424: Chapter 424 Fierce Clash, Both Sides Suffer Casualties

The standoff did not last long. Chen Wuwang was the first to break the deadlock. A gap was torn through the gray mist, and Chen Wuwang's "eye of wuwang" crashed into the depths of the thick fog like a cannonball. With a sweep of its laser sword, three black-robed figures fell to the ground.

But just as he was about to close in on the Ghost-Faced Man, the sandy ground beneath his feet suddenly collapsed. Two rusty tripping chains erupted from underground, tightly binding the mech's left leg.

"Damn it!" Chen Wuwang yanked the control stick. The engine roared, and the metal footpads carved two deep trenches into the fine sand, forcibly halting his forward momentum.

"Family Head! There's movement in the rock crevice at three o'clock!" A roar came through the communication channel.

Before the words had even faded, three dark figures leaped out from a crack in the rock wall on the right, wielding runic long-axes, and struck directly at the cockpit of the "eye of wuwang".

The laser sword couldn't return in time to defend. The shoulder armor was gashed with three deep marks, sending sparks flying everywhere.

"Shield squad! Cover me!" Chen Wuwang growled, his right hand inputting commands rapidly. "Deploy all interference shells!"

"Understood!"

A heavy mech in the rear immediately raised its arm shield. A ripple of spiritual energy flashed, blocking the second wave of strikes. At the same time, two interference shells whistled out, exploding in the air into a silver smoke screen, instantly disrupting the enemy's vision.

"Break—!" Chen Wuwang gritted his teeth and forced the mech's right foot down. The hydraulic System emitted a piercing screech as he forcibly ripped the chains from the sandy ground. With a backhand swing, he smashed the chains against the rock wall, sending an ambusher who had just poked his head out flying backward.

"The left flank has collapsed! Number Three mech is overturned!"

"Medical team, retreat! They're throwing poison gas at the support vehicles!"

"Forget the vehicles! Save the people first!"

In the distance, flames soared into the sky. A medical mech marked with a red cross had been hit by a rocket launcher, and half of its body was blown apart. Three lightly injured clansmen who had just been dragged out were exposed in the open ground, scrambling and crawling toward the defensive line.

Two scouts rushed out under a rain of arrows. Each picked up an injured person on their back and ran back. However, the third one was struck in the back of the neck by a poison dart, collapsed to the ground, twitched twice, and went still.

"Old Five!" The warrior carrying someone turned back, his eyes bloodshot. "I'll kill your ancestors—!"

He set the person on his back down on the ground and drew the twin blades at his waist, ready to charge forward, but was held back tightly by another person. "Come back! If you die, who will take care of your mother!"

"I don't want to live anymore! I'm going to kill them all!"

"Shut up! Carry out the orders!"

As the two struggled, an armor-piercing shell streaked through the air and slammed into the high rock wall, sending shattered stones flying and forcing back several enemies preparing to throw poison gas canisters.

"The aerial squad has suppressed them! The western rock ridge is clear!"

"Well done! Switch to incendiary shells! Burn their hiding spots!"

Six artillery-type mechs quickly adjusted their angles, unfolded their back-mounted folding wings, and fired a volley of six incendiary missiles.

With several loud bangs, the continuous explosions ignited the dry moss in the rock crevices. Black smoke billowed, and screams rose one after another.

"Hold the line! Everyone hold the line!" Chen Wuwang roared, controlling the "eye of wuwang" to forcibly break free from the last chain. However, the left arm armor had cracked due to the previous impact, and the energy reading flickered, dropping from 81% to 78%.

He looked up; the Ghost-Faced Man had retreated to a higher rock terrace. With a wave of his scepter, another batch of black-robed figures poured out from an underground passage, splitting into three paths and rushing toward the flanks of the Chen family's defensive line.

"Ironhead! Has the reserve squad arrived yet?"

"Just arrived! We're reinforcing the gap in the left flank!"

"Tell them to push the heavy shields up! Don't let them split us up!"

Before the words had finished, the left defensive line shuddered violently. Three mechs were blown over, and two pilots were ejected from their cockpits, dying on the spot.

A young warrior, his face covered in blood, struggled to crawl toward a laser gun left behind by a comrade, only to have his shoulder blade pierced by a flying axe, pinning him to the sandy ground.

"Don't... don't worry about me..." He coughed up blood and shouted hoarsely, "Hold... the left flank..."

An old veteran nearby, eyes red, snatched up the gun. He kicked open the cockpit door of the wrecked mech, jumped in, and slammed the ignition button. "I'm going to bury you sewer rats today!"

"Stabilize the formation! Don't panic!" Chen Wuwang's gaze swept across the battlefield, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye quickly marking casualty points. "Remote squad, prioritize clearing climbing units! Melee squad, tighten the defensive perimeter! Medical drones, activate purification mode!"

"Purification System activated!" A technician shouted, "But the range is limited, it can only cover the central area!"

"That's enough! Drag the poisoned people in first!"

"Understood! Group Two, provide support!"

Two small drones rose into the air, spraying a pale blue mist. Wherever they passed, the poison gas gradually dissipated.

Several scouts who had been twitching on the ground began to breathe steadily as they were dragged back to the safe zone.

"Family Head! The pressure on the right flank is too great! They are using corrosive spears!"

"Switch to oscillation mode! Use high-frequency vibration to break their runes!"

"We've already tried! But the joints were still corroded through!"

Sure enough, a hole had been corroded by green light in the right leg joint of one mech. The pilot wailed in pain, and the System alarms blared incessantly.

"Abandon that one! Get the person out first!"

"The pilot is unconscious! We can't open the hatch!"

"Ram it open! Use the shields to ram it!"

Two heavy mechs immediately charged up side by side, slamming their shoulder shields into the cockpit. On the third attempt, they finally rammed the door open. Two warriors jumped in and dragged the person out. Just as they retreated, the entire mech was hit by three rockets, exploding into a fireball.

"Check who was responsible for maintaining that mech!"

"It was Technician Zhang! He said the routine inspection yesterday didn't find any problems!"

"Fire him! How can this be called 'no problems'?"

"Stop yelling! Now is not the time to settle scores!"

"I know! But I can't swallow this anger!"

"Family Head! There are still enemies on the high rock ridge! They are setting up new traps!"

"I see them! It's a chain-reaction explosive rune array! They're preparing to ignite the entire hillside!"

Chen Wuwang's pupils constricted. He immediately called up the terrain map and discovered that the enemy had planted rune arrays on three rock ridges. Once detonated, the falling rocks would smash directly through the main defensive line.

"Aerial squad! Focus your fire! Take out their casters!"

"We're already firing! But they're hiding behind barriers!"

"Use armor-piercing shells! Target the barrier nodes!"

Six artillery-type mechs quickly adjusted their angles, locked onto the three weak points of the barriers, and fired a volley of six armor-piercing shells.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The barriers shattered on impact, exposing the casters, who were obliterated by concentrated fire the next second.

"Got them! Traps neutralized!"

"Good! Hold steady! We're starting to push back!"

Just then, the rock wall on the right suddenly collapsed with a rumble, and a large amount of sand and stone poured down, directly burying an ambusher passage.

"Who did that?"

"It was us! Old Li and I rammed it down!" Two mech pilots backed out from the smoke and dust, their bodies covered in scratches. "They kept popping out from there, so we just sealed it!"

"Well done!"

"Hehe, we can't just keep taking hits, right!"

A wisp of smoke rose from the crack in the left arm of the "eye of wuwang". The System indicated minor damage that did not affect combat capability.

Chen Wuwang stared at the distant rock terrace. The Ghost-Faced Man was still there, with only seven or eight guards left by his side. The rest of the enemies had retreated to the high rock crevices, and their offensive had clearly weakened.

"What are the casualties?"

"Confirmed seven dead, twelve seriously injured, and three mechs completely totaled."

"What about the enemy?"

"At least thirty corpses, and over a dozen buried alive under the landslide. The exact number is unclear."

"It's not over yet." Chen Wuwang sneered, slowly raising his laser sword. "They are still moving."

Sure enough, dark figures flickered in the rock crevices again. Several incendiary bombs were thrown down, landing in front of the line, and the fire began to spread.

"Ignore the fire! Watch the people!"

"Understood! Everyone take note! The enemy is about to counterattack!"

The Ghost-Faced Man raised his scepter and let out a low roar. The remaining enemies regrouped; although their numbers were greatly reduced, their Aura was even more vicious.

"Come on." Chen Wuwang licked his cracked lips, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye flashing with a red light. "Let's see whose life is tougher."

In the valley, the smell of blood was so thick it couldn't be dispersed. The sandy ground had long been stained dark red, mixed with severed limbs and shattered armor.

As the wind blew, the gray mist churned like a giant burial shroud, enveloping this shura field.

The "eye of wuwang" stepped forward steadily, faint electric arcs leaking from the crack in its left arm. The energy reading remained at 78%.

The Ghost-Faced Man stood on the high rock, his scepter pointing at Chen Wuwang.

The two sides stood in a standoff, their killing intent as sharp as blades.