Sky-cracking Rider

"Target locked! Guidance complete, fire!"

Operating an anti-armor missile, Shen Fei stabilized the launcher with her exoskeleton equipment. After projecting an invisible guidance laser beam, she pressed the fire button without hesitation.

The recoil pushed her body slightly backward, and the thick missile, propelled by the ignition's starting thrust, left the launcher. The missile's body successfully ignited, and the temperature of the airflow from the rear soared, eventually turning into a bright flame tail, pushing the missile to break through the light film of the large tactical composite magic shield and hurtled toward the light spot illuminated by the guidance laser a hundred meters away.

Most magic shields and protective barriers have the polar characteristic of being unidirectional, hence they do not hinder outward firepower.

For a man-portable missile with a maximum range of 15 kilometers, a hundred meters is nearly instantaneous.

It hadn't even reached its maximum speed before it arrived!

The spellcasters attacking the hotel didn't have a chance to escape, they didn't even realize what was happening, as a giant cloud of black smoke engulfed everything within a ten-meter radius. The next second, a bright red light burst forth from within the smoke, turning into a glaring red fireball.

The explosion's shockwave instantly formed a rapidly expanding hemisphere of white light, which dissipated into the air after just 0.1 second.

Due to the close proximity, the violent blast even reached the composite magic shield enveloping the hotel, causing the light film to tremble slightly, but it ultimately held firm.

However, a hundred meters away from the hotel building, a gigantic mushroom cloud slowly rose.

The weapon operated by Secretary Shen Fei of the Northern Weapons Industry Group Business Delegation is one of the deadliest in individual equipment, the man-portable fuel-air explosive missile.

If it weren't for the large tactical composite magic shield, the windows on this side of the hotel would likely have been shattered instantly.

Even so, the deafening explosion made everyone within a kilometer radius's ears ring, deafening them to any other sound.

At the point of impact, at least a fifty-meter radius was flattened, the theoretical safety distance should have been beyond five hundred meters.

The enemy… there's no longer any enemy!

One fuel-air explosive missile sent them off to reincarnation.

Just one strike served as a chilling warning to those around with ill intentions, signaling that the people in this hotel were not to be trifled with.

It was neither a display of excessive force nor a retaliatory outburst.

The merchant delegation from Blue Star brought with them all sorts of lethal weapons, the man-portable fuel-air explosive being just one of them.

Boom!~

A black dot rapidly approached and slammed fiercely against the large tactical composite magic shield, triggering a violent explosion.

It's not over yet…

"Damn! It's a large railgun, and 2% of the crystal energy reserve has been knocked out!"

The person responsible for operating the release of the large tactical composite magic shield hurriedly reported loudly.

The specially made tactical alchemy device could only withstand less than 50 identical strikes before the crystal energy would be exhausted, causing the shield to break.

The high-end commercial hotel building couldn't withstand continuous bombardment from the large railgun; it probably only needed three to five shots before it would turn into rubble.

As for the people inside, they would likely be severely injured if not killed by the first direct hit, most of them losing consciousness immediately, falling into a coma, and eventually being fatally crushed by the collapsing structure.

Coming to the rooftop, the chief bodyguard, Riva, pressed his throat microphone and asked loudly, "Confirm trajectory, has the Seychelles Electric Company's radar warning system not been set up yet?"

There weren't enough air earphones for the bodyguards, but there were plenty of individual tactical communications equipment and the merchants' small radios perfectly compatible with these different terminals.

"Two more minutes till we can start it up!"

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The deployment of the battalion-level warning system inherently took time, not to mention that it was an untested prototype; the Seychelles Electric Company's technicians were sweating heavily, as there was quite a difference between theory and actual conditions, especially under time constraints.

If everyone eventually survived, they would likely improve their products significantly to shorten the prep time for combat readiness.

Boom!~

The light film of the large tactical composite magic shield violently shook again, the alchemical device straining to maintain itself.

Another 2% of the crystal energy reserve was depleted.

"One minute!"

Without needing Chief Bodyguard Riva's urging, the technicians busy with the startup preparations for the battalion-level warning system actively reported.

A series of red trajectories swept across the ground, spraying the hotel building without a fixed target, causing ripples on the surface of the large tactical composite magic shield enveloping the building.

Ground troops appeared, with at least a dozen points of firepower.

Some small black dots traced parabolas through the air, striking and then exploding against the magic shield's light film.

Figures quickly leaped towards the hotel, their bodies radiating brilliant Battle Qi Flames. Holding cold weapons, the War Professionals could force their way inside the magic shield using their Battle Qi and slow speed, posing an even greater threat to the hotel's defenders inside.

The view from the hotel rooftop was expansive, offering a full view of the surroundings. As the commander's Chief Bodyguard, Riva, pressed his throat mic and surveyed the exterior, he issued orders.

"First squad, prepare to intercept! Second squad, begin firearm blockade."

The value of a sneaky, sudden attack had diminished, as the attackers set their sights firmly on the hotel—or more precisely, on the members of the Blue Star Business Delegation, launching a close-quarters combat assault without hesitation.

A dozen figures emerged from the first floor of the hotel, spread out in a skirmish line, and confronted the uninvited guests rushing towards them.

They were the most capable fighters: Ability Users, War Professionals, and supernatural power users, mostly the potent bodyguards from the inner circle of the big boss of Louis Industries, with a relatively high level of understanding among themselves. They were a crucial force in defending the hotel area.

The vendors who had carelessly lost their Space System Alchemy Storage Devices which stored exhibitory products tasted the sweetness of a successful attack and naturally wanted more.

Riva, the Chief Bodyguard who had understood the reasons from the beginning, was not at all surprised by the current attack.

Now that the whole region of Zhai Liuzhou was embroiled in rebellion, the causes of the social disorder in Nandu City included not only local criminal gangs wanting to fish in troubled waters but also the so-called Rebel Army claiming to rise up.

In such chaotic times, what mattered most wasn't righteousness but force, with military equipment as the foundation of power.

The visiting delegations from Blue Star were undoubtedly a juicy target, both their showcased equipment and the personnel who could be kidnapped for extortion were prime targets.

The enemy War Professionals hesitated only briefly at the edge of the light film of the Large Tactical Composite Magic Shield before successfully squeezing their way through.

The militarily trained personnel of the second squad took the opportunity to kill several with automatic firearms, but most of the attackers still managed to get inside the Magic Shield, and now nothing could halt their advance.

At that moment, Ability Users from the first squad had already met them head-on.

The two sides engaged in close-quarters combat, blades clashing, Battle Qi flashing, and screams echoing continuously.

In close combat, the outcome was often decided within a few strikes—the end was either death or survival, with no one holding back, all striving to annihilate the enemy.

Amid a cacophony of ghostly wails and wolf howls, the heavily damaged attackers were forced to retreat in disarray.

Not even a minute had passed, and the first wave of attack was repelled.

The attackers had to face not only the War Professionals from Blue Star but also supernatural power users they had heard of but never seen before. Unfamiliar with the methods of Special Abilities and lacking countermeasures, the attackers suffered heavily, with most casualties caused by the supernatural power users from Blue Star.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Railgun Tactical Weapons fired solid projectiles, continuously rending the air and causing long, drawn-out howls.

Taking advantage of the enemy's retreat, the second squad achieved more kills, at least ten men were downed.

"Radar warning system is ready, powering up now!"

The technician from Seychelles Electric Company finally activated the critical system equipment.

Boom!~

The Alchemical Artifact releasing the Large Tactical Composite Magic Shield lost an additional 2% of its reserves, leaving less than 80% remaining.

"Ballistic trajectory captured, coming from the southeast direction, 35 kilometers away, three large flying objects identified, they are Light Wing Ships, model unknown."

The technician from Seychelles Electric Company successfully completed his task.

The location attacking the Large Tactical Composite Magic Shield with a Large Railgun was far beyond the range of the hotel's defensive capabilities.

"35 kilometers? Do we have any anti-air systems that can cover that distance?"

Chief Bodyguard Riva pressed his throat mic and broadcasted the communication.

Many of the hotel's guests were from the military or civilian sectors of Blue Star, suppliers of equipment, and it was possible that some specialized in anti-air systems.

"Well, Northern Weapons Industry Group produces the Lightning-17 surface-to-air missile, which has a maximum range of 80 kilometers, but deployment takes at least an hour and must coordinate with the radar warning system,"

Secretary Shen Fei, leader of the business delegation from Northern Weapons Industry, responded to the Chief Bodyguard of Louis Industries.

Combining products from different vendors not only requires standardized data link specifications and specialized interfaces but also consideration for various compatibilities, with debugging times often measured in months. Compared to that, the deployment time for the Lightning-17 surface-to-air missile is inconsequential.

Chief Bodyguard Riva shook his head internally and asked again, "Isn't there any ready-to-launch system available within half an hour?"

Louis Industries also had similar and more advanced weapons in terms of combat efficiency, but the setup time was longer than that of the Lightning-17 surface-to-air missile—a distant cure for an immediate thirst, what was lacking most right now was time.

"If only we had a runway, we could use a fighter jet."

The regret in the voice of Shen Fei's Secretary was no less than that of the Chief Bodyguard.

The business delegation from Northern Weapons Industry had brought two Canglong advanced fighter jets, which were not mere shells this time but could take off and even engage in actual combat.

Once the Canglong project team got their direction right and started to focus, their efficiency immediately became frightfully high.