The X Mercenary Corps was no mere pushover. Their survival in such a perilous world was a testament to their formidable combat prowess.
Particularly impressive were their weapons—so powerful, they were almost beyond imagination.
Several dilapidated trucks emerged from behind a building, coming to a halt outside the school's perimeter wall. Upon the trucks, a dozen or so burly men hoisted hefty rocket launchers onto their shoulders.
These shoulder-mounted rocket launchers were the best-selling heavy infantry weapons from the Brom Company.
"Fire!" shouted Rice over the radio, his voice booming. "Destroy every last one of these wolf pups!"
Following another gunshot from Xiao Feng, rockets billowing gray-white smoke shot toward the rapidly approaching wolf pack. At a distance of over a kilometer, massive explosions began to echo, one after another, within the wolf pack.
Each rocket caused several of the savage wolves to be flung violently into the air, their massive bodies crashing to the ground, all gravely injured.
Although these beasts had attained F-grade magical beast status, even they were mercilessly torn apart by such powerful rockets.
The mercenaries' jubilant cheers filled the air as they continued to fire rocket after rocket into the wolf pack.
The number of savage wolves dwindled rapidly, from over a hundred to less than fifty.
Then, from each truck, a massive rotary cannon emerged. These guns, arranged in a perfect triangular formation, each boasted a caliber exceeding 50mm.
Each cannon was manned by a muscular Black man wearing a helmet and protective goggles. One of them, chewing a half-smoked cigar, exhaled a cloud of smoke and growled, "Load the rounds!"
Beside him, a soldier swiftly brought over a silver box, emblazoned with the Brom Company's handgun logo. He opened it to reveal large, golden rounds—each about twenty centimeters long.
These weren't mere bullets; they were miniature artillery shells.
With practiced precision, the soldier loaded the shells into the rotary cannon, while the cigar-chewing man gripped the cannon's handles and unleashed a torrent of fire.
Four trucks, each with a rotary cannon, unleashed a volley of twelve barrels firing in near perfect unison.
The thunderous gunfire and half-meter-long flames of destruction sent powerful projectiles sweeping through the wolf pack.
By the time the wolves were only three hundred meters from the school, the entire pack of over a hundred savage wolves lay slaughtered in the open field.
The corpses of the beasts covered the area in a gruesome spectacle—some had their skulls shattered, with blood and bone fragments scattered everywhere.
Others had their bellies blown open, intestines spilling out.
Some had their limbs severed, left to twitch and writhe in agony on the ground.
White and Turner, standing atop the school wall, were utterly stunned. They never expected that the X Mercenary Corps could wield such overwhelming firepower. A hundred F-grade magical wolves, all wiped out within ten minutes.
Turner took a deep breath of the blood-tainted, frigid air. "Old White, now this is what a mercenary corps should be!"
Old White finished his last puff of cigarette and flicked the butt away with a chuckle. "Haha, compared to them, your Viper Squad seems rather weak, doesn't it?"
Cook, unwilling to accept that, retorted, "If we had weapons like theirs, we wouldn't be a bit weaker!"
"Their true strength lies in always getting their hands on such powerful weapons. Alright, let's head out and see those magical wolves!"
Old White, Turner, Cook, and Bran all jumped down from the wall. Old White drew his newly acquired "Predator" cleaver and made his way toward the pile of beasts.
However, they did not find Ivy there. When the alarm had sounded, Ivy had taken Alice into a room for protection. Had it been just Ivy, she would have charged ahead without hesitation, but with a frail little girl and a small white wolf in her arms, she opted to stay behind, gripping her modified handgun tightly.
The mercenaries jumped off their trucks and began clearing the battlefield. After all, the F-grade magical crystals within these magical beasts were a veritable treasure trove.
Such a large group of F-grade magical beasts could sustain the X Mercenary Corps for quite some time, providing much-needed supplies, including the recently expended rockets and machine gun ammunition.
War was, after all, an expensive game. Without such lavishly destructive equipment, perhaps just moments ago, this legendary corps might have been wiped off the face of Gordo City by the magic wolves.
Xiao Feng, atop the water tower, began disassembling his "Blood Demon."
Rice, looking on with pride, said, "Kid, have a smoke!"
Xiao Feng hesitated but finally accepted the cigarette Rice offered, placing it between his lips.
Rice, in a good mood, watched as Xiao Feng expertly handled the situation once again, his admiration for the youth growing. With over a hundred F-grade magical crystals in their hands, his spirits soared—this was a victory like no other, one he hadn't experienced in a long time. He lit the cigarette for Xiao Feng.
Xiao Feng took a tentative puff, then broke into a violent coughing fit. The harsh smoke burned his throat unbearably. "What...what is this taste??"
Rice, watching Xiao Feng's reaction, realized this was probably the first time the young man had smoked. He burst out laughing. "Kid, take your time to learn."
With that, Rice leaped off the water tower, landing with a mighty thud, then straightened up and walked out of the school yard, proudly striding away with his bare chest exposed.
Xiao Feng, staring at the cigarette in his hand, took a small, slow drag. The nicotine-laced smoke filled his lungs, and he coughed violently again.
When they reached the battlefield, White's task was to carve open the massive bellies of the fallen beasts, allowing the soldiers behind him to collect the F-grade magical crystals.
While the mercenaries reveled in their success, several off-road vehicles came screeching to a halt behind them.
A lean man in sunglasses jumped out of the car, watching the mercenaries clean up the battlefield with a smile tugging at his lips.
"Rice, looks like you had a good haul today," he said with a grin. "A whole pack of F-grade magical beasts wiped out... looks like you're about to make a pretty penny!"
Rice turned around, smiling when he saw the slim, sunglasses-wearing man. "Captain Vic, it seems you've arrived a bit late!"