Chapter 40: CH 40

After a second of absolute silence, the entire battleship was swept up in an uproar.

Zerg were an unimaginably strange existence in the theory of evolution. In addition to a few Zerg who had evolved to have human intelligence, they were also divided into various species; the most common were sand worms, hard shelled mealybugs, water worms, multi-winged worms, drill worms with reproductive ability or parasitic ability… And many more species that couldn’t even be named.

Even if some of the highest level of Zerg had the ability of independent thinking, their nature was absolutely violent.

The one in front of them was undoubtedly one of the giant mechanical sand worms with a danger level of SS.

Their limbs had become as hard as steel with sharp limb ends, and its body was filled with poison. A normal human simply couldn’t survive a single hit.

Zerg with the word giant were more than ten times the size of normal Zerg, and some giant mechanical sandworm limbs even ignored the normal size of steel, could pass through the metal made by these humans to resist them, and pierce the heart of a mecha.

All Zerg could be defeated on one condition and one condition only — by the destruction of their brains.

Some had a near-perfect regenerative ability, and even if they cut off their sensitive tentacles and limbs, they could regenerate and continue to fight as long as their brains weren’t destroyed.

The special alarm was blaring piercingly. The giant sandworm had a leisurely gait, as if announcing its arrival, and was now slowly approaching them with its ghastly limbs, raising the yellow sand with every step.

“The ship’s defense system has been turned on, P-1 nuclear particle beam cannon… The only one stored in the most critical situation.” Ye Ling’s expression was gloomy, while checking the ammunition and weapons stocked on the battleship. Since their initial purpose was only practical training and exercises, although conventional ammunition was naturally essential, the strategic level particle nuclear bomb couldn’t be loaded. After all, no matter who, beforehand, they wouldn’t have expected the presence of Zerg here.

But now wasn’t the time to think about this.

“Ready the electromagnetic cannon energy storage.” He YunTing ordered, turning his head in the meantime to glance at the monitoring of the ship’s cabin where the recruits were. Many of them had also noticed the anomaly and even started to get nervous.

Many of them were new recruits to the base, and even though the three rounds of selection had proven them to be much better than the norm as prospective pilots, very few had seen the Zerg in person.

Some people began to sit still, but because the sandworm hadn’t fully approached yet, they couldn’t see it clearly through their portholes, and could only sit in place anxiously, and mumble something under their breath.

“Beauty-2 electromagnetic cannon charging complete.”

“All main guns ready.”

The entire captain’s room and the next level of the command module were still calm and began to deploy the combat approach one by one, and Ye Ling even added, “‘Beauty-2 ready to fire.”

Lin Han, also seeing the Zerg for the first time, gradually calmed down after the initial shock, and although his eyes were still staring at the giant bug, he found himself not having as much fear as he thought.

The giant mechanical sandworm’s armor was so hard that ordinary grenades couldn’t do much damage, and as everyone began to prepare for the attack, the door was suddenly knocked on sharply.

This time certainly no blind sergeant would come up directly to ask for instructions, and everyone could guess who it was.

He YunTing’s face couldn’t help but be a bit colder.

The door opened and Wen TianYao walked in anxiously with his own deputy.

“General He!” Wen TianYao’s voice carried extreme anger, his hatred for Zerg could barely be concealed at this moment, “Why is there a Zerg? Didn’t we already talk to the planet before coming?”

Xi Yuan stood beside him and watched his anger, frowned and wanted to remind him of his identity.

But soon Wen TianYao himself also realized the problem, trying to calm down a bit, “Before the landing had been confirmed? Who confirmed it? Why is there such inaccurate information?”

Wen TianYao’s mouth moved fast, this time he had come only for surveillance, and forgot that the person in charge had been the Redberry pilot, Ji Meng.

After saying this sentence, Lu AnHe’s face became very ugly, looking like he almost wanted to vomit.

But Wen TianYao’s status was noble, so Lu AnHe couldn’t directly contradict him, and he just said, “Oddbound also didn’t say that they would help us watch out for Zerg.”

“The one responsible for this is already dead.” He YunTing’s tone was cold, “Why doesn’t Your Highness ask his corpse?”

Wen TianYao’s pupils contracted for a moment, as if he didn’t expect He YunTing to say that. He restrained his emotions and gave a smile that he had practiced many times before, “Of course, I didn’t mean that “

“Pass the order to everyone on the warship, everyone is to retreat to the inner cabins.” He YunTing continued to order, “Ten seconds to fire the Beauty-2 electromagnetic cannon.”

“Yes!”

Wen TianYao stomped his foot in place. Xi Yuan looked unfazed and didn’t stop him.

Lin Han stood aside and watched coldly, recalling what he had read earlier. Combining his previous inner thoughts and Wen TianYao’s current performance, he really didn’t know that there would be a Zerg ambush here.

But there was something wrong.

Why would the Zerg be led here? How many were there? Was it a coincidence, or was someone doing it on purpose? Coincidence aside, if it was really intentional, then what was the purpose of doing so?

Lin Han frowned tightly and had a guess.

Undoubtedly, with a Zerg’s ferocious nature, coupled with the existence of this one giant bug, it wouldn’t be able to be concealed when they returned to the Empire. But the condition for their smooth return to the Empire was to destroy the Zerg before they could leap to the leap point and return.

And the main peace faction a few days ago said on public television that they would accept the gesture of goodwill from the high-ranking Zerg, and now the negotiations hadn’t yet taken shape, and the side of the border area was fighting first.

In this way, the radicals didn’t need to waste any more words in the council, the masses would be on their side — at this time, Luo Qi then advocated a little harder against the Zerg, and with the state of the battle this time and the atmosphere, the main peace faction basically couldn’t turn over anything.

And it just so happened that Wen TianYao was at this practical training.

And it just so happened that he was a hidden radical.

Wen TianYao had a good image among the people in the past, and everyone praised him for his lack of stature and approachability, and now that he was directly involved in this event, with more incitement, the common people were bound to love him even more and think he was the future king.

That would make his position even harder to shake.

——But the problem was, from the content of Lin Han’s mind reading more than once, it seemed that he was really ignorant of this matter.

Could it be that… Wen TianYao was just a front, a flashy front to block the gun?

The other side’s purpose was never just to help Wen TianYao to take his seat, but had greater ambitions… 

In this way, it seemed to make sense for the time being.

Lin Han believed that He YunTing could also think about this aspect, so he didn’t even have the intention to tell him.

Now he was the backbone, he couldn’t let him distract himself.

And He YunTing and he seemed to have some level of induction, Lin Han saw He YunTing’s expression also changed a little, turning coldly toward Wen TianYao, “Your Highness just stay well on the warship, naturally, we can guarantee your safety.”

At this time, the countdown of beauty-2 type electromagnetic cannon also entered the end.

“3, 2, 1…”

BOOM!

With a loud boom, the electromagnetic cannon, which was jokingly called “Beauty-2”, rushed towards the sandworm at a very fast speed under the propulsion of the main cannon.

Even though the electromagnetic cannon had its own tracking function and was aimed at its brain, it was able to retract all of its mechanical limbs and raise its evolved armor at this instant… 

Boom!

The gun and the steel back clash with a gunpowder astringent impact, sparks were everywhere, but the giant sand worm just shivered, and survived the attack that was enough to destroy countless buildings.

He YunTing knew that this shot wouldn’t work, and calmly commanded to continue the attack.

The electromagnetic cannon kept storing energy and firing, some of the targets weren’t the brain of the sandworm, but other parts of it. After dodging two more electromagnetic cannons, the sandworm finally seemed to be enraged, sinking its head, its goosebump-inducing compound eyes squirming densely, extending its mouthparts and letting out a loud hiss—

The next second, all of its limbs and feet, with a speed that could barely be captured by the naked eye, began to move, flying towards them!

“Turn on the mega particle cannon.” He YunTing’s tone didn’t change in the slightest, and Ye Ling knew his tactics very well, and had already finished storing energy long before, waiting for this moment.

The battleship with its shields on was like an impenetrable giant barrier, and with an opening torn between the barriers, the spinning and firing white light reached almost the same speed as the sandworm that was running towards them right now, attacking it violently in a hard-charging stance. The entire warship seemed to tremble, and in the smoke and collision, the sandworm, which had been expected to make all the moves, didn’t even make a last roar, and was evenly hit by the particle cannon. While its hard armor wasn’t able to protect the most critical parts immediately due to the movement of the limbs, it was finally hit in the brain—

Its steel-like limbs didn’t move, and after a loud boom, it fell to the ground with a crash.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

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Wen TianYao’s face eased for a few moments, but it was still barely composed, “So, General…”

His voice stopped.

Because… The alarm didn’t stop with the loss of this one sandworm.

Zerg alerts were issued based on the collected Zerg brainwave movements, which meant that—

There was more than one.

Wen TianYao’s face gradually turned white.

The ground began to shake, the yellow sand was still rising recklessly, and the sky in the border area was already low, and now it became dim and dark, like some kind of extremely ominous foreshadowing. Three seconds later, the giant mechanical sandworm, identical to the one just now, reappeared in the display.

But the difference was… This time, there were at least five or more of them.

Behind them, there were even more Zerg.

This scale could no longer be called ‘accidental.’

“General,” Ye Ling reported urgently, “there’s still half of the ammunition left inside the warship, but if these Zerg attack together, I’m not sure that…”

“How long will it take to travel to the leap point at full speed now?”

“At least half a day.”

He YunTing’s eyebrows twitched, “Report the situation at the leap point, and the energy reserves.”

The information of the warship was recorded at the leap point, and what was needed most for the leap was enough energy.

Ye Ling didn’t understand why He YunTing suddenly asked this, but after contacting the command room, he answered truthfully, “Everything is normal at the leap point, and can supply the 80,000 units needed for the leap.”

He YunTing asked, “What is the minimum energy consumption if we fire the P-1 NPP beam cannon?”

“60,000 units.” Ye Ling said truthfully.

He YunTing finally tightened his eyebrows.

“What’s wrong?” Wen TianYao on the side looked like he was in a hurry, “General, what are you still doing frozen?! Fire your weapon first, then back up! Back up to the leap point — if you succeed in leaping, nothing will happen!”

Lin Han, however, only looked at He YunTing, and even he couldn’t say why he had such great confidence in He YunTing, as if no one else’s words counted, and he only believed in his words.

And now that He YunTing didn’t open his mouth for half a day, there must be some new problem.

Wen TianYao sounded more and more anxious, “Retreat! Leap! Isn’t there still a beam cannon?! With its power, these insects are nothing!”

“I hope Your Highness has the most basic judgment.” He YunTing looked like he finally couldn’t stand it anymore and didn’t even look at him this time, “Since the Zerg can appear in front of us, do you think we can escape from the leap point?”

Wen TianYao was suddenly silenced.

“I can guarantee that the Zerg are where the leap point is now, and will only be more than this, not less.”

And the energy left in the warship now, if used to blast away these insect queens, could make it to the leap point. But if there are really other Zerg at the leap point, if the number is really more than this, then without the escort of the P-1 nuclear particle beam cannon, these mecha and these pilots would all be trapped at the leap point without enough ammunition, and couldn’t move, and the Empire would certainly send support… 

In the time it takes for support to arrive, this ship was a live target to be slaughtered.

The scene fell back into silence, only the blaring of alarms continued.

He YunTing, however, suddenly made a decision and stood up.

Ye Ling looked up along with his movement, opening his mouth, “General…”

It was obviously such a common action, but he felt bad.

“All active pilots listen to the order. Including the prospective pilots who haven’t gotten the selection results yet.” He YunTing opened the ship-wide communication. “Your mecha is the only weapon you have at this moment. It may be the first time many of you have been here, and while no one wants it to be, the fact is that you must now pilot it to retrieve the only leap point.”

“Group B mecha doesn’t have live ammunition.” He snorted to himself, wondering if he was ‘glad’ someone had done something to give them half the live ammunition, “Load half up from Group A mechas.”

He YunTing turned to Ye Ling and said, “Take all the pilots to full speed. The P-1 nuclear particle beam cannons are reserved to give the last shot to the leap point. Even if it blows up, it doesn’t matter.”

Lu AnHe’s face also changed, “What do you mean?”

“If it ‘s necessary, then blow up the leap point.” He YunTing’s voice was cold.

Wen TianYao was stunned, “But now what about these…”

“I’m going to stall these things.” He said, “If it really comes to the point where you need to blow up the leap point, don’t hesitate. And there’s no need to wait for me to come back.”

“Mr. Lin, you have two choices now.” He YunTing, however, didn’t answer Wen TianYao’s words, his tone carried the usual coldness, as if he was just helping Lin Han unscrew a nutrient.

Lin Han met his eyes without blinking or avoiding. He saw He YunTing pick up his mecha’s key and walk towards him. He had seen that key before, and he had even opened the mecha to which it belonged to.

——in that narrow side of the repair room.

“Either you stay on the battleship and return to the Empire at the first opportunity if the danger clears.” He said, “But since there are no more mecha to spare, and their priority is to retake the leap point.”

His meaning was clear, these pilots were all new, and Lu AnHe and Ye Ling were too busy commanding to necessarily take care of Lin Han’s safety.

He YunTing inclined his head to look at the barren planet full of yellow sand.

Although the border area covers a large area, due to the harsh climate and sparse population, it carried sad sense of depression.

Lu AnHe finally understood something, he gritted his teeth and stood up, “…Let me do it, I can stall. Aegis’ defense is the highest.”

Although its attack power wasn’t comparable to M2742.

This sentence, he didn’t say.

“You take Ye Ling and take command of the rest of these pilots.” He YunTing looked at the new recruits who were already starting to stir in the monitor, “Got it?”

Lu AnHe actually knew in his heart that there was no way to refute He YunTing’s decision, but he still couldn’t help but say, “But what if there really is a Zerg at the leap point? How will you come back if you really blow up the leap point?”

“Don’t worry about me.”

Lu AnHe’s eyes were full of worry, but he couldn’t disobey orders.

“And,” He YunTing suddenly said with a low voice, “you have to take him back with you.”

A sad and helpless look resurfaced on Lu AnHe’s face.

He understood the ‘him’ that He YunTing was talking about.

It was the man who was still lying in his mecha. This ambush came so quickly that it didn’t give anyone the time to react. The sorrow and sighs were empty things, even if this was the only thing Ji Meng could have.

He YunTing inclined his head, avoiding Lu AnHe’s expression. He stood in front of Lin Han and continued to finish that choice he had just made.

“Or you follow me,” He YunTing looked at Lin Han, holding the key of M2742 in his hand, his eyes reflecting the youth, “the disadvantage is that we may not be able to catch the leap of the large group.”

Lin Han didn’t feel the need to hesitate on this issue.

Staying on the battleship didn’t allow him to do anything, but waste other troops because he couldn’t participate in the war.

Every life was equal before war, regardless of high or low.

He remembered He YunTing’s mecha, and suddenly felt that the second cockpit was a really good choice.

Lin Han was just about to reply when he heard He YunTing calmly say the last sentence, “I can’t guarantee anything else, but as long as I live, nothing can hurt you.”

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