Chapter 124: Battle

The SkyNet Mercenary Station itself would not accept a mission targeting David, but Kush’s objective was not to target David personally, but rather to create chaos and target the military soldiers. Furthermore, missions at the ten-million-credit level are typically only accepted by well-known mercenary groups, and the mission posting can specify one or more of these reputable organizations.

On this occasion, Kush specified the Free Blade Mercenary Group. Initially, the Free Blade Mercenary Group had no intention of accepting a mission targeting a city. However, the ten-million-credit offer from Kush was truly enticing, and on the other hand, the military and government forces within Perrin City were spread thin. As long as the Free Blade Mercenary Group could create enough chaos, the long-range weapons on the military walls would pose no threat to them.

When Kush made his worst-case contingency plans, he never intended for this operation to fail. It concerned that shipment of "Eternal Holy Water," and David was his only lead. He was even aware that David was preparing to head to Na'an City; once David successfully departed, any future missions targeting him would have nothing to do with Kush, and his own mission would be considered a failure. As a final effort to fulfill his organization's assignment, Kush had truly pulled out all the stops.

Due to his last-minute change in direction—tossing Jim and Daly out of the underground pipes—David had lost track of the route ahead. He was now running aimlessly, turning at every corner he encountered. Kush was too close behind him, leaving him no time to focus on anything else, let alone operate the "K2 Military Electronic Countermeasure Device" to recalibrate his escape route.

The consequences of this became apparent less than thirty seconds later; he saw the tunnel ahead and realized he had walked into a dead end.

Kush, seeing that David had nowhere left to run, slowed his pace, the heavy sword glowing with a deep blue light in his hand swinging gently.

"Mr. David, give up your resistance. I only wish to ask you a few questions. If your answers satisfy me, I might even spare you!" Kush said in a deep voice.

David’s heart tightened as he turned around to face Kush. He did not believe a word Kush said. The eerie nature of that organization meant they likely had some method to force him to reveal things he wanted to keep hidden. Besides, entrusting his life to someone else's decision was absolutely out of the question. He gripped the Grade Two spear in his hand tightly; at this moment, his weapon was the only thing he could trust.

Once his resolve was set, the combat experience honed within the illusions returned to his body, and his gaze began to assess the surrounding environment. The underground tunnel was a two-meter-high cylinder made of steel. In such an environment, both David and Kush would do their best not to damage the pipe walls. If the walls were breached, this dead-end tunnel would collapse, which would be extremely dangerous even with the protection of an exoskeleton, given the unknown thickness of the earth above.

In this environment, Kush’s Grade Two heavy sword techniques were difficult to unleash fully, but David was different. His spear mastery consisted only of a single "thrust," which was not significantly hampered by the confined space.

Kush watched the David opposite him. His deceleration was a deliberate attempt to apply pressure—a combat technique used to force an opponent to lose their composure. Once composure was lost, the fight would end quickly. However, the David before him adjusted rapidly, adopting a combat stance, which left Kush feeling quite surprised.

"Die!" David did not wait for Kush to make the first move. His Grade Two spear transformed into a bolt of deep blue lightning as he thrust it forward.

"So fast!" Kush was shocked, his heavy sword immediately moving to parry. However, because of the environment, he could only move with limited range, which affected his performance. Coupled with the sheer speed of David’s strike, his parry was a fraction of a second too late, and sparks erupted from the chest of his exoskeleton armor.

A flash of white light appeared on Kush’s body; a plate of white energy armor materialized over the chest of his exoskeleton, perfectly blocking David’s spear thrust. As Kush retreated two steps, putting distance between himself and David, his heavy sword parried the spear. The force behind the spear was not particularly strong, leading him to prepare for a counter-attack. However, he suddenly felt a strange, vibrating force travel through the weapon, causing him to pause for a moment as he shook his heavy sword to neutralize the resonance.

"I never imagined you were a Strength-gifted soldier. You also possess such talent in spear mastery. You are worthy of the Grade Two spear in your hands!" Kush said in a deep voice, staring at the slight damage to his chest armor. His eyes no longer held their initial ease; he now regarded David as a true opponent. If not for his quick reflexes and the aid of his secret technique, that strike would have severely wounded him.

David was also retreating. Although his spear had struck Kush, it had been parried by the heavy sword. The force transmitted from Kush’s sword forced him to step back—it was an absolute gap in raw strength.

"You are an Apex soldier!" David let out a breath and said slowly. He had been a bit too eager just now; when his thrust was blocked, he should have retracted the spear instead of continuing to exert force. That split second allowed his opponent to successfully parry. However, this also confirmed Kush’s strength—he was undoubtedly an Apex-level soldier.

"Apex soldier?" A mocking smile appeared at the corners of Kush’s mouth, though hidden by his faceplate, his tone was filled with disdain. White light erupted from his exoskeleton, rapidly spreading from the chest plate across his entire body until it formed a suit of white energy armor layered over his exoskeleton. Even the Grade Two heavy sword in his hand, which had been glowing with a deep blue light, was enveloped in the white aura, dimming the blue glow.

Kush, now glowing with white light, illuminated the entire tunnel. The radiance he emitted was brighter than the tunnel’s own lamps, and David, staring intently at him, could not help but squint his eyes. Kush held his heavy sword horizontally across his chest, advancing with heavy, deliberate steps.

How could David let him have his way? There was only about twenty meters of space behind him; if he were pushed back, he would lose all room to maneuver. His grip tightened on the Grade Two spear. He thrust again, but this time he did not aim for Kush’s vitals; he aimed for Kush’s wrist, where the white energy armor was thinner.

Kush, having anticipated this, rotated his sword hilt to parry the spear once more. But just as the spear and hilt were about to make contact, David retracted the spear and thrust it at Kush’s abdomen with even greater speed. Kush seemed to be getting used to this close-quarters combat, and his heavy sword parried again. The spear was two and a half meters long; unless Kush closed the distance quickly, he could not reach David with his sword.

In this situation where he held the upper hand, Kush did not intend to be reckless. David’s spear mastery was terrifyingly good, and he had to remain cautious. Most importantly, he needed David alive, not dead.

In the narrow space, the spear thrust out repeatedly. Compressed air exploded at the tip of the spear with every strike, but these explosions only added to the momentum of the spear and could not inflict any damage on Kush, who was protected by two layers of armor. Because he dared not make contact with Kush’s heavy sword, David was forced to retract his attacks before they could be parried. Of course, during this time, his spear successfully made contact with the white energy armor, but each time he was forced to retract before he could fully commit his strength, lest he be parried.

Every time David retracted his spear, Kush would take a step forward; every time David thrust, Kush would parry. He was winning through sheer force. His sword skills were formidable, and even though the environment limited his range, he was slowly suppressing David through this method.

The more David attacked, the more alarmed he became. The armor composed of white light not only provided formidable defense but also significantly boosted Kush’s speed. Otherwise, Kush would not have been able to respond so calmly to his spear thrusts. David dared not imagine what would have happened if his own agility hadn't been enhanced twice; he feared that every single one of his strikes would have been parried by now.

In the short twenty-meter stretch of the tunnel, David kept retreating while Kush kept advancing. Defeat was only a matter of time.