Ultraman: This Belial only wants to make money.

Chapter 28. 66 Hours in Hell

Megumi Kijima awoke after a burst of intense gunfire. The jolting of the vehicle did not affect her sleep at all; it was the sweetest sleep she had ever experienced in her life.

After all, I haven't slept for sixty hours.

"Captain, you can sleep a little longer. I can manage."

The one speaking was the vice-captain, Zongfang, sitting in the driver's seat. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was sallow and bloodless, making him look like a living corpse. He barely managed to stay upright thanks to a large dose of stamina potion. It wasn't just Jijian Hui who hadn't slept during this time.

"No, Deputy Captain Zongfang, let me drive the vehicle. We must get Miss Jiang Qi to the front line safely, the sooner the better."

Captain Megumi glanced silently at the back of the armored vehicle. Whether out of fear or excitement, the accompanying personnel seemed restless.

The moment the captain took the steering wheel, a soft snore could be heard from the passenger seat. The armored vehicle dodged the craters in the water and sped toward the target.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battle line—

"That bastard's skin is really tough!"

The well-digging team's complaints were quickly drowned out by the sound of artillery fire. He was a technician and didn't need to go to the front lines, but even from the rear, he could hear the deafening explosions.

He looked at Ye Rui in the same tent. The stack of empty coffee cans had collapsed from the shock. Watching Ye Rui crawl out of the can, he sighed and stared at the signal of the armored vehicle on the radar.

"I've never missed Ultraman Tiga this much. Why hasn't he shown up yet?"

"Hurry up and come here, Captain..."

Several fighter jets roared overhead.

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This is an unprecedentedly tough battle since the founding of TPC.

Despite its name as a global defense organization, TPC's work was quite leisurely before the emergence of the monster phenomenon. The director's efforts had eliminated global wars, and people could simply enjoy peace and tranquility.

Until the monster tore the earth apart.

To stop the two monsters, Golza and Melba, the GUTS team had no decent weapons to offer. Although they later upgraded Victory Swallow 1 and 2, these weapons were of little use against the Kirieloids who suddenly appeared in the city.

Ultimately, it was up to that giant to clean up the mess.

This was the third tough battle, and the toughest and most difficult one so far. The white dragon named Galactron severed the arm of Ligadron, but the monster reappeared 12 hours later.

The absorbed high-purity energy was completely digested, and Ligadron grew sharper scythe arms. The metal shell covering his entire body also became harder, and even the Texas cannon on the Flying Swallow 2 was easily deflected by it.

Given TPC's current capabilities, the only things that could pose a threat to the monsters are the new Max Cannon, which is still under development, and the Zelda Gas, which was sealed away decades ago. However, the former is only half-assembled, and the latter is too sensitive; it's likely that it would blow up transport vehicles before it even reaches the front lines.

We can only hope that conventional firepower can slow down the monster's advance.

The white dragon Galactron silently watched the Victory Team's resistance from the sky. After dozens of hours of fighting, thousands of tons of ammunition were poured out, with enough firepower to flatten a mountain, but this could only temporarily slow down the monster's advance, not stop it. They could only watch helplessly as Galactron invaded one energy center after another.

A turning point didn't come until a certain moment.

When Ligadron invaded a certain area, he inexplicably retreated despite having the upper hand. While investigating the reason, the investigators noticed a person.

This is the daughter of the late Dr. Jiang Qi.

Based on the fact that during this period, the families of the Jeep 3 astronauts often saw the deceased return to their homes, the well diggers put forward a bold hypothesis.

"Since the monster's armor is as thick as a mountain and cannot be breached from the outside, could we attack from the inside and create an opportunity?!"

The tactic of "sending a message from the astronaut's family to the monster" was indeed effective. Shortly after Daigo on Victory Swallow 1 pressed the launch button, Ligadron's steps faltered for the first time, and bright sparks of electricity erupted from its body. The monster then went into a 3-minute slump. However, even after Victory Swallow 1, hovering above the monster, unleashed all its firepower, it still couldn't harm the monster in the slightest.

"If Ultraman Tiga appears, we can definitely seize this opportunity and defeat the monster!"

The well-digging team members were unwilling to accept this.

Three minutes later, Ligadron regained consciousness, staggered away, and didn't reappear on the battlefield until 10 hours later.

In the intervals between artillery fire, Koji finally heard the roar of armored vehicles outside the tent, and he rushed out in one stride.

The two captains, utterly lacking in decorum, leaned their heads against the instrument panel, closed their eyes to rest, and the door of the armored vehicle was opened, and a young woman stepped out.

"You must be Dr. Jiang Qi's daughter?"

He dug a well and asked a question.

The late Dr. Jiang Qi was the mentor of the well-digging team. During their studies, he took good care of the ambitious well-digging team. Although he knew that his mentor had a daughter, he never expected to meet her for the first time on the battlefield.

"I came here just to see that irresponsible guy one last time."

Having accepted the fact that her father had passed away, Jiang Qiqianhe spoke seemingly indifferent words, but her eyes were red.

"..."

A moment of silence followed, until the sound of exploding shells broke the unbearable atmosphere.

"Let's go."

Hori took over the duties of the two captains and got into the driver's seat. Their target was the frontal battlefield a few kilometers away. The intense artillery fire had temporarily suppressed Ligadron. The Victory Team's mission was to ensure the girl's safety while allowing her to face the monster directly.

The tactics used the first time failed. It seems that when Ligadron absorbed the three astronauts, he also inherited their superior intelligence. The messages he sent went unanswered. If he wanted to create an opening again, he would need a stronger stimulus.

The Victory Team even had a heated argument about whether or not to take civilians to the battlefield, until this strong girl volunteered.

She wanted to see her father one last time.

The armored vehicle drove through a dense array of shell craters and around broken trees, and a few minutes later the view ahead suddenly opened up.

"It's Digging Well, he's here!"

With his sharp eyes, Xincheng spotted his teammates immediately. Perhaps due to grief and anger, his skills had been exceptionally sharp these past few days. He could easily dodge any tricky beams of light fired from Ligadron from any direction without ever crashing.

However, Daigo, who was in charge of the attack, seemed very unhappy, probably because none of his attacks had any effect.

"Stop it, Dad!"

The armored vehicle braked suddenly, and the girl hurriedly jumped off, even slipping and falling due to the bumpy terrain.

But she ignored her injuries and continued charging toward the monster.

"Don't act impulsively!"

Although it was embarrassing, the well-digging team members were indeed faster than even the girls.

"Wait, the monster's attack seems to have stopped?!"

The moment the girl appeared in the monster's field of vision, Ligadron surprisingly put down his scythe. At the same time, the sound of gunfire on the field stopped. Just like that, Jiang Qiqianhe ran towards the monster.

"Dad, is that you? Do you still recognize me?"

Jiang Qiqianhe looked at the monster with anticipation and caution.

An eerie silence fell over the entire battlefield, broken only by the girl's tearful cries.

She desperately wanted a response from her father, but only for a fleeting moment—

The monster raised its scythe again and brought it down with a heavy slash!

P.S. Why didn't Ultraman Tiga appear?