Tie Ying snatched Bai Guo’s F-GUN, causing the death of an Ironblood Warrior. As a result, he was deemed a top-tier threat by the remaining Warrior, who tagged him as its main focus, subjecting him to relentless attacks.
Plagued by the red beam laser cannon and the six-claw darts, Tie Ying fled like a panicked rabbit. He simply had no practical means of offense. Would he resort to melee combat? He didn’t believe he had the ability to duel an alien alone, like Tang Zheng did.
The Ironblood Warrior saw the weakness of its prey and decided there was no need to waste more energy on its laser cannon. It withdrew its steel lance and lunged with a hefty leap, preparing for hand-to-hand combat. Bai Guo and Liu Nai took advantage of this moment to run towards Tang Zheng. They were out of options to hold back the enemy. Weighing their odds, they knew staying put would lead them to nothing but death.
Tang Zheng noticed their dire predicament, bit his lip, and gathered all his strength, dashing towards the Ironblood Warrior ten meters away. He had to dispose of this alien before Tie Ying was done for, else the situation would become hopeless.
Boom, a red beam struck Tang Zheng’s left arm, a cloud of white smoke wafted off it. The force of the impact nearly dislocated his shoulder, but he was still able to continue firing.
The Ironblood Warrior might have been massive, but it was surprisingly agile. Ordinary gunshots simply couldn’t reach it. This infuriated Tang Zheng to no end.
"I somewhat regret not enhancing my neural response speed," Tang Zheng complained, ditching his attempt to shoot the Ironblood Warrior and instead began to relentlessly blast the wall in the creature’s projected path of retreat. He managed to block its way by causing a rain of rubble and clouds of dust.
"Perfect timing." The moment he entered the five-meter range, Tang Zheng activated the Gravity Suppression ability. However, when he pulled the trigger, the Thunderball did not shoot out — he was out of ammo.
"Damn it!" Tang Zheng cursed, anxiously watching the struggling Ironblood Warrior trying to escape his grasp. Releasing his rifle, Tang Zheng drew his bronze sword and dove into the fight.
Scrape, the alien’s wrist blades protruded as it crossed swords with the bronze one, sparks flying.
Tang Zheng’s veins bulged as he maneuvered his bronze sword along the wrist blade, striking the Ironblood Warrior’s forearm. He then used all his strength to sever the piece of armament on the Warrior’s arm, instantly drawing blood. Blood sprayed onto Tang Zheng’s face, but his strength was depleted. The Warrior turned his wrist blade towards Tang Zheng’s abdomen, forcing him to retreat.
The Ironblood Warrior let out a beast-like shriek. Its forearm was hanging by a mere strand of skin at the elbow, swaying back and forth and presenting a terrifying, bloody sight.
Tang Zheng lunged again. The Warrior ripped off its severed hand and hurled it at him while the red laser cannon on its shoulder fired again, blasting him directly in the chest due to the uncomfortably close proximity.
The impact forced Tang Zheng to retreat. Watching the enemy about to escape the range of Gravity Suppression, he swung his arm and hurled the bronze sword with all his might. With a clang, the sword — like a stroke of bronze lightning - tore through the face titanium steel mask and penetrated the Ironblood Warrior’s skull.
Running over to the fallen corpse of the Ironblood Warrior, Tang Zheng barely had time to pull out his bronze sword and turn around when he was filled with rage.
Underneath the staircase, Tie Ying was dangled mid-air by the only remaining Ironblood Warrior’s giant hand clutching his throat. His legs kicked wildly in the air. A wrist blade was then plunged into his stomach, fiercely stirring his innards before being pulled out, causing his organs — drenched in blood — to spill out onto the ground. The stench of blood and filth filled the air instantly.
"Tie Ying!" Tang Zheng shouted, realizing that Tie Ying was beyond help. No, the Trojan Squad might still be able to save him, but since the mission was not yet completed, they couldn’t teleport back.
"Wait upstairs." As he passed Bai Guo and Liu Nai, he warned them just before springing into an arched fall. Meanwhile, he held the bronze sword in both hands, aiming it at the Ironblood Warrior’s head.
Luck was finally on Tang Zheng’s side as the Ironblood Warrior aimed its laser cannon at him but didn’t fire — it was out of energy. The Warrior promptly tried to dodge to the side.
Thud, Tang Zheng’s feet slammed onto the ground, the bronze sword lodged three inches into the flooring. He barely had time to remove it when a spear was thrust toward his back. His protective clothing prevented it from penetrating, but the spear threw him off balance.
That hit was enough to send Tang Zheng reeling. He felt fractures in his spine and a wrenched neck from the uncontrollable movement, reminding him of a terrible rollercoaster ride with intense and unbearable pain.
Gone were the long-range weapons of the Ironblood Warrior, and Tang Zheng’s Seed Ability had reached its time limit. Faced with no other choices and armed only with a bronze sword, a melee battle ensued between the two.
Fortunately, Tang Zheng had enough physical strength to hold on. Although he was disadvantaged in terms of neural response speed, and he had to keep the alien engaged to protect Bai Guo and Liu Nai, he survived several hits thanks to his Firefly protective suit and sustained no severe injuries. However, the Warrior did not escape uninjured either. The gray steel armor failed to shield it from the bronze sword. It bore several cuts from which blood flowed. With every step, blood dripped onto the ground, resembling falling plum blossom petals.
"Aren’t you going to help?" Liu Nai, who had stayed put, was anxious. In such a short span of time, two men had died, and Tang Zheng seemed close to death as well. Yet, the proud and smart girl did not think of running away. She was aware of the one-month time limit and knew leaving would be futile if even Tang Zheng couldn’t survive. Rather than relying on the weaker members back home, it would be better to figure out a way to keep Tang Zheng alive.