Laugh!
Within the defensive perimeter, a device emitted a purplish-red biochemical gas, enveloping the entire position. Using poison gas was the best way to deal with these extremely small, large-scale insects. This specially developed poison gas was highly lethal; even flying insects that could withstand burning would fall to the ground and die after a few dozen seconds.
However, at this moment, thunderous roars resounded, and large beasts, averaging over ten meters in size, charged forward along with the swarm of insects. The momentum was immense, and the intensity of the beast tide in the final stage far exceeded that of the previous two stages. These beasts were all apex predators on the food chain of Planet Sunil, including Bone-Armored War Elephant of meters tall and Sulfur-Flame Winged Python that breathed fire. It would take a defense team at least twenty seconds to concentrate their fire to kill a single beast, and the pressure they brought was unimaginable.
The poison gas enveloped the entire area. It was a weapon to kill swarms of insects, but it was also a double-edged sword. If a soldier's armor was torn open by a wild animal, exposure to the gas would also have an effect. Even if each soldier's armor was equipped with an antidote, it could only slightly delay the onset of the poison, preventing death but causing temporary paralysis. Sunil's technology could not develop a gene-based poison gas that only worked on insects; he could only use potent biological and chemical poison gas.
Poison gas is a lose-lose situation, but it's also the only way to deal with the flying insects. A swarm of insects can drain a Sunil dry in half a second. The insects must never be allowed into the city, or it will be a terrible disaster. They must be kept out of the city at any cost. In the final stages of the Calamity, everyone will have to fight in the poison gas, making conditions even worse.
The outermost two lines of defense were almost crippled after the first two phases of devastation, which was also a disadvantage for the Sunil people. The beast horde approached the defense team's position under heavy fire.
The ground trembled violently as a Bone-Armored War Elephant charged towards the B12 Defense Squad with overwhelming force. The oppressive power of its massive size made even Nivelle's almost steely mind involuntarily tense. Just then, a large, crackling ball of light descended from the sky. It was so fast that the ball of light was streamlined, exploding half of the Bone-Armored War Elephant, sending blood and flesh flying everywhere. Nivelle looked up and saw that the ball of light left a dazzling, zigzagging trail of lightning across the Long Sky, its end connecting to the warship in the air.
After half a month of inaction, the nine airships finally opened fire. Electromagnetic railguns surged with blue light, firing projectiles crackling with electricity, targeting oversized beasts and immediately reducing the pressure on the ground.
A fierce battle ensued, with artillery fire and lightning illuminating the entire battlefield, deafeningly loud. The beast horde surged relentlessly, the stench of blood and stench extremely pungent. The defense forces fired wildly, the flashes of fire illuminating the corpses of wild beasts and soldiers on the ground time and again, resulting in heavy losses!
Kara!
At the B12 Defense Squad's position, a pure purple Thunder Leopard, over ten meters long, moved swiftly, like a streak of purple lightning. With a single claw, it sliced through the armor of a defense soldier, cutting the soldier inside in half. Nivelle ignored it, his face grim as he ordered his men to focus fire. He had only twelve men left, more than half of them had been killed.
"Don't waver, hold the line!" Nivelle said coldly.
Countless bullets pierced Thunder Leopard's thick hide, blood splattering everywhere. Thunder Leopard roared and pounced, killing all the soldiers except for Nivelle. Thunder Leopard's vitality was still strong. The countless vibrant lives in the city were like freshly baked bread, and the bloodlust of this Thunder Leopard was stirring.
Just as Thunder Leopard was about to cross the defensive line, Nivelle immediately blocked his way, firing his machine gun. Having witnessed Thunder Leopard easily killing the guards, he knew he was no match for him, but he still stopped Thunder Leopard without hesitation.
The duty of the defense force was ingrained in his very being; he would not allow any wild beast to cross the line he was responsible for!
He would never back down unless given an order from his superiors.
The Thunder Leopard roared and pounced fiercely, its attack powerful and swift. Nivelle, maneuvering his Non-Commissioned Officer-Grade Armor, fought back, rolling and dodging, leaving wounds on the Thunder Leopard's body. A sliding tackle slid across the Thunder Leopard's abdomen, avoiding a claw attack. Just as he was about to get up, a sudden, sharp pain shot through his left arm. The Thunder Leopard had turned its head at an uncanny angle and bit through his arm armor.
The poison gas seeped in through the hole, and Nivelle felt a stinging sensation on his skin, which quickly turned into numbness from poisoning. He immediately held his breath, and an antidote was injected into his waist, the burning sensation flowing through his body.
"After injecting the antidote, the onset time will be extended to about two minutes. I'm holding my breath; I should be able to hold out for another 10 seconds... I must kill this beast within this time." Nivelle's expression was cold. Even though he was poisoned, stopping the enemy was his top priority; he had long since disregarded his own life.
The man and the beast engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat. Nivelle abandoned the cumbersome defensive machine gun and used his wrist saw, armor-mounted guns, and rockets to fight. After several dozen seconds of intense fighting, both were covered in wounds. Nivelle began to feel his body stiffen and his head spin as the combined effects of blood loss and poisoning began to take hold.
Nivelle suddenly stopped, motionless. The Thunder Leopard pounced, but he didn't flinch, letting the Thunder Leopard pin him down, its claws piercing his chest and abdomen.
"Puff..."
Blood spilled from his mouth. Despite the excruciating pain, Nivelle stabbed one hand into Thunder Leopard's neck, clinging himself tightly to Thunder Leopard's body. He then shoved the other hand into Thunder Leopard's mouth and opened fire wildly. Knowing that his movements were slow, he used himself as bait, risking his life without hesitation.
Thunder Leopard writhed in pain, snapping off the arm that had been thrust into his mouth with a snap, and then slammed it down with a frenzied claw. Nivelle, severely injured, lay paralyzed on the ground, unable to move. He watched the enormous claw rapidly enlarge in his vision, yet he remained calm.
"This day has finally come..."
Just as the claw was about to strike, Nivelle saw a huge bolt of lightning descend, dazzlingly bright.
Immediately afterwards, both Nivelle and the Thunder Leopard were obscured by the light from the railgun.
The fierce battle came to an end. On the first day of the final Calamity, casualties were heavy, dozens of fighter jets crashed, and the energy shields of two warships were almost shattered by swarms of colossal flying beasts. Energy depletion was severe.
"What a terrible battle."
"This is the first time I've seen such a large-scale event. I'll never accept a large-scale job again."
The mercenaries who had fought were still shaken and panting heavily, with many of their comrades lying dead on the ground.
Han Xiao began repairing the armor pieces one by one. He didn't need to directly intervene in the battle. In such a dangerous situation, he wasn't confident he would emerge unscathed. He applied for logistical repairs because he didn't want to take any risks. He was just here to earn commissions and help out by using his abilities. He wouldn't actually risk his life for other forces for a little money.
During this rare lull, another batch of wilderness teams returned in shifts. All the players were back, and everyone looked relaxed, as if they hadn't gone on a dangerous mission but rather went on a picnic. Venturing into dangerous areas posed no psychological burden for the players, since they would respawn anyway. Although there was a limit to the number of times they could revive, most of these players were professional gamers and naturally knew how to control their deaths.
We're already at the maximum level, so losing a little experience isn't a big deal. We can make up for it with mission rewards, and earning cosmic currency is even more useful.
The group of Black Star's people gathered here, which immediately caught the attention of the surrounding mercenaries. After glancing at them a few times, a look of astonishment appeared on their faces.
"It seems like all of them are still here!"
"What?! Everyone survived?!"
The mercenary team members were shocked and extremely curious. They hurriedly asked the other members of their wilderness team and learned that these people could be resurrected. Their expressions immediately turned to envy and fear. In the universe, immortal superhumans are the most troublesome enemies, and no one dares to underestimate them.
"This mercenary group is full of undead!"
"This is terrible..."
The mercenaries all remembered the name of the Black Star Mercenary Group. A mercenary group whose members were all immortal—in their professional eyes, it wouldn't be long before this mercenary group became extremely popular.
The Black Star Mercenary Group's name was reported to the military high command, who attached great importance to it. Undying scouts are best suited for Reconnaissance and can greatly reduce the losses of field troops. For this reason, military generals personally approached Han Xiao, the group's leader, with a very sincere attitude and humble demeanor, completely different from their attitude when communicating with other mercenaries.
The military's message was that they hoped the Black Star Mercenary Group wouldn't take shifts for rest and would instead return to field Reconnaissance, saying the Sunil people needed them. Most importantly, they promised a guaranteed increase in pay. Such useful helpers naturally deserve better treatment. The military was proactively offering higher pay because they were afraid the Black Star Mercenary Group would refuse.
The mission reward was increased to 12,000 Enas, a 50% increase. Han Xiao immediately agreed, and the hapless players began a new round of Reconnaissance, which, judging by the timeline, was also the last Reconnaissance.
The corpses from the battlefield were brought back for people to claim. Han Xiao discovered that Nivelle had been killed in action, and felt a little sad, after all, he was an acquaintance.
The family member who came to claim the child was a woman who was wailing loudly. Han Xiao asked the other soldiers and learned that the woman was Nivelle's wife, and that Nivelle had a young child at home.
Forest City.
The vast majority of people stayed in front of their televisions watching the battle reports. In this critical moment, the media reported no false information, only the most accurate details of the battle. Everyone was anxious as the situation remained stable.
The bar was closed. Melos sat in the attic, watching the news on TV and drinking incessantly. Scenes of horrific battles flashed by, and he suddenly felt agitated. He slammed down his glass, left the bar, and strolled down the street.
The streets were deserted, with no pedestrians in sight.
After wandering aimlessly for a while, a faint argument reached his ears. As Grade B superhuman, although he hadn't fought in years, his keen senses hadn't deteriorated. On a whim, Melos followed the sound to the outside of a house near a bar, where the argument became clearer.
"I'll be old enough to join the army in a few days, and I'm going to enlist!"
The voice sounded familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before. Melos was curious, so he hid himself, jumped onto the windowsill, and peeked through the window at the scene inside. He found that he had indeed seen the person speaking before. It was Lana, who had caused trouble and beaten up a drunkard in the bar a few days ago. He was speaking with great enthusiasm and passion.
The person arguing with Lana was his parents, who were dressed in poor clothes and belonged to the lower classes. At this moment, Lana's parents looked anxious.
"Joining the army is suicide, I won't allow you to go!"