Chapter 182 Shatter the Defensive Line, Floating Fortress

Chapter 182 Shatter the Defensive Line, Floating Fortress

David emerged from the smoke and dust, the edges of his trench coat still trailing embers.

The invisible vacuum barrier in front of him slowly dissipated. The heat wave, debris, and explosive airflow had all been held at bay. Mia stood behind him, not a hair out of place, though her expression was cold.

She glanced at the sand near her feet, still radiating heat, and let out a low whistle. "These assholes threw you a fireworks show. Pretty underwhelming, if you ask me."

The perimeter enforcers finally snapped out of it. "Open fire!"

The order had barely left his lips when hundreds of crimson laser beams converged from all directions, slicing through the desert night. Heavy pulse cannons mounted on armored vehicles lit up, unleashing blue-white beams that hammered directly at David's position.

David didn't even turn around. "Get back in the car."

Mia didn't waste words. She spun and sprinted toward the half-flipped SUV. She yanked the warped door open, dove inside, and activated the onboard terminal. The screen immediately flooded with interference data.

"You go ahead and kill. I'll handle navigation."

David lifted his gaze. The next second, he vanished.

The sand exploded into a crater. A dark red shadow streaked across the battlefield. The anti-psychokinetic suppression matrix had locked down his remote manipulation abilities, and that oppressive restraint hung thick in the air—but it wasn't enough to pin down his body.

The front-line enforcers only saw a flash of red light before the crimson blade had already cut through.

Three armored soldiers were severed clean through, gear and all. The edges of the cuts glowed red-hot. Parts and blood spilled into the sand together. David plowed straight into the crowd, his left hand clamping down on someone's faceplate and slamming it into the ground. The helmet shattered. Dust and gore sprayed into the air.

Two laser rifles swung toward him from the right.

David closed the distance in an instant, his blade sweeping upward. The barrels split apart, chest plates tearing open with them.

A third man started to raise his weapon. David drove a knee into his abdomen, crumpling the armor, then seized the rifle with his other hand and used the stock to snap the man's neck. He jammed the entire gun through the throat of a sniper behind him.

The whole sequence was terrifyingly fast.

Mia watched the feed on the vehicle screen, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Now that's more like it."

On the left flank, a dozen enforcers activated shoulder-mounted cutting beams. Before the beams could even form, David was already in their faces.

The blade swept horizontally. Three cutting cannons went dark instantly, their operators cleaved in half at the waist. Someone from behind rushed in with a high-frequency vibration dagger. David kicked out, connecting with the man's knee. Bone exploded. The moment he dropped, the scabbard came down hard, crushing his jaw.

Another man lunged from behind a dune, wielding an anti-armor explosive hammer. David caught the handle mid-swing and ripped it out of his grip. One swing, and the man—armor, vehicle plating, and all—was smashed flat.

The vehicle flipped. The fuel tank ignited. Fire and twisted metal erupted into the sky.

The commander stood on higher ground, his eyelid twitching violently. "Push forward! Don't let him reach the equipment team!"

No one retreated. The orders cascaded down the chain. The enforcers kept advancing. But the closer they got, the faster they died.

David tore through the crowd like a hurricane. The blade flashed—helmets flew. His fist fell—ribcages caved in. He slammed his shoulder forward—an entire row of men went airborne.

One enforcer grabbed an electromagnetic grappling gun. The steel cable had barely wrapped around David's arm before he yanked the man forward, straight into the blade. The body split cleanly in two.

A heavy machine gun emplacement on the right rear opened up, trying to cut off his path.

David vaulted onto a wrecked bike, using it as a springboard. Mid-air, he swung the blade down. A dark red arc of energy slammed into the gun nest. Three layers of blast shields exploded at once. The men behind them didn't even have time to scream.

Sand, fire, severed limbs, overturned vehicles—the black market had become a slaughterhouse.

Less than three minutes in, the once-coordinated kill formation had been completely shredded.

Some started running.

Others retreated while firing, hands shaking.

Still others ripped off their headsets, cursing under their breath.

Mia sat in the SUV, fingers flying across the keyboard. She casually hacked two automated turrets on the perimeter, flipping their IFF systems. They swiveled and opened fire on their own side. "Let's add a little spice to the show."

Two streams of fire raked across the field. Retreating enforcers dropped in waves.

"Don't mention it, boys. Tonight's got a big audience."

The commander finally cracked. He leapt onto a black hoverbike, cranked the throttle, and the engine vents flared blue as he shot toward the outer desert.

Mia spotted him immediately. "That bastard's running!"

David stood in the center of the inferno, slowly turning. Blood still dripped from his blade, hissing as it hit the sand.

The hoverbike had already put over a hundred meters between them, accelerating hard. The commander glanced back, a vicious grin of relief flashing across his face.

David raised his hand. The blade left his grip.

A crimson streak tore through the night, trailing a sharp sonic crack. Less than a second later, the blade punched through the hoverbike's engine from behind. The vehicle erupted in sparks mid-air, tumbling out of control before slamming into the sand and carving a trail dozens of meters long.

The commander was thrown clear, chest plate shredded, half his face scraped raw, mouth full of blood.

He tried to crawl. Footsteps closed in.

David walked over and stepped on his left leg. The bone snapped instantly. The commander screamed and tried to roll away. His other leg started to retract—David's second foot came down.

Another sharp crack. This time, he couldn't even roll. It was like the strength had been drained out of him. Sweat and blood poured out together.

David pulled the blade free from the wreckage and pressed the tip against the man's throat. "Where's Liam?"

The commander's face went ghost-white, lips trembling. "I don't know, I'm just an enforcer, I only—"

The blade pushed in slightly. Skin split. A line of blood ran down his neck. "Keep wasting my time, and you're leaving here without a head."

The commander broke. "I'll talk! I'll talk!"

His hand shook as he reached behind his waist and pulled out a palm-sized black device. It looked like a controller, its surface covered in encrypted patterns with a silver core embedded in the center.

"It's a navigation anchor... only high-clearance strike teams get issued these... Liam's mobile coordinates refresh every six hours... this has the latest set..."

Mia jogged over and took the device. "Give me ten seconds."

She plugged the controller into her wrist terminal. A virtual keyboard unfolded instantly. Walls of scrambled code and jumping encryption keys scrolled rapidly before her eyes. She chewed her gum, fingers moving in a blur.

"Five-layer dynamic lock, military-grade encryption, wrapped in a fake coordinate shell. Real cute."

She hit the final string of commands. The controller chirped softly and projected a three-dimensional holographic map.

Under the night sky, the topography of the Grand Canyon hovered in the air.

Then, a floating heat signature appeared above the map.

Location: ten thousand meters altitude, concealed within layers of cloud cover. The outline was faint, like a massive airborne fortress. Surrounding it was a constantly shifting ring of energy. Radar feedback was pure chaos.

Mia's expression tightened. "Got him."

She zoomed in, scanning the parameters. Her frown deepened. "Full optical stealth, cloud masking, micro-adjustments to trajectory every hour. And here's the fun part—it's wrapped in a plasma defense net. Intensity is off the charts."

"Forget getting close with a regular plane. Brush against that thing and you'll vaporize instantly."

David listened, then applied pressure with his foot.

The commander's eyes flew wide. A half-strangled gasp escaped his throat. Then nothing.

"I don't need to land. I just need a plane that can reach ten thousand meters and a parachute." David pulled the blade free and looked up at the night sky.