The shrill whistle echoed above the Disrupter turret. Zane drew his swift blade and, at the same time, closed the gacha interface in front of him.
"As long as I have this, I can make the Threnodian pay the price!"
Zane recalled the golden light that had appeared from the ten pulls he had just used, but he had no intention of taking it out now.
Taking back the Disrupter was only the first step. Next, they would face the remnant tide in the canyon, and afterward, the final battle against the Threnodian. Every step required this power.
Moreover, this power still had a lot of uncertainty, so Zane planned to use it only at a critical moment.
At this point, he only had ten pulls left. Wanting to rely on these ten pulls to get another gold and turn the situation around was obviously unrealistic for someone with terrible luck.
[Turret charge at 10%.]
A soldier's announcement came from the core control area. One after another, loud explosions rang out from the high ground on both sides around the Disrupter turret.
The howling shells carried the soldiers' anger, smashing into the center of the remnant tide and erupting into bursts of fire.
"I'll guard the gate. You handle fire support."
"But, General…"
A soldier beside him tried to stop him, but Zane waved him off.
"Vanguard units, get ready. If I fall, don't hesitate, take my position immediately. Also inform the deputy captain to return for support. The Disrupter turret still needs his command."
"Carry out the order!"
This was already the best method Zane could think of to maximize the combat strength of this unit.
After speaking, Zane pulled out a strip of cloth and casually wrapped it around the wound on his shoulder. Then, with a gun in his left hand and a blade in his right, he stepped out of the gate.
Under the bombardment of the defensive turrets operated by the deputy commander and Mortefi, only a few scattered remnants rushed toward him.
Zane didn't want to waste stamina on just these few. When the cannons overheated or ran out of ammunition, that would be his moment to act. He casually raised his pistol, and the burst of fire instantly cleared them out.
Before long, the defensive artillery from the Disrupter turret fell silent.
"General, the turret's defensive systems were already damaged earlier. After being forcibly activated this time, they're basically scrapped now. We can't fire them anymore."
Zane had expected this. He glanced at the engineers. Because the systems had been forcefully activated, they were constantly emitting black smoke during operation.
Clearly, the engineers hadn't anticipated this situation and were all covered in soot.
Even so, without any protective gear, they had stayed by the defenses, pouring their anger into the remnant tide through the thick smoke.
"You've all worked hard. If the defenses are broken, then they're broken. Don't worry about those bits and pieces."
"We can rebuild them after the battle. Go get some rest. When we break through later, you'll need the energy to run."
"Huh?"
The engineers, and the other soldiers exchanged confused looks, not quite understanding what Zane meant.
"Come on, think. Once the Disrupter finishes charging and fires to break… whatever barrier it is..."
'Who's the dumb one here?!'
Under the soldiers' slightly disdainful gazes, Zane scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.
"Anyway, once this cannon fires, it's basically useless. To avoid ending up isolated, we'll need to regroup with Jiyan's main force afterward."
Although Zane's words raised many questions, he crossed his arms with an expression that clearly said, 'Ask whatever you want, I won't answer.'
Besides, military orders were absolute. They could only obey.
However, no one noticed the sharp glint that flashed through Zane's eyes.
As the cannon fire thinned out, Zane picked up his weapon and stood at the gate, letting the remnants that passed through the bombardment zone rush toward him.
[Turret charge at 30%!]
Zane tossed aside the empty pistol. With a flick of his left hand, a brand-new sound sensor device appeared in his palm.
Then, under the stunned gazes of the other soldiers, he hurled it straight at a Deep Abyss Guardian.
The violent impact caused the internal electronic components to shake, and then it was ignited by the deputy captain's artillery support. With a loud boom, the device exploded in the middle of the remnant tide.
"General, what are you doing?! That's not how you use a sound sensor device!"
But unfortunately, Zane seemed not to hear the complaint.
It can be thrown, it deals damage, it explodes, so isn't a sound sensor basically a grenade?
You have to think outside the box.
Suddenly, the system didn't seem so stingy after all. At least sound sensors could be used as grenades.
[Turret charge at 50%!]
Since this unit was lightly equipped, the deputy captain hadn't brought much artillery ammunition. Soon, the bombardment from the high ground stopped.
Only then did the surging remnant tide fully reveal its fangs.
But their time was already running out.
[Turret charge at 80%!]
With a crisp metallic sound, Zane looked at the swift blade in his hand, now broken in half, and shrugged helplessly.
After cutting down so many remnants, lasting this long could already be considered impressive.
"General!"
"I'm fine."
Without turning his head, Zane waved his hand at the soldiers behind him. Weapons were nothing.
While his reserves couldn't compare to a certain Babel's oldest king, Golden Flash's treasury, they were more than enough for dealing with these remnants.
He casually tossed the broken blade aside, and a massive long blade appeared in his hand.
The soldiers behind him watched as their commander shouted something they didn't understand while spinning the long blade in circles.
Wherever the blade passed, remnants were torn apart, both beast and rider shattered. It truly resembled a tornado, sweeping away anything that dared approach him.
As the Disrupter neared full charge, the remnant tide ceased its assault. The remaining stragglers were quickly taken down under concentrated fire.
[Disrupter fully charged, ready to fire at any time!]
A soldier's voice came through the loudspeaker. Only now did the soldiers guarding the Disrupter finally let out a breath of relief.
"As expected of General Zane. So many remnants, and none could stand against him."
"Yeah, yeah. If I had even one-tenth of the General's strength, I'd be a platoon leader by now."
"Then you better go wash up and sleep."
"Look at the General, surrounded by countless remnants, kneeling on one knee in the battlefield, holding that heavy blade. So cool."
"Ah, I think I'm falling for him…"
"Ladies, step back. Let us men go first."
———
Of course, Zane had no time to listen to their praise. He remained kneeling on one knee.
"Ugh… so dizzy…"
He kept taking deep breaths, forcing himself to suppress the churning in his stomach and the urge to throw up. This skill was officially sealed forever.
"General, should we fire?"
Once the dizziness passed, Zane stood up and checked the time. It matched exactly with the agreed attack time with Jiyan.
"Second Battalion Commander, where the hell is your Italian cannon… uh, I mean, fire! Blast the hell out of them!"
At this moment, the deputy captain leaned in and asked weakly, "But General, aren't we bombarding the Threnodian? Why are we blasting 'them'?"
Zane's eyelid twitched. He felt like the deputy captain had stolen his line.
"Then forget blasting them. Let's just blast you instead."
Seeing the wicked smile on Zane's face, the deputy captain shook his head like a rattle drum.
"Alright, alright, let's just blast the Threnodian."
Seeing him back down, Zane let out a cold laugh.
Humans really were creatures that bullied the weak and feared the strong. Nice words didn't work, you had to threaten them.
Next time, he'd try it on Rover too. Let her see what a real man was.
"Brothers, let the Jinzhou's thick, big, and hard cannon, fire!"
As Zane's words fell, a dazzling golden light began to gather at the muzzle of the Disrupter cannon, even distorting the surrounding air.
With a deafening explosion, the blazing beam slammed into the barrier surrounding the Ovathrax.
The once seemingly indestructible barrier now cracked like a balloon pricked by a needle. A fissure spread outward from the point of impact, eventually covering the entire barrier.
"Brothers, the barrier is broken! Kill the Threnodian, grab the TDs, dig for treasure! Titles and glory are today, charge with me!"
"Charge!"
Jiyan, who had been observing from the side with a force in reserve to prevent accidents, couldn't understand how the Midnight Rangers Army he had painstakingly trained had turned into bandits after just a dozen minutes under Zane.
"Grab TDs"? If a TD slept in your bed, would you even dare close your eyes?
"General, should we regroup with General Zane?"
Jiyan waved his hand, interrupting the report.
"No need. The priority now is to seize Northfall Barrens immediately. Return to the canyon at once. I will carry out the decapitation operation together with the Wanderer…"
"Yes, sir!"
As he spoke, Jiyan raised his head and looked at the massive stone figure.
"The future of Jinzhou will be decided in this battle."
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