EBE Chapter 1464 A Hasty Escape
Chapter 1464 A Hasty Escape
Utilizing speed and terrain, they targeted the mechs' vulnerable joints and hydraulic lines, as well as the infantry's flanks and rear, striking and retreating swiftly, leaving behind paralyzed mechs and fallen mechanical corpses...
Each attack was like a precise surgical strike; after each wave, regardless of the outcome...
The attackers immediately disappeared without a trace, using the terrain or pre-dug tunnels, leaving behind only casualties and greater chaos.
The commander-in-chief watched from the bridge, his eyes bloodshot with rage; each loss report felt like a knife twisting in his heart...
He considered sending elite troops in pursuit, but then he remembered Xiao Dingshan's warning about "encircling the enemy's stronghold and luring them deep into your territory"...
Despite his extreme aversion to admitting...
That one sentence echoed in his ears like a curse...
Looking at the complex and unfamiliar environment outside and the increasingly low morale and organization of his own troops under continuous harassment, he forcibly suppressed the order.
All he could do was roar, "Advance! Land! Destroy the command post!"
It was as if that goal, so close yet so far, was the only lifeline he could grasp.
When the battered and bruised landing force finally broke through layers of deadly resistance and, at great cost, set foot on the coastal highlands where the Roman Empire's command post was located...
His face was extremely pale...
What they saw was not a panicked garrison, but a cold, deadly wall of steel.
Xiao Yang wasn't hiding inside the fortress at all...
He and his most elite remote control troops were already on high alert, taking advantage of the advantageous terrain and the strong fortifications they had built in advance!
Countless cannons, missile launchers, and automatic sentry gun barrels, like the quills of a hedgehog, were all pointed at the exhausted and disorganized landing troops below.
"For the Prince! For the Western Federation! Fire!"
Xiao Yang's cold and murderous orders resounded across the battlefield through the loudspeaker.
In an instant, ten thousand cannons roared in unison...
The heavy howitzers, whose parameters had been calculated in advance, roared and the shells fell as accurately as hailstones into the crowded troop assembly area on the landing zone.
Dense missiles, trailing fiery tails, lashed at the Ripper mechs attempting to deploy their formation like the fiery whips of death.
The automatic sentry guns wove a dense crossfire net, sweeping down the exposed hyena infantry like wheat being harvested.
Even more deadly were the ambush troops lurking on the reverse slope of the high ground!
Several modified "Thunderstorm" self-propelled artillery pieces unleashed a terrifying barrage of rockets over the entire depth of the landing zone...
The explosions created a continuous burst of flames, instantly transforming the landing zone into a crucible of flesh and steel...
Having just endured a grueling journey and suffering low morale, the hyena legion completely collapsed in the face of this sudden, premeditated, and devastating blow.
The Ripper mechs were reduced to burning scrap metal under the saturation attack, infantry fell in droves, and the surviving soldiers frantically searched for cover that did not exist. The organization was completely disrupted.
"No...impossible!"
The commander-in-chief on the flagship watched as the signals representing his own troops on the light screen vanished in swarms, like ants being doused with boiling water...
Chaos erupted, followed by a beast-like roar.
His high hopes for the decapitation strike failed to even reach the enemy command post before being met with a crushing defeat on the beachhead!
A tremendous sense of frustration and unprecedented fear gripped him.
"Retreat! Retreat immediately! All units, move towards the landing craft! Evacuate!"
For the first time, the captain's voice carried a hint of panic.
Dignity and prestige are worthless in the face of the instinct for survival...
Now all he wants is to lead his remaining troops to escape this hellish place already covered by artillery fire.
However, the captain's attack this time might have been made on a whim.
Xiao Yang and his team had been planning this intricate trap for many days...
Therefore, it won't be so easy for them to leave...
Retreat, too, is a purgatory. Those ghosts who "hit and run" on the way here have now transformed into the most ruthless pursuers.
How could Xiao Yang let such a good opportunity slip by?
The mobile force was already on standby!
High-speed light mechs and even more mechanical hounds, like sharks smelling blood, pounced fiercely from the flanks and rear.
Instead of launching a frontal assault, they relentlessly pursued the retreating troops, using their speed and agility to continuously attack the wounded who had fallen behind, damaged mechs, and troops attempting to organize a rearguard action.
Each attack took several lives, and each bite made the retreating troops more chaotic and panicked.
The minefields that were triggered during the initial arrival were remotely activated by the StarNet hub along the retreat route, triggering a second and even a third wave of smart mines.
The panicked, fleeing soldiers kept stepping into new death traps.
On the icy plains, soldiers with blown-off legs wailed in agony, and burning wreckage blocked the already narrow retreat route.
Swarms of drones have reappeared, this time targeting landing craft's take-off and landing platforms and evacuation routes...
Although the landing craft's close-in weapon system shot down many of them, some still managed to slip through and crash into the hatches or engines, causing further chaos and delays.
Of course, they didn't completely block them.
He knew he was truly cornered with no way out and no hope of survival.
They're fighting with their backs against the wall, and he's the one who's doomed...
We need to give them hope, so they don't despair...
The retreat turned into a catastrophic rout...
Every step back comes at the cost of blood and lives...
Watching the crimson dots representing their own forces on the screen dim and disappear at an alarming rate, and seeing the troops behind them being devoured by the blue maggots!
The captain was heartbroken, yet powerless to do anything...
"Commander! The pursuers are closing in! The Third Ripper Battalion, covering the rear... is almost wiped out! At this rate, none of us will escape!"
The adjutant's voice was choked with sobs.
The captain stared at the blue signal on the hologram, which was like a leech, relentlessly dragging his team down!
The crimson electronic eyes closed painfully, and when they opened again, only a chilling despair and a cruel, resolute determination, like a warrior cutting off his own arm, remained...
He must preserve as many seeds as possible, or he will truly have nothing left.
"Immediately issue the order... the order... the rearguard... including the Third and Seventh Ripper Battalions, and the A12 and A15 infantry battalions... abandon the withdrawal, establish blocking positions on the spot... fight to the last man! Buy time for the fleet to withdraw!"
The captain's voice carried a hint of sorrow...
This is a blatant abandonment, sacrificing the lives of loyal soldiers to give the main force a chance to breathe.
The moment the order was given, the command room fell into a deathly silence; the air of despair seemed to solidify.
After a brief moment of stunned disbelief, the remaining troops erupted in desperate cries and a final frenzy...
They turned their guns around and launched a suicidal counter-charge against the surging pursuers, building a temporary barrier with steel and flesh!
The explosion's flames and afterglow erupted fiercely behind the retreat route, like fireworks set off with lives on the line—cruel and tragic...
It was this human barrier that bought the remaining landing craft precious time to take off and escape.
As the last few Leviathan landing craft, billowing black smoke and riddled with cracks and energy burns on their armor...
As they stumbled back to the equally ruined port of Lingas like stray dogs, the setting sun, like blood, illuminated the scene of their defeat, adding to the desolation.
The hatch opened heavily, and a biting cold wind rushed in...
The captain was the first to descend the gangway. His once gleaming metal body, a symbol of supreme authority, was now covered in charred marks and scratches left by energy weapons...
The crimson electronic eye was dim and lifeless, filled with chaotic data streams like bloodshot veins, as if it might go out at any moment.
His heavy steps faltered, and he instinctively grabbed the cold cabin wall to steady himself. His former domineering aura had vanished, leaving only a deep-seated weariness and a sense of bewilderment as if his soul had been completely emptied.
He was exhausted... not physically...
At the port, the officers and soldiers who came to meet them watched as their once godlike commander-in-chief became so disheveled!
Everyone was horrified and lowered their heads, unable to look directly at each other. A silent, suffocating despair filled the air.
We lost, another crushing defeat, and a complete rout after giving it our all!
Of the troops he led out, less than three out of ten managed to escape with him, and all of them were wounded and had lost all their equipment.
In the midst of this deathly silence, a figure hurriedly ran from the direction of the command post; it was Xiao Dingshan.
His face was filled with anxiety and concern...
But when his gaze fell upon the captain's unprecedentedly disheveled figure, his body jolted, his pupils contracted sharply, as if he were witnessing the most unbelievable sight in the world.
In that instant, an extremely strong, deep-seated sense of déjà vu struck him like an electric current!
The metallic giant before me, who could only stand by holding onto the bulkhead, his eyes filled only with exhaustion and despair...
That distraught posture, that miserable fall from the clouds into the mud... how similar they are!
How much like myself back in East Asia, when I was defeated by Xiao Ce's endless ingenious schemes and tricks, forced to flee in disarray, and ultimately even lost my home base!
That unforgettable humiliation, helplessness, and bewilderment were now being brutally replicated in the captain!
A chilling, vengeful sense of satisfaction crept through Xiao Dingshan's heart...
But his face was instantly covered by a deeper, more sincere worry and heartache.
"Commander! Are you...are you alright?!"
Xiao Dingshan strode forward, his voice trembling and choked with just the right amount of emotion...
He reached out as if to help, but then hesitated and stopped under the captain's gaze, as if afraid that his touch would taint the other person.
The captain slowly raised his head, his dim, crimson electronic eyes looking at Xiao Dingshan.
This time, there was none of the usual violence, contempt, or annoyance...
All that remained was a mixture of immense pain, endless regret, and... a faint yet clear sense of bewilderment, a search for answers.
Silence weighed heavily on the hearts of everyone in the port, like a heavy lead weight.
Only the howling of the cold wind and the suppressed groans of wounded soldiers echoed through the empty ruins...
After what felt like an eternity, the captain's dry, hoarse voice, tinged with metallic friction, finally broke into a low murmur...
Every word seemed to be squeezed out with difficulty from a broken chest:
"Xiao... Dingshan..."
He paused, took a deep breath of the cold air, the movement carrying a heavy, death-defying air.
"...you are right."
The captain seemed to have used up his last bit of strength...
He slowly raised his massive metal hand, pointing to the ruined fortress of Lingas, still shrouded in the shadow of defeat, and to the wounded, vacant-eyed surviving soldiers...
The captain's crimson electronic eyes were fixed on Xiao Dingshan, his voice carrying a heavy and helpless tone, almost like entrusting his son to someone else:
"I... am tired. Anger... has blinded me, arrogance... has brought destruction. These... people are yours to deal with... You handle the aftermath here..."