Chapter 267: Dark Sun's Demise
The cockpit of the “Big Squid,” or more precisely, the command hall, was a vast space as open as an indoor football field.
It lacked cover, making it unsuitable for holding ground, but perfect for mobile warfare.
And this was exactly what the First Battle Group had trained for in the Emerald Star jungle.
The elite players' power armor piloting skills far surpassed those of their opponents.
They could aim and fire at enemies while flying, sometimes ascending sharply, sometimes diving with gravity's aid, simultaneously unleashing a long burst of fire,
then immediately ducking into the blind spot beneath the command platform.
Although each Dark Sun pirate was armed with a “Dragon Breath” shotgun, facing such erratic flight paths, even with trajectory computer assistance, the difficulty of tracking and shooting was extremely high, resulting in many missed shots!
While “Dragon Breath” was powerful, the plasma it fired was not fast, not even exceeding the speed of sound.
Moreover, the plasma's deceleration and diffusion after exiting the barrel were quite noticeable.
This was precisely why it was classified as a shotgun.
In contrast, the First Battle Group had wisely brought both primary and secondary weapons.
At this moment, except for the melee squad members, all other players had switched to laser rifles, individual electromagnetic cannons, and bolt guns, which had faster projectile speeds.
In the open space, these weapons were all more effective than the “Dragon Breath” shotgun.
Rain-like firepower poured down.
In this highly mobile engagement, jump-sniping and quick-scoping, two techniques previously only useful in games, actually demonstrated their practical value.
Former professional and semi-professional players, represented by Ye Xing and Dan Ta, mostly hid beneath the artificially constructed command platform,
only firing a shot the instant they flew out into the open, accurately hitting the target's vital points.
Furthermore, they constantly shifted positions and threw various grenades to cover themselves.
The pirates were having an incredibly tough time, while the players were getting into their groove, integrating all their lifelong FPS gaming skills.
Mr. Sang's Marine Corps mecha was equipped with two 25mm triple-barreled Gatling cannons. These cannons used electro-thermal chemical acceleration technology to fire depleted uranium armor-piercing rounds at Mach 7, making them quite threatening weapons.
However, as the boss, his marksmanship was truly mediocre, his spray accuracy was abysmal, and his ammunition was rapidly depleting.
Soon, Dark Sun's numbers dwindled from 20 to 13, while the First Battle Group had no casualties.
The remaining pirates became visibly flustered; their movements were clearly half a beat slower, and they began to hesitate between continuing to fight and surrendering.
“Now!”
The melee squad, which had been circling and observing, seized the opportunity to enter, starting with heavy overhead strikes, passionately joining the battle.
The ranged units also temporarily ceased fire to avoid friendly fire, adjusted their positions, landed, and surrounded the enemy from all sides.
For a moment, blades flashed, hot molten metal splattered everywhere, and screams echoed one after another.
The melee group unleashed their full output, and after a satisfying wave of weapon overload and adrenaline skills, they back-hopped and temporarily withdrew, passing by the approaching ranged output units in a tacit understanding, with the latter seamlessly taking over and continuing to unleash firepower.
At this point, the Dark Sun pirates were further reduced to less than ten, with several others outside severely wounded, barely able to lie on the ground, struggling to hold up their guns.
The First Battle Group swept through like a broken bamboo, entering the final phase of overwhelming encirclement.
Mr. Sang, in the end, could not escape the fate of being captured alive.
During the fierce battle, his arms were first shot off at the shoulders, and then his legs were dismembered by plasma melee weapons, leaving the rest of him to fall heavily to the ground in the posture of a human stick.
He looked just like a metal-shelled turtle unable to flip itself over.
As for the other pirates, they had already knelt and surrendered before witnessing their boss's downfall.
Cao Yuan stepped forward, pointing his individual electromagnetic cannon at the mecha's cockpit.
“Order the drones outside to cease fire immediately!”
Before Mr. Sang could reply, a team member sent a good news report.
“No need, Old Squad Leader! I've already found the control panel and ordered the drone swarm to return to high altitude and stand by.”
Cao Yuan broke radio silence and contacted the heavily armed units guarding the gate at the rear, receiving confirmation from them.
The drone threat had been neutralized, and their total numbers were far greater than those of the Dark Sun pirates.
“Well done!”
Seeing that the tide had turned, Mr. Sang voluntarily opened the hatch of the Marine Corps mecha's cockpit.
The interstellar owl, not particularly tall or strong, was now sprawled out in the rather confined space, closing his eyes helplessly, letting out a deep sigh, and then raising his hands.
“You won… I surrender—”
Woohoo!
Upon hearing this, some players cheered, some roared, jumping three feet high.
The heavy and firepower teams, who had been holding their positions, ran in. Everyone high-fived in celebration, the clinking of metal gauntlets sounding so pleasant.
A complete victory!
The First Battle Group had finally completed the largest, most tactically complex, longest, and most heavily armed boarding and capture mission in Cangyuan since the game launched.
Clearing the way with a total of 32 small nuclear warheads, saying this out loud really gave them bragging rights!
After this battle, the nuclear dust outside had begun to dissipate.
Looking through the monitoring screens in the command hall, the high-rise building where the First Battle Group had initially launched their charge had been completely blown down by the nuclear blast, collapsing into a heap of construction debris.
Cao Yuan pulled Mr. Sang out.
“Go disarm this war machine and have it stand by in place!”
“Can we let the main force come over now?” Guo Li Cheng plunged her greatsword into the floor, placing her hands on her hips to regulate her breathing.
“By the way, how do we inform the Executive Officer and them? Broadcast using the Big Squid's communication device?”
Ye Xing thought for two seconds, then, through his helmet, slapped his forehead.
“Damn! I forgot, I can force myself offline to send a message!”
He quickly chanted “I want to go offline” seven times in his mind, waking up in his bed at home.
Ah—..—·
The longer he played “Star Ocean,” the more he felt that this world seemed fake, too bland, too ordinary!
After paying his water bill at the restroom, he sat in front of his computer, opened the player community, and entered the closed beta player permission zone—the Wartime Communication Special Zone.
Lines of battle reports immediately caught his eye.
It turned out that the previous battle had been quite fierce.
In order to attract all of Dark Sun's attention and cover the Marine Corps' safe and concealed landing, the most severely damaged You Chou Sha had ultimately been sunk by the “Big Squid.”
This tenacious warship had actually entered a severely damaged state when it was hit by the particle beam main cannon, and by all accounts, it should have quickly lost combat capability.
But with the full damage control efforts of the crew, including the captain himself, it managed to fire another dozen rounds of laser broadsides.
The Min Jiang was also critically damaged, losing power, and was currently drifting in orbit, awaiting tow or on-site repair.
The Pi Pi Xia, Xian Xia, and the flagship Xianyang, all sustained varying degrees of damage.
The air wing lost 13 “owl” heavy fighters, accounting for 32% of the total deployed, which was a considerably high loss ratio.
On Dark Sun's side, at least 37 fighters were shot down, two unknown heavy fighter models had their engines destroyed and were captured alive, one suspected modified “thundercloud” was also captured, and the remaining thirty or so fled after realizing the tide had turned.
The pirate flagship was rendered powerless and combat-incapable, currently in low orbit, falling towards the planet, expected to impact in 72 hours.
To save it and capture it, it would be best to perform an orbital lift within 24 hours.
Among all the engaged forces, the only one completely unscathed was the Qiang Yun!
This made one wonder if names, perhaps, truly could bring a mystical power!
After all, even the invincible Big Squid had been scraped by two small nuclear warheads, leaving two small vaporized pits on its thick surface armor.
You Chou Sha attracted the most aggro, while the Qiang Yun, with identical configuration, didn't even get a scratch—what a stark contrast!
“Excellent, everyone's a powerhouse!”
With immense excitement, Ye Xing's fingertips danced merrily on the keyboard.
“Capture operation successful, enemy's armaments disarmed, we have gained control of the Big Squid! Come down and accept Dark Sun's surrender!”
“Yes!!”
A cheer erupted in the Xianyang's bridge.
“Executive Officer, let's land!”
Xian Yu's eyes sparkled.
Lu Yuan smiled and nodded gently.
“Let's go! Oh right, remember to notify the New Hope branch and have them coordinate with Anya to get ready.”
“Don't worry, I haven't forgotten! I'll go now!”
Since the Xianyang was damaged and its complete aerodynamic shape was destroyed, it was no longer suitable for entering the planetary atmosphere. Lu Yuan transferred to the Qiang Yun and flew towards the surface of Ruins Star.
Half an hour later, the Qiang Yun landed steadily on the roof of the giant building where the Dark Sun fleet had previously docked.
Lu Yuan descended the ladder, escorted by players, and in the light of the setting sun piercing through the nuclear dust, he turned his head to look at the golden age war mecha, which resembled a tall tower.
Now, it was Cangyuan's asset.