can be missing."

"Boss, don't worry."

Then, Zhuang Fan looked at Hua Sheng: "You lead the remaining armored recruits to build a defensive line and be responsible for long-range fire support. You don't need to charge too aggressively."

He emphasized, "Most importantly, once you hear the retreat signal, you must be the first to retreat; you must not linger in battle!"

Watson pounded his breastplate solemnly: "Boss! I guarantee the mission will be accomplished!"

Zhuang Fan gave Xiong Er instructions through the communicator: "Xiong Er, your mission is to snipe the commanders and snipers of the Apocalypse Cult and create as much chaos as possible."

"Gage!"

"exist!"

"You set off now, take the equipment and set up the evacuation site, and make sure that both teams can communicate in real time and are not interfered with by the fog."

Gage continued, "Boss, is there any more?"

"After you finish making the arrangements, go back to the base to keep watch. Pipi will also stay at the base and be ready to receive the wounded."

"And what about me?" Xiong Da asked in a muffled voice.

"Big Bear, you just need to keep an eye on the warehouse."

"Okay!" Xiong Da grabbed the half-eaten bone and left.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Zhuang Fan smiled and said, "I'm in charge of controlling the whole situation and moving between the two battlefields."

He glanced at the time: "Alright, everyone hurry up and rest. After this match, everyone's prize money will be doubled!"

"Yes!"

Everyone was in high spirits and went their separate ways to prepare.

Pipi stood at the door of the medical room, watching the disciplined team leave, a sense of emotion welling up inside him.

The cohesion displayed by this team is unlike that of typical scavenging groups in the wasteland; rather, it is that of a well-trained elite force.

At three in the morning, the night was as dark as ink.

The abandoned church stands alone in the ruins and is now the headquarters of the Blue Blade Gang.

Outside the church, they built a dense temporary defensive line using barbed wire, chevaux-de-frise, and sandbags, with tents and campfires dotting the grounds.

Snipers atop several makeshift watchtowers were idly scanning the night.

Deep inside the church, Blue's snoring echoed through the ceiling.

But in the church foyer, the second, third, and fourth sons were wide awake.

Several empty bottles were on the table in front of them, and the air was thick with the smell of alcohol and gunpowder.

The death of their fifth brother was like a thorn stuck in their hearts.

"Fifth Brother's revenge must not go unavenged!"

The second brother downed the liquor in his glass in one gulp, then slammed it to the ground: "We have to find out which faction did this! If we don't kill them to establish our authority, how can the Blue Blade Gang ever show its face in the south of the city again?"

"That group has a catwoman."

The third brother, always the most cautious, frowned and said, "Any power that can afford to keep a catwoman is no pushover. We need to investigate this carefully."

"Investigate my ass!"

The fourth brother had the most violent temper. He pulled out his machete with a "whoosh" and cleaved the empty wine bottle next to him in two.

"Don't fucking let me catch them, or I'll skin them alive one by one!"

He just finished speaking.

"puff!"

"puff!"

A few soft, muffled sounds came from the night wind.

On the watchtowers surrounding the church, snipers who were yawning were simultaneously struck in the head by bullets and fell to the ground without uttering a sound.

Other snipers, just as they were about to react, experienced a sudden stiffness and became unable to move.

In the blink of an eye, most of the snipers were taken out.

Immediately afterwards, hundreds and thousands of lights lit up in the darkness outside the church.

"Whoosh—whoosh whoosh—!"

Countless Molotov cocktails streaked across the night sky, crossed the makeshift defenses, and crashed into the Blue Blade Gang's camp.

"Clap!"

Glass shattered, gasoline splattered everywhere.

"boom--!"

Flames shot up more than three meters high in an instant, and the flammable tents and wooden houses were immediately set ablaze.

The fire spread extremely quickly, and in the blink of an eye, most of the camp was engulfed in flames!
"Holy crap! What's going on?!"

"Fire!"

"It's an enemy attack! An enemy attack!"

The sentry quickly rang the alarm bell and simultaneously picked up his night vision goggles to look outside the camp.

A large group of figures emerged from the edge of the woods.

Those people were all dressed in tattered white robes, holding weapons aloft, and uttering incomprehensible howls, as if they were praying for something.

"It's the Apocalypse Cult!"

The sentry yelled hoarsely, "Those lunatics from the Apocalypse Cult are attacking!"

"Get up! All of you, get the hell up!"

The second brother kicked open the doors one by one, and the bandits in the camp were jolted awake. Many of them rushed out without even putting on clothes, grabbed their weapons, and frantically searched for cover, firing wildly into the woods.

"Big brother! Big brother! Wake up!"

The second brother rushed back to the innermost room of the church and frantically shook Blue, who was sleeping like a log.

But Brother Lan was too drunk; he only mumbled a few words, then turned over and continued snoring.

"Damn it! It let us down at the crucial moment!"

The second brother cursed angrily, then, ignoring him, grabbed his rifle and rushed out to check the situation.

The third brother was more cautious and climbed to the top of a relatively safe bell tower from the side of the church.

"Damn it, all our snipers have been taken out!"

He quickly raised his night vision goggles and looked in the direction where the fire and gunfire were most intense.

In the woods, there were many shadowy white figures. He adjusted the focus to carefully distinguish them.

These "Apocalyptic cultists" did not charge forward as they had in the past, as if they were on drugs.

They fought cunningly, using the forest for cover, hiding behind trees and under slopes to snipe, and then throwing Molotov cocktails at the camp wave after wave.

"They are black rat people and brown rat people..."

The third brother gritted his teeth, "It must have been that bastard Rat Butler who led the team!"

"boom!"

A bullet struck the concrete, sending sparks flying.

The third brother shrank his neck and continued to move the camera, scanning the enemy lines.

Suddenly, he froze.

On the flank of the enemy lines, he clearly saw seven or eight exceptionally agile figures taking advantage of the gaps in fire to quickly infiltrate the weak points of the camp.

Those iconic ears and tail...

"Catwoman! There are seven or eight Catwomen!"

The third brother's blood rushed to his head instantly.

He finally confirmed it, immediately grabbed the communicator, and roared into it: "It really is them! The bastards who attacked Fifth Brother are from the Apocalypse Cult! These damned dogs are relentless, they've chased us from the north of the city to the south!"

On the other side of the church, the fourth brother had already donned his power armor. He grabbed a rotary machine gun and roared from beneath his alloy mask.

"I told you long ago! We should have fought them to the death in the north of the city! You insisted on running away! So what if you ran to the south of the city? Those beasts still chased after us!"

The fourth brother picked up a heavy machine gun and roared into the communicator, "Tonight, we'll settle all our old and new scores! For the revenge of our fifth brother!"

"boom!"

Fourth Brother kicked open the church door and strode out.

"All you armored soldiers, get out here! Charge with me!"

With his roar, more than forty armored soldiers poured out from behind the bunkers on both sides of the church, ready to fight the enemy head-on.

Those bandits who were suppressed by sniper fire and flames, unable to lift their heads, felt reassured upon seeing this scene.

Armored soldiers stood at the forefront, blocking the flying bullets and explosions.

“Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding!”

The bullets struck the armor densely but could not penetrate it.

"Brothers! Charge!"

"Kill the bastards of the Apocalypse Cult!"

The bandits followed behind the power armor, howling as they launched a counterattack.

But they were not facing a mob that only knew how to throw Molotov cocktails.

At the very front of the "Cult of Apocalypse" lines, more than a dozen power armored vehicles were engaged in fierce combat, providing cover for the Skaven forces behind them.

They weren't really going to fight head-on; their goal was to lure the enemy's main force into a pre-set ambush zone.

Hua Xin lay hidden in the canopy of the tallest tree, holding his breath.

Her figure blended into the darkness, and she tightly gripped the four "Armor Busters" provided by Mao Shanwang.

She waited calmly, watching as the fourth brother and his group recklessly rushed into the optimal throwing distance.

It's now.

With a sudden burst of strength, she hurled the armor-piercing weapon at the enemy's densest charging formation.

"Armor buster! Get down!"

The fourth man's helmet panel flashed a high-risk alarm, accompanied by a sharp warning sound.

"Om-!"

An invisible high-frequency oscillation wave spreads outwards from the device in an instant.

The eight powered armored vehicles following behind the fourth brother, along with their drivers, had their internal organs and bones shattered the moment they came into contact with the shockwave.

"Bang!"

Eight steel coffins crashed to the ground.

The fourth brother's military-grade armor, with its added nano-lining, only caused him a bout of nausea, but he was otherwise unharmed.

But in the blink of an eye, a group of his elite men died, turning his eyes bloodshot.

"Ahhh!"

He disregarded formations, and alone in his mech, carrying a rotating machine gun, he charged straight into the depths of the forest.

The armored soldiers behind them hesitated, fearing that the other side might have sonic weapons, and dared not charge too far forward.

"Don't fucking stand there!"

The second brother pointed to the eight overturned armored vehicles: "Clean up the interior! Change the crew and keep using them!"

On the watchtower, the third brother calmly observed the battle situation through night vision goggles.

Their weapons are weak!

The third brother immediately realized, "The armor-destroying weapon was their only trump card, and now it's gone!"

He immediately ordered a general offensive: "Everyone out of the camp! We must wipe out these mad dogs! We must severely damage the enemy's morale!"

"Row!"

Under the command of the second-in-command, the bandits behind him mustered their courage and followed the armored soldiers.

The fourth brother was rampaging through the forest. He could already see the white-robed figures retreating rapidly through the trees, clearly preparing to escape.

"You think you can just run away after setting a fire? No way!"

Just as he was about to fire, a dark shadow silently descended from above him.

"You're like a hothead."

"who!"

Before the fourth brother could turn around, Zhuang Fan had already sent a concentrated cloud of black mist into his helmet with lightning speed.

The fourth brother's movements suddenly froze.

He stood frozen in place, the rotary machine gun in his hand falling to the ground with a clang.

"Uh... ah..."

He trembled violently and began a horrific mutation.

"Fourth!"

The second brother arrived just in time with his pursuers and saw the fourth brother kneeling on the ground, struggling frantically with his hands gripping his neck.

"What's wrong with you!" The second son rushed forward in alarm.

However, he had just gotten close.

"puff!"

A dull thud came from inside the helmet, and all his convulsions stopped abruptly.

Fresh blood mixed with white fluid slowly seeped out from the gaps in the helmet and the junction with the neck.

He's dead. The second brother staggered back into the middle of the unit, grabbed the communicator, and growled, "Fourth brother...fourth brother's fucking dead!"

"What did you say!"

"His head exploded, he's gone!"

"His is a military-grade armored vehicle, impossible!"

"It's the eerie mist! It was done by the demon generals of the Apocalypse Cult! They've deployed their apostles!"

"Demon General, Apostle..."

The last vestige of caution in the third brother's eyes was replaced by rage.

"Well... well, what a fine Apocalypse Cult!"

He roared at all channels: "This is a fight to the death! Everyone, listen to my command!"

"Get the flamethrowers, incendiary bombs, and high-explosive grenades ready! All heavy firepower prepared!"

"If you see that demon general, or any suspicious apostle, don't ask for permission, just throw them to death!"
"Tonight, we must cripple and terrify these Apocalypse Cult scum! Otherwise, our Blue Blade Gang won't be able to maintain its foothold in the south of the city tomorrow!"

Meanwhile, a storm was also brewing in the canyon.

Cole's raiding squad hurled a large number of incendiary bombs into the outpost's warehouses and barracks.

"Boom—Boom!"

Flames rose up, setting tents and makeshift structures ablaze and illuminating the entire canyon as if it were daytime.

"Enemy attack!"

"on fire!"

From a high vantage point in the distance, Xiong Er calmly pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

A white-robed deacon who had just rushed out of the tent to organize a counterattack fell to the ground.

"boom!"

Another commander fell to the ground.

Xiong Er did not stop, and shot and killed several commanders and heavy gunners in succession, briefly paralyzing the command system of the Apocalypse Cult.

Above the canyon, more than forty powered armored vehicles were lined up, their rotating machine guns spitting fire, suppressing the cultists who rushed out of the canyon and pinning them back inside the camp.

"The enemy's identities are unknown; they are all armored soldiers!"

The bullets fired by the Apocalypse Cult snipers only left shallow craters in their armor.

Cole picked up the megaphone he had prepared and shouted out the prepared lines:

"You bunch of charlatans, how dare you come to the south of the city to steal food? This is our Blue Blade Gang's territory, it's not your place to run wild!"

The Patriarch of the Apocalypse Church frowned upon hearing this. The Blue Blade Gang? They dared to provoke us! They were utterly ignorant of their own limitations!

"Rumble..."

Deep within the stronghold, as several heavy gates rose, the Apocalypse Cult's armored squad assembled and charged out.

There are more than forty units.

Most of these mechs were rusty and of questionable quality and performance, but with more than forty of them gathered together, they were still quite troublesome.

"The fish is hooked."

Knowing the time was ripe to lure the enemy deep into their territory, Cole immediately informed Watson:

"Retreat along the designated route to the assembly point! Veterans will provide alternating cover, fighting as you retreat! Remember not to get lost!"

Upon receiving the order, Hua Sheng immediately led the more than thirty armored vehicles behind him to retreat in an orderly manner.

Cole and nine other veterans held the line at the very back.

When the Apocalypse Church members saw that the enemy was about to flee, they launched a fierce counterattack.

"Screw you! I'll kill you all!"

"God protect us!"

In an instant, the number of pursuers increased dramatically, and their firepower became dense and fierce.

Cole clearly felt the pressure.

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

His power armor withstood several concentrated attacks, and several yellow warnings flashed on the display screen.

Warning: Left arm drive shaft damaged!

Warning: Cooling system overload!

He could even hear the armor's key parts creaking under the strain of damage.

"Damn it, everyone come and cover me!"

Then, Cole seized a gap in the firepower and threw the last two "Armor Buster" into the enemy's camp.

"Om-!"

The high-frequency resonance raged again, and the ten power armored vehicles at the forefront crashed to the ground with a series of thuds.

This certainly intimidated the pursuers.

The armored soldiers of the Apocalypse Church were wary of them and dared not follow too closely.

"Cole calling Jetta, we've disengaged from the battle and are moving toward the rendezvous point."

"Jetta received!"

Jetta's steady voice came through the communicator, "We've all arrived! Holy crap, Gage's signal strobe is amazing!"

Soon, the two "fake" teams met at the designated rendezvous point.

They quickly dismantled the signal amplifiers and fog lights, then quietly slipped away from the battlefield along a pre-planned, concealed river channel.

"Boss, aren't you coming?" Cole stopped when he saw that Zhuang Fan hadn't followed.

"I'll stay."

Zhuang Fan's figure disappeared into the darkness. "Such a wonderful show has to be seen by someone until the end."

He glanced at Hua Xin beside him again; the little girl's cat ears twitched slightly, and her eyes were full of longing.

“…Then you should stay too.” Zhuang Fan had already seen through her thoughts.

Hua Xin nodded quickly.

The two figures flashed a few times and quickly climbed a giant tree far from the battlefield, using the thin mist to conceal themselves.

A few minutes later.

"Chase them! Don't let them get away!"

The second and third brothers were extremely angry and led a force of nearly three hundred men, charging wildly into the depths of the forest.

They had just rushed across an open area.

"Boom--!"

Facing us was another torrent of steel, consisting of more than forty white-painted powered armor units.

Caught off guard, the two sides collided, and the same question popped into their minds at the same time: Would the other side dare to launch a surprise attack?
The second brother's eyes widened in fury: "As expected, it's their main force! They're waiting for us to take the bait!"

On the other side, the Patriarch of the Apocalypse Church also frowned. Luring the enemy deep into their territory? It turns out that this was the main force of the Blue Blade Gang.

Both sides knew that tonight it was either you or me who would die.

"Fire!"

"Kill them!"

The armored soldiers on both sides were at the forefront, creating firing space for the infantry behind them.

“Da da da da—!”

A dense hail of bullets exploded between the two armies, with explosions everywhere and flames illuminating the entire forest.

"For Apocalypse!"

"For your mother's sake!"

The two sides fought fiercely while also exchanging insults.

On the Apocalypse Church's side, more than two hundred fanatical followers flanked them from the flank.

They were all clad in thick steel armor, holding shields in one hand and weapons in the other, charging wildly under the influence of drugs, trying to break through the Blue Blade Gang's defenses.

However, the Blue Blade Gang's firepower was far superior to that of the fanatics. Machine guns and grenade launchers formed a death barrier, preventing the enemy from getting close and causing them to fall in droves.

Just as the Blue Blade Gang was about to regain their footing.

"W-W-W-!"

Several muffled horn calls came from behind the Apocalypse Church.

Immediately afterwards, the earth trembled.

Six mutated rhinos, each the size of a truck and with iron horns on their heads, charged out of the forest!

Their skin is hardened like rock, and they have a thick layer of fat underneath for defense. They also have a ferocious giant horn on their forehead and nasal bone.

"Beware, it's an iron-horned rhinoceros!"

"Are you sure? It looks like a cow, is it a cow?"

"Shut up, you son of a bitch!"

The Apocalyptic cultist riding on the rhinoceros's back let out a strange cry, pulled out a sprayer, and sprayed white medicine into the rhinoceros's nostrils.

"Holy crap, they're even spraying pesticides on the cattle they're raising!"

"Roar!"

The Ironhorn Rhinoceros grew increasingly frenzied, ignoring the hail of bullets ahead, and charged toward the enemy lines at terrifying speed.

"Fire! Stop them!"

The armored soldiers in the front ranks of the Blue Blade Gang immediately turned their machine gun fire on the behemoths.

"Dang! Dang, Dang, Dang!"

The bullets sparked when they hit their skin, but couldn't penetrate it at all.

"boom!"

Ironhorn Rhinoceros crashed into the Blue Blade Gang's camp. An armored soldier was unable to dodge in time and was hit head-on. His chest armor dented, and he was sent flying like a broken toy.

The camp was breached, leaving a large gap.

"Their abdomens are their weak points! Use rocket launchers!" the third brother commanded on the spot.

Several bandits carrying rocket launchers immediately aimed at the bellies of the giant beasts.

"Whoosh—Boom!"

A violent explosion was heard.

The abdomens of the two rhinoceroses were blown open, leaving a large, bloody hole from which their internal organs spilled out.

They cried out in pain, but with the help of the medicine and brute force, they continued their limping charge.

And it's not over yet.

Behind the Apocalypse Cult's position, the sound of chains being cut could be heard.

"Wow--"

One after another, the doors of huge iron cages were opened.

"Roar!"

Eight more ferocious beasts charged out.

It was a saber-toothed tiger.

They are brownish-yellow in color and equally enormous in size, standing three meters tall and five meters long, with two upper canine teeth resembling inverted short swords.

They were incredibly fast, and in just a few leaps they charged into the Blue Blade Gang's back line of defense.

"Tiger, I was wrong, please don't bite me!"

"Crack!"

Just as a bandit raised his gun, he was pounced on by a saber-toothed tiger, which bit him and his armor off in one bite.

High up in the tree, Hua Xin watched with trepidation, while Zhuang Fan's gaze was fixed on several cult members.

They pulled out small black tin cans from their waists, lit the fuses, and threw them into the densest part of the crowd.

"Bang! Bang!"

The tin can exploded, but instead of flames, it burst open, releasing a large number of spring-like metal wires.

"Holy crap! This is never going to end!"

"What the hell is this!"

"Damn it, it's stuck to my butt and I can't get it off!"

These "springs" seemed to be alive, instantly attaching themselves to the bandits' exposed skin.

Zhuang Fan recognized this thing.

The leech, a variant of the mountain leech, leaps onto its host like a spring to suck blood; often, seven or eight leeches can drain a living person dry.

He encountered this thing on the way when he escaped from the Nuka-Skirt refuge.

Once attached, it is extremely difficult to remove, and its blood-sucking speed is astonishing.

Under the cover of darkness, locusts crawled into the bandits' clothes.

By the firelight, his companion watched helplessly as the person beside him slumped down, his body visibly shrunken away.

"Retreat! Throw incendiary bombs! Create distance!" The third brother's eyes widened in horror as he realized the terrifying nature of these things.

Instantly, flames formed a wall of fire in front of the formation.

Ignoring everything else, the fanatics howled and charged through the sea of ​​fire.

"Shoot-"

Their white robes were set ablaze, their skin charred, yet they felt no pain, howling and brandishing their weapons, trying to drag the Blue Blade Gang members to hell.

The battle between the two sides was extremely fierce, a situation of no return.

The Blue Blade Gang members were ultimately bandits, not death squads; they finally became afraid.

(End of this chapter)