Epoch of Twilight - Page 427/595

Chapter 427: Deterioration

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Without even a warning signal, the siege on Hope City began.

Unlike pre-apocalyptic times, both in the frontlines, as well as the cities behind it, was prepared for battle at any moment and any incident would be met with swift reaction from all quarters.

The two level eight creatures have not even landed, but every single anti-aircraft network system in every corner of Hope City had already lit up. In just a second, endless streams of weapons fired, ripping through the air in the sky like a flaming scourge that is the Grim Reaper, attacking the two creatures and spontaneously bursting into a gigantic fireball.

Despite such ferocious attacks, the damage done was really minor.

All level eight creatures evolved comprehensively. Aside from their powerful Physique, they have also mastered the application of energy in force fields. Every creature at this level would have a protective force field around itself when battling an opponent on the same level and such battles may result in minor injuries. However, against anti-aircraft weapons like these, its protective barrier would not probably be broken through without a long fight. Though the explosions seemed to be stunning, the damage it did to them was akin to being hit with a feather.

The hulking beast's size was astonishing.

The Blue Dragon had a width of 20 meters, a length of 170 to 180 meters, weighed several tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of tons.

Though the giant bird did not have large wings, when it was fully erect, it stood at a height of 70 to 80 meters! For a flying creature, it had to be as light as a feather but it still had a weight of 3000 to 4000 tons.

Both life-forms plummeted from high altitudes, like mountains breaking away from the heavens.

"Boom!"

An explosion erupted, a chemical factory that took up thousands of acres in Hope City was instantly laid to waste, accompanied with a violent outburst of fiery ruin and a blazing hell that towered into the sky. However, even with such a horrible disaster, the two dreadful life-forms survived.

After a few moments, the two beasts struggled out of the thick smoke and the blazing fire that surrounded them. The blazing fire was close to being put out when they went through the flames, jolting, twisting, and turning around before it eventually extinguished as the bodies of the beasts got closer to the source of the flames.

The fall had completely separated both beasts.

Such a critical injury had hampered the giant bird's ability to hunt down the Blue Dragon. Its feathers had vaporized from the intense radiation of the hydrogen bomb. Even its skin was extensively charred, as a gush of bloody pus and melted fat was seen dripping down from its body. Besides that, its eyes were covered with a layer of gray, it was clearly blinded.

The Blue Dragon’s condition was just as good as the Giant Bird. Even before the hydrogen bomb exploded, it was already wounded. Without the protection of its scales, its injuries were even more severe, even to the extent that some of its internal organs were almost cooked.

If it were a normal creature, it would have died. However, they were still able to struggle and move around. As time passed, they wounds began to heal.

Every level eight life-form had an energy crystal within their body. As long as they did not receive a fatal blow or suffer direct damage to the brain, they could recover from injuries of any severity steadily with the help of the revitalizing energy of the energy crystal.

Everything was happening too soon, it was too abrupt. The nearby factory could not react in time and thought it was just another sudden occurrence. Some of the factory workers even banded together to carry out a search and rescue.

Within minutes, groups of workers were seen carrying buckets, fire extinguishers, and wheelbarrows filled with sand had filled the streets.

Humans were selfish, but sometimes they could be kind.

For the past two years, the reconstruction area had suffered countless hardships and disaster but it endured and survived every single time. This was only because of the sacrifices the soldiers made at the frontline but was also because of the great number of sophisticated weaponry they had in their arsenal. To top it off, they also had to thank the common folk that worked day and night. Now, the people were even more united, disciplined, and aware than before.

Unfortunately, this time they were neither facing a blazing fireball nor a reactor that could explode at

any time but rather, two monsters that managed to survive a nuclear bomb.

The earthquake was accompanied with the occasional crashing of buildings as an unspeakable horror crept across the town. The workers on the street involuntarily slowed down their pace.

An indescribable terror lurked within their hearts.

In the beginning, it was only a slight odor. The workers felt something was wrong but they still moved towards the factory. Still, they felt a deep sense of danger as they move forward. When they passed the corner, everyone stopped walking.

"Woong!" Their minds became blank.

There were no fences in the factories after the apocalypse and it seemed like something had fallen and everything collapsed. Suddenly, the place seemed to become very broad and wide. Everybody witnessed a shocking scene - a huge body shuttling within the factories.

The Blue Dragon was about 20 meters in width which was the equivalent of about seven to eight floors. It could even swallow a level six mutated beast while a level seven mutated beast would take just two to three mouthfuls.

Even if it was two to three kilometers away, the people were still stressed. The worst part was, it was slowly making its way towards them.

Furthermore, this was not an ordinary creature. Though the injured Blue Dragon seemed slow, it was just a matter of perspective. Its huge body meant it moved at a faster speed, even if it was just crawling slowly.

While the crowd was stunned at the sight before them, it had already traveled a kilometer.

The crowd recovered and there was chaos. Everyone was running and those who could still run were considered to be brave. Many of them have been scared until they were numb. They wanted to run but they just could not move their bodies.

When the Blue Dragon was just 500 meters away from them, the fear became even more unreal.

The magnetic field on the ground was a total mess. Even the high voltage tower was sparkling. There was a group of people who lay on the ground, white foam flowing from their mouths while their bodies shaked vigorously. Some of them were scared to death.

...

The chief of the Security Division in Hope City was sweating profusely when he received the news.

That has never happened before. He could not believe that a level eight creature had broken into Hope City and the worse thing was, there were two of them! Fortunately, both of them were injured.

Hope City was different from the other cities. It was the industrial zone of the reconstruction area and was also the base where they launched rockets. Because of that, the defense system here was also stronger, not to mention the various types of weapons they had in their arsenal.

There were more than 20 electromagnetic cannons as well as a nuclear-powered electromagnetic tank in Hope City.

However, the town was complicated and had many buildings that acted as a shield. It was not a good idea to if they shot at the beasts with the machine guns.

The only weapon they could use was the nuclear-powered electromagnetic tank and truck. As the situation was worsening, many military orders have been issued. The aerial defense alarm was sounded immediately.

Many workers evacuated the grounds. Within 15 minutes, the entire city was empty. Even those who were at the basement one had to move to a few levels underground.

At the same time, many of the tanks, rockets, cannon trucks, and even the nuclear-powered electromagnetic tank were driven rapidly into the streets.

The nuclear electromagnetic tank was like the naval ship of the ground. Its size was huge, fully occupying four driving lanes in the street at once. The concrete ground cracked as it moved along the street.

Hope City had to take rapid action.

Even then, the recovery speed of both level eight creatures was even faster. Initially, they moved slowly they struggled to move. However, as time passed, the charred parts of their bodies slowly recovered and new skin began to grow.

Their injuries rapidly recovered and their wounds closed. Their speed of recovery had become even faster.

Wherever they passed, factories would collapse and machines would be damaged. Some parts of the ground which could not withstand the weight of the two giant beasts collapsed as well. There were a few tons of giant rock and soil that fell into basement one.

Fortunately, most of the workers have evacuated so there were very little injuries and casualties.

The giant bird was closer to the military base and it had a difficult battle with one of the groups. It was a group with 12 military tanks.

The battle began when more than 10 missiles were launched into the air, flying rapidly towards the bird. Though it was blind, it could still sense the danger around it. Its huge body managed to avoid the missiles with a flexible jump. Immediately after its jump, it roared towards the direction where the missiles came from. Its voice was sharp and had a high pitch which caused very powerful sound waves. A few circles of waves could be seen around it, causing a ball of dust to form.

All the tanks had lost their control and collided into one another. Some had gone straight into the factories nearby while some collided with the buildings like a mad cow. None of them returned, seeing that the soldiers were probably all dead.

The loud sound of the explosions had made the frightened giant bird felt rather insecure. It was a level eight creature which came from foreign places. It had no idea what the humans and the reconstruction area were all about. However, the bad experiences it had here one after the other hinted at it to leave this fearsome place as soon as possible.

Its bald wings moved constantly, producing a high-pitched sound causing strong waves to spread out from its body. The surroundings seemed so beautiful as it flapped its wings under the sunshine. It definitely looked mystical and amazing.

Its body slowly floated into mid-air before it flew to a higher altitude. However, an electromagnetic bomb hit its body when it was just 20 meters off the ground.

It screamed frantically and fell onto the ground again with a lot of blood on its chest. There was a big hole with a half meter width on its chest and blood was gushing out like a geyser. The giant bird rolled around several times before standing up in anger.

The wound on its body was shockingly huge to humans. However, it was considered to be a minor injury for a creature with a 70 to 80 meters body. Unfortunately, the severe pain and the insecurity it felt had made it even more ferocious!

It turned around to look at the direction of the attack and it heard a loud, strange sound coming from afar.

It hooted and the next moment, a pair of 30 meters tall, five to six meters wide legs rapidly moved toward the direction of the sound.

It was like a super-bulldozer, all the obstacles along the way were destroyed with ease. The driver of the tank had seemingly lost his mind as he continued aiming the bomb at the target.

The worst thing was, the electromagnetic bomb required a lot of energy for every launch which required a buffer of a few minutes before it could be launched again.

That being said, the giant bird had already crossed three to four kilometers within one minute. Its heavy, huge claw was pressed against the nuclear-powered electromagnetic tank.

As a giant bird which could lift the Blue Dragon's10,000 tons of weight, its strength was definitely fearsome. Under its crazed attack, a buzzing sound could be heard from the metal. The entire object was totally destroyed.

Even after that, it seemed that it was not the end. Perhaps, the giant bird thought of it as an opponent at the same level and pecked on the tank with its beak. It was a rapid attack which was even faster than speed the electromagnetic bomb traveled at. It was ten times faster than the speed of sound.

"Bang!"

The entire tank was broken, the components flying everywhere and the soldiers within the tank tragically dead.

...

The people who monitored the screen seemed pale and began to sweat.

The chief of the Security Division was shivering as he spoke on the phone, "Two of the level eight creatures were recovering speedily and the situation is worsening. Our troops have been attacked terribly and many have died. The nuclear-powered electromagnetic tank was totally destroyed. We need immediate support or Hope City will be finished!"

His lips were still trembling when he put down the phone.

"Sir, what should we do now?" An officer asked anxiously.

The chief struggled to answer as he was paced back and forth. He gritted his teeth and said, "Get ready to launch the bombs! Clear all the buildings that are in our way and open a way for the electromagnetic bomb!"

"Hope City will suffer a huge loss!" Someone hesitated.

"We can’t delay any further. We have no time to wait for the support!"

...

On the other hand, the sub-team of the Firearms Bureau in Hope City had arrived on the other side of the city. However, they saw no way to get closer to the Blue Dragon. Its ferocious outlook was torture to their minds. Some of them even lost their courage as they approached the Blue Dragon from hundreds of kilometers away.

A few of the team members bent their bodies down and hid at the corner as they watched the slender body of the Blue Dragon pass by the streets.

"Captain! Do we really have to kill it? I think... it might be a bit difficult." Xie Junhui said with a trembling voice.

"He's right, it's not something we can kill." Li Dong said.

As a woman, Lin Feiyan was afraid reptiles. However, she was the captain and she needed to be a good role model. "Hold on, let's observe the situation first."

After a while, the Blue Dragon left. The stressful atmosphere improved and everyone felt relieved.

"How great would it be if my master was here." Fang Peibin whispered.

"I’ve heard that Brother Luo has become a Deputy Minister! That's amazing!" Xu Zhiqiang said.

"Yes, I think that’s true. I have a few friends who are working at the headquarters of the Firearms Bureau who heard that Brother Luo has beaten Minister Ling. However, no one believes in me when I tell them Brother Luo was from our team." Wu Qianru said. Her eyes were shone with admiration when she spoke of Luo Yuan. She used to be in the reserve team in the headquarter of the Firearms Bureau, so she had many insights.

As the crowd judged the situation, Lin Feiyan paid close attention to the situation with her tightly clenched fists. Nowadays, Luo Yuan had become her enemy. Though he had left the Firearms Bureau of Hope City and she had full authority over the entire department, everyone still had a strong impression of Luo Yuan. She was angry at the fact that he seemed irreplaceable.

Lin Feiyan wanted to run out and prove that she was better than Luo Yuan as she looked at the giant beast that stood before her, almost disappearing from their vision. However, her legs felt numb and she remained stationary where she stood.

She subconsciously raised her head to look up at the sky and realized a tiny spot that landed from above. It moved at an amazing speed and was unbelievable as it could not be detected by the naked eye. In half a second, it disappeared from her vision again.

"What’s that?"