Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 401 - 34: Hellfire versus Iron Tyrant_3

Chapter 401: Chapter 34: Hellfire versus Iron Tyrant_3

The alarm device immediately sounded off a crazed cry. Tang Zheng’s ears almost went deaf. He performed several zigzag maneuvers, but the rocket shells tailgated him regardless.

All the bystanders from the wasteland shielded their eyes and watched Tang Zheng being chased by rocket shells.

Hellfire’s leg protective armor opened, releasing decoy missiles, which then exploded in mid-air forming a barrage. The rocket shells collided with it, setting them off in batches.

The Iron Tyrant was furious. Its thruster started, lifting it into the air to follow Tang Zheng’s trail. The Gatling and arm-mounted machine guns spat tongues of flame non-stop, hoping to knock him down.

The bullets hit the ground creating a lengthy column of mud. Some less-sturdy cave dwellings were simply shattered apart due to the shots.

The wastelanders met an untimely misfortune. They had no time to spectate and were busy avoiding stray bullets.

Tang Zheng’s right hand caressed backward, launching two impact beams. The Iron Tyrant, lacking agility, was hit. However, its armor was too thick to be shaken. The body only swayed a bit, leaving a patch of charred blackness.

"This brute’s energy output seems to be poor too." A few dozen seconds later, Tang Zheng discovered a weakness in the Iron Tyrant—it was not fast and consumed energy at a high rate. When it realized its efforts to catch Tang Zheng were futile, it decidedly plummeted towards the ground; even the machine guns ceased its firing.

"Shall we fight in a melee? Or wait for his power to deplete?" While Tang Zheng hesitated, the Iron Tyrant had already progressed towards his temporary residence, and actively attacked each junior soldier he came upon during its route. This creature didn’t play foolish; it decided to kill Tang Zheng’s comrades, forcing him to attack proactively.

Energy had started to gather in the energy beam cannon on Tang Zheng’s chest; three seconds later, the beam of a half-meter diameter was fired, crashing into the Iron Tyrant’s torso. The powerful impact rolled it over instantly.

Electrical sparks burst out from a few joints, and the metal in the chest area partly melted due to high heat.

"It seems the radar function is not impressive either." Tang Zheng decided to test it in melee combat. He flew over and smashed into it. The Iron Tyrant struck back, casting a punch hitting him in the head.

The shock absorption anti-impact feature of Hellfire was not too bad. Yet, the bursting data on the screen in front of Tang Zheng’s eyes momentarily confounded him, nearly blinding his eyes.

The two armored suits entwined and collapsed nearby cave dwellings.

Tang Zheng parried the Iron Tyrant’s second punch and took another shot at its chin. The antagonist felt nothing and continued to fight back.

The Iron Tyrant’s frame was too big. It could not deploy any techniques other than basic hammering. But each hit possessed more than a dozen tons of force. If it had been an ordinary person, they would have turned into a meat sauce.

Tang Zheng kicked his adversary; the dual thrusters on his hands started, and he slid out of there. The Iron Tyrant’s attack missed. He didn’t want to directly confront it, let alone when the Steel Council evidently had quite a few power armors left. And he only had one Hellfire—what if it broke? Would he have to fight a melee combat without it? Would it not be a suicide?

"That’s more like it!" Lu Fan, hiding on a rooftop, saw his uncle employ the guerrilla warfare—circling the Iron Tyrant like a bee, constantly firing impact beams at its head and limb joints—and couldn’t help but admire him. Though it consumed some time, it was safe.

The Iron Tyrant burned with rage, yet it was helpless. Not only was it unable to catch Tang Zheng, but it had also exhausted its ammunition. The power could only last for a further thirteen minutes, so it had to change its strategy and dash to the third level to replenish the energy before fighting it again.

How could Tang Zheng let him escape? He shot an energy beam cannon at it from behind. The Iron Tyrant focused only on escaping, so the shot hit it head-on. Tang Zheng advanced, charged with full firepower at its right leg, and simply dismantled it. Pieces of steel and screws scattered everywhere.

Through the loudspeaker, everyone on the second level heard the heartbreaking howl from the Duan Gang’s son.

"That’s enough. Deploy, now. I merely wished to observe the performance data of the Iron Tyrant in actual combat and didn’t expect this result." At the entrance of the third layer, the highest leader of the 12th settlement was standing on an armored vehicle, observing the battle conditions through the telescope. Upon seeing the Iron Tyrant’s defeat, he turned back and instructed a sentence to his staff officer.

The staff officer sitting on a military Hummer picked up the in-vehicle sound pickup and issued an order. A team of twelve Iron Tyrants walked forth, started their thrusters, and flew towards the battlefield.

"Commander, wouldn’t it be too conspicuous? Isn’t this a secret weapon?" The staff officer said, baffled.

"Ha, we have to let civilians know who holds the absolute force in the settlement. I don’t wish to witness the trouble from meddling jesters anymore." The group leader stared at Tang Zheng, speculating his origin, "Could it be the Freedom Group?"

"With that outcome fighting even the first-generation Iron Tyrant, he is nothing special." The staff officer sneered in disdain, "And besides, Tang Zheng—nobody else possesses power armor."

"This bloke is inevitably a hidden danger." The group leader pondered, asked, "Where do you think this knock-off comes from? China or Europe?"

"By the looks of it, it seems more American style." The staff officer barely had any concern about it anymore; only the Council’s status stability mattered.

Watching those twelve Iron Tyrants floating mid-air, the wastelanders exclaimed continuously, while Tang Zheng’s expression visibly grew grave. The adversary’s hidden strength was much more significant than he imagined, even if he found the armory and equipped an army regiment of thousands of soldiers, there would be no way to win over these "iron bumps".

The adversaries didn’t utter any courtesies, they lifted the ruined Iron Tyrant and headed towards the third level.

With a gloomy face, Tang Zheng gathered an energy beam cannon and fired it off, shattering the Iron Tyrant’s skull. The others, not expecting Tang Zheng to attack, froze for a moment, but prepared for a counterattack the next instant.

"Come back." The staff officer prevented them from further skirmish. The Duan Gang Mercenary Corps no longer had any significance, their death was not a pity—it wasn’t worth flipping tables with Tang Zheng over such trivial matters; it wasn’t time yet.

"Tell them, they owe three thousand for the spoils of war; if they disagree, kick them out." The group leader got into the armored vehicle, returning to enjoy his leisure.

"We split it on 28-72." The staff officer took the liberty to bargain, and exploited one more tier off Tang Zheng.

Tang Zheng didn’t take particular fancy for these supplies—in fact, his goal to establish prestige had already been achieved, and there were even extra gains. He had also thought about taking the internal route, to mix into the Council as a group sergeant or something. Better yet, if he could steal a couple of Iron Tyrants, it would be the best.

...

PS: I accompanied my mother to the hospital today to get the test results; I didn’t have time to write. I only have these 5,000 words; forgive me! (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to qidian.com to vote for votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)