Shao Qi's gaze darkened, he murmured, "They can't stay. We must act swiftly. Time is running out."

"I know. Thankfully, they don't have many people. But they do have a lot of robots. No wonder they could bring so many into the city. These robots can shrink freely; one person can command an army of them."

It was clear that these individuals were their main adversaries, and neither treated them lightly anymore.

Chapter 184: Breakthrough

Zhou You and Shao Qi stood back to back. Zhou You glanced at the knife in Shao Qi's hand, a design he'd never seen before, yet seemed familiar. He commented, "Nice knife."

"Of course." Holding the knife firmly, Shao Qi made a swift move towards the wall. To his astonishment, a robot crawled out from the base of the wall. Curious about the robot until it started shooting at him, Shao Qi dodged quickly. With a single strike, he disarmed it, then cut open its chest to find an energy stone. After extracting the stone, the robot froze. He tossed the nearly intact robot to Qin Lifen, "Keep this. We'll need it later."

"Got it." Qin Lifen strapped the robot to his back and continued fighting. The enemy, seeing his loot, cursed in an unfamiliar language. Qin Lifen didn't understand nor did he care. He evaded bullets while looking for openings, lamenting the advantages of long-range weapons over his cold steel.

Just after dodging a particularly explosive bullet that destroyed a wall, Qin Lifen noticed Tang Jiu and Cheng Suyan teaming up against an opponent. Their swords, one flexible and the other powerfully rigid, quickly overcame their foe. On another side, Zhang Dingshan and Li Yunxi were working seamlessly together, one defending and the other attacking.

Qin Lifen thought, in such situations, it's always better to have a two-to-one advantage. He wished he had called Miao Miao to join him.

Seeing Qin Lifen, Tang Jiu and Cheng Suyan immediately joined him. Qin Lifen felt he had an unfair advantage and almost felt guilty.

"Their armor is tough. It's easy to repel but hard to kill. Any ideas?" Cheng Suyan looked at her nearly notched sword with concern.

"Use your inner energy. Doesn't your Wan Sword Sect train in both external and internal arts? Look at Mr. Zhou. A single hidden weapon can kill, proving that even the toughest gear can't withstand deep internal power."

"If only I had Zhou You's profound inner energy, we wouldn't be discussing this. But I do have an idea. Will everyone cooperate?"

Everyone agreed. Their opponents' firepower was intense, making injuries common. While armor might stop a bullet from being fatal, it doesn't stop the pain.

Their battle almost completely devastated the base. Before long, a team approached. They encountered the injured Yao Chen's group on the way.

Yao Chen's group suffered heavy losses. Though they managed to eliminate a number of adversaries and destroy several vehicles, their losses were still greater.

The leader escorting the satellite was Yao Chen's old acquaintance, Xue Yangchen, the second most skilled warrior in the Flame Brigade after Shao Qi. Fortunately, they met allies, or Yao Chen's group would've been annihilated by any passing team.

"Our journey wasn't smooth either. Fortunately, most of our adversaries were already dealt with by you guys. We wouldn't have made it this far otherwise." Xue Yangchen pulled Yao Chen into his vehicle to discuss the situation.

"Is... our leader here?"

"Mm." Yao Chen nods with his eyes closed, listening as the other continues, "Where did he come from? We only heard he would bring a team to help, but we have no idea about the team's members or their origin. Many claim he's traveling incognito, but I feel he's taken a long vacation."

"Even if he took a long break, it didn't stop him from working or settling down."

"Wait, what? Settled down? Is it what I think? Are you serious?" Xue Yangchen's curiousity ignited, and seeing Yao Chen’s reluctance to speak, he shook his arm, asking, "Who is it? Someone we know?"

He thought of all the talented and virtuous women he knew, none seemed appropriate. After all, most of those he knew had also known Shao Qi, many had pursued him in the past, but could there be a relationship now?

"Stop guessing. You'll know when you see."

Xue Yangchen checked the time. They were on schedule, but suddenly there was an order to speed up.

"Be careful. There are at least two foreign factions at the base. They won't be easy to deal with."

"All the more reason to hurry. I've brought a lot of help this time. We can't let our sister-in-law... ahem, I mean our leader get hurt, right?"

Yao Chen sneered, "He won't get hurt, and neither will his partner. However, this mission is dangerous, and we might lose many men."

Xue Yangchen's smile faded briefly, but he quickly mustered encouragement, "As soldiers, dying for our country is honorable. As for the others... well."

As the transport convoy arrived, the two fighting sides at the base knew immediately. Shao Qi saw they were half an hour early than scheduled but didn’t mind. Better early than late, at least it means smooth sailing.

The opponents were clearly anxious. They believed their number, firepower, and robots were sufficient, but they hadn't expected the military of this nation to be so formidable. If not for their superior equipment, they would have been annihilated.