Chapter 536: The Colorado Great Retreat

The sky had already darkened; the darkness only turned the thick, scarlet fog into a pitch-black void. Only when the train's searchlights swept toward the firmament could one see the blood-red beams of light.

The terrifying giant eye suspended in the sky was like a planet from another realm, glaring down at the earth and bringing with it a chilling cold. The release of that super dark energy was such that one could even feel the air eroding their skin.

An unprecedented sense of oppression hung over the hearts of all the survivors. Within each train convoy, at any given moment, someone would undergo a mutation due to a mental breakdown. Their companions could only endure the pain and reluctance as they aimed their guns at their former comrades-in-arms. A moment's hesitation could trigger an avalanche-like chain reaction, causing dozens or even hundreds of people to die as a result.

The sounds of wailing, panic, and screaming rose incessantly from every carriage. The armed guards looked through the train windows at the thick fog outside; tension and a sense of suffocation filled every carriage. The men gripped their firearms, waiting for the army of horrors that might charge out of the fog at any moment.

This was not a defensive battle, nor was it a skirmish; it was a pure, desperate flight.

"Start it up! Why hasn't the train started yet!!"

"Run! If we don't run, we're definitely dead..."

"Is the path ahead blocked?"

"That fog must be full of monsters. What are we going to do?!"

"We have no choice but to fight!"

For a time, despair and unease spread continuously. The hundred-kilometer-long iron dragon sat motionless on tracks that had already begun to sink into the terrain, hydraulic steam billowing. Outside the trains, dozens of automotive combat groups were equally filled with restlessness.

Although the automotive groups were more flexible than the trains and could flee at any time, such an advantage clearly no longer existed in the current situation. Without the firepower of these five or six thousand armed train carriages and the support of millions, once they encountered a dense swarm of monsters under the scarlet night, they would be completely annihilated and swallowed in a very short time, just like a candle flame in the wind. Now, they could only rely on the defensive line formed by the train's advance to retreat; otherwise, they would have no chance at all.

The first line of defense was an iron defensive line composed of the 2nd Intercontinental Force, the 13th and 22nd Iron Guard Brigades, totaling 150,000 troops. In the air, three medium-sized fleets defended the airspace. This was the core defensive strength of the orbital forces. Compared to the militarized survivor convoys, nearly 80% of the heavy firepower came from the Interstellar Military. Therefore, if the Interstellar Military's Iron Guard Brigades were wiped out, the millions of people in the entire train convoy would be instantly disintegrated.

Luo Shaokai was very clear about this point. Looking at the red light on the radar screen, the eyes of this Chief of Staff of the 2nd Intercontinental Force looked as if they were filled with lead.

Compared to the defensive battles fought while occupying cities, this kind of defensive battle, where forces and deployments were widely dispersed during a march in the wilderness, was no different from sending troops to their deaths. Over the past month, nearly 200,000 troops had already lost about 60,000. To protect the train's progress, they could not dig defensive fortifications, and various firepower configurations were dispersed. They could not take the initiative to break out of the encirclement and could only passively follow the train's movement to defend.

Luo Lao certainly knew that the lifeline of life and death lay on this evacuation track. He looked at the countdown timer, his fists clenched tight.

"These two hundred kilometers... I don't know how many people will die..."

He mused to himself. At this moment, he thought of the earlier firing of the South Heaven Gate, thinking that if there were support from a large force, perhaps there would be a glimmer of hope, although he had a premonition that tonight's crisis was already the final funeral knell for the entire migration force.

Bang! Bang!

On an armed train with its roof covered in dense anti-aircraft guns, a dozen team members in power armor shot and killed a companion. The mutant fell from the roof, and countless dense, tiny tentacles trembled crazily from the shattered power armor mask and gaps. Boom! A flamethrower shot into the sky.

"Sorry, Old Lu..."

Under the gaze of many, this former comrade-in-arms turned to ash in the raging fire.

"Everyone get ready. Don't make too much noise."

Zhao Yang, Deputy Captain of the Red Fire Convoy, dressed in Iron Hunter armor like a giant bear, shouldered a pulse cannon and said to the team members behind him: "In 5 minutes, we will accelerate and run. Drones are gathering ahead to prepare to lay tracks. Those monsters are very smart. If they sniff out that we are going to retreat, they might charge in advance. Accelerating such a long train will take quite a bit of time. We must fight for every bit we can."

The Red Fire Convoy was not small, with over ten thousand people and powerful firepower configuration. Just the combat personnel numbered nearly 4,000, which could be considered a mainstay in the train cluster.

"Understood."

"Understood!"

"Captain Zhao." At this moment, on the stairs at the rear, the convoy information officer, Xiao He, quickly climbed onto the roof and said in a panicked tone: "It's bad! We can't find Captain Wei anywhere!"

"What?"

Zhao Yang frowned and immediately tried to contact the leader of the Red Fire Convoy using his communicator.

"Old Wei, Old Wei, can you hear me?"

"Not in the frequency band."

"Old Wei!"

"Captain Zhao, look." A sniper beside him was aiming his gun and pointing to the northeast: "Is that... Captain Wei?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yang immediately looked in the direction of the voice. He activated his power armor's visual enhancement system and searched continuously in the dark night. Sure enough, in the scarlet fog, he saw a flying motorcycle speeding toward a hillside in the distance. The red taillights flickered, kicking up a cloud of sand and dust on the ground.

"It's our vehicle!" A team member also discovered it at this time.

"Where is Captain Wei going?"

Deputy Captain Zhao Yang looked puzzled. Without hesitation, he immediately gave the order: "A Jian, Zilong, come with me. Everyone else stay put. If I don't return, Captain Ma will take over command of the convoy."

Having given the hasty instructions, he immediately jumped off the roof with his two subordinates. The power armor thrusters activated, and they flew and leaped toward the hillside.

"Old Wei!!"

"Damn it!" Zhao Yang listened to the static in the frequency band and couldn't help but curse. He didn't understand why, at such a life-and-death moment, his convoy's captain would suddenly run off.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Clang!

The performance of the three Iron Hunter power armors was pushed to the limit. Although they couldn't fly at high altitudes like Interstellar-class armor, their speed was already very fast, and they erupted with astonishing power in a short time.

Soon, Zhao Yang and his two subordinates gradually caught up with the departing flying motorcycle. Just then, he saw the motorcycle suddenly stop after reaching the top of the hillside.

Beep!

The communication frequency band was restored, and Zhao Yang immediately shouted.

"Old Wei!"

However, this former captain did not reply, but instead performed a strange action in his line of sight.

He took a miniature pulse rocket magnetic storm bomb from the motorcycle's rear rack, shouldered it, opened his mask, and aimed at the terrifying giant eye above the sky!

Seeing this action, Zhao Yang and the other two all gasped, feeling their scalps go numb. He immediately shouted— ===== CHAPTER 537 =====