Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 149: Chapter 148: The Zerg vs. Ironblood Warrior (Part 3)

“……”

Having no idea how long he had been unconscious, Big Nose slowly came to. He opened his eyes and then shivered, trying to jump up. But it was at this moment that Big Nose realized he didn’t know when he had been chained to a stone pillar. Then, close by, he heard Braids’ voice.

“You’re awake?”

Upon hearing this voice, Big Nose finally relaxed. He turned his head to look at Braids beside him. She, too, was bound tightly to a stone pillar with chains, just like him. Not only them, but others around them were in the same situation.

“Yes, it seems we’ve still been caught by those bastards.”

“No.”

...

Confronting Big Nose’s complaint, Braids shook her head with a peculiar expression.

“In fact, it’s not just us who were caught.”

“Huh? What do you mean…”

Hearing Braids’ response, Big Nose immediately turned his head around to look. Then, he widened his eyes in surprise——around them, everywhere, were people bound with chains just like them; most were humans, and some were humanoid creatures. Regardless of who they were, now, all these people were bound here. Some had already awoken from unconsciousness, shouting excitedly, while others were still out, seemingly unaware of what had happened.

“What the hell is going on? What do these Ironblood bastards want with us?”

“I don’t know… but it doesn’t look like anything good.”

This was all too obvious, wasn’t it? There were several hundred people tied up here, and that was just in their immediate area. Actually, by the faint and distant yelling, Big Nose could be sure that it wasn’t just their group of people here. It’s possible those Ironblood bastards had captured everyone on the whole planet!

“Anyway, we need to escape immediately!”

Although he didn’t know what those guys planned to do, Big Nose was certain it wasn’t anything good, so he also began to forcefully try to break free from the chains. But before Big Nose could move, suddenly, the entire room darkened, the bright lights gone, replaced by a dark red glow. Simultaneously, a rapid alarm sounded.

“Beep… Beep…”

“What’s that sound?”

Hearing this, Big Nose also began to get nervous. He kept turning his head, looking around, but couldn’t see anything. Then, as the alarm continued, the floor in front of Big Nose and the others suddenly split open, and several small pillars rose slowly from it. On these pillars were placed large objects that looked like eggs.

Then, these “eggs” began to tremble, and soon, the tops slowly cracked open. Accompanied by the sound of “cackle cackle cackle,” pale, palm-sized creatures crawled out.

“……I think I know why those bastards brought us here.”

Watching this scene unfold, Big Nose quietly spoke.

The next moment, he saw the white creature in front of him leap up from the egg, its tentacles sprang open like fingers and clung tightly to Big Nose’s face.

Suddenly, all he could see was darkness.

Fang Zheng didn’t know what had happened to Big Nose and the others. In fact, he was standing on a hillside, looking sternly at the battle below. There, the Swarm was relentlessly trying to break through the Ironblood Warriors’ defense line to breach the grand gate. Fang Zheng had just learned from Nymph that this was the largest Ironblood base on this planet. Under the threat of the Zerg, all the remaining Ironblood had gathered here. Moreover, Nymph had discovered from the Ironblood network that they were even attempting to use a Core Bomb to destroy the entire planet to completely eradicate the Swarm!

What a fierce fighting race!

When Fang Zheng received the news from Nymph, he was hugely startled. Although he had suspected the mission wouldn’t be easy, this was beyond his expectations. If the Ironblood really blew up the planet, his mission would be utterly thwarted!

Although Nymph had timely cut off the control system of the Core Bomb and sealed the entire underground level, these Ironblood Warriors seemed not to give up so easily. According to the intelligence gathered by Nymph, these Ironblood Warriors even planned to manually restart the Core Bomb!

This plot really feels like a Hollywood movie villain’s scenario!

Fang Zheng felt as if he was playing the role of a movie villain, while the Ironblood Warriors had become the heroes of the film. Of course, he wouldn’t allow these Ironblood Warriors to successfully doom themselves. Therefore, Fang Zheng immediately ordered the Swarm forces to attack the Ironblood base.

Initially, it went smoothly. After Nymph seized control of the base’s Defensive Tower, the Swarm advanced vigorously, but Ironblood was not fools; they forcibly disconnected and manually regained control of the Defensive Tower. This effectively thwarted the Swarm’s infiltration. Nymph didn’t have a great solution, although she could have regained control of the tower if she had personally touched it. Considering Little Angel’s distressingly weak combat capability, Fang Zheng decided to keep her by his side. After all, Ironblood was merely struggling in their death throes.

“Boom!!”

Under the impact of the Thunder Beast, the last Defensive Tower collapsed with a crash. An Ironblood Warrior operating the Particle Cannon barely leapt from the ruins before being torn into pieces by the surging Jumping Bugs. The Thunder Beast, standing fifteen meters tall, charged forward and rammed into the solid metal gate of the base. With a fierce swing of its head, its sharp fangs tore through the thick steel plate like it was just paper, creating a massive hole. The waiting Jumping Bugs rushed in immediately.

“Let’s go too.”

Seeing that the outer defenses of the Ironblood Base were entirely overtaken, Fang Zheng patted Nymph’s little head and started walking down the hillside. He was most relieved that he had Nymph lock down all the self-detonation systems in the Ironblood Warriors’ gear early on; otherwise, the planet would be blooming with mushroom clouds by now.

Now, what Fang Zheng needed to do was find that Core Bomb and completely dismantle it… otherwise, it would always be a threat. There were too many movie plots where newcomers used relics left by predecessors to defeat the boss; Fang Zheng had no intention of adding another seat beside those fallen predecessors.

“Hmm?”

However, as he entered the Ironblood Base, the scene before him made Fang Zheng frown. The entire base was dim, illuminated only by dim red emergency lights flickering around. The resistance at the gate had been entirely broken, and the Swarm was penetrating deeper inside. Unexpectedly, Fang Zheng learned through the Swarm Network that those Jumping Bugs invading the base had encountered almost no resistance. Other than a brief defiance by the Ironblood at the door, who then heroically sacrificed themselves, the rest of the path was unusually calm; not even a single enemy was in sight.

What were those Ironblood up to?

Given Fang Zheng’s understanding of Ironblood, these guys wouldn’t retreat until the very end. Why were the Ironblood here so cunning, even resorting to luring the enemy deep inside?

Although puzzled, Fang Zheng’s steps did not halt. This wasn’t a movie shoot, and of course, he didn’t have the foolish idea of leading a small elite team into a deathtrap. He waved his hand broadly, and hundreds of Jumping Bugs scouted ahead while the Hydralisks and Infectious Bugs followed, occupying and spreading the Fungal Carpet. Fang Zheng couldn’t believe that the Ironblood could pull off any tricks in the face of the sheer numbers of the Swarm.

Indeed, as Fang Zheng advanced steadily and confidently, the enemies finally couldn’t hold back anymore. When the Jumping Bugs reached the second level of the base, Fang Zheng immediately knew that the Swarm ahead had been attacked.

But… the attackers weren’t Ironblood.

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