Chapter 37: Precision Bombardment

Xu Lie finally had nothing more to say.

He realized that his own previous lines of thinking, as well as those of the managers of Hanshui City, were indeed deeply flawed.

For instance, everyone knew that the best way to thoroughly clear out the Blood Skulls—who clung to human settlements like bone-gnawing maggots—was not to launch a proactive assault, but to force them to attack instead. Yet, from the very beginning, no one had ever proposed finding a way to kill the leader of the Blood Skulls to enrage the remaining ones and goad them into a mindless offensive.

Why was that? Had no one thought of it?

No, that was not it.

Such a simple logic was something everyone could conceive. It was just that, to them, the matter was not as simple as it appeared. In the vast majority of cases, the leader of the Blood Skulls would not charge into the fray with the main force. To kill it, one would first have to cross numerous obstacles and wipe out the ordinary Terror Demon warriors. The cost of doing so was too high; neither the Church of the Machine nor the Blood Saints were willing to waste their strength on an endeavor with no guaranteed return.

But what if, like these God-Chosen, one tried to bypass the Terror Demons and attack the leader directly?

They lacked the capability. The Church of the Machine did possess some weapons of exaggerated power, but the precision of those weapons was simply insufficient to support such a decapitation strike...

Wait. They didn't have it, but these God-Chosen did?

Xu Lie looked at Chen Jian, who was already beginning to deploy his combat mission.

"...We only have two extended-range shells. Our ammunition is extremely limited, so we must use them where they count most."

"Under ideal conditions, these two shells must achieve two objectives."

"First, without triggering a secondary explosion of the internal ammunition, we must collapse the iron shed in the center of the camp. This will block the route for other Terror Demons to enter the armory and prevent them from stealing our equipment."

"Second, kill that... Blood Sun General, and ensure it dies in the most gruesome way possible in front of the other Terror Demons."

"To achieve these two goals, we must first control the Blood Sun General—or, let's just call it the Blood Master."

"We must first restrict the Blood Master's movement path and limit it to a certain range of activity. Therefore, Shen Yue, Lei Jie, you two must move forward, get within effective firing range, and establish suppressive fire points."

"There are two viable firing points currently; I have marked them on the map. Move out immediately."

"Understood!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Lei Jie and Shen Yue turned and left. Chen Jian continued, speaking to He Shuo:

"Likewise, you must perform your role in fire suppression."

"However, you shouldn't advance any further. Stay here, maintain the best vantage point, and aim your .10 sniper rifle at the Blood Master."

"Your task is to provide supplementary fire if the artillery strike fails or does not cause enough damage. Use the 12.7mm rounds to shatter it, understand?"

"It’s only two kilometers. Hitting a target the size of a tank shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"No problem!"

He Shuo nodded and asked further:

"If the first artillery strike on the armory proves ineffective, am I to bear the sole responsibility for the lethal strike?"

"Correct. If the first one doesn't bring it down, I will fire the second one immediately. The task of killing the Blood Master will then be handed over to you."

"Understood."

Without further questioning, He Shuo lay flat on the ground and helped Chen Jian launch the drones.

At a distance of two kilometers, two drones hovered at straight-line distances of 600 and 1,400 meters, with altitudes set at 2,000 and 1,000 meters respectively. This configuration allowed for the maximum collection of ballistic data, including wind direction, temperature, and humidity, ensuring the highest possible precision for the artillery and sniper fire.

A moment later, data flowed to the smart eyepiece. In just half a second, the PDA automatically calculated the corresponding firing parameters. Chen Jian unfolded the PBP201 he had brought, set it up on the ground, and after adjusting the artillery parameters according to the location of the target armory, he raised his binoculars and waited quietly.

Theoretically, deploying two cannons simultaneously could yield a faster rate of fire. But the problem was that the precision of cold-bore firing was hard to guarantee. Rather than chasing such limited gains, it was better to focus on precise lethality.

At this moment, Shen Yue and Lei Jie were moving rapidly toward their target points. Chen Jian’s gaze locked onto the Blood Master in the center of the camp, just in time to witness the "ritual" Xu Lie had mentioned.

A sturdy Terror Demon knelt before the Blood Master, who brandished an iron spear, tapping the Terror Demon's shoulders as if knighting a cavalier. Its movements were incredibly swift yet gentle, and from this alone, one could tell just how exaggerated its strength and agility truly were.

Not an easy enemy to deal with.

Chen Jian thought silently and continued to watch.

A moment later, a naked woman was carried forward, and a crude iron knife was handed to the Terror Demon. He walked forward, trembling, and sliced the woman's skin. His movements were extremely restrained; the wound only bled slightly. But the woman was already struggling in agony.

"I know what they are doing now," Xu Lie said from the side.

"You killed their squad leader, and this is the appointment of a new one."

"The chosen Terror Demon must endure the urge for blood, constantly torturing the sacrifice until she dies from blood loss."

"This is a massive challenge for a Terror Demon. If it weren't a Terror Demon with an exceptionally strong mind, it would likely have been unable to resist plunging its hand into the sacrifice's stomach to tear out and eat the internal organs after the very first cut..."

"A twisted ritual..."

Chen Jian nodded and then asked:

"So where do these sacrifices come from?"

"Small surrounding settlements, merchants who accidentally get separated, or even different types of Blood Skulls. There are many."

"Understood."

Chen Jian said no more. At that moment, the voices of Lei Jie and Shen Yue came through his earpiece.

"Lei Jie has reached the designated combat position. Fire conditions are good."

"Shen Yue has reached the designated position. Ready."

Chen Jian crouched down and looked at He Shuo, who replied softly:

"Parameters are good. You may fire."

"Fire!"

In an instant, Chen Jian pulled the trigger of the PBP201, and the extended-range shell whistled out, shrieking through the air.

Almost simultaneously, gunfire erupted from the positions held by Lei Jie and Shen Yue. Through his binoculars, Chen Jian clearly saw puffs of blood and sparks erupting from the body of the "Blood Master."

"Bang!"

He Shuo’s 12.7mm rifle fired at the same time. More than two seconds later, the bullet crossed countless buildings and trees, landing precisely on the Blood Master.

The armor on its left flank was instantly pierced, and a hole as large as a washbasin exploded open in its muscle. Yellow fat surged out like liquid, followed by gray-white intestines spilling from its body.

"ROAR—"

The frantic howl drowned out even the sound of the gunfire. The Blood Master swung its iron spear, and the few Terror Demons who hadn't reacted in time were instantly sent flying by the immense force; the furthest one flew over a dozen meters away!

Such terrifying strength!

The Blood Master rampaged, causing buildings in the camp to collapse. Just then, the mortar shell arrived and detonated.

"BOOM!"

The armory in the center of the camp collapsed instantly. No need for a second shot!

Good luck was on my side after all!

Chen Jian immediately adjusted his parameters. Seizing the moment while the Blood Master was affected by the blast and its movements slowed, Shen Yue unleashed a round of precise, long-distance bursts, pinning it in place.

Perfect timing.

"Puff!"

With a soft sound, the second mortar shell flew into the high sky.

He Shuo continued to fire with a rhythmic cadence, and after he emptied a magazine...

The mortar shell plummeted from the sky.

It slammed directly into the stomach of the Blood Master, which was already staggering and falling.

Chen Jian hadn't actually aimed for that spot, but true precision is never as good as a lucky catch.

The next second.

"BOOM!"

The high-explosive shell detonated. Hundreds of fragments, like hundreds of knives, accompanied by immense blast pressure, flew out at astonishing speeds along the path of the shockwave, burrowing into the Blood Master's muscles from the inside out before slicing through the skin and exiting.

The Blood Master's body was sifted through as if by a dense net, losing its integrity in an instant and turning into scattered shards. Almost simultaneously, the blast pressure pulverized these fragments, along with blood and bone, scattering them in a hemisphere with a radius of over ten meters.

Blood rained down.

Not a single piece of the corpse remained. Only the severed head, sent flying by the blast, rolled to a stop.

Xu Lie was dumbstruck.

If there truly were such a thing as a blessing from the Blood God in this world...

Then today, he had witnessed it.

He looked at Chen Jian, only to discover with horror that the man was actually wearing a smile...

"That went smoothly enough!"

Chen Jian said with satisfaction:

"Shen Yue, Lei Jie, prepare to retreat."

"Once these Terror Demons fall into chaos, we'll go in and scavenge what's left!"