He was starting to feel the thrill of freely firing this massive piece of artillery!
Line and line of notifications kept popping on his interface, notifying Han Xiao of all the experience points that he was gaining from the battle. Although using borrowed Sunil weaponry would automatically cause some experience to be reduced, Han Xiao was doing this mainly to calculate how much experience the players would be able to get out of this battle. Moreover, being able to participate in a battle of this scale excited the players to no end. It made them feel like they were part of a historic moment, and they contributed as best as they could.
The black tide was stopped short at the first perimeter. The blanket of covering fire from the back covered every single inch of ground that the beasts were on, and they could hardly advance without leaving behind rivers of their own blood.
A newbie mercenary, who was firing his assigned artillery next to Han Xiao, said casually, “So, the Catastrophe isn’t a big deal. The beasts can’t even get in.”
Han Xiao gave him a glance, but he did not say anything. This greenhorn most likely did not pay attention to when the Sunils briefed them on the beast hordes. This was only the first wave and only consisted of the smaller-sized beasts. The largest ones right now were not even taller than ten meters. Based on the information that they had been given, these beasts were only the appetizers. The nightmare was still to come.
The artillery bombardment lasted four whole hours before slowing. The support troops quickly rushed through the battlefield to resupply the combat troops. Flamethrower units were also sent out to burn away all the blood and gore on the plains to prevent any disease or sickness from spreading. The soldiers were also replaced by a new shift. Each position had a pre-assigned shift cycle. It was impossible for any soldier to last through a high-intensity battle such as this one without rest.
As Han Xiao also walked away from his artillery platform to rest, engines could be heard above his head. A new squadron of scout planes had taken off. The forward reconnaissance and combat troops had long gone into the dense forests. The dangers that they faced were many times higher than the defensive troops around the city, and their operations would be carried out under the constant threat of death. They were all alone like a tiny ship floating on the ocean during a tsunami.
Not long after, the forward reconnaissance sent back information. The next wave of beasts was about the arrive. The new shift of soldiers got ready in their positions in wait for the enemy.
The previous scene replayed itself. However, the black tide was able to inch ever closer to the outer perimeter this time. Just then, the fighter planes took off and blanketed the plains with explosions from their guided missiles. Fire and explosions once again engulfed the hordes. The Sunil fighters were small and agile. The propellers on the fighters’ wings had a similar design to the Amphiptere’s flight assistance propellers. Han Xiao was able to tell at a glance that these fighters were extremely suitable for fast-paced air combat.
The enemies were still far away, and although the waves seemed like they reached all the way to the horizon, the surrounding troops did not appear to be frightened. The distance between them and the beasts along with the steel fortresses around them gave them a false sense of security.
The Sunil soldiers, on the other hand, had faces full of worry and doubt.
At this moment, a few dark dots appeared above the horizon. The flying beasts were quickly approaching. There were smaller beasts that were not even a meter long as well as medium size beasts that had a wingspan of several meters among them. They looked ferocious and were not like anything the mercenaries had ever seen. Some of the beasts looked like giant cockroaches.
The information they gave us stated that flying beasts wouldn’t appear until three days into the Catastrophe. It seems like they had arrived early.
Just as this thought flashed across Han Xiao’s mind, the G7 commander shouted out a new command.
“Switch to flak shells and adjust your aim. Fire at the sky!”
The artillery squadrons followed the order and blew open the sky in the distant, causing bloody bodies to rain down.
The fighter planes flew to a higher elevation to shake of the aerial beasts and launched missiles that drew orange arcs through the air.
The fighter planes were equipped with a simple energy barrier. The first wave of aerial beasts was only capable of using their sharp claws and teeth and were unable to do much other than make screeching noises as they scratched at the barriers. The fighter planes dashed in and out of the beast swarms, looking like medieval knights that charged through infantry units.
This battle was already on the scale of a massive surface battle. Time seemed to pass by quickly amid all the intense fighting.
At first, the mercenaries fought in a laid-back manner. However, after three short days, as the beasts increased in number and size, they could not laugh anymore. The continuous fighting had started to draw out the fatigue from everyone.
Han Xiao did his best to fulfil his own responsibilities and played the role of a gear in a giant war machine.
On the fourth day, enemies that could threaten the safety of the inner perimeters appeared.
The surface of the ground rocked around like waves, as a group of beasts that could dig and maneuver around underground smashed into the reinforced steel wall of the third section and broke out of the ground. This was the first time that the rear troops had ever seen the beasts at such close distance.
The ground-burrowing beasts’ appearance signaled the start of the close-quarters combat. The Supers who had been waiting behind the third perimeter could finally make use of their powers.
The wall of steel and machinery at the third perimeter finally unleashed their fury.
Chapter 341 - Battlefield Repairs, Target Blueprint
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Beasts crawled out of the ground and bared their fangs, rampaging toward the defense line.
Dong! Dong!
The sound of firing from the guns of the Sunil soldiers sounded like cannons, with more than one meter of flames leaping out from their muzzles. It was like an invisible enormous hand had sent the burrowing beasts flying, falling onto the ground and getting focus fired, screaming in agony. Their carapace and flesh became mud, splattered across the ground, leaving slimy marks on the dry dirt.
“Hold your positions!”
Neville’s tone was harsh and cold, ordering the B12 Defense Team under his command from the communicator in his NCO Class armor. He had thirty soldiers under his command, and their crossfire had stopped the beasts in this area from stepping in.
During the gaps between firing, Neville looked around. This wave of burrowing beasts did not cause much trouble—some armor had been damaged, but no one had died or been injured.
Boom!
Two black burrowing beasts suddenly dashed out of the ground near B12 Defense Team. Their large mouths suddenly bit toward Neville and another soldier.
Before the other members of the defense team could turn their gun around, Neville had already reacted. He threw down his firearm, reached out his metal hands in a blink of an eye, and accurately grabbed onto the opened maw of the beast, not letting its fangs penetrate through his helmet. In an instant, a stream of gas shot out from the mechanical arm. All the joints became locked, stopping the strong biting power of the beast. The next second, a spinning saw bounced out from his wrist, cutting away half of the beast’s huge mouth.
Neville withstood the beast’s claw attacks out of agony, positioned himself, and tackled the beast, throwing it to the ground. He then stepped onto its throat with his huge metal feet, like a needle, pressing the struggling beast. From his wrists, he quickly drew out two electromagnetic handguns and shot through the beast’s skull.
Blood poured all over his armor, and a part of the tactical screen was blocked by slime.
This string of actions was quick and smooth, showing no signs of the bulkines
s from wearing heavy armor.
The other soldier who was attacked was not as strong; his helmet was twisted and deformed, almost flattened, and blood splashed onto the ground from the gaps of the helmet as he fell to the ground.
This was the first death.
He had fired many shots into the beast’s belly before dying, fulfilling his duty till the last moment of his life. He had even worried about Neville, wanting to help the captain before he fell. His muzzle had already turned toward his captain, but he did not have the strength to pull the trigger anymore.
The Enlistee Class Sunil armor increased the combat capabilities of a normal soldier, enough for the soldiers to match up to strong beasts. Neville’s NCO Class Armor had even higher capabilities. Even if the wearer was not a Super, with the performance of the armor and his experience as a veteran, he would not lose to most Super mercenaries.
Neville picked up the machine gun, fired, and killed this beast with his comrades. He briefly looked at the corpse of his subordinate, and without any change to his voice, he yelled, “Leave him, don’t break the formation.”
After more than ten years in the army, he had already lost count of how many times he had donned this armor.
In his long military service career, he had taken part in the DarkStar disaster, experienced the planetary migration, and brought the scouting team to carry out the early stage exploration of Planet Sunil. With every Catastrophe that he went through, there were dead comrades, the number of veterans became fewer and fewer, and his old friends disappeared one after another.
Neville’s team had been refilled multiple times. His current subordinates were all new recruits that were only in the army for a few years. He always led the team to carry out dangerous missions, so the damage suffered was always heavy, including many friends that he had known for many years… Regret? This word was not in his vocabulary. Neville did not care about the death of his subordinates. In order to protect the entire race, sacrifices were unavoidable—this had always been his creed.
In the eyes of others, there was no doubt that Neville was a very cold-blooded commander.
After defeating this wave of beasts, the scouting team sent back a message saying that there would be a gap between the attacks. Neville immediately requested repairs. An equipment truck drove beside the camp, a group of maintenance men with all sorts of devices and metal plates started to repair the defense team’s armor. Neville was surrounded by a group of maintenance men with electric welding devices, and at this time, he saw Han Xiao walking over.
Because of Lerden, Neville had an impression of Han Xiao. He said in a low voice, “Mercenary, return to your position!”
“I want to request for the change of mission,” Han Xiao said.
“There’s no mission safer than what you’re doing now.” Neville’s tone was very harsh. He had seen many mercenaries requesting to change mission on the spot because they were terrified by the Catastrophe and did not want to stay in the dangerous front lines.
The Sunils would not force the mercenaries to take part in dangerous battles; they would only deduct a certain amount of credibility points and reward. Of course, Neville would usually get rid of them as soon as possible. He felt that even saying a single word to them was a waste of energy, so he would rather use that time to close his eyes, rest, and recover some energy.
However, the safest job that these mercenaries could request for was what Han Xiao was doing right now. Neville did not know what this Black Star’s issue was. Was he just too afraid of death and wanted an even safer job? No, he was Lerden’s friend; he did not look like such a person.
Neville suppressed his impatience and asked, “What request do you have?”
“My team wants to join the scouting team.”
As soon as he said that, the resting soldiers and mercenaries looked over in surprise.
Neville thought that he had misheard. This was the most dangerous mission, one that mercenaries would practically avoid at all costs. This was the first time that someone had requested to take on the scouting mission.
Neville was a man of few words, but even so, he could not help but ask, “Why?”
“My members have some special abilities; they are most suitable to performing dangerous missions,” Han Xiao bluffed. “Also, Lerden is my friend… Even so, I still need to be paid; that’s my principle.”
“… I will request it to above.” Neville’s tone was not as cold anymore, and the surrounding soldiers showed their respect. No matter what reason they had, these mercenaries were willing to put themselves in danger for the Sunil race despite being strangers, and this action was more than enough for the people of Sunil to appreciate them.
The mercenaries chatted among themselves; they were curious about Han Xiao’s team.
“What Mercenary Group are they?”
“Think it’s called Black Star.”
“Never heard before, probably new. They sure are hardworking, but why? It’s not worth if they die anyway.”
Not long after, a new mission popped up on the interface—Scouting the Wild. The reward was 8,000 Enas, and since it was a mission given to the entire mercenary group, the other players triggered it as well.
The sight of the mission on the interface satisfied Han Xiao. Due to not having enough Credibility Points in the Mercenary Hall of Juberly Hub, they could not take on other missions. However, they could negotiate once they were on Planet Sunil. Although this type of private hire would not add on to the Credibility Points, it did not lack reward and could earn them renown.
Scouting the wild was indeed dangerous, so Han Xiao was not planning to go himself. Instead, he made the players carry it out. They would not die anyway, so they were most suitable to act as scouts, and he could still get the reward while the players did the mission.
The players were surprised. Although it was safe to stay in the camp, it was also boring. Now that they were motivated by the reward, they were looking forward to carrying it out—the players did not care about the danger of scouting the wild at all.
“One more request, I hope to join the Battlefield Repairs Team personally,” Han Xiao said. “I’m a Mechanic… quite a skilled one.”
“Battlefield Repairs?” Neville frowned.
“I feel that this job is more suitable for me.”
Repairs were considered as part of the logistics, all covered by the people of their own race. Letting mercenaries do it was a waste of resources, and it was equivalent to throwing their money away. However, Neville did not reject immediately. The Black Star Mercenary Group had just applied for the most dangerous mission, and their leader’s request did not cross the line.
Han Xiao picked up an Enlistee Class Armor and started repairing on the spot. Using all sorts of tools one after another, electric sparks were splashing. Before the others could even react, this armor was around 90% repaired. His Machinery Affinity was very high, and he had the boost from [Ordnance Engineer], so his repair speed was rapid.
“If your equipment is only repaired during breaks, it will be very dangerous if it is heavily damaged. However, I’m strong enough to protect myself in the battlefield and can carry out battlefield repairs, providing you guys with safety.”
Neville asked his superior and received a direct response. “Okay, it’s granted.”
Battlefield Repairs required one to be on the front lines of the battlefield. Han Xiao was actively giving up his safe position and taking a risk that he did not need to take. The Sunil people were deeply moved—his spirit was a model of honor and noble.
There are too few people like this left!
Seeing this, Maple Moon was reminded of Han Xiao’s aim of entering the galaxy and thought, Every main character has their own personality. Righteousness seems to flow through his veins, is this the hero personality?
After the mission changed, the players were all pulled to attend the lesson for scouting the wild. They had to head out before the next attack arrived, and they temporarily split
up.
Han Xiao did not have to operate the cannon anymore, heading directly to the Battlefield Repairs Team to report. Naturally, this was all part of his plan.
The Mechanic class could reverse engineer the machinery blueprint from repairing and modifying, only that it required a lot of experience points. Han Xiao was not short of experience—as long as he had enough chances to make repairs, he could figure out the blueprint. He was most interested in the Enlistee Class and NCO Class Armors, and the performance of this type of mass-produced single unit armor was quite high, very suitable to sell to the players in large quantities. Not only could he earn a fortune from it, he could also increase the average strength of his mercenary group.
Over the next two days, the defense team went through contact battles continuously. Their equipment was frequently damaged, so Han Xiao ran around the defense circle and carried out his battlefield repairing job. His reverse engineering progress was gradually increasing as he came into contact with more and more armor.
Although his motive was not pure, his in-time battlefield repairs did indeed save the lives of many guarding soldiers—it was very clear and effective. Even Neville, who did not care much about the injuries and deaths of his subordinates, found Han Xiao to be a huge help.
Chapter 342 - Hidden Thoughts
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the late night, in the forest two hundred miles away from Forest City, a wild scouting team was on the run. They had looks of panic and kept looking back, like something terrifying was chasing behind them. The sound of leaves rubbing each other came from the forest behind. It seems like the sound kept getting closer, and the pitch-black darkness was constantly encroaching upon them.
This team was made of three people, all Sunil Supers. The captain, Fumay, said while shivering, “Don’t stop no matter what. The Night Moth is right behind!”
According to the different beasts appearing at different times, the Catastrophe was divided into stages. The appearance of Night Moths was a sign of the Catastrophe entering the mid-stage. These were beasts that were active during the night, and when they appeared in a pack, it meant the start of the dangerous night battle.
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