399: Chapter 399 Drill Strike: Chen Tiezhu's Domineering Victory Over the Enemy

The morning light pierced through the lingering mist. On the battlefield, where the scent of blood had not yet dissipated, the wind howled past, carrying the smell of scorched earth and rust.

Three hundred paces away, the group of routed soldiers remained huddled on the heights of the slope. Like a pack of wild dogs driven to a cliff's edge by wolves, they crowded together, none daring to move and none daring to flee.

They watched helplessly as Chen Xiaodao's sword cut through the starry river, pinning their companions into a forest of corpses. Even their breathing trembled with fear.

Right at this moment of deathly silence—

“Rumble!!”

The earth shook violently as a dark shadow surged out from the direction of the Head of the Chen Family's main camp!

Caterpillar tracks crushed scattered rocks, and its feet struck the ground like thunder. With every step, spiderweb-like cracks split the earth, and waves of dust billowed, soaring straight into the sky.

It was a heavy mecha, pitch-black all over, with a massive drill-arm mounted on its shoulder. The words "earth dragon" were crudely engraved on its armor, and psionic conduits glowed crimson at its joints.

Inside the cockpit, Chen Tiezhu grinned broadly and tapped the control stick twice. "I've waited for this job for too long! I was so pent up that even the marrow of my bones was itching!"

He kicked open the communication panel, his roar exploding across the battlefield through the loudspeakers: "Chen Xiaodao clears the front, and I'll smash the back! Whoever the fuck dares to stay standing, I'll make sure they end up lying down!"

Before his voice had even faded, the mecha had already charged a hundred meters away.

The first line of defense was a stone barricade hastily piled up by the rebels. It was thirty feet high and two feet thick, constructed from a mixture of Spirit Stones and Profound Iron Sand. They thought it could hold for a while, but against this behemoth, it was practically a wall of paper.

“Drill—Activate!”

“Vroom—!!!”

A roar so sharp it could tear eardrums exploded. The massive drill at the end of the mecha's right arm instantly began to spin at high speed. Under the infusion of psionic energy, layers of crimson runes surfaced on its exterior, like a red-hot branding iron carving fire trails through the air.

“Open up—for me!!!”

“Boom!!!”

The drill slammed hard into the stone barricade!

There was no shattering, no collapse; instead, it bored directly into the stone!

The entire section of the stone wall was like withered wood devoured by a giant python—instantly twisted, crushed, and turned into a spray of powder that scattered everywhere.

Three rebels who didn't have time to dodge were caught in the drill storm. Before they could even scream, they were flung thirty meters away, slamming into the mud with only half their bodies exposed. They twitched twice and then stopped moving.

“Hahaha! With just this little bit of skill, you dare to rebel!” Chen Tiezhu laughed wildly, his voice making the entire cockpit hum. “Didn't your parents teach you? Mess with anyone but an Artifact Refining master! What I build isn't a weapon; it's a Summons from the King of Hell!”

The second line of defense unfolded a hundred paces back.

Over a dozen makeshift spiritual power chariots were lined up in formation. Their bodies were modified from abandoned mining carts, with low-grade Spirit-Gathering Cannons mounted on top. Talisman ropes were wrapped around the wheels, barely sustaining a layer of pale yellow spiritual shields.

The Cultivators on the vehicles turned pale, their hands shaking so much they could barely hold the control sticks.

“Quick! Charge! Block it!” a leading Nascent Soul Cultivator shrieked. “That's the ‘earth dragon’! Don't let it get close!”

“Too late.” Chen Tiezhu smiled with narrowed eyes and suddenly pulled up the propulsion lever.

“Whoosh—!”

Two thrusters on the back of the mecha suddenly spat out red flames. The entire machine soared into the air, flipped, adjusted its posture, and pointed its drill downward like a giant cone falling from the sky!

“Today, I'm going to—dig a well for you all!”

“Boom!!!”

The drill slammed down vertically, precisely piercing the energy core of one of the chariots!

“Bang—!!!”

The core exploded, flames soaring into the sky. Immediately after, a chain reaction broke out as the other chariots blew up one after another. Fireballs rolled, and debris flew everywhere.

A Cultivator had just crawled out of a vehicle when a flying metal fragment sliced off half his head. His corpse tumbled into the fire and was instantly charred to coal.

“Shield formation! Form the shield formation!” someone screamed.

But where was the shield formation?

The shockwave from the explosion had overturned three vehicles, and the remaining few were shaken out of position, their spiritual shields flickering unsteadily.

Even more terrifyingly, that wild laughter was still exploding in their ears:

“With just this little bit of skill, you dare to rebel!”

The voice spread out wrapped in spiritual energy, shaking their minds. Several with weaker cultivation fell directly to their knees, clutching their heads and screaming, “Stop shouting! My ears are going to explode!”

“Shut up! All of you shut up!” a Golden Core stage expert roared. “Concentrate your spiritual energy! Prepare for a long-range bombardment!”

But before he could finish, the earth dragon charged again!

The drill's momentum had not faded; it was still spinning at high speed. Chen Tiezhu controlled the mecha to sweep across, the drill pushing horizontally against the ground, plowing through the remaining chariots like a field.

“Crack! Boom!!!”

One chariot was sliced clean in half at the waist. The driver, along with his seat, was sucked into the drill and instantly ground into a blood mist.

Another tried to reverse and escape, but how could its speed compare to the mecha's?

The drill grazed the vehicle's body, and the entire machine disintegrated on the spot, parts scattering and psionic conduits crackling and exploding.

“Run—!” finally, someone shouted in a breakdown.

But could they escape?

The third line of defense was a "human wall" composed of the last hundred or so remaining soldiers.

Holding spears and shields, they stood in a dense formation on a gentle slope, attempting to block this steel monster with their flesh and blood.

Some had teeth chattering, some had wet their pants, but no one dared to retreat—behind them was a cliff, and a single step back was a bottomless abyss.

“Hold on! Hold on!!” an old general roared. “Just hold out until the signal, and reinforcements will arrive! We still have a chance!”

“A chance?” Chen Tiezhu sneered, staring at the human wall through the cockpit glass. “You won't even have the chance to make me slow down.”

He pushed the control sticks forward with both hands. The engine roared, the tracks spun frantically, and the earth dragon charged forward at full speed like a meteorite!

“I'm not slowing down! I'm only going to—break through!!!”

“Rumble, rumble, rumble—!!!”

The drill was the first to hit the human wall!

Without the slightest pause, like a hot knife through butter, it bored straight through the seven soldiers in the front row!

Their shields and bodies were instantly torn apart, severed limbs and broken arms flying into the air as blood sprayed into a red mist.

The shockwave rippled out from the drill, knocking the soldiers on both sides askew. Many bled from their seven orifices and fell unconscious on the spot.

“Aaaah—!” someone screamed, throwing down their weapon and turning to run.

But the group was too dense; even if they wanted to flee, they couldn't.

Those in the back were pushed by the routed soldiers in front, falling one after another, and a stampede immediately occurred.

Some had their ribs crushed, some had their heads stepped on until they burst, and wails rose and fell.

Chen Tiezhu didn't even bother to give chase.

He controlled the mecha to surge forward. Wherever the drill passed, men and horses were overturned, and the line of defense completely collapsed.

In just half a stick of incense's time, all three lines of defense had been turned to ruins, and the rebels' organizational capacity had vanished.

“Hahaha! Refreshing! Truly fucking refreshing!”

Chen Tiezhu slapped the console and laughed. “Thirty years! I finally don't have to squat in front of a furnace pulling all-nighters! This is the kind of work an Artifact Refining craftsman should be doing!”

He suddenly pulled open the communication channel and roared, “Take a good look! This is the consequence of offending the Chen family! Not convinced? Come on then! My drill is still hot!”

No one responded.

On the battlefield, only groans, weeping, and the sound of fleeing footsteps remained.

Those remnants who had originally gathered in the distance to watch were now scared out of their wits, their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering; no one dared to stay.

Some scrambled and crawled down the mountain, while others jumped off the cliff to survive, not even caring if they broke their legs, only wishing to get as far as possible from this god-of-death mecha.

Chen Tiezhu didn't chase them either.

He controlled the earth dragon, stepping onto the high ground in the center of the battlefield.

The tracks rolled over corpses, the drill still spinning at high speed, and the crimson runes reflected the morning light like the gates of Hell opening.

The mecha came to a steady stop.

He raised the drill component with one hand, lifting it high toward the sky.

The metal arm reflected a piercing cold light, like a scepter in the hands of a god of war.

The wind whipped the battle flags, making them snap loudly.

He sat in the cockpit, his chest heaving, his eyes burning with intensity. His mouth split into a grin, and he still couldn't stop laughing:

“With just this little bit of skill, you dare to rebel? Hahaha! I, Chen Tiezhu—today, I display the might of the Chen family!”