Chapter 365

The distance between the Third Fleet and the Expeditionary Force was rapidly shrinking, both sides closing in.

However, the Expeditionary Force kept firing alternating volleys of main and secondary guns, while the Third Fleet could only take hits, having no capacity to counterattack; after all, Federal warships are several generations behind those built by the Forging World.

There were also swarms of carrier-based aircraft centered on squadrons, and these aircraft—Viking, Gyrfalcon models, etc. —escorted the Thunder Transport Planes with heat-melt armor-piercing capability as they flew with the Expeditionary Force, using the giant warships and energy shields as cover while awaiting the optimal assault opportunity.

Soon, the Third Fleet finally launched a counterattack; various-caliber solid-shot artillery, as well as missiles carrying nuclear warheads of 300,000 to 400,000 tons, even up to millions or tens of millions of tons equivalent, came to the fore, screaming toward the Expeditionary Force.

Judging solely by barrage volume, even after suffering heavy losses and reduced manpower, the Third Fleet still outmatched the Expeditionary Force, and this salvo seemed to carry endless fury, determined to annihilate the Expeditionary Force in one strike.

Bear in mind, their Federal military may be weak in some technological areas—such as individual protection and ground armored vehicles—but when it comes to nuclear energy, they are absolutely top-notch, from individual soldiers to nuclear bombs capable of scorching an entire planet's surface; they have it all!

Thus, the Third Fleet's temporary commander believed that if tens of thousands of nuclear-warhead missiles could break through the Expeditionary Force's fire interception net, the situation could be turned from decline to advantage, reversing the full suppression.

Unfortunately, things did not go as wished.

The initial volleys of various-caliber solid-shot artillery could not penetrate the energy-shielded Expeditionary Force warships, and the nuclear missiles of various yields…

Boom—! Boom——! Boom——!

The blinding light from the explosions flared up, but did not last long before quickly dissipating, returning the space domain to icy cold and darkness.

It turned out that all the Zeus-class ships of the Expeditionary Force, just before contacting the nuclear barrage, activated and boosted their power, instantly spreading an energy shield wall that successfully withstood all the nuclear explosions.

Nuclear explosions indeed produce tremendous destructive power, but their effectiveness is greatly reduced in deep space; moreover, this destruction is a "surface" effect rather than a "point" one—if it were a salvo of electromagnetic main guns, the Zeus-class shields could not withstand it, but a nuclear blast… is comparatively easy to handle.

Having withstood the full salvo, the Expeditionary Force was now close enough to the Third Fleet; thus the carrier-based aircraft squadrons seized the moment to strike, swiftly assaulting while escorting the Thunder Transport Planes through the close-defense gunfire net and engaging enemy aircraft in dogfights.

After rushing into the Third Fleet formation, each squadron locked onto its assigned Federal warship and dispersed, creating boarding opportunities for the Thunder Transport Planes.

———————

…

Inside a certain equipment room of a 500-meter-class destroyer…

"Beep! Beep! Beep!" the alarm blared.

"All personnel prepare, all personnel prepare…" and the constantly repeating mechanical broadcast.

"This is the bridge, I am Captain Savanidelti!" At that moment, the repeating broadcast was manually switched to the captain's real-time broadcast: "The Roger Yang is about to suffer enemy boarders! Mobilized infantry, prepare to repel them! Drive them off!"

Upon hearing that.

"You bastards!" a bald captain who had just donned his combat suit and mechanical exoskeleton grabbed a short, compact commander-type rifle, and, looking over the infantry who had likewise changed their gear, shouted loudly:

"You all heard the female captain's speech! Although we don't get along with the fleet, but!! Without the fleet, we infantry are totally land ducks, so for our tickets, we'll drive off all the pirates…"

But a "Boom!!!" sound cut short the captain's inspirational speech.

Only seen, the leftmost bulkhead of the equipment room, also the leftmost side of the hull, was pierced by a heat-melt beam, whose force did not diminish, directly devouring everything in its path; many unlucky souls were even vaporized by the beam, including the captain who had just given the motivational speech.

"Whoosh!!!" the air surged.

Pressure imbalance caused the air inside the equipment room to rapidly leak out, and before long it would be sucked dry by the vacuum of space.

"Ah!!!"

"Help!"

"Quick! Quick, crawl out!"

Not only air was rushing out, but the mobilized infantry who had just changed gear were also among them; some slower individuals were directly sucked out into space, while some quicker ones immediately used the strength boost from their mechanical exoskeletons to cling tightly to the floor, preparing to crawl out of the equipment room.

"Thump! Thump!"

At that very moment, a Thunder Transport Plane with its side wings retracted slammed in, boarded the Roger Yang, and docked inside this equipment room.

Immediately afterward, the Thunder Transport Plane ejected a super-fast inflating, expanding "rubber" ball that, following the airflow, plugged the breach, successfully stopping the violent turbulence and outflow of air.

And before the surviving mobilized infantry could even celebrate, the Thunder Transport Plane's lower nose hatch opened, revealing to the infantry many flickering, eerie green "eyes" in the dim cabin.

!!!

The infantry instantly wanted to raise their weapons.

"Tong! Tong!"

The audible thudding gunfire came from a. 75-caliber bolt gun.

"Thud! Thud!" the large rubber bolts struck the infantry's bodies and armor.

"Pfft-ah!" a soldier whose abdomen took a direct rubber bolt, due to the strong force, leapt backward into the air and then crashed heavily to the ground, spitting blood, eyes closed, head lolling to one side—unknown whether dead or alive.

Just a single encounter.

Just a single round of aimed fire.

Hundreds of infantry instantly lost all mobility and combat ability, lying on the ground wailing, or uncontrollably vomiting white foam, bodies twitching, some simply motionless.

At that moment, amidst the sounds in the equipment room, more were the "thud, thud" of magnetic boots striking the metal floor.

It turned out this Thunder Transport Plane had delivered a platoon—thirty Space Wild Wolves equipped with Thor's Hammer Mark V—to the Roger Yang.

Moreover, the wolves' magazines contained not standard bolts, nor extremely vicious venomous (alien acid blood) bolts, but the rubber bolts they often encountered during training.

Although the name includes "rubber," this does not mean rubber bolts are "safe" or "harmless"; know that they are fired from the bolt gun's barrel, and they will bruise and swell even on Astate bodies, and if they hit "mortals"…

The mobilized infantry sprawled on the ground represent the best outcome.

Among the motionless infantry, in fact the vast majority have already expired, given that these infantry were directly struck in the abdomen by rubber bolts, causing ruptured and damaged organs.

Meanwhile, the infantry who are screaming in pain and twitching all over still have a certain chance to survive; if this pack of wolves had opened with standard bolts, the equipment room would already be awash in blood, everywhere chunks of meat and debris.

Switching to rubber bolts was a "non-lethal" strategy adopted after Rus consulted with the Red Queen, aiming to avoid excessive casualties; otherwise, following the Astate—especially the Space Wild Wolves' brutal advance, their fierce charge fighting style—having anyone survive after a boarding action would be strange.

After all, the father's demand is to overthrow the Federal regime and bring this galaxy's population and territory "into the bag"; whereas naval warfare and close-range boarding differ, if they conducted looting as in past boarding actions causing heavy casualties, it could provoke popular resistance and backlash.

In terms of public opinion control, the Red Queen may not match her "sister" the White Queen, but she is still far stronger than humans, so Rus also agreed to adopt the suggestion of using rubber bolts.

However, the wolves, accustomed to directly killing enemies, were somewhat unaccustomed, which is why the mobilized infantry suffered heavy casualties.

But it's no big problem; the wolves, having learned the lesson, continue onward.

With a "Bang!" one wolf kicked open the metal gate, then he and his brothers proceeded to the corridor.

Immediately after…

"Tong! Tong!" muffled gunfire echoed throughout the interior of the Roger Yang's hull.

This time, facing fully armed mechanized infantry, the Wild Wolves will feel pity and will only pull the trigger when aiming at the infantry's limb joints.

Against heavy infantry equipped with thick Mechanical exoskeletons, it will instead provoke the Wild Wolves' desire to fight; they will rush straight into gunfire, strip the heavy infantry's armor and Mechanical exoskeleton clean, then shoot the now-unprotected heavy infantry's arms and legs.

When encountering unarmed crew members…

Just shoot them without hesitation.

The Wild Wolves don't care whether you're unarmed; their goal is to beat you into incapacity.

Next, this combat squad splits into five teams to increase efficiency in clearing the entire Roger Young, while the tactical team with the squad leader has already arrived at the bridge.

Again with a "Pang!", the squad leader kicks open the sealed metal door with one foot and leads the brothers charging in.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

Upon entering, the middle-aged female captain who had been broadcasting earlier leads all crew members in attacking with pistols.

"Buzz~ buzz~!" The bullet cannot penetrate Thor's Hammer's energy shield at all.

"Ding! Pa~!" Moreover, the ricocheting bullet continues to zip around the bridge.

"Ah!" A female crew member with a long ponytail has her right arm struck by a bullet, blood pouring out.

This female crew member is actually the ex-girlfriend of Hardbone Corporal Johnny Rico, and also the helmswoman of the Roger Young, Carmen Ibanez.

In Sui Bian's impression, it was this Carmen who cheated on her boyfriend, who arbitrarily changed the course, causing the Roger Young to discover the asteroid that attacked Buenos Aires.

Seeing that pistol fire was ineffective, and the six Wild Wolves still acted recklessly, strolling leisurely into the bridge, the female captain immediately threw away her pistol, raised both hands cleanly, and loudly ordered: "Cease all fire! Stop resisting!"

"Captain?!" Everyone was astonished, obviously not expecting the usually strict and stern captain to order surrender.

"This is an order!" the female captain shouted again.

"Yes..."

Thus, the crew members followed the order, one after another throwing away their pistols and raising both hands to indicate their willingness to surrender.

The female captain's reason for ordering surrender was simple: in the face of absolute power, any counterattack is futile; moreover, she knew these tin-can giants had little killing intent, otherwise they wouldn't have used rubber bullets, and as captain she needed to be more rational and also responsible for the young people beside her.

But…

There are always those who think they know more than the older generation and believe they can turn the tables.

Just then, a fairly handsome male crew member, seeing the Wild Wolves not paying attention to him, quickly bent down, reached for the pistol he had thrown on the ground, and prepared to launch a sneak attack at close range on the "weak" joint of Thor's Hammer.

Unfortunately…

"Crack!!" the sound of bones being crushed by a heavy object, making one's teeth ache.

"Ahhh!" accompanied by the man's miserable screams, echoing throughout the bridge.

"Hmph." A Wild Wolf stepped on the male crew member's right hand that had been reaching for the pistol with his left foot, making a condescending gesture, and with a metallic-toned voice said disdainfully: "Trash, don't think I won't kill you."

After saying that, the Wild Wolf lifted his left foot.

Looking at the male crew member's right hand…… it was already a bloody mess, completely ruined, and worth mentioning: this guy happened to be Carmen's lover.

Perhaps this guy wanted to show off in front of Carmen, relying on the Wild Wolves' lack of killing intent to make a scene, but who knew the Wild Wolves don't indulge.

The Wild Wolf squad leader slightly turned his body, glanced at the male crew member clutching his right hand and writhing in pain on the ground, then opened his helmet, revealing short hair with a copper nail embedded in his forehead, swept his gaze around, and finally fixed it on the female captain, saying in a low voice:

"Captain, please direct your crew to operate this warship to withdraw from the front line; rest assured, as long as you cooperate, we will not deliberately make things difficult for you."

"Alright, I hope you keep your promise." The female captain nodded in agreement.

Outside the ship.

The Roger Young, now under the control of the Wild Wolves and operated by the female captain and crew, actively broke away from the Third Fleet and headed toward the area where the Expeditionary Force was stationed.

Looking out, every ship that had been boarded by the Wild Wolves changed course; in the end, the Third Fleet completely collapsed, unable to sustain combat, and the remaining ships immediately activated their warp engines to flee, regardless of whether the route was safe.

From the Third Fleet's arrival at the L-03 Sector to the surviving ships beginning to flee, the whole process lasted less than two hours…

Speaking of which, it's funny that the Third Fleet had the Hardbone Detachment hold out for two hours earlier; now looking back, lasting two hours is pure nonsense.

At this time, the Expeditionary Force released a large number of engineering vessels and ships, beginning to inspect and repair the captured Federal warships.

At the same time, many transport planes and landing craft carried auxiliary troops and the UNSC Marine Corps to land on those Federal warships, assisting the Wild Wolves in guarding the prisoners.

Post-battle statistics show the Expeditionary Force's losses were negligible, since the Expeditionary Force's carrier aircraft and individual equipment all have energy shields, whereas the Third Fleet lost four-fifths of its ships in just two hours, and the vast majority of those ships and their Federal soldiers also ended up in the Expeditionary Force's hands.

It can be said to be a "door-opening red," so next is to let the Red Queen wage a wave of "psychological warfare."

"Starship Troopers" should end soon; this universe was created to give humanity a solid population base, because more threats will have to be faced later.

Let's not spoil la, hahaha, thanks for everyone's support~ thanks for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, tips, and subscriptions~!

(End of chapter)