Chapter 366: Chapter 141: The Vastness of the Starry Sky, Where is Home
(Congratulations to the newly promoted protector “Tadashi”!)
Behind the Zeg clan, a gigantic insect leisurely made its appearance, perhaps due to its massive size, which caused the beetles carrying it to move more than half as slow.
Its degenerate wings split to the sides, and the oversized, swollen abdomen lazily slumped behind.
This was a plasma worm bigger than the previous four.
Its arrival was so timely that it had just managed to avoid the instant of the Nova nuclear explosion.
Subsequent Zeg swarmed into that vacuum zone, and the plump plasma worm entered the still warm crater of the Red Plain.
At this time, the Federation ground forces had vanished from sight, and the No.2 starship floating on the perimeter had become the largest target; however, aside from the occasional weak contact of the stone bullet vomited by the cliff worm with the bottom armor of the starship, the rest of the Zeg continued their charge under the command of an unknown, mysterious leader.
The greatest shortcoming of these Zeg was finally revealed: they had no air dominance capability!
However, this flaw was evidently also known to that unknown leader, and subsequent air force troops were rapidly approaching.
And what they needed to do now was to first bring down these two starships.
The plasma worm landed on the ground, and with a clumsy turn of its body, its four pairs of limbs dug into the soil, and its heavy tail tried hard to rise up.
A faint blue light began to flicker from within, and soon the abdomen inflated rapidly as if being pumped up.
The blue light became increasingly intense, and the tip of the tail even began to crack open.
In at most five seconds, a massive plasma ball filled with fury would surge forth.
Given the size of this plasma worm, the volume of the plasma ball was sure to exceed any previously seen.
The tail had already cracked open to a diameter of more than 2 meters and was still expanding.
The dazzling light finally caught the attention of Lin Hao and all the officers in the command center.
“Major Zheng Rui is about to board the starship.”
“Major, look, what is that?”
“The blue over there is getting brighter!”
“How is that possible!”
“How is that possible!”
When the footage was enlarged, and the scene became clear, it sent a jolt through everyone’s spine as their hairs stood on end.
The gigantic insect’s tail was raised high, as if it were aiming at the sky.
And in the sky…
Now there was only the starship!
“How can this insect be so big! Wasn’t everything completely cleared just now?”
“What kind of monster is this again? What other creatures in the Zeg do we not know about!”
“It’s going to attack…”
“The starship,” Lin Hao said with an extremely dry tone.
The starship currently hovering above the battlefield was nothing but a sitting duck.
“Major Lin Hao, we are about to land on the starship,” came Zheng Rui’s voice.
“Major Zheng Rui, be careful of the ground behind you, a giant Zeg capable of spitting plasma balls has appeared!”
Huh!?
Piloting an air combat mecha, Zheng Rui looked behind and immediately locked onto the huge insect!
Without any hesitation, he raised his hand and fired a volley of “Little Tomcat” air-to-ground missiles.
Six missiles twirled and crossed directly towards the massive plasma worm.
The tail had already stretched open to nearly three meters in diameter when the missiles flashed across the sky.
Just half a second’s time, with an initial speed exceeding Mach 3.
The missiles struck the plasma worm directly.
Boom boom boom boom!
Smoke filled the air, obscuring the area.
Was it over?
A dazzling blue light suddenly burst forth, and a deep blue plasma ball broke through the smoke and tore across the sky.
The plasma ball, with its ultra-high temperature, slammed straight into the No.2 starship.
A huge energy shield sparked by the ship appeared at its lower side, instantly forming a dent, and the invisible force field was vividly outlined in the spread of the deep blue plasma.
The energy shield, capable of withstanding power equivalent to a 2.5-level weapon, lasted less than 0.1 second before it shattered with a thunderous collapse.
The plasma ball broke through the defensive field, fiercely striking the bottom armor, and then exploded violently.
Plasma scatter in all directions.
A hole over five meters in diameter instantly appeared at the base of the ship, spanning more than three hundred meters.
Red alert lights flashed urgently inside the ship.
In the command center of the other starship where Lin Hao was located, the holographic structure diagram representing the No.2 starship showed severe damage to the isolation chamber at the bottom level, near which was an energy reactor.
“Report, Major! The plasma ball from that worm causes strong energy interference. The reactivation of the energy shield is delayed by ten seconds.”
“Thankfully… Major Zheng Rui destroyed it.”
At this moment, Mu Fan was brought into the command center by the soldiers.
He just heard Lin Hao’s statement.
“Are these people blind?! Five more have appeared behind! What kind of planet is this? How could there be plasma worms of such magnitude?”
Black’s voice suddenly resounded, having detected these anomalies early through the ship’s surveillance system.
So, under Black’s covert operation, a red mark appeared on a section of the holographic map!
Pointing at that area, Mu Fan’s low voice once again silenced the room.
“There are still some over there.”
Five more massive plasma worms emerged!
They appeared so abruptly, as if burrowing directly up from the depths of the earth.
Zheng Rui, who had just taken a breath of relief, froze upon hearing the information relayed from the command center.
Those bugs were coming out from underground?!
Had the Zeg managed to tunnel close to the base already?
Now, with the small transport ship having entered halfway and twenty-six air combat mecha serving as escorts in the sky.
If those colossal monsters spewed plasma balls again, the starship, already bereft of its energy shield, would be in imminent danger!
Five plasma worms, an unknown cavern.
…
Their own comrades’ lives, even the future hopes of the military—the group of young people—were right behind him inside the ship.
He could look down on them, but they genuinely represented the military’s future.
In that case, then…
A determined look flashed across the young major’s face.
Starship Number One had taken off, in the command center.
Mu Fan raised his head once again to look at Lin Hao with the same calm demeanor he had on the ground.
“Major, student Mu Fan requests to sortie in the air combat mecha.”
Lin Hao gazed at the young man whose eyes had reignited with the will to fight yet shook his head.
“In the two starships… there is not a single mecha left.”
At that moment, it was as if he was back in the days of following Colonel Qi Longxiang again, when he was just an ordinary military officer among Qi’s men.
What would Colonel Qi have done in this situation?
A heroic yet indifferent man, with his intelligent gaze, would see through consecutive deadly predicaments, and in each instance of fatal entrapment, he would speak in a calm yet infuriating tone, uttering words that led to victory—
“Don’t tell me the numbers of casualties, I just want victory!”
“Tell the First Submarine Fleet, the Federation needs them to sacrifice their lives.”
…
If a final victory could be achieved, then any sacrifice would be worth it.
If we could preserve the future hope of the military, then any sacrifice would also be…
Between breaths, Lin Hao made a solemn decision and picked up the communicator.
In that moment, pain flashed in his eyes, but his voice was unwavering.
“Starship Number Two, now the Federation needs you to lay down your lives! I, Lin Hao, implore you to preserve the last lifeline for the seeds of hope in our military forces!”
“So now, I command you to hold back the Zeg Clan’s aerial assault with all your might, to secure the final chance for Starship Number One to ascend!”
In the end, the tone that was tinged with pain finally turned into resolve!
Everyone in the command center, including Mu Fan, never expected Lin Hao to utter such words.
His familiar friend, the Hunting Tiger Captain—Luo Jianjin—was now on Starship Number Two, and the command given by Lin Hao signified his death sentence.
“…Starship Number Two received, we salute honor. Ensures, Starship Number One’s liftoff!”
After a brief pause, the voice from the other end of the communicator came through, imbued with the military’s unique decisiveness.
For the first time, in such a peaceful environment, Mu Fan was faced with such a cruel scene.
Even when he was alone facing the swarm, he had never despaired.
Because he knew that behind him were reliable companions and teammates.
But now, the order explicitly told them—
I am abandoning you; please go to your deaths!
And the response of those soldiers carried but one meaning—received.
Cold and cruel, absolute obedience.
Such is the world of a military personnel, laid bare in front of Mu Fan.
Now in his heart, he could not identify what feelings brewed, for it was the first time that someone would sumptuously go to their deaths to protect them.
As Starship Number Two began to slowly shift its hull on the holographic map, an unexpected voice cut into the channel.
“This is Zheng Rui, requesting Starship Number Two to lift off normally.”
“The failure of this expedition cannot be excused from me. My comrades, you are the finest warriors, and the Federation will still need you to continue the fight. To the students from Ding Chuan, please forgive my previous arrogance; you are the future of our military, so you must survive.”
“So… please leave the rearguard to me. Major Zheng Rui of the Expeditionary Army guarantees the starship’s normal liftoff!”
His calm words sounded as if he were discussing a trivial matter.
“The starscape is so vast, where is home… goodbye.” The last softly murmured words went unheard, for Zheng Rui had already turned off the audio.
With that speech, the command center fell silent, and silence pervaded throughout the officers and crew.
Then, one by one, involuntarily, with one person taking the lead, both cadets and officers solemnly saluted.
The soldiers of the Expeditionary Army, who had just boarded Starship Number Two, instantly burst into tears.
******
PS: (Some off-topic talk, Zheng Rui is the character that Dang has always wanted to portray, a character comes to life only when filled with blood and flesh. A military career has always been a noble profession, no matter how the political landscape changes, the soldiers fighting on the frontlines will always deserve respect. When called upon by those they serve, there is only one thing for them to do—to gallantly face death. Even if they have diverse personalities, even if they have faults of one kind or another, when the greater cause of the nation calls for it, they display a unified high conviction. Without the sacrifice of these soldiers, the territory would not be as vast, the national power would not be as strong. Even if there are always parasites and trash under any circumstances, those who have unwavering faith always exist.)
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