Interstellar Survival: Invasion

Suddenly, an artillery shell dropped down in front of me and exploded, blasting the three Eternals away.
I looked back and saw a heavy tank with a smoking turret behind me.

”Bao ’er, nice timing! ” I said in excitement.

Suddenly, a bright explosion erupted in front of me.
The shockwaves tore the turret off the tank.
At the same time, I was also sent flying away.
After falling heavily onto the ground, I hurriedly looked over and saw that two imperial heavy tanks had fired at the tank behind me, blowing the tank up completely.

”Bao ’er! ” I roared as I furiously shot at the tanks with the assault rifle that had been attached to my back, doing little to no damage to them.

”Canyue, Canyue, where are you? How is the situation over there? We won ’t be able to last much longer, ” Zhang Bao ’er ’s voice suddenly came from the communicator.

Only then did I realize that the tank that had helped me wasn ’t actually the one piloted by Zhang Bao ’er.

”Canyue, from how things are unfolding, I doubt we can last for two hours.
We must retreat immediately, or all our forces will be decimated, ” said Old Du anxiously.

I struggled back onto my feet, picked up my gun from the ground, and ran toward Baron Sisse.
At the moment, the baron was wrestling two Eternals, their shields colliding violently.
I came up behind the Eternals, aimed my gun at the thigh of one of them, turned on the acute pain mode, and pulled the trigger.

The energy of the gun gathered at a single point, unleashing an impressive amount of destruction powerful enough to pierce through the soldier ’s shield.
An expression of pain was immediately visible on the soldier ’s face.
He gripped his thigh in pain and fell onto the ground.
I used the same method and helped the baron deal with the other enemy.

”Baron, we must retreat.
Otherwise, our entire army will be decimated, ” I said.

”It ’s not two hours yet.
We can ’t leave so easily, ” said the baron.

”We need to give Mayor Andi a status update on the battlefield.
We also need to know about the progress of the retreat, ” I suggested to the baron.

After listening to my suggestion, Baron Sisse immediately contacted Mayor Andi for a quick status update.
The bird-shaped fighters were basically almost fully decimated.
There were still five of them remaining, trying their very best against the attackers.
There were fewer than 15 of our heavy tanks left. 

As for the rail cannons in the outer part of our defensive perimeter, we had basically lost control over them.
The entrance to the underground city was filled with countless imperial soldiers and weapons.

”The retreat has been completed.
Mayor Andi ordered us to pull back to the second gate while fighting, ” said Baron Sisse.

Having received a new order, the defensive force started pulling back quickly.
However, the so-called pulling back while fighting was basically impossible.
The suppression from the imperial army turned the orderly withdrawal into a rout.

The surviving defensive forces rushed toward the second gate.
Baron Sisse and I were running behind several heavy tanks at the rear of our army, trying to cover the retreat as best as we could.
With the retreat of the defensive force, the fighter drones were able to instantly fill the space around the main gate.

”That ’s it.
Let ’s retreat as well, ” said Baron Sisse after striking one more imperial soldier down.

I started running toward the second gate with the few soldiers that had stayed behind to cover the retreat.
Unfortunately, we were nowhere as fast as the fighter drones on our heels.
Some of them were already ahead of us, constantly shooting into us.
All around me, soldiers were dropping and tanks were exploding.

Soon, the second gate entered our vision.
The gate was slowly being closed.
Some of the fighter drones above us flew toward the second gate, but they rammed straight into a thick shield that prevented their entry.

”Canyue, faster! We ’ll be safe after going through the shield, ” said Baron Sisse as he dragged me along.

Behind us, the imperial tanks were hot in pursuit, unleashing an unending stream of artillery shells in our direction.
One crater after another was left around me as the shells fell.
I shared my morph-capable shield with the baron as we struggled to cross the final 200 meters to our destination.
Suddenly, a loud explosion erupted behind me.
I looked back instinctively and saw that one of the tanks chasing us was burning.

”Canyue, faster, Old Du and I are covering you, ” Zhang Bao ’er said.

Only then did I notice that a heavy tank that had entered the safe zone was bombarding the tanks chasing us.
Soon, the other tanks and soldiers that had entered the safe zone joined in and provided us with cover fire.

With everyone ’s help, Baron Sisse and I were finally able to reach the safe zone, the second gate closing behind us.
Once inside the safe zone, I collapsed onto the ground weakly.
That was the longest 200 meters I had ever traveled in my entire life.

”Canyue, are you fine? ” Zhang Bao ’er asked.

”Don ’t worry.
I ’m fine.
We need to gather up our forces, ” I said.

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”Do a headcount and count the remaining pieces of equipment before drawing up a new defense plan.
The second gate ’s shield won ’t stay up for long, ” commanded Baron Sisse through the communication channel.

Having received a new order, the soldiers that had escaped behind the second gate started gathering.
Meanwhile, I followed Baron Sisse to the command center.

”The soldiers in charge of defense have mostly been recalled, but we have suffered disastrous casualties.
About a third of our people were lost, ” reported a military official caked in dirt to the mayor.

Mayor Andi was silently thinking when he noticed that Baron Sisse and I had entered the command center.

”Baron, we lost all our rail cannons and other defensive equipment.
We still have roughly 1,800 foot soldiers, 5 bird-shaped fighters, and 13 heavy tanks.
That ’s all, ” said Mayor Andi as he looked up from his contemplation.

”We have only completed one-third of the task given to us by the prince.
We still have two days left.
After losing the first gate and 90 percent of our equipment, the mission will become even harder, ” said the military official caked in dirt.

”Team Leader Dasille, I understand how difficult the task is.
We can ’t afford to think too much right now.
Every single one of our plans had failed.
We need to immediately erect a new defensive perimeter instead of thinking too much, ” said Baron Sisse.

”Team Leader, do what the baron said, ” commanded Mayor Andi.

The team leader did not say anything else and left to carry out the order.

”Mayor Andi, Baron Sisse, you need to see this! ” the intelligence officer suddenly shouted.

We ran toward the screen and saw that the attackers were reassembling their army, preparing for another round of assault.

”Will they repeat the same trick and use the contained explosion warhead again? ” I asked and reminded them at the same time.

”That seems unlikely.
Our second gate is protected by an energy shield.
It can repel the formation of an enclosed space.
They also won ’t take such a risk attacking from a cramped space in front of the second gate, ” said the intelligence officer.

”I have an idea.
There are two contained explosion warheads in Goldsteel City ’s armory, ” said Mayor Andi.

”You plan to use it? Using it in such a cramped space will result in massive casualties, ” said Baron Sisse.

”We have lost the majority of our equipment.
We won ’t be able to complete our task if we rely only on our soldiers, ” said Mayor Andi with a sigh.

”Mayor, I would advise against it.
The contained explosion warhead will work fine against city fortifications, but there is an official pact forbidding the usage of this weapon to massacre regular soldiers, ” said Baron Sisse.

”Yes, so many lives will be lost.
It will be a great crime, ” I said.

”If we launch them, the Divine Empire ’s other vassal kingdoms will have an excuse to move against us.
We will no longer be viewed as victims, ” said Baron Sisse.

”Why do I care about other kingdoms? The Kingdom of Akko is being invaded right now.
Where are the other kingdoms? Who among them has lent us a hand? ” complained Mayor Andi.

”I believe the prince is already handling the other kingdoms.
However, we can never be the one to turn against the pact and use such a weapon of mass destruction against regular soldiers, ” Baron Sisse insisted.

Mayor Andi sank into silence.
Meanwhile, the enemy army was gathering rapidly.
Numerous weapons were lined in front of the soldiers as they entered their combat formation.

”I wonder which siege weapon the imperial army will use this time, ” muttered the intelligence officer.

”Get 300 people and have them start transporting our ammunition from the armory to the inner city, ” said Baron Sisse.

At this time, we saw on the screen that something new was happening.
The imperial army suddenly parted as a massive machine slowly advanced.
The machine had a peculiar design.
It had a massive base, and it was kept hovering in the air thanks to the thrusters installed on it.

At the front of the machine was some sort of drill made of pure metal.
The drill was massive, almost as wide as our second gate.
It was obvious what the machine was here for.
It was the designated siege machine for the second gate.

’Great.
The same scene of a city gate being rammed down during a siege from medieval Blue is being repeated on an alien planet.
Looks like a siege will be the same regardless of where you go in the universe, ’ I remarked inwardly.

”This is bad.
If that thing is allowed to strike the gate, the shield won ’t be able to last long, ” exclaimed Baron Sisse.

”We must seize the initiative and blast the big fellow apart, ” said Mayor Andi.

”The empire named this weapon the shell-breaker.
When I was studying in the empire, I learned of it.
Its control room is below the middle of its body.
If we can get there and destroy the controls, we will be able to disable the machine, ” said the intelligence officer.

”Do you know how to get into the shell-breaker? ” asked Baron Sisse.

”Yes, all of them use the same password encryption system.
I can hack through it, but the entrance will only be big enough for individuals to enter with their weapons, ” said the intelligence officer.

”What is your name, intelligence officer? ” asked Baron Sisse.

”Reporting, my name is Keji, ” replied the intelligence officer.

”Very good.
Keji, you ’ll lead the way.
We will assemble a suicide squad to disable this shell-breaker, ” commanded Baron Sisse.

”Will our explosives be strong enough? ” I asked.

”Yes.
We only need to toss the explosives into the shell-breaker ’s nuclear reactor to destroy its internal system, ” said Keji.

”Let ’s end our discussion here.
We need to get moving.
I will form a suicide squad with Keji, Canyue, and two more individuals.
Mayor, assign two more soldiers to me, ” said the baron decisively.

”Baron, the enemies are starting to erect their defenses around the shell-breaker, ” Keji shouted.

We could clearly see from the screen that dozens of drones, my most hated creation, were hovering around the machine.
They were utilizing their own shields to form a massive shield around the machine.