Melee

A biting wind howled, scraping across everyone's cheeks like razor-sharp blades with bone-chilling cold. Gleaming icicles rained from the sky, hurtling toward the Dragonscale Marines. "Look out!" "Phase shields at full power!" Gangtie Kuangchao slammed the diamond-shaped device on his breastplate. A pale blue energy barrier instantly enveloped his body, though the shockwave of icicles crashing against his shield still threw him four or five meters back. As he tumbled through the snow, he caught sight of two squad members who hadn't managed to activate their shields in time. Icicles pierced straight through them, coating them in thick frost until even their blood froze solid, turning them directly into ice sculptures. "Holy crap..." Gangtie Kuangchao's face fell. Pointing at the frost shaman mounted on the Abyssal dragon, he roared, "Focus fire and take down that frost giant caster!" Hearing the command, the Dragonscale Marines readied their bolters, loaded armor-piercing rounds designed for giant monsters, and opened fire at the colossal silhouette looming in the blizzard. *Bang!* The gunshots were swallowed by the howling wind. Amid muzzle flashes, alloy-tipped armor-piercing rounds tore through the air, screaming toward the giant deep in the snowstorm. Yet ice condensed in midair into a massive wall of ice. Shards scattered, and every single armor-piercing round embedded deeply into the barrier, fused in place. Taking advantage of his teammates drawing fire, Gangtie Kuangchao rushed to the side of the frozen squadmates and activated the emergency life-support systems inside their armor. In an instant, searing energy coursed through their bodies. The frost melted, blood began to flow, and their two engine-like hearts beat once more. Their three lungs expanded and contracted in rhythm, restoring the Dragonscale Marines to full vigor. Such was the immense vitality of the Dragonscale Marines. After bio-enhancements engineered by the Empire, even if one of their hearts were shattered, they would not lose the capacity to fight. Unless shoved into a meat grinder and minced into fine bits, or hacked to pieces and reduced to scattered scraps, they would quickly rejoin the fray and remain their enemy's worst nightmare. Amid the blizzard, the frost shaman seemed to take notice of these "little bugs." From a distance of over a thousand meters, his chilling gaze swept across them, sending a shudder down their spines and making their scalps tingle. "Ignorant mortals... You know nothing of Lord Kostchtchie's might!" The frost shaman arrogantly raised his scepter. Howling gales roared, whipping up a tempest of snow. "Crush these little bugs!" "For the great Lord Kostchtchie!" The tanar'ri frost giants roared with fury. Brandishing iron hammers and spears, they charged through the bitter wind, shaking the ground with thunderous thuds. Corrupted by the Abyss, these tanar'ri frost giants were far more hulking and robust than ordinary frost giants, standing ten meters tall. As they charged, they resembled moving mountains of snow closing in on everyone. "Die, bug!" A tanar'ri frost giant hoisted a massive warhammer and brought it crashing down toward Gangtie Kuangchao. *Boom!* The giant hammer smashed into the ground, hurling up ice and snow that formed a freezing white mist. But Gangtie Kuangchao rolled aside, nimbly dodging the blow. Using the white mist as cover, Gangtie Kuangchao leapt seven or eight meters into the air, sweeping his power sword through the neck of the tanar'ri frost giant. *Snikt—* The high-frequency vibrating blade severed the frost giant's throat cleanly, spraying turbid, filthy blood. "Just... a tiny bug... how could—" Clutching its throat in disbelief, the tanar'ri frost giant crashed to the ground, kicking up a plume of snow. Blood welled out profusely, pooling around its massive corpse. "For the Emperor!" Standing atop the frost giant's mountain-like remains as abyssal vapors drifted upward, Gangtie Kuangchao raised his power sword high and roared with raised fist. "Damn it, that bug killed Drake!" "Quick! Smash him flat!" Several tanar'ri frost giants glared furiously at Gangtie Kuangchao and charged aggressively from different directions. *Whoosh—* With a sharp crack in the air, a spear over ten meters long shot through the wind. Gangtie Kuangchao rolled aside just in time. The spear plunged deep into the snow, vibrating violently and scattering snow and gravel in all directions. "Damn, trying to ambush me?" Gangtie Kuangchao cursed angrily. "Brother Kuangchao, we're here!" The other Dragonscale Marines noticed the enemies' intent and rushed to reinforce him. Gathering together, they raised their bolters to aim at the tanar'ri frost giants. *Bang!* *Bang! Bang!* Gunfire echoed across the sky. Accompanied by bright flashes, a dozen armor-piercing rounds poured out, puncturing the frost giants' coarse, thick hides and churning their internal organs into pulp. Gaping holes spewing blood opened across the bodies of the lead giants. "No—!" "This is impossible!" The tanar'ri frost giants let out piteous wails before collapsing with a roar, sending sweeping clouds of snow across the ground. "Taste this!" Chen Yan, vice captain of the Dragonscale Marines, leapt from the flank, his shoulder-mounted plasma cannon spitting a brilliant ball of energy. *Boom!* The tanar'ri frost giant's left half vaporized in an instant. The unbalanced titan tumbled into an ice fissure, throwing up a geyser of lava nearly a hundred meters high. "So you're the one who tried to ambush me..." Gangtie Kuangchao slowly raised his bolter, taking aim at a tanar'ri frost giant in the distance. A few breaths later, he pulled the trigger without hesitation. *Bang!* The armor-piercing round streaked across the sky, striking between the frost giant's brows from hundreds of meters away. Warm brain matter erupted, and skull fragments flew six or seven meters into the air. Gangtie Kuangchao blew the smoke from the muzzle, smirking smugly. "Think you can ambush me? How's that for opening up your mind!" After thorough augmentations by the Machine Cult, the combat power of these Dragonscale Marines was terrifying; almost every one of them was equivalent to a mini-boss. And when the Vitagis Dragonscale Marines coordinated with practiced tactics, their effectiveness rivaled that of legendary fighters, easily placing them among the Empire's elite. In just a few minutes, this twelve-man squad had slaughtered over thirty tanar'ri frost giants. The massive corpses piled across the snow, resembling undulating hills. "For Lord Kostchtchie! Kill them at all costs!!" the frost giants roared hoarsely. Countless low-tier demons of the Iron Wastes also howled through the blizzard, swarming toward the Dragonscale Marines in overwhelming, chaotic numbers like a terrifying avalanche. "Captain, there are too many demons here! Shouldn't we fall back?" Chen Yan looked around, his voice tense with urgency. "Alright." Gangtie Kuangchao nodded solemnly, then instructed a dark-skinned teammate beside him, "Vulcan, activate the teleportation circle." The Dragonscale Marines' power armor incorporated single-use Dimension Door circles. Once activated, they could traverse space and disengage from battle instantly. Looking at the endless tide of demons and tanar'ri frost giants rushing at them, Gangtie Kuangchao grinned and waved at them. "We've already made back our costs anyway. *Nigerundayo*!" Yet his smile soon froze on his face in awkward disbelief. The Dragonscale Marines did not teleport away as intended, but countless ferocious demons were already lunging claws and baring teeth, their mottled tide on the verge of submerging them. *Bang!* Gangtie Kuangchao blasted a quasit in front of him to bits, shouting anxiously, "Brother, what happened to that teleport you promised?!" Vulcan threw a heavy punch, crushing a dretch's skull. His voice was grim. "The Abyss seems to be suppressing magic here—spells aren't casting properly! We have to break out of this frost domain on foot!" "Why the hell didn't you say so earlier?!" Gangtie Kuangchao leapt high and plunged his power sword down with both hands. The blade, vibrating at high frequency and projecting a destructive force field, impaled a frost spider demon straight through the head, sending virulent ichor gushing out. More and more demons closed in around them, interspersed with towering, muscular tanar'ri frost giants. Even the Dragonscale Marines were growing hard-pressed, and the battle turned increasingly grim. After all, two fists were no match for four hands, and the enemy outnumbered them by thousands, tens of thousands. Sheer numbers alone threatened to crush them. "Damn it, there're way too many demons! I'm about to break!" Chen Yan cursed as he hacked down three quasits in front of him, then impaled a vrock ambushing him from behind without even turning around. Under the repeated assaults of the demons, fine cracks had appeared across his power armor, and even the chainsword in his hand was caked in gore, its teeth dulled. "Hold on a bit longer! At least make it worth our while!" Gangtie Kuangchao fired another shot, blasting a gaping hole through a tanar'ri frost giant's chest. Gangtie Kuangchao felt a twinge of agony. As Vitagis Dragonscale Marines, if they died in battle, not only would they lose EXP, but they would also have to pay a massive sum of gold coins to reconstruct their bodies. "Bug! You cannot defy Lord Kostchtchie's will!" "Avernus will be ours! For the Abyss!" Swarming hordes of demons made Gangtie Kuangchao struggle immensely. Three more tanar'ri frost giants charged in, swinging their warhammers almost simultaneously. Gangtie Kuangchao tried to roll away, but a dozen demons grabbed him together, pinning him in place. "Motherf—" Gangtie Kuangchao strained with all his might to shake off the clinging fiends, but the warhammer was already hurtling through the air and slammed hard into his chest. *Boom!* Gangtie Kuangchao flew backward twenty or thirty meters, coughing up blood. The immense shockwave ruptured his internal organs, and his breastplate shattered, spraying fragments into the air. The Dragonscale Marine crashed heavily against the rock face behind him, carving out a man-shaped crater. Battered and drenched in blood, he was in a wretched state. "Eat him!" The demons let out a cacophony of shrieks and sneers. Eyes burning with ravenous greed and vile, viscous drool dripping from their maws, they lunged madly at Gangtie Kuangchao. "Hahahaha! Excellent! Tear him to shreds!" The three frost giants were equally triumphant, their heavy strides shaking the earth as they charged toward him. "Brother Kuangchao!" "Damn it, too many demons! I'm surrounded!" The other Dragonscale Marines tried to come to his aid, but they too were pinned down by the demonic horde, hard-pressed to save themselves. Buried deep in the rock, Gangtie Kuangchao watched the demons hurtling toward him, his breath faint and his heart filled with bitter frustration. *Am I really going to suffer my first death since becoming a Dragonscale Marine here?* *And killed by a mob of trash mobs, of all things...* Gangtie Kuangchao slowly clambered to his feet, shaking off the gravel clinging to his body. Gripping his power sword and steadying his breath, he prepared for a fight to the death. Just then, a familiar screech echoed from the sky like the howl of the grim reaper, sending a shiver through the air. "That's..." Gangtie Kuangchao's eyes lit up as he snapped his head up. Dozens of crimson figures swept across the sky trailing brilliant contrails of light and leaving white streaks in their wake—the Redscale Conquerors! With deafening roars, the wyverns dove at breakneck speed, dropping a rain of bombs. *Boom!* *Boom! Boom!* Flames erupted into the sky. The hundreds of demons in front of Gangtie Kuangchao were engulfed in the blaze, wiped out so completely that not a single intact limb remained. Even the arrogant frost giants were reduced to ash in the inferno. "Yo, isn't that the famous Gangtie Kuangchao?" Singo's mocking voice drifted down from the sky. Then came Mantou's cheeky chuckle. "Look how pathetic you are! Getting beaten like a dog by a bunch of low-tier demons, and your power armor's smashed all over the ground!" Gangtie Kuangchao flared up immediately. "What do you know?! I got hurt taking on three giants all by myself! Ever heard of Lü Bu fighting the Three Heroes?!" By then, however, the Redscale Conquerors had already pulled up into the sky to prepare for their next dive, completely out of earshot. Gangtie Kuangchao stood where he was, stomping his feet in fury. Just then, a quasit hissed and pounced toward him. "You still dare mess with me?!" This fiend caught him at the worst possible moment. Gangtie Kuangchao delivered a rage-fueled punch that sent the quasit flying, then surged forward and rained down blows like a tempest. The unfortunate demon was battered into an unrecognizable mess, quickly reduced to a gory paste. Suddenly, a surge of blistering air rolled in from behind, clashing against the abyssal chill summoned by the frost shaman. Billowing clouds surged across the heavens, filling the air with vapor. Gangtie Kuangchao turned his head to see twelve Dragon-Pact Sorcerers, led by Misha, taking the field. Clad in crimson-and-gold robes, they hovered in midair, fire swirling in their golden eyes. *"Dragon wings singe the firmament, red scales incinerate the skies, molten eyes scorch the clouds, roaring wails boil the seas..."* The Dragon-Pact Sorcerers chanted an ancient Draconic incantation, releasing a tremendous surge of energy. Their bodies radiated brilliant golden light—the divine might bestowed upon them by the Emperor. In an instant, scorching gales swept over the land. Glaciers receded, snowbanks melted, and half the sky bled back into a fiery orange-red. "Frost shaman?" Looking down disdainfully at the distant frost giant, Misha sneered, "Before the might of my master, you will be burned to cinders!" Even farther off, dragon-blessed paladins marched in disciplined ranks like a moving citadel. Their resolve surged heavenward, and behind them manifested the colossal, majestic phantom of a red dragon.