novelraw Chapter 363: Unexpected Gain
Chapter 363: Unexpected Gain
"Check your weapons, prepare for battle!" Kalin bellowed, casting a disdainful glance at Alexander and said, "What are you dazed about? You’ve been through several bug surges, haven’t you? Or have you just been standing back and watching the show!" While speaking, he fiddled with the firearm in his hands.
Alexander, not in the mood for a verbal spar, mimicked the other’s actions, gently pulling on the gunstock, revealing a metallic plate.
Inside the gunstock, carved from hollowed white stone, lay embedded black beetle corpses, clearly serving a purpose similar to bullets or batteries. After a glance, Alexander closed the gunstock, raised the gun, and aimed at the black swarm of bugs outside the city.
The swarm drew closer, and behind him, from the towers in each base, black light gathered in the white barrels of the cannons. Alexander finally understood what it was that held back these swarms.
Boom! Behind him, thousands of cannons roared in unison, black light hurtling towards the dark swarm beyond the city walls, followed by a series of more intense explosions. Black radiance burst among the dark swarm in the sky, and in an instant, countless black bugs fell like raindrops.
The might of a single shot was nearly as powerful as a full blow from a ghost king or even an Imperial, covering a radius of only about ten or so meters. But the number of cannons in the base was vast!
In the small base, hundreds of slender steel towers each bore dozens of cannon mouths. They were unsightly, but their power was terrifying. A single volley cleared swathes through the dense black swarm, tearing holes in it as if it were a black cloth.
And this first round was clearly just an adjustment, a calibration of sorts. Following that, the cannons behind him roared like a Gatling gun.
Black orbs of light formed a continuous chain, bombarding the distant swarm of bugs. The incessant, thunderous explosions rang in the ears, causing a dizzying sensation.
For a moment, the vast swarm of bugs was halted in the distance. Exhilarating! This kind of suppression, akin to a metal storm or an iron cannon formation, albeit resembling black technology, brought an immensely satisfying feeling to Alexander.
Looking around at his companions, Sofia and others seemed already accustomed to this scene, still holding their guns vigilantly, watching the distant swarm without any sign of relaxation.
This made Alexander realize that things were not as simple as they seemed.
Sure enough! The firepower of the turrets was terrifying, but it couldn’t cover the entire swarm. Even with the continuous barrage, there were gaps and areas beyond the reach of the firepower.
Under these terrifying intervals of firepower coverage, some black beetles still managed to dash out of the range and lunged towards the city walls.
Ratatat...
A series of machine gun sounds erupted. From the shooting holes outside the city walls, countless black bullets, like steel needles, soared into the sky, forming a second line of fire that swept numerous black beetles to the ground.
These black steel needles, also formed of Ghost Energy and imbued with potent forbidden forces, easily penetrated the black beetles. Even a mere graze would infuse the forbidden force into the beetles, creating white patches on their bodies, causing them to stagger in their flight as if intoxicated.
The number of beetles was terrifying, and their thumb-sized bodies made it difficult for the firepower to achieve complete coverage, let alone hit all the beetles. Therefore, even with these two layers of fire nets targeting the beetle swarm, many beetles still managed to breach the defenses and landed on the steel wire net.
The gaps in this steel wire net were not small; some were even big enough to fit a football. However, the enveloping white mist compensated for these gaps.
Unlike the forbidden white mist of the real world, this mist emanating from the white stones was clearly more targeted, almost tangible.
As soon as any beetles landed on the steel wire net, it was as if they had hit an unbreakable wall. The beetles that landed on the white net immediately opened their sharp serrated jaws, frantically gnawing away.
As they gnawed, white spots appeared on the beetles’ bodies, and within a few bites, they fell like they had ingested poison, their bodies covered in white blotches dropping to the ground.
The first wave of dozens of beetles that had luckily passed through the fire net soon fell one after another. However, ten times more beetles continued to charge towards the white net.
Alexander could see with his naked eye that the areas gnawed by the beetles on the white mist were visibly thinner, although they still resembled white gel and were continually replenished by the mist emanating from the stones. However, if the gnawing continued, it wouldn’t be long before the net lost its power to block the beetles.
"Attack! Be careful not to hit the steel net, and those who can’t shoot or are too scared, stay out of the way! Don’t make things worse!" Kalin glanced and saw Alexander was just staring blankly, his eyes filled with even more disdain as he shouted his orders.
As Kalin’s words ended, everyone opened fire simultaneously. Black needle-like bullets shot out from the silver barrels in their hands. Alexander raised his gun, aimed at a beetle on the white net, and pulled the trigger.
Bang! The bullet instantly penetrated a beetle’s body, pulling it away from the steel net. Not only that, but another beetle about to pounce was also pierced by the bullet and fell to the ground.
"Great shooting, master!" Sofia, seeing this, couldn’t help but praise loudly.
"Well done, captain!" Xiao and a few soldiers brought by Alexander from the platform below also looked at him with respect.
"Didn’t expect you to be quite skilled!" Even Kalin had to reluctantly praise before shifting his attention away from Alexander and continuing to shoot.
The beetles were thumb-sized, making them incredibly difficult to hit. Among the soldiers present, only Kalin and two other veterans could consistently hit a beetle with each shot.
Others, like Sofia, clearly talented in shooting, could only ensure a hit every two or three shots. Xiao, beside Alexander, not only missed four or five shots at a beetle but even accidentally broke a steel wire.
Fortunately, these wires served only to connect and provide anchor points for the mist, so even if a few broke or a small section was missing, the impact wasn’t significant. This also enabled everyone on the city walls to shoot at the beetles outside the net. If the wires were as delicate as electrical lines, breaking just one would render the whole system useless.
Amidst the deafening roar and the endless terrifying swarm of bugs, even Kalin and the veterans were not without mistakes. To hit a target with a single shot, let alone take down two beetles, was incredibly challenging. It’s no wonder that even Kalin, who disliked Alexander, reluctantly praised him.
If not for the increasing number of incoming beetles, the others would have probably surrounded Alexander, treating him like a sharpshooting hero, seeking his advice and adoration.
Faced with everyone’s admiring glances, Alexander awkwardly stopped shooting until their attention shifted away. Then he refocused on his target, the beetle gnawing on the white net.
Indeed! The beetle Alexander had just shot wasn’t the one he had aimed at but one a meter away. Managing to hit it and take down two beetles was as surprising to him as it was to everyone else.