Chapter 264 Landing on Ruins Star
The massive war mech adjusted its stance with agility completely disproportionate to its size.
At the same time, it rotated its robust body, allowing the particle beam main cannon at its tail tip to sweep horizontally at near-supersonic speed, once again launching a deadly slashing barrage along the near-horizon area.
Its internal large Mass Effect Zero Element Furnace operated at full power, minimizing its own weight to the greatest extent possible, and doing its best to counteract the inertia brought by its massive size.
It was precisely because of its zero element application capability, far surpassing the current level of the Star Alliance, that this giant beast was able to defy the laws of physics and possess agility similar to that of a small to medium-sized mech.
The particle beam was accelerated and fired, instantly “igniting” an entire section of the sky.
The raging inferno completely obscured the city ruins below, dyeing everything a fiery red.
The scene was like hell.
From a technical standpoint, this shot was flawless.
However, the “fleet” formation that Cangyuan displayed this time was extremely loose, almost occupying a 180-degree field of view.
Looking from Mr. Sang’s office, the right flank of this fleet was located towards the planet’s North Pole, while the left flank was close to the planet’s South Pole, arranged in a semicircle.
This led to a very realistic problem: in order to shoot down this fleet as quickly as possible, the particle beam main cannon had to perform a 180-degree horizontal sweep.
Although under the control of advanced fire control programs, the particle beam stream could concentrate as much firepower as possible on the target in a near-pulse manner, in actual operation, due to non-overlapping firing lines, each time the main cannon performed a pulse shot, the high-energy particle beam stream first needed to “collide” with the dense air molecules in the atmosphere.
During this period, these high-energy particles inevitably underwent slight angular refraction, like an invisible game of billiards.
Coupled with the fact that there were quite a few targets, the final result was a significant weakening of firing power compared to the previous two shots.
Of course, even if it was weakened by Cangyuan’s insidious and cunning tactics, a main cannon of this caliber was still extremely terrifying.
The dummy targets composed of drone swarms in the “fleet” were completely wiped out!
The Chang’an, Xian Xia, and Ni Chou Sha, which possessed kinetic shields and armor, survived, sustaining varying degrees of damage!
“All ships! Report status immediately!”
Xian Yu, replacing Prairie who was no longer on the bridge, initiated full-fleet communication.
“This is Chang’an, we were hit head-on! The front 40% of the hull is a mess, the main structure has been melted! Main cannon damaged, hangar damaged, radar damaged! Particle beam weapons are confirmed to be highly effective at penetrating armor, but the damage to the ship’s armor is much less than to the interior of the hull!”
“This is Xian Xia, the front half of the hull is severely damaged! One turret is still usable, but the fire control and targeting system has been destroyed!
From now on, we can only rely on the backup system for semi-manual aiming!”
“This is Ni Chou Sha! Our hull structure is severely damaged, and the main cannon pod has fallen off! The fire is about to spread to the bridge and engine room, and we are working at full capacity on damage control!”
At this moment, over 30 players had already gloriously gone offline on the three warships.
The remaining ones, like ants on a hot pan, burst forth with all their potential, moving through corridors and compartments to extinguish fires, or manually closing various valves and switches, as well as those airtight doors that had already failed.
Xian Yu turned to look at the Executive Officer in the captain’s seat.
The latter’s gaze was firm, silently giving his approval.
“Continue!”
“Being able to communicate normally means there’s still hope!”
“These damages are within an acceptable range, and it can even be said that they are not as severe as anticipated.”
After understanding the technical characteristics of the particle beam main cannon, the fleet had essentially obtained the “problem statement,” and naturally, they could now adapt and try to “solve” it.
“This is Xianyang, are you still able to steer?”
Soon, all three damaged warships sent back affirmative replies.
“Very good! Then, while performing damage control, Xian Xia will remain above the horizon to provide artillery support.
“Chang’an will descend below the horizon and use missiles for fire support. Your two ships can no longer maintain accuracy in your attacks, so your primary objective is to attract enemy attention and increase the difficulty of their decision-making! You must try your best to create chaos!”
“Understood!”
“Ni Chou Sha will also descend below the horizon. You are the most severely damaged, so withdraw from the battlefield as quickly as possible!”
After a few seconds of silence, the captain of Ni Chou Sha sent a communication, his tone extremely solemn and calm.
“Staff Officer Xian Yu, the fire on my ship has been initially controlled, and the hull structure can still hold. Of the eight laser cannons, five can still function normally, and under visual operation conditions, their accuracy is far greater than kinetic weapons. Therefore—we cannot withdraw, we still want to fight a bit more!”
Xian Yu looked at Lu Yuan again, who simply nodded slightly.
“Alright. Please continue to stay on the battlefield and provide suppressive fire. Real men rely on structural integrity, good luck!”
“Hmm! Real men rely on structural integrity.”
Lu Yuan felt a surge of hot blood pumping from his heart and unconsciously stood up from his seat.
With such a group of employees under him, what more could he say?
This battle must be won!
“Advance.”
“Mr. Sang, at least two enemy warships are still alive and have not sunk.” “A bunch of idiots! Morons! Imbeciles!!”
Upon seeing the main cannon fire, Mr. Sang was stunned for a full five seconds, then he completely erupted in fury, his roar echoing through the communication channel.
“Who the hell told you to open fire!? Didn’t you hear what I just said!?”
“We heard it, loud and clear! But among those fake targets, there were indeed real warships mixed in! Their missiles have already been fired, and the mushroom cloud is only 20 kilometers away, yet you kept delaying the order to open fire! How can you guarantee that we can intercept all subsequent enemy attacks!? Just with your mouth!?”
“You are—truly an idiot to a certain extent! Shut your mouth!”
Mr. Sang furiously cursed the former confidant and nominal leader of the Dark Sun Pirates who dared to contradict him.
“Don’t you understand? What Cangyuan wants to achieve is to lure us into firing the main cannon!
“Their true main force must still be ambushing somewhere! Waiting for the opportunity to arrive! Don’t you realize how precious this main cannon firing opportunity is!?”
“Precisely for that reason, we should fire as soon as possible! Recharge as soon as possible! Prepare for the second shot as soon as possible!”
The pirate leader shouted, his voice louder than his boss’s.
It must be said that his point of view actually had some merit.
As the saying goes, the sooner you use a skill, the sooner its cooldown is over.
If you lose a team fight with your ultimate still in hand, that’s a bit… you know.
Ah…
Mr. Sang sighed, his face contorted.
“Pain!”
“I’m having such a hard time!”
He had seen through these pirates.
These people, each one of them seemed like a ruthless character who had lived by the sword, and they had indeed cruelly killed many people.
But their ruthlessness was limited to murder and plunder, limited to small-scale battles and low-intensity combat.
When facing a truly large-scale battlefield, a few close-range nuclear explosions were enough to scare them out of their wits, making them make irrational decisions…
But, Cangyuan was different—
They had already crossed and overcome this “rookie” stage when they were subjected to the nuclear strike launched by Omar!
Shit! Did I just help them complete their training!?
“Alright—I don’t want to argue about this issue. Arguing about this now is meaningless!”
In the communication channel, Mr. Sang, who had a bitter taste in his mouth, relented somewhat.
If they continued to argue, he couldn’t say what would happen to Cangyuan, but his own office was ninety-nine percent likely to be blown up by his mutinous subordinates.
Now, for Dark Sun, which was facing a survival crisis, it made little difference whether he, “Mr. Sang,” was there or not.
“Just charge the main cannon as quickly as possible—”
“It’s already being done, you don’t need to remind me!”
“What—Leader, Mr. Sang! Another fleet has appeared above the western horizon!” “What?! How large is the scale?”
“Still 30 targets—”
While the particle beam main cannon was cooling down, the remaining four warships, personally led by Lu Yuan, pressed forward!
“Everyone, move out and engage in interception operations.”
Mr. Sang’s voice carried a sense of helplessness and resignation.
“I promise that the 50 individuals who achieve the greatest military merits will each receive 1% of Apollo and Dark Sun shares after this battle, becoming my partners! I will also make them First Class members of New Hope and grant them VVIP First Class membership in Paradise Island’s ‘Hall of Joy’!
My word is my bond!”
Now, he had only this one card left to play.
Under the temptation of huge profits, many Dark Sun fighters who were previously preparing to flee turned back.
They were led by the flagship and charged towards the Cangyuan Fleet.
“Good, then let’s fight!”
Chang Kong led the First Air Squadron to engage in aerial combat.
The battlefield immediately became extremely chaotic.
To the east, three damaged warships continued to output inaccurate firepower towards the location of the Big Squid.
To the west, four intact Cangyuan warships, along with 26 owl heavy fighters, under the cover of the illusions created by the drone swarm, were engaging the remaining 70-plus Dark Sun fighters and one light cruiser.
As for the BOSS character, the Big Squid, at the center of the battlefield, it turned its massive body northward, using the laser cannons on one side of its body to intercept the artillery fire coming from the east, while simultaneously using the laser cannons on its other side to support the intense battle on the western orbit.
This chaos was exactly what Lu Yuan hoped to see.
Taking advantage of this chaos, another 15 owls disengaged from warp travel and continuously descended from the southern area, outside the Big Squid’s firing range, penetrating the atmosphere.
They descended from the stratosphere all the way to the troposphere, first skimming the tops of building debris, then continuing to slow down and delving into the canyons formed by the ruins.
Finally, these 15 fighters hovered above the streets of Ruins Star, opened their bomb bays, which had been temporarily converted into personnel transport modules, and dropped 45 marines.
At this point, they were only 220 kilometers from the BOSS, much closer than originally planned, perfectly completing their mission!
“Thank you, brothers!”
Prairie, the overall commander of the ground operation, waved to the pilot players above his head.
“Received! Well, we have to go join the air battle, good luck! Old Squad Leader!”
“Hmm! Good luck to you too!”
This pilot was a veteran player from the same batch as Chang Kong, having fully experienced the transformation of the Cangyuan Aviation Team from FPV drones, to loitering munitions and atmospheric aircraft, and finally to light and heavy space fighters.
And “Old Squad Leader” was the title many old players used for Prairie during the Red Iron Town defense battle on Li Star.
Prairie was responsible for training the Red Iron Town militia at the time, teaching them how to use guns and various tactical movements—in the blink of an eye, it felt like a lifetime ago!
Now we are wearing full power armor, carrying plasma weapons, landing on an alien planet, and charging at a war beast over 1 kilometer long!
“Alright, combat mission begins! Everyone try to move through the interior of buildings to reduce the chance of being detected!”
“Okay!”
Upon entering the boundless ruins, these elite players of the First Battle Group immediately gained a new understanding of this post-disaster ideal city planet.
What everyone had originally thought were the ground and streets were actually just a certain layer of artificial structure’s roof.
Inside the buildings, large-scale collapsed floors could often be seen, and beneath them were layer upon layer of underground spaces, seemingly bottomless.
“Good heavens, this is an above-ground city on top of an underground city! The overall preservation status of this planet might be even better than expected!”
“How deep is it down there?”
“At least one or two hundred meters, I feel like wherever city districts were built, the bottom dozens of layers are completely connected.”
“Hmm—perhaps their infrastructure, civilian industry, and scientific research and other urban functions are all packed underground, and the skyscrapers above are just for commercial, residential, and entertainment purposes.”
“Oh, that makes sense then.”
The players communicated their understanding of the new environment while advancing quickly and orderly.
“Stop chatting for now!”
Suddenly, Ye Xing, the scout who was leading the way, interrupted everyone.
“I have a situation here, I hear footsteps. Come over as quietly as possible and get ready.”
Ma Lou: “Footsteps? Surviving natives? Or patrolling Dark Sun Pirates?”
“I don’t think Dark Sun would disperse their forces to do something so meaningless.” Guo Li Cheng hoisted her greatsword.
“Everyone, follow me.”
Led by Prairie, the others converged with Ye Xing.
This was an abandoned building that looked somewhat like a giant commercial plaza. The players were on a high vantage point, and in the multi-level, high-ceilinged hall below, stood many “people,” aimlessly pacing back and forth.
“These—are they zombies?”
Dan Ta became excited.
She was quite fond of various apocalypse zombie games, and she often performed her unique skill of soloing “Left 4 Dead” on the highest difficulty for her stream audience.
Ye Xing: “You’re a sniper—look closer.”
Dan Ta zoomed in her vision and indeed found something strange!
The “zombies” were clearly human in life, but on their backs and heads, some strange mechanical devices were attached.
These mechanical devices pierced through their already tattered clothes, deeply embedding into their clearly mutated flesh, like some kind of parasite.
Furthermore, the mechanical parasites extended to other parts of the “zombies’” bodies, transforming their limbs and spines into semi-mechanical prosthetics.
This meant that the “zombies’” movement capabilities would definitely surpass their human state in life.