Three hours had gone by. The death toll reached 1300 people, only a few dozens were injured. Most of the deaths were caused by the jungle spiders. The first dozen wave or so of jungle spiders were taken care of by tactical nukes. However, as they were coming more and more frequently, the army had to stop firing tactical nukes. The last twenty nukes were saved for the most critical moments.
The jungle spiders curled up to a ball when they were shot into the air. Their exoskeleton was extremely tough and protected them from fire. All the bullets could do was get reflected off with sparks. After a few times of heavy casualties and with the help of Zheng, the troopers grasped the ways to deal with the jungle spiders.
The best option was to kill the blaster bugs at range. 500 meters was the line where these jungle spiders became not a threat. If too many blaster bugs came at once, the troopers would retreat. They needed to get at least 30 meters away from where the jungle spiders land. Their rifles could shred the spiders once they stretched out.
This tactic cost 1300 people. A thick layer of flesh, blood, and broken limbs covered the ground. But the troopers were only following orders mechanically at this point. Their bodies and minds were numb.
“Count of ammunition? How much do we have left?” Zheng sat on a rock a little tired. He just killed another tanker bug with the help of WangXia. Several hours of combat put a strain to both his body and mind. He expends over ten times the energy a normal person needs after all.
“2000 magazines, 11 tactical nukes, and 400 grenades. One and half hour before the rescue ships arrive.” Xuan said calmly.
Zheng sighed. He looked down to the foot of the mountain. Bodies of dead bugs piled up by the road. Every wave of bugs would destroy most of these bodies by a spray of fire by the blaster bug or a step by the tanker bugs. There was a period of pause after the previous tanker bug attack. The troopers used this opportunity to transport ammunition and swap the frontline. Everyone let out a sigh of relief for the short break. Zheng took out a pack of cigarette. He lit it with his shaky hand, sat on the front most rock and looked down.
“Don’t worry. We will survive. We have to survive. We bear a lot of things from our past and have many things to take care of. We will live on even if that means fighting with our lives!”
He took a puff sand said through the soul link. His left hand holding a cigarette butt taken out from the ring. He stared at it for a moment then put it back. Zheng stood up from the rock and said. “Troopers, prepare to fight! Let these bugs know that humans are not herbivores. Let these bugs remember our bravery on this mountain!”
The troopers gave him a shout in reply. Humanity in this world was different from theirs. The federation’s priorities caused military quality to decline but society also became peaceful. The contact with aliens revealed the heat within their blood. Humans were once a brutal and offensive race on par with the bugs!
Zheng looked at the swarms of bugs and knew the final attack began. The bugs had no sense of fear and their numbers were uncountable. However, the death toll in this battle had enraged the brain bug.
“Zheng, the masked area is moving up toward the ground. Is the second team finally joining the battle?”
Zheng said coldly. “Then let them come. If they don’t appear now, our rescue ships will come soon. They probably think we are weak. But what qualification do they have when we aren’t using our own weapons nor full strength? Xuan, think of a defense tactic to keep ammunition in balance.”
Xuan’s mind also felt a little irritated. He murmured. “I noticed the bugs’ movement very early. The pause after the previous attack was too long. The scan shows hoppers joining the attack. However, the environment isn’t suitable for hoppers. Are they going to attack without regard for casualties? The best result for them is one out of every one hundred hoppers can get up to the mountain top. Go defend by the entrance. I will arrange the rest.”
Zheng nodded. “Understood. Everyone let’s try our best to live!”
Following the first gunshot, the troopers began shooting. Bugs on the frontline fell in rows but there were so many more charging up. A lot of bugs died by being stamped on. The army’s firepower looked too weak in comparison. These bugs pushed their way up at the expense of countless dead bodies. The gap was closing in meter by meter, as was the weight on the troopers’ hearts.
Several minutes later, the second group entered combat. The thousand trooper frontline finally suppressed the bugs’ advance. That was when the blaster bugs started to appear.
The blaster bugs would kill a few warrior bugs with every step, yet the warrior bugs blocked in front of them to take the firepower. The gap was closing. 400 meters, 300 meters. The blaster bugs shot the tumors at the frontline. No one backed off. Tens of thousands of bugs were more threatening than several dozen jungle spiders at this point. As death approached them from the top, the troopers stood in place and continued firing.
Zheng yelled. “WangXia, use tactical nukes. One at the sky and one at the ground. Push their frontline back!”
Zheng charged up with a jungle spider leg he just snapped off. This was the only weapon better than the army knife he could use at the moment.
WangXia fired the tactical nuke at the sky. Just then, Zheng heard Lan’s voice. “The cliffs are filled with hopper bugs! Thousands of them are climbing up the cliffs. If the wind blows them off, they would fly back and keep climbing!”
Chapter 11-2
A weight dropped on Zheng's heart. He took a deep breath and said hastily. "Zero, lead a group to patrol all sides. Shoot down any hoppers you see. The wind here is strong. They are weaker than regular bugs when they can't fly. Kill as much as you can. Xuan, arrange troopers to guard the borders. Gando! Protect Lan. Go with her to the center of the army. That's it for now. We can't stop the hoppers completely for now so we can only take things as they come. Let them come up and shoot them down one by one."
One hour left. Three groups of troopers began finding and carrying rocks under Xuan's orders. A lot of ammunition were expended by now. Part of the remaining ammunition were given to those patrolling the border. So there were only a thousand magazines left. Yet the bugs' attack was as fierce as before. Countless warrior bugs climbed the road in waves. The addition of blaster bugs, jungle spiders, and the occasional tanker bug nearly broke through their front at times. They spent several nukes and almost all the grenades to keep their defense in place.
So many bugs died that even when the blaster bugs incinerated a majority of them and the rest stamped by the sea of bugs, a layer of bug paste still elevated the road. Starting from the 500 meter mark where most bugs died, there was a 20 meter high hill followed by a sudden drop. This increased the distance the bugs had to climb. The hill was also beneficial to their aiming but not so much to the rocks. The hill would stop the rocks at the 500 meter mark.
Zheng observed the area and thought for a moment. "WangXia, save five nukes. And don't nuke that hill before we completely depleted our ammunition. That's it for now. Fucking we can't use the plasma grenades and mines. Those are as powerful as the nukes. The EMP rifle can also easily take care of the bugs. Even my Tiger's Soul..."
WangXia smiled bitterly. The plasma bombs were way more powerful than these grenades. One that could take in 50% of Zheng's Qi would had power equivalent to the tactical nukes. The most important thing was a nuke's power was concentrated in the center and becomes weaker as you get further away. The effective area was only fifty meters in radius. However, the plasma bombs could vaporize everything where the plasma balls go.
Time continued ticking and so was their ammunition. Troopers who were aware of it felt the knives hanging over their heads. At the same time, the hoppers finally showed their face after climbing for so long. They attempted to lift off but the strong wind would blow them off at three meters above the ground. These hoppers could only fly close to the ground got shot down by the patrolling troopers. Yet, their number was in the thousands. More and more began showing up after the first one.
"Time? And the rescue ships? Xuan! Only 200 magazines left! How much longer!"
Zheng was almost shouting at this point. He observed the scan and saw a few more tanker bugs coming up. They were slow but their size and ability were decisive factors. If any one of them came close, that also meant the fall of their defense!
"No use talking about time now. We just contacted the rescuing starships. They said dozens of ships had been sent down, enough to take in tens of thousands of people. Such fools. If there really are tens of thousands for them to save, there wouldn't be a need to ask for help. Laughable mortal's wisdom. This is basically the situation. The rescue ships will enter the atmosphere in thirty minutes. Which means we will be able to board the ships in thirty to forty five minutes. This is a conservative estimate." Xuan's voice didn't come through soul link but rather from behind.
Zheng turned around to see Xuan standing there with the gauss pistols and a satirical smile.
Zheng gave him a surprise look and asked. "What are you here for? Is it fine to use our weapons?"
Another pistol slipped out into his hand. "The gauss pistols have a similar look to the army's pistols. You have be in close range to distinguish the two. Plans, schemes and raising morale are useless at this point. The only thing we can do is continue fighting as before or get swarmed by the sea of bugs. I don't particularly like this kind of combat but there are no other good choice."
Zheng laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "That mortal's wisdom again. Anyway, since you can use the gauss pistols, kill a few more bugs. But don't use your gun kata too early. That state can't last too long."
Suddenly, dozens of jungle spiders were flying over. A tactical nuke was fired before most of the troopers could react. A brilliant light flashed over the battlefield. Then three balls landed on the ground and instantly stretched out into the jungle spiders. Zheng and Xuan looked at each other then charged at the spiders. With one person in close combat and one shooting from range, the jungle spiders were eliminated before they could cause a disaster. Even so, ten troopers were killed during the time.
WangXia's voice transmitted over. "Only five nukes left. A few more waves of spiders and we won't have any more nukes to attack."
Zheng looked over the troopers and said. "Don't use any more nukes. Let the spiders land. Xuan, send the remaining groups over. We need to start throwing rocks and replace any troopers that get killed by the spiders."
Xuan nodded and went to the back of the army. "Remember what I said before? When we fall into desperation, go attack the other team. Kill them, capture, or injure them. The bugs might hesitate if we have hostages in hand. The chance is lower than 30% but it is still better than waiting to die."
Zheng smiled bitterly as he looked out the battlefield. The sea of bugs was never ending. The hill was piling up higher and it pushed forward another 100 meters. There were only 400 meters in between them and the bugs. Plus a hundred magazines left.
Zheng ordered the troopers to stop using ammunition. They leave fifty to themselves then gave the rest to the patrolling troopers. The troopers then lined up to transfer rocks and push them down. Zheng had WangXia use two nukes on the hill to blast down the hill of dead bugs.
The large rocks rolled down the incline. They reached an unstoppable speed after a hundred meters. The first wave of bugs were smashed to pieces by these rocks. Even the blaster bugs were knocked over. The bugs were pushed back to the 700 meter mark for a while.
Chapter 11-3
“Stay strong! Only twenty minutes left!” Zheng shouted to the troopers.
He kicked a large rock that was four meters tall in front. The rock rolled down the incline like a road roller due to its size, crushing everything on its path.
People’s eyes followed the rock at this point. They hadn’t realized that Zheng kicked that rock down during this urgent moment. A normal person wouldn’t have such strength nor the bones to withstand the impact.
There was nothing that could stop the rock until it hit the tanker bug’s barrier. Its path was painted in green paste and blood from the bugs.
Zheng took a deep breath and shouted. “Continue throwing rocks. Even if we can’t kill them, we have to delay them! The rescue ships will be here in just over ten minutes. Won’t you feel it’s unfair if we die now?”
Yet, the troopers didn’t have bodies as strong as his. Twenty hours of continuous combat had exhausted them. And now they had to transport and throw rocks. These rocks were tough and heavy. A one-meter-tall rock would take three troopers to move. Their speed slowed down and the bugs slowly grouped back up. They moved up the incline meter by meter just like ocean waves. The numbers were mind numbing.
Zheng felt his heart getting colder by the second. He had stood in the frontline the whole time. The tanker bug began moving again. The rocks were effective against normal bugs but not tanker bug. He was getting more anxious with each step the tanker bug took.
Just then, Kampa and a trooper lifted up a rock but Kampa lost his strength and the rock fell on his leg. He cried in pain. Zheng immediately ran over and flipped the rock away. “How are you doing? Kampa, you still alright?”
Sweat covered the Russian man’s head. He said with a bitter smile. “I can’t continue anymore. I have no strength and my shin bone is broken. I am sorry to drag you down at this crucial moment…”
Zheng had long been aware that Kampa couldn’t keep going. He didn’t have the extra stats, didn’t have qi nor blood energy. The dragon blood only increased his body to two or three times that of a normal person. But he fought for almost seven hours here, giving orders while fighting on the frontline.
Zheng patted his shoulder. “No need to say these things, bro. We promised to stay alive together. Let me take care of the rest. You two over there, carry him to the center. Kampa, we will live!”
Zheng handed him a pack of cigarette. “Go take a smoke to suppress the pain.” Then he walked back to the frontline.
Even though he said those words, but could he really live on?
Zheng looked at the sea of bugs underneath and the troopers panting heavily on the sides. A weight was dropped on his heart. For several times already, he wanted to take out the Sky Stick and Tiger's Soul and head straight to where the other team was then capture the brain bug.
“Are the rescue ships… not going to make it?”
He raised his head to look at the sky, then back to the mountain road. Since the troopers’ slowed down, the bugs moved in further. They slowly came back to the five-hundred-meter mark.
“Out of ammunition, Zheng. We killed thousands of hoppers but there are no bullets to take care of the remaining two hundred. I ordered a thousand people to head to the cliff and fight in close combat.” Xuan’s voice sounded in his mind.
Zheng was feeling numb as bad news came one after another. The tanker bug had moved past the two-hundred-meter mark, and the rest of the bugs followed behind them. His left hand was shaking. He could barely suppress the desire to bring out his weapon. The long hours of stress made him want to shred the bugs to pieces with destruction.
A loud boom came from above. Everyone raised their heads in reaction. Tens of large ships came through the clouds. These ships scattered and ten of them came toward this mountain top. The troopers were dazed for a few seconds before they cried with joy. The ships were like stimuli. The troopers moved and threw faster. The rocks couldn’t damage the tanker bug but they could delay the bugs. There was only one thing in their minds, delay until the rescue ships land!
Zheng let out a sigh of relief when he saw the rescue ships. Each one was large enough to fit in a thousand people. Which meant that they were safe as soon as they could get off the ground.
Xuan suddenly said through the mind with a cold tone. “Zheng! Hand out fifty magazines to fifty troopers. Have them come to the landing area! Hurry, these magazines are reserved for this moment. Everyone wants to enter the rescue ships in this danger but we can’t afford any riot!”
Zheng immediately sent fifty people over with the magazines. After the first ship landed, the rest of the troopers slowed down again. They turned their heads around. The tanker bug was at the sixty-meter mark.
“Don’t stop! Continue throwing! WangXia, fire a tactical nuke behind the tanker bug! Don’t back away. We will all die if you back!” Zheng yelled among the group then kicked a rock down.
WangXia fired a tactical nuke at behind the tanker bug. The barriers protected the bugs within fifty meters of it but the rest of the bugs were two hundred meters away now. The remaining fire on the ground also prevented the bugs from moving in for a while.
Despite what Zheng said, several troopers ran to the back. The second and third rescue ships had landed. People couldn’t stop their desire to escape in this situation.
More troopers soon followed. Zheng charged up with rage using the movement technique. He kicked the first ones that ran to the ground and stabbed one through the chest with the spider leg. “Anyone that runs are subjected to military execution!”
About forty troopers ran. They looked at each other then about a dozen charged at Zheng. To these people, he had no guns in hand, one of his arm broke, and his body was full of wounds. Yet, each person that came close to him got his head smashed by a kick. When they finally stopped in fear, there was over ten bodies on the ground.
“I said anyone who runs away die! Who the fuck still wants to die?”
Zheng was raging inside. He stepped on a trooper that hadn’t died off and was groaning in pain then grabbed his head and pulled him apart. Blood splashed over his body. The rest of these troopers immediately ran back to the frontline and began throwing rocks. The fourth rescue ship landed.