"Come, let them witness the power of this boss!" Hu Daoke didn't plan on dodging at all. He stood tall on the trenches, holding his Fire God Cannon and pressed the button toward the distant enemy.
"Beep beep beep beep....."
The Fire God Cannon made a succession of sounds, shooting a barrage towards the distant enemies. Wherever it hit, dust was thrown into the air.
"Ha ha!!" Hu Daoke roared with coarse laughter and loudly said, "Only cowards hide in the trenches and shoot, real men stand up and spray above!"
"Watch out, these are all artificial intelligences, not the stupid AIs from decades ago." Zhuyan Yu in mid-air held his face, looking at him and said leisurely.
"Hmm, with my firepower, would anyone dare counterattack?" Hu Daoke said dismissively.
As soon as Hu Daoke finished speaking, a line of bullets whizzed past, hitting him squarely in the chest. Although he couldn't feel pain, he still fell weakly to the ground, and the Fire God Cannon in his hands also fell to the ground.
"Teacher Zhu!" Hu Daoke cried out with a sobbing tone. After being hit, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't control his body anymore.
"I told you to be careful, you're already dead." Zhuyan Yu slowly said.
"Give me another chance, Teacher Zhu!" Hu Daoke pleaded.
"You're really troublesome."
Zhuyan Yu sighed and made a gesture, Hu Daoke quickly regained control of his body. He quickly rolled up from the ground and crawled into the trenches, no longer boasting. Instead, he took a light machine gun from the weapon rack and started firing.
"100 meters," Luo'er crouched with his gun and loudly said to Tangmo, "Moumou, you can use magic now."
"Oh!" Tangmo had just stood up and a bullet flew at her, knocking her hat off. She quickly withdrew.=
Seeing this, Luo'er threw down his rifle, drew out a wand, stood up and quietly murmured a spell. Then an invisible wall appeared in front of him, and any bullets hitting it were deflected away.
"I'll cover you, Moumou!" Luo'er shouted and continued murmuring spells, maintaining the shield.
Otherworld's shield magic consists of physical shields and magic shields. As the name implies, physical shields are used to ward off incoming physical attacks, and allied forces cannot physically attack the enemy through them. Magic shields are used to block enemy mages' spells. On the battlefields of Otherworld, alternating use of physical shields and magic shields can often achieve unexpected results.
Tangmo clenched her teeth, stood up and began to chant the incantation for the Fireball spell. Guided by her, a fireball flew towards the distance, hitting an enemy precisely. He was immediately engulfed in flames, desperately flailing about, but was quickly taken down by Hu Daoke's hail of bullets.
Tangmo continued to activate magic, though her hit rate was somewhat emotional, she still got a feel for it.
"50 meters!" Hu Daoke took over for Luo'er in reporting the distance, the enemy had already entered a range of fifty meters. All were crawling on the ground making it difficult to attack them directly, so they had to opt for suppressing fire.
Just then, a piercing whistling sound came from the sky, followed by a shell exploding not far from them, raising clouds of dust.
"Artillery fire, everyone huddle!" Luo'er shouted, pulling Tangmo down to crouch. Even though they did not understand Luo'er's command, they all obediently huddled close to him.
Then, more piercing whistles coming from the sky. Once everyone was gathered, Luo'er patted Tangmo on the shoulder and shouted, "Moumou, activate Level 3 Shield!"
"Understood!" Tangmo held up her wand towards the sky and began to chant a spell. After a brief runup, a faint protective dome quickly enveloped everyone. A shell slammed directly into the shield, setting off a fierce explosion. Though it seemed terrifying, those underneath the shield couldn't even feel the shockwave. Tangmo's Level 3 Shield perfectly covered everyone against the artillery barrage, even the spectating Zhuyan Yu was dumbfounded.
After the initial adaptive training, the squad used different support weapons to clearly enhance their division of roles. Five hours later, they had basically adapted to this combination of magic and modern weapons.
As the environment faded before flashing back, the surroundings changed again. This time, they were outside a mountain manor. The manor was guarded on all sides, it looked impenetrable. Fog surrounded the manor, distant human figures were shadowy and vague, making it a suitable environment for stealthy operations.
"Listen up." Luo'er spoke seriously to everyone, "Finally, we will simulate a hostage rescue operation one more time. The objective is simple. Enter the manor without detection, rescue the hostage, and exit the manor. Understand?"
Nobody said a word, just nodded in agreement.
"Good, now I'll assign the tasks." Luo'er continued, "Hu Daoke and Baiyue, you two will form the sniper team, find a high ground to provide reconnaissance and support."
"Me with her?" Hu Daoke, pointing to Baiyue who had been keeping a straight face, said in surprise.
"Yes, your physique and style aren't suitable for stealth operations."
"But this guy isn't either!" Hu Daoke pointed to Cheng Ziang, dissatisfied.
"He reacts quickly, suitable for close combat." This was Luo'er's analysis after observation.
"Little Ke, you need to get along well with Yue'er!" Tangmo commented from the side.
"I, know," Hu Daoke reluctantly accepted this arrangement, then turned around and awkwardly greeted Baiyue, "Well, pleased to cooperate..."
Baiyue turned her face away, not responding to him, which made him feel even more depressed.
"Baiyue, you're the sniper. Take him and find a suitable sniper position. After set up, notify us via radio. Understand?"
Luo'er's treatment was much better than Hu Daoke's. At least, she nodded in response.
"Hu Daoke, you are the spotter, you know your duties, right?" Luo'er continued.
"Yes, I need to scout the enemy's situation, guide the sniper to take out targets. That's the basic idea," Hu Daoke replied with a gloomy face.
"Okay, you two go and prepare your positions. We need to make our preparations, too."
Baiyue remained silent, turned around with her gun and left. Hu Daoke reluctantly glanced at Tangmo, but he had no choice but to follow her.
"Luo'er, am I suitable for the assault team?" Tangmo asked uneasily, remembering his mishap the other day.
"Don't worry, you won't have to use a gun."
"Then what should I do?" Tangmo asked, spreading his hands in confusion.
"You just need to provide magic support!"
"That I can do. You can count on me Luo'er, I'm quite proficient with magic!" Tangmo was immediately enthusiastic at the mention of magic.
"Cheng Ziang, I'll be leading, Moumou will be in the middle, can you cover our rear?" Luor asked him.
"Can," Cheng Ziang uttered, his tone devoid of emotion.
"Good, let's move!" Luo'er commanded, and the trio slowly approached the mansion from the dense woods outside.
Meanwhile, Baiyue and Hu Daoke searched for sniper positions. They found an open clearing on high ground and after clearing some bushes, Baiyue laid down a canvas on the ground, got into position, and set up her M70 hunting rifle that was already equipped with a silencer and bipod. Then, she tapped on a virtual menu, and a ghillie suit covered her instantly.
"Uhm." Hu Daoke hesitated for a moment, then he too put on a ghillie suit. He nervously lay down next to Baiyue and whispered in a weak voice, "Let's, let's cooperate well, alright?"
Baiyue glanced at him, her mouth slightly pursed, but eventually said her first lengthy sentence: "Set the Guile Thunder traps!"
"Oh!" Hu Daoke slapped his forehead, quickly stood up, retrieved some Guile Thunder traps from the menu, and ran off to set them around their position.
Once he finished setting them up and ran back, he took out a pair of high-precision binoculars and began to observe. The entire mansion was in front of them, he could see each guard's face clearly.
"Uh..." Hu Daoke looked at Baiyue hesitantly and then activated his radio earpiece, "Our sniping positions are set."
"Understood, from now on, your team's codename is Hawkeye, ours is Shortsword, got it?" Luo'er's voice came through the radio.
"Got it, so what's next?"
"Locate our position and keep us informed of the enemy's movements," Luo'er instructed seriously.
"Understood." Hu Daoke began searching for Luo'er and his team's position. His binoculars' field of view was wide enough, and even though there was a thin layer of fog, he quickly located them.
They were hiding outside the mansion's outer wall, nestled perfectly in the blind spot of the enemy's high-level lookout, so they were not exposed.
"Shortsword, we've located you," Hu Daoke started providing them with vital information.
"Received, guide the sniper to our position," Luo'er reminded him in the end.
"Oh," Hu Daoke nodded, swiftly said, "Three o'clock direction, outside the mansion wall, 200 yards away!"
Upon hearing this, Baiyue began to pivot her rifle and eventually also located Luo'er and the others.
"Target locked!" She clinically reported over the radio.
"Hawkeye, report the surroundings!" Luo'er commanded softly.
"There's an enemy behind the wall, leaning against the building. But that's a blind spot... wait," Hu Daoke moved his line of sight, "There's another enemy facing him, but he seems to be a patrolling guard."
"Very well, once the patrol leaves, take him down!" Luo'er decided to infiltrate into the mansion from there.
"Understood, sniper, lock on to him!" Hu Daoke ordered.
"Locked!" Baiyue quickly locked onto the AI lounging against the wall. Her finger was on the trigger, and she began adjusting her breathing rhythm.
"He's gone, fire!" Upon seeing the patrol turn around, Hu Daoke gave the firing command.
"Thump!"
Despite the silencer, Hu Daoke could still hear the muffled sound. Far away, even though the enemy collapsed, the gunshot quickly alerted the others. In the silent environment shrouded in haze, the muffled sound nonetheless alerted the enemy AI.
"Damn, we may have been exposed!" Hu Daoke said nervously as he saw a hive of enemies converging towards their sniper position. A glaring signal flare was shot into the sky.