Chapter 260

Inside the enemy ship's starboard hangar…

"Hoo~--Boom--Boom~!"

Thirty drop pods howled through the air valve, speed unimpeded, careening inside the hangar, destroying all aircraft in their path and crushing any soldiers who couldn't dodge.

Enemy aircraft exploded, enemies burst.

Until they struck the deck's protrusions, support columns, or the bulkhead at the hangar's end, finally stopping the reckless drop pods' destruction.

In a corner at the edge of the hangar.

"Ah…"

A red-armored elite staggered to his feet, left hand against the pale purple bulkhead, dazedly shaking his head.

It seemed to have been blown back by the explosion of a carrier aircraft; aside from a dizzy head, it suffered no fatal injury.

But before the red-armored elite could fully recover, a drop pod not far behind opened its side doors.

"Tap-tap!"

The lieutenant and three subordinates rushed out of the drop pod, set foot on the enemy ship, aimed their guns at the red-armored elite whose back was exposed, and immediately pulled the trigger.

"Rat-tat-tat!"

The netherfire-type rifle, still jokingly called a "high-powered flashlight" by the HellParatroopers, fired at an extremely high rate, spewing dense orange beams at that elite.

"Bang! Bang! Pop~!"

The energy shield under concentrated fire shattered instantly; the beams easily melted through solid armor and ignited the elite, whose physique far surpassed that of ordinary people.

"Ah! Ah……"

The red-armored elite struggled and screamed, finally collapsing motionless on the deck, left to be burned by the orange-tinged flames.

After dealing with that elite, the lieutenant and his three subordinates turned their guns, aiming at the next "victim," and shouted over the squad comms:

"You bastards! Give it your all and kill them! Even though we'll soon wipe out the alien scum, clean up the new ship for the female captain!"

"Hah!" The paratroopers replied with a battle cry.

Looking down from above at the entire hangar.

Over a hundred HellParatroopers leapt from their drop pods, providing alternating cover and fire in teams of four.

Taking advantage of the Alliance soldiers still reeling from the recent chaos, they swiftly annihilated the enemy.

Although not as efficient as the Astate, in seizing the moment and dealing heavy blows to the enemy, the HellParatroopers are second only to Krieg.

Moreover, as if pent up for a long time, the lieutenant-led paratroopers surged forward frenziedly, utterly crushing the hyena people's morale once again.

The Gulu people, after their elite clan and ghost-faced beasts fell one by one, also cried "Ya! Ya!" and fled the hangar together with the hyena people.

But the paratroopers lacked the Astate's extraordinary reflexes, unable to cover all enemies on the battlefield, so they did not kill that group of "deserters."

After all, the elite and ghost-faced beasts targeted by the HellParatroopers had already regrouped and began to counterattack.

At the rear of a wrecked enemy aircraft.

Eight paratroopers at the forefront used this as cover, exchanging fire with several blue-armored elites.

Orange beams and blue plasma bolts flickered between them.

A paratrooper who had just replaced his battery magazine, upon peeking out, saw a green plasma bolt the size of a rugby ball coming at him.

!!

The paratrooper hurriedly dodged.

But the plasma bolt still struck his right shoulder.

And with a "Boom," it exploded; the impact threw the paratrooper off balance, causing him to fall backward onto the deck.

The scorching hot "plasma" sprayed from the explosion instantly melted through large areas of armor, searing the skin and even the entire right shoulder.

Fortunately, the nanomachines inside the paratrooper's body went to work, staunching the bleeding and slowing the injury until he could receive aid from a medic or withdraw from combat for better treatment.

But…

"Fuck your mother! It kills me, you bastard—die! Die!"

But the shouting paratrooper struggled to his feet, raised his netherfire rifle with his left hand, aimed at the elite who had fired the charged plasma bolt at him, and pulled the trigger to vent his agony and rage.

Seeing his posture, he had no intention of calling for a medic or retreating from combat.

Finally, the elite wielding a chargeable weapon was shot down by the paratrooper and his comrades, not even managing a scream.

At the very moment the paratroopers drew all fire, the transport convoy escorted by the battle squadron finally reached the hangar.

A Cormorant descended rapidly in a near‑crash landing, its landing gear scraping sparks on the deck as it opened its rear hatch.

The captain wielding a commander‑type pulse rifle was the first to leap out of the still‑unstable Cormorant, leading two companies of marines into the fight.

With nearly three hundred fresh troops joining, the two forces cooperated in a momentum‑driven pursuit, securing ownership of the large hangar at the cost of minimal casualties.

Next.

The second lieutenant and the captain left two combat squads in the hangar to tend to the wounded while guarding the transport formation docked there.

The remaining troops pressed on in a single surge, sweeping the enemy ship clean of all the Alliance soldiers.

Because the enemy's main combat force was concentrated on the flagship, the foes they encountered were mostly Gulu, Jackal Werewolves, with elites and Ghost‑faced Beasts being few.

This meant that the assault force composed of marines and HellParatroopers faced resistance far weaker than that of Gabriel and the Tutmos reservists.

If the assault force met Silver‑armored elites, even a victory would be a pyrrhic one, won at the cost of near‑certain death.

There is an even higher probability that the Silver‑armored elites would annihilate the assault force entirely.

Although Gabriel and the reservists seemed to dispatch the Silver‑armored elites with ease, they may have withstood a volley from a blast‑arrow gun and even engaged Gabriel at close range…

This shows that the elite class does not belong to the "trash" category; it is merely Astate's habit of labeling all aberrations as trash.

As for Gabriel and his group, who had long ago boarded the beetle‑shaped flagship, they are now in the upper deck of the ship's bow, inside a large compartment resembling an interior plaza or garden.

The overall structure of the built‑in garden is cylindrical.

Above, a warm, soft light emanates; near the hull, a green belt of plants—green, blue, and yellow—encircles the entire garden.

These plants are much the same as native Earth plants, seemingly using the light source provided by the deck ceiling for photosynthesis, supplying fresh "air" to this built‑in garden.

The garden's center.

It is a holographic projection resembling an ostrich‑like creature, waving its arms, its face and expression exceedingly devout as it repeats:

"Umka~ Umru~ Nak…!"

The "ostrich" sits on a levitating seat, clad in luxurious, roomy garments, wearing a decorative golden crown.

Combined with its demeanor, attire, and chant‑like tone, it evokes a strong déjà vu of a religious priest.

"Dong, dong."

In the garden, Gabriel and his fourteen brothers, marching with unmistakably heavy steps, approach the holographic ostrich priest.

They now look somewhat disheveled.

Their ceramic‑steel armor, primarily red and gold with blue accents, is scarred by plasma burns and stained with dried blood.

But the blood stains are mostly deep purple and dark red, all belonging to the Alliance races.

Each has an explosive‑arrow gun attached to the outer thigh plating, wielding a Chain Sword or a dual‑blade energy sword.

Even the brother carrying the heavy explosive‑arrow gun hangs it on the ammo box on his back.

The dried blood on their bodies and hands shows that, even with a heavier load than the others, they remain mobile and can still slaughter alien scum.

Their carried ammunition is already depleted; the weapons of the Elite and Ghost‑faced Beasts are unimpressive, unable to achieve Astate's high efficiency, so they resort to the most violent, and their specialty, close‑quarters combat.

The ceramic‑steel armor's scans confirm that the plants surrounding the garden are indeed virtually identical to Earth plants.

"Brothers."

Staring at the ostrich priest, a brother suddenly says, "This Alliance of assorted alien scum seems to worship some deity—could it be… an other‑dimensional evil god?"

"Unclear, and I haven't detected any chaotic traces," a brother with stronger Spiritual Energy replies, then adds:

"Gabriel, I see their internal troubles are severe, so we should capture enemy commanders as much as possible, hand them to father to use Spiritual Energy for interrogation; perhaps we can dismantle them from within."

In fact, during the battle, the brothers carefully observed, noting the composition of Alliance squads, each race's traits, habits, and styles.

Naturally they noticed inter‑racial conflicts, especially the Ghost‑faced Beasts' resentment toward Elite command, which stood out even amid fierce firefights.

This shows the Ghost‑faced Beasts have long‑standing grudges; even when faced with Gabriel's ruthless sweep, they refuse to cooperate.

It also indirectly confirms that most Ghost‑faced Beasts are brave but reckless, completely ignoring the bigger picture.

Thus the brother who noted this detail suggested dismantling the enemy from within.

Tutmos may not be the most contemplative among the legions, but they are certainly more rational than the Space Wild Wolves, not solving problems solely through slaughter.

I should say…

Compared with the Space Wild Wolves, all legions likely fall into the "good at thinking" category.

"Hmm." Gabriel nods, "Capture as many as possible. The Punishment's engagement with those two enemy ships is nearing its end; we must not fall behind, keep advancing."

"Yes."

The brothers, having ended the brief discussion, prepare to sweep the next sector.

Together with another group of fifteen brothers, they annihilated every surveyed area within just over ten minutes.

Not counting the over ten thousand, there are also five thousand or more.

After all, inside the flagship, the Alliance cannot leverage numerical superiority.

No matter how many squads the enemy sends to stop them, the outcome is the same—

They become a puddle of meat.

Just as Gabriel and the others skirted past the ostrich priest, the sensor gate at the far end suddenly opened.

"Aaa!!"

Accompanied by the Elite's distinctive roar, heavily armed and armored foes poured into the garden.

The Elite are in the majority, each clad in orange‑red armor with flamboyant, massive helmet crowns, swords in both hands, rushing toward Gabriel and his group.

Alongside the Elite surge dozens of Gulu, with no Jackal‑men or Ghost‑faced Beasts present, and these diminutive beings also wear deep‑purple armor.

Finally appears the golden‑armored elite commander who had sent a video to the Punishment, also wielding swords in both hands.

Seeing this.

"Capture them for father!"

Gabriel, letting out a battle cry, grips the rapidly spinning Chain Sword with his right hand, extends his energy sword with his left, and charges straight at the golden commander.

An orange‑armored Elite meets him, brandishing twin swords and thrusting at him with afterimage‑creating speed, but Gabriel evades with an even quicker left dodge, then a right shoulder strike…

"Bang!"

He tops the orange Elite, handing it over to the brothers behind to "take care" of.

"Swoosh~! Swoosh~!"

Meanwhile, the distant Gulu fire a barrage of tracking, pink‑crystal‑like spike needles at him.

Gabriel crosses his arms to block.

"Ding~… Bang!!"

The needles embed in the ceramic‑steel armor for a moment, then trigger successive low‑intensity explosions, the dazzling pink light nearly engulfing Gabriel.

But this level of attack is insufficient to breach the ceramic‑steel armor, merely leaving small dents.

After the pink light fully dissipates.

Striding with ton‑scale steps like a humanoid tank, Gabriel also raises his left hand holding the energy sword, charging to the golden commander's front.

!

The golden commander initially tried to raise his sword for a hard block, but instinct warned that a hard block would end badly, so he chose the wisest dodge.

"Rou~!" the energy sword whistles, skimming past its right side.

"Woom—!"

Having just dodged that strike, the Chain Sword followed immediately.

!!

The highly focused gold-armored commander barely dodged the second strike.

But before it could celebrate, Gabriel had already turned, and the threatening energy sword struck again.

!!!

This time, the gold-armored commander had nowhere to retreat, so he raised both hands, crossed his two swords into an "X", and met the attack with all his strength.

「Boom—!!! 」

The collision of the energy swords burst out blinding light.

「Boom—!!! 」

Gabriel's strike forced the gold-armored commander's stance to sink instantly, carving a small pit in the hard deck.

!!!!

Looking closely, the commander's legs couldn't stop trembling; not being shattered by this strike is absolutely a miracle.

However, being able to withstand three moves from a newly adult Astate, and also as a squad leader Gabriel's subordinate, directly proves the commander has moved beyond the "trash" category.

「Give me…」

Gabriel raised his right leg, bent his knee, aimed the magnetic boot at the commander's abdomen, and thrust forward with force, letting out a metallic roar:

「Get a good sleep! 」

「Boom-!! 」

This kick actually shattered the shield.

「Pfft! 」

The commander who took a heavy blow spat blood, his body like a broken-line kite flung away, finally lying on the deck unable to move.

After Gabriel dealt with the toughest commander, half of the orange-armored elites present were either slain or immobilized, completely losing resistance.

After Gabriel freed up, he joined the battle to assist his brothers...

「Yah!! 」

「Ah!! 」

The Gurgling people who had been trying to harass and watch the battle collapsed completely, because the elites they revered as saviors were all beaten down, also representing that their flagship has changed hands.

(End of chapter)