62: Warlike Valkyrie

The atmosphere at the Barracks training ground was currently intense.

Jiang Xin's original intention was to find Zhang Lei to deploy the Industrial Park cleanup operation, but as soon as he stepped onto the grounds, his attention was drawn by the thunderous cheers and exclamations.

It turned out that Tanya was challenging various experts from the base.

Tanya had already defeated Chen Xiao and Shen Nan in succession, and both were crushed quickly with overwhelming force. Her speed was too fast, and her Valkyrie Bullets possessed multiple negative debuff effects such as slowing and poisoning, making them impossible to guard against. Once she got close, her terrifying physical explosive power was something an ordinary Evolver simply couldn't withstand.

Next to step up was the veteran Rank 1 powerhouse, Li Wei. He sank into a horse stance, his body covered in an earthy yellow energy glow. "Miss Tanya, please advise!" he said in a muffled voice, his eyes solemn. The two instantly became entangled in combat. Li Wei's defense was indeed formidable, taking several of Tanya's heavy punches and kicks head-on, causing the ground beneath his feet to crack slightly. However, Tanya's speed was beyond imagination; her attacks were like a violent storm with extremely tricky angles. The Valkyrie Bullets struck Li Wei's energy shield from time to time, making a "sizzling" corrosive sound and bringing waves of sluggishness and neural stinging. Li Wei's defensive circle was gradually compressed, his reactions became increasingly strained, and his Earth-type Spells couldn't hit Tanya. Finally, Tanya caught a tiny moment of stiffness after he parried; her figure sliced inside like a phantom, and a precise palm strike hit the side of Li Wei's neck. Li Wei's massive body swayed and crashed to the ground; although not seriously injured, he was powerless to fight on.

"Even Li Wei, the strongest of Rank 1, lost..." the soldiers watching from the sidelines whispered, their eyes filled with awe as they looked at Tanya. Li Ang held his signature sniper rifle, his brow furrowed; as an assassin, he knew well that this kind of frontal confrontation was not his forte. Meanwhile, Chen Hao, standing next to Li Ang, looked increasingly grim. Watching the brothers he faced life and death with daily being defeated one after another by this woman, a surge of unyielding spirit rushed to his head. He abruptly pushed aside the people in front of him and strode into the center of the training ground.

"Old Chen!" Li Ang tried to pull him back. "You're a Rank 2, this..."

"Don't worry!" Chen Hao didn't look back, his voice carrying suppressed anger. "I won't use the mecha; I'll spar with her just using this golden skin! We can't let her look down on all the men at our base!" He cracked his neck, making a popping sound, and a layer of bright metallic luster instantly covered his arms, chest, and forehead. His fists clenched tightly, looking like they were covered in flowing mercury, emitting an indestructible aura.

"Oh?" Tanya raised an eyebrow. Looking at the battle-hungry Chen Hao, she showed no fear but instead revealed an interested smile. "Finally, someone with some weight? I hope you can make me move my muscles a bit more." With a flick of her hands, the valkyrie twin guns spun skillfully between her fingers, their muzzles faintly aimed at Chen Hao.

"Hmph!" Chen Hao let out a low shout and wasted no more words. He exerted force with his feet, sending gravel flying as he lunged at Tanya like a cannonball, carrying the momentum of a metallic storm! His metal fists, the size of clay pots, tore through the air with a piercing whistle.

A sharp light flashed in Tanya's eyes. Just as the fist was about to hit her, her body slid to the side with incredible flexibility, her movements as light as if she had no weight. "Slow," her teasing sigh sounded in Chen Hao's ear, "too slow!" Before her voice faded, she had appeared behind Chen Hao like a ghost, her long, powerful right leg whipping out with the sound of breaking wind, a vicious whip kick aimed straight at Chen Hao's lower back!

Chen Hao was, after all, a battle-hardened Rank 2 powerhouse with amazing combat instincts. At the critical moment, he twisted his body violently, crossing his metal-covered arms to protect his side.

"Bang!" A dull, heavy thud rang out, like a heavy hammer hitting a steel ingot. Chen Hao's arms went numb from the massive force, and he stumbled back three steps before stabilizing himself, each step leaving a clear footprint in the ground. Tanya, meanwhile, used the counterforce to float lightly several meters away.

"Tsk, what a hard turtle shell!" Tanya shook her slightly numb ankle, but the smile on her face grew wider. "Much harder than that one playing with mud earlier!" She no longer rushed to attack but began to circle Chen Hao at high speed, like a butterfly flitting through flowers. The valkyrie twin guns danced in her hands, occasionally firing tricky bullets—not to kill, but to continuously drain Chen Hao's stamina and interfere with his neural reactions. Those strange bullet effects made even Chen Hao's Metal-type defense feel waves of soreness and sluggishness.

On the sidelines, Li Ang held his sniper rifle with a furrowed brow, whispering to Zhang Lei beside him, "This is trouble. Chen Hao's speed can't keep up with hers. Although his Metal-type possession defense is strong, the consumption is too high. Tanya's fighting style is purely kiting him to exhaust his stamina. Unless he uses 'destroyer'..."

Zhang Lei stood with his arms crossed, watching intently with a gaze of analysis and appreciation. He nodded slightly. "Yes, Miss Tanya's martial arts... are the best I've ever seen. Fast, precise, and ruthless, without a single wasted movement. And..." He stared sharply at the uniquely shaped valkyrie twin guns in Tanya's hands, "Those guns are not simple. I feel they hide something even more dangerous."

The situation on the field was exactly as Li Ang expected. Chen Hao had great strength and defense but could never catch Tanya's flickering figure. Every explosive charge was avoided by Tanya by a hair's breadth, followed by bullet harassment and tricky kicks that stuck to him like maggots on a bone. His breathing began to grow heavy, and the metallic luster covering his body flickered. The stamina required to maintain his Superpower was draining rapidly. Sweat soaked his combat uniform.

Tanya keenly captured his momentary exhaustion and the loosening of his defense. "Now!" A sharp glint flashed in her eyes. She gave up kiting and shot forward like an arrow, instantly closing the distance! Before Chen Hao's startled eyes, Tanya performed a sudden stop and change of direction that nearly defied the laws of physics, bypassing his hastily thrown punch to flash to his weak rear flank. A powerful side kick slammed heavily into his ribs!

"Ugh!" Chen Hao let out a muffled groan. The metallic luster covering his ribs instantly dimmed and shattered. The massive force sent him flying off the ground, crashing heavily onto the protective mats at the edge of the training ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. He struggled to get up, but his muscles felt as if their strength had been drained, and it was temporarily difficult to manifest his Superpower.

Tanya's figure appeared like a ghost at the spot where he fell. She looked down at him with the composed smile of a victor, her red lips parting slightly: "You lost, big guy."

The training ground instantly fell silent, leaving only Chen Hao's heavy breathing and the distant hum of the hind helicopters taking off and landing. Everyone's gaze focused on the proud red figure in the center of the field. Zhang Lei rubbed his chin, the thoughtful light in his eyes growing stronger.

And Jiang Xin, who had just reached the edge of the training ground, took it all in, a barely perceptible curve touching the corner of his mouth. Tanya's strength had exceeded his expectations.