Chapter Seventy-Four: The Forgotten Jericho Missile

As the air raid sirens wailed, all combat personnel immediately abandoned whatever they were doing and rushed to the city walls, fully displaying their remarkable combat discipline. Hidden weapons on the walls, in bunkers, watchtowers, and arrow towers all revealed their menacing faces.

Yang Xin glanced over, his eyes narrowing. Such rapid mobilization of forces was impressive, but the equipment was still rather sparse—there were not many heavy weapons.

They didn’t have them, but Yang Xin did.

He reached into his dimensional pocket and produced the equipment for three active infantry divisions that he had extorted from Nick Fury before the Battle of the New Mexico Destroyer. Not only that, he also brought out all the World War II-era weapons he had exchanged with Fury. Although he left out the light arms and only took the heavy weaponry—somewhat outdated, perhaps, but no less powerful, and in enormous quantities—the vast city wall was soon packed with these formidable weapons.

Still feeling uneasy, Yang Xin secretly deployed his last group of Asgardian interstellar mothership battle fleets, keeping them invisible, as his ultimate trump card.

When the number of humans reaches a thousand, they cover the earth; when they surpass ten thousand, they stretch endlessly to the horizon.

The bodies and souls of humans held a fatal allure for the demons of Hell. In Hell, the scent of humanity was to demons what heaps of delicious roasted meat were to starving beasts. Sensing the aroma of mankind, the demons became restless, gathering of their own accord and surging toward this area thick with the scent of human flesh.

Even the iron-blooded Supreme Sorcerer, the Ancient One, could not suppress the demons’ instincts, let alone with so many people present this time.

Yang Xin and the Ancient One sought to plunder Hell as a colonial territory, but how could the demons not see the human world as a land of delicacies? To a demon, humans were treasures from head to toe—human flesh was sweet and sour, blood could be used to draw demonic magic arrays, bones to craft infernal artifacts, and souls could be crystallized into gems for trade.

But the crystalline wall between the human world and Hell was too solid. Even Mephisto, Lord of Hell, had to spend a thousand years and rely on the Contract of San Venganza to pierce the barrier and invade the mortal realm, and even then, only on a minor scale.

One could only imagine how rare it was for the demons of Hell to taste human flesh. Now, with such a bounty delivered to their doorstep, how could they not be tempted? The demons swarmed, eager to feast, as jubilant as mortals at a dumpling banquet for the New Year.

Yet this time, the jubilant demons ran headlong into a steel wall. Never had they imagined that the humans they once took for mere snacks would, when armed, become so ferocious. Not only did they shatter the demons’ fangs, but they also reversed the roles, turning the demons into hunted prey.

Before the demons even caught sight of the humans, a wave of artillery fire scoured the battlefield. First came the heavy guns with their large calibers and long ranges, firing in salvos; then the medium-caliber rapid-fire cannons swept the area. Before entering the humans’ line of sight, the demons were hammered hard.

Such losses amounted to nothing for the countless demons swarming forward—not only were they unafraid, but their bloodlust was only further provoked.

They launched a frenzied assault on the human encampment.

From a certain perspective, these demons rivaled the Outriders under Thanos in their brutality and ferocity. This was precisely why Yang Xin favored Thanos; his Outriders were the perfect cannon fodder.

“Ebony Maw, before Lord Thanos departed, he ordered you to obey my commands. Will you heed my orders?” Yang Xin released his seal and restraints on the Black Order and asked in a low voice.

“Your command is as our master’s command!” Ebony Maw replied solemnly.

Could they refuse? If Ebony Maw and the rest of the Black Order dared disobey, Yang Xin would hurl them into the demon horde without hesitation. No matter how strong they were, they would be swallowed up in this endless sea of demons. Moreover, Thanos himself had commanded them to obey Yang Xin.

Yang Xin nodded. Of the Black Order, Ebony Maw was the one he valued most—not for his strength, but because in battles thick with cannon fodder, a long-range mage could act as a mobile artillery platform, inflicting massive casualties on the enemy.

The demon coalition surging forward to feed was diverse, including almost every type of demon in the vicinity. At the forefront were lesser demons and demon soldiers, with lesser sub-demons, dread demons, horned demons, hellhounds, winged fiends, and even greater demons among their ranks.

The higher-ranking demons were larger and stronger; dread demons and horned demons stood over two meters tall. Though hellhounds bore the name “hound,” they were the size of horses, with triple jaws bristling with fangs. The flaming whip-wielding Infernal War Demons were four or five meters tall.

But from the top of the hundred-meter-high defensive walls, these demons looked little more than ants. The artillerymen did not bother with precise targeting—they simply loaded and fired as quickly as possible.

More cannons, even more shells!

Watching the endless tide of demons roar forward, ignorant of death, Yang Xin realized the artillery’s rate of fire was still too slow.

“To deal with this kind of cannon-fodder rabble, heavy artillery isn’t ideal—you want multiple-rocket launchers like the Katyusha!” Natasha whispered in Yang Xin’s ear. She could see that Yang Xin was unfamiliar with weaponry, but she was not, and quickly reminded him.

Yang Xin immediately probed his dimensional pocket and found, indeed, several multiple-rocket launchers—not the Katyusha, but the T34 “Organ” rocket launchers.

With a wave of his hand, he stowed the heavy artillery and deployed all the Organ rocket launchers.

Instantly, their firepower increased severalfold. Countless rockets, trailing flames, howled from the tall city walls toward the distant demon hordes. The rockets fell like rain, their explosions tossing scorched earth a hundred meters into the air, making the ground quake violently.

Watching the devastating rocket barrage, Yang Xin suddenly remembered a forgotten weapon in his pocket—the Jericho missiles. He quickly brought them out. The Jericho missiles were simple to operate, easy to handle, and, most importantly, fired and reloaded even faster than the Organ rockets, with an explosive power several times greater.

In this way, the Organ rockets and Jericho missiles formed a perfect crossfire, maintaining relentless firepower.

The shockwaves from the explosions did not diminish even after traveling several kilometers, forming hurricanes laced with the stench of brimstone that swept toward the human forces.

“Wind Release—Great Breakthrough!” With the wind jutsu unleashed, the goal was not so much to kill as to keep the view clear.

At that moment, Ebony Maw stepped forward, waving his fingers, and the raging winds instantly dissipated into nothing.

Even kilometers away, the explosive shockwaves were fierce; at ground zero, it was utter devastation. When the scorched earth settled and the smoke cleared, the ground was pockmarked with countless craters, demon limbs and chunks of flesh scattered like hail, and nearly ten thousand demons were blown to pieces in each barrage.

Despite this grievous blow, the demons did not lose heart or scatter in panic. Instead, their bloodlust was enflamed. With shrill howls, the survivors surged forward with renewed fury, charging at full speed toward humanity’s first foothold in Hell.