Luo Ning rode comfortably on her summoned shadow cat. Although she looked quite brave, she actually looked quite comical as well since her body was simply too small in comparison to the shadow cat whose size was comparable to that of a normal panther before the world changed.
The Crocodile Tooth Sword in her right hand was a Rare grade treasure that increased her Strength stat by +21 points and since Strength was one of the two stats Luo Ning was aiming for she preferred to keep that sword instead of using one that would increase her physical attack power directly. At least temporarily, she would change it later when 21 Strength points didn't mean much to her overall power or when she found a better sword.
Her armor was a Rank 1 equipment that increased her defense by +490 points. Luo Ning had verified with the help of several big brothers and big sisters or uncles and aunts as she called the soul evolvers and soldiers of the base that no lower caliber bullet could even affect her after hitting the armor let alone injure her; this was the case even at very close range.
After leaving the cover of the forest and breaking into the ruined city, Luo Ning immediately saw the eight-plus meter high walls made of mutant tree trunks in the distance.
"Hmph! You all are evil people who made big brother angry. All of you need to be punished!" She shouted and her little face turned red with anger as she kicked the black cat she was riding on to urge it to speed up.
Just as the shadow cat gradually increased the speed at which it moved across the land, a gunshot shook the deadly silence that ruled the area.
Bang!
Luo Ning had barely heard the sound of the gunpowder explosion when a yellow barrier flashed around her body at the same time as a small bronze bell flew out from inside her armor and hovered above her head.
Bang!
The yellow barrier trembled fiercely and surprisingly a small crack appeared in the previously smooth surface.
Crouching behind a small elevation on the northern wall, Xiao Li watched as the girl's charge was not interrupted at all. He couldn't help but feel a little upset. If this was the past, that girl's head would have already turned into a pile of bloody pulp flying everywhere.
"Tsk." He clicked his tongue and hurriedly adjusted the sight before activating Bullet Reinforcement and Air Propulsion.
The skill Bullet Reinforcement was only an active skill Unclassified level 3 at first but Xiao Li had upgraded it to First Order level 3 at present. This skill at its current level allowed Xiao Li to strengthen a bullet of any caliber up to x10 times compared to its previous one which was quite considerable. The downside was that it only boosted the power of one bullet and if he wanted to boost another bullet he needed to re-activate the skill, which in the long run would consume too much Mana in a battle.
As for Air Propulsion, this was another Unclassified skill. The effect was that it allowed the user to increase the speed of a material object whose mass did not exceed a certain limit. In Xiao Li's case, he could make his shots exceed the speed of sound.
These two active skills plus Xiao Li's own ability made him a formidable sniper. Unfortunately, Luo Ning had several godly treasures on her that were handed over by Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue before she charged towards the enemy.
Luo Ning snorted and kicked the black cat furiously. The summoned creature seemed to feel its master's wrath as it immediately increased its speed to the limit, reaching approximately 120 points of Agility in less than two seconds.
Luo Ning did not stop there and immediately activated Second Order Lightning Movement level 5. Lightning flashed around her body and the black cat's speed increased sharply once again. Since the black cat came from a rune engraved into Luo Ning's soul, it wasn't necessarily incorrect to assume that the black cat was a part of Luo Ning herself; something like an extra extension.
With now almost 200 points of Agility, the speed at which Luo Ning moved was simply monstrous and made it extremely difficult for Xiao Li. The expert sniper fired several times but unfortunately failed to hit almost every time while the few shots that did hit were actually repelled by the barrier.
Luo Ning noticed that she was finally reaching the area pointed out to her by Bai Zemin earlier so she stopped her mount's gait and while pointing her sword forward she shouted, "Go!"
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Two black cats suddenly jumped out from the shadow of the black cat Luo Ning was riding on and charged forward at lightning speed.
In the command center, the expressions on Jin Shun and Bai Yong's faces were extremely ugly. But when they saw the little girl turn around to flee while the other two black cats charged towards the mined area, the two of them understood that this was what the enemy wanted to do from the beginning.
"Fire! Kill that little bastard and stop those cats from reaching the center of the ruined city!" Jin Shun shouted at the top of his lungs as he clenched the intercom tightly in his hands.
"Do what Commander Jin said! Now!" Bai Yong also did not lag behind and immediately ordered in a deep and urgent voice.
The soldiers who received orders as well as the various officers of the police forces immediately started firing without question.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!…..
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!…..
…..
The soldiers located on the rooftops or who had a view of the current Luo Ning immediately rained golden storms on the young girl and even those who hesitated for a moment began to shoot after seeing those beside them shoot.
Bullets of varied calibers fiercely struck the yellow barrier, a barrier that after receiving several shots from the expert Xiao Li was already on the verge of collapsing. Even from a distance of several hundred meters and although most of the shots missed, many still caused the barrier to shudder fiercely and the cracks to widen rapidly.
Luo Ning did not seem to be afraid of the hail of bullets nor did she seem frightened by the thunderous sound of enemy machine gun fire. She had seen a lot during the past month. After joining the army and starting to hunt zombies as well as other beasts actively by her own free will, the young and innocent Luo Ning had matured a lot more than she looked, and only to those she really trusted with her heart did she show her tender side.
She looked over her shoulder and watched as the two shadow cats were riddled with gunfire not long after they had begun their charge. Luo Ning did not delay and before the two cats completely disappeared she pointed her sword at the shadow of both black cats and shouted again, "Go!"
Two cats identical to the two that had just disappeared appeared in the air and without delay rushed forward. Unfortunately, the enemy firepower was too heavy and the range covered by the hail of bullets was simply too extensive to escape so that barely 300 meters later they were torn to pieces just like the previous two.
However, just like before, two more black cats emerged from the shadow of the two that had just been destroyed and under Luo Ning's command charged deep into the ruined city.
Bang!
The barrier finally couldn't take it anymore and after reluctantly receiving a final bullet hit it collapsed. The Broken Bronze Bell that Bai Zemin had given her earlier flew back into Luo Ning's armor, who was now unprotected as hundreds of bullets flew in her direction.
In the command center, the incredulous expression on Shen Mei's face told how inconceivable she found what she was seeing. It was hard to believe that a little girl actually had such power! Even if the girl could only taunt an entire army thanks to the defensive ability of a powerful treasure, her bravery as well as the ability to continuously summon terrifying beasts were enough to make her a respectable existence even inside the Baiquan Camp.
However, just then the yellow barrier that protected the little girl from danger finally could no longer withstand it and collapsed.
Shen Mei felt pity in her heart and turned away as she really did not want to see the blood of a girl no more than ten years old splattering on the ground because of the cruelty of other humans.
"Shit!"
"Impossible!"
"Hahahaha! Interesting!"
Shen Mei heard Jin Shun and Bai Yong's curse-filled screams along with Mo Zan's wild laughter which caused her to hurriedly turn her head again to look at the monitors.
"….Phew…" She unconsciously let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, everyone was too busy with their own feelings to notice hers or else it would really look suspicious.
Around the brave little girl, a new yellow barrier had appeared that glowed in all its splendor while another bronze bell identical to the previous one floated above her jet black hair.
Just before the little girl safely disappeared into the forest, the cameras managed to catch her turning her pale face towards the base and pointing her sword again. Although it was impossible to hear her voice from the command center, the movement of the girl's lips made it clear that she had said something out loud.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Just as shadow cat number 17 and shadow cat number 18 were riddled with gunfire and vanished, two other shadow cats emerged from the shadow about to be extinguished and apparently received a certain order as they did not even take a split second to charge in deeply just as their predecessors had done so far.
The IFVs positioned nearby as well as the vehicles with heavy machine guns mounted on them opened fire under the guidance of the soldiers inside in an attempt to stop the charge of the two beasts. However, it was already too late because the speed at which the two black cats were advancing was such that they could close dozens of meters in the blink of an eye.
After crossing the last 100 meters in an instant, the paws of the two shadow cats finally unleashed the hell that was hidden underground.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!….
Dozens of terrifying explosions shook the earth, causing the ground to sink and the buildings two hundred meters around to collapse completely. Soldiers in the vicinity were caught in the explosions and their bodies exploded as limbs and hot blood flew everywhere. Others were simply consumed by the flying shrapnel and their bodies turned into sieves; only the more "fortunate" ones who died after taking a heavy blow on the head were spared from witnessing the horrifying sight before them.
After approximately thirty seconds, the seemingly endless chain of explosions finally came to a complete stop. The soldiers and soul evolvers awaiting orders stared in astonishment at the large hole in the center of the ruined city as well as the dense cloud of dust flying everywhere out of control under the careless guidance of the wind blowing from the woods.
Some soul evolvers had gone in pursuit of the girl while others stopped in mid-charge, hesitating after understanding what had just happened.
As for the brave little nine-year-old girl, Luo Ning, she had long since fled into the depths of the forest. Even after facing tens of thousands of gunshots, her skin was still as smooth as ever and her hair as firm as ever.
And in this way, a nine-year-old girl completely eluded the defenses of an entire armed army.
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Thank you very much to everyone who voted for Blood Warlock with Golden Tickets! <3
