Ground Forces

On the mountain road outside Mist Mountain Bay, a caravan arrived in the darkness. The group dismounted one after another, and many of them had fallen asleep on horseback and were woken up by their colleagues patting them on the shoulder.

"Everyone, eat and drink your fill, then rest where you are!" Hansite ordered.

The carriage of a freight wagon was opened, and the crowd stepped forward in an orderly fashion to receive food and water.

A Star Sand Squad that had been waiting nearby quickly joined them, and the accompanying priest immediately used divine magic to relieve everyone's fatigue from the long journey and nourish their depleted strength.

Yise and Qiluo stepped forward.

"You must be tired from coming all this way," Yise said, his gaze sweeping over the members of the Bone Machine First Battalion.

Despite the long and arduous march, not a single person in the team complained; even though they were exhausted, they remained full of fighting spirit.

Although these necromancers didn't have much time for military training because they spent most of their time on various production activities at the base, every member understood the significance of their actions.

On a personal level, this is a fight to break free from shackles and strive for freedom; on a collective level, it is to liberate the wronged necromancers; on a grander level, it is to remove the rotten tumor from humanity!

Only a team with strong beliefs and ideas can maintain its high level of initiative even after intense mobilization.

"It's been a long time since I've been to the Star Empire." Hanst said with some emotion in his tone, "The changes here are really big, the roads have been widened a lot, and the buildings everywhere are much more regular than in memory."

"In terms of governance, I, as his adoptive father, am quite competent," Yise said.

In the crowd, a strange girl sat on a carriage, swinging her legs. She was wrapped in an exquisite white cloak, obscuring her face and making it impossible to discern her strength. She was munching on a delicate piece of food while engrossed in a book, her demeanor completely out of place with her surroundings.

Just as Yise was about to ask a question, his gaze wavered, and he lost sight of his target.

"Are the enemies all ahead?" Hansite suddenly cut to the chase.

"Yes, we deployed a drone and, guided by the tracking signal, discovered a concealed outpost twenty kilometers away." Yise had no choice but to turn back and answer Hansite's question. "To avoid alerting them, we didn't dare make any approaching movements for reconnaissance."

Beside Yise, the member of the Final Bone Mad Machines who was following her and controlling the drones stepped forward, took out a tablet, and reported, "This base consists of three buildings, which are extremely well concealed, but no defensive facilities have been found yet."

Hansite glanced at the screen on the tablet. The three buildings were hidden in the jungle, concealed by layers of vegetation. They appeared to be merely rendezvous points and temporary shelters, rather than tactical facilities capable of combat.

It's just unclear why Princess Janet would choose to establish a foothold in such a place.

"What is the specific size of the team?" Hansite pressed.

"We've detected traces of guards and servants' activities, such as doing chores and feeding livestock," the drone operator replied truthfully. "We suspect there are other people inside the main building, but with our current reconnaissance methods, we can't penetrate to see the interior clearly."

"Janet has already dismissed the Star Empire's Imperial Guard; she only has a few personal bodyguards left, and their combat strength is limited," Yise said, then changed the subject, "But this might not be a good thing."

Hansite instantly understood what Yise meant. Princess Janet had always held herself in high esteem, believing her life to be of utmost importance. Her willingness to disband the Star Empire's Royal Guard showed that she was completely confident in the security forces around her.

Given the princess's spoiled yet cautious nature, the security forces at this stronghold are likely more troublesome than the Star Empire's Imperial Guard—a judgment shared by Su Ming.

"We have to act tonight." Hansite showed no hesitation despite the situation. "Our long journey has already attracted the attention of some interested parties. If all goes well, investigators from the intelligence agency will be here tomorrow."

Yise wholeheartedly agreed, acknowledging that operating on the homeland of the Stars required demonstrating the formidable intelligence network and operational capabilities of this powerful empire.

"The geographical conditions are also unfavorable," she added. "If we cross the mountainous area of Mist Mountain Bay, the population density along the way will increase significantly; moreover, the garrison density of the Temple of Light and the Star Empire will increase dramatically as we approach the border, making our operation even more difficult."

"Then let's focus on getting to work!" Hansite clenched his fist. "As Su Ming planned, we'll rest for a few hours first."

The members of the Final Bone Mad Machines quickly finished their food, then found a flat spot on the ground and lay down. Before long, many of them began to breathe steadily and drifted off to sleep.

"The guard duty will be handled by our Star Sand members," Yise said.

Hansite didn't refuse; he casually rolled up his cloak, spread it on the ground, and fell asleep immediately.

****

It was 1:30 a. m., and the moonlight was everywhere.

The sleeping crowd was gently awakened, and no one made a sound. Some of the cargo wagons were opened, revealing a large quantity of guns and ammunition. The crowd rushed forward to collect them, assemble them, and carry them on their backs.

A member of the Bone Machine Battalion handed Hansite a rifle and a box of bullets. Hansite took them and casually hung up his communication headset.

"Third Company, proceed to the designated area and set up artillery positions," he commanded through his headset. "First and Second Companies, take charge of the front."

"Received," the group leaders replied in the channel.

The members of the Third Company deployed more freight wagons and inventoried the heavy weapons inside.

Someone started distributing small gray balls, one to each person, so they could hang them on their shoulders. Yise took a ball and examined it, discovering that it was a multi-layered sphere with diamond-shaped patterns on its surface.

"What is this?" she asked, puzzled.

"The Luneburg lens is used to distinguish friend from foe and avoid friendly fire," Su Ming's voice came through the earpiece. "How's the call quality?"

"The sound is clear, there's no background noise." Yise responded quickly, his tone more excited. "Hey, you're already nearby?"

"I'm still at sea, far away from you," Su Ming said.

In addition to the heavy drones involved in the attack, several light drones also participated in the operation, providing communication relay along the way. One of them was hovering at an altitude of 4,000 meters above the battlefield, conducting radar and infrared scans of the target area.

There was actually a laser radar, but Su Ming didn't dare to use it. A highly perceptive superhuman could detect this kind of invisible light.

On the screen in the command center, all friendly personnel involved in the operation appeared as stable, bright spots of light. This is the function of the Luneburg lens – it can strongly reflect radar signals of specific wavelengths back, making it easier for friendly equipment to quickly acquire and locate them.

On the contrary, the enemy's signals appeared indistinctly, dimly lit and intermittently displayed on the screen.

Before long, everyone was ready.

"Begin advancing," Su Ming ordered. "There are three sentry posts along the way. I've already planned a detour for you. Don't alert them."

Although the sentries could be taken out, there was no guarantee that they wouldn't have any unexpected ways of alerting the enemy. Fortunately, these sentries were mainly guarding roads, and this special forces unit, composed entirely of superhumans, could easily bypass them and make a covert approach under the guidance of drones.

When the Third Company reached a position about eight kilometers from the stronghold, they began to set up rocket artillery firing positions.

The remaining two companies continued their advance until they reached a position three kilometers from the target stronghold.

Su Ming carefully examined the data sent back by the drone. The main building of the base had a thick roof covered with vegetation and camouflage, making it difficult for infrared and radar to penetrate, and thus impossible to see the activities of the personnel inside.

Detecting from the side of the building would be better, but it would require getting closer to the stronghold and could easily alert the enemy.

A hundred meters away from the main building of the stronghold, there was another house that was also disguised, but judging from its appearance, the living conditions were much simpler, and it was inferred that servants lived there. Not far from it was a livestock shed, with many camels tied up inside.

The number of camels was more than double that of Janet's group. This meant that there was another team of similar size at the base, which was why Su Ming Janet temporarily arranged for Rainbow Heavy UAV to come and provide support.

"First Company to the left, Second Company to the right, form a semi-encirclement," Su Ming ordered. "Begin the stealthy advance."

"All departments understand!"

They began to move stealthily, using the jungle and terrain as cover to continue their approach.

"Su Ming, you've adopted a moderate formation," Yise said softly. "I thought you'd use a four-sided encirclement tactic."

"Moderation is often the best solution," Su Ming replied. "If the enemy is weak, we can suppress them by attacking like this. If the enemy is strong, concentrating our forces on one side will allow us to retreat and regroup—I've learned quite a few techniques from your mother, Katharine."

"My mother might decide to abandon the attack," Yise said. "She'll wait until the enemy starts moving out tomorrow morning, to ascertain their composition and strength, before making a move."

"That's a prudent strategy that can only be adopted when the battlefield environment is under control," Su Ming sighed. "There have already been some troop movements in the nearby garrisons, and new variables could arise at any time. We don't have time to wait."

Yise nodded, understanding their current predicament, where the die was cast and they had no choice but to act.

Actually, there was an even more important reason that Su Ming didn't mention: without controlling Janet, there would be no window of opportunity to launch the other follow-up plans, since this night was a crucial time resource.

The entire battle plan is currently only known to Su Ming and Katharine.

"Miss Yise, what are your thoughts on that Saint Rank expert?" Su Ming asked another question. "Based on the characteristics you provided, and the information 'friendly' revealed by King Xialike, we haven't found any powerful individuals who match our criteria."

"His aura is strange." Yise thought carefully for a moment. "If I had to compare, I think there's a clear qualitative difference between him and Abigai, whom we dealt with in the Northern Lands."

Su Ming leaned back in his chair. "If there's only one Saint Rank being here, that's a good thing. But if it means there's some low-threshold reason for the emergence of Saint Rank among our enemies, then it's probably a bad thing," he said softly.

Yise was taken aback by this, "Please don't let it be your bad luck."

****

[Hmph, having a good chat with that young girl, huh?] Zijin said through the telepathic link.

"We can meet tomorrow," Su Ming replied with a smile. "I miss you."

He wouldn't say, "You never discuss tactics with me." Many things require the collision of different people's ideas to generate sparks and fill in the gaps.

Previously, when it was just him and Zijin, the scholar would reluctantly participate in tactical and strategic planning. Now that their forces are growing stronger, the scholar has completely let go of herself, discarding all things she is not interested in, just like a willful and picky little girl.

Even the Blue-Eyed Chamber of Commerce, which she had nurtured and raised from scratch, was handed over to Ainuobia for management and control, with Zijin devoting most of her time to research.

Considering the terrifying progress Zijin has recently made in "anti-undead detection" and the "Spirit Rain" all-elemental modification, one can understand that this is the area where she truly excels and can exert her strength.

"The weather's nice tonight," Zijin said. "Am I just supposed to stand by and do nothing?"

The moonlight was dazzling, bathing the mountains and forests in a silvery glow, and even the stars seemed to be driven to the horizon. Zijin, draped in a cloak of forbidden magic, sat on a large rock nearby, watching everyone approach their target.

The members of the Final Bone Mad Machines First Battalion were very curious about this mysterious woman who had joined halfway through the journey. She remained shrouded in a cloak the entire time, refusing to reveal her true face or figure. She only exchanged a few words with Hansite along the way, spending the rest of the time sitting quietly in the carriage, writing and drawing runes and spells in a notebook that they couldn't understand, exuding an aloof aura.

[Just watch; don't intervene unless absolutely necessary.] Su Ming said. [I arranged for you to join the team to ensure their safe withdrawal.]

Zijin was a face-down card that Su Ming placed on the chessboard, keeping her hidden to avoid the risk of intelligence leaks. As the commander, Su Ming couldn't always hope that everything would go according to plan without any unexpected events.

With Zijin as their trump card, even if Xialike makes unexpected adjustments, or even if, in extreme circumstances, the "Executioner" personally comes to intercept them, this team can still safely leave the Star Empire's borders after capturing Janet.

Without revealing the card, Zijin's location remains a secret to the enemy. She may be in Dawn Territory, or she may be plotting a surprise attack somewhere else, thus making the enemy hesitant to take certain actions.

(The following words are free)

Many readers seem surprised or interested in wingtip towing, which is indeed a real technology.

1944:

The idea was proposed by Germany scientist Dr. Richard Vogt, and preliminary tests were conducted.

Fighter jets at the time were limited by fuel capacity and combat radius. Vogt proposed two ingenious ideas: to connect another wing-shaped fuel extension section to the aircraft's wing, or to simply tow another aircraft. In this way, the aspect ratio (the ratio of wing length to width) of the entire system was increased, effectively reducing the most significant drag in flight, induced drag, and ultimately increasing the range.

1949:

It was still led by Dr. Vogt, only now his identity had changed to that of United States scientist.

This technology verification was conducted using a C-47 transport aircraft and a Q-14 target drone. After overcoming initial difficulties (such as wingtip vortex interference), the team successfully completed 231 dockings, with the longest docking flight lasting 4 hours and 8 minutes, proving the feasibility of the technology.

1950:

Encouraged by the initial success, the team further launched full-scale core model testing, project codenamed "Tip".

Tow", Official Name: ProjectMX-1016

The modified B-29 has a telescopic arm with a socket extending from its wingtip, while the F-84 has a forward-protruding spearhead on its wingtip. The F-84 pilot needs to precisely insert the spearhead into the socket, and then the B-29's telescopic arm retracts, locking the wingtip of the two aircraft together.

On September 15, a B-29 successfully towed two F-84s simultaneously for the first time.

On October 20th, the team set a new record for connected flight time, lasting 2 hours and 40 minutes. The B-29 (54 tons) towed two F-84s.

In the case of 6 tons, the towing weight reaches 22.2% of the main body, but the range only decreases by 7.5%, proving the huge range extension potential of this technology.

1953:

To address the issue of high control load for pilots, researchers developed a towed automatic flight control system and implemented it in 4...

The test was conducted on the 24th of the month. However, after the automatic flight control equipment was activated during the test, the F-84 immediately went out of control and collided with the B-29. Both aircraft crashed, and all personnel on board perished.

Technological legacy and subsequent derivative projects:

1. The "FICON" GRB-36 + RF-84K, developed by General Dynamics Convair, enabled the bomber to carry a reconnaissance aircraft and served briefly (1955-56). However, due to operational difficulties and high risks, it was replaced by the U-2 and other designs.

2. "Tom-Tom," still General Dynamics Convair, conducted wingtip towing experiments on larger aircraft. In 1956, the project nearly repeated the Tip-Tow tragedy when an F-84F was torn apart, and the project was subsequently terminated.

3. Beech Aircraft Corporation's L-23 towing floating fuel tank project has achieved technical success.

4. With the maturation of refueling machine technology, the above-mentioned technical approach was completely abandoned.

5. The idea of reducing induced drag through wingtip combinations is realized through winglet technology, which is widely used in modern aircraft.

****

The revival of the wingtip docking concept in the modern era is entirely due to the development of modern drones. By physically connecting multiple drones through wingtip mechanisms to form a "chain-wing system," the aim is to overcome the limitations of single-aircraft range and payload, and achieve swarm-based collaborative flight.

1. Aerial refueling and relay, just like in the story, only requires a simple connecting mechanism to allow two or more drones to transfer fuel to each other, perfectly realizing the function of a tanker aircraft.

2. Wingtip Coupling

By docking, a large aspect ratio integral wing structure is formed. After connection, the airflow on the combined wing is smoother, significantly reducing induced drag and improving overall aerodynamic efficiency. 3. When combined for flexible missions, it can achieve shared payload and long-range fuel saving. When separated, it can respond to attacks or multi-point attacks. This seemingly simple and low-cost transformation combination can add another extension to the already powerful application capabilities of UAVs.

4. Imagine a stealth aircraft towing two wingmen to the enemy's defense zone and releasing them, then casually leaving to go home and drink soy milk, leaving the enemy to deal with the endless harassment of two fully fueled and armed loyal aircraft.

The development of modern technology has made it possible to achieve high-precision docking and separation of aircraft in the air. New hardware can easily make dozens of directional corrections per second to deal with turbulence problems after the "combination", and wind tunnels can find the optimal aerodynamic configuration.

However, wingtip docking is inherently a riskier configuration, but it is just right for use on drones.