Magical Girl's Knight Brother

Chapter 557 Surprise Attack

In the dead of night, the wasteland border was utterly silent, save for the chilling wind swirling fine snowflakes, which rustled like cold sandpaper across the boundless, gray wasteland. Heavy, leaden clouds hung low, obscuring the satellites and letting in only a faint, hazy light, painting the earth a deathly silvery-gray.

On this borderland ruled by death and steel, three faint auras, like ants cautiously moving at the feet of a giant beast, are moving silently towards the same goal, a thousand meters apart, at an extraordinary speed—the entrance to the abandoned mine, hidden in the shadow of a huge group of weathered rocks, like a black scar cracked in the earth.

Leading the way were Hawke's resistance fighters. They clung to the contours of the undulating terrain, using every rock as cover. Hawke's tall figure was kept extremely low, each step landing on the soft, fresh snow as quietly as possible. Everyone in the group remained silent, with only their eyes and a few simple gestures conveying information.

They gripped their weapons tightly, muzzles slightly lowered to avoid glare, their eyes scanning the area ahead and to the flanks with the vigilance of hawks. In that direction, at the edge of the horizon, several cold beams of light could be faintly seen piercing the night sky, moving slowly.

Those are the "eyes" of the omnic stronghold.

To the right rear of the rebels lay Old Chimney and his men. They appeared furtive and disheveled, their movements far less agile than the rebels'. Old Chimney, hunched over, trudged through the snow, glancing back nervously every now and then, as if sensing that cold, metallic tentacles might emerge from the darkness at any moment. His men fared no better, breathing heavily, clutching their rudimentary weapons, their eyes filled with unease. Tang Zijun's group brought up the rear. They were the most eerie presence in this desolate wasteland, hundreds of pale bodies moving like tombstones in the night, their movements perfectly synchronized, resembling an army even more so than the rebels. Because it was a stealthy, rapid march, the agents did not separate, but moved swiftly in formation. The entire array was like a silent, highly efficient machine, without a single superfluous movement or sound. The communicators remained silent; they had been switched off at the start of the operation.

Any electronic signal could become a beacon attracting omnipotent hunters; communicators were out of the question, and even the faintest metallic clanging sound was deliberately avoided. Communication had been reduced to the most primal form of body language.

The air was so heavy it seemed you could wring water out of it. Every whistling sound of the wind blowing through the cracks in the rocks was like the roar of a mechanical engine starting up. Everyone's nerves were stretched to the limit, and their senses were heightened to the extreme. The distance was silently and slowly closing in.

One kilometer... eight hundred meters... five hundred meters...

The twisted, collapsed outline of the mine entrance became increasingly clear in the darkness, like a hideous wound. Thick black icicles had formed around the edge of the opening, emanating an ominous aura. Hawke, who was at the very front, was less than three hundred meters from the entrance. He could even see the pile of rubbish mixed with rusted metal and animal bones at the entrance when a hissing sound rang out!

A cold, high-frequency vibrating red scanning beam suddenly swept across the sky from the side and rear of the group without warning. Like the gaze of death, the beam instantly passed the edge of the snow slope where Hawke's team was hiding, less than fifty meters away from their position. The beam left a blinding red line on the snow before disappearing.

Everyone froze instantly, as if a pause button had been pressed.

Hawke slammed his body into the snowdrift, his breath caught in his throat, and the soldiers behind him instantly dropped to the ground.

All that remained in the air was the howling of the cold wind and the pounding of everyone's heart.

The beam of red light did not linger; it swept in another direction as if it were merely passing by, and finally disappeared into the horizon.

This is a routine scan conducted by the patrol unit of the omnic stronghold. Apart from prisoners and experimental subjects, no living beings are allowed to approach the omnic territory. Once a living being is detected, the omnics in the stronghold will immediately mobilize and completely eliminate it.

A full ten seconds passed before the deadly scanning beam returned. Only then did the frozen team, as if thawing, slowly and cautiously resume their movements. Every movement became more subtle, every glance more vigilant.

"We only have seventeen minutes, move fast!" Hawke whispered, then made a gesture. The resistance fighters behind him immediately sped up and moved forward. The cold mine entrance was close at hand, like the gaping throat of a giant beast, exuding an aura of decay and death.

The cold wind swirled with snowflakes, emitting a monotonous wail.

The air was as heavy as frozen lead.

Just as Hawke took a deep breath, his right foot about to step out, ready to be the first to rush into the mine—

Rumble—!

A terrifying explosion, ten or even a hundred times more powerful than the one Hawk's team had encountered when facing the mutated beasts, suddenly erupted from the direction of the AI ​​outpost, like a thunderclap from a clear sky! The sound was so abrupt, as if the entire wasteland had been violently pounded.

It wasn't sporadic gunfire, nor the brief buzzing of energy weapons; it was a devastating explosion powerful enough to shake mountains.

moment.

Hawke's step froze on the spot, his entire body stiffening abruptly. Even the hideous scar on his face seemed to twitch, and his sharp pupils contracted to pinpoints. The burly warrior and the short-haired female warrior behind him also froze, their charging stances solidified into bizarre silhouettes, their faces filled with astonishment and disbelief. A kilometer away, Old Chimney sprang up from the snowdrift, only to collapse back down with a thud due to his weak legs, his greasy face drained of color. "What's going on!?" one of his men grabbed binoculars, answering in a panic. "It's the omnics' stronghold! The stronghold looks like it's under attack!" "That madman Hawke is fighting with the omnics!?" Old Chimney's eyes widened, grabbing his pack and preparing to run. He was joking; he was here to smuggle himself across, not to force his way in. But the next moment, he stopped in his tracks at his subordinate's words.

"No, boss, it doesn't seem to be those black guys."

Time seemed to freeze for a second.

Everyone was stunned by the earth-shattering explosion.

Then came the second tone, and then the third tone.

Boom! Boom—!

A series of dull, loud explosions followed!

It was no longer a single loud bang, but a series of heavy blows to the earth. Each explosion was accompanied by a clear tremor in the ground, spreading outwards from the stronghold like ripples, causing the snow under everyone's feet to slip away.

The previously rhythmic beams of searchlight from the distant omnic stronghold suddenly became chaotic, with blinding flames and billowing smoke rising into the sky, tearing a crimson gash in the gray night. "This isn't resistance fire," Rayson was the first to react, his voice trembling with extreme shock. He stared intently at the direction of the rising flames, his face filled with disbelief. "Someone's...attacking the omnic stronghold?!"

Attack on the omnic stronghold?!

In a world where omnics rule the wasteland like a natural disaster, and humanity struggles to survive like ants, to actively attack those cold, ruthless steel legions with overwhelming firepower? That's utterly absurd.

Leisen stared at the sky, reddened by the flames, his heavy breaths condensing into white mist in the cold air. He gritted his teeth, his voice hoarse. "Which fearless cult fanatic launched this suicide attack?!" Tang Zijun's icy gaze also locked onto the direction of the explosion. He turned to Scáthach. "Your people?"

"It doesn't seem like it." Scáthach shook her head. "Most of the resistance forces are concentrated in the eastern region, while the south is mostly wasteland with scarce resources. Logically speaking, there shouldn't be any organization here capable of directly confronting the omnics—even if it's just a small outpost."

Leisen forced himself to calm down from his extreme shock. "Who cares who they are? Good riddance! With them drawing attention, our operation will be much easier!" He turned to look at Tang Zijun and Scáthach. "Let's get moving while we can."

However, to his surprise, Tang Zijun and Scáthach did not take any action; both of them turned their gazes toward the direction from which the fighting was coming.

"You, you guys...aren't we leaving?" Leisen asked, somewhat puzzled.

Tang Zijun didn't speak, but silently took out a black box from her belt space and took out a cell phone from it. This was a simple positioning device set up by the Demon Surveillance Bureau, which marked the location of the agents' identification cards within a certain range.

After a simple power-on, looking at the light spot not far from him, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly.

"It really was him."