Wei Gaocheng had never regarded these cannon-fodder characters as one of his own.
They had all joined for power, money, and ambition. He was no different, yet after countless battles—and with Jiang Yan's deliberate guidance—
his sense of belonging to the Monster Association had maxed out, and his loyalty to Jiang Yan was absolute.
"A Cadre!" The youth instinctively stepped back, despair written on his face.
To be a Cadre among these savage Monsters—how strong was he? Level Three? Or even Fourth-level Awakener?
Wei Gaocheng flashed a cruel grin. "Take us to Huo Tian. Find him and I'll let you walk."
The youth recoiled, terror on his face. "Master Huo will kill me—no way…"
Shluck! An ear flew; Li Yong had appeared on his left without warning.
His right hand extended, claws tipped with faint blood. He stared coldly. "Talk or die—then we grab someone else."
"Sss!" Clutching the stump where his ear had been, the youth shrieked, "I'll guide you—just don't kill me!"
He wanted to live, even if it meant selling out his boss.
"Lead the way." Wei Gaocheng's smile vanished.
He glanced at Li Yong. "Grab him."
"When you said 'one big job,' you didn't mean the three of us jumping a Level Five, right?" Han Qi walked up, frowning; he felt he'd boarded a pirate ship.
Four eyes turned to Wei Gaocheng and Li Yong. The soul crystals had boosted them, but they were still short of Level Five.
Wei Gaocheng said nothing; wings beat as he soared skyward with Li Yong and Han Qi, Li Yong's free hand clamped round the youth's neck.
In an instant they were a kilometer up, wind screaming past their ears.
Wei Gaocheng's expression turned grave. "If we fight, we fight Level Five. Those Level Three and Four Awakened are trash—can't last a single round. Only life-and-death with the strong makes us grow."
Han Qi and Li Yong nodded in agreement.
"In this situation, not advancing is slow death; any moment we could be wiped out," Li Yong said, eyes glinting.
They knew the price of a frontal assault on Anna Country: head-on war with humanity.
The enemy had experts aplenty; their own side was strong, yet still outmatched.
He tightened his grip on the youth's neck. "Point!"
"In Mbutang capital." The youth waved his remaining arm… While Anna Country's invasion raged, those outside the cities heard the news.
Families piled into battered cars and fled toward neighboring states; decrepit roads filled with traffic.
Faces tense, they drove on.
Whoosh! Fighter jets streaked overhead.
They arrowed toward the city behind the refugees.
A sharp-eyed refugee caught the silhouettes in the moonlight and cried in joy, "Teya Alliance jets—our country's saved!"
Teya Alliance—nine Caucasian nations bound together, the Bureau of Gods their Awakened branch.
"They're here—wonderful!" Excitement spread through the crowd.
Anna Country lay on the eastern seaboard; a hundred kilometers farther and you hit endless coast.
Fifty kilometers offshore…
A carrier strike group waited, a dozen escorts around it.
Inside the carrier's Combat Information Center…
General Luther Taylor watched the radar tracks.
"Prince Trae, this is Thunder Squadron. Over Dagen City, Anna Country—my God, Monsters everywhere, corpses everywhere!"
The pilot's shocked voice crackled across the channel.
Luther's gaze hardened. "Hit them from the air. Let them know Earth belongs to humanity."
"Thunder copies."
Luther strode to a large screen streaming live satellite feed of Dagen City.
The entire city burned, columns of black smoke rising.
He studied the feed; Prince Trae happened to be training nearby.
Once the Monster Association launched its assault, the Bureau of Gods ordered immediate strikes on nearby Monsters.
Every warship had missiles ready, awaiting the order to engage the Evil Dragon God. Luther thrilled at the prospect.
"Slaying a dragon with mortal weapons—if we succeed, my name will resound across the world." Ambition blazed in his eyes.
High above Dagen City, thirty-three fighters opened their missile bays, locking onto concentrations of Monsters.
"Fire!" The roar echoed as white missiles streaked from gray fuselages.
Swoosh!
Yellow flames drove the missiles across the sky.
On a street, four or five Monsters clustered, laughing.
"Haha! Who dares stop our rise? Humans are nothing!" A two-metre, star-faced gorilla hefted a massive hammer, grinning viciously.
Once he'd been society's lowest, a wage-slave bullied by bosses.
A chance to join the Monster Association had given him unfettered freedom; years of resentment melted, his gorilla face almost gentle now.
The other Monsters wore identical looks of glee.
As they turned to hunt more humans, the air shrieked.
They glanced up—hundreds of missiles trailing fire.
The instant they looked, one missile slammed within metres of them.
Boom! The blast wave swallowed them, bodies shredded, faces frozen in shock as they turned to ash.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Missiles blanketed the city; explosions everywhere.
The pilots spared no thought for survivors; without ground forces, those people were doomed anyway.
Better a quick end.
In a cockpit the squadron leader watched the city blossom with explosions, face impassive. "All flights, westbound for another salvo—exterminate every Monster."
"Copy."
"Copy."
Voices answered across the net.
The formation banked west, preparing to unleash another barrage.