326: Chapter 106: Moving Forward 326: Chapter 106: Moving Forward By the ti another ranger arrived at the scene, the first Life-Chasing Cavalry had already been incapacitated.
The attacker was a rather robust Burrow Dragon.
This creature stood two ters tall, but was crouched on the ground like a mole, its arms specialized for digging, with a section in the middle hollowed out to hold ore.
This was an industrial-type prosthetic body.
Its flexibility was poor, but its burst and exertion limits were very high, and its thick external armor provided slightly better defense than a tank.
To an unmodified Homo sapiens, this type of prosthetic body was like an eighty-pound sledgehamr—difficult to control, but if managed properly, it could kill a regular martial artist prosthetic body at a rate of one per strike.
It was said that a few people who cultivated their external strength to the “Great Skill Appears Clumsy” level could predict movents, grasp timing, and manipulate industrial-type prosthetic bodies to easily handle opponents, one after another.
But those were the minority.
Most of the ti, industrial-type prosthetic bodies couldn’t even touch a martial artist prosthetic body.
Unless it was a sneak attack.
With the martial artist completely unguarded, an industrial-type prosthetic body could achieve a one-hit kill.
However, seizing the opportunity for a sneak attack also required considerable insight into external strength.
And regardless, there was only one strike.
After that one strike, this giant mole-like Burrow Dragon was killed.
But its rock-digging arms also crushed the ranger’s skull, scattering the biological tissues within.
This was the first friendly casualty incurred in combat with the enemy.
[Unexpected events have occurred.] The thought of C·Shivaji-21 appeared in their minds.
“Shaful…” The two rangers watching over their companion’s body imdiately lowered their heads.
[Although these Burrow Dragons are vermin, not all of them in front of us are diocre.] C·Shivaji-21 said, [We are here to exterminate them, not to be exterminated by them.
On the next stretch, be more vigilant.]
“Yes.”
Dozens of rangers covered each other, advancing in turns.
At each intersection, they sent a portion of drones to scout ahead.
A similar ambush occurred again.
But this ti, when the “rock supporting the cave” suddenly moved, the ranger didn’t think twice, stabbing forward with his white fla fla-tip spear (short version), and killed a Burrow Dragon on the spot.
The Burrow Dragons did not sit back and await their fate.
They used the martial power they had been storing for a long ti to counterattack the invaders.
The Burrow Dragons held the terrain advantage.
The noise created by the Protectors could be detected by them.
Living underground for long periods, they had enhanced their “sight” with inner strength to compensate for “hearing,” making them more sensitive to sounds.
The Burrow Dragons could always capture the initiative in battle.
Whether raising a gun to counter or throwing a bomb, they were always a step ahead.
The Rangers suffered accordingly.
Every ti they rounded a corner, they might face a volley of bullets.
The ground was also strewn with various land mines.
With the help of micro-drones, the Life-Chasing Cavalry could dismantle most of the bombs, but a few still exploded.
The cave collapses triggered by the explosions further restricted the Protectors’ maneuverability.
However, the Protectors still held an advantage.
The Burrow Dragons indeed acted like Heroes, but their attributes as “workers” surpassed those of “martial artists,” and most were the industrial-type prosthetic bodies, with only a small fraction possessing martial artist prosthetic bodies.
They studied martial arts simply to better manipulate these bodies.
By contrast, the rangers were a martial arts master unit specifically created to hunt down those from Jianghu, each skilled in combat.
The firearms skills of the Burrow Dragons were just basic.
Their firearms were old and inferior in performance to those of the rangers.
As long as the rangers managed their Avoid moves well, facing bullets at the optimal angle, there was even a chance they could pass through gunfire unscathed.
Once the Rangers got close to a Burrow Dragon, it was almost certain death.
Their best chance was to use the terrain to their advantage, striking from unexpected positions with anti-material weapons.
After more than ten minutes, both sides had sustained casualties.
But the difference was, the Rangers mostly just lost their prosthetic bodies.
These injuries, with a companion carrying them to the surface to switch prosthetic bodies, allowed them to rejoin the battle.
But for the Burrow Dragons, death was permanent.
A few Burrow Dragons who were not killed on the spot faced a fate more cruel than death.
Their brains were extracted and connected to the monitoring system, relying on this thod, the Protectors sought intelligence.
…………………………
Several tremors ca from above.
The old man’s breathing light on his forehead blinked slowly twice, sighing, “What kind of force have you brought down upon us… No, it seems you were telling the truth, you probably couldn’t have provoked such high-level Houndhawks yourself.”
Scott chose an expression pack that was awkward yet polite, “Old Senior, it looks like the battle above is still in a stalemate…”
“Stalemate my ass.” The old man sighed, “Actually, when the space-based weapons were raining down consecutively the other day, I had already started relocating, but finding a refuge, contacting heroes for assistance, and seeking a new holand all take ti.
We had just finished the preliminary arrangents, only relocating those among us who cannot participate in combat.”
“Now the relocation is still ongoing, and the other exits of this underground passage cannot be exposed yet.”
Scott imdiately understood the seriousness of the situation, “Using explosives underground will trigger seismic waves…”
“Those scoundrels must have set up seismic observation equipnt.” The old man shook his head, “Collapsing the tunnel was also a necessary asure.
Moreover…”
The old man touched his head, “If I can hold, I still want to hold on…
It’s strange.
Does one beco particularly hosick as they age?
Quite ridiculous, isn’t it?”
Suddenly, the ground above the two n shook violently.
The old man’s tone changed drastically, “Not good!”
…………………………………
In Delacruz City, Xiang Shan kicked open an iron door.
This was a warehouse.
According to the data, it belonged to a local Martial Artist and had been rented a few days ago.
However, for so reason, the owner of the warehouse was now unreachable.
Considering surveillance and records, it was very likely that Doctor Hu had been transported here after disappearing.
This area was close to the center of the city, surrounded by dense foot traffic and mixed crowds.
Most of the caras here were not part of “limited closed-circuit surveillance” and were easily modified or hacked.
If Xiang Shan wanted to do sothing to evade the Protectors, he would likely choose this area.
Due to the occasional passers-by from the Martial Arts School, his fully covered attire did not stand out.
And Yuki, with his biological tissues, further lowered his visibility.
After confirming there was no direct external surveillance, Xiang Shan kicked open this side door.
As the main door opened, he rolled to the side and extended an external cara to observe the inside.
There were no caras pointed at the entrance.
The images from this cara showed that there were no additional surveillance devices inside.
Only then did Xiang Shan carefully enter, and then scanned the area with his high-performance Prosthetic Eye.
After confirming there was no surveillance, he quickly let Yuki and Borshu co in—with Borshu being the main concern, as he did not trust to leave him outside.
Borshu asked, “Have the people all left?
Did you find any clues?”
Xiang Shan nodded and then shook his head, “They have indeed been here…”
Yuki spoke up, “There’s the sll of synthetic fluid, Master.”
Xiang Shan and Borshu lacked a sense of sll, but Yuki had it.
Borshu imdiately started searching the ground.
Soon, they found the source of the strange sll.
A body…
?
Or should one say “discarded Prosthetic Body”?
The skull of the Prosthetic Body had been opened.
Not by forced popping, but sawed off, a complete circle, exposing the skullcap.
This poor fellow, his brain was nowhere to be found.
And he wasn’t the only victim.
“It’s a Martial Artist’s Prosthetic Body,” Borshu muttered, “But the parts from their bodies weren’t taken.”
“The governnt people don’t care for these irregular Jianghu person Prosthetic Bodies,” Xiang Shan sighed, “I truly don’t know if I should hope that these brothers are still alive, or wish they had a quick end.”
Borshu replied, “Let’s hope for a quick end.” He stood up and asked, “And then?”
“According to the corner surveillance, Doctor Hu had indeed passed by there before he t us, so it’s very likely he ca out of this building.”
“And they have now left…
not long ago, it seems.”
Just then, a commotion ca from outside.
Yuki, being obviously unfinished in his transformation and less conspicuous than Xiang Shan or Borshu, cleverly ran out the door.
But very quickly, he ca back screaming, “Master!
Co out and see!
Hurry!
Sky…
sky…
sky…”
“Always startled by anything, what are you going to accomplish?” Xiang Shan said, “You must learn that even if Mount Tai collapses…” Suddenly, he cursed, “Space-based Kinetic Weapons!
Have these people gone mad?”
The noise from the Space-based Kinetic Weapons was too great.
This contradicted the behavior of King Aqini’s n “hiding their tracks!”
But soon, Xiang Shan noticed sothing odd.
The city’s Protector forces had not been alerted.
He wanted to hack into the Protectors’ network to investigate further, but for so reason, his instinct warned him “doing so would lead to death.”
“It seems a command was used to stop the local Protectors from reacting…” Xiang Shan whispered, “Have they found their final target, no need for secrecy anymore?”
He grabbed Yuki and Borshu, and at the sa ti, sent a ssage to Yuan Wenren.
“Head towards where the star fell!”
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