Survival Is War

For a moment, Li Ye seemed to see those two shells clearly.

They came in elegant parabolas, sweeping toward the deck of Tomorrow.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl. He almost heard the Grim Reaper whispering in his ear.

The next second, the two shells exploded near Tomorrow. The buildings where they landed were reduced to dust in an instant, flames soared into the sky, and violent shock waves swept outward.

One of the shells landed extremely close to Tomorrow's left side. The shock wave carried a massive amount of building debris and flames, engulfing the armor and tire tracks on the left.

"That was close."

Cold sweat covered Li Ye's forehead.

Judging by the artillery's power, Tomorrow would have been finished if it had taken a direct hit.

"Report! Tomorrow's left tire tracks have sustained severe damage. It will come to a halt and lose mobility soon!" Tang Fang's voice came through the Speaking Tube.

At the same time, Tomorrow's speed gradually slowed.

The fighting between the convoys continued throughout the streets and alleys.

Relying on the power of the Gale Rocket Launcher, Convoy Two took out another Off-road Vehicle.

Relying on their numerical advantage, the enemy concentrated their fire and destroyed one of Convoy One's Off-road Vehicles.

Immediately afterward, an enemy convoy headed straight for the slowing Tomorrow.

What greeted them was Tomorrow's Heavy Machine Gun, along with the Falcon Assault Rifles and Gale Rocket Launchers wielded by the fighters on the deck.

"Don't let them get near the wheels and tracks!" Old Zhou roared as he pulled the trigger.

A dense web of fire poured toward the enemy convoy. The lead Off-road Vehicle was riddled with holes before exploding into a ball of flame.

The remaining two vehicles turned and hid in a nearby street, disappearing from sight.

Old Zhou exchanged glances with his Companions, and several beads of sweat rolled down their foreheads.

"This is bad."

Just as they had expected, half a minute later, the two Off-road Vehicles burst out from the corner ahead. Their fighters were already leaning out of the windows, raising their Rocket Launchers.

Under Old Zhou and the others' suppressive fire, one vehicle was quickly shot through, lost control, and crashed into a shop beside the nearby street. The other vehicle swerved constantly from side to side, dodging the bullets as it drew closer and closer to Tomorrow. The fighter had already placed his finger on the trigger.

At that critical moment, a string of gunshots rang out. The driver of the Off-road Vehicle was shot dead, and the vehicle lost control and overturned in the street.

Old Zhou and the others recovered from their shock and nodded repeatedly.

"Well done!" Old Zhou could not help praising him. "Which good lad fired those shots? Give him a major commendation!"

When he turned his head, he saw that it had been Li Ye.

Li Ye lowered the gun in his hand and gave them a slight nod.

"Everyone, keep fighting," he said in a low voice.

A few seconds later, the Crimson Hound fired another salvo of artillery.

Explosions swept over Tomorrow from all sides, and Tomorrow returned fire, striking the enemy with several shells.

On the streets, the two convoys fought fiercely.

The battle between the two Mobile Cities had reached its most intense stage.

"Things are looking bad, Brother Li!" Tang Fang said urgently. "Our speed is still dropping! I estimate we won't last more than ten minutes!"

Before he had finished reporting, the Crimson Hound's two Level 1 Artillery pieces fired simultaneously.

The instant the shells left the barrels, Tang Fang forcibly performed a Mobile Evasion.

Tomorrow made a sharp right turn, skimming past several buildings on the right and scraping off countless chunks of debris.

The next second, two violent explosions rose into the sky behind it.

"Well done, Tang Fang."

Li Ye silently said the words in his heart.

Immediately afterward, he looked in one direction and shouted himself hoarse.

"Ning Wen!"

As if responding to his shout, the Frost Cannon fired.

The shell exploded below the Crimson Hound's left side, instantly freezing part of its tracks and tires. The Crimson Hound, which had been traveling at high speed, suddenly lost its balance and crashed head-on into a nearby building.

Seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Tomorrow's Normal Cannon fired repeatedly, with shells exploding one after another across the Crimson Hound.

Just then, the Crimson Hound suddenly fired its artillery in all directions.

In an instant, smoke billowed into the sky and spread across the entire area where it stood.

"Those are... Smoke Shells?" Li Ye's expression shifted slightly.

"Lord, should we continue attacking?" one of the fighters asked.

Li Ye pondered for a moment, then quickly shook his head.

He wanted to press their advantage, but it would be difficult to hit the enemy through the smoke. Moreover, Tomorrow's left tire tracks had sustained severe damage, and it would soon lose the ability to move.

He immediately gave the order.

"Withdraw for now!"

A few minutes later, the Crimson Hound slowly emerged from the smoke.

But by then, Tomorrow had disappeared without a trace.

After reaching a secluded location, Li Ye ordered Tomorrow to stop there.

At that moment, Tomorrow's left tire tracks were damaged beyond recognition, and even maintaining basic movement was extremely difficult.

In a city battle, mobility was crucial to a Mobile City. If it could not move, the Mobile City would become a sitting duck.

Overall, the losses from this battle were within Li Ye's acceptable range.

He was even somewhat surprised, because Tomorrow had actually managed to trade blows with a Predator City like the Crimson Hound.

Thinking back on the battle just now, he could not help feeling a lingering fear.

The Crimson Hound's Level 1 Artillery was far too powerful. An ordinary Level 1 City would be effectively crippled by a single hit. Several times during the battle, Tomorrow had nearly been struck.

If the enemy had succeeded, the resources he had painstakingly accumulated over the past several days, the talented people he had gathered, and Tomorrow's future would all have gone up in smoke.

This was war between Mobile Cities.

Cruel, cold-blooded, and utterly unreasonable.

"Survival is war," he thought silently. "Everyone has to give it their all."

Li Ye made a simple inventory of the losses.

Fifty-two shells had been used, along with more than 1,200 Heavy Machine Gun and Assault Rifle rounds combined.

There had not been many personnel casualties, but the destruction of Convoy One was painful.

After conducting an assessment, the mechanic Lin Wu gave his answer.

"I can have it repaired by tomorrow morning," he said. "If you can give me more manpower, I can speed things up."

"All right. However many people you need, I'll give you that many." Li Ye nodded.

Besides, the Crimson Hound's losses were also considerable.

With the advantage of their Level 1 Off-road Vehicles and Level 1 Rocket Launchers, Tomorrow's convoy had destroyed more than half of the enemy's vehicles.

The Crimson Hound had sustained damage in several areas. Its tracks and tires had been especially badly damaged after being hit by the Frost Cannon. When it was immobilized, two rounds of artillery fire had also struck its deck.

Presumably, the enemy's personnel casualties were extremely severe as well.

"So what should we do next? Continue attacking the Crimson Hound, or leave?"

In the furnace room below deck, Old Zhou slowly placed a corpse inside and spoke softly.

Space was limited on a Mobile City. The bodies of the dead were usually thrown into the furnace and burned; there were no graves.

At that moment, ordinary residents were cleaning the deck, Lin Wu was leading people in urgently repairing Tomorrow's damaged areas, and the logistics personnel were treating the wounded.

Li Ye watched the sparks leaping from the furnace without saying a word.

This battle had consumed a large amount of ammunition, and there had also been casualties among his Companions. If they chose to leave, all those sacrifices would have been for nothing.

The Crimson Hound would recover eventually and continue its hunt.

But if they continued fighting, Tomorrow still had the strength to fight, though it was not in good condition. The outcome was difficult to predict.

Just then, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him.

"I've got it!"