Chapter 59: Gamers Show What They’ve Got

The abrupt silence of the right SUV’s heavy machine gun echoed loudly across the stone courtyard. Smoke curled from its jammed feed-tray mechanism as the mercenary gunner yanked frantically at the charging handle to no avail.

Inside the pavilion, Ji-Hong didn’t pause to celebrate. His eyes, sharp and focused, immediately swung toward the left SUV.

Butler Lee’s crosshairs were already tracking the barrel of the second vehicle-mounted gun.

Down in the courtyard, Dong-So frowned. Seeing his partner’s heavy gun go dead, he swung the left SUV’s machine gun around, aiming the thick armored barrel directly at the upper pavilion windows.

"You pests dare to hinder us!" Dong-So roared into his comms, his finger tightening on the trigger.

"Don’t let him lock on!" Ji-Hong commanded. "Fire at the barrel pivot joint—now!"

Ratatatatatatata!

Before Dong-So could unleash a single round, a double volley of high-velocity rifle fire zipped through the air from the high-angle window.

The first burst struck the exposed hydraulic elevation joint beneath the turret, severing the fluid line in a spray of black oil. The second burst, delivered with terrifying Counter-Injustice precision by Butler Lee, jammed directly into the rotating barrel assembly.

CLANG—CRACK!

The left machine gun’s barrel assembly violently seized up, the sudden pressure blowback blowing out the weapon’s firing chamber with a cloud of black smoke.

In less than ten seconds, both of the mercenaries’ heaviest fire-support weapons had been rendered completely useless.

Realizing they could no longer suppress the dozens of bodyguards, Dong-So jumped down from the mount, unholstering his own rifle from his exoskeleton frame.

Now, the four mercenaries in the courtyard no longer held the advantage. They were forced to rely strictly on their exoskeletons and handheld rifles, using the two ruined SUVs as cover against dozens of estate guards.

Meanwhile, A-Ji and Ji-Ga exchanged astonished glances, completely stunned by Ji-Hong and Butler Lee’s shooting skills.

’Did that VR game really improve their aim, accuracy, and recoil control that much?!’

The thought crossed their minds before they quickly brushed it aside—they needed to fall back. Without machine guns, the four mercenaries in the courtyard couldn’t win against dozens of bodyguards firing heavy rifles down at them.

The estate bodyguards immediately took advantage of their new opening, not bothering to question who had neutralized the turrets.

"Advance at a steady pace! They no longer have suppressive fire!" one of the senior guards shouted gravely. "Maintain the gap! Do not close in—their exoskeletons give them boosted physical dexterity!"

Within minutes, empty magazines littered the stone floor as both sides traded fierce volleys. The stalemate in the courtyard was breaking, rapidly driving the battle toward a brutal close-combat exchange.

Elsewhere, behind the cover of the breached pavilion doors, Deluja’s jaw tightened. A cold, dangerous fury flashed across his face behind his visor.

Their swift blitz had been completely halted. This was a brutal demonstration of how raw quantity could challenge elite quality.

Gritting his teeth, Deluja issued a stern order through the comms. "On my signal, we push straight in. Shower them with everything we have while letting the exoskeletons absorb their initial fire. As long as we breach the interior, we’re good."

"Yes, sir!"

Deluja unclipped two heavy gray canisters from his tactical harness.

"Smoke out! Engage!"

Ratatatata!

"Cover your heads! Don’t rush—wait it out! They can’t sustain an all-out spray for long!" Mareum shouted at his four men, staying low behind cover until the mercenaries ran out of ammunition.

Thick, gray chemical smoke surged into the main pavilion corridor, turning the interior into a swirling, blinding haze.

Through the dense fog, the high-pitched whine of powered servo-motors signaled the mercenaries’ charge. Out of rifle ammo from their reckless push, Deluja’s squad dumped their spent weapons and unsheathed heavy, carbon-steel combat blades.

"Clear the threshold!" Deluja’s voice boomed through the gloom.

Relying on their armor’s internal thermal visors, the four mercenaries burst through the doorway like iron battering rams.

Mareum was the first to react. As a seasoned warrior, he didn’t need a clear line of sight—he relied on the auditory shifts in the air and the heavy thud of incoming boots. Hearing the metallic hum of an approaching exoskeleton, Mareum pivoted sharply, bringing his rifle up to fire at point-blank range.

Ratatatatatatata!

The leading mercenary tanked the incoming volley, but the concentrated impact tore through the outer armor plating, exposing a vulnerable gap in the suit’s shoulder joint.

Yet the mercenary reacted instantly. Leveraged by his suit’s physical enhancement, his hand blurred forward—he grabbed the barrel of Mareum’s rifle, yanked it forward, and shattered the receiver with a heavy left strike.

Expecting the move, Mareum released his grip on the rifle the moment the mercenary grabbed it. Launching himself into the air, he channeled all his kinetic weight into a devastating, full-power kick straight to the operative’s damaged suit joint.

BANG—!

A loud, violent crash echoed through the corridor.

Meanwhile, the remaining three mercenaries were forced to halt as the other four bodyguards charged out of the haze to intercept them.

Abandoning their rifles in the blinding smoke, the bodyguards engaged directly in hand-to-hand combat.

At such close range inside the gray fog—with Mareum already locked in the middle of the entrance—firing blindly risked hitting their own men.

The battle for the main pavilion had officially descended into a brutal, face-to-face melee.

The three mercenaries, including Deluja, flipped their heavy, carbon-steel combat blades into a reverse grip.

Without warning, the three surged forward in fluid succession, closing the distance to the four bodyguards with terrifying speed.

Driven by their powered exoskeletons, their movements were far superior. A flurry of dozens of swift slashes and stabs cut through the air, tearing through the four bodyguards and bringing them down in a matter of seconds before they could offer any real resistance.

As the thick smoke began to clear, Mareum’s expression turned grave. Seeing his fallen comrades lying motionless on the stone floor sent a surge of grim reality through him.

"Can you handle him alone?" Deluja asked, his voice rough and gravelly through his exoskeleton’s vocal comms.

"Of course. No worries, Leader. You can go ahead with the others," replied the mercenary whom Mareum had kicked earlier, shaking off the impact.

Mareum gritted his teeth. I wanted to hold off all four of them, but against these exoskeletons, I can’t even afford to take on a single one carelessly. Damn it!

As worry clouded his mind, his reaction speed faltered for a split second. Mareum lost his guard as the mercenary instantly closed the gap, driving a devastating right punch straight toward his upper body.

Unable to dodge in time, Mareum crossed both arms to absorb the blow on his left side.

BOOM!

The raw mechanical power of the suit surpassed his expectations. The sheer force sent Mareum flying backward, crashing hard against the pavilion’s thick stone wall.

That single punch left both of his arms trembling violently, the violent impact cracking several of his ribs. A trickle of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.

He didn’t have a second to breathe—his opponent gave him no quarters.

BOOM!

The mercenary’s left fist smashed directly into the wall where Mareum’s head had been a microsecond before, spider-webbing the solid stone with violent cracks.

Clutching his bruised abdomen, Mareum barely managed to slip aside in time, narrowly dodging the lethal blow.

Suddenly, the three mercenaries advancing into the pavilion were hit by a sudden, brutal counter-attack. They were forced to stumble backward as heavy impacts landed in rapid succession.

"Six of us hold the three, and one reinforces the Great Guardian!"

The seven personal bodyguards of Ji-Hong swept into action.

Seeing one of the bodyguards moving to assist Mareum, an elite mercenary lunged forward to intercept him. But before he could grab the guard, two other bodyguards closed the distance with terrifying fluidity. One executed a low, sweeping tackle to disrupt his center of gravity while the other seized his outstretched arm.

Despite his suit’s powered reaction times, the mercenary couldn’t compensate for the sudden, complete loss of balance. With a sharp pivot of their hips, the two bodyguards hurled the heavy, two-hundred-kilogram armored operative through the air directly toward Deluja and his teammate.

Faced with the speed of the thrown body, Deluja and the other mercenary didn’t attempt to catch him, stepping aside as their squadmate crashed violently into the stone floor.

Meanwhile, the single bodyguard reached Mareum’s side in a blur of movement. Moving with zero wasted motion, he outmaneuvered the mercenary pressing Mareum, slipping into his blind spot before the operative could even register his presence.

In a split second, the bodyguard seized the mercenary’s right arm, locking the elbow tightly under his armpit while using both hands to apply devastating torque to the wrist joint.

"Sir, hold his left side so he can’t lean into the lock! I’m snapping his arm!"

Despite his cracked ribs, Mareum acted instantly, lunging forward to pin the mercenary’s left arm and knife hand to prevent him from twisting out.

"Ahhh! You bastards!" the mercenary screamed, struggling against the joint lock.

CRACK—!

The right arm snapped violently alongside the suit’s reinforced elbow joint.

Without breaking momentum, Ji-Hong’s bodyguard leapt, spinning in mid-air to drive a powerful kick directly into the right side of the mercenary’s helmeted face.

BOOM—!

The mercenary slammed face-first into the stone wall, the impact sending a thunderous tremor through the corridor as a cloud of dust erupted.

Turning toward Mareum, the bodyguard offered a quick, respectful bow. "Great Guardian, I am one of Young Master Ji-Hong’s personal bodyguards. I apologize for my insolence in stepping in."

Mareum stood frozen, utterly speechless, unable to comprehend the sheer speed and fluid martial technique he had just witnessed.

At a nearby spot, Ji-Hong and his three men saw that the situation was under control, albeit dangerously.

"A-Ji and Ji-Ga, you go to the courtyard. When the firefight stops, immediately intervene and take down the attackers there," Ji-Hong ordered quietly. "While Butler Lee and I stay here."