At the base of the War Fortress, squads of warriors wielded rocket launchers. They pulled the triggers, and rockets shot out from the launchers, tracing bright arcs in the sky before slamming into the city gates.
These were the V3 grenade-launching rocket launchersâan upgraded version of the previous model, with greater power and longer range.
Of course, they were also far more expensive. Each one required five times the battle contribution points of the older model to exchange, and the same went for all the rockets.
Fortunately, thanks to the high-level mutated lifeforms recently hunted by Cloud Peak and Ye Zhongming, along with other rewards, their battle merit medal contribution badges had accumulated a significant number of points. Ye Zhongming exchanged for 2,000 launchers in one go, each equipped with ample ammunitionâa full twenty rockets per launcher!
Ye Zhongming had invested heavily in this western offensive.
From the sky to the ground, these firearms were aimed at the sturdy metal gates of the Holy City. Breaching them would mean half the battle for todayâs urban assault was already won.
From atop the Holy Cityâs walls, numerous streaks of light shot out, glowing brilliantly in the night under the illumination of the "flares."
At the same time, somethingâno one knew whatâerupted from the central area of the Holy City, specifically the palace of the City Lordâs residence. Like fireworks, blossoming flowers of light burst forth before transforming into agile beams that shot outward at incredible speed, targeting the incoming missiles and rockets.
Explosions erupted just seconds after Cloud Peakâs assault began.
The deafening blasts and blinding flashes sent shivers down the spines of the Holy Cityâs evolved, who hadnât heard such sounds in many years.
They werenât truly afraidârather, it was the lingering shadow this familiar noise from the peaceful era had left in their hearts.
The Exquisite Floating Balls, the War Fortress, and the grenade-launching rocket launchers all initiated a second wave of attacks, and the Holy Cityâs countermeasures followed suit.
Aerial strikes and defenses, missiles and anti-missile systemsâthe two sides clashed head-on in this manner.
After the second wave, Cloud Peak suddenly ceased fire. The Exquisite Floating Balls retreated, the War Fortress returned to the protection of the main forces, and the Cloud Peak warriors carrying the V3 rocket launchers slung their weapons over their backs, grabbed their ammunition crates, and ran back to their formation.
An unnatural silence fell over the battlefield.
What was happening?
Not only were the people inside the Holy City puzzled, but the defending soldiers were equally confused.
Under the glow of the flares, they could vaguely make out the distant figures of the Easterners, but they couldnât discern what they were doing.
Atop the palace in the City Lordâs residence, over a dozen people stood gathered. One of them operated a square, box-like device, his hands buried inside it, while a pair of black goggles covered his eyes, flickering with intermittent light.
"Whatâs going on with them?"
A white-robed figure gazed up at the sky, trying to deduce why the Easterners had halted their assault.
If it was because of the night, the slowly rising flares provided enough illuminationâfor evolved, it was practically no different from daytime.
"Did they run out of ammunition? Theyâre using nothing but firearms, relics from the peaceful era. There shouldnât be many left!"
The wheel did offer Earthâs technological weapons, but never in such quantities. Even if stockpiled, six-plus years wouldnât have been enough to amass this much. Just in those two waves of attacks, the four aircraft alone had launched forty of those expensive surface-to-air missiles!
And those missiles fired from the massive machines? Over a hundred across four directions.
As for rocketsâthousands!
These would have to come from level-four or higher wheels, and most were likely one-time-use items. How many spins would it take to get so many?
It was almost certain that these missiles and rockets were either pre-apocalypse stockpiles or later productions.
Given the current technological level of the post-apocalyptic world, even if they could manufacture such high-grade firearms, the output would never be this high.
The assumption that they were running low was the most plausible explanation.
The others nodded in agreementâexcept for the City Lord, who kept his eyes on the man still in combat mode, his hands seemingly fused with the square device, his goggled head swiveling in different directions.
"Ah Pu, what do you see?"
Facing the City Lordâs question, the man called Ah Pu continued observing while replying, "The four aircraft have flown far and are now movingâno longer targeting the gates but the middle sections of the walls! The giant machines remain stationary, but some warriors are advancing alongside the aircraft!"
Were they planning to assault the walls directly? A full-frontal attack?
The Holy Cityâs higher-ups quickly deliberated, but none found it likely.
Modern walls were nothing like those of the cold-weapon era. These were products of wheel technologyâdurable enough to withstand evolved attacks.
Especially the Holy Cityâs walls, which underwent repairs and upgrades every two years. Now, even a level-eight lifeformâs full-force strike would barely leave a mark!
Of course, this was only true when energy reserves were sufficient.
Like Cloud Peak, the Holy Cityâs walls relied not just on special materials but also on energy supply to maintain their formidable durability.
The gates were the sameâcrafted from treated materials rather than ordinary metal. Though they were the weakest point in the defensive system, that was only relative. Abandoning them to attack the walls instead? Were these Easterners really that foolish?
"Can you estimate their numbers?"
"Over 100,000, no more than 120,000."
Hearing this, the initially wary Holy City leaders smiled.
A hundred thousand evolved was a massive forceâin West Asia or any other region, it would be an intimidating number. Against human settlements, it would be an overwhelming tide.
But they were attacking the Holy City.
A fortress so sturdy even its owners didnât know how to breach it from the outside!
A hundred thousand? Not enough.
Maybe double that number could pose a threatâand even then, only a marginal one. To take this place with certainty, a million would be the bare minimum, alongside powerful siege weapons!
This wasnât blind confidence but fact. Just look at the Holy Cityâs own populationâover a million evolved!
Even without walls, how would a mere 100,000 stand a chance?
"Theyâre attacking again!"
As Ah Pu shouted and the square device launched more "fireworks" into the sky, the assault resumed after a brief lull!
Outside the eastern gate, Guang Yao and the others had set up a command tent to calculate strategies. Ye Zhongming stood at the entrance, observing the battle.
"According to your calculations, that Thousand Defenderâs energy can only hold out for eight rounds?"
The Cloud Peak King suddenly turned and asked.
"Yes!"
A man snapped to attention, his posture rigidâa habit from his days in the Resistance Zone.
"This defensive-type job is uniqueâhe can only have this one job. Intelligence suggests heâs consumed three to five bottles of mental energy potions. We calculated based on five high-grade mental energy potions, factoring in other potential unknown methods of boosting mental energy. Our conclusion is that, at the current attack intensity, he can endure eight rounds at most. Even with unforeseen variables, he absolutely cannot last past ten!"