Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 297 - 283: The Twilight of Cold Weapons

Chapter 297: Chapter 283: The Twilight of Cold Weapons

One shot, two shots, three shots.

Gao Yi wielded a handgun, but he didn’t employ the Mozambique technique; all three shots went for the head.

Hitting the torso would undoubtedly be ineffective because handgun bullets simply can’t penetrate heavy-duty bulletproof plates.

If using a handgun, the only option was to aim for the head, but the target also had a helmet; ordinary handgun rounds could not penetrate a bullet-proof helmet since the basic requirement for military helmets is to resist direct hits from 9mm parabellum rounds and shrapnel from explosions.

So, Gao Yi aimed for the face.

But the enemy’s face was protected by a transparent bullet-proof mask.

The first shot struck the side of the helmet, failing to penetrate.

With the second shot, Gao Yi targeted the mask, leaving a mark on the enemy’s mask, but his bullets, no ordinary rounds, were still unable to penetrate.

The third shot targeted the enemy’s neck, but there was neck protection between the bullet-proof mask and bullet-proof vest; Gao Yi’s shot didn’t penetrate.

In the blink of an eye, Gao Yi had no time for damage assessment, to even observe the outcome of his shooting; it simply wasn’t possible, there was no spare moment to consider such things.

Gao Yi watched as his rapid three shots had no effect; the enemy was still recovering from the close-range blast damage and was once again aiming the gun at him.

This attempt had failed; now, no method would be of any use.

A heavy armor assault soldier clad in heavy armor could be taken out by a heavy machine gun, autocannon, or a single rocket launcher round on the battlefield. However, in indoor warfare, in this kind of close-range face-to-face combat, amidst a battle where rifles, handguns, and hand grenades were the primary weapons, a heavy armor assault soldier was tantamount to a tank.

Gao Yi kicked with both feet, trying to slide himself out, but he overlooked one detail.

The floor was carpeted, not marble or tile, nor even cement; his forceful kick didn’t slide him away.

But Gao Yi instantly reacted; he performed a carp flop, swiftly standing up and charging forward.

Performing a carp flop wasn’t surprising, but managing such a nimble carp flop while wearing a bullet-proof vest and an extra twenty pounds of equipment was impressive.

Bullets hit where Gao Yi had just been lying, ricocheting and striking the ceiling, dislodging some cement debris.

A single hand grenade, capable of wiping out an entire assault team at close range, only stalled the enemy for a few seconds, not even ten.

Defensive hand grenades couldn’t be used; they mainly relied on their shrapnel to wound the enemy, which wasn’t effective against fully armored opponents—it was better to use offensive hand grenades, which relied purely on the shockwave to injure the enemy.

Gao Yi could see this, Li Jie could see it, Feng Biao could see it, and Lin Xianghua could see it too.

Such things, those who hadn’t really fought in combat wouldn’t understand.

Among them, Li Jie had the most experience in urban and indoor warfare.

"Again!"

Li Jie picked up an offensive hand grenade, pulled the pin out, and threw it towards Gao Yi.

Gao Yi caught it smoothly and without hesitation, threw it in the direction he remembered the enemy to be.

If one try didn’t work, then try again.

After the hand grenade exploded, only once the sound of the blast echoed, did Gao Yi dare to peek.

The enemy was retreating.

Just before, they were moving in a close formation, but not anymore; they dispersed, planning to increase their distance to reduce the risk of being wiped out by a single hand grenade. The position of the offensive hand grenade’s explosion was excellent, right within the narrow corridor.

Gao Yi’s skill set was suitable for an assassin, but not for a mercenary; on the battlefield, it was almost useless.

On a typical battlefield, you’d never even see the enemy; artillery and aircraft were the main characters. Even if it came to close-quarters, it would still be about suppression upon suppression; machine guns and automatic rifles sprayed towards any potential enemy positions.

With a primary arsenal of handguns and hand grenades, Gao Yi wouldn’t even have the chance to see his enemy.

But urban and indoor warfare was different.

Gao Yi’s particular skills were made for urban combat.

The kind of close-range fight where firepower suppression was useless, where combat could only progress through the sacrifice of lives, where life and death were determined quickly upon contact, and both sides suffered heavy casualties—the brutal urban and indoor warfare were Gao Yi’s stage.

In situations where a rifle’s range seemed superfluous, it was the pistols and hand grenades that were decisive.

And there was one more weapon to add.

Gao Yi’s Golden Gourd Hammer, which seemed ridiculous on a modern battlefield.

When combat distance closed to hand-to-hand levels, an engineer shovel was a handy weapon, a bayonet was a weapon, and even a long-handle hand grenade could serve as a hammer. At such times, a Golden Gourd Hammer, a modern craft of traditional anti-armor weaponry, became the pinnacle ode to cold weapons in this era.

Of the three men, one had fallen, the one who had been holding a rifle at the forefront; he finally collapsed against a wall, his rifle still in hand, he had the capacity to move, and he was struggling to get up and counter-attack.

The enemy was retreating; it was evident from their formation and position.

They were outnumbered; they employed classic hammer tactics.

This kind of assault was akin to a hammer blow, aiming to break through the defense line in one fierce hit, allowing three men to reap a grand harvest within.

But if that hammer blow failed to penetrate the enemy lines, then it would be withdrawn because a hammer is meant to swing and smash—if the blow missed, naturally, it should be pulled back for another swing and another strike.

Gao Yi and his team withstood the first hammer strike, so the enemy was retreating, possibly gearing up for a second strike, or perhaps changing tactics altogether.

But how could Gao Yi let the enemy retreat?

The moment he saw the enemy again lose their combat effectiveness due to the grenade explosion, Gao Yi finally rushed out the door.

Gao Yi drew the Golden Gourd Hammer sheathed at his lower back and, with the fastest speed he had ever run in his life, charged toward the three enemies in the alleyway.

In just a dozen steps, he was upon them.

The Heavy Armor Assault Soldier at the forefront saw Gao Yi, he laboriously lifted his gun, while the gunman behind him had already aimed at Gao Yi.

At that moment, it was Li Jie who fired first.

Li Jie held down the trigger, sending at least a dozen bullets into the body of the enemy in the middle.

The rifle bullets couldn’t penetrate the armor, but Li Jie’s shots hit the enemy’s arms and hands repeatedly, preventing him from shooting.

Not until Gao Yi blocked Li Jie’s line of fire did Li Jie have to cease firing, lest he shoot Gao Yi in the back.

The Heavy Armor Assault Soldier finally aimed his gun at Gao Yi, who raised the Golden Gourd Hammer.

With a forceful swing, Gao Yi knocked aside the assault soldier’s rifle and then, lifting the hammer over his head, he smashed it down fiercely, mercilessly onto the Heavy Armor Assault Soldier’s helmet.

The Heavy Armor Assault Soldier instinctively tried to block the hammer with his rifle held horizontally.

But his hands couldn’t keep up with his awareness.

When Gao Yi swung the hammer with all his might, who in the world could block it?

Before the Heavy Armor Assault Soldier could raise his rifle past his eyebrows, Gao Yi’s Warhammer struck his helmet.

A loud ’thud’ resonated.

Remember, there is no armor in this world, be it ancient iron armor or modern bullet-proof vests, that can withstand the force of a heavy hammer.

The helmet caved in at the very least, and although it protected the Heavy Armor Assault Soldier’s skull from breaking, his brain churned as if it was slapped tofu or a vigorously shaken egg.

His skull held, but his brain turned to mush.

Without even a grunt, the Heavy Armor Assault Soldier, who was already leaning against the wall, simply never lifted his hammer-smashed head again.

The enemy wounded in the arms let out a roar.

The third enemy aimed his gun at Gao Yi.

Gao Yi casually tossed the Golden Gourd Hammer at him.

It was a mere three meters away, within reach, but Gao Yi didn’t have even a moment to spare, so he had to throw the hammer.

The Golden Gourd Hammer slammed forcefully into the third enemy’s face.

Protected by a Bullet-Proof Mask, the enemy was not severely injured, but his head was nevertheless knocked uncontrollably backward by the flying hammer.

His neck withstood the impact, but his hands could no longer accurately blow Gao Yi’s head apart.

The bullet whizzed over the top of Gao Yi’s head.

Such was Gao Yi’s speed that he managed to catch his own Golden Gourd Hammer.

As the hammer hit the target’s bullet-proof helmet and mask, springing back in flight, Gao Yi caught it and, using the momentum of his forward surge, planted a kick on the third enemy’s shin.

Too fast, too close, he simply didn’t have the time to swing the hammer.

The kick sent the enemy tumbling forward, and while he hadn’t even managed to change his shooting stance, his gun barrel plunged straight into the ground. Just as the third enemy was about to fall flat on the ground, Gao Yi swung the hammer and smashed it onto the back of the enemy’s head.

The helmet didn’t break, but the man was instantly dead through and through.

The enemy in the middle, whose arms had been shot and couldn’t fire, now bellowed, "Tornado is down..."

For Gao Yi to silence the second man, he would have to bend down; he stepped on the still-shouting enemy and, like tamping the ground, heavily smashed the hammer onto the side of the enemy’s helmet.

The shouting stopped abruptly.

Gao Yi stood up; he now needed to return to the room quickly because if someone came down the narrow alley and opened fire, he would have nowhere to hide.

But this is not a turn-based game; an attack necessitates coordinated action from front to back, and a retreat always involves support—a battle initiated by experts.

Suddenly, an explosion sounded from within the room, within the tunnels.

Lin Xianghua roared, "The tunnels!"

The enemy attacked from the other side of the factory with incredible speed. Ten men, causing only a less than two-minute delay, only one of them managed to detonate the bomb on his body, yet this still couldn’t stop the enemy’s assault or even substantially slow them down.

The enemy’s attack was as swift as a typhoon, with destructive power like a tornado sweeping away all the defenders.

Even self-detonation could not completely prevent the enemy, only delaying them by a tiny fraction.

Yet that small delay was precious indeed; had Gao Yi been surrounded just now, he wouldn’t even have had the chance to emerge and perform a swan song with his hammer.