On the monitor, Long Wu, hefting a broadsword, roared toward the gate.
"Coward, listen up. I know you hoarded enough supplies for lifetimes. Open the gate now. Hand over the supplies and the women. Do it, and I might just let you live. Otherwise, I'll flatten this damn tin can today."
These bastards, daring to target Jiang Xinyi.
I chuckled. "Relax. We spent tens of millions on this defense system. Let's at least let it make some noise."
Outside, Long Wu waited impatiently. Seeing no response from inside, he flew into a rage. "You're asking for it. Fire. Blow that damn door open."
Three rockets roared out with fiery trails. They slammed into the gate.
Boom.
A violent explosion echoed through the night sky. The Azure Dragon Society thugs erupted in excited cheers.
"It's open, right? Huh? What apocalypse fortress? In front of our Dragon brother, it's just an iron turtle."
But as the smoke cleared, everyone's smiles froze. That silver gray titanium alloy gate stood firm. Not even a single visible dent on its surface.
Long Wu's face darkened. "Keep blasting."
Just then, the armor plates on the wall slid open to the sides. Water-cooled six-barrel Gatling guns slowly rose from hidden compartments. Their dark muzzles mercilessly locked onto the dense crowd below.
In the control room, I held a glass of wine and spoke calmly. "First warning."
An external broadcast sounded. "This is Blackstone Base. Private property. Leave immediately. Consequences are on you."
"Haha. Private property? I'm the law now. Charge."
I set down my glass. "Open fire."
The next second. Ratatatat. Twelve Gatlings fired simultaneously. Large caliber armor-piercing rounds wove an impenetrable storm of metal. The mountain path lit up with fire. Azure Dragon thugs fell in waves.
In just half a minute, the area outside the bunker was filled with cries. Over two hundred gangsters were incapacitated. The rest scrambled back in terror.
I sat in the control room, expressionless. In this apocalypse, some people don't deserve saving.
"Cease fire." I pressed the stop button.
Outside, the Azure Dragon Society, once five or six hundred strong, was now less than half.
"Damn it, I'll skin you alive."
Long Wu stood up, covered in blood. His body was covered in thick crimson scales. As an S-class blood python awakened, his vitality and defense were incredibly formidable. Ordinary firepower could hardly kill him.
"Earth awakened. Dig me tunnels. I won't rest until everyone inside is dead. If I don't do it, I swear I won't be human."
Several thugs with pangolin tattoos activated their powers immediately, frantically digging into the ground.
I watched coldly on the monitor. Clueless.
I stood up. "Xiaodao, Xinyi, hold the fort. I'm taking out the trash."
The titanium alloy gate slowly opened. I walked out of the bunker alone.
Long Wu grinned viciously. "Finally coming out to die. Brothers, get him."
Seeing I was alone, the two hundred plus remaining thugs felt emboldened, raising their weapons and charging.
I stood still, slowly raising my left leg. The Donghuang Taiyi tattoo on my leg erupted with blinding dark gold light. A terrifying heat, capable of incinerating the world and melting all matter, exploded outward from me.
The true sun fire.
I stomped the ground.
Boom.
A golden sea of fire surged out with overwhelming force. The dozens of thugs at the front were blasted back the instant they touched the golden flames. The ground was scorched black. Steel weapons instantly melted into liquid. Everyone was forced back frantically by the intense heat. They weren't even worthy of getting close.
With just one strike, the two hundred plus thugs were utterly broken. Only Long Wu stood alone on the field. His legs gave way and he fell to his knees with a thud.
"Monster. What kind of monster are you?"
I walked toward him step by step. "Scared now? Too late."
Long Wu knelt on the ground, watching me approach. His mental defenses completely shattered. "Impossible. I'm an S-rank awakener. I can't lose to you."
A mad, savage glint flashed in his eyes. He bit his tongue hard, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the blood python tattoo on his chest.
Roar.
With an inhuman shriek, Long Wu's body began to mutate. His bones stretched wildly. His skin was covered in scales. He transformed into a terrifying blood python over twenty meters long and as thick as a vat.
"S-rank totem, complete awakening. I'll devour you."
The python opened a maw large enough to swallow a car and lunged at me. A foul stench hit my face. It even sucked gravel from the ground into its mouth.
"Think size matters?" I scoffed.
My right leg stepped forward. Great Sage Equaling Heaven. Golden combat body.
The Great Sage tattoo on my right leg blazed with golden light. An unruly, heaven-pressing, earth-shattering combat intent erupted skyward. The next second, a layer of dazzling golden radiance covered my body. My bones thundered, energy surging. A figure wearing a phoenix-winged purple gold crown slowly materialized behind me. The moment those golden eyes opened, it seemed to tear a rift through the surrounding black mist.
The python launched itself forward. Instead of retreating, I charged, shooting into the air like a cannonball.
Bam.
My foot landed on the python's lower jaw, forcefully slamming its massive head backward. The python roared in pain, its huge body thrashing wildly, trying to throw me off. But I stood firm on its head, my feet as immovable as mountains.
Roar.
Enraged, the python swung its massive tail. As it swept through, boulders and trees in its path exploded.
I raised my right hand. The shadow of the Great Sage behind me also raised its hand. In the void, a long staff burning with golden fighting spirit slowly coalesced. Ancient patterns on the staff surface lit up inch by inch.
The Ruyi Jingu Bang.
My five fingers grasped the shadow of the Jingu Bang. An indescribably violent fighting intent instantly surged through my limbs and bones.
"Stay put."
I swept the staff sideways.
Boom.
The shadow of the Jingu Bang collided fiercely with the blood python's massive tail. The air exploded, shock waves sweeping through the mountain forest like a hurricane. The blood python's tail, powerful enough to shatter armored vehicles, had its scales shattered under the single strike and was sent flying back.
Fear finally appeared in the eyes of the blood python transformed from Long Wu.
"Impossible. I'm an S-rank blood python. How can you suppress me?"
I stood atop his head, looking down with an icy gaze. "Because your so-called S-rank is nothing before the forbidden totem."
As the words fell, I gripped the Jingu Bang with both hands, raising it high. The shadow of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven behind me at this moment suddenly swelled. Ten meters. Thirty meters. Finally transforming into a golden armored form as tall as heaven and earth. It stood upon the black mist, its head reaching the red moon, the staff in its hand like a pillar holding up the sky, carrying a power capable of crushing mountains and rifts.
I smashed down squarely at the blood python's vital spot.
"Subdue the demon."
Boom.
As the staff struck, the entire mountain forest seemed to shudder violently. The earth split. Rock shot into the sky. The blood python's massive body was smashed directly into the ground. The scales of its vital spot shattered completely. The terrifying power of battle surged along its bones, shattering all life force within its body. The python's pupils contracted violently. Its massive body twitched a few times before finally going completely still. The black mist guarding the mountain was forcibly swept away by the residual force of the strike.
I withdrew the shadow of the Jingu Bang and landed steadily. The Great Sage armored form behind me slowly dissipated, leaving only a faint golden light lingering on the totem on my right leg.
S-rank awakened Long Wu was slain by a single strike.
I sliced open the blood python's skull with a finger-like blade, extracting a crystal core emitting a dense red glow.
"Not bad. An S-rank totem condensed crystal core. It'll do."
I stored the core in my companion space and turned to walk back to the air raid shelter. Behind me lay a field of defeated remnants. No one dared to look up at me again.