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Chapter 18: Your Offering Is Unnecessary
The bearded man at the front collapsed with a thud, a mixture of blood and milky brain matter splattering into the sky, as the bullet fired from the gun chamber blew off his skull.
Harvey, Naru, and the others were stunned. At this moment, the Marines on guard quickly turned their guns, unleashing a torrential rain of bullets.
Screams echoed as splashes of blood became particularly noticeable under the golden sunlight of Salton Star. The blood, like a fountain, sprayed across the sand, leaving behind patches of bright red stain.
In the blink of an eye, the bearded man, Naru, Harvey, and others all fell into pools of blood.
Byron had no time to think. He grabbed Eva who was the nearest to him and rolled to the side. A series of bullets whizzed past his scalp, kicking up flying sand on a nearby sand dune.
Beside him, Housen’s expression darkened. In the roll, he suddenly drew a knife from his military boot and threw it in one smooth motion.
One of the Marines closest to him was unprepared, and the knife struck deep into his exposed neck. Blood shot out, instantly soaking his combat suit as the Marine fell to the ground clutching his neck.
Seizing this opportunity, Housen grabbed an automatic rifle from the ground, pulled the trigger, and simultaneously kicked another rifle’s stock. The force sent the rifle flying, landing next to Byron, who quickly grabbed it and cursed, “Son of a bitch.” He quickly squeezed the trigger.
The bald man hadn’t expected such a rapid response. By the time he regained his senses, two Marines had already been shot and fallen to the ground. Byron was hiding behind a sand dune, while Housen had taken cover behind a rock, both using the terrain to their advantage as they counterattacked.
The situation quickly changed. The bald man gritted his teeth and signaled his teammates. With the cover of their comrades at the hatch, he retreated into the craft.
“Whoosh.”
The auxiliary thrusters on the tail of the Scorpion armed transport helicopter spewed blue flame as it slowly ascended into the air.
“These untrustworthy bastards,” Housen cursed under his breath, never expecting the imperial officials in military uniforms to break their promise.
“I should have known,” Byron muttered darkly, his eyes fixed on the slowly rising Scorpion armed transport helicopter. He felt frustrated. As a pirate leader, he should have been more shrewd, but the survival instinct brought on by the image of a woman had thrown him off balance, making him treat this mission as his last hope, losing his usual sharp insight.
Thinking it over, he realized that as condemned criminals awaiting execution, the military wouldn't be concerned with human rights. It was all a joke.
“Look.” Eva’s trembling voice came in the midst of his distraction.
Following her gaze, they saw that the Scorpion armed transport helicopter, now hovering in midair, wasn’t leaving them to die as expected. Instead, it remained stationary, with the side doors opening to reveal two dark, menacing Deathbringer II machine guns.
“Thud thud thud thud.”
The 23mm caliber bullets struck the sand, causing massive sprays of dust.
Eva’s face turned pale with fear as she scrambled into a hole in the desert. Housen pulled her back with force. In the fire range of these heavy weapons, even hiding in an armored vehicle wouldn’t save them from being turned into Swiss cheese.
“Run! Head for the cave!” Byron shouted, just like any living being fearing death. Once those large-caliber bullets hit, survival was impossible.
They sprinted toward the distant entrance of the cave hidden among the desert. However, no matter how fast they ran, they couldn’t outrun the rapid-fire of machine guns from the sky.
The machine guns unleashed fiery bursts, creating the deep, thunderous bangs that echoed through the sand behind them. As Eva ran, she glanced over her shoulder. When she saw the bottom hatch of the Scorpion armed transport helicopter open, slowly lowering a row of red-tipped missiles, she froze in place, completely stunned.
Byron looked back and his expression changed drastically. “Santa Claus” — the missile's name was oddly distinctive. However, these heat-seeking missiles, famous for their precision, weren’t gifts but death.
The distance from where they were to the cave entrance was at least 500 meters. Even with the speed of a lion or tiger, escaping was impossible. It was clear that the military was determined to wipe them all out.
“Fuck!” Housen yelled angrily, about to raise his gun and make a final stand, when suddenly three figures appeared behind a rock ahead.
“It’s you? You’re not dead?” Byron's eyes locked on Tang Fang, standing between Arroz and Zhou Ai. Housen and Eva were both stunned, unable to believe what they were seeing.
How was it possible? How come that man was still alive? How did he survive the attacks of the centipede-like creature? This... this was beyond belief.
This was a miracle!
For a brief moment, the three of them forgot the threat behind them, their minds completely focused on the shock of seeing Tang Fang safely alive.
However, when two monstrous beasts, as large as main battle tanks, suddenly appeared in front of Tang Fang, the three of them experienced a brain short circuit, as if their mental fuses were about to blow.
What was going on?
There was no explanation. All they could hear was the sharp sound of bone spikes shooting from the Zerg Queen’s crown.
The black bone spikes left blurred shadows in the air, striking the side window of the Scorpion transport helicopter hovering in the air. The high-density alloy glass shattered, and a burst of blood sprayed out.
A few more bone spikes pierced the helicopter’s side thrusters, causing explosions and a rapid expansion of flames. Thick black smoke billowed into the sky.
The Scorpion transport helicopter could no longer maintain balance. As the other thruster intermittently expelled blue flames, the helicopter spun sideways before slowly plummeting, crashing into a sand dune, kicking up a splash-like sandstorm.
“Boom!”
It wasn't until the Scorpion armed transport helicopter crashed onto the desert floor that a thunderous rumble vibrated beneath their feet, jolting Byron and the others back to reality. When they quickly turned their heads, they saw the helicopter crashing into the sand, its tail hovering in the air at a 45-degree angle to the ground. The lower part of its fuselage, where the propulsion system had exploded, continued to spew thick black smoke.
“How is this possible? These ugly beasts weren’t targeting them, but the helicopter? And they destroyed the hovering Scorpion transport helicopter simply with bone spikes from their crowns?”
Byron felt as if he were still dreaming. Having lived for over 30 years and seen countless spectacles, he couldn’t fathom what had just occurred.
After escaping death, Eva collapsed onto the sand, her thoughts simple. No matter what, she was just relieved that she wasn’t going to die!
“Could it be that he controls these alien beasts?” Housen stared at Tang Fang, who was walking toward them, his eyes flashing with realization. He now understood why this man had given him such a dangerous feeling before. It seemed that his sharp intuition had indeed saved him once again.
Arroz walked over without a change in expression, ignoring the three of them. It was Zhou Ai, who, as she passed Byron, coldly said, “You can save your offering now.”
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