Chapter 492

Boom!!

The final 'Radiant Light' created by the brigadier general and the ship's crew could be clearly observed even on the ground within the atmosphere.

After all, the Zerg fleet was approaching the sun-facing side of Tai Luo Ke Er, with millions of living warships and transport ships blotting out the sky, and the Yandu-class 'Radiant Light' stood out all the more.

According to the brigadier general's order, the UNSC fleet that returned to within the atmosphere were each stationed above the energy shield over the metropolitan core region.

At this moment.

It was District 29 of the metropolitan outskirts.

Near the edge of the energy shield, inside one of the bunkers.

"May your souls find rest; the cold radiance of the Master of Humanity will sweep away all chaos and evil from the other realm."

All the trainee sisters knelt on one knee, touching the decorations related to 'Human Truth' on themselves, and they mourned the brigadier general and others with utmost sincerity.

The iron-blooded company commander and the scouts stationed with them opened their helmets, held their weapons in both hands, and silently listened to the sisters' heavenly voices.

After finishing the mourning, the sisters then stood up.

The iron-blooded company commander and the scouts also refastened their helmets, returned to their posts, and continued to monitor the outside situation.

No matter what, the atmosphere inside this bunker could not be enlivened.

Because they had lost orbital control, lost a senior officer, and the scale of the unknown Zerg's main fleet far exceeded previous estimates.

They were confident they could hold out until the Thirteenth Legion arrived, but they could not imagine what else the unknown Zerg were capable of.

Soon after.

Tan Ya and Celesstin stayed at the right side of the bunker, looking up through the observation window and then via the holographic screen's simulated star map, they could 'clearly' see millions of living warships surrounding and enveloping Tai Luo Ke Er.

At the same time, the sky grew even darker and gloomier.

Regular communications failed.

Spiritual Energy detection failed.

Only quantum communications remained normal, so Tai Luo Ke Er was not completely cut off from the outside world.

But this could not avoid the fact that wherever the unknown Zerg went, everything seemed to fall into darkness and silence.

Moreover, when a Spiritual User among the formal battle sisters tried to use Spiritual Energy to probe the unknown Zerg's thoughts, they almost suffered a backlash.

Fortunately that Spiritual User ended the probing in time; otherwise her fate would have been death or madness, which also indicates that the unknown Zerg possess a higher consciousness that ordinary Spiritual Users cannot hope to match.

Tan Ya and Celesstin continued to watch the content displayed on the holographic screen.

Only seeing that after the Zerg fleet completed its encirclement, it released a denser swarm of larvae that broke through the atmosphere and descended to the ground to begin voraciously…

"Feeding".

"Exactly, it is feeding."

Continuous monitoring of the low-intelligence AIs across Tai Luo Ke Er revealed that countless larvae, upon reaching the surface, immediately swallowed every living thing in sight.

Furthermore, they would release a kind of living plant that quickly corroded and took root in the soil, causing the ecological environment to undergo a sudden change.

Almost in an instant, the originally vibrant green rainforest, after the unknown Zerg's work, remained 'green' but had become a rotting, decaying swamp-green.

Immediately after, the living warships that had entered the atmosphere would lower huge, thick feeding tubes, sucking up all the soil that had turned into 'broth' and 'swamp'.

Not long after, the low-intelligence AIs lost their monitoring view as the Zerg swarm destroyed the facilities everywhere.

"Good heavens..." After seeing what the Zerg swarm did to Tai Luo Ke Er, Tan Ya couldn't help but remark: "This Zerg is even more extravagant than the Flood, basically insatiable…"

"Great Devourer." Celesstin echoed.

"Yes, Great Devourer, that term is very apt."

Tan Ya nodded in agreement, then she switched the holographic screen before her left eye back to shooting-assist mode, gazed into the distance, and began to feel wistful:

"Ah… I never expected that after just one month of internship we would encounter an unprecedented Zerg assault, and that this Great Devourer could shield and block Spiritual Energy; so you say… can the Chairman keep an eye on us?"

"…" Celesstin did not answer immediately.

After a silence of several seconds, she then replied: "Since Spiritual Energy is blocked and shielded, our prayers naturally cannot reach the Chairman; Sergeant Ran Ze should have no authority to contact the Chairman directly, but the OriginalBody of the Thirteenth Legion certainly can, however…"

Celesstin was unable to say the following words.

Because the OriginalBody of the Thirteenth Legion belongs to the new generation, just as young and vigorous as they are, facing a Zerg-type enemy that could earn them ample merits, how could they possibly easily request aid from the Chairman, or from other legions and OriginalBodies?

Only the Red Queen and the White Queen could notice Tai Luo Ke Er's situation immediately and then relay it to the Chairman.

However, deep down, Celesstin and the other sisters felt that the Chairman would pay more attention to the thoughts and opinions of the OriginalBody.

There was no way around it; although they called themselves daughters of the Chairman (Master of Humanity), they had no blood relation whatsoever, whereas the OriginalBody is the Chairman's 'beloved son'.

If the OriginalBody of the Thirteenth Legion wanted to make a showing, the Chairman might tacitly allow or accept it, only directly extending a hand to rescue when absolutely necessary.

After all, the Chairman concerns himself not with a single planet or even a single universe, but with the multiverse and tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of planets and colonies, so it is utterly impossible for him to continually focus his energy on just one point.

"Boom…boom…"

At this moment, the ground transmitted a faint vibration, causing Tan Ya, Celesstin, and everyone inside the bunker to turn their gazes outward.

All that could be seen was living warships covering the sky and descending from the horizon, releasing at least hundreds of millions of larvae in an attempt to strike the metropolitan area that holds the planet's entire population.

"All personnel, get ready; our side is about to launch the first barrage." And over the comms came the reminder from the elite captain.

The words fell.

"Swish…swish…"

Tan Ya and Celesstin then saw hundreds of missiles streaking white trails from above, and only afterward heard the missiles' whooshing sound.

Thousands of missiles, spaced apart, plunged straight into the incoming Zerg swarm, and then…

Ree——!!

White and blue light flashed.

This caused Tan Ya and Celesstin to involuntarily narrow their eyes and raise their hands in front to shield themselves.

"Boom!!!!"

Only when the light was about to fade did they hear a deafening explosion.

Put down your hands.

At that moment, the outskirts had already become a purgatory; everything was scorched and destroyed, and even the invading swarms were exterminated, 'purified'.

Indeed.

Against such a densely packed enemy as the swarm, deploying plasma and antimatter bombs within the atmosphere is one of the best options.

Although Tai Luo Ke Er's UNSC fleet lacked authorization to equip nova‑class nuclear bombs capable of extermination orders, plasma bombs and antimatter bombs of conventional yield (not exceeding 20 grams) still numbered over ten thousand in reserve.

Scorching, searing heat waves swept all around.

"Wooom~~!!"

However, the energy shield generated over District 29 of the metropolis easily neutralized this residual disturbance, and a salvo of a thousand missiles likewise effortlessly shattered the unknown swarm's initial assault.

However…

The enemy showed no fear at all, clearly recognizing that their advantage lay in sheer numbers, and thus began massing forces to surge toward the metropolis.

At the same time, the enemy unleashed orbital bombardment, with massive bio‑plasma gun batteries pouring down incessantly, relentlessly pounding the two Steadfast‑class and four Paris‑class UNSC ships, as well as the entire metropolis.

Faced with such an onslaught, the UNSC fleet had no choice but to withdraw within the metropolis's energy‑shield perimeter.

Although the assault was fierce, in the short term the unknown swarm could not yet break Tai Luo Ke Er's defensive posture.

Next.

Tan Ya and Celesstin saw that outside the energy shield, every so often blue and white flashes appeared—signs of plasma and antimatter bombs.

But not long after, they heard over the comms the elite captain's order again: "Everyone, retreat immediately to Metropolitan District 01; meanwhile, all units in Districts 02 through 12 will escort civilians to District 01."

?

Hearing this, the trainee sisters felt doubtful, yet they followed orders, accompanying the Iron Blood Company Commander and the Recon Company as they withdrew from the bunker into the open streets.

"Ga…"

Apparently noticing the trainees' confusion, the Iron Blood Company Commander stepped up beside them and explained: "It seems the enemy's fire is fierce; superiors need to concentrate all power on maintaining the District 01 energy shield, which is why we have no choice but to evacuate everyone to District 01."

In fact, Sergeant Ran Ze and Zax Redfield, among others, had already considered the unknown swarm's intense firepower when relocating and concentrating the planet's populace into the metropolis, and thus had poured all resources into the District 01 contingency plan.

Thus, most civilians were gathered in District 01, with the remainder in Districts 02 through 12; this way, when the contingency plan is activated, time can be saved and efficiency maximized as much as possible.

As for not doing this from the start, it was because the higher‑ups still harbored a certain 'fantasy,' believing they could preserve the metropolis that had been operated for nearly half a century.

But the current situation shows that not only can the metropolis not be kept intact, even Tai Luo Ke Er will be devoured clean by the unknown swarm.

"Ah…" Even after hearing the explanation from the Iron Blood Company Commander, one sister could not help but sigh: "In that case, we truly are fighting with our backs to the wall, with no retreat left."

"Backs to the wall?" Seeing the trainees' morale low, Tan Ya clenched her right fist and swung it forward, raising her voice: "How many classic battles in history have not been fights with one's back to the wall? I believe we, too, can create a miracle!

"Moreover! Right now we are merely relocating; the navy is firing missile volleys, the army artillery is conducting saturation bombardment, so there's nothing to worry about for the time being."

"You're absolutely right." A similarly belligerent sister immediately voiced her agreement.

"." Celesstin offered no comment, for she always felt Tan Ya was a jinx, yet she still nodded in assent.

After learning the superiors' intention, the trainee sisters, together with the elite captain's 3rd Battalion, a reserve combat squad, and many allied units, transferred via air and also by ground orbital trains.

When everyone, including them, had withdrawn from District 29 and arrived at Metropolitan District 20, Tan Ya, standing in the rearmost car, saw the energy shield over District 29 voluntarily dissipate.

Endless swarms surged forward; the first to fall were the bunkers they had garrisoned, then the remaining defensive lines, and finally all buildings collapsed in succession.

With no ground resistance whatsoever, the swarm advanced like a bamboo splitter, devouring the entirety of District 29 in the blink of an eye.

"Boom! Rumble!!"

Suddenly, they heard a violent explosion coming from the right side of the car, not far from them.

?!

This prompted them to hurriedly look out the window.

They saw the swarm's orbital bombardment, which had initially blanketed the entire metropolis, now shift to concentrated fire, focusing on "taking care of" Districts 02 through 06.

Moreover, they saw countless giant flying insects, beating their rotting, holed wings, escorted by swarms of smaller flying insects, recklessly slamming into the anti‑air barrage, evidently also aiming straight for Districts 02 through 06 of the metropolis.

Once the energy shields of these five metropolitan districts are shattered, the retreat route for nearly a hundred million people will be cut off directly.

"Damn!" Seeing this, Tan Ya exclaimed: "Did this swarm change by chance, or was it meticulously planned? How could they be so clever?"

Immediately afterward, the holographic screen updated the mission information from "Retreat to Metropolitan District 01" to "Proceed to Metropolitan District 06, assist in civilian evacuation, and prepare for combat."

This time, the elite captain did not continue to boost morale over the comms; instead he said briefly: "Everyone, you've seen the task; I need not remind you of extra details—just remember one thing: if you see the bugs, kill them!"

"Yes, sir!" Tan Ya, Celesstin, and the others replied in unison.

Afterward, the orbital train carried the crowd across the deserted streets, swiftly heading for the nearest District 06.

Arriving at the high‑altitude station.

Stepping out of the car.

Tan Ya saw on the platform a Krieger combat squad stationed there, equipped with exclusive powered armor and wearing the distinctive helmet.

As they passed these warriors who preferred silence, seeing the squad nod in acknowledgment, they returned the nod.

Soon.

The group then arrived at the street below.

It was not as chaotic as imagined; ground vehicles followed the traffic marshals' guidance in orderly fashion, though they moved relatively slowly toward District 01.

The aerial corridors were the same.

Many veterans wielding semi‑automatic pulse rifles voluntarily gave up their early evacuation spots to youths who had never received training.

Elderly?

They don't exist; at eighty, one is still in the prime of life.

If one insists on calling them elderly, they would be the first batch to arrive on Tai Luo Ke Er, the most martial of the main‑universe colonists, and these so‑called 'old people' are, for the most part, retired soldiers bearing firearms.

"Rumble… rumble…"

The swarm's bombardment of the energy shield kept jolting everyone's nerves; despite the streets being packed with people to a considerable degree, it was eerily quiet.

Hoo… ha…

Even Tan Ya, who was patrolling the street side, unknowingly quickened their breathing rate a little.

Crack… splash!!!

Finally, the energy shield could no longer be sustained, and at the same time came the shattering sound that everyone least wanted to hear, now coming from above.

(End of chapter)