bookrebus Chapter 731 Inhuman Warriors
Chapter 731 Inhuman Warriors
At the entrance to the inner fortress of the castle, the cacophony of arguments nearly lifted the stone structure overhead. Guts was held back by several strong mercenaries, his body struggling forward with each thrust filled with barely suppressed rage, the roars escaping his throat making the eardrums of those around him ache.
"Let me in, Gaston!"
Guts' voice was filled with burning impatience and anger, his gaze fixed on the darkness deep within the inner fortress, and all his muscles were tense.
Just two hours earlier, he personally ordered half of the stormtroopers, a full fifty elite soldiers, to launch a surprise attack on the inner fortress, with the aim of clearing out internal threats and opening a passage for subsequent operations.
Two hours passed, but not a single team member came out, and not a sound was heard. It was as if the fifty people had vanished into thin air.
This deathly silence was more unsettling than the fierce fighting. Gus felt a surge of unease and anxiety. He couldn't accept that his teammates were completely out of contact, and he couldn't bear to stand still and watch his brothers, who had risked their lives for him, fall into unknown danger.
He tried to take a step, but the wall of mercenaries in front of him remained motionless. Everyone had their heads down, not daring to meet his gaze, yet they held their ground and refused to give way.
Gaston stood at the very front of the human wall. He was the vice-captain of the stormtroopers and Gus's most trusted second-in-command. At this moment, his forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, which slid down his cheeks and soaked his collar. His breathing was rapid, his chest heaving violently, and his face was full of anxiety and distress.
He knew Guts's temperament well, and he knew even better what the captain was feeling at this moment. But he also knew that the danger inside the fortress had exceeded everyone's expectations. The fact that fifty elite stormtroopers had gone in and disappeared without a trace was enough to show that the threat inside was deadly. He absolutely could not let Guts step into this deadly place.
Gaston turned his head and quickly gave orders to the mercenaries behind him, his voice filled with an urgent tone that left no room for argument.
"You guys, stop the captain! Don't let him get even an inch forward!"
These words were like a match, completely igniting Gus's long-suppressed anger. He suddenly raised his head, his gaze fixed on Gaston, and the air pressure around him instantly dropped to freezing point. The mercenaries around him felt that terrifying anger and subconsciously shrank back. Only Gaston stood there stubbornly, refusing to back down.
"you dare!"
Gus's roar shook the surrounding stone chips slightly. His body slammed forward again, with such force that the mercenaries in front of him almost lost their footing. He had only one thought in his mind—to rush into the inner fortress, find his teammates, and not abandon them even if it meant risking his life.
Gaston held firm against Gus's strength, his arms outstretched, blocking the path to the inner fort with his body. His voice was pleading, but also showed the determination of a second-in-command.
"I can't let you in."
Gus struggled more fiercely. He could feel Gaston's obstruction and the hesitation of the mercenaries around him, but he couldn't stop. Fifty lives, fifty brothers who had fought alongside him, he couldn't stand idly by.
"As our captain, I can't let you go into such a dangerous place."
Gaston was interrupted abruptly by Gus before he could finish speaking. Gus grabbed the mercenary's arm with both hands, trying to push him away, and a roar was about to burst from his throat.
"Shut up, let me go!"
Guts pushed Gaston away with all his might and leaned forward again, but Gaston immediately pushed up again, blocking Guts' path with his own body, showing no intention of backing down.
"No, let's wait and see, until the situation is clearer."
Gaston's words ignited Gus's fury. His eyes were bloodshot, and his anxiety and unease had reached their peak. The two-hour wait had been agonizing, every minute and every second. He didn't know what the team members inside were going through, whether they were struggling for their lives or had already met with misfortune. He couldn't wait any longer.
"Don't be foolish. We've been waiting for two hours, and not a single one of them has come out. I sent fifty team members in, a full fifty. I can't just abandon them like this. No matter what's inside, I have to go in!"
Gus struggled desperately, forcefully swinging his arms to push away the people blocking his way. His roar was filled with heart-wrenching urgency. He had only one thought in his mind: to rush into the inner fortress, find his teammates, and not let them die in vain, no matter the cost.
Gaston, seeing Gus's near-out-of-control state, knew he couldn't persuade his headstrong captain. Once Gus made up his mind, he never changed it easily, especially since this matter concerned the lives of fifty stormtroopers—a line Gus would never compromise on. But he couldn't just watch Gus go to his death. The danger inside the fortress far exceeded their expectations; fifty elite soldiers hadn't returned. If Gus went in alone, he would only face certain death.
Gaston gritted his teeth, made his final decision, and looked up at Gus, trying to stop him with one last method.
"In that case, why don't we go and discuss it with Captain Griffith and let him make the decision?"
These words completely touched Gus's sore spot. He suddenly reached out, grabbed Gaston's collar, and yanked him in front of him with such force that he almost tore Gaston's collar to shreds. His face was close to Gaston's, his eyes filled with undisguised murderous intent, and the ferocity emanating from him terrified the surrounding mercenaries into silence.
"If you dare do that, I'll kill you!"
"Just one enemy has managed to hold off fifty assault team soldiers, preventing them from sending any messages. This is a disgrace to us, a humiliation beyond measure!"
Guts' roar echoed at the entrance, and everyone could feel his anger and resentment.
Just then, a series of dragging footsteps came from the passage not far from the entrance to the inner fortress. The sound was very soft, but it was particularly clear in the midst of the noisy argument, as if someone was dragging a heavy body, moving forward step by step with difficulty.
All eyes turned instantly in that direction, the arguing abruptly ceased, and the entire entrance fell into a deathly silence. Everyone held their breath, staring at the swaying figure that appeared. The figure moved extremely slowly, its body unsteady, as if it might collapse at any moment. With each step, dark red liquid dripped from its body, leaving a series of glaring marks on the stone ground.
"It's Delos!"
Someone in the crowd immediately recognized the figure and cried out in disbelief and shock.
The surrounding mercenaries reacted immediately, rushing forward to support the swaying Dilos. He had almost lost all strength and could only stand with the help of those around him. His body was soaked in blood, and a huge gash had been torn open in his armor on his back, the wound so deep that the bone was visible. Dark red blood continued to gush from the wound, flowing down the gaps in the armor and dripping onto the ground, forming small pools of blood.
Dilos's vision blurred, and his body trembled uncontrollably. He struggled to lift his head and searched through the crowd. When he saw Gus, his lips moved slightly, and with the last of his strength, he squeezed out a few words. His voice was so weak that it was almost inaudible, but it was like a thunderclap that exploded in everyone's ears.
"Zod... the immortal Zod."
As soon as he finished speaking, Dilos's head slumped down, his body completely losing strength and all breath. His hands fell limply to his sides. Those few words were the last words he left in this world.
"Zoder!"
Someone in the crowd instinctively called out the name, their voice filled with barely concealed fear. This name had long been circulating among mercenaries, and there were countless legends about him. Everyone knew that he was an unkillable monster, a calamity that roamed the battlefield. No one expected that this legendary being would actually appear in the inner fortress of this castle.
"It seems that all those reports about Zod are true."
"Fifty elite soldiers, all of them lost to him, how is this possible..."
"An immortal monster, we are no match for it..."
The mercenaries around them began to whisper among themselves, their voices filled with fear and panic. The previous rumors about Zod were just hearsay, but now, the death of Dilos and the disappearance of fifty team members confirmed the truth of those rumors, and a sense of despair began to spread among the crowd.
Gus looked at Dilos's cold corpse and felt the fear in the voices of those around him. His anger and anxiety surged again. He shoved aside the people around him, shook off all obstacles, and strode toward the inner fortress.
"team leader!"
Gaston and the mercenaries around him immediately cried out and tried to stop him again, but Koggs was extremely fast and had already rushed to the stone gate of the inner fortress. Without stopping at all, his figure disappeared into the darkness of the inner fortress in an instant.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be right back!"
Guts's voice came from inside the fortress, and then it was completely swallowed by the darkness.
The moment Guts stepped into the inner fortress, he could feel the air around him become oppressive. Without the slightest hesitation, he gripped the greatsword at his waist and strode toward the depths of the inner fortress. His steps were steady and firm, each step making a crisp sound on the cold stone ground.
His gaze swept quickly across the surrounding corridor, and everywhere he looked were the corpses of the stormtrooper mercenaries. They lay on both sides of the corridor in various positions, some still in fighting stances, others brutally murdered. The corpses were scattered throughout the corridor, a horrifying sight.
These were all elite team members he had personally selected, brothers who had risked their lives with him, but now they were all cold corpses lying in this cold corridor. Gus felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart tightly, causing him intense pain. Anger burned wildly in his chest, almost destroying his reason.
He looked up at the end of the corridor, where there was only thick darkness and he couldn't see anything. A cold wind blew out from the darkness, brushing against his body, carrying a faint smell of blood. But Guts showed no fear. Instead, he gripped the greatsword in his hand tightly, his knuckles turning white.
"hateful."
Gus cursed under his breath, his anger and grief intertwined. He didn't stop, but instead quickened his pace, wielding his greatsword, and charged towards the darkness at the end of the corridor. He wanted to find the murderer who killed his teammate, to kill him with his own hands, and to avenge all his dead brothers.
He moved incredibly fast, his figure weaving through the corpse-strewn corridor, the only sounds he could hear were his own rapid breathing, footsteps, and the frantic pounding of his heart.
Before long, Guts rushed to the end of the corridor. The space in front of him suddenly opened up into a spacious council hall. The floor was also covered with the corpses of the stormtrooper mercenaries, so dense that there was almost no place to step. The air was filled with a heavy, pungent, and oppressive smell of blood.
Opposite the council chamber, not far from Gus, stood a tall figure. The figure was extremely robust, far exceeding that of ordinary people. At this moment, he was holding the corpse of a stormtrooper mercenary in one hand, as if he were carrying a weightless object. His movements were casual yet cruel.
Guts's appearance immediately caught the other's attention. The tall figure sensed the movement behind him and, without hesitation, slowly turned around. Guts's gaze was fixed on the other person. He could clearly see that the other's eyes were bloodshot, devoid of any human emotion, only displaying a beastly ferocity and cruelty.
The moment those eyes fixed on Guts, a strong sense of crisis rose in his heart. He knew that this was Zod, whom Dilos had mentioned before his death, the murderer who killed all his teammates.
Without uttering a single word, Guts's rage erupted completely. He roared, gripped his greatsword tightly with both hands, channeled all his strength into his arms, and charged towards Zod. He was determined to attack immediately and kill the monster before him with all his might.
"go to hell!"
Guts was incredibly fast, closing in on Zod in an instant. His greatsword, accompanied by a whistling sound, slashed fiercely at Zod's body. This strike gathered all his power, without holding back at all.
But Zod reacted even faster. He casually swung his greatsword, without any fancy moves, and with a simple slash, a huge force was instantly unleashed, directly colliding with Guts' greatsword.
An irresistible force emanated from the greatsword. Guts had no time to react and was violently blasted away by the force. His body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into a stone pillar in the council hall. The pillar instantly cracked, and rubble fell down. Guts slid down the pillar to the ground, panting heavily. His bones felt like they were broken, and pain swept through his entire body, making it impossible for him to stand up immediately.
Gus lay on the ground, his mind filled with shock. He had never seen such power before. With just one strike, it had easily neutralized his full-force attack and sent him flying. This kind of power was not something a human could possess. The Zod before him was a complete monster.
Zod looked at Gus, who was lying on the ground, and nodded slightly, seemingly surprised that Gus had been able to block his attack.
"Not bad, you actually managed to block my attack."
Gus struggled to prop himself up, his arms trembling. With each effort, the pain intensified. He knew that the difference in strength between himself and Zod was so great that it was despairing. But he had no intention of backing down. His teammates' bodies were all around him, and his dead brothers were right in front of him. Even if it cost him his life, he had to fight Zod to the very end.
"So powerful, such immense strength, he's practically a monster."
Gus silently chanted in his mind, panting heavily, forcibly suppressing the pain in his body, supporting himself with his hands on the ground, slowly standing up, gripping the greatsword in his hand, and staring warily at Zod in front of him.
The moment Guts regained his footing, Zod, without pausing, charged at Guts again, wielding his greatsword. He raised the greatsword high and brought it down with earth-shattering force, slashing fiercely at Guts' head.
Gus's pupils contracted sharply. Without thinking, he immediately dodged to the side. The large cleaver grazed his body and slashed at the ground, instantly creating a huge gap in the stone floor, sending fragments of stone flying everywhere.
Guts dodged the attack and immediately stood up, brandishing his greatsword and launching a counterattack against Zod. However, Zod's speed and strength far surpassed his, and every attack was easily blocked by Zod, who even launched a counterattack. Guts could only desperately defend himself. His greatsword and broadsword clashed repeatedly, and with each collision, a tremendous force traveled up his arm, making his arm numb and his tiger's mouth ache.
Zod's attacks were relentless and unstoppable, each strike carrying deadly power. Guts tried his best to dodge and defend, but he still couldn't avoid all the attacks. He was hit by Zod's slashes several times, his body constantly retreating. Finally, he was slammed against the wall of the council hall by an irresistible force. A sharp pain shot through his chest, a sweet taste filled his throat, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood, which slid down the corner of his mouth.
Gus leaned against the wall, panting heavily. He was almost completely drained of strength, and his vision was blurry. He watched Zod approach him step by step, feeling the violent aura emanating from him. Only one thought remained in his mind.
"monster……"