Ling Cage: Enhanced Nanosteel Suit at the Start

Page 195

The dense laser beams swept across everything, turning everything from the Winged Beasts and Bonewing Dragons to the Void Jellyfish into basic particles.

At the same time, the vertical launch wells on both sides of the ship opened one after another, and hundreds of missiles with trailing flames poured out like a swarm of bees. They automatically searched for and diverted targets in the air, accurately landing in the areas where the beast tide was most concentrated.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom..."

The continuous explosions finally rang out, replacing the previous despair.

The sky was illuminated as bright as day by countless fireballs, and the shockwaves from the explosions tore apart and sent the remaining Devouring Beasts flying.

The previously overwhelming beast tide was wiped out at a visible speed under the Hope's overwhelming firepower.

The lighthouse platform was deathly silent.

Everyone looked up, stunned, at the scene before them that seemed like a myth come to life.

The destructive power was far beyond their imagination.

It's unclear who started it, but a cheer, tinged with a sob, rang out and quickly spread to everyone.

"We...we're saved..." the Shadow Soldiers cheered in unison.

Seng's massive Arbiter mech knelt on the ground. He removed his faceplate, revealing a face covered in sweat and soot, his eyes filled with indescribable complex emotions.

When did the city lord acquire an interstellar warship?

Vatican leaned against the broken railing, breathing heavily, his gaze fixed on the Hope with a look of utter shock.

Charles took a deep breath, calmed his turbulent emotions, and ordered in a deep voice over the communication channel: "Everyone, stay alert, rescue the wounded, collect... the remains of our comrades, and prepare to welcome the city lord."

His voice pulled people back to reality from their euphoria.

Yes, the battle is over, but the cost was heavy.

The platform was littered with the remains of Devouring Beasts and Shadow Soldiers; many familiar companions had fallen forever.

Charles found Chen Yuan increasingly unfathomable; he couldn't believe such an amazing being existed in the world.

At this moment, several huge landing platforms at the bottom of the Hope slowly extended and lowered their traction beams.

Chen Yuan's voice resounded throughout the lighthouse via the warship's loudspeaker system:

"Attention all personnel of the Lighthouse. I am your Lord. The crisis has temporarily subsided, but this place is not safe to remain. All personnel, including the wounded and... the fallen heroes, board the ship. Repeat, not one can be missing. Those who are not injured, help the wounded. I am taking everyone away."

"Quickly, let's get moving."

Seng immediately gave instructions, "Follow the emergency plan, board the ship in an orderly manner. Carefully move the wounded and the remains of the fallen brothers... handle them carefully."

The surviving Shadow Soldiers, along with the medical staff and workers who emerged from the shelter, immediately sprang into action.

They carefully lifted the seriously wounded onto stretchers and sent them aboard the Hope using a traction beam.

For fallen comrades, their remains were carefully arranged, and as many mech fragments and identification tags as possible were collected before they were solemnly transported to the landing platform.

His footsteps were heavy, and there were occasional suppressed sobs.

Chen Yuan stood on the bridge, silently watching everything unfold.

“Lord, we can’t abandon the lighthouse, could you…” Jingnan came out anxiously and said loudly.

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan thought for a moment and realized that the Klotor mainframe was basically immobile, so he could only store the entire lighthouse inside.

So Chen Yuan nodded and agreed to Jing Nan's request.

"Chen Xin, help me tally the casualties at the lighthouse and assess the damage."

"Okay, brother, preliminary statistics show that 127 Shadow Soldiers were killed, 53 were seriously wounded, and the rest sustained minor injuries. The defensive weapon system is about 30% destroyed, the external structure has been damaged in many places, and the energy reserves are about to run out..." Chen Xin quickly reported.

Chen Yuan's eyes darkened; he hadn't expected the losses to be so great.

As the last wounded soldier, the body of a martyr draped in a flag, was placed into the massive hull of the Hope, the landing platform slowly retracted.

"All personnel have boarded the ship, and the gates are closed," Chen Xin reported.

"Set a flight path and head to the next base—Jiuchuan," Chen Yuan ordered.

Hopefully, the main engine will be turned on again, the direction will be adjusted, and the ship will leave the airspace that has just been baptized by blood and fire.

Inside the massive hangar, survivors embraced and wept, while medical personnel bustled about. Charles and the others were led to a special rest area; they needed treatment—their injuries required immediate attention—and time to assess their situation.

The sea of ​​stars is vast and the road ahead is unknown, but at least for this moment, hope has arrived.

……

Meanwhile, at the Jiuchuan Base, this steel city buried deep underground, is undergoing its most severe test in history.

Inside the central command center, the atmosphere was so heavy it was almost palpable.

Commander Lin Zhenguo's gray hair was meticulously styled, but his tightly pursed lips and deep wrinkles at the corners of his eyes betrayed the pressure he was under.

Dr. Elena frowned as she stood in front of the holographic sand table, her eyes behind her smart glasses rapidly scanning the frantically flashing red warning signals.

On the huge holographic screen, a crimson torrent representing the Devouring Beast Tide was surging in from all directions, almost completely engulfing the blue light representing the Jiuchuan Base.

The number... exceeds 300,000. These are not just ordinary snake dogs and earth howls, but also a large number of unprecedented and terrifying variants.

Chapter 271 Dawn Arrives

Burrowing Scorpion: Its body is as large as a heavy truck, and its head has evolved a huge, high-speed rotating drilling organ that can easily tear through rock layers and ordinary alloys, allowing it to directly breach base defenses from underground.

Exploding Bone Beetle: Shaped like a bloated beetle, its body is filled with unstable high-energy life essence. It will self-destruct when it gets close to defensive fortifications, with a power comparable to a heavy bomb.

Shadow Mantis: A new type of flying unit, slender in size and extremely fast, capable of short-range teleportation in the shadows, specializing in hunting vital life units or finding defensive vulnerabilities.

Nest Queen Lord (King-level): Resembling a queen bee magnified a thousand times, it hovers behind the beast tide, constantly splitting from its abdomen and spewing out many small flying Devourer-like beasts, like a mobile incubation factory.

Lava Colossus Orc, Emperor-class: One of the most terrifying beings, standing nearly a hundred meters tall, composed of cooled lava and a fiery flower bud core. Its gait causes the earth to shake, and its giant fist can trigger local earthquakes. It can also breathe scorching breath that can melt steel.

"Report: The energy barrier at Exit 3 in the East Zone is 65% overloaded!"

"80% of the intelligent minefield in the western district has been depleted!"

"A large number of burrowing scorpions have appeared in the southern area, and the third layer of armor plates is in critical condition."

"Our robot force has suffered more than 70% losses; we can't hold out."

Bad news came one after another.

In the command center, technicians pressed buttons rapidly on the control panel, their collars soaked with sweat.

Base entrance.

"Fire! Fire at full speed! Don't let them get close to the main gate!" a Hisakawa officer shouted hoarsely from behind the outer bunker.

The cluster of automated turrets deployed in the ruins spewed deadly flames, and electromagnetic projectiles, high-temperature flames, and focused lasers intertwined to create a death zone, blasting the leading bio-type Devourer into pieces.

Huge fireballs burst from the ground from time to time, as smart landmines were triggered, blasting the Devouring Beasts within range to smithereens.

In the sky, the drone swarm from the Jiuchuan base was locked in combat with flying Devourer Beasts such as Shadow Mantis and Bonewing Wyvern. Energy beams crisscrossed, and drones were constantly being shot down or perished together with the Devourer Beasts.

However, the sheer number of beast tides, coupled with the constant emergence of new variants, has caused enormous trouble.

Several burrowing scorpions ignored the ground fire and frantically drilled into the defensive walls on the flanks of the base. The thick alloy armor couldn't withstand their terrifying drills for long.

"Send out the Earthshaker robot, target the flank digging unit!" Lin Zhenguo decisively ordered.

The base's hidden exit opened, and dozens of heavy robots, each five meters tall with arms resembling giant impact drills, rushed out with heavy steps. These were Earthshakers specially designed to deal with underground threats.

Without hesitation, they charged at the burrowing scorpion, retaliating with the same drill bit; the collision of metal and biological carapace sparked dazzling flames.

Meanwhile, more Hisakawa standard combat robots, Guardian-IV, formed an ironclad battle line, armed with pulse rifles and carrying rocket pods on their shoulders, charging through minefields and artillery-covered Devouring Beasts with precise bursts of fire.

These robots are the culmination of the base's military industry, but faced with their overwhelming numbers and powerful individual strength, their lines are being compressed step by step and are on the verge of collapse.

"boom!"

A loud bang was followed by a violent tremor.

On the holographic screen, the icon representing the main exit of the East District lit up in a glaring red.

"The main gate in the East District has been hit by a Lava Colossus Orc, reducing its structural integrity to 30%, and the barrier initiator has overheated and gone offline," the technician said despairingly.

"Have the Thunder Squad push forward, Awakened Ones concentrate firepower, try to buy as much time as possible, and use TNT to block the passage," Dr. Elena ordered sternly.

A squad of exceptionally well-equipped Awakened soldiers, their exoskeletons shimmering with energy patterns, burst out of their cover; they were the elite of Jiuchuan.

They charged at the lava giant orc without hesitation, determined to die. Although they could not inflict fatal wounds, they successfully attracted its attention, which bought precious time to repair the gate.

However, the situation continues to deteriorate.

The Mother Lord continues to produce new flying units, the suicide attacks of the Bursting Flying Insects are constantly weakening the defenses, and the Shadow Mantises, like ghosts, have broken through several outer defenses, causing considerable chaos inside the base.

"Commander, Doctor, our ammunition and energy reserves are running low, and our robot forces have suffered over 90% losses. At this rate, we can only hold out for a maximum of one hour, or even less." The logistics chief's report sounded like a death knell.

The command center was silent, save for the heavy breathing of the people inside.

Commander Lin Zhenguo watched as the defensive perimeter was being eroded and the troops retreated step by step on the screen, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

He looked at Dr. Elena, whose face was also full of exhaustion and helplessness.

“Initiate…the final agreement.” Lin Zhenguo’s voice was hoarse and heavy.

Final agreement?

This means abandoning most of the outer areas, concentrating all forces and resources in the core safe zone, and preparing to initiate a self-destruct sequence to perish together with the enemy that breaks through the core zone, while simultaneously launching the most important research data and gene seed bank through the emergency channel.

Of course, the emergency passage can also carry some elites out. Under the cover of the last few supersonic fighters, they should be able to hold out until they reach other bases.

This is a last resort.

Dr. Elena closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, her eyes were filled with determination: "Agreed."

Just as they were preparing to initiate the final agreement.

"Alarm! A massive, unknown energy source has been detected approaching at high speed. The speed is incalculable, and the energy level exceeds the detection limit!" The radar operator's voice was filled with extreme shock.

Everyone suddenly looked up at the main screen.

In the images transmitted back by the sensors outside the base, the sky, which had been shrouded in darkness by the beast tide and the scarlet pigment, was suddenly torn apart by an invisible force.

The clouds dispersed like fragile cotton wool, revealing a colossal, awe-inspiring silver bow, like a divine warship traversing the sea of ​​stars.

Planetary-class space battleship, the Hope!

The ship's mountain-like hull appeared more real and awe-inspiring to the people at the Jiuchuan base than any mythical savior.

"What is that...?" a young officer muttered to himself, oblivious to the data tablet slipping from his hand and falling to the ground.