Chaos
The Ancient Class being at the very front had parts of its body structure carbonized and charred. Under rapid movement, these carbonized materials broke apart and scattered.
With almost no resistance in space, these debris will travel very, very far.
With the arrival of the ninth round of artillery fire, they proved their final value.
With their help, the third layer of defense was completely destroyed, but the fourth layer of defense only suffered minor damage.
"Aren't they afraid of dying?"
"Concentrate all firepower and stop them from getting closer!"
This tactic of using flesh as a shield to cover the charge is probably only feasible as a regular tactic by a special faction like the Swarm.
If any commander of a civilization like the Riken Race dared to use this tactic frequently, they would surely have been court-martialed long ago.
However, it must be said that this tactic is very effective.
With most of the Riken Race's firepower drawn by the human shields, the 5,000 Ancient Class in the distance could fire with peace of mind. Under their cover, the Riken Race had to show due respect to these tens of thousands of Electromagnetic Projectile, but their firing rhythm was inevitably affected as they dodged.
As a result of the chain reaction, the meat shield tanks had already reached the front of the Riken Race's defense line after only consuming twenty-six layers.
Faced with the menacing Space Octopus, the Riken Race warships dared not confront it directly. As they retreated, the cabin doors opened, and a large number of fighter jets flew out.
Today's Riken Race warships, in addition to carrying hundreds of main combat aircraft and wingmen on each ship, are also equipped with a new type of small Drone.
This new type of Drone is only 2.5 meters long, smaller than some of the previous missiles. In fact, it is extremely similar to a missile in both appearance and function.
In appearance, it looks like a missile with a pair of small wings. Apart from a small-caliber cannon mounted on the belly, it has no other long-range firepower.
However, apart from the fire control radar at the front of the fuselage and the jet engine at the rear, most of their main body was filled with explosives.
These are specially developed products designed to counter the Larval Form' preference for close-quarters combat. They will fight alongside fighter squadrons. Because of their small-caliber cannons, they can hardly threaten the Larval Form with long-range firepower. They can only perform tasks such as harassment, disrupting vision, and increasing computational load.
However, if the Larval Form approach the fighter jets, they will actively intercept them. If the Larval Form use their tentacles to grab them, that's when they return to their original job as "bombs".
Thanks to the sheer number of these small Missile Drone, the three fleets, with over two thousand warships, have unleashed nearly 100,000 fighter jets and approximately 500,000 small Missile Drone.
A total of 600,000 mechanical units surged towards the Mature Form and Larval Form Swarms, and in terms of sheer force, they were in no way at a disadvantage.
When the two sides were about 200 to 300 kilometers apart, the Riken Race fighter jet formation suddenly stopped its advance and braked sharply in unison in space.
Because the Swarm's assault force is preceded by several layers of Ancient Class armored shields, it would be difficult for the fighter jets to break through the Ancient Class defenses with their firepower. Therefore, if they were to collide head-on, the fighter jet formation would likely suffer heavy losses.
Furthermore, the fighter jet formation was meant to be a diversionary force and had no intention of engaging in close combat with the Space Octopus. Therefore, after braking sharply, they scattered, forming a large net-like formation to await the arrival of the Swarm.
On the Swarm's side, the Space Octopus didn't dodge at all, crashing headlong into the giant net.
The fighter jets passed through the Swarm's toughest shield, launching a fierce attack on the Space Octopus from all sides. Countless red energy beams streaked across the starry sky, shooting towards the Swarm forces.
Although these energy beams were mixed with the cannon fire of many Missile Drone, the dazzling beams themselves disrupted the Swarm's movements.
Many Larval Form were hit by the fighter jet beams while trying to avoid the machine gun beams, suffering severe injuries. Fortunately, there were so many of them that some of the larger Mature Form moved to the outermost edge of the charging formation, using their bodies to block the attacks.
Finally, after several more rounds of main gun fire, the Riken Race scattered the Ancient Class meat shields of the Swarm's assault team. Without their tough "shields," the remaining Mature Form and Larval Form of the assault team could not withstand the main gun fire.
When the next volley of main guns arrived, they deliberately dispersed, and the charging troops, unable to maintain a dense formation, also halted their advance.
Subsequently, they were completely entangled by the fighter jet formation and unable to advance.
The Swarm immediately adjusted its plan, with Mature Form and Larval Form attacking freely, prioritizing the elimination of the fighter formations as they advanced.
Sensing the change in Swarm tactics, the Riken Race no longer aimed their main guns at the vanguard units, but instead at the more than five thousand ranged Ancient Class units in the distance.
While the Riken Race were attacking the vanguard's human shields, these guys probably managed to unleash several rounds of firepower, almost completely destroying the Riken Race's Orbital Cannon.
The Riken Race hurriedly turned their main guns around. Besides using the main guns to attack those small and medium-sized combat units, which felt like using a cannon to kill a mosquito, another reason was that the long-range Ancient Class were too destructive and could not be allowed to continue firing.
With the distraction of long-range artillery fire, the ranged Ancient Class must maintain irregular movements, increasing the computational burden on the Riken Race and reducing their own chances of being hit. As a result, their ranged hit rate and firing frequency will decrease significantly.
The same applies to the Riken Race fleet on the other side; they too must move, since the Electromagnetic Projectile are far more destructive than their energy beams.
Thus, a situation arose on the battlefield where ranged attacks were fought against ranged attacks, and melee attacks against melee attacks.
In the vast expanse of space, a battle with a range of 100 kilometers is indeed no different from close combat. The original plan of the Riken Race was to have their fighter formations spread out and use long-range firepower to continuously wear down the Swarm forces.
However, implementing this plan proved quite difficult because the situation was extremely chaotic!
The two sides caught in the melee are surrounded by friendly or enemy forces on all sides.
You might be more than 50 or even 100 kilometers away from your target, but there could be another enemy unit just 100 meters to your side.
In this kind of battlefield, due to the different reference points, it is impossible to distinguish the distance. No unit can guarantee that all enemy units within a 360-degree radius around them are outside the safe zone.
Therefore, this also means that Riken Race driver might be having a great time with his opponent, maintaining a safe distance of tens of kilometers, flying a kite. Just when he thinks his opponent is about to be taken down, a third party suddenly cuts in from the side and takes his life in an instant.
Moreover, this chaotic battlefield requires a massive amount of computation every moment, and even with the Riken Race's supercomputer, it is simply impossible to provide early warnings for all unexpected situations.
Thank you to Jiyu the 4500 Qidian Coins reward, thank you to Xuan Yao Jiu Gua Ji 1500 Qidian Coins reward, and thank you to Jinyu Xiling for the 100 Qidian Coins reward.