Chapter 211: Thunder and the Legion

OriginalBody?

The UNSC elites of the Special Command had never even heard this term.

Moreover, that faint fluctuation, harmless to them yet capable of killing half the demons in the blink of an eye, was an attack method they had never even imagined.

But frankly, the elites who fought their way out of the demon encirclement have greatly increased their psychological endurance; it seems…

Even if someone told them that Hell truly exists, they would not be overly surprised.

"Roar!"

The demons in the tunnel, barely ceasing their trembling, in order to regain confidence, continued to launch assaults against the thinly defended line.

"Guys!"

Seeing the demons treating them like chickens to vent their fear, the lieutenant immediately swapped a full magazine into his commander-type pulse rifle and bellowed at his subordinates:

"You all heard that reinforcements have arrived! Don't conserve ammo! Let those ugly bastards know we're not pushovers!"

"Ha!" the elites responded with a loud, high-spirited shout.

Just as the lieutenant said, the line that seemed on the verge of collapse, about to be overrun by the demons, was due to the elites being unable to pull the trigger as they wished.

Now…

"Rat-a-tat!" the pulse weapons spewed out flames without restraint.

Only seeing the two machine gunners among the elites, they were too lazy to bother with short or long bursts, engaging in so-called fire suppression; they now only needed to consider emptying their ammo drums.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

With the gunfire erupting, the demon side naturally saw plasma, severed limbs, and chunks of flesh flying everywhere, increasing the pressure of their assault on the line.

Even if they knew how to use the MA-series rifles to attempt reverse fire suppression, the effect was negligible.

Demons wielding weapons would be the elites' primary target; moreover, the MA-series could hardly inflict effective damage on the elites' gear.

Shirley in the line likewise ignored ammo concerns, doing her best to help kill the demons.

But at this moment, she was not as calm as the well-traveled Leon.

Because Leon had recently told her that if the Astate responded to support, it indicated that the anomaly facing the intelligence officer was at least Hera-class (third).

Before setting out for Mars, Shirley never imagined that, as a newcomer, she could participate in a Hera-class incident.

Soon, a transport aircraft with a black base coat, red and gold accents, passed through the airlock into the hangar where they were.

This transport aircraft was larger than all Yuyou models, more compact overall, with narrow, short wings, and had the capability of variable sweep.

Unlike the door layout of most transport aircraft, this transport's door is installed in the nose, and above the fuselage there is also a fixed large-caliber "cannon".

Seeing another transport enter the hangar, the survivors on the tarmac sensibly made space.

Immediately after, the transport extended its landing gear, landed, came to a stop, and lowered its nose door for the "combat personnel" to disembark.

"Thud, thud!"

Accompanied by the heavy steps unique to magnetic boots, a group of Thor's Hammer III–clad Astate, wearing colors similar to the transport and holding various models of bolt rifles, surged out of the cabin and came into the survivors' view.

!!!

This group of Astate ignored the survivors' looks of confusion and shock, quickly marching to the hangar platform, likewise ignoring the UNSC elites who had a similar reaction to the survivors.

The Astate advanced in silence, passing the elites' line, and finally stopped at the tunnel's entrance.

No elite would be so foolish as to say, "Hey! You're blocking us!"

The elites didn't know what Thor's Hammer III was, but seeing those bolt rifles of large caliber, they knew the Astate would take care of everything.

Seeing that a group of giants blocked the entrance, the demons' advance staggered, but these giants gave the demons little time to think before they faced a barrage more terrifying than shell-less pulse ammo…

"Rat-a-tat-tat!"

"Pfft! Pfft!"

The standard 75-caliber bolt easily tore apart and shattered the demons' bodies, requiring no Astate to swap to special types like "Viper" or "Storm" bolts.

"Roar…roar…"

The demons' wails filled the tunnel, no longer retaining their earlier vigor, as fear once again spread among them.

Just a single volley, and the Astate swept the demons clean away.

"Thud, thud… crackle! crackle!"

But the Astate stepped forward again, treading on demon blood and flesh, continuing their sweep into Deimos.

That transport, which looked as rugged as Thor's Hammer III, was in fact the Thunder Transport Plane of the Thutmoses Legion, an exclusive Astate transport capable of carrying forty fully armed Astate.

The biggest difference between the Thunder and the traditional Yuyou, or any transport, is that it possesses a "jump-assist" capability.

Manufactured using α-type titanium alloy for hull strength, it is equipped with a plasma cannon powered directly by a microfusion reactor, namely the fixed large-caliber gun on the roof of the cabin.

With warship-level strength combined with a plasma cannon that can "burn through" anything, the Thunder, true to its name, carries Astate to strike enemy warships or space stations with a thunderous blow via jump-assist.

Naturally, its cost is also the "courtesan" among all transports; only a few have been allotted to the Astate Legion, and only Astate can unleash the Thunder's full value.

As for the Astate Legion led by the ten OriginalBodies, its scale and numbers have not yet reached legion level.

After all, from the implantation of the G-gland in a compatible subject to final maturation through twenty-five surgeries, becoming a true Astate takes at least two years.

Moreover, selecting from humanity those compatible in age and genes is already an extremely high threshold.

To date, among Umbrella's ten legions, setting aside support personnel like ground crew and pilots, the total number of Astate remains under a thousand, at over seven hundred.

However, as the Astate base grows, the speed of expansion also increases.

Of the ten legions, seven are temporarily stationed aboard Umbrella's seven Azure Hawk–class heavy escort frigates, two are distributed on the Moon and Mars, and Leon's Dark Heaven Angels are deployed aboard Sui Bian's flagship, the Griffin.

And the force deployed on Mars is the Thutmoses Legion led by Magnus.

At this moment, the tunnel entrance.

"Sir…" Shirley slowly rose, watching the Astate's retreating backs, and couldn't help but remark to Leon beside her:

"The Astate are indeed as rumored: taciturn and efficient…"

Leon, likewise rising, holstered his gun, shrugged, and did not respond to Shirley's comment.

To know, of all the support Leon summons, one third is responded to by Astate units personally led by the OriginalBody.

Who made his system special, his luck—good or bad—is unknown; in any case, the odds of detecting high‑risk anomalies far exceed what others imagine.

Leon has long been accustomed.

(End of chapter)