Fleets Have Already Arrived

The alien creature, clad entirely in black armor, was clearly on the verge of death. At a distance of no more than ten yards, it had been struck in the head by three Boatshead 7.62mm bullets, one of which pierced straight through one of its crimson-glowing eyes.

This alien creature wasn't wearing a helmet, and he's already paid the price for it.

In the bright afternoon sunlight of Bhekar, the humanoid creature clad in black armor gradually transformed into countless scarlet dots of light, like countless red fireflies or sand scattered by the wind, rising up with a gentle breeze that swept through the leaves and bushes.

Rick and his Revolutionary Army soldiers were already used to this; whenever they thought they had killed these monsters, their corpses would turn into a cloud of light dust. Scientists and scholars among the colonists even suspected that these alien creatures were not carbon-based life forms, and that their existence might be far beyond human comprehension.

"Watch your heads and feet, these Bhekar bastards are everywhere." Rick Kydd had been prepared to die the moment his lieutenant was beheaded.

Before Rick lay a dozen Revolutionary Army soldiers, their bodies sliced open by a sharp blade. His adjutant, Philip, had also been brutally murdered. The sight of these soldiers' deaths was too much for Rick to bear; their severed bodies lay scattered haphazardly on the grass, like a group of cod shredded by a cutting machine.

Rick glanced at them briefly before looking away, focusing his attention on what lay ahead, oblivious to how many people would grieve over the deaths of these soldiers.

The Korhal were once the most prosperous of the Terran Confederacy colonies, but since they decided to rebel against the Confederacy's rule, the nation has been associated with misfortune.

"Captain Rhodes is dead." As the Revolutionary Army soldiers began to close in on Rick, a cacophony of reports erupted through Rick communication channel. Rick could only be thankful that the enemy hadn't cut off human radio communications, or perhaps they didn't see the need to.

"No one survived in the 2nd Platoon, 1st Company." Several Revolutionary Army soldiers stepped forward and, under the cover of the others, checked to see if there were any survivors.

"We haven't found any more traces of the enemy."

"The Ireland lieutenant will take over his duties," Rick said on the communications channel.

"The Ireland lieutenant is also dead," a rather young and inexperienced sergeant replied.

"Then you will command the 1st Platoon." The system inside Commander Rick's Power Armor indicated that he was a Revolutionary Army Gunnery Sergeant First Class.

Then, with the sudden cessation of gunfire, the jungle fell silent once more. The unexpected attack, abruptly ending with the assassin's death, left the blood-soaked jungle utterly still once more.

"Keep going," Rick commanded over his channel.

This calm did not bring any psychological comfort to the Revolutionary Army soldiers; on the contrary, it exacerbated their unease, and even the most composed officers couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts.

Rick's troops spent another forty minutes in the jungle before finally reaching the location where the distress signal had been sent, albeit without incident. However, all the reconnaissance units that had broken away from the main force had disappeared without exception, and only mournful cries could be heard on the communication channel.

These alien creatures of Bhekar seem to be obsessed with this hunting Game against humans, operating alone or in small groups, slowly eroding the human army in the jungle.

The jungle was still breezy at that time, but it was difficult to walk among the dense branches and vines. Sometimes the soldiers had to climb over fallen trees and bushes as tall as a person. Their combat boots left footprints with small red puddles in the deep humus layer.

By the time Rick found the missing Vulture soldiers in a clearing in the woods, it was nearly 4 p. m.

More than a hundred Vulture drivers in blue and white combat uniforms and mechanics in yellow and orange overalls sat back to back among broken ferns. Rick's helmet visor allowed him to clearly see the purple light constantly emanating from their eyes, a light almost identical to the color of Terrazine.

This bizarre scene might explain why these people showed no signs of restraint or escape, despite having no visible restraints. Aside from their purple-glowing eyes, their exposed faces and elbows were emaciated and covered in wounds, making it difficult to imagine the inhuman torture they had suffered after being captured.

More precisely, these people are no different from the drug addicts who drift aimlessly through the streets of the Tarsonis slum.

"Don't go near them," Rick said over the comms, slowly approaching the silent men, his Boatswain Sniper Rifle in hand.

Rick initially thought these men were insane from the torture they had endured, but what was even more unbelievable was that they immediately cheered for their rescue upon seeing the approaching soldiers.

"They've come to save us!" Even Rick felt a chill run down his spine when the people with purple eyes rushed towards him.

"Stop! Or we'll shoot."

"Who is your highest-ranking officer? I think it should be Lieutenant Werner of Pickett," Rick said through the speaker of his Power Armor.

The crowd rushing toward their compatriots could only stop helplessly when faced with the gun barrels, and then a soldier in a mechanical sergeant uniform stepped out from the crowd.

"Lieutenant Werner is dead. I am Sergeant Sidman Hafen, a member of the Pan-Terran Party. My hometown is Ridenheim, and my father is El Hafen." The dark-haired sergeant walked unsteadily toward Rick, but wisely kept a certain distance.

"Sir, I saw with my own eyes Lieutenant Werner's skull being sliced open by a Taldarim hunter, and then they pulled the red and white brain tissue out of his skull—" he continued.

"We encountered the Taldarim while patrolling Ruins No. 1. They possessed weapons we had never seen before. After a hasty battle, we were slaughtered, and Lieutenant Werner ultimately decided to surrender to the enemy."

Rick's unwavering gaze flickered for a moment. He didn't continue speaking to the sergeant, but instead shouted into the command channel, "Everyone, assemble immediately, keep a close watch on your surroundings, and turn your backs to your comrades."

Only then did Rick turn to Sergeant Sidman: "What's wrong with your eyes? Look around you and you'll see that purple light is abnormal."

"And you call those monsters Taldarim?"

"Yes, they call themselves Taldarim —we can't understand their language, but the Taldarim occasionally use English. No, it's more like they transmit their words into our minds through telepathy. Sometimes they also speak, but we don't understand how they do it without mouths," said the mechanic sergeant, who was emaciated from hunger or other torment.

"After we were captured, the Taldarim took us to their temple, locked us in stone cages, and gave us only the necessary water and some fruit from the Bhekar to stave off hunger," said the mechanical sergeant, Sidman.

"In the time that followed, my officers were taken away one by one, tortured and interrogated until they died. I was just a mechanic. The Taldarim value the strong and look down on craftsmen and scholars. That's why I've survived until now."

"Later, they forced us to ingest Terrazine, made us abandon our dignity, and fought each other for the meager amount of food—all to satisfy the Taldarim lord's cravings," he said.

"Today, they brought us here—we thought it was a new killing Game. They've always liked to send captured humans to the forest by airship, and then the Taldarim hunters would immediately begin the Game."

Rick processed the immense amount of information in those words, and his attitude towards Sidman softened somewhat. "Give them the emergency rations."

"Praise be to the great Bel'Shir Mother, we are finally saved!" Sergeant Sidman smiled.

"It wasn't some Bel'Shir Mother saved you. The Revolutionary Army has never believed in any gods." Rick looked at him. "Bel'Shir Mother, what's that?"

"Bel'Shir Mother is Bhekar's will; she foretold your arrival, and we all heard it." The sergeant had no doubt that his perception was correct.

"Something's not right," he said. "You and your group must be re-examined by the August National Security Committee."

At this moment, the various Revolutionary Army units scattered in the jungle began to converge on Rick, and the sky gradually darkened. Bhekar's rotation speed was faster than that of the Earth, and several red clouds gradually accumulated on the horizon.

Bhekar is a pristine, untouched land, its beauty lying in its pristine purity and the mysterious ruins nestled among its lush green jungles. However, once humans learned that it teemed with terrifying alien creatures, no one had the leisure to appreciate the Sunset over Bhekar anymore.

"They're coming," Sergeant Sidman suddenly said to Rick.

"The Taldarim have arrived, and they are numerous. That's what Bhekar told me."

"That's fucking weird." Rick stared at Sidman's pale purple eyes, unsure whether to attribute it to some kind of superpower. In Rick's mind, only charlatans or madmen would constantly spout prophecies.

Almost simultaneously, intense gunfire erupted less than a quarter mile (about 400 meters) from Rick, and hundreds of people spoke on public communication channels.

When Rick looked up, just as he saw, a large number of angular black ships swept across the jungle sky. These black ships were a perfect combination of carnage aesthetics and exquisite works of art, covered with blood-red thorns and blades.

These spaceships unleashed a deathly rain of crimson plasma beams upon the ground, causing it to burn fiercely. A magnificent spaceship emerged from the clouds as the sun set, its blood-red light making it appear even more gruesome and dangerous.

Everyone felt a sense of despair. These Taldarim possessed the power to destroy human colonies, and perhaps they had waited until now simply because they found it amusing.

Even Giant finds it amusing to crush an ant under his foot.

Just then, a long, skein-shaped Taldarim ship swept Rick, and a Tal'darim clad in black armor and a crimson cloak, protected by Psionics shield, descended from several hundred feet into the air, landing between Rick and Soldier Sild.

As this Tal'darim descended, crimson Psionics burned around him like flames, like a falling meteor.

"I am an ascendant of Taldarim, captain of the Naeon Expeditionary Force, and lord of Bhekar. We will not allow you to defile the breath of the Creator or blaspheme the gods." As soon as this Taldarim landed, its powerful Psionics knocked down trees and uprooted shrubs in the jungle.

"We hunters of the strong, only true warriors are worthy of a fair duel with me; the rest are merely here to die."

The Taldarim lord's voice clearly reached the minds of everyone present; his voice was like the clang of swords, causing a buzzing in the minds of the human soldiers.

"Psionics?" Rick's ears were filled with reports from various Revolutionary Army units. A despairing fact quickly crept into his Commander's Power Armor: thousands of Taldarim attack aircraft were sweeping through the jungle where the Revolutionary Army was located.

"Or you can all come at me together, you primitive creatures with mouths." The Taldarim lord raised his proud head, the cone-shaped Psionics amplifier on his back resembling two parallel blades.

"This is the first time in my hundreds of revolutions that I've encountered an intelligent insect... I'll reluctantly play a little Game with you, which will also be a good opportunity to eliminate the weakest batch of Blood Hunter under my command."

"Ah--ah--hurry up, don't keep my bloodthirsty blade waiting."

The will of this Taldarim lord was projected directly into the minds of Rick and the others through Psionics; even without speaking English, humans could understand what he meant.

Rick didn't answer him, but just gripped his Gauss Rifle tighter. "Everyone in the First Battalion stays with me. The rest of you retreat in the direction you came from. Once you're out of the jungle and find the cars parked outside, drive back immediately."

"Sergeant Sild, take the rest of the prisoners and retreat with my men. Don't look back."

"Lord of Taldarim— " Rick said, looking at the Tal'darim opposite him.

"Since you look down on the weak, then let them leave."

"No matter how long an insect lives, it's still just an insect. The nymphs of Slayn only live through spring and summer; mayflies live only a day and die at dusk," the Taldarim lord mocked.

Rick gritted his teeth, about to say something, when he suddenly heard a roar from above. When he and the Tal'darim looked up at the same time, it was getting dark, and they could see the brilliant light emitted by several hammer-shaped battlecruisers descending from the atmosphere.

Just a quick announcement: the National Day Cup for our group members is about to begin!

Welcome to join the group to participate in the event. Registration is open from now until 12:00 noon on September 29th. The competition includes cooperative mode, multiplayer PvP, and Game lobby (Tavern, Four-Way Battle, Single Player mode), and will be held from October 1st to 3rd.