Taotie Attack

At dusk, Su Jiu looked over the empty city and sighed. This was much better than in the original story—not so sudden. Just then, Chi Yang sent a message.

Chi Yang: "Captain, the Taotie have entered the atmosphere and are heading toward Tianhe City and Juxia City."

Su Jiu: "Everyone, evacuate Tianhe City. Let's exchange a round of fire."

At the Liangshan ground base, countless gun barrels rose into the air. The ground firepower units were also ready to receive orders at any moment.

At that moment, countless news broadcasts began airing reports.

Countless civilians held their phones and watched the news. Those who had evacuated watched the reports on televisions in air-raid shelters, while some places only had radios.

"Current information indicates that Tianhe City and Juxia City are the primary targets of this alien invasion. All available resources have been mobilized, and all civilians in Tianhe City and Juxia City have been evacuated."

"The military has intervened and established defensive measures across the country. Xiong Bing Company has entered Juxia City and is preparing for battle."

"In Tianhe City, our nation's special unit, Blue Sword, has entered combat readiness. We hope our heroes return safely. Our news broadcast will continue providing updates on the situation."

Countless people watched the screens. Some prayed, while others may have seen their own family members in the footage.

A woman held a little girl in her arms and said, "Xiao Ya, your father is a hero. We'll wait for him to come back and play with you again."

Xiao Ya said, "A hero... Mm, Mom, I'll wait for Dad to come home."

Er Ya watched the video and softly said, "Li Kuang, you have to come back."

In the Liangshan Base plaza, five soldiers stood before five mechs.

Old Huang stood before the five soldiers and said, "From now on, you are members of the Yanhuang Squad. Your callsigns are Yan One through Yan Five. You no longer have names, only callsigns. I won't say anything more. Start the mechs and prepare for battle." After Old Huang finished speaking, the five soldiers turned and boarded their mechs.

In Juxia City's Defense Zone, Ge Xiaolun looked at the empty city and said, "Na-jie, how big is this war? Can we really do this?"

Leina patted Ge Xiaolun on the shoulder and said, "They've come, so we fight. If we don't, what happens to the people behind us? Look at those soldiers. Are they afraid?"

He Weilan remained silent as he looked in the direction of Tianhe City.

Zhao Xin walked over and said, "You're worried about Qi Lin."

He Weilan rarely said so much, but he replied, "Yes. She's a sniper, and she's also the most likely to die."

Zhao Xin said, "Don't worry. Someone is protecting Qi Lin."

Rui Mengmeng touched the War Blade in her hand, as if it could give her a greater sense of security.

Cheng Yaowen also remained silent.

Sun Wukong had already vanished. No one knew where he had gone.

Inside Liangshan Base, fifty Cute Pets looked at Old Huang and said, "We want to help. We can save a lot of people."

The fifty Cute Pets clamored to go, and Old Huang had no choice but to assign them to the medical zone.

Heya and Grey Wolf were also worried about everyone's safety.

Grey Wolf said, "Heya, let's go too. Didn't you already finish two Nano Cores using the materials district? Give me one, and I'll go too."

Seeing that Grey Wolf had said it, Heya took out the items, and the woman and wolf left Liangshan Base together.

In the Command Room, Old Huang reviewed the deployments in every area, checking whether anything had been overlooked.

He watched the warships draw closer and closer, with more and more Taotie appearing.

"The war has begun," Old Huang said.

Su Jiu said, "Chi Yang, prepare the wormhole. Orbital Cannons, stand by."

At that moment, every firepower division received the message.

Prepare the artillery.

Five consecutive salvos in three seconds.

Countdown.

3... 2... 1, fire.

On the Taotie flagship, Nors looked in the direction they were headed and said, "Li Mu, you came along this time too. I didn't expect Taotie Commander to send you as well."

Li Mu was one of the few warriors under Taotie Commander, a Taotie Warrior on the same level as Wind and Lei.

Li Mu sat in his seat and said, "Lord Nors, why are we using so many troops to attack Earth this time? According to our intelligence, Tianhe City and Juxia City should not be capable of dealing with such a massive vanguard force."

Nors slapped the table and said, "If Morgana hadn't forbidden us from using weapons above nuclear grade, would this have been so troublesome?"

Nors continued, "My god Carl sent me here with you because Earth now has another faction present. Don't assume Earth will be easy to conquer. China is especially mysterious, so it's best to be cautious."

Li Mu was disdainful inside. How could those Earth natives possibly be a match for us Taotie?

Just as Li Mu continued to scoff, waves of alarms rang out.

Li Mu asked, "What's going on?"

A Taotie Warrior stood and reported, "A large number of shells are attacking us. We are still three hundred li from Tianhe City. China has discovered us and prepared a response."

Nors thought of the Second Generation Super Soldier who had fought her that day and said, "Don't panic. Earth's firepower cannot break our Energy Shields. Besides, our flagship has a Starlight Barrier. Even their nuclear bombs cannot penetrate it."

The moment Nors finished speaking, a Taotie Warrior reported, "That last barrage destroyed seven of our ordinary warships."

Nors said in surprise, "The Energy Shields didn't work?"

The Taotie Warrior tapped at his console and said, "This was not damage that Earth's conventional weapons could inflict. We found the cause—it was energy weaponry. One Orbital Cannon shot destroyed the Energy Shield, and another destroyed the warship."

Li Mu said, "Impossible. Earth cannot possess such advanced weapons. Orbital Cannons are generally equipped only on flagships."

Nors said, "Increase speed and close the distance. Once we enter the city, they won't dare use high-yield weapons. Do not conserve energy—activate everything at full power."

At the Defense Zone fifty kilometers from Tianhe City, Su Jiu listened to Chi Yang's report.

"Seven ships. Not bad," Su Jiu said after hearing Chi Yang's report.

Su Jiu continued giving orders. "Do not stop the firepower. Continue the attack."

While the bombardment continued, Su Jiu and the soldiers took cover underground.

All they could hear were explosions—boom... boom boom.

Nors watched as more than ten warships on her side had already been destroyed before they had even seen a single enemy.

Nors said, "Return fire. Put two flagships in front and use the Starlight Barriers for cover."

The Taotie began returning fire. Countless missiles and laser cannons streaked toward Tianhe City.

Countless blasts struck Tianhe City, as well as the Defense Zone where Su Jiu had just been standing.

Countless buildings in Tianhe City collapsed.

But the civilians had long since evacuated. It could be said that the Taotie were doing demolition work.

This had also been Zhao Yun's idea. Using the properties of wormholes, they made the Taotie believe those missiles were coming from this direction, making it easier to conceal the Hyperion.

Sure enough, the Taotie believed there was a warship in this direction, unaware that the warship was near Liangshan.

The artillery fire continued to fill the sky. Countless shells struck the Taotie flagship's Starlight Barrier, and among them were occasional volleys of more than a dozen blue energy blasts.