Life Game In Other World
Chapter 1217: The Battle Begins (Vote for Monthly Pass)

Chapter 1217: Chapter 1217: The Battle Begins (Vote for Monthly Pass)

The gaunt man gazed at everything before him. All he saw was that bloody radiance shining under the firmament, splintering, exploding, and igniting the spider robots within it.

He couldn’t capture the man’s figure; his speed was too fast—so fast it exceeded the limits of his sight, his consciousness, and everything he could perceive.

It was like watching light streak past; in their field of view, the light appeared instantaneously.

Though he knew the opponent’s speed wasn’t truly at the level of light, at this moment, it gave him that exact feeling.

That fully assembled force of at least a hundred soldiers didn’t even have time to react before being filled with splattered blood, which painted the snow-white ground into a cloud of crimson.

The gaunt man could clearly sense that the reconnaissance soldiers before him were an elite unit of the highest grade.

They wielded advanced weapons, possessed robust bodies, and were even each equipped with an optical camouflage suit.

Among them were complete Mechanically Modified Persons and even F-level low-rank Transcendents.

Despite the overwhelming disparity in strength, they still relied on their combat awareness to mount deliberate counterattacks. They even used their combat experience and instincts to lay a "siege" trap for that shadow.

Even though they couldn’t see the figure, nor even catch a glimpse, they implemented effective countermeasures. Some of their predictions even matched the gaunt man’s limits of perception.

And all this, despite their Commander being killed at the very onset of the fight.

This was an elite unit, without a doubt.

The gaunt man had no doubt that if he, as a D-level Transcendent, charged into their formation, he’d immediately be riddled with bullets from this group and wouldn’t even have a chance to surrender.

But from start to finish, these soldiers never laid a finger on that figure. Their carefully laid traps were breached in an instant, throwing them into yet another relentless wave of slaughter.

Powerful machinery, elite soldiers, structured tactics—all of it was like thin sheets of paper under that bloody sword light, effortlessly torn apart.

Was this the pinnacle of human power?

A thought crossed the gaunt man’s mind.

An authentic Transcendent... should be at such a level.

As the bloody radiance flickered and faded, the number of soldiers in the opposing reconnaissance team dwindled. The suffocating pressure that had gripped the gaunt man’s heart began to ease.

He lowered his gaze and glanced at the bisected middle-aged officer lying on the ground.

That officer, presumably a strong C-level, was very much a part of this combined elite force. Together, they should have been able to unleash even greater combat power.

Unfortunately, that C-level officer had been effortlessly killed at the very beginning of the battle.

The gaunt man wasn’t sure if it was deliberate on that figure’s part or sheer coincidence. All he knew was that the outcome of this battle had been decided the moment it began.

"Holy shit, that’s insane!"

By this point, the stout man staggered back, looking at the bursts of blood-red light among the reconnaissance soldiers ahead and the relentless response of lasers, railguns, and exploding grenades being fired at that crimson glow.

The radiant flashes and echoing rumbles reverberated through the wilderness, but none of it hindered the red light in the slightest.

"No way, can a person really be this strong?"

The stout man swallowed nervously. "Is this guy even human? Could he be one of those legendary incarnations of a Divine Being?"

"I don’t know."

The gaunt man shook his head, his moss-green pupils glinting with a strange light as he watched the crimson glow. "Perhaps this is the true power of a Transcendent."

"Don’t go quoting those ridiculous city novels about some martial fanatics now,"

the stout man teased, glancing sidelong at his gaunt companion. Then, retracting his gaze, he glanced at the battlefield ahead. After a brief pause, he muttered, "By the way, thanks earlier. I take back what I said before. You’ve got guts, kid."

This time, the gaunt man sank into silence, offering no reply.

"Ahem,"

The stout man coughed lightly and then also turned his eyes to the light-filled battlefield. Lowering his voice, he said, "But now, we both owe that guy our lives."

"Mm."

The gaunt man nodded slightly, his gaze locked onto the shimmering light ahead.

Then, as if sensing something, he suddenly dashed toward the blood-soaked battlefield ahead, illuminated in vivid crimson.

"Huh? Wait, what?"

The stout man flinched, hurriedly straightening his bulky figure and clutching his sore waist as he staggered after the gaunt man. "Hey, man, I just busted my ass falling back there. Wait for me!"

As the two of them rapidly closed in, the flickering red light finally seemed to complete its brutal work and came to a halt.

A few from the reconnaissance unit had survived; approximately a dozen soldiers remained alive.

They stood frozen, staring blankly at the blood pool before them and the blood-soaked figure in its center. Their lifeless eyes rose as they lifted their trembling firearms, sinking to their knees. Their bodies shuddered uncontrollably as they dared not lower their gaze to the blood-soaked ground.

Even the most elite soldiers do not possess unyielding, iron willpower. For them to endure until now before breaking was already a testament to their exceptional discipline.

He Ao bit into the remainder of his cigarette as he slid his blood-saturated blade back into its scabbard on his back.

A thick cloud of smoke spiraled into the cold, biting wind.

A hand extended from behind him, holding out a wide coat.

He Ao glanced at the slightly panting gaunt man before extending his hand to take the coat and drape it over his shoulders.

By this point, his body was entirely covered in blood, his original outfit torn nearly to shreds.

Before charging out of the city and into the fray, he had prepared for such eventualities by leaving spare clothing, including a coat, with Orey.

But ever since reuniting with Orey, he’d never had the opportunity to change. He could only make do with throwing this coat over himself on their way to the Wilderness Wanderers’ temporary camp.

In the dim evening light, no one could clearly see what he wore beneath the coat.

After donning the coat, He Ao stepped forward and pulled the communication devices from the hands of the surrendering soldiers.

"Hah... is it over?"

The stout man appeared behind He Ao, still panting heavily. He muttered cautiously as he swept his gaze over the shattered mechanized bodies and the overwhelming scarlet hue painting the scene, instinctively shrinking back in disgust at the thick smell of blood in the air.

"No,"

He Ao shook his head lightly, gazing at the communication device in his hand displaying an incoming transmission. He let out a quiet sigh. "The war has only just begun."

"Huh?"

The stout man froze slightly.

The gaunt man nearby also raised a puzzled gaze toward He Ao.

After a moment of quiet thought, the gaunt man lowered his voice so only He Ao could hear, asking cautiously,

"Are you concerned about the mercenary corps below?"

He reflected briefly before continuing, "The reconnaissance team hasn’t reached the Northern Gate yet, so it’s unclear what’s inside. Even running into us here could merely be attributed to encountering a powerful Transcendent. It’s plausible they’d only send another scouting team to probe further. As long as no one gets a clear look inside the Northern Gate, we might still buy ourselves some time."

"Yes, in a normal scenario, they would send another probing force,"

He Ao turned, looking back toward the direction they’d come from.

Off in the distance, fragmented bursts of artillery echoed faintly.

This seemed to suggest that other sentries had encountered different scouting squads.

He shifted his gaze downward toward the still and dark horizon below.

"But this is a battlefield, not a courtroom. Some decisions don’t need logical reasoning as their foundation. On a battlefield, split-second choices, made with a hint of daring, are often better than passively reacting to its evolving dynamics.

"Once suspicion takes root, plans are already being drafted. Even the smallest grains of sand can tip the scales entirely."

He Ao wished he had come across a mediocre or incompetent Commander—it would’ve made the battle much simpler.

But clearly, based on what he observed from the scouting teams,

his luck wasn’t that favorable.

As soon as his words trailed off, a dazzling brilliance erupted from below the mountains, lighting up the entire slope as if it were broad daylight.

He Ao tilted his head upward. Entering his vision were the radiant trails of artillery shells streaking across the sky.

——

Bang—

The tightly shut door suddenly burst open, and a man clad in a white suit stormed into the narrow command room, bringing with him a throng of others.

His furious gaze locked onto the grey-uniformed officer standing before the command console, backlit against the transparent viewports displaying the artillery firing outside.

"Wistain, what are you doing?!"

He roared, the civility in his face entirely shattered as he descended into hysteria.

His voice was so loud it seemed to shake the very command platform.

"Mr. Dailot, you can keep your voice down. As you can see,"

The grey-uniformed officer calmly replied, "I am initiating an attack on the garrison defending the Northern Gate."

"Have you lost your mind?!"

Dailot bellowed. "Can’t you see there’s no one behind the Northern Gate? No defenders, no enemies! These artillery shells you’re firing, with such height and visibility, are noticeable from dozens of kilometers away! Are you deliberately trying to let everyone know we’re here?"

His voice rose in pitch, verging on a screech,

"What do you think you’re doing? Do you realize what our plan was? To covertly and swiftly reach Dawn City! Now that you’ve exposed us, what happens to the plan? What will the Federal Central command think when they find out we’ve vacated our positions? How do you imagine they’ll respond?

"Do you have any idea how many negotiations, exchanges, and resources it took to mobilize this many mercenary units and maintain our stealth? The veil we struggled so hard to pull over ourselves—are you trying to tear it apart? Do you realize how much we’ll lose?

"Do you still want to be Mercenary Corps Leader? What will you tell your Stars Pharma board? Do you want the entire consortium to send hit squads after you?

"Your board entrusted you with their most elite unit, and this is how you repay them?"

"Yes, Mr. Dailot, you’re absolutely correct,"

the grey-uniformed officer replied serenely, casting a glance at the enraged Dailot behind him. "However, our covert operation depends on one key factor: getting through the Northern Gate,"

he said with unshaken calm, "which is why I am attacking the Northern Gate without delay."

"What nonsense are you blabbering about?!"

Dailot had now stormed up directly into the officer’s face, shouting furiously. "Do you take me for blind? There’s nothing on top of the Northern Gate! Everyone here sees it clearly—there’s nothing. Do you not have eyes?"

He leaned forward, gritting his teeth as he hissed,

"If you’re so eager to play soldier, go inside and blow up the interior; I won’t care. But do you realize how many eyes are watching this mountain from the plains below? The plains—completely exposed!"

He gestured furiously toward the sky outside, where one artillery cannon after another had fired a continuous barrage, spraying shells into the air. "You’ve turned the skies into a fireworks show. Do you think the entire Federation is as blind as you?!"

"If we’re reduced to methodical hill-climbing, we’ll already be too late, Mr. Dailot. Perhaps you should see this,"

the grey-uniformed officer replied without changing his tone, pointing toward the screen before him.

On the screen was an imaging feed, seemingly from a sensing device, providing an image of the area near the Northern Gate. Due to the considerable distance, the image was slightly blurry.

Despite the lack of clarity, a few moving outlines could faintly be discerned.

"What do you want to say? That someone’s actually at the Northern Gate?"

Dailot bitterly slammed his gaze onto the grey officer, barking out a cold laugh.

"Evis Spatial System’s multi-frequency imaging, huh? Don’t think I don’t know how glitch-ridden that thing is. Relying solely on it for evidence is absurd, especially for distant, small-range imaging. Evis Spatial System cuts corners heavily with electronic cropping and is prone to interference from nearby factors,"

He paused for effect, "And even if someone is there, so what? When has the Northern Gate ever been truly deserted? There being fewer merchant caravans at night doesn’t mean there’s nobody. If we encounter anything, just eliminate them. What’s the point of this display?"

"Mr. Dailot, my scouting units have also encountered resistance—it seems they’ve engaged an enemy. Look, there’s fire on the mountain,"

the grey-uniformed officer said flatly.

Outside the viewports, one artillery piece after another unleashed roaring flames, sending glowing projectiles streaking skyward.

"Ha, what if the mountain’s full of those rustic hill tribes? Maybe your men simply ran into a group of them with a Transcendent among them,"

Dailot retorted icily. "You could’ve just sent another scouting team to confirm,"

He shot a glance toward the blazing sky, towards artillery tubes raised high in the act of reload and fire once more. "I’m no military fool—dimwit. I know your real intent here is to sabotage this entire operation deliberately. Everything you’ve done, I’ll report straight to the board."

"Be my guest."

The grey-uniformed officer waved dismissively, scarcely responding.

Then, returning his gaze to the projectiles rising toward the heavens, he spoke no further.

Dailot exhaled angrily, spinning on his heel to storm out.

Above, the artillery shells’ luminous trails illuminated the firmament, blazing across the night skies. Most collided with the snow-covered cliffs. Others slipped past the rock faces, plunging into the chasm between the cliffs.

These weren’t guided missiles; merely standard long-range artillery shells.

It was—but a rudimentary "probing" strike.

Yet at the brink of collapsing into the chasm, a series of flashes erupted from the previously empty crevasse, intercepting the descending shells with remarkable precision.

Explosions roared overhead, filling the skies above the Northern Gate.

Dailot stopped mid-step upon hearing the detonation, turning around.

What he saw was the successive interception of another barrage, just as it too was about to reach the gorge below.

His jaw tightened visibly.

Meanwhile, not far behind him, the grey-uniformed officer’s previously relaxed expression had shifted to one of grim solemnity.

The elusive, shrouded brilliance still blanketed the Northern Gate, concealing the view beyond.

——

"Get in touch with Orey and Xiya. Those teams climbing the mountain will take some time. Have them start swiftly constructing a defensive barrier near the Northern Gate, and round up a few guys to collect as many of the fallen optical camo suits as possible,"

He Ao said, glancing at the sky where intercepted fire lit the darkness. Turning back, he stared at the path leading downward. "I’ll finish off the remaining scouting teams. See you at the defense line."

As he finished speaking, his figure vanished into the shadows ahead, plunging into the deeper layers of night.

"Yes, sir!"

The gaunt man nodded sharply at He Ao’s departing shadow.

Then he looked upward toward the sky.

Fire-filled volleys were becoming denser with each passing moment, climbing upward from below, spreading flames like cloudbanks of war.

At the base of these towering mountains, where the roads had lain shrouded in shadow, one by one, long-dormant lights flickered to life—a spiderweb of illumination stretching out to the horizon.