Though the fireball Harlank launched appeared unassuming, the few Vespene units it struck immediately exploded, the ensuing shower of flames igniting the area dominated by the Grease spell and rapidly spreading outwards, forming a broad, raging wall of fire that billowed thick, dark smoke. (For novel reading, visit Ye Zi • You~You.) \WW. Provides the latest hand-typed chapters\This development forced the Vespene units following behind to either brave the sea of fire or detour around the flanks, granting the hastily assembled team crucial moments of respite.

However, the sheer number of Vespene units was so overwhelming that it rendered any obstacle negligible!

That expanse of fire was trampled out by wave after wave of Vespene units sacrificing their very flesh and blood. If any adjective could truly describe these attacking beasts, it could only be 'swarm'—a tide-like ocean of insects!

A mere few hundred meters of retreat had become an utterly brutal corridor of death.

None of the four machine gunners who came as reinforcements survived; the team suffered its first casualty here, a Contractor pinned down by Vespene units and instantly submerged, not even letting out a cry, like a stone dropped into water that makes no ripple.

Tulip's Alaskan Giant Bear also met the fate of cannon fodder. Despite one swipe of its paw capable of killing a Vespene unit, once surrounded by sheer numbers, the behemoth could not escape doom. Flesh and fur were rapidly stripped away under the beasts' frenzy, and only because Tulip used her unique chain weapon to retrieve the item dropped by the bear—the Soul Artifact of the Great Bear—did it retain any hope of resurrection. It is worth noting, however, that this woman was the first to escape into the base.

In this battle, Fang Senyan's performance was unremarkable; neither disappointing nor surprisingly effective. It was Mogaunsha and Joel who displayed formidable strength, especially Joel, whose final rear-guard shot clearly involved an ability, packing a punch comparable to heavy artillery bombardment. The ground erupted, forming a massive crater several hundred square meters wide. This single strike eliminated nearly a hundred Vespene units. Without this terrifying shot, it is possible the main force might have suffered further losses.

When the two mechanical siege heavy tanks rumbled into the base, the main gate slowly sealed shut. Several UV units immediately swarmed the vehicles, hastily commencing repairs, extinguishing fires, and managing the damage.==.First.Release==The piercing sound of welding filled the air, scattering sparks, as all armored machine gunners simultaneously rushed onto the walls of the steel base. All five bunkers began operating at full capacity, furiously harvesting the lives of the surging tide of the insectoid horde.

All Contractors received notifications: “Hidden Quest: Rescue Complete.” “The survivors of the Bearing Base have been safely returned to the Steel Outpost Base.” “You have been rewarded with +2 Merit Points and +1 Potential Point.”

At this moment, the Contractors naturally seized the excellent opportunity, surging onto the steel ramparts, shouting and firing without restraint to vent their earlier frustration. If any killed insectoid creature dropped a key or an Insect Core exchangeable for reputation, it was automatically drawn into the owner’s Nightmare Mark space, preventing any issues with failing to pick it up.

For Contractors like Fang Senyan and Reef, who lacked ranged attack options, they could pick up standard electromagnetic rifles to start firing—the swarming mass below guaranteed that no shot would go wide. However, perhaps due to using human standard issue weaponry, the insectoids they killed only provided reputation and yielded no keys. 【Ye*zi】【You~You】

Given Fang Senyan's meager Charm value of 2, killing a regular Vespene unit yielded a paltry 2 Reputation points, whereas Tulip, with a Charm value around 25, earned 7 points—the disparity was evident. Fortunately, Fang Senyan was part of a team, allowing him to gain 1 Reputation point for kills made by others, so his progress was relatively swift.

Suddenly, he noticed a string of extra +3/+3 numbers popping up in his reputation display, immediately realizing Mogaunsha had shared half of his own kills’ reputation points. This was the maximum allowance for their temporary team. With Mogaunsha's assistance, Fang Senyan's reputation surged rapidly.

Abruptly, Fang Senyan observed several +15 numbers flash in his reputation log before the +3/+3 figures ceased. Evidently, Mogaunsha had eliminated several high-reputation targets and subsequently faced a fierce counter-attack. Just as Fang Senyan was about to drop his weapon to investigate, he heard a very peculiar sound from the distance, like something inhaling deeply. A wave of chilling cold washed over his left side, and without hesitation, he threw himself with full force toward the right.

Less than a second after Fang Senyan lunged away, a ‘shushing’ sound erupted where he had just been standing, akin to rain splashing down from the sky. Immediately afterward, a large splatter of deep green liquid shot down from above. This substance appeared intensely corrosive; even the metal railing it touched immediately developed dense clusters of bubbles. The normally smooth, hard steel railing quickly turned into something resembling rotten branches before decaying into dust, scattering away at a mere breath of wind.

“Damn it!” Although Fang Senyan had sensed the danger beforehand, a few droplets of the deep green acid still splashed him, causing his skin to ulcerate. The Nightmare Mark promptly alerted him to continuous acid damage: 3 Health points reduced every 5 seconds for 15 seconds.

Simultaneously, continuous screams began echoing from the base walls around him, indicating casualties among the machine gunners. Fang Senyan looked out toward the perimeter of the insectoid horde and spotted several noticeably larger insectoid creatures milling about the outer edges. Their hides were brown, and they stood semi-bipedal, using the symmetrical, grayish-white anchor bones on their trailing tails to grip and contract, generating forward propulsion to writhe along. Their heads featured prominent gill-like structures on both sides; the acid was generated and propelled forward through the muscular action of these gills during their inhalation/exhalation cycle.

“This must be the Hydralisk,” Fang Senyan recalled seeing the illustration of this creature on the screen at the base center. It was a higher-tier insectoid lifeform than the Vespene unit, producing a highly noxious and damaging acid. If targeted by a concentrated volley from several Hydralisks, even bunkers constructed of alloy steel could not withstand it and were prone to catching fire and exploding.

More critically, the presence of Hydralisks to suppress external firepower meant the Vespene units could launch furious assaults on the base's metal walls. Once a breach occurred, the fall of the entire base would be imminent.

At this critical juncture, Joel’s sniper rifle once again proved invaluable. Every time the shot rang out, a Hydralisk was struck—either instantly shattering or being blasted far away, immediately removed from combat. Yet, the insectoids seemed endless, and the frequency of a sniper rifle could never match that of a machine gun.

After gritting their teeth and holding on for a few more minutes, a metal bunker positioned on the left side, leaning against the base wall, finally succumbed to the combined assault of Hydralisks and Vespene units. It burst into flames and then detonated. The machine gunners inside hadn't even recovered from the explosion's disorientation before the savagely ferocious Vespene units swarmed over them, tearing them to shreds!

Immediately following, a section of the western steel wall shuddered violently, emitting a grating, teeth-on-edge sound, followed by the dense, drumbeat-like frenzy of Vespene claws scraping frantically! Even listening sent waves of panic through them!

Harlank happened to be standing atop that section of the steel wall. Before he could even react, the wall collapsed with a roar! A horde of Vespene units scrambled and leaped inside, followed immediately by a surging tide of more units—the situation was on the verge of total collapse.

Then, Harlank screamed, and a ring of crimson fire exploded outward from his body, sweeping through like a storm. Nearby Vespene units were instantly blown away, turning to ash mid-air without a sound.

But this spell clearly exhausted his energy, causing him to collapse onto his knees. The Vespene tide surging toward him approached relentlessly, showing no hesitation or fear, sweeping in with that insane, bloodthirsty ferocity!

At that critical, hair-trigger moment, a sturdy figure suddenly appeared on the roof of the nearby metal supply depot. This figure held aloft in his left hand a great shield shimmering with silver light; the shield's shape was oddly reminiscent of a long, flattened creature's skull. In his right hand, he gripped a short sword wreathed in black mist—it was Reef! His entire body was suffused with an indescribable, shimmering light, as if an invisible armor flowed over his skin.

He then leaped directly downward. In the area where his feet landed, an intense shockwave radiated outwards. Though the supply depot was only about four meters high, the impact Reef created upon landing was comparable to a Transformer jumping from a skyscraper: a powerful concussion wave emanated from his feet, striking several Vespene units that were airborne and lunging towards him, blasting them seven or eight meters away.

“Go!” Reef roared at Harlank, his eyes burning red.

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