"Hold on, just ten or twenty more minutes... Hang in there!" Zheng Zha roared at the surrounding soldiers, simultaneously kicking fiercely at a massive rock, easily four meters high, in front of him. The huge stone then tumbled down the slope. Because of its immense mass, the sound of its descent was terrifying, like a road roller crushing everything in its path; anything that stood before the giant boulder was smashed to pieces. The sheer scale of it was horrifying.

Everyone’s gaze followed the giant rock as it rolled down, and in this critical moment, they somehow forgot that it was Zheng Zha who had kicked it toward the foot of the mountain. That force was exaggerated to the extreme; an ordinary person couldn't even dream of such power—a solid kick like that might shatter their own bones into several fragments.

The huge rock rolled unimpeded, crushing and overturning countless ground bugs. Everywhere it passed, it left behind a smear of green insect flesh and blood, finally coming to a halt only when it violently collided with the protective carapace of a Tank Bug that had opened its defenses.

Zheng Zha took a deep breath and shouted to those around him, "Keep throwing rocks! If you can’t kill the bugs, at least stop them from getting close. Everyone, fight for your lives! The rescue ships are about ten minutes out! Dying at this juncture would be such a waste, wouldn't it? Keep throwing!"

Even with Zheng Zha’s exhortation, the soldiers simply didn't possess his superhuman physical constitution. After over twenty hours of continuous combat, they were already exhausted beyond measure. Now, they were forced to start moving and throwing rocks again. These black rocks were incredibly hard and heavy. A single black rock, just over a meter in diameter, required three men just to lift it. While rocks rolled down with far greater impact than normal stones, the speed of over a thousand men inevitably began to slow. At the base of the mountain, the bugs started to gather again, surging upward meter by meter, wave after wave, like tides and ocean swells. Their sheer numbers were enough to freeze the blood in one’s veins.

Zheng Zha’s heart grew colder. He remained on the very front line, kicking every massive rock down toward the mountain base. The Tank Bugs at the foot of the mountain were slowly advancing up the slope again. These rocks were manageable against the ordinary Ground Bugs or Fire Bugs, but they were utterly useless against the Tank Bugs. Watching the Tank Bugs approach step by agonizing step from thousands of meters away, Zheng Zha became increasingly frantic.

Just then, Overlord and another soldier in the distance had just managed to lift a black rock. Before they could throw it, Overlord suddenly slumped, and the rock slammed down heavily onto his thigh. The man let out a pained roar. Zheng Zha reacted the fastest. He rushed over, heaved the rock aside, and urgently asked, "How is it? Overlord! Are you alright?"

The Russian man was drenched in cold sweat from the pain. He managed a bitter smile. "I can't... I have no strength left in me anywhere. And now my shin bone is crushed... Zheng Zha, dragging you down at a moment like this, I..."

Zheng Zha knew this man was already at his breaking point. He didn't have Zheng Zha's ten-times-normal physique, nor did he possess Inner Force or Vampire energy. He had only received Dragon Blood enhancements, making him maybe two or three times stronger than an average person. Yet, he had held the line for six or seven hours, continuously issuing commands while maintaining absolute focus against the endless swarm of bugs. If not for him, this position might have been overrun by the insectoid race long ago...

Zheng Zha clapped Overlord on the shoulder. "What are you saying nonsense for? Damn it, you have to live. We all agreed—we’re getting out of this together... Leave this all to me. You two over there, yes, carry him back to the wounded in the middle area... Overlord, we will survive this!"

The man tried to say something else, but Zheng Zha pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his coat and handed it to him. "Go have a couple of cigarettes to dull the pain..." With that, he turned and walked back toward the defensive line without looking back.

Though he said those words, could they truly survive?

Zheng Zha watched the endless sea of bugs at the foot of the mountain, then looked at the panting soldiers beside him, and his heart sank further. Several times he wanted to summon the Green Devil Skateboard and the Tiger Soul Blade, fly out using his mental scanning, and directly attack the position of the main host group to find the Brain Bug...

"Hah, rescue ships... are they really not coming yet?"

Zheng Zha looked up at the sky, then back toward the mountain pass at the summit. Because the rate of rock-throwing was constantly decreasing, the bugs had already closed the distance to within a thousand meters. Although each volley of stones killed a large number of bugs, their numbers were simply too terrifying. Gradually, they returned to the five-hundred-meter tug-of-war line, and as the Tank Bugs constantly approached, the insects behind them also crept closer to the front lines.

"Ammunition is gone, Zheng Zha. After killing several thousand flying bugs, we have about two hundred left without ammo to deal with them. I've ordered the next thousand men to attack the cliff area. There's no other way; we have to resort to close combat..."

Chu Xuan’s voice echoed in Zheng Zha's consciousness once more. Bad news followed one after another, leaving Zheng Zha feeling numb. Especially as the Tank Bug closed to less than two hundred meters from the position, seeing the teeming, clawing insects behind it—their numbers far exceeding the soldiers—his heart grew heavy. His left hand trembled constantly, and several times he almost pulled out the Tiger Soul Blade. Having been suppressed by the bug siege for so long, he desperately wanted to unleash 'Destruction' and tear that Tank Bug to shreds...

A deep roar sounded, causing everyone to instinctively look up at the sky. Dozens of massive ships broke through the clouds, appearing in everyone's sight. As soon as they pierced the cloud cover, these massive vessels scattered, with about ten ships heading toward the mountain peak. All the soldiers froze for a few seconds, then erupted in loud cheers and exultation. Countless people wept in relief, and the soldiers at the defensive line seemed injected with adrenaline; their sluggish movements became swift once more. Working together, a few men hauled massive black rocks and hurled them down the pass. Although they couldn't harm the Tank Bug, they could impede its advance. At this moment, everyone shared a single thought: stall for time! Until the rescue ships could land!

Zheng Zha also let out a huge sigh of relief, especially when he saw the size of the rescue vessels. He estimated that one ship could carry over a thousand people, meaning these ships were enough to transport all of them back into space. In other words, safety was achievable once they were airborne...

But Chu Xuan’s voice abruptly cut in, the man speaking with cold precision: "Zheng Zha! Distribute fifty magazines to fifty soldiers and have them go to the rescue ship landing zone! Quickly! These magazines are meant for this very moment! This is the most dangerous phase—everyone will be desperate to board the ships. We absolutely cannot allow any chaos at this point, or we will all die!"

Zheng Zha’s heart tightened. He immediately ordered fifty men to collect the remaining fifty magazines and rush to the center of the mountaintop. Just as Chu Xuan predicted, once the first rescue ship landed, the movements of the thousand-plus men at the defensive line slowed again. They kept staring toward the center of the formation, while the Tank Bug was now only about sixty or seventy meters from the position. They could even see the swarming, clawing insects—their numbers vastly surpassed those of the soldiers...

"Don't stop! Keep throwing! Wang Xia, use the micro-nuke behind the Tank Bug! Everyone, do not retreat! If we retreat now, we are all dead!" Zheng Zha roared from within the ranks, simultaneously kicking another massive rock and sending it flying down the mountain path.

Wang Xia obeyed immediately, grabbing a micro-nuke and firing it behind the Tank Bug. Following a flash of light, apart from the Tank Bug and the dozens of Ground Bugs within its protective shield, all other insects were blasted two to three hundred meters away. Moreover, because the fireball was still burning, the bugs couldn't approach for a short time.

Yet, despite Zheng Zha's orders, a few soldiers began to run backward. As the first rescue ship landed, the second and third ships also touched down, dramatically increasing the chance of escape. No one could resist such a desperate urge, especially in the environment before them.

As the first few soldiers fled, more and more followed suit. Zheng Zha let out an enraged roar, activated his Lightness Skill, and shot forward, intercepting the initial group of deserters. Before they could react, Zheng Zha had already violently kicked them to the ground. He impaled the chest of one of them with his sharp claws, yelling, "Those who run will be dealt with by military law! Who dares run now?"

There were about forty deserters. They exchanged glances, and a murderous look appeared on the faces of several dozen of them. These dozen-plus men roared and charged toward Zheng Zha. After all, Zheng Zha standing before them was unarmed, had one arm broken, and was covered in wounds—a wreck. But before they could reach him, every man who got close to Zheng Zha was hit squarely in the head by a fierce kick, causing their skulls to explode. This all happened in mere seconds. When the fleeing group finally stopped, they looked on in horror to find dozens of corpses littering the ground—every single one killed by a single kick...

"I said! Those who run, die! Who among you still dares to seek death?!"

A brutal, fiery rage surged through Zheng Zha. He stepped on a soldier who wasn't quite dead, and amidst the man's groans, Zheng Zha reached down, grabbed the soldier's head, and with a violent tear, ripped the man in two. Blood sprayed over him from head to toe. The fleeing soldiers immediately scrambled back toward the defensive line. They dared not look at Zheng Zha again, instead frantically grabbing stones and hurling them toward the base of the mountain... At that moment, the fourth rescue ship landed... Jump to