Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 424 Resisting Fear and the Way Home

The dark area formed by the shadows expanded at an extremely rapid pace.

The members of the cult legion watched helplessly as they were swallowed by darkness, their vision severely impaired.

Guan Tong was being held high in the air by a hand formed from shadow. He was wearing goggles and was constantly pulling the trigger of his silver hunting rifle, which was aimed at the front of him.

Instead of firing only the No. 3 grenade and the No. 6 missile, which are high-explosive munitions with wide-range effects, he first fired the No. 4 smoke grenade and the No. 5 EMP electromagnetic pulse grenade.

Smoke grenades can further obstruct vision, so that even if the enemy tries to gain vision in the shadow area by using vehicle headlights or lighting props, it will be in vain.

The electromagnetic pulse bomb is designed to disable vehicles, preventing enemies from driving them recklessly and rushing out of the shadow area from different directions.

The range of the Shadow Domain is ultimately limited, and expanding it further will consume a lot more mental energy. Guan Tong's current mental energy reserves are naturally enormous compared to other single-person ascendants, but compared to his peak and the high consumption required for his various abilities, there is not much left.

In this situation, every little bit saved counts.

After the large number of smoke bombs and electromagnetic pulse bombs accumulated earlier were fired, the cultist army within the shadow domain was thrown into chaos once again.

Some people turned on their headlights to try and illuminate their surroundings, but found that even the fog lights couldn't penetrate the thick fog. Furthermore, as bursts of blue electricity crackled in the air, they noticed sparks flying from the vehicles' internal systems, causing them to shut down and become unable to restart.

"The fog is so thick, we can't see anything!"

"How did the car's electrical system burn out?"

"It's EMP!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Following the smoke and electromagnetic pulse, came the No. 3 grenade and the No. 6 missile.

They descended from the sky like fire, violently ravaging the cult legions trapped in the dark fog.

Amid screams, the cultist army tried to retaliate, but could not find a target.

The previous [Snowflake Without a Trace] mech and shadow creations, no matter how powerful, were still targets that could be attacked. All everyone needed to do was throw ranged attack items at them; even if they couldn't be destroyed, they would still cause mental energy depletion.

This tactic was indeed effective. The reason why Guan Tong, Bai Xuewu, and even Chen Na consumed their mental energy so quickly was because when facing thousands of enemies, even if each of them threw a low-level attack item, the cumulative damage from defending against them would be astonishing.

However, now trapped within the Dark Shadow Domain, coupled with the dense fog and electromagnetic pulse interference, they had no idea of ​​Guan Tong's location. Their targeted attack items couldn't lock onto targets, and their random throwing of non-targeting items failed to harm enemies, instead frequently injuring friendly forces.

Chaos erupted as everyone was killed or injured in the explosion.

Even more deadly was that the electromagnetic pulse bomb briefly interfered with communication equipment within its range, preventing people inside the shadow area from contacting the outside world. Those outside, seeing a "black sphere" lying across the road ahead, hesitated and dared not make any rash moves.

Guan Tong thus gained nearly a precious minute, but the commanders of the cultist army quickly realized what was happening and began issuing orders. The convoy that had not yet fallen into the Shadow Domain abandoned the rescue of those inside and quickly made their way on foot to attack the previously discovered bunker positions.

The cult members in the rear then sprang into action, abandoning their vehicles and running on foot towards the cover.

Guan Tong knew the situation, but she had no power to stop it.

If the Shadow Domain expands further, it will completely exhaust all his mental power, and at that time he will lose even the last option of retreating with his people.

But he knew his teammates could fight.

"These are cult members, not parasites! Leave them to me!"

Silver Fox noticed that the group of people running on foot weren't carrying any photos related to "Scarlet Terra," leading him to believe they were followers of the Firebringer Cult. Unlike the parasites, the followers also shared the scarlet phobia and therefore dared not carry any related photos.

In other words, this cult army consisted of parasites posing as cult members at the front, while the cult members were at the rear.

Silver Fox flashed out and charged straight at the group of black-robed cultists who were running towards him.

The cultists, upon discovering the enemy's presence, immediately swarmed her, but Silver Fox was too fast, moving like a ghost among them. She could take lives with the flick of her wrist, yet her enemies could barely even touch the hem of her garment!

"Don't just surround her!" a priest pointed to the bunker. "There must be others inside. Send some of them over!"

Immediately, dozens of cultists abandoned their attack on Silver Fox and ran towards the bunker.

Seeing this, Silver Fox immediately said through the earpiece, "Yang Ran, it's up to you now!"

"I can't wait any longer!"

Yang Ran leaped out of the bunker, raised his hands, and shouted at the dozens of approaching cultists: "Watch Grandpa Vulcan roast you into lamb skewers! Starfall!"

A few seconds later, a large number of fireballs condensed in the air and fell, burning many cult members to death.

Some of the cultists who managed to dodge the attack used their abilities or items to retaliate, while others drew their guns and fired. Yang Ran was tense; although he had defensive items, he was slow to use them and was hit in the chest by several large-caliber bullets.

Finished!

This was his first reaction when the bullet hit him.

I was both terrified and felt ashamed and ridiculous if I were shot to death.

But the next moment he was surprised to find himself still standing. Looking down, he saw that although his combat uniform had a large hole in it, his body didn't seem to be badly injured, just a little sore.

When did my body become so strong that it can withstand large-caliber bullets?
Yang Ran was a little confused, and then a second later he suddenly realized a sentence:

Black pieces form the boundary, white pieces form the chain!
This is what Wenren Yizhi said when she gave them the black and white chess pieces. The white chess piece's ability is to link all chess piece holders and share the damage they suffer.

After realizing what had happened, Yang Ran continued to manipulate the flames to fight the remaining cultists while shouting through his headset, "I just got shot several times, but it seems the damage was spread out through the chess pieces. Are you all alright?!"

Exhausted of her mental energy, Bai Xuewu, hiding in the cover, was the first to reply: "So it was you. No wonder I suddenly felt a pain in my chest. I'm fine, and Xiao Na is alright too."

Then came Silver Fox's hurried voice: "I'm fine too!"

"Shangyuan, go help Yang Ran," Guan Tong said.

He knew that Silver Fox was currently surrounded by enemies and in great danger, and that being suddenly subjected to shared damage would certainly be even more dangerous.

However, it would be more appropriate for Shangyuan to help Yang Ran than to help Silver Fox, since Silver Fox's abilities are more suited to fighting alone.

Upon hearing this, Shang Yuanzi immediately went to Yang Ran's side and joined him in blocking the endless stream of cultists.

The battlefield was instantly divided into three sections. Guan Tong used his Shadow Domain to hold off the most enemies on the front, while Silver Fox, Yang Ran, and Shang Yuanzi each dealt with one section.

This balance is extremely fragile, especially since the mental energy of the four people is being rapidly depleted, and it simply cannot be sustained for long.

"Shhhhh-"

At that moment, a whooshing sound came from the horizon in the direction of the city, and at the same time, Li Meng's loud voice rang in their headphones.

"Combat weapon support has arrived! Once they've been deployed, immediately guide the operation. The other Ascended will be there soon too. Victory is just around the corner!"

at last!

Several transport planes used high-strength cables, pulling one "Destroyer" unit at a time, to airlift several of them to the designated location! Once there, the planes retrieved the cables, and these towering weapons of war rained down upon the enemy ranks, crashing into them with a deafening roar. The impact created a cloud of dust, instantly killing dozens, even hundreds, of cult members!

['Annihilator' detected within boot range, device is starting automatically]

As soon as they landed, the remote control devices carried by Guan Tong and the others immediately emitted a sharp voice prompt.

[Startup complete, booting can begin]

Without hesitation, the group used the equipment to guide the "annihilators" to launch an attack on the cult legion!
Upon receiving the guidance order, these weapons of war immediately bared their fangs and launched a saturation attack on the designated area.

For a time, the sounds of machine guns turning and bombing were incessant, like a war march being played.

The music was pleasant to Guan Tong and his companions, but it was a death knell for the cult legion, especially on this open suburban highway with almost no defensive cover, where they all became live targets for the "annihilators".

In just a few seconds, thousands of cult members were killed and wiped out by the intense firepower, without any chance to fight back.

Guan Tong had already closed the Shadow Domain and retreated when the "Annihilators" arrived, to avoid being attacked by the "Annihilators" because he was within the "Guidance Zone." These steel behemoths could not distinguish between friend and foe.

Meanwhile, the hundreds of cultists surrounding the bunker were now in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat.

If they retreat, they will enter the "Annihilator's" attack range; if they do not retreat, they will face a combined attack from Guan Tong, Yin Hu, Yang Ran, and Shang Yuan Zi.

Guan Tong didn't want to waste any more mental energy, so he just used Silver Hunter to kill these people. With the cooperation of the four of them, the hundred or so cultists were quickly reduced to fewer members.

When only a dozen or so people remained, several cult members completely broke down. After exchanging glances, they rushed towards the nearest Silver Fox, shouting, "Since we're all going to die anyway, let's die together!"

They tore off the outer black robe, revealing that the inside of the robe was covered with high-resolution photos of Scarlet Terra!
Silver Fox was still thinking of going forward to kill them, but he never expected to encounter this situation. By the time those photos came into view, it was already too late!

The intense battle of the past half-day had made her less alert than usual, so she hadn't had time to look away. When the Scarlet Fear effect kicked in, she first felt a slight vibration in the inside pocket of her clothes, where she kept her black and white chess pieces.

Then her left palm felt hot again, where the "shadow anchor" totem left by Guan Tong was located.

When the scarlet fear struck, the black chess piece's "boundary" and mental anchor took effect simultaneously. Silver Fox felt the numerous terrifying images that had just formed in her mind vanish rapidly! This prevented her from becoming trapped in fear.

With a determined look, she charged forward toward the images of "Scarlet Terra" and slit the throats of several cult members in disbelief!

“No…it’s impossible…” A cult member clutched his throat and collapsed to the ground. “Why…could you……”

Silver Fox knew what this guy wanted to say.

"Why are you able to face the images of Crimson Terra and kill us with your eyes wide open?"

She sheathed the dagger, touched her chest, and then looked at the totem on her left palm.

"Although it's unclear which one contributed more... it actually managed to withstand the impact of the Scarlet Fear..."

She realized that this result was crucial and could likely be used to complete the exploration before the rules expired.

"Silver Fox, how are you?" Guan Tong came to her side at this moment. He had seen what had happened to her, but he immediately looked away.

“I’m fine,” Silver Fox said. “Captain, the anchor points you gave me and Wenren Yizhi’s pieces seem to have worked. The terrifying images generated by the Scarlet Fear in my head have been directly blocked.”

"Let me see your totem."

Silver Fox raised her left hand; she had only glanced at it briefly earlier. This time, upon closer inspection with Guan Tong, she noticed that the double-triangle pattern was much dimmer than when it had first been acquired, as if a large layer of color had faded.

Silver Fox was immediately surprised and asked, "Did you just consume some of the totem?"

"It seems so."

Each totem that Guan Tong gave away was condensed by him using up his maximum mental energy, which is a little over a thousand mental energy.

The totem in Silver Fox's hand has faded by more than half, indicating that the power of the crimson fear in those few seconds had almost completely exhausted the mental energy contained within the totem—if it weren't for the effect of Wenren Yizhi's black chess piece, the consumption would have been even greater.

Silver Fox took out the black chess piece from the inside pocket of his coat, and was immediately alarmed when he saw it.

The chess piece has split in two.

"After only a few seconds of watching, the chess piece cracked, and the stabilizing anchor totem was mostly destroyed... Scarlet Fear, no, the power of the rules is truly terrifying!" Silver Fox couldn't help but feel a chill of fear.

Guan Tong, standing to the side, seemed to be deep in thought.

The spiritual power contained in the shadow anchors he casts for others is at most a little over a thousand.

However, if you use it yourself, you can continuously pour your stored mental energy into the anchor point to maintain the effect.

Does this mean that he could create more anchors to help others, or try to explore the unknown within scarlet fear?
...Now is not the time to think about these things.

Guan Tong looked ahead and saw several "Annihilators" displaying their might, having already annihilated the attacking cult army.

This legion, composed of parasites and cultists, was virtually powerless against these killing machines.

This made Guan Tong unconsciously think: If the "Destroyers" target me, can I use Silver Hunter to launch electromagnetic pulse missiles to paralyze them?
With the overall situation already decided, he was slightly tempted to give it a try. However, considering that they were allies, he decided against it.

At that moment, several helicopters flew in from the direction of the city; they were official Ascended supporters sent by Soro.

After explaining the situation to Guan Tong and the others, they handed over the remote control equipment that guided the "Annihilator" to them, and then took a helicopter back.

Their mission is complete; the cleanup work can be left to these supporters.

"Buzzing buzzing—"

The same propeller noise filled their ears as on the way there, but this time the passengers were no longer agitated, but relaxed.

When we arrived, the situation and dangers were unknown. Now that we are returning victorious, our mindset is naturally different.

"Did we save millions of lives this time?" Yang Ran couldn't sit still and shifted his body, his excitement overflowing. "This is way more fun than filming a variety show! But it was really dangerous, thankfully my teammates and captain are all so strong!"

Silver Fox smiled encouragingly at him, then looked down at the girl nestled in her arms. Chen Na had been continuously activating her [Perception Domain] for too long, perceiving too many targets, which had not only depleted her mental energy but also exhausted her physical strength; she had now fallen into a deep sleep.

Shang Yuanzi put on large sunglasses again, so others couldn't see her expression.

Bai Xuewu didn't say anything. It wasn't her first time on the battlefield, so she wouldn't have the same feelings as Yang Ran.

Through this battle, she truly realized why Li Meng had previously said Guan Tong was the strongest member of the team. His abilities weren't just strong, but comprehensive—so comprehensive that even her multi-module-equipped [Snow White Without a Trace] was far inferior.

She looked at Guan Tong, who was still gazing out the window as before, her expression calm and not at all like someone who had just experienced a fierce battle.

If this team can keep going... she thought, perhaps they really can accomplish any difficult task.

But she immediately dismissed the idea. Zhang Minglu had already told her that Guan Tong did not belong to the Countermeasures Research Office, and this operation was only a temporary formation for cooperation. The team would naturally disband after the cooperation ended.

(End of this chapter)