16: Carlos's arrival

Wei He stood frozen in place, watching Rune follow Linlin with an extreme display of sycophancy. For a moment, he didn't know what to do with himself. Suddenly, he saw over a dozen Riquan City defenders rushing through the city gate in a panic, carrying a wounded soldier.

Wei He, learning from Rune's recent lesson, said to the system, "Have the guards from the General's Mansion come to see me immediately!"

Soon, a squad of Conscripts ran up to Wei He. After a brief exchange, they marched toward the fleeing soldiers.

"What are you doing? How did you end up like this?" a Conscript asked solemnly under Wei He's instruction.

"We were sent to pursue General Charlie's soldiers, but we encountered a powerful enemy in Wick Village. The Conscript lords and the iron lumps were all killed!" the lead soldier said, his face full of terror as he clutched his urine-soaked pants.

Hearing this, Wei He immediately used the red alert spy satellite to check the situation in Wick Village. He saw the corpses of Conscripts scattered across the ground, each with its head shattered in a terrifying manner. Even the turrets of the grizzly tanks had been ripped off, and the tank hulls were flipped over on the ground.

It was hard to imagine what kind of terrifying power could cause such destruction; it completely overturned Wei He's understanding. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead, and as a gust of wind blew past, he couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.

"Take these men back!"

Leaving those words behind, Wei He headed toward the General's Mansion.

At that moment, Wei He suddenly felt like he was about to have his base sniped by a nuclear missile in the game. This feeling made him restless. Recalling a safety maneuver from the game, he immediately said to the system, "Load the Soviet and Allied MCVs into the armored personnel carriers!"

"These MCVs were originally meant for expansion to the north, but now I feel it's better not to go there yet. Let's find a safe place first!" Wei He said, half-asking the system and half-muttering to himself.

"To the east of here, at the mouth of the Riquan River, there is the Danga Archipelago. It's quite secluded and would be a good place to hide!" the system's voice echoed in Wei He's mind.

"Fine, let's do that!" After replying to the system, Wei He walked into his bedroom with a light, unsteady step, his forehead drenched in cold sweat.

At that very moment, a man with white hair and a white beard, sharp eyes, wearing a magic cloak, and holding a magic staff embedded with a blue magic gemstone, arrived above Riquan City.

"Shameless bandits, hand over my son immediately, and I shall spare your lives!" Carlos's voice boomed from the sky toward the entire Riquan City.

Pedestrians on the street stopped in their tracks, pointing at the old man. Someone in the crowd shouted, "That's a High-level Magician!"

"I heard High-level Magicians can fly through the air; it's actually true!"

"It's over. We've only had a few good days, and now we're going back to our old lives!"

"Oh no, Lord Wei He is in danger!"

...

The crowd immediately fell into a panic. Surrounded by Rune and the others, Linlin stared blankly at the sky. Only she knew what kind of existence a High-level Magician was. Realizing the danger, she immediately led Rune and the others toward the city outskirts.

The breeze brushed through Carlos's white hair. His shrewd eyes looked down on the citizens in the city with contempt, as if they were all ants that could be crushed at any moment.

"Who are you? Come down and speak!" an American Soldier shouted expressionlessly at Carlos.

"Have your bandit leader come out to see me, or else I will kill you all!" Carlos said casually, his face full of disdain.

As soon as he finished speaking, Wei He climbed the stairs to the highest wall of Riquan City, panting for breath. Looking at the white-haired old man with eyes full of brilliance, he didn't know what to say for a moment. It was his first time seeing someone other than a Rocket Trooper floating in the air.

"You must be Wei He, the bandit leader of Sentry Mountain. I know everything about your deeds. As long as you hand over Charlie and withdraw from the Magic Empire, I can still spare your life!" Carlos said in a tone that brooked no refusal.

"Charlie is not in Riquan City. You should look elsewhere!" Wei He truly did not know where Charlie was.

"Have you already killed him?" Carlos's patience was wearing thin, and his wrinkled face began to twitch.

"I intended to, but unfortunately, he escaped," Wei He said nonchalantly, still unaware of how powerful a High-level Magician was.

"You group of filthy ruffians, bandit thugs, traitors, and turncoats—die!" Carlos was now utterly enraged. "Give me back my son's life!"

Carlos raised his magic staff, and a beam of light shot out toward Wei He. Wei He's face turned pale, and he stood frozen in place. Fortunately, the American Soldier beside him was quick-witted; he tackled Wei He to the ground and then dragged him toward the stairs.

Beams of light chased after Wei He. The surrounding American Soldiers rushed forward one after another, using their bodies to block the lethal attacks for him. The beams pierced through the soldiers' bodies, blowing fist-sized bloody holes in their chests. Through the holes, one could see the soldiers behind them suffering the same tragic fate. Despite their desperate struggles, they could not escape the ebbing of their lives and eventually collapsed to the ground.

"System, have the Rocket Troopers, anti-air tracked vehicles, and multifunctional infantry vehicles come quickly to eliminate this white-haired old man!" Wei He issued combat orders to the system while dodging in panic.

"Understood. Deploying anti-air units for support immediately!" the system's voice sounded in Wei He's mind.

Upon receiving the reply, Wei He, under the protection of the American Soldiers, climbed into a grizzly tank, which then sped toward the city outskirts.

The remaining American Soldiers desperately unleashed their firepower toward the sky, but unfortunately, their range was too short to reach Carlos at all.

"Deer of the Vast Heavens, Lion of the Floating Clouds, hear my command and strike! —— Heavenly Thunder!" A massive blue Magic Array appeared in front of Carlos. A bolt of lightning shot out from the array and struck the city wall beneath him. A massive boom echoed as the wall collapsed. Stones flew everywhere, and the civilians and soldiers below were buried under the rubble before they could escape.

"Come out, little thief Wei He! Come out and meet your death!" Carlos's eyes were filled with electric light, looking terrifyingly powerful. Seeing no sign of Wei He below, he assumed Wei He was already dead and couldn't help but laugh out loud. "This is the consequence of opposing the Magic Empire! You murdered a high official of the state, General Charlie, and seized the Empire's cities. Your crimes are unforgivable!"

"And you lowly commoners, to actually protect a bandit leader, betray your country, and bow down to a group of bandits—you shall all die!" Carlos roared viciously, pointing his finger at the panicked citizens fleeing below.

Just as Carlos was delivering his impassioned and ceaseless tirade, a group of high-speed flying figures appeared in the distant sky. People couldn't help but marvel that the small Riquan City actually had people who could fly.

"Who are you people, and what are you doing in the Magic Empire?" Carlos watched as the figures approached. They wore heavy flight helmets with goggles and tight-fitting flight suits. They held 20mm semi-automatic carbines in their hands and carried massive jetpacks on their backs. The jetpacks were cylindrical, emitting flames that generated powerful thrust and making a buzzing sound as they flew.

"For Commander Wei He!" In the blink of an eye, the Rocket Troopers reached Carlos and surrounded him. The dark muzzles of their 20mm semi-automatic carbines pointed at him. In the next second, countless tongues of fire erupted from the muzzles, and bullets rained down on Carlos like a storm.

The bullets stopped abruptly three meters in front of Carlos, blocked by a Magic Shield, failing to harm him in the slightest.

Carlos's white eyebrows twitched, and the corners of his mouth curled up. He gripped his magic staff so hard it crackled; he was beyond furious. "Thunder of Extinction!"

Countless Magic Arrays suddenly appeared in the sky above Riquan City, covering it entirely. From these arrays, innumerable bolts of lightning shot forth like a world-ending force, indiscriminately attacking every living being they covered.

The fragile flight gear of the Rocket Troopers was quickly struck by lightning, and they fell to the ground one after another. Within moments, only Carlos remained in the sky.

But the attack did not stop. Lightning struck every inch of Riquan City. Buildings, structures, and city walls began to collapse and catch fire in swathes. The common people were either buried in the ruins of buildings or charred by the lightning. Even those who escaped the lightning and collapsing buildings were swallowed by the city's great fires, falling in the flames and dying from the smoke and heat.

The remaining rhino tanks and grizzly tanks in the city did not escape either. Lacking anti-air capabilities, they could only take the hits passively and were struck into scrap metal by the lightning.