Chapter 2117: Twist and turns (3) |
"Your Highness, a battle has broken out at the Overlapping Water Dead Zone, and the situation is far from favorable."
A lifeform stood atop a massive boulder, watching his clansmen below busy themselves with rapid efficiency. When he heard these words, his eyes only briefly glanced down at the foot of the stone.
"Consider it good fortune for the Huo'er Star People."
This lifeform curled his lip; without any visible movement, he descended to the ground.
"Your Highness, our relationship with the Su Clan... seems quite amicable. Since we knew the Su Clan would be stationed there, why did we still... take action?"
This subordinate asked hesitantly.
Logically, this question should not have been his to ask; he should have waited and observed to find the answer. But he had to ask now, because they would be staying here for fifty days. The location they had chosen was not too far from the Overlapping Water Dead Zone. If the clan truly had intentions towards the Su Clan, then arrangements needed to be made early; otherwise, it would be too late.
Although the Reina Star People did not value the gains from the Planet Hunting Ground as much as other races, it was still a significant source of income. This subordinate had to know the specific plans beforehand to allocate troop deployments properly.
"It was originally intended to make things difficult for the Star-Eye People. Ideally, to cause their hunt to fail miserably, or at least ensure their gains were minimal. It would be even better if it could hinder their marriage alliance with the Sheke Star Clan."
"As for the Su Clan..." The prince drew out his words, then gave a light chuckle. "The relationship is decent, but only decent. We spent great effort on our arrangements; how could we waste them? Since they ended up there by a twist of fate, let them bear it. If they get through, that is their skill; if they don't, that is their fate. What does it have to do with us? Looking at it another way, even if the Su Clan loses these one hundred thousand people, it would only cripple them; the majority of their strength would remain."
Hearing the prince's words, the man knew what to do. He bowed and retreated slowly, leaving the prince alone to watch the bustling construction scene, lost in thought.
……………………………………
"Is this kid insane?" Elder Zhongken Su's expression changed. The matter Ye Zhongming proposed was truly too risky.
At a time when the mutated lifeforms had not yet been completely driven off the Overlapping Water Dead Zone, he insisted on forcibly setting up the Kepaisi Sky Cover. Particularly, two of its support pillars were very close to the current melee area and were vulnerable to attack. If they were damaged, there were no replacement materials. Then one of the most relied-upon means for this Planet Hunting Ground hunt would be useless, and one could imagine that for the next fifty days, they would be mired in bitter combat.
"Our personnel are tied up starting to set up the formations. Even if we wanted to continue providing support, we don't have many spare hands. The Star-Eye Clan side is likely even worse off. If we don't do something to respond, are we just going to let this chaos continue? Mutated lifeforms are already beginning to stir on the two sides we are defending; fighting could break out at any moment. By then, we would be under attack on three fronts. If just one front cannot withstand, matters will become irreparable."
Huo Zhi said with great seriousness, "Isn't taking a risk now better than facing immediate defeat?"
He was the supreme commander of the Su Clan's operation this time. Although the other two elders balanced him, if Elder Zhongken Su still disagreed, Huo Zhi would use his authority to enforce the order.
When the other two elders heard this, they looked again at the situation around them on the light screen and had to agree.
Immediately, the large quantities of Kepaisi Sky Cover materials that had been transported were unloaded. The Su Clan personnel began construction according to the drawings and the positions of the support pillars strictly calculated based on the topography of the Overlapping Water Dead Zone.
The Kepaisi Sky Cover had its own drawings, which presented no difficulty for these Su Clan formation masters. So, although they started setting up a bit later than the Star-Eye Clan side, their speed was faster, and they soon had half of the pillars erected.
The reason Elder Zhongken Su and Lady Star felt it was risky was not only that setting up most of the cover before it was partially functional could affect its overall performance later, but also that this thing was different from formations. Formations were laid on the ground; even if they had some height, it wasn't excessive.
But the Kepaisi Sky Cover was a massive structure; its support pillars alone were extremely tall. Once erected, they would surely be discovered by a large number of mutated lifeforms.
At that point, they would likely come to try to break these semi-erected pillars, and fighting would break out at any moment. Therefore, while setting up, the Su Clan and Star-Eye Clan were also on high alert, with ground defense personnel standing in dense formations.
As expected, when the support pillars were erected to about seven or eight meters, flying lifeforms came. They were no longer deterred by the powerful auras of the dense warriors from the Su Clan and Star-Eye Clan, determined to drive these invaders away.
A true melee began from this moment. One side wanted to knock down these increasingly taller pillars, while the other side tried every means to protect them and make them even taller.
Although there were still no signs of a large-scale ground incursion from mutated lifeforms, several groups of flying lifeforms took off from the Silent Rainforest and the Long River Alluvial Plain, heading towards this location. Before long, tens of thousands of flying lifeforms were circling above the Overlapping Water Dead Zone, continuously attacking the ground warriors.
"The pillars are in place. Time to install the cover!"
Ye Zhongming notified the Su Clan side. All the support pillars that could be erected had been set up. Every moment, warriors and mutated lifeforms alike were losing their lives on the ground. Even the Cloud Peak King had to shout loudly to vent his emotions.
Following his words, the protector ships that had been circling at high altitude descended again, starting to attack these mutated lifeforms from the air.
Some of the formations already set up by the Su Clan also began to take effect at this time, and the warriors deployed many long-range attack weapons and abilities.
Under the combined attack from both sides, the mutated lifeforms near the support pillars were momentarily cleared. The technical personnel immediately took this opportunity to begin installing the metal cover. They moved extremely quickly because those mutated lifeforms would soon return in force.
"Order the protector ships to hold the line at all costs. Those that are severely damaged should leave this area and try to lure some of the flying lifeforms away!"
Huo Zhi issued this command with a grim expression. Using Su Clan spacecraft and the lives of the warriors aboard to lure away the enemy seemed somewhat desperate.
Indeed, it was a desperate measure. The Su Clan, the Star-Eye Clan, and the small clan alliance were not flying races. Facing tens of thousands of airborne lifeforms, their combat effectiveness was inherently reduced by thirty percent.
The battle continued in this back-and-forth manner, and the Kepaisi Sky Cover gradually took shape. When about one-third of the cover area remained to be assembled, the battle entered its most intense phase. The two sides fought fiercely in the air above the Overlapping Water Dead Zone, with deaths occurring at every moment.
Fortunately, as most of the cover was assembled, warriors were already able to ascend to the top via the support pillars, which greatly increased defensive capability. However, at such high altitudes, the casualty rate among these warriors protecting the cover from attack was extremely high. Soon, the cover was littered with corpses and blood...
"All except the last three pillars are completed!"
A shout came over the communicator from the last team assembling the cover. Ye Zhongming, who had been waiting, immediately opened the hub and inserted the energy source. The entire Kepaisi Sky Cover seemed to come alive, with flashes of light appearing continuously—a sign of activation.
Although three support pillars were not fully connected, rendering the capabilities on those pillars temporarily unavailable, some functions on the cover itself were already operational. Most of its power, in fact, lay in the cover.
Ye Zhongming nervously watched the light screen inside the cover's control room, which displayed the overall operational status of the structure.
Power was injected, and the previously dark structural diagram on the cover began to light up from the bottom up. Three support pillar locations showed in red and emitted continuous alarms—those were the three that had not yet been installed. Ye Zhongming ignored them.
What he cared about most now was that no problems appeared in the other parts of the cover. If there were issues, those sections would have to be dismantled and reinstalled, causing delays. Worse, if any chain reaction necessitated extensive reinstallation, it would be a huge joke.
As the structural diagram lit up section by section, Ye Zhongming's anxious heart gradually relaxed. Fortunately, assembling this massive structure was not a difficult task. The technicians and formation masters from the Su Clan and Star-Eye Clan had not made a single mistake. Apart from those three locations, the rest was perfectly completed.
Good, then... Ye Zhongming said to himself and began activating the Kepaisi Sky Cover's many capabilities.
Outside, the battle was still raging. The troops engaged on both sides had already reached two hundred thousand, not counting those already killed in action.
This phase was truly not easy to withstand.
When the warriors standing on the cover received orders to evacuate as soon as possible, they knew their mission was complete and immediately left. The airborne lifeforms wanted to continue attacking; some even saw the exposed cover and moved to destroy it. Unexpectedly, the cover had already been activated, and various defensive measures were deployed. Before one airborne lifeform could even approach, a one-meter-long beam of light shot from a position on the cover, striking the creature with lightning speed. It was sent flying, with a charred area on its body, its flight now unsteady.
This was only the beginning. Following that first beam of light, similar short, thin beams flew from various parts of the Kepaisi Sky Cover. Their numbers were momentarily uncountable.
In an instant, the nearby flying lifeforms all became targets of the cover's attacks. These beams accurately struck them.
Perhaps a single beam could not do much, but the firing was continuous. Each movable firing port had an extremely high rate of fire. After several consecutive hits, most of the flying lifeforms were either killed or severely wounded, losing their ability to fly and plummeting to the ground. Their eventual fates could be imagined.
The aerial threat, which had consumed most of the warriors' attention and effort, was neutralized in just one minute!
Cheers began to erupt from various directions. They knew this close-quarters engagement... was over.