My Apocalypse System Arrives 10 Years Early

Chapter 557: Chapter 350: Dawn Era Survival Strategy Outline

However, the battlefield was not in Li Family Village, but in the former county seat, covering nearly the entire urban area.

Underground Dungeon 03 was a massive city. After several expansions, it housed nearly 15 million people. The underground expanse stretching from Li Family Village to the county seat was all part of the main city’s domain. The twelve satellite cities that surrounded the main city were located even farther out.

By now, the former county seat was in utter ruins. The county’s No. 1 High School, where Jiang Cai’Er had once studied, and the county government building, where Li Xiang had frequently attended meetings, were engulfed in flames, reduced to crumbling walls and rubble.

But none of that mattered, as the cities on the surface had long been abandoned, with everyone having moved underground.

Black mist surged like spilled ink, staining the entire world. Over twenty Saint Tier Exotic Beasts hovered high in the sky. They were of various sizes, but all radiated a powerful aura. Their imposing bodies flickered in and out of view amidst streams of dark purple energy as they were locked in a chaotic battle with Li Family Village’s nine Saint Tier Mountain Guardian Beasts.

Below them, an even larger force of over thirty thousand Exotic Beasts Below the Saint Tier, comprising about seven or eight different species, was frantically attacking one of the Underground City’s Alloy Gates.

The Alloy Gate was immense and imposing. After all, it was large enough for main battle tanks to pass through, and during its construction, all sorts of large trucks could enter and exit with ease.

Jiang Cai’Er, clad in her Purple Mirage Armor, was hidden amidst a patch of ruins, remotely piloting a wide array of unmanned devices and unleashing a relentless bombardment. It was difficult to kill a Saint Tier Exotic Beast with explosives—even a nuclear bomb wasn’t a guaranteed solution—but those Below the Saint Tier could not withstand humanity’s advanced weaponry.

An Eclipsed Moon Star Remains Beast unfolded its scythe-like forelimbs, and eerie blue patterns on them suddenly flared to life. An energy beam slammed down, and the resulting oscillation wave sent a colossal wave of earth surging across the surface for five kilometers in every direction. The cracked asphalt and concrete fragments melted in the intense heat, turning into a vitrified spray.

”Activate non-nuclear hydrogen bomb array!” Jiang Cai’Er’s super-brain issued the command. Instantly, an attack formation composed of several hundred quadcopter drones swarmed out from a hidden gateway halfway up a mountain on the outskirts, the metal boxes suspended from their bellies glowing red.

This ”non-nuclear hydrogen bomb” was not actually a nuclear weapon, but a type of high-yield magnesium hydride bomb. It could produce a nuclear-grade explosion, with temperatures exceeding 1000°C for two seconds and a yield fifteen times that of an equivalent mass of TNT, but without causing any nuclear fallout.

As a group of Tier Sixteen and Seventeen Corrosive Poison Heart-Eating Spiders spat out toxic webbing, three drones intentionally flew straight into the nets. Three two-kilogram ”non-nuclear hydrogen bombs” detonated against their abdomens, erupting into white fireballs roughly two hundred meters in diameter. The temperatures, exceeding one thousand degrees, incinerated the entire cluster of spiders, turning them to char.

High in the sky, a fixed-wing combat drone sliced through the black mist. An Armor-Piercing Dragon Tooth Bomb mounted under its wing suddenly veered off course—Jiang Cai’Er’s consciousness had taken direct control of its trajectory via a two-way datalink.

A Blazing Heaven-Burning Eagle moved in a flash, dodging the highly threatening projectile. Just as it was preening in its success, the bomb made an unnatural turn in mid-air and shot into the giant bird’s body through its vent.

What rained down from the sky were not feathers, but charred, shredded viscera.

It wasn’t that Jiang Cai’Er was sadistic and deliberately chose that spot. The feathers of a Blazing Heaven-Burning Eagle were as hard as alloy, and its hide was incredibly tough. Bombing it from the outside would greatly diminish the weapon’s effectiveness, but if it could penetrate the body and detonate from within, it was a guaranteed one-hit kill.

”Vajra Whip Technique—Mountain Mover!” The white elephant, Xiaobai, had grown into a true behemoth the size of a small hill. It wrapped its long trunk around a fifty-ton block of granite, and as the Inscriptions on its tusks glowed, the massive rock turned into a streak of light that sent an Earth Demon Abyss Demon flying. The Wind Thunder Golden Tiger was wreathed in bluish-purple electrical arcs. Its claw strikes generated ball lightning, forcefully repelling three hovering Exotic Beasts hundreds of meters away.

At a hidden ventilation shaft, a small Alloy Gate shuddered as five Eclipse Moon Larvae gnawed at its protective layer with their mouthparts. Seven alloy robotic dogs suddenly pounced from the shadows, their hydraulically-powered titanium jaws snapping shut to precisely sever the larvae’s nerve ganglia.

An orange tabby with a nicked ear arched its back, fur on end, and let out a vicious shriek. Its Extraordinary claws, glinting with a metallic sheen, pinned a straggler Exotic Beast cub to the concrete wall.

This orange tabby was a captain in the Underground City’s Extraordinary cat squad, nicknamed ”Sergeant Tabby.” The squad he led was incredibly brave and skilled in combat. Using their small size to their advantage, they had hunted down a significant number of Exotic Beast cubs.

In addition to the Extraordinary cats, the Extraordinary Spirit Dogs also joined the fight. However, the cat squad and the Woof Woof Squad were not particularly powerful, so they were tasked with guarding the various entrances and ventilation tunnels alongside the base’s soldiers, and did not risk venturing out to the main battlefield.

Some of the Exotic Beasts were burrowers. They tunneled into the earth to attack the Underground City’s protective shielding, but it was impenetrably thick and tough. The Alloy Gates were just as substantial. Li Xiang had heavily reinforced all of it using his Earth Superpower and Crystal Gold Armor, creating what was arguably the most Solid fortress in the world. He had, of course, been meticulous with his own home base, devoting most of his time to its fortifications.

Unable to breach the protective shielding and the Alloy Gates, the Exotic Beasts tried to invade through the narrow ventilation shafts. However, the shafts were cramped, allowing only smaller Exotic Beasts to enter. These were mostly juveniles, posing a relatively minor threat. The cats and Spirit Dogs, being small themselves, took the initiative to enter the ducts and ambush them from within.

Several miles away, in another hidden ventilation shaft, Meng Meng’s chubby, round body nimbly dodged a spray of acid. A moment later, a volley of countless bamboo arrows shot forth, skewering the Exotic Beast that had invaded the shaft.