Chapter 609: Chapter 426 Elimination of Skeletons_2
Wesson was now very clear that he had already reported his experience with absorbing Soul Flames, so even if he chose to give up now, he would not be allowed into the urban area.
Since he could no longer return to the city, the difference between continuing the test and stopping it was not significant, so Wesson did not hesitate to choose to continue testing.
When they heard Wesson’s firm decision to continue the test, neither his Sharp Blade Team teammates nor the personnel at Command Headquarters were surprised.
Wesson’s teammates were well aware of his obsession with repairing his hands, while Command Headquarters operated on the principle of maximizing benefits to speculate on Wesson’s thoughts.
After receiving Wesson’s response, a new order came through the earpiece: "All members of the Sharp Blade Team must fully cooperate with Wesson’s testing of the Skeletal Soul Fire, but be vigilant about his mental state at all times and report immediately if any anomaly is detected."
Everyone, including Wesson, heard the command issued by their superiors through their earpieces; it was not concealed from them.
Though he had anticipated this outcome, Wesson couldn’t help but let out a wry smile of resignation.
After everyone confirmed receipt, the on-site command was once again transferred to team leader Wesson.
Authorized, Wesson didn’t hold back and charged at the skeletons bound by ropes, efficiently twisting off their heads one by one and then inserting his finger into the eye sockets to absorb the Soul Flame within the skulls.
As the skeletons were being eliminated one by one, the number of Soul Flames Wesson absorbed also increased. As he continued to absorb the Soul Flames, the ferocious lines on his hands became much smoother.
The charred black appearance of his hands also faded significantly. Normally, a darkening color would indicate a problem, but a fading black color meant that the condition of his hands was actually improving.
Just as Wesson was about to twist off another skeleton’s head, the other skeletons nearby simultaneously attacked Wesson in a coordinated fashion. Had Wesson not been alert, he would have definitely been injured.
However, even though Wesson was filled with joy about his wounds potentially healing, his veteran experience in various missions meant he never let his guard down. Each time he twisted off a skeleton’s head, he would retreat to a safe distance before absorbing the Soul Flame.
In the face of the immobilized skeletons, Wesson, despite his frequent successes, never relaxed his vigilance with each move, always holding back some strength to preempt such incidents.
Therefore, even with the sudden ambush by the skeletons, Wesson did not panic. The moment the skeletons made their move, he decisively retreated. Only after reaching a safe area did he carefully observe the skeletons that had attempted the attack.
When he noticed the Green Soul Fire in the eye sockets of the skeletons, Wesson suddenly remembered some intelligence shared with them just before they set out that day. It mentioned skeletons with Green Soul Fire in their eye sockets were somewhat stronger than those with White Soul Fire.
With this realization, Wesson immediately reported, "I’ve encountered skeletons with Green Soul Fire. The strength of their bodies has not yet been tested, but their combat experience exceeds that of skeletons with White Soul Fire. At the very least, they can now cooperate with their counterparts in combat."
After Wesson’s report, the response came immediately through the earpiece: "Received."
Although Wesson was outnumbered, the movement-constrained skeletons did not invoke fear; instead, their continuously flailing arms made them seem like marionettes, giving onlookers the impression of watching a puppet show.
After two more tests, Wesson realized that if he continued like before, trying to twist off the skeletons’ skulls with his bare hands, the difficulty would become very high.
Under the coordination of those skeletons, it was virtually impossible to twist off their skulls unharmed, just like how it was done with the skeletons with White Soul Fire earlier.
But don’t forget, Wesson was twisting the skeletons’ heads with his bare hands just now, without even using any weapons. Thus, facing skeletons that couldn’t be approached but couldn’t move either, Wesson naturally took out the firearm he was holding,
As becoming a Martial Artist significantly enhances one’s physical capabilities, high-powered personal weapons, which were previously impractical due to their recoil, had begun to be issued on an experimental basis.
The hand cannon Wesson produced was one such experimental weapon. While it didn’t look much different from a revolver, being just a size larger, the caliber of the bullet it used reached an astonishing 25 millimeters.
Keep in mind that common rifle calibers include 5.56, 7.62, and 12.7 millimeters, and even specialized bullets for some large-caliber sniper rifles are typically below 15 millimeters.
Just from the caliber of the bullets, one could already comprehend the shooting power of this gun.
Before the cataclysm, bullets with a caliber greater than 15 millimeters were not intended for individual soldiers’ weapons at all but required a mounting bracket to reduce recoil, as normal humans simply couldn’t withstand the force.
Hence, pre-cataclysm personal weapons that used large-caliber bullets generally remained in the design phase, as they were not practical, and as a result, were rarely turned into physical prototypes.
But now things were different. As Martial Artists’ cultivation levels increased, so did their physical fitness, thus some of the once-shelved designs began to be produced on a small scale and then brought out for testing.
Don’t forget that Sharp Blade Team’s outing today had a dual purpose, not only to eradicate skeletons but also to test the combat effectiveness of those weapons under permissible conditions.
Following a loud ’Bang!’ a bound skeleton’s head was sent flying instantly. The bullet, after breaking one skeleton’s neck, didn’t stop but instead entered the ribs of the next skeleton. It pierced through two of its ribs in an instant and finally lodged in the spine of a third skeleton.
Observing the might of this bullet, Wesson couldn’t help but suck in a breath of cold air. He could hardly believe that just a slight increase in size from the standard revolver could result in such a manifold increase in power.
Disbelieving, Wesson immediately emptied the eight bullets from the hand cannon’s magazine. Eight skeleton heads with broken neck bones fell, three of them unfortunately bouncing into the mass of bound skeletons, while the other five landed outside.
Watching the skulls attempting to roll back to their respective bodies, Wesson quickly strode forward, inserting his hand into a skull’s eye socket to absorb the Soul Flame inside while running towards the next skull.
By the time he arrived at the next skull’s location, the Soul Flame he was holding had already been completely consumed, so he casually tossed it aside.
Just as Wesson was picking up the fifth skull, preparing to switch to another weapon for further testing, white fog had crept up considerably close without him noticing. Seeing a team member about to be engulfed by the fog, Wesson decisively ordered, "Members controlling the skeletons, hold position. Everyone else, converge towards me immediately."
As everyone gathered around Wesson, he quickly instructed the other team members, "Everyone, take out your melee weapons and join in. Remember to aim directly at the skeletons’ cervical vertebrae, detaching their heads from their bodies is enough."
Upon receiving Wesson’s command, everyone drew their melee weapons carried along and attacked the restrained skeletons from various directions.
Since the team members themselves had considerable cultivation levels, the fight was like a one-sided massacre, causing no harm to any of the other members.
By the time Wesson and his team had wiped out the group of skeletons, the distance between them and the white fog had become dangerously short.
