Chapter 1106: Chapter 93: The Storm Approaches
In the darkness, endless sparks of starlight erupted, so dazzling that they far outshone anything Blue Jade could ever unleash.
"Heads down!"
Someone shouted from the end of the darkness.
Blue Jade immediately let go of the searing-hot Aluminothermic Rifle; the exposed skin on her hands was burned, raw and crimson, but there was no time to scream in pain now. She dropped flat onto the floor at once.
The staggering Bola hesitated for a moment. His face was smeared with filthy blood, his expression completely unreadable. It was impossible to tell whether he had heard the shouted order, or if he had simply burned through the last of his strength.
Bolaâs movement was textbook perfect, without a single wasted motion. He simply let himself fall straight backward, clean and decisive, like a corpse. A heartbeat later, the burning Aluminothermic Bombs crisscrossed the corridor, screaming past just above Bola and Blue Jade.
The dense firepower instantly suppressed and annihilated all the Demons. The highâtemperature metal clung to their bodies; the Demons flailed their claws, trying to tear the burning slag off themselves, ripping off great strips of their own flesh in their frenzyâutterly useless.
In that instant, the extreme heat charred their flesh and blood to carbon. Their skin was melted through, and the organs beneath were burned into ash as well. The Demons panted in agony, fine ash drifting from their mouths with every tortured breath; within their jaws, a searing red glow could be seen, and the scalding gases rushing past turned their airways into a single mass of viscous meat.
Like a hand crushing their throats, the Demons writhed in the twin torment of suffocation and burning.
Footsteps sounded. Folding Blade tore through the Demons with ease, his figure darting in and finishing off these halfâdestroyed Demons with swift kills. He never broke stride, charging on like a mad bull and slamming into the few stillâstanding Demons he hadnât had time to cut down, bowling them over.
"Still alive?"
Hebdo came pounding up the corridor. He didnât even pause, just scooped Bola up and slung him over his shoulder, then sprinted toward Blue Jade.
"More or less... First time Iâve ever found you Vikings even remotely easy on the eyes."
Bolaâs voice was extremely weak, but he still managed to crack a notâveryâfunny joke.
"Now thatâs an honor."
Hebdo grabbed Blue Jade in one big hand. His towering frame finally had a chance to shine: he tucked Blue Jade under his arm like a package and kept running. Though a bit bewildered, Blue Jade obediently let Hebdo manhandle her.
"Itâs not safe here. Iâm getting you to the medical bay first."
Hebdo didnât slow for a second as he rushed the two of them toward the medical bay.
"What about those guys? You leaving the Demons to them?"
Bola asked. Probably from blood loss, his mind was going muddy again. He couldnât for the life of him figure out where Hebdo had suddenly appeared from.
"Youâve got to trust the patrolâs firepower. Weâve already taken down plenty of Demons on the way here. There just arenât many survivors left. You two count as luckyâyou held out until we arrived."
As Hebdo spoke, the gunfire behind them swelled louder. The patrol squad leveled their Aluminothermic Rifles, keeping the Demons pinned. In this corridor devoid of cover, the Demons had nowhere to hide.
After entering the Silent Sea, Hebdo had led the patrol through the Morning Glow Advance on constant rounds. The moment he heard the gunshots, heâd started moving toward this sector, but there had been too many Demons in the way, costing precious time.
"Whatâs the situation now? How far have the Demons spread?"
Hearing this, Bola rallied a little. The condition of the Morning Glow Advance was critical; it directly determined whether they could complete the operation.
"Could be worse. A lot of people turned into Demons, but our containment was timely enough. Some nonessential areas are already sealed off; there might still be Demons wandering inside, but they donât affect us. The important sectors are all heavily guarded." Hebdo laid out everything he knew.
That news eased Bola somewhat. The Morning Glow Advance had been designed specifically by the Perpetual Motion Pump, with lockâdown mechanisms for every sector. If one area was overrun, they only had to seal it off. The Demons would still be in there, but for the moment they wouldnât impact the normal functioning of the other sections.
"You should understand this better than I do. Your Purification Mechanism is supposed to be the specialist outfit for exactly this kind of scenario, isnât it?"
Hebdo talked as he hustled up a flight of stairs. The scenes along the way were brutalâbodies and pools of blood everywhere. Clearly, Bola wasnât the first unlucky bastard to run into Demons.
"And another thingâstop talking, Bola. You need to rest."
This time Hebdoâs voice was deadly serious.
Bola could no longer manage a reply. His eyelids drooped, his gaze unfocused. He wasnât unconscious yet, but there was nothing you could call "awake" left in him either.
Blue Jade kept silent, her eyes fixed on Bola slumped over Hebdoâs shoulder. His condition was badâcatastrophically bad.
Bola looked like a man dipped in blood, his body smeared in scarletâsome Demon, some his own. Clawâcuts crisscrossed him everywhere; his legs were punctured in several places. Worst of all were his cheeks and neck: those had been infested earlier by those red tendrils. Only when he tore himself free had Blue Jade realized the tendrils had left behind a dense pattern of tiny bloody holes in Bolaâs skin.
It was like countless nails had been driven straight through his flesh. The sight was so horrific that even Blue Jade didnât dare keep looking.
"Itâs me! Clear the way!"
Hebdo shouted. Up ahead in the darkness, several small flames parted to either side at his voice. Only when they drew close did Blue Jade see clearly: they were soldiers, each holding an Aluminothermic Rifle, standing guard outside the medical bay.