Come Out Already

The battle erupted in an instant.

The mortars began to show their teeth. A few shells were blocked by trees, but the shrapnel from their explosions was still dangerous. More shells made it through and crashed into the monsters charging through the woods about a hundred meters away. A single hit could wipe out an entire swath of enemies.

Overall, the woodland terrain had greatly reduced the mortars' range and power. But they were still artillery, and no one could ignore their lethality.

Machine guns were even deadlier. If the enemy stayed hidden in the dense woods, they had cover, and poor visibility made them hard to hit at a distance. But once the monsters charged out—even if they only reached the edge of the woods—the trees offered less cover, and the machine guns' effectiveness rose sharply. And once the monsters truly emerged from the woods, the bullets those guns spat out became a steel whip sweeping across the battlefield, leaving no survivors in its wake.

Beyond that, the regular rifles only had to deal with anything that slipped through.

This layered, three-dimensional fire network ensured that the monsters couldn't pose a real threat to the unit led by Gu Hang.

Biological artillery, fast-moving Zombie Dogs—none of it worked.

What was there to fear from an Abscess Sprayer with a range of fifty meters? The company's designated marksmen were keeping an eye out for exactly those high-value targets.

Even setting aside the expert marksmen in this T5-level army, the soldiers in the Marine Assault Team were genuine elite troops. The Electromagnetic Rifles in their hands were more capable and more powerful.

With them keeping watch, it was extremely difficult for the Abscess Sprayers to get within fifty meters and hurl their corrosive pus into the human soldiers' formation.

As for the Zombie Dogs, they were even less of a concern.

They were relatively small, fast, and agile. But under such a dense barrage, the little monsters were often taken out as an afterthought. A single burst of unaimed heavy machine-gun fire would often send a few bullets into a Zombie Dog, blowing the dog-shaped Abscess Monster apart.

Even if they broke through and reached the soldiers, it wouldn't matter much.

The little things were vicious, but their bodies weighed only about thirty kilograms by the looks of it, which limited the threat they posed. Every soldier's firearm was fitted with an Alloy Plasteel bayonet. One thrust into a dog as it leaped at them was enough to run it through. They could toss it to the ground, pin its head underfoot, pull out the bayonet, and put a couple more rounds into it. Then it would be quiet for good.

But the most terrifying force on the battlefield was still the four Strider Vs.

These Infantry Fighting Vehicles, which could hold their own even in interstellar warfare, were more than the monsters could handle.

A handful of Abscess Sprayers managed to fire their biological shells, and two hit the Strider Vs. They had no effect whatsoever.

The corrosive effect of the pus seemed horrifying to organic matter. The fabric of the soldiers' uniforms offered little resistance, and once the pus touched their skin, the pain was excruciating.

But even the soldiers' armored vests could withstand it.

The Strider Vs were in a different league. Their outer armor was made of solid Alloy Plasteel, with a layer of Ceramite Membrane on top—a material even more advanced than Alloy Plasteel.

By contrast, the twin-barreled forty-millimeter autocannons mounted on the Striders' weapon platforms were instantly lethal. Their terrifying rate of fire and immense power made hiding in the woods useless. A few bursts were enough to destroy both the trees and the monsters sheltering behind them.

In a way, they really did resemble long-range logging machines.

Under such heavy fire, the attacking monster horde suffered far more casualties than it had when attacking Yan Fangxu's force from a distance.

In comparison, Gu Hang's unit had a somewhat worse position than Yan Fangxu's. After all, the clearing they occupied had only just been made as they cut a path during their march. They had been ambushed, rather than choosing to initiate the fight, and they had no say in where it took place.

But aside from that, Gu Hang's unit had every advantage over Yan Fangxu's.

They had more firepower and better soldiers. Both were T5-level forces, but Gu Hang had more than twenty Marine Assault Team soldiers with him. Every one of them could serve as a sharpshooter on this battlefield, and their accuracy at distances of a few dozen meters was completely reliable.

That meant the mutant monsters were dying faster.

Yet they didn't retreat. They continued pouring out of the woods as if there were no end to them.

Of course these mindless monsters knew no fear. Their lives were worthless, and they were nothing but cannon fodder.

But even cannon fodder had its uses.

If the force controlling these monsters hoped to trade their deaths for the ammunition Gu Hang had on hand, they had chosen the wrong target.

He had known in advance what kind of enemy he would face, so he had prepared before setting out.

The G9 production line had not yet been set up. Bringing the Finished Product Black Box Manufacturing Machine had only been enough to meet the 3rd Infantry Battalion's equipment needs; ammunition production had not even been scheduled. But the ammunition stockpiled among the supplies previously brought down from the starship was still sufficient.

And now, Gu Hang had brought out more than half of those reserves in one go. Several Brute Ox carts loaded with ammunition sat in the middle of the position.

There was so much of it that it would last them through not just this battle, but several more even if the fighting grew more intense.

Gu Hang watched the entire battlefield with a cold gaze.

He was in the middle of the position, using a Strider V as his command vehicle. His field of vision was narrow, but that did not prevent him from keeping track of the whole battle. His Psionic Power vision was already active, giving him a clear general picture of the entire battlefield.

He had been ready to step in if any particularly dangerous monsters appeared—if, for instance, a large number of Abscess Sprayers entered range and lobbed biological shells into his position. But now it seemed there was no need. The soldiers were doing an excellent job, leaving him no need to use his trump card.

Gu Hang was quite satisfied.

Since there were no major problems on the battlefield, he could focus on the Cultists, who were very likely to appear.

He didn't believe the Cultists' only trick was driving these mindless monsters. That could never pose a real threat to him.

They must have something else up their sleeves.

"The mindless monsters have already drawn off most of my soldiers' firepower. It's your turn now. Come out already."