Armor-Piercing Munition: Face Me, Carbon-Based Monster!
Chapter 67: Ancestors

Chapter 67: Chapter 67: Ancestors

The massive form of "Mongolia" plunged into the water, sending splashes soaring upwards, intermingling with the sparks floating from its back and the slanting rays of sunlight, as if igniting a misty cloud.

The surging waves approached mightily, and even though they weakened by the time they reached the island’s shore, the layered waves still conveyed an overwhelming sense of pressure.

The ranks of civilians began to waver. Some took a few steps back, but seeing others around them unmoved, they hesitated and returned to their original positions.

They raised their weapons in defiance against the massive monster, their tiny bodies forming a stark contrast against the colossal creature, like ants daring to challenge an elephant.

The Mechanical God Sect followers on the monster’s back noticed this scene, "laughable" in their eyes. The Priest at the console sang holy hymns, while the Fire Cannon Priests on either side of the suspended basket completed their final prayers.

Smoke rose, and with a thunderous boom, flames erupted from the muzzle of the front-loading cannon. The heavy projectile soared over the water, heading straight for the shore.

Soon after, the projectile fell 300 meters from the shore, creating two tall splashes.

"No one move! Fire! Fire!"

Chen Jian heard the civilian who had previously found him weaving through the improvised ranks, continuously pulling back those attempting to retreat.

But his actions evidently had no desired effect, as the ranks had already lost their basic cohesion.

"Don’t move! Hide behind cover, they can’t hit you!"

Chen Jian shouted, but again, his words fell on deaf ears.

The second round of bombardment from the Mechanical God Sect had begun, and this time, the shells landed on the shore directly in front of them!

"Boom!"

A massive explosion erupted, the shrapnel from the explosive shells flying wildly with the shockwave.

Someone was cut by the shrapnel and leaped out from what had been a safe shelter, turning in fright to run.

Another tried to use their leg to stop a solid shell that looked harmless as it bounced slowly on the ground, but immediately, the leg twisted at an alarming angle, almost torn from the body by the shell’s immense momentum.

Painful cries pierced the air, and the line, unable to bear the pressure, began to collapse.

The organizer still endeavored to stabilize the formation but to no avail.

Only a meager twenty people followed his orders and stayed, and among them, some even lacked weapons entirely.

What sustained them standing there was only courage, anger, or perhaps... despair?

Chen Jian wished to stand up and command the fight himself, but he couldn’t leave his position.

Didn’t I tell you to stay behind the cover?

What are you doing?!

I only wanted to give you a chance to prove your courage, do you really need casualties to feel satisfied?

He continued to order the crowd to hold the line and wait patiently, but the more he said this, the more confused the organizer became.

He looked towards Chen Jian’s direction, his face full of both confusion and disappointment.

He had no concept of awaiting the right time on the battlefield, nor did he understand the importance of the "battle line," feeling only that waiting was meaningless now.

His heart was already filled with fear and anxiety, thoughts becoming more chaotic.

---- What are we waiting for? Why aren’t we firing yet?

Is this your way of fighting?

You’ve already seen the enemy, shouldn’t you open fire immediately?

Will you just wait here, doing nothing, watching as the Mechanical God Sect slaughters us one by one?

The monster was swimming towards the shore, already very close.

If it reaches this island, it will be too late!

At this moment, even he felt the urge to turn and run.

But he didn’t know where he could escape to.

Taking a deep breath, he finally made up his mind.

Then, he raised the rifle he’d captured from the Church Protection Army, shouting loudly:

"All brothers willing to fight, come to me!"

"We stand together!"

"In the name of the ancestors, we defend this place!"

"Our bones will be buried with the ancestors!"

As his words fell, more than a dozen people still holding the line ran quickly to him, shouting:

"Ancestors protect us!"

"Take down that monster! Aim for the eyes!"

"Cultist scum! Grandpa is waiting here for you!"

"Protect the land of our ancestors!"

...

Gunfire erupted from both the water and the shore, and amidst the brief, intense shooting, some fell from the monster’s back.

But soon, the Church Protection Army of the Mechanical God Sect retaliated, and after a round of shooting, someone from the ranks by the shore also fell.

The bullets were running low.

The man at the forefront wore an expression of immense grief, tossing aside his gun and charging into the lake recklessly.

He had already forgotten Chen Jian’s orders; he was driven only by a desire for "revenge."

Without a weapon, he even thought of using his teeth to bite to death those hateful cultists.

It was the only thing he could do.

He could not simply watch his ancestors’ land be defiled by evil.

Then let him die here.

The man took a deep breath, plunged into the water.

His entire body submerged, but just then, a massive explosion was heard.

They fired another shot.

Ignoring it, he dived in deeper, swimming swiftly.

He wanted only to get closer, closer still.

Finally, his lungful of air exhausted, he was forced to resurface.

But when he blinked away the water from his eyes, his body suddenly went stiff with shock.

In front of him was a sight that left him trembling.

The monster had reached the shallows within 300 meters of the island’s shore, and he was only 150 meters from it.

Yet, the monster could not advance any further.

Blazing fire leaped up, and the shockwave from the explosion washed over the monster’s shell.

The altar on the monster’s back was hit by a shell from who knows where, and with a violent explosion, the steel altar was blasted to smithereens in an instant.

Broken bodies flew through the air and then fell into the lake, staining the waters a swirling red.

Soon after, a gun emplacement exposed on one side was similarly shattered by the explosion, and on the other side, the body of the Fire Cannon Priest was suddenly severed.

The immense gunshot noise reached his ears just then, but as he turned to find its source, two more bursts of blood erupted on the monster’s head.

Immediately following was an explosion buried deep within the flesh.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Two muffled explosions later, the monster’s head burst into a crimson mist.

Its body had not yet fallen, but soon, its metal-covered back blossomed into a brilliant fire.

The metal melted, and the biological shell beneath was likewise penetrated.

The enormous impact nearly knocked the monster down, its heavy form submerged in the water, while the surviving Church Protection Army frantically dove into the lake, desperately seeking escape.

But clearly, no one would grant them such a chance.

The man turned back to the shore, seeing the steel-armored warrior holding a lance, methodically and steadily dispatching the fallen Church Protection Army in the water.

So composed.

As if taking a leisurely stroll.

And the two Holy Blood individuals, revered in front of most, merely stood on either side of the steel warrior, like loyal guards....

...

Five minutes later, the gunfire ceased.

The aggressive monster never reached the island, and the Church Protection Army from the Mechanical God Sect had all become floating corpses on the lake surface.

The man swam back to the island, stunned and blank, as he walked towards the "steel warrior" who was cleaning his gun, staring for a long time before finally speaking with a trembling voice:

"You... who are you?"

Zeng Yi, standing beside Chen Jian, coughed and stepped forward to answer:

"They are the Chosen Ones, and also your saviors."

The man lifted his head in realization and then fell to the ground.

Chen Jian watched curiously until the man fiercely kowtowed a few times on the ground before belatedly saying:

"Get up, no need to kneel."

Chen Jian hung the recoilless rifle 024 back onto its rack and then said:

"We are not Chosen Ones, and we are not here to save you either."

"The reason we oppose the Mechanical God Sect is merely to give you a choice."

"Make your choice now."

"Stand, or kneel?"

The man raised his head in surprise, then firmly stood up.

But then he asked again:

"You say you’re not... the Chosen Ones... but can you tell me who you are?"

Chen Jian smiled slightly and replied:

"I heard your rallying cry earlier."

"In truth, we are the same kind as your ancestors..."