Countless shells bombarded the Taotie Warriors' battleships.
Norse listened to his subordinates' report. He had not expected to lose some battleships before even reaching the target.
Taotie Warriors had already boarded small aircraft and headed for Tianhe City. However, even though the targets were smaller, there was still a chance the artillery could hit them.
On the plains fifty kilometers from Tianhe City, fifty thousand combat robots had already assembled, waiting for those Taotie Warriors.
Li Mu and Norse continued directing operations from the flagship. Neither had expected Earth's firepower to be so formidable. The flagship was fine, but the other battleships had all suffered some damage.
On a stretch of plains, densely packed Taotie Warriors arrived aboard small aircraft.
As this group of Taotie Warriors passed overhead, the fifty thousand combat robots sprang into action and charged toward them in the sky.
The combat robots held Laser Swords. Taotie Warriors in front who reacted quickly could veer their aircraft aside and possibly avoid death. Those who reacted too slowly either had their heads sliced off with a single stroke or were pierced through the chest.
Aboard the flagship, Li Mu received a report that the advance Taotie Warriors had come under attack, and that combat robots were involved. This time, Li Mu had no choice but to put away his contempt.
Li Mu asked, "How do these combat robots compare to our forces in combat strength?"
A subordinate reported, "They match our ordinary soldiers one for one. Against enhanced soldiers, the ratio is one to five."
After hearing the report, Li Mu said sternly, "Have ordinary soldiers pin them down and use long-range weapons to eliminate the combat robots. Enhanced soldiers should stay mobile. China cannot possibly have many of these combat robots."
Watching the battle ahead, Su Jiu asked the thirty-meter-tall mech beside him, "Li Qi, how many combat robots do we have?"
The mech projected Li Qi's image as she said, "Please call me Yan One. We have eighty thousand combat robots. This is all the steel we could gather over the past dozen days. Fifty thousand are deployed here, while the other thirty thousand are in Juxia City."
The battle on the plains was incredibly brutal. Every so often, a Taotie Warrior fell from the sky, and every so often, one or two combat robots were scrapped.
Before long, the Taotie changed their tactics. One warrior would restrain the enemy while another launched long-range attacks from afar. Several warriors who were clearly not ordinary Taotie Soldiers moved about the battlefield.
"They've changed their tactics. We won't be able to hold them off much longer." Su Jiu saw the combat robots' losses rise sharply.
Li Qi said, "No need to worry. A mech will join the battle here."
Su Jiu curled his lip. "I know. This is the main battlefield. We can deploy the sniper to take out those white-armored Taotie Warriors."
Su Jiu spoke over the unified command channel. "Baili, begin sniping. Target the Taotie Warriors on the battlefield wearing white armor and standing two meters tall."
Baili Shouyue replied, "Understood."
Hearing that Su Jiu's side had begun moving, Li Qi ordered the battlefield below to spread out into a horizontal line, allowing the soldiers who had yet to enter the fight to work with the combat robots to eliminate the enemy.
Fifty li outside Tianhe City, a twenty-li-long defensive line began its assault.
At that moment, batches of simplified mechs appeared on the battlefield. They stood five meters tall and three meters wide. Each mechanical arm carried an oversized Gatling gun, while long ammunition belts hung from their backs and oversized golden bullets were strapped across their bodies.
Inside her mech, Li Qi said awkwardly, "These are B1 Type Mechs developed while we were researching the Yan Huang Mech. Their neural links can't compare to the Yan Huang Mech's. They can only sense movements of the hands and feet. For now, this is the best we can do."
Su Jiu found it astonishing. These mechs somewhat resembled those in a game he had played in his previous life.
Once these mechs appeared, they became key targets for the Taotie on the battlefield. Ordinary Taotie Warriors who were hit would be turned into honeycombs in less than five seconds.
On the Taotie flagship, Li Mu received the report and had not expected China's technology to have advanced so quickly.
At that moment, a Taotie Warrior reported, "Heavy-firepower mechs have appeared on the front lines. Requesting precision fire support."
Li Mu asked, "What's going on?"
The Taotie Warrior brought up a video feed. Looking at the B1 Type Mechs, Li Mu said, "Precision fire support approved. Also, how long until our battleships reach the battlefield? Once they arrive, we can establish fire suppression."
The Taotie Warrior replied, "Twenty battleships will arrive in three minutes. Our flagship will provide support from the rear."
Countless soldiers continued fighting on the battlefield. In a Secret Forest, a red mech spread its crimson wings, rose into the air, and flew toward the battlefield.
Just as the Taotie, combat robots, B1 Type Mechs, and soldiers were locked in fierce combat, the Taotie battleships in the rear launched missile after missile.
The Hyperion, still exchanging fire with the Taotie flagship, immediately detected it and reported it to Su Jiu.
Su Jiu immediately told Li Qi, "The Taotie have launched a precision strike. Their targets are the B1 Type Mechs. In three minutes, twenty battleships will reach the battlefield and suppress us with firepower."
Li Qi was decisive as well. She immediately issued the order to abandon all B1 Type Mechs currently on the battlefield. The B1 Type Mechs that had not yet deployed were to remain in place.
At once, every mech on the battlefield stopped attacking. One soldier after another evacuated their mechs and retreated. Less than a dozen seconds after they got away, the incoming missiles blasted the mechs into fragments.
A soldier who had just been piloting a mech wiped cold sweat from his brow in the rear. "My god, good thing the order came in time. If it had been ten seconds later, I definitely wouldn't have made it out."
A soldier beside him, holding a rifle, said, "Screw you. At least you got to pilot one. We can only stand here and watch."
That soldier said, "Heh, my bad. Back during the selection, some people said that department had no information available and refused to go. Who knew it was for piloting mechs?"
As soon as he said that, the soldiers beside him gritted their teeth. "Get lost, get lost. We still have a battle to fight."
At that moment, the soldiers below saw twenty battleships charging in grandly. In an instant, the battlefield fell under overwhelming fire suppression, leaving their side unable to raise their heads.
Just as everyone waited for their side to counterattack, streaks of blue energy blasts shot toward the newly arrived Taotie battleships.
The Taotie Warriors aboard those battleships saw the energy blasts and evaded them. Once they had dodged them, they thought it was over.
Then they saw the energy blasts curve around and continue attacking the battleships.
The Taotie Warriors aboard those battleships refused to take it lying down. Firepower met firepower as pairs of attacks collided and exploded in the sky.
Then ten larger red missiles came flying in. Five battleships failed to evade in time, and their Energy Shields vanished at once.
The instant the battleships' Energy Shields disappeared, countless attacks from below rained down upon those five vessels.
Without Energy Shields, a battleship's defenses were weakened by at least half. Those five battleships did not last ten minutes before being blown apart.
The missiles from earlier were the chief culprits behind the destruction of those five Taotie battleships. The Taotie Warriors aboard the remaining battleships searched with all their might for the launch point.
But none of them discovered that the missiles which had directly caused their losses were mobile.
Before you continue