Chapter 344: Humanity

Ninety percent of the missile barrage consists of conventional warheads, while the remaining ten percent includes "tactical" nuclear bombs ranging from ten million to sixty million tons TNT equivalent, as well as plasma bombs of a million or ten million tons, and …

Two stellar bombs.

The orcs are in disarray, but they still have anti‑air and interception fire; however, their fire‑control systems are rather "metaphysical", sometimes even capable of batch‑destroying human missiles.

Conventional missiles are tolerable, but when nuclear or plasma bombs are destroyed, the resulting "warm" "bright" fireballs still devour orc warships, or directly "slice" and destroy the overall structure of the battle moon.

As for the two stellar bombs heading toward the battle planets, they are encased layer upon layer by tens of thousands of conventional warhead "fillings" used as bait, to fend off the orcs' metaphysical interception.

Moreover, for safety, Expedition Warship Commander Robert employed the newest and most expensive Haibolong VI strategic transport system, which not only possesses tremendous penetration and agility, but also carries a high‑power fusion reactor responsible for the "fuse".

In other words, the Haibolong VI is equipped with an energy shield that resists all kinds of attacks.

A surprise‑ended jump, together with pre‑battle precise "calculations" and humanity's advanced technology, successfully guided the two stellar bombs to contact "their" respective targets.

Thus…

Boom——————! Two real stars ignite; in less than a blink they generate scorching, bright "sun" with a four‑thousand‑kilometre diameter, instantly annihilating the two battle planets.

Yes, the orcs can use the "Waaagh" stance to achieve all sorts of inconceivable feats, such as forging new weapons and completing repairs in a flash, but the "doctrine" humanity follows seems to precisely counter the orcs' "Waaagh", and that doctrine is—

Caliber is justice; range is truth.

After successfully destroying the two most threatening battle planets, the human expeditionary force finally slowed, ceased its charge, and instead deployed various carrier‑borne aircraft and bomber squadrons, focusing on eliminating nearby orc warships and the battle moon.

Also departing the warship are Robert, Leon, Angelong and Shengjilesi piloting DivineBody, as well as a thousand centurions piloted by OriginalBody guard units.

At this moment.

The tip of the expedition fleet…

Whoo——whoo——!

Immaculately white wings beat slowly in rhythm, yet as they flap there is no air vortex or flow, nor any medium to carry sound.

Shengjilesi's DivineBody, clad in golden armor and wielding a hunting bow in its left hand, bursts forward at breakneck speed, leaving the fleet far behind, and alone charges toward the Shield World at the core.

◇! ◇! Emitting golden light, a barrier made of countless rhombic blocks helps Shengjilesi block and offset the ferocious attacks from the orc side.

Moreover, Shengjilesi will not act like his brother Rus, who only knows reckless brute force; and his solitary plunge into a heavy encirclement is not impulsive but a deliberate move to draw orc fire for the expedition fleet.

At the same time, while making a rapid breakthrough, he draws the bowstring with his right hand, shaping the hunting bow into a full‑moon, aiming through the wrecked warships at the nearest battle moon; as a golden arrow infused with Spiritual Energy forms, he releases his right hand without hesitation…

Whoosh————! Golden light streaks by.

Boom—boom—! The Spiritual Energy arrow destroys and incinerates everything in its path, even the battle moon cannot evade the shield and is shattered.

Moreover, the moment the arrow shatters the shield and easily penetrates its interior, it ceases further piercing and instead triggers another Spiritual Energy burst, burning the battle moon from within until nothing remains.

Immediately after, Shengjilesi slows his charge, using the hunting bow to "lavishly" expend his own stamina and Spiritual Energy for destruction.

On the other side, the expedition fleet has completed spacing dispersal, forming multiple inverted "V" formations, and Robert, Leon and Angelong's DivineBody each lead their own squadrons in a full‑scale assault.

It can be said that the humans, who seized the initiative, are now pressing the orcs.

In the recent Battle of Otiño, Robert's Extreme Legion clashed with a battle moon and hundreds of orc warships, suffering considerable losses due to inexperience from their first contact with the orcs.

Now, after more than a month of mutual probing and clashes, Robert has fully grasped the orcs' temperament, initially focusing on harassment, and once all reinforcements arrive, launching a direct raid on the green‑skinned's capital system.

Moreover, the expedition fleet has gathered four legions, four OriginalBody, and the DivineBody of those OriginalBody.

The clash begins.

The orcs defending the Shield World's "right side" perimeter fell into absolute decline, forcing the orcs guarding other sectors to concentrate all forces on the "right side". This maneuver made the already chaotic defensive formation even more disordered, and left the Shield World's "left side" considerably vacant, reducing its defensive strength to a nadir.

The surface at this moment.

In the Equatorial Tribe, before the great hall's main entrance…

"These shameless short, skinny bastards actually launched a raid?!"

"Boss Ulan! Lead us in a massive slaughter!!"

The orc leaders who sensed the unfavorable battle situation let loose unrestrained roars, shouting wildly, wishing they could leap into space right then.

"Aaa—!" Ulan's impatient low growl silenced the chattering leaders, then ordered: "Luodeng! Hoszu! Saldo! Mande! Fini! Ke'anna! The six of you stay here and guard our home, especially the great gates at the far north and far south…"

Speaking, Ulan casually grabbed a heavy hammer wrested from a group of orc youths, turned, raised the hammer aloft and roared: "The rest follow me up, wipe out those skinny bastards! Waaagh!!!"

"Waaagh!!"

All the orc leaders, youths and imps present joined the Waaagh, unleashing a massive Spiritual Shock that swept across the entire Shield World and even the battling sides within the gravitational sphere.

In the void.

Seeing the naked‑eye‑visible Waaagh stance about to meet the expedition fleet…

◇-◇-◇

Countless rhombic blocks converge, forming a colossal shield wall that stretches across the entire front line.

Boom-——Boom-——!

The Waaagh stance continuously bombards the shield wall, attempting to cripple and heavily damage the expedition fleet.

However, the shield wall is a joint release by four OriginalBody, supplemented by the Spiritual Energy of over a thousand centurions, successfully neutralizing the unprecedented Waaagh stance.

The impact recedes, the shield wall dissipates.

Both sides resume their contest.

At the front of the line, Robert pilots his DivineBody, wielding a flame sword, first cleaving a wrecked escort ship, then firing a 1200 mm laser cannon that pierces a three‑kilometre‑class derelict battleship in the distance.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, he turns toward the Shield World, using the DivineBody's visual range to spot a transport fleet exiting the Shield World's atmosphere toward a battle planet, then opens communications: "Shengjilesi, try to snipe that giant beast from afar."

"Alright." Whoosh-——!

As Shengjilesi's reply comes through, the Spiritual Energy arrow is already loosed, tracing a near‑light‑speed path straight toward the transport a tens of thousands of kilometers away, carrying the war giant beast and the most battered, worst, and largest transport of the orc leaders.

Boom-——! The arrow detonates early, its blaze and pure Spiritual Energy shock sweeping all around.

When the afterglow dissipates.

The transport fleet, along with many nearby wrecked warships, is utterly destroyed by the arrow, yet the specific transport carrying the giant beast and the leader emerges unscathed.

"Commander, that one withstood my arrow," Shengjilesi reports calmly.

"Hmm, no problem, continue as planned."

"Understood."

From the conversation, Robert seemed to have anticipated this outcome; in fact, letting Shengjilesi snipe from a distance was also done with a try‑it‑out attitude.

After all, according to pre‑war estimates, each ork warlord possessed strength to match their OriginalBody, and that war beast could very likely be even stronger than their OriginalBody.

After a probing arrow, Robert could confirm that the opponent's Spiritual Energy magnitude and usage were on par with Shengjilesi's.

He ends the brief contemplation.

Robert maneuvers his DivineBody toward the fleet behind him, continues sniping with the 1200mm laser cannon, and orders, "All units, retreat!"

"Yes, Commander!"

The three OriginalBody brothers, along with the captains and commanders, responded in unison over the comms and carried out the pre‑planned steps, making the expeditionary force halt its charge completely, then withdraw slowly.

On the ork side, however,

They were first stunned by the expeditionary force; after finally receiving orders from their warlords and the beast, the situation steadied and morale gradually recovered, but humans actually intended to "fight and then run"?!

That cannot be tolerated!

Thus, accompanied by the Waaagh cries audible throughout space, the two remaining battle planets and over half the battle moons immediately accelerated to pursue the fleeing human expeditionary force.

Soon, the left side of the Shield World opened wide, the remaining ork defenses became negligible, and only six battle moons still posed a threat.

However, the battle moons suffered heavy damage in the recent clash and are being "patched by tearing down one wall to fix another" by tech orks—that is, violently dismantling nearby wrecked warships for repair material.

But at that moment…

Swish—— Swish——!

Over two thousand human warships of all classes, ending their "stretched‑into‑a‑line" fold‑jump state, headed straight for the left side of the Shield World.

The Olympus Class flagship leading this "detachment" fleet is the Dark Raven Legion's flagship, the Dark Raven Shadow, commanded by Kelakesi.

In fact, before Robert's main force arrived, Kelakesi had already exited Rift Space early and was waiting parked on the outer rim of the system.

Later, when the orks focused all attention on the expeditionary main force, Kelakesi, following Robert's order, immediately led the detachment to "flank from behind", completing the fold‑jump and forming a pincer formation with the main force against the orks.

However, in Robert's overall plan, the detachment tasked with flanking was merely a "decoy".

Cooperating with the main force to eliminate the ork living force is one aspect, but Robert hopes that stealth‑expert sixth brother Kelakesi can lead elite troops straight to the Shield World where defensive power has been reduced to its lowest, then enter the "core" and seize control of the Shield World.

Forty years ago, Magnus and Leon, due to the Flood's catastrophic flooding, had to overload an artificial star, completely destroying Shield World No. 0314.

Now, the green‑skinned orks who founded the Waaagh Empire pose a threat to the galaxy and humanity comparable to the Flood, yet still within controllable limits; moreover, they have not yet shown any trend of infecting or assimilating humans or other races, so Robert intends to seize the Shield World.

In the external hall of the Dark Raven Shadow's bridge, three hundred Shadows gathered.

These members of the Dark Raven Legion's Honor Guard each possess at least battalion‑commander level strength, wear black‑styled Terminators, have a signature slender three‑blade power claw on the right arm, and the left arm is equipped with either parallel burst arrows, a 1.25‑caliber super‑heavy burst arrow, or large‑caliber weapons such as plasma cannons and thermite cannons.

Besides the Shadows, the hall also contains Kelakesi, whose power‑armor helmet is opened, revealing fair skin and a handsome face, and…

"General Redfield, handling the ork main force is left to you and the captain," Kelakesi said to the "muscular man" standing before him.

The "muscular man", of ordinary human height, wore a black‑coat‑style Umbrella general uniform, a crew‑cut, and a left‑falling‑stroke scar on his face; these traits indicate he is one of Umbrella's many Original Elders, Chris Redfield.

After the Caronti task force disbanded, Chris, unwilling to transfer to a civilian post or "retire", was assigned by Sui Bian to the still‑forming Dark Raven Legion.

A hundred years later, Kelakesi had long treated Chris as an important deputy who was both teacher and friend; the Legion and all auxiliary forces of the sector were also placed under Chris's command.

"Go then, we'll take charge of space," Chris said with a solemn expression, lightly nodding.

"…" Kelakesi also nodded wordlessly, sealed his raven‑like helmet, then short‑range teleported with the three hundred Shadows, disappearing from the hall.

Outside the hull.

The Dark Raven Shadow and over two thousand expeditionary detachment ships have already begun exchanging fire with the six damaged battle moons and the ork fleet.

With strong foes ahead and encirclement behind, the Ulan giant beast and ork warlords finally realized that these skinny, short humans were so "cunning"?!

That's damn unfair! Can't we have a clean knife‑versus‑knife, gun‑versus‑gun, a thrilling, unrestrained showdown?!

Thus…

The angry "Waaagh!!" roar rose again; all the orks put killing the expeditionary force as their foremost concern, but they also, without realizing it, were fully drawn into Robert's pre‑arranged layout, becoming trapped in a grinding stalemate with no room to attend to anything else.

Meanwhile.

On the Shield World's surface at the North Pole lies a gateway allowing ships and warships to enter the core world, though a massive metal door has been sealed shut for at least sixty million years.

And within the conifer forest edging the door…

Swish—— Swish——.

Kelakesi and his three hundred Shadows silently completed a short‑range teleport.

The Waaagh is about to finish; Kelakesi descends onto the Shield World's surface, and the Shield World is about to fall into…

No spoilers, haha (Chapter end).