These missiles were merely ordinary atmospheric missiles. Their accuracy and speed were nothing special, and their destructive power couldn't compare with the neutron bombs that had fallen from orbit.
Even so, they were still powerful high-explosive cluster warheads. The blast wave and shrapnel from a single warhead could cover two or three football fields. What's more, the distance was simply too short. Monitoring systems in orbit, in the sky, and on the ground had all detected the dangerous heat sources immediately, but a complete interception was no longer possible.
For the Imperial soldiers who had already assembled, this really was a sudden, devastating calamity.
Initial estimates put the number killed on the spot at more than two thousand. Three main assault regiments had lost their basic organization.
So when his adjutant brought the news to Major General Sulme, his first response was, "Again? It's happened again? Is this never going to end?"
After two months of squandering time in this tiny corner of the planet, every attack had been met with a shockingly unexpected strike from the enemy. Major General Sulme had grown entirely accustomed to these surprises.
It sounded like a particularly strange thing to say, but it did accurately reflect his state of mind.
"So, they fired from across the sea?"
"Yes. Four small submersibles, less than twenty kilometers from the coast. Our airships have sunk them all, but we haven't found any bodies," the adjutant replied.
"They weren't submarines. They were automated robots." Major General Sulme quickly realized the reason. "The Earthlings really dared to lurk underwater! Weren't they afraid of getting eaten?"
Ever since the Imperial army had seen the shadow of a gigantic beast, island-sized, beneath the sea, it had abandoned its plans to attack Marshal Li Yuangele from underwater. In fact, although the Galactic