The Apocalypse Took Everything, This Time I Hoard It All First

Chapter 103: Chapter 103: Sacrifice

Suddenly, Byron Bell’s face drastically changed. He screamed at the top of his lungs, "Captain! My gun jammed! Fuck!"

Before his voice even faded, a Second Order mutant bird lunged straight at him, its sharp beak aiming directly for his head!

"Captain Rhodes! Behind Byron!" Saul Eaton’s eyes turned red. Vines immediately sprouted from his wrists, rushing to block the space behind Byron. However, the bird was incredibly cunning; it dodged with a few sideways movements, its speed absurdly fast.

Luke Locke didn’t waste words. Leaping into the air, he sent three metal darts flying with a SWISH, slicing straight toward the bird’s head!

With just ten centimeters to spare, the bird’s severed head fell to the ground with a CLACK. Black blood sprayed all over Byron. His legs gave out as he stammered, "Th-thank you, Captain!"

"Hold on! There aren’t many left! Concentrate your fire and take out those leading Second Order birds!" Luke hissed through gritted teeth, his voice hoarse from overexertion.

Suddenly, a piercing scream erupted from the RV. "Ah! Help! It’s coming in!"

Hugh Palmer turned his head to look and cursed, "Shit! A Second Order bird is drilling its way into the vehicle!"

The bird flapped its wings frantically, squeezing inside with reckless abandon. Hearing the screams, it grew even more excited. It smelled the aroma of a Superpower Crystal Core inside! Advancement! Evolution! The survival instincts carved into their DNA sequences flooded the mutant creatures’ brains.

The team members were all wounded, their flesh laid bare by deep claw scratches, yet no one had the time to care.

Luke didn’t even turn his head. "Skinny! Go handle that troublemaker!"

Warren Wallace gave an OK gesture. He immediately concealed his aura and silently circled behind the mutant bird. His machete swung down viciously, accompanied by a fierce whistle of wind.

"Go to hell!"

"SQUAWK!" The mutant bird shrieked in pain. The machete pierced its flesh but failed to chop it in half.

Hardening his resolve, Warren kicked against the vehicle’s body for leverage, twisting and pulling his wrist.

RIP!

The bird was cleanly cleaved in two!

The upper half of the bird’s corpse crashed into the RV, spraying black blood all over the faces and bodies of the two people inside, instantly followed by two more shrieks.

Warren frowned and spat. "So much drama. Nothing but a nuisance all day!" Still, his eyes remained dead set on the flock of birds in the sky.

The next second, the RV’s door was pulled open with a BANG. Susan Vaughn ran out, drenched in blood. She didn’t even remember to close the door as she lunged straight toward Luke. "Captain Rhodes! I’m so scared! This is terrifying!"

Ron Rivers’ roar echoed from inside the RV. "Susan! Come back! It’s dangerous outside!" However, after poking his head out and taking one look at the sky full of birds, he instantly shrank back, wimping out completely.

Helpless, Warren dashed over in a few strides and slammed the door shut with a THUD, directly crushing a small mutant bird that had been trying to squeeze its way in. "What an absolute menace!"

The key to this mission was protecting that idiot’s safety; they couldn’t afford to let anything happen to him.

Luke was in the middle of a fierce slaughter on top of the vehicle when his pant leg was suddenly tugged. Susan sobbed, "Captain Rhodes, please protect me! I’m really terrified!"

Who would have thought this bizarre woman would cling to him again? Infuriated, Luke kicked her away. "Roll out of here! If you don’t want to die, stop getting in the way and delaying my bird killing!"

After speaking, he roared at Sean Palmer in the lead vehicle, "Sean! Stuff this woman into your car!"

The heavy machine gun on the lead vehicle provided ample firepower, and the number of mutant birds over there was relatively low, making it the perfect place to stash her. If anything happened to this woman, there was no telling what other messes that brat Ron Rivers would cause.

Sean immediately lowered his gun and ran over. "Copy that!"

The bird feathers in the sky fell like snow, drifting so thickly that people could barely open their eyes. Just as Sean grabbed hold of Susan, an afterimage swept past the roof of the convoy, too fast to be seen clearly. Its volume was on the smaller side; one look was enough to tell it was different from these giant mutant birds.

"Fuck! What is that?" Warren grunted, looking down to see a bloody hole torn into his left arm. "It’s too fast! I didn’t see it at all!"

Before his voice even faded, the afterimage dove toward the lead vehicle again!

Susan happened to look back at Luke. Her sharp eyes caught a glimpse of the Shadow, and she shrieked on the spot. "Ah!" She instantly pulled her head back, grabbing Sean’s collar to yank him in front of her as a shield. "Help me! Save me!"

The sound of an object sweeping past at extreme speed exploded out of thin air at low altitude, closing the distance to the two of them in less than a second.

"Watch out! It’s a mutant hummingbird!" Luke roared as he lunged over, but he was still a step too late.

SQUELCH!

Sean only felt a chill on the back of his neck. His field of vision tumbled along with his severed head, leaving only his torso standing by the car door. His arms still maintained the posture of protecting Susan!

"Sean!"

"Brother Drake!"

"Ah! I’m going to kill all these bastards!"

Seeing their comrade die so tragically, the team members’ eyes spat fire. The tongues of flame from their guns shot wildly into the sky with apocalyptic fury.

Susan screamed as she shoved Sean’s corpse aside. Now that she no longer needed anyone to protect her, she nimbly scrambled into the vehicle, hugging her arms and shivering violently.

"It has nothing to do with me... This was his job... It’s his fault he wasn’t capable enough to protect me..." she muttered with chattering teeth, staring out the window at the unblinking head resting in the snow.

Luke’s eyes were bloodshot! This was a brother who had braved life and death with him for ten years! Gone, just like that!

BANG! A gunshot exploded from Luke’s hand, yet he cursed under his breath, "Damn it! It’s too fast! Faster than a bullet!"

Hearing this, Byron, who was closest to him, immediately felt they were doomed. They lacked firepower, and this Shadow was impossibly bizarre.

Luke tossed his gun onto the vehicle and drew another alloy broadsword. Gripping a blade in each hand, he stared fixedly at that incredibly fast Shadow. Suddenly, he moved. His arms slashed so quickly that human eyes couldn’t capture the motion at all! It was nothing but afterimages! Immediately after, his body flashed. His breakneck speed made his movements look as if he were teleporting.

Everyone’s vision blurred as several clusters of feathers—different from those of the regular mutant birds—exploded and scattered in midair above the RV.

Finally catching sight of Luke’s figure, they saw him frowning, continuing to swing his twin blades. Then, he vanished from the roof again. A constant WHOOSHING resounded around the soldiers. The noises were complex and terrifyingly fast, making it impossible to determine the exact locations of the man and the bird. They only knew the two were moving continuously and rapidly around the vehicles.

CLANG!

SWISH!

The sounds of clashing metal and tearing air rang out continuously, turning the very atmosphere thick and oppressive. The soldiers in the entire squad clenched their jaws. Every single one of them stood rooted to the spot, making no unnecessary movements aside from continuing their own slaughter, terrified of affecting Luke’s performance.

RAT-TAT-TAT!

The heavy machine guns fired incessantly, shell casings raining down. The gunfire and the CLINK of casings hitting the roof played out like a hymn sung for a departed soul.

Luke’s deafening yet invisible battle lasted for three or four minutes. Right now, everyone’s Spirit was taut; these few minutes felt so agonizingly long that it seemed as if a century had passed!

Finally, Luke’s figure reappeared. His face was pale, and in his grip was a pigeon-sized bird—the mutant hummingbird. It was still fluttering, but its previous arrogance was completely gone. To call it petite was only in comparison to the current mutant birds, whose wingspans exceeded a meter. In reality, it was indeed the size of a pre-apocalyptic pigeon.

The hummingbird continuously flapped its wings but couldn’t free itself, as its long beak was firmly wedged in Luke’s palm. As if completely oblivious to pain, Luke kept a death grip on the hummingbird’s neck. Blood dripped down onto the roof of the vehicle with a DRIP DRIP, thoroughly dyeing even the feathers around the bird’s neck red.

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