Embers Ad Infinitum

Translator: CKtalon

The SUV and pickup—which were behind the two vehicles in front—stopped in time. It was unknown how much dirt the wheels had sent flying into the sky.

At this moment, the few surviving bandits in the second vehicle also pushed open the doors and rolled to the ground, searching for cover.

Although they were unlikely to be hit by the hostile gunmen if they remained in the car and bent their backs, they had just witnessed the explosion of the vehicle in front. They knew that in such a situation, the vehicle was no longer protecting them but acted as a coffin for the living.

Upstream of the stream, at the area where bandits gathered, everyone—excluding the captives—stood up. They each found the most suitable spot and hurriedly aimed around the valley’s bend.

They were all experienced bandits. Even in the face of an accident, they acted in an organized manner.

At this moment, loud music sounded from the corner of the valley that they couldn’t see. Following this melody was an intense drumbeat that made one’s blood boil.

Amidst the drumming, a figure appeared in the bandits’ eyes.

He was 1.75 meters tall. His neck, chest, and abdomen were covered in iron-black armor. His limbs were supported by the metallic skeletal structure, and a large energy pack could be vaguely seen on his back. His head goggles shimmered with a red glow.

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Military exoskeleton! This thought flashed across the bandit leader and more than ten of the most knowledgeable bandits’ minds at the same time.

This made the fear in their hearts rise uncontrollably.

The next second, a rough male voice sounded in the smoke-filled valley. “As the smoke of war rises, looking north1…”

Long Yuehong suddenly jumped up into the air alongside the musical accompaniment. This caused all the bullets that shot at his original spot to miss.

As the song echoed, Long Yuehong—who was in midair—raised one arm and lowered the other. The raised arm was his left hand, which was holding a light machine gun. The lowered arm was equipped with a grenade launcher.

Amidst the gunfire, the vehicles were riddled with bullet holes as the glass shattered. This forced the bandits’ main force in the distance to not dare show themselves.

As the machine gun swept the area, a grenade was fired, flying straight between the second and third vehicles.

Boom!

A smaller fireball exploded from below and swallowed several bandits.

Boom!

Another grenade flew out and landed on the fourth vehicle’s windshield. It exploded into pieces, and some screams came to an abrupt stop.

“Dragon banners, horse neighs, sword flashes like frost…” Just as the explosion subsided, the boorish male voice ruled the area again.

Amidst the singing, Long Yuehong acted according to the plan. He borrowed some strength from the rock wall and jumped upstream.

The bandits tried to stop him and even used grenade launchers, but he dodged them with the comprehensive warning system. This allowed Long Yuehong to relax his slightly tense nerves significantly.

The strength of the military exoskeleton was vividly displayed on such a battlefield.

After making a few jumps, he shortened the distance between him and the bandits’ main force and fired the light machine gun in his left hand again.

Upon seeing that the enemy in the military exoskeleton was like a deity, the bandit leader was momentarily terrified.

He crouched behind the SUV that was reinforced with metal plates and shouted, “Retreat!”

There was naturally a plan for retreats. This bandit group was relatively famous in the surrounding area, and they weren’t pure mishmash mobs. Many members with grenade launchers and submachine guns immediately stretched out their bodies from their hiding spots and crazily fired at the enemy wearing the military exoskeleton.

Amidst the firing and explosions, many bandits either spewed blood or fell to the ground with incomplete bodies.

With the comprehensive warning system’s help, Long Yuehong relied on his jumping, speed, and reaction speed that exceeded that of humans to remain unscathed.

He occasionally failed to dodge a few bullets in time, but he could also fend off the danger by crouching, turning, and raising his hand.

But the sacrifice of seven to eight bandits also created an opportunity for the other bandits. They held their weapons and rushed into their respective vehicles, heading upstream where the other valley exit was.

Cars started moving, leaving behind the supplies and captives that couldn’t be taken away in time.

At the corner of the rock wall, Jiang Baimian—who was wearing a grayish-green camouflage uniform—smiled and asked Bai Chen, who was in a sniping position beside her, “How is it? Are you envious? I’ll get you one later.”

She seemed to be lazily carrying a single-use rocket launcher.

Bai Chen didn’t say anything as a form of tacit agreement. She was targeting enemies that could threaten Long Yuehong.

With a military exoskeleton in front to attract fire, they appeared rather relaxed at the back.

Shang Jianyao held his assault rifle and made the few surviving bandits hold their heads and squat down.

He had placed the small black speaker with a blue bottom on the other side of the rock wall to avoid it from suffering any damage during the battle.

Shang Jianyao attached great importance to this companion.

Jiang Baimian turned her head slightly to glance at Bai Chen before leisurely using the rocket launcher.

Boom!

A car in the middle of the bandits’ convoy exploded into a crimson fireball.

Death had chosen it.

The car behind it quickly swerved. Without taking a second look, it circled around the exploded vehicle and drove toward the valley exit.

At this moment, the firepower suppressing Long Yuehong had basically disappeared. He raised his right arm—which was equipped with a grenade launcher—to fire a few rounds at the bandits.

With the help of the precision aiming system, he zoomed in and saw panicked faces.

Long Yuehong hesitated for a moment but didn’t fire the grenade.

The bandit convoy quickly escaped the valley.

“Don’t chase a cornered enemy!” Jiang Baimian shouted. She didn’t raise the matter of Long Yuehong’s final mercy because she felt that it wasn’t a bad thing to be soft-hearted after the enemy had almost given up resisting.

Han Wanghuo was working hard to be ‘human.’ As humans—who were richly endowed by nature—they couldn’t be cold-hearted and arrogant. Of course, the necessary caution and carefulness could not be lacking.

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…

After crazily driving the vehicles for a distance, the bandits slowed down a little and calmed down when they saw that the terrifying enemy didn’t chase after them.

“Where did they come from?” The bandit leader panted and muttered to himself.

A weak and helpless lamb had suddenly turned into a flaming devil with goat horns!

If he knew that they had a military exoskeleton, he definitely wouldn’t hesitate to smile and think of a way to curry favor.

When they discovered each other, the bandits—who were recuperating—couldn’t escape in time unless they left many corpses behind as the price.

At this moment, a bandit in the passenger seat spoke with lingering fear and confusion. “Boss, there seemed to be only four of them.”

He had made a rough observation of the situation during the intense battle.

“Four?” The bandit leader was shocked at first, but he then cursed himself. “A person wearing a military exoskeleton reduced us to such a sorry state. If the other three had rushed forward, we would only be able to crouch down, hug our heads, and choose to surrender!”

Such a team was terrifying! Of course, if they had disregarded life and death, it was possible to kill two or three of the other party’s members. But how could a band of bandits have such spirit?

After a few seconds of silence, the bandit leader added, “I heard that there are some relatively small Ruin Hunter teams in the Ashlands. Each of them has extremely high strength or the latest equipment.

“Such teams can resist a certain number of troops from large factions head-on. Survival and enjoyment are no longer a problem for them. They travel the Ashlands and explore city ruins to find the door to the New World. That team from before might be like this.”

If that were the case, they wouldn’t have gained anything by resisting. It would only result in a wipeout.

At this moment, the bandit leader wasn’t saying these words to boost the enemy’s morale while diminishing his own. Instead, by claiming how strong the enemy was, the easier it was for everyone to regain their composure after suffering a crushing defeat that forced them to flee.

Furthermore, this also meant that he—as leader—wasn’t in the wrong in his judgment. It had nothing to do with his mistakes in commanding or his lack of bravery in battle. It was simply because the enemy was too strong.

Facing such a powerful enemy, they naturally had to flee as far as they could.

…

The male and female captives left behind by the bandits looked at Long Yuehong in confusion and shock as if they had seen a deity descend to the mortal world.

They just thought that the other party only had a vehicle and a few people—something that couldn’t save them. Unexpectedly, the Mountain Fox bandits—who had the numbers and plenty of weapons—were sent fleeing in panic in the blink of an eye by one member of the team, leaving behind many corpses and a few companions.

A military exoskeleton was really a war machine!

When such thoughts surfaced in everyone’s minds, additional thoughts surfaced.

Will they continue to treat us as captives and sell us elsewhere?

Among them, an elder—who was in his fifties and had grizzled hair—slowly stood up with difficulty. His hands were tied behind his back, and he wore a linen shirt and black pants. He trembled slightly under the winter wind that blew through the valley.

Amidst his trembling, his blue eyes looked at Jiang Baimian and Bai Chen—who were holding down a few bandits. He took the initiative to introduce himself. “I’m Miens, a steward from the Omnidirectional Commerce of the Linhai Alliance.”

He spoke fluent Ashlandic.

“Linhai Alliance?” Upon hearing this term, Jiang Baimian didn’t have any questions about Miens’s fluent Ashlandic.

The Linhai Alliance was located south of United Industries. Half of it was in the Golden River Zone, and the other half was on the southern coast.

It was made up of city states built by Ashlandics. The official language was Ashlandic. Of course, their accents were different from that of Pangu Biology employees.

In the Linhai Alliance, there were also Red River people and Coastals. This was a large faction that had everything ordinary. It could replicate low-level and ancient products, while high-level products had to be imported.

The resources they lacked were coal and iron.

Coastals were a sub-branch of Ashlandics. Their skin was darker, and their language was a little more awkward and difficult to understand.

“Yes,” Miens replied to Jiang Baimian’s question. With the help of a companion, he broke free from the rope that bound his hands. His body then twitched as if he were scalded by boiling water, but he also seemed to be dancing a strange dance.

After a few brief actions, the man in his fifties—who had more than half of his hair gray—said, “May the divine aura bathe you.”

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Shang Jianyao—who had just retrieved his small speaker and driven over in the jeep—saw this scene, and his eyes lit up.