in2ebook Chapter 1455 Life-saving straw
Chapter 1455 Life-saving straw
Meanwhile, the legions in the rear encountered the fiercest counterattack.
The abandoned remnants of the hyena force desperately carried out the commander-in-chief's final orders.
At several key points where the mechs were under attack, blinding energy reactions far exceeding those of conventional weapons shone brightly!
boom! boom! boom!
A small tactical nuclear explosion or an equivalent energy overload detonated in the hilly area!
A massive mushroom cloud spread out, carrying with it a devastating shockwave and radiation!
Even Xiao Ce's remote-controlled mechs suffered several heavy units instantly vaporized under such a devastating close-range attack, with many more mechs overturned and their armor melted away by the shockwave.
"Reporting to Your Highness! The remaining enemy forces have initiated a large-scale self-destruct attack! The Starbreaker's left arm has been damaged!"
Ground network 04 and siege hammer 17 signals have disappeared! Energy readings indicate tactical nuclear level!
An alarm sounded on Xiao Ce's command channel from the Star Network Hub.
"Axe Bull, retreat and evade! Other units, provide ranged fire support! Prioritize destroying its energy core! Do not charge!"
Xiao Ce's voice remained calm, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.
He anticipated that the other party would struggle, but such a resolute suicidal counterattack exceeded his expectations and caused additional losses.
"Damn it! They're playing dirty tricks! Don't worry, Your Highness, I, Old Niu, can handle it!"
Axe Bull, controlling the "Starbreaker VII" with its left arm crackling with electricity, cursed as he dodged and retreated amidst the shockwaves of the explosion, while the explosive cannon on his right arm roared as it blasted towards an overloaded hyena energy node.
Xiao Ce hadn't expected that the captain was indeed no ordinary person!
This kind of resolute determination is not something everyone possesses...
Moreover, the technicians beside Xiao Ce said, "This is bad... Your Highness, they seem to be trying to escape..."
Xiao Ce watched as their massive Abyss Roar began to vibrate slightly, its engines emitting a deep and rapid hum, and visible ripples and distortions appeared in the space around the ship.
A huge, ever-expanding, dark blue space jump window is slowly taking shape in front of the flagship.
Xiao Ce was completely dumbfounded...
What the hell is this weird thing...?
Other main warships also lit up their jump indicator lights and began to converge on the flagship, forming a jump formation.
Some of the Leviathan landing ships, carrying surviving ground troops, risked being shot down and recklessly charged toward the closing fleet formation.
Inside Lingas Fortress, the garrison, looking at the terrifying Valley of Death and the retreating enemy troops, erupted in a joyous, tearful cheer, a testament to their survival!
But the officers quickly stopped them: "Don't stop! Extend the fire! Snipe the retreating enemy! Don't let them all get away!"
Xiao Ce stood in front of the main control screen of the Star Network Hub, calmly watching everything unfold.
He did not order the fortress garrison to risk crossing Death Valley in pursuit, as that would have been tantamount to suicide.
His gaze was more focused on the landing ships that were fleeing frantically and the frigates that were trying to enter the jump windows.
"Tell everyone to stop chasing them...we can't possibly catch them..."
Meanwhile, the massive warships of the Space Hyenas entered the spatial rift-like structure that had opened up beside them.
They all scrambled inside their warships...
They then disappeared, but soon reappeared at the original location of their creation base...
It seems that the fierce battle just now made him realize that confronting Xiao Ce and his group head-on was not a viable solution...
This is always good news...
After seeing them always retreat,
"Statistical analysis of battle losses."
Xiao Ce's voice didn't reveal much emotion, but his tightly pursed lips and the fleeting heaviness in the depths of his eyes showed that he was not indifferent!
The screen began to scroll rapidly with cold, hard numbers:
The fortress's defenders suffered more than half their casualties, and many key facilities were destroyed.
The remote-controlled mech legion suffered more than a third of its losses, many of which were heavy units;
The monitoring network in part of the Star Network hub malfunctioned due to an energy surge.
Although the entrance to the North Star Nest was exposed, the damage was relatively minor due to the enemy's main attack direction shifting, and Morgana and the others are safe...
"Your Highness, we...we've held out."
The voices of those present were choked with emotion and filled with disbelief.
Xiao Ce said calmly, "It's only temporary. Now that they're here, they won't give up so easily..."
As he spoke, Xiao Ce stood in the main control room of the Star Network Hub. The scarlet dots representing the Star Hyena Legion on the light screen were like a swarm of bees that had fled the British battlefield in a sorry state, and were frantically converging towards an unexpected yet reasonable coordinate!
The Arctic, that frigid land covered in ice and snow, the former stronghold of Xiao Dingshan, the ruins of the Creation Base.
We thought they were choosing that place as a stepping stone, but to our surprise, they actually chose it as their base.
But thinking about it, it makes sense; that area is probably a forbidden zone for humans...
But it has no impact on them; in fact, it might be an advantage.
"It really is there."
Xiao Ce whispered, his fingertips tracing across the light screen, zooming in on the surveillance footage of the Arctic region.
The Starlink Hub's energy scan penetrated the thick ice cap and twisted metal ruins, capturing the energy ripples and spatial tremors caused by the forced landing of the wrecked fleet.
"At our wits' end, we can only return to this place we cleaned up to lick our wounds."
Xiao Dingshan…you must be feeling quite emotional right now.”
He shut down the live feed, and his cold command echoed throughout the defense system: "Cease pursuit, recover all recoverable long-range mech units."
We are working diligently to repair Lingas Fortress and the North Star Node, assess all losses, and initiate the next phase of the anvil repair and hammer replenishment plan.
They'll come back, and... they'll be even crazier.
The once magnificent creation base is now nothing but ruins...
Most of the area was even covered by ice and snow...
The enormous dome was completely torn apart by some terrifying force, revealing the gray polar sky.
The twisted and deformed alloy skeleton, like bones gnawed by a giant beast, was scattered on the black ice plains melted by energy weapons.
The pipeline network that once flowed with liquid energy is now frozen into ugly icicles or violently torn apart, and the exposed wires crackle in the cold wind, flickering with faint, dying sparks.
A strong smell of burning and rusting metal filled the air, which was tens of degrees below zero, pungent and suffocating.
The "Abyssal Roar" and several other battered capital ships, like steel behemoths with their teeth plucked and legs broken, landed with difficulty on this chaotic ruin.
The massive hull crushed the already fragile foundation, emitting a sickening metallic groan.
The landing hatch on the ship's belly opened, and the surviving "Hyena" infantry and the tattered "Tearer" mechs staggered onto the land they once dominated, like defeated ants, only to find a desolate and lifeless wasteland.
The captain, his cold, metallic figure, stepped out of the flagship, his crimson electronic eyes scanning the devastated landscape.
Each step on the frozen metal fragments produced a hollow and piercing echo, exceptionally clear in the deathly silent ruins.
His face mask revealed no expression, but the low pressure emanating from him seemed to freeze the surrounding cold.
His gaze finally fell on Xiao Dingshan, Caesar, and the others who were being escorted off the landing ship by two "Hyena" soldiers.
Xiao Dingshan's face was ashen; the former tyrant's spirit had vanished, leaving only the exhaustion of surviving a calamity and a deep fear of the ruthless ruler before him.
He looked at the ruins of the base he had painstakingly built over the years, the starting point of his future empire, his eyes filled with complex emotions: pain, humiliation, a trace of resentment, and a deeper fear.
The captain stopped, his cold, metallic voice echoing through the ruins, carrying undisguised mockery, like an icicle piercing to the bone:
"Xiao Dingshan... your birthplace? Ha, where is the vitality? What has been created? I only see a shoveled garbage dump. That Xiao Ce was ruthlesser than you..."
However, he cleaned it up really thoroughly... leaving you not even a decent scrap.
Xiao Dingshan's body trembled almost imperceptibly, his lips moved, but in the end he couldn't utter a single word.
What could he say? Offer an explanation? Accuse Xiao Ce?
Faced with absolute power and a crushing defeat, any words are pale and powerless, only appearing more ridiculous.
He just stared intently at the crushed alloy plate bearing the logo of the Creation Base beneath his feet, his eyes empty and numb.
That silence was more powerful than any argument or wail, silently telling of his crushing defeat, the collapse of his value, and the deepest agreement with the captain's mockery!
He indeed suffered a crushing defeat, with even his stronghold being completely wiped out.
However, although he lost, the captain in front of him didn't seem to have won by much...
They are all in this place right now.
The silence speaks.
This deathly silence was more piercing to the captain's nerves than any angry roar from Xiao Dingshan!
Because it starkly reflects the unprecedented and humiliating retreat he had just experienced.
The captain's crimson electronic eyes lingered on Xiao Dingshan's lowered head for a few seconds, the cold light flickering slightly, as if analyzing the emotions surging behind the other's silence.
He naturally understood the silent accusation and subtext: You, the high and mighty interstellar conqueror, were also beaten badly by Xiao Ce and fled to my junkyard for refuge.
It's just the pot calling the kettle black!
"Humph."
A short, cold nasal sound came from under the captain's mask, breaking the suffocating silence.
He stepped forward, his massive metal body almost completely enveloping Xiao Dingshan, creating an overwhelming sense of oppression.
"Put away your pathetic and pathetic thoughts, Xiao Dingshan. Do you think that my retreat is the same as your utter defeat, where even your stronghold was uprooted?"
Xiao Dingshan awkwardly said to the captain, "I wouldn't dare... Captain, you've misunderstood, I didn't mean that..."
His voice suddenly rose, carrying a sharp, metallic quality that echoed through the ruins:
We are different!
My retreat is a strategic circuit breaker!
It's about eliminating ineffective redundancies on the battlefield in order to preserve core strength for more efficient strikes!
Xiao Ce, by exploiting an information gap and a pre-planned battlefield, caught us completely off guard. He won the first round, and that's all!
The captain whirled around, his crimson electronic eyes sweeping across the massive ruins, then seemingly piercing through the ice to look at the planet itself.
"We underestimated him."
They underestimated the depth of his control over the Star Network's core, underestimated the ruthlessness and precision of his tactics, and even more so, underestimated his insane determination to treat an entire elite legion as disposable expendable resources!
He admitted it extremely readily, without the slightest hesitation, which only highlighted his cold-blooded nature.
"But underestimating him doesn't mean fear! Nor does it mean he's no match for us!"
"No matter how fierce his hammer is, what is the source of its power? It is the computing power of the Star Network Hub, the production capacity of the rear factories, and the resources of your planet itself! He relies on the lifeblood and marrow of this world!"
The captain raised his metal arm and pointed to the ground.
“Our previous tactics were wrong. We shouldn’t have fought a protracted ‘war of attrition’ with him, even if it seemed to be in his favor.”
We possess stellar-level energy reserves and interstellar strike capabilities, yet we've foolishly become bogged down in planetary-level tactical quagmires. We need a fulcrum, a fulcrum that can leverage the very power of this planet!
A true forward base of our own, a core for energy and manpower supply! Instead of relying on fleet resupply from afar.
His words, like a cold warhammer, struck the hearts of every surviving Hyena officer, and also heavily impacted Xiao Dingshan.
At this moment, Xiao Dingshan said to the captain, "Captain, that's right, there are minerals containing spiritual essence underground... This was one of the reasons we chose this location."
Upon hearing Xiao Dingshan's words, the captain's eyes lit up.
He then turned to his technical supervisor and ordered, "Scan this ruin, especially the deep geological structure! Xiao Ce destroyed the surface facilities, but there are some things he can't take away, nor can he completely destroy!"
Upon hearing this, the technical supervisor immediately got to work.
A short while later, they came to answer: "Captain! Deep scan confirmed!"
Beneath the base lies a colossal vein of high-purity spirit marrow ore! Energy readings…
It far surpasses any known planetary-level rich ore in our database! Extremely high purity and stable structure!
Although the main mining shaft was destroyed, the main body of the vein remains intact, and the reserves are astonishing! Preliminary assessments indicate it is sufficient to support the establishment of a complete planetary fusion energy matrix and psionic weapon manufacturing system!
This news was like throwing a boulder into stagnant water!
Even Xiao Dingshan, who had been silent all along, suddenly raised his head, a flicker of disbelief and complex emotion crossing his eyes. This was a treasure he had once discovered and attempted to possess at great expense, now it had become his enemy's lifeline...