Chapter 47

Contrary to what Alex had thought, the gunshot to the face did not kill Bomen. The bullet passed through both of his cheeks and shattered several of his teeth, knocking him out for a couple of minutes.

When he awoke, he felt a constant loss of strength but pushed through it as he made his way to the fifth floor. He grasped his stomach, making sure to keep pressure on it, holding on to the hope of activating the barrier and ensuring the safety of the camp. But he had found the barrier destroyed and the fires outside were spreading.

Bomen collapsed on the ground, lacking the strength to do anything. He just sat there and reflected, regretted, and hated at the same time. He never thought that the one he called his cousin would put the camp in danger over and over again and yet he ignored it. He deserved this...

Then Ajax arrived, giving Bomen hope and allowing him to say everything that needed to be said. He wasn't an idiot and knew that Ajax was the only hope for the survival of the Lazoole Society. He couldn't let the years of hard work go to waste, so he entrusted the empire he built from the ground up to Ajax.

"Bomen...you bastard *sobbing chuckle*, I-I'll take care of things. I will avenge you..." Ajax's voice trembled with each word he spoke. During his time at the camp, Bomen had taken good care of him and made him feel like a person, like someone who mattered. Seeing Bomen's condition tore at his heartstrings.

Making a fist around the key Bomen gave him, Ajax stood up and gave Bomen a military salute, and made his way back downstairs from the fifth. Bomen watched Ajax's fading back with a sad smile on his blood-stained face. He knew that the Lazoole would flourish in this young man's hands, but it was a pity to know that he wouldn't live to see the day it did.

He dug into his pocket and took out a cigar. Bomen took it with his trembling hands, as if he had found a treasure and lit it.

Listening to the chaos outside, Bomen couldn't help but tear up, the death of his men, no, of his family hurt more than the wounds on his body. He had been a wealthy professional for half of his life, but things change, many times for the worse. Now he could only await his death in this desolate land.

No, this was not his style. He would die on the battlefield. With the cigar in his mouth, Bomen managed to stand up, using the wall as support. He would go to where he kept his mech but was only able to take a few steps before dropping to his knees. "Can't even go out on my own terms..."

Bomen felt his head spinning and fell sideways as everything blurred. "When the night was full of terrors... and your eyes were filled with tears... When you had... not touched me yet... oh, take me... back to... the... night... we... met..." Bomen sang his favorite song as he closed his eyes and slipped into the abyss...

As soon as Ajax stepped out of the defense building's door and got inside his mech, he saw two jets scream overhead at low altitude. Ajax was startled to see two jets being dispatched. As far as he knew, the Hell's League did not have such strength.

Fighter planes, tanks, and mechs were all controlled by pilots. They were under the same classification but completely different equipment.

There were five types of fighter planes and tanks: Protection, Assault, Hyperdynamic, Support, and Full Equipment.

The basic durability of the Protective type was relatively high, with thick armor and one less weapon slot. It could be equipped with an additional armor accessory, positioning it for shock and damage resistance.

The Hyperactivity type had a very high basic speed and could be equipped with an additional core accessory. However, it couldn't use armor accessories and was very fragile. Its positioning was for high-speed assault, protecting the flanks.

The Assault type had an extra weapon slot and average basic speed and durability. Its battlefield positioning was full output and frontal attack.

The Support type had one less weapon slot but could be equipped with special accessories like jammers or scanners. Its battlefield positioning was to protect the target and control the area.

The Fully Equipped type had normal weapons and accessory slots, allowing it to go wherever needed on the battlefield.

The operation method was controlled by the control panel, with neuron connection serving as an auxiliary function to improve accuracy. While the brainpower requirement was not as high as that of mechs of the same level, jets had higher requirements for pilots and required longer training.

If you threw a jet in front of Ajax and asked him to pilot it, he would not be able to. He had never learned how and couldn't understand the control panel and dozens of indicator lights. Moreover, jets were ridiculously expensive. An ordinary Knight-Level jet could be sold for millions of eddies.

This was due to the versatility of jets. In addition to being equipped with magnetic energy engines, jets above the Parallax-Level also had anti-gravity engines, allowing them to fight in outer space.

A group of powerful fighter planes could even pose a threat to battleships, and items related to battleships would be expensive. Ajax could tell that the two fighters above were both Knight-Level fighters, but he couldn't see their exact model.

After several bombing runs by the jets, the entire camp was engulfed in flames. The Hell's League, which had been biding their time, led thousands of forces to storm the gate of the camp. The dense storm of missiles almost swept away the bunker.

The rebuilt sentry tower and gate were immediately overwhelmed and destroyed. Hundreds of operators in charge of patrolling and defending fought desperately without anyone commanding them, using their lives to guard the front line.

But as the enemy's mechs pressed up, the resistance of the operators seemed futile.

"QUIT FUCKING AROUND! GET BEHIND COVER AND KEEP FIGHTING! REINFORCEMENTS WILL ARRIVE ANY MOMENT NOW!" Ajax stated as he used his Particle Compression Cannon and decimated a melee mech that was about to rush into the defense line.

At the same time, the anti-equipment energy cannon attached to his back also adjusted its angle to clear the machine guns more than a hundred meters away. From now on, he was in charge. 

Most of these operators had participated in the last battle and when they saw that Ajax was leading them, their morale was boosted.

"Kill him! Kill that bastard!" Bach, the leader of the Hell's League, shouted to his troops.

Bach was a man who appeared to be about thirty years old, he had short brown hair, no beard, and was a relatively handsome man. He was not a pilot nor could he fight with weapons, matter of fact, he walked with a limp and a cane in his right hand.

The reason he became the leader of the Hell's League was because had a good head on his shoulders, capable of strategizing and coming up with all kinds of insidious tricks. Coupled with the secret support of Leonard from the Ashlin Group, he was able to obtain money and mechs, making the members of the Hell's League deeply respect Bach and obey him.

Although Leonard only used him as a puppet, he was willing to be this puppet and wanted to be this puppet as well. He had been looked down on all his life for being a cripple person who had to walk with a cane, he might not even be able to eat in a place like the border due to his condition.

He wouldn't normally participate in battles due to his disability, so he arranged for a battlefield commander to direct the battle remotely. But tonight's battle was too important. Leonard might even kill him if he didn't participate, so he had to go out personally...

Although it was dark at night, Ajax's Warlock-Level mech could be easily identified under the light of the firefight. In the next second, six or seven missiles of various types flew from a distance, making their way to Ajax's position.

"Fuck!" Ajax cursed silently, turned around, and moved to cover. All the missiles exploded close to his last position, sending sand flying everywhere.