038. Coordinated Assault
The collapse of an army often happens in an instant.
The power of that slash was considerable, wiping out the entire drone swarm in that area, but the visual impact was even more shocking. The sky filled with sparks combined with the earlier artificial meteor strike completely broke the spirit of the defending troops.
In fact, it's not entirely accurate to say that because, as Li Aozi advanced with the allied forces, he found that many of the soldiers surrendering by the roadside didn't even bother to fire a couple of token shots. They sat on the ground, smoking cigarettes, exhausted and waiting for someone to take them away.
This phenomenon further demonstrated that the Grand Duke had already lost the respect and loyalty of his people. Bermudes' morale soared, and the soldiers fought even more bravely, with many daring to advance within 100 meters of the shooting range, even voluntarily entering street and indoor combat, showing no fear of facing the enemy head-on.
Seeing this, Li Aozi realized that the Grand Duchy's forces were finished, and given the allied forces' momentum, victory was only a matter of time.
Since that's the case, the final counterattack would soon come.
When Li Aozi advanced to Sullute Palace, the troops of Sisron and Amanda had already merged with them. After brutal combat, the allied forces had lost at least a quarter of their number, but their achievements were impressive—most of the Grant soldiers had chosen to surrender, with at least 2,000 prisoners taken.
"Aozi!"
Alexia pushed through the crowd, excitedly throwing herself at Li Aozi, burying his head in her chest, and affectionately stroking his face. "Thank goodness, you're not hurt anywhere."
"Don't do that, Alexi—Ellie, so many people are watching." Li Aozi waved his hand slightly, trying to escape Alexia's embrace, but unfortunately, his strength was far less than Alexia's. Her soft, warm arms actually held the strength to crush a steamroller.
"What's the big deal? It's just a hug." Alexia said as she released him, wiping the ashes from the corner of Li Aozi's eye with her finger before looking toward Sullute Palace.
"That's the final target, right?"
"Grand Duke Gamos is in there. Take him and his lackeys out, and there will be no more obstacles."
As Li Aozi spoke, he glanced at his Omega Energy awakening progress. It seemed that due to the consecutive injections, his genes had gotten used to the effects of the serum, and the activation speed was starting to increase.
To be safe, if he launched the attack in four hours, he could complete his third perfect mutation and advance directly to Beta-Tier.
Ideals are always full, but reality is rarely so optimistic.
On the one hand, time waits for no one. If they delayed any longer, Grand Duke Gamos could rally the national armed forces for a "march on the capital," which they would be unable to counter.
On the other hand, the city of Speya couldn't remain in darkness and under the assault of external blizzards indefinitely. War might not kill many people, but the cold would. If widespread cold and power outages occurred, the citizens of Speya would completely lose faith in and support for the allied forces.
Seeing this, Colonel Sisron immediately nodded. "Amanda, take the Alpha-Tier team with you and follow them, help them out."
"Understood." Amanda called out, and a dozen Alpha-Tier youngsters from the allied forces joined her. She said earnestly to Li Aozi, "We'll work together to break in and kill the Grand Duke!"
Li Aozi opened his mouth. Although he knew that these Alpha-Tiers were their most elite forces, in Frost-Plated Republic, they would probably spend their lives as low-ranking bounty hunters. But now wasn't the time to worry about that. Every bit of strength counted, and the more people there were, the more unexpected situations they could handle.
"Actually, the two of us could do it." Alexia explained, "These fine young men are the hope of your Grant people. We—"
"Thank you for the help." Li Aozi shook Sisron's hand. "I'll complete the mission."
Colonel Sisron nodded. After this battle, he fully realized that the strength of a Beta-Tier was not something ordinary soldiers could muster the courage to face.
At the same time, Sisron felt a deep sense of sadness because the training and upkeep of these Alpha-Tier warriors alone were already too much for them to bear.
If the Grant people had a more comprehensive industrial system and a developed education system, they could have powerful Beta-Tiers like the Frost-Plated Republic, reducing the casualties of so many soldiers.
The assassination was called off, and Alexia looked at Li Aozi, puzzled.
"I don't want to lose any more comrades because of my own carelessness."
Li Aozi said to Alexia:
"You're carrying a heavy burden; you can't die so easily."
"Hmm, I think I understand…" Alexia rested her chin on her hand, her dark golden eyes blinking as she suddenly asked, "But, can I take this as you caring about me?"
"Take it however you want." Li Aozi folded his arms and turned away. "It's time to act, Ellie."
"I won't die unless it's the end of the world." Alexia said, "Trust me, my groom."
Her words always carried a heartfelt confidence that made it impossible to doubt Alexia's seemingly naive remarks.
Li Aozi nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Due to the narrow streets around and the constant arrival of troops, it was impossible to attack Sullute Palace in one go. Most of the Bermudes soldiers stayed outside to hold off the enemy, using the previously established defensive positions to reverse the siege and surround Sullute Palace.
A direct assault on Sullute Palace wasn't realistic. The Grand Duke's residence was now at its most heavily guarded, with sentry cannons almost every ten steps, and six Beta-Tier guards holding the line.
The battle was going so smoothly that Li Aozi hadn't expected so many to surrender. What had originally been a risky assassination plan could now be carried out more cautiously.
Moreover, the palace contained many precious national treasures, cultural heritage, and artifacts, many of which were relics from the Old Era. Destroying them would be a great crime, so the troops stopped advancing.
Alexia decided to split the forces. Li Aozi would launch a frontal assault while Alexia led a team through an abandoned sewer to infiltrate from within, coordinating from both sides to break the defense and cut off Sullute Palace's power. This way, they could take down the Beta-Tier guards one by one.
Finally, Li Aozi and Alexia, the two top combatants, would directly face the Gamma-Tier Grand Duke—without power, the Grand Duke would be forced to fight them with his incomplete evolved body, making this the safest plan.
At this point, Li Aozi no longer concealed his identity. He removed his mask, opened his terminal, and started a live broadcast.
He needed to cover Alexia's infiltration, just like before when he flew into the sky, attracting more attention.
The title of the livestream was simple and direct: [Livestreaming the Liberation of the Colony].
He wanted to show President Medewei what it meant to kill both the body and the spirit.
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