Abandonment

"What is this thing?!"

The Riken Race have finally discovered the Tunneling Worm. These are definitely not the last ones that escaped. How did they infiltrate Laze Planet? Are they a new Zerg unit or native creatures of Laze Planet?

But there's no time for them to think now, because the answer will appear soon.

Behind the Tunneling Worm, a familiar "old friend" helped the Riken Race confirm the Tunneling Worm's identity.

That's right, they are the Swarm's new combat units.

After the cave was excavated, swarms of Larval Form rushed into the underground nuclear power plant, and the small guard team was no match for the attack.

As for the Special Operations Team supporting them, they have only just boarded the Transport Craft and haven't even left the warship yet.

"Detonate the attacked nuclear power plant directly," Hamis silently ordered. Although the Riken Race had many methods for dealing with Larval Form, close-quarters combat was not one of them.

"But there are still our people inside," the Adjutant with some doubt.

"Obey orders, soldiers! They are the heroes of the tribe!" Hamis solemnly declared.

A soldier's duty is to obey. Although he was still somewhat unwilling, the young Adjutant saluted and shouted, "Yes, sir!"

"No need to raise your voice so loudly. I know what you're thinking. Do you think I'm cold-hearted?" Hamis sighed. "Their military strength is simply no match for the Zerg's attack. To delay the battle for their near-certain survival is an intolerable mistake for a commander. A commander shouldn't be swayed by personal feelings; they should view everything from a purely rational perspective. Seizing the opportunity to expand the gains is what a commander should do. You have a long road ahead of you; I hope you understand this!"

"Yes, sir!" The young Adjutant saluted and stepped back. He had heard the general's words and they seemed to make some sense, but he still couldn't quite shake off the feeling.

--

"We've been abandoned!" The nuclear power plant's self-destruct switch can actually be controlled remotely, but for reasons unknown, the order was transmitted to the nuclear power plant, seemingly leaving them to decide for themselves.

"Yes, there are too many of them; reinforcements simply cannot arrive in time."

"Gentlemen, it has been an honor to work with you all. I hope we can maintain some semblance of dignity and have a glorious ending." Laide straightened his clothes, barely managing to maintain his composure.

Even if you are mentally prepared, it is still difficult to face death calmly.

"Heh, Captain, it's an honor to work with you. Captain, you can decide what to do with pressing the button." A guard straightened his clothes, his body covered in explosives. "Gentlemen, I'll go first! For the glory of the tribe!"

Shortly after the team rushed out of the cabin, an explosion was heard in the distance, causing dust to fall from the cabin ceiling.

"Captain Laide, I don't have the courage of that young man, but I'm not a coward either," an engineer said with a complicated expression.

His expression was somewhat timid and conflicted, but after saying these words, he seemed somewhat relieved. He walked alone to a corner of the cabin, took out a photograph, and remained silent.

"Haha, anyway, everything here will be annihilated after the nuclear power plant explodes, so I won't bother with anything else." An older engineer laughed heartily. He was the oldest person here and the leader of the engineering team.

"Captain, press it now, or we'll run out of time."

"Haha, yeah, let's not let the guys on the warship take over remotely in the end, or they'll underestimate us."

"..."

"Waaaaah, I don't want to die!"

"Sigh, who doesn't want to live?"

Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, and in this situation, everyone knew what they were about to face. Some faced it calmly, while others became hysterical.

Laide's eyes were red and glistening with tears. His hand trembled as he reached for the self-destruct button. After a moment of confirmation, and with the cooperation of the warship, the self-destruct process was completed at lightning speed.

"The base will self-destruct in ten seconds. Please evacuate..."

"Eight!"

"Seven!" the mechanical female voice announced the countdown incessantly.

"Gentlemen, it is a great honor." Laide removed his hat, bowed to the crowd in apology, and bid farewell.

"..." Everyone was silent, but they all said their final goodbyes.

"One!"

"Boom!"

Underground nuclear power plants are actually quite safe; however, all bases in the front-line areas have self-destruct mechanisms. Furthermore, nuclear power plants have been modified to function as actual Nuclear Bomb, ready to unleash tremendous light and heat when needed.

On the calm surface of Laze Planet, the Ground-Based Artillery were still firing, and the Laser Defense Array remained on standby because there were no shells to intercept.

Suddenly, the earth bulged up, as if a terrifying monster was about to leap out from underground.

Earth and rocks flew everywhere, and the Ground-Based Artillery, along with its entire base, was ripped off. The earth cracked, and blinding light shone through the cracks.

The changes quickly subsided, the uplifted ground fell back heavily to the ground, the Ground-Based Artillery lay scattered, and the Laser Defense Array was also severely damaged.

"This is war. There is no right or wrong between the two races, only strength and weakness. Weakness is the original sin, and the weak have no right to Overlord their own destiny. So, if we don't want to end up like them, we Swarm must always be the strongest!" Sarah murmured to herself, seemingly speaking to herself, but also to the many Blade behind her.

Amidst the deafening explosion, multiple locations on Laze Planet experienced tremors, and several underground power stations were destroyed, either intentionally or unintentionally. Most of the land-based artillery positions above were also damaged; even those that survived were rendered powerless due to the loss of energy supply.

The sudden loss of thousands of firepower outlets slightly reduced the pressure on the Swarm's ranged Ancient Class, but this change was not enough to alter the course of the battle.

If, as the Riken Race believe, these Swarm units attacking the nuclear power plant were overlooked from the last war, then everything is understandable.

But ever since the Riken Race's surveillance system discovered images of the Tunneling Worm, their high-ranking decision-makers realized that things might not be as they had guessed, and the situation might have gotten out of control.

This time, their plan was actually quite good.

The destruction of several bases did not stop the Lazer swarm's secondary bases from continuing their attack.

An increasing number of underground power plant sites are issuing alarms.

Meanwhile, above the previously destroyed base, clumps of purplish-gray fleshy tissue seeped from the ground that had cracked during the explosion.

The damaged Ground-Based Artillery base was gradually covered in a purplish-gray color, and the steel structures were corroded, becoming nutrients that helped the conspicuous purplish-gray patches spread rapidly.

"It's those things!" exclaimed a member of the Riken Race.

A familiar scene unfolded before the Riken Race, reminding them of the fear of being dominated in the past.