Lord of Prayer - Chapter 334 - 224: The World Against Zhou

Artillery fire rained from the sky. In an instant, they were surrounded by countless enemies. Zhou Chen immediately realized this was an ambush set up just for them.

In the gaps between the fiery explosions, he saw a few familiar ID tags and immediately recalled that these guys were the ones who had escaped during their earlier raids.

Judging by the enemy’s numbers, equipment, firepower, and tactical arrangement, this ambush had likely been planned for a long time.

Clearly, the ones who got away had been unwilling to accept their defeat. They had formed the Avengers Alliance, laid low to build up their strength, and waited patiently. Only now, with full preparations made, had they set a bait to lure them into a trap and spring their sudden attack.

“Chengzi, you guys be careful! These guys came prepared!”

The vector engines on the Defender Mecha’s back spewed thick plumes of light as it dodged frantically amidst the saturation bombing, trying to escape the blast zone.

BOOM!

Hundreds of incandescent shells rained down. Terrifying shockwaves howled in all directions, melting the snow into water. The ground was pockmarked with blackened craters as tons upon tons of earth were blasted into the air, splattering like drops of mud.

Zhou Chen maneuvered the Mecha evasively, doing his best to avoid the damage from the explosions. But even with the Mecha’s protection, the world was spinning around him. He felt like a lone leaf in a hurricane, tossed back and forth by the violent shockwaves, the contents of his stomach threatening to come up.

To eliminate the great threat of Zhou Chen first, the Slaying Alliance had exhausted their entire stock of three hundred and forty-one cannonballs, firing every last one.

When the roar of the explosions ceased, acrid, scorched smoke billowed out. Thick, rolling plumes rose into the sky, leaving behind a blackened, ravaged landscape. It was as if the earth had been plowed from end to end, the soil loose and steaming with scorching heat.

“Did we get him?” someone whispered from the encirclement that was tightening around the blast zone.

With that many Alchemy Cannonballs in a saturation bombing, not even a fly could have survived. Although the Defender Seventh Generation Mecha was equipped with a protective barrier, there was no way its strength or Energy supply could have allowed the Mecha to withstand that baptism by bombardment.

“Mecha squad, disperse the smoke!” Philis’s voice came over the communication channel.

A total of ten players wearing steampunk-style Exoskeleton Armor spread out in a line. They raised their arms in unison, and the steel arm guards automatically reconfigured, unfolding into structures resembling fan blades.

WHIRRRRRR…

Twenty powerful fans spun at high speed, creating a howling gale that blew away the smoke lingering over the battlefield.

Through the gradually dispersing smoke and dust, the hazy silhouette of a massive figure appeared, causing countless people to hold their breath.

’He’s still alive after all that…’ Countless people cursed under their breath, grinding their teeth in frustration.

A battered steel face lifted from the swirling smoke, its eyes shooting out a sharp glare.

Inside the Mecha, blood trickled from Zhou Chen’s nose and mouth—internal injuries caused by the concussive force of the blasts. However, with his recovery speed, he would heal on his own after a short rest.

He glanced at the warning on the screen—hull integrity had dropped to 28%. He spat out the blood in his mouth and drew the Chainsaw Sword from his back. Nearly half its teeth were broken, and the blade itself was slightly bent.

The Defender Mecha indeed couldn’t have withstood a saturation bombing of several hundred cannonballs head-on. But the explosions weren’t simultaneous; as long as he timed his dodges correctly within the intervals, he could drastically mitigate the damage. Relying on his outstanding reflexes and piloting skills, he had managed to weather the baptism of fire.

However, the Defender Mecha’s condition was far from optimistic. Its integrity had plummeted to 28%. Its entire body was covered in grievous scars, its Steel Armor fractured and shattered. Sparks from short-circuiting electronics flickered continuously. Internal cables spilled out like entrails, dangling from its frame, and over eighty percent of its modules were damaged…

Zhou Chen took a deep breath to compose himself. There was no panic in his eyes, only calm composure. ’The Mecha isn’t completely wrecked,’ he thought. ’As long as I can still move it, it’s not a big problem.’

The Mecha’s outer shell glowed crimson, burned by the terrifying heat. Vents on its back hissed open, spewing out superheated steam. The three remaining vector engines flared to life again at maximum power, spitting streams of fire.

Bathed in the searing storm and trampling over flames, the broken Steel Giant accelerated, streaking past like a bolt of light. Its Chainsaw Sword roared as it swung down on the nearest group of people.

The saw-toothed blade bit deep, and blood blossomed in the air.

With a single horizontal sweep, several blood-spurting figures vanished from the air, judged to be eliminated.

“Open fire!”

Someone screamed the order, and the members of the Slaying Alliance raised their guns and fired wildly. Other members farther away and the distant Steam Armor squad broke into a sprint, rapidly converging on the area to form a deadly encirclement.

“Zhou Chen, we’ll cover you! Retreat, now!” Chengzi’s anxious voice came over the comms.

In the sky, the attack helicopter opened fire with everything it had.

DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA—

The heavy machine gun’s muzzle flashed as its heavy-caliber rounds formed a long, metal whip of death, raking across the crowd of players not wearing any Battle Armor. It tore their bodies open, causing crimson blossoms of blood to bloom as they vanished one after another, eliminated from the match.

Missiles rained down in an attempt to halt the advance of the Steam Armor squad, but they activated their Essence Barriers instantly, blocking all the incoming fire. It was clear they were determined to eliminate Zhou Chen first, no matter the cost.

Just then, an alarm blared inside the helicopter—they had a lock-on.

On a distant, snowy mountain, an Illusion Matrix dissolved, revealing a massive Thunder Magnetic Cannon crackling with electricity.