Chapter 568: Incomprehensible Fearlessness

DivineBody.

As a product of the OriginalBody's "elephantification", it is also a biological weapon early developed by Umbrella, and even now it has not abandoned "updating" upgrades.

At this moment.

Observing from above, one can see Ark 002 hovering at close range at the "lower end" of the insect.

The distance between them is less than 400,000 km—the distance between Earth and the Moon—and the gap between them flickers with dazzling firelight and violent explosions.

For example, accompanying Ark 002's voyage, eight "◇" rhombus matrices are formed, each matrix node stretching four thousand kilometers, continuously emitting twisted, either vertical or horizontal, cyan beams.

All biological warships along the way are burned to ash by the matrix beams.

Yet the insect's biological shield blocks the beam attacks.

Conversely, the insect side, besides continuously deploying biological warships, also uses bio‑cannons the size of a planetary diameter to fire at Ark 002 countless bio‑cannon clusters that emit a faint purple glow and can easily devour an Earth‑like planet.

However, the result is likewise easily nullified by Ark 002's energy shield.

Both sides fire at each other.

Both sides are helpless, causing no substantive damage.

Instead, among the fleets dispatched between the two sides are many transport aircraft and ships, carrying landing troops, attempting to jump over to the space above both sides.

The insect side makes no progress for now; after all, Ark 002's firepower is fierce, and it also has mechanically‑sentinel‑modified close‑range cannon arrays, filling the sky above Ark 002 with cyan‑blue barrage of cannon clusters…

Of course, the close‑range cannon array is only spectacular; it is effective against small insect transport aircraft or tiny flying insects, but cannot deal with insect warships larger than a kilometer.

Real anti‑air defense lies in the matrix‑formed "matrix beam net" (the laser corridor effect from the first Biohazard movie, but scaled to a celestial level).

Looking at Ark 002's side, over 2,500 warships, together with the homeworld's Glory Iron Fist ship "Never‑Fall", somehow carved a passage through the insect sea.

Then the fleet passes the outer ring, slows its conventional speed, successfully breaches the insect's biological shield, and reaches the insect surface nearer the core region.

Afterwards, the fleet acts as a low‑speed, mobile covering fire array, and airdrops onto the surface over twenty thousand Astate of Glory Iron Fist and the Fallen, as well as more than four million support troops, and even over three hundred thousand Sangheli (elite), launching a landing operation.

After all, among the fleet fighting alongside the elite expeditionary army is an elite fleet that merged into the UNSC Navy, and after the Empire's founding, merged into the Fallen's legion.

As for the twenty thousand Astate…

Although the more‑than‑one‑year expedition campaign caused some losses to the forty battalions led by Rog and Sui Meng, each battalion still averages over five hundred official members.

Zoom in.

Surface landing zone.

Facing the front line where the insect core lies.

The DivineBody piloted by Sui Meng has a general appearance and paint scheme similar to his Dragon Glory armor, except the helmet's red tassel and the red cape on his back are replaced by Spiritual Energy that emits a dark‑red glow.

The DivineBody's wielded curved blade bears a handle engraved with dragon‑scale patterns and a "Blood Dragon" burning with dark‑red Spiritual Energy; the blade's tail coils around the handle, then at the blade neck it opens a blood‑filled mouth, making the edge appear as if spat out from its mouth.

At a glance, the design would cause many Astate and support troops familiar with ancient Chinese history to instantly mistake it for a weapon once used by the Martial Saint.

However, the blade Sui Meng uses is the Blood Dragon Blade, and the DivineBody's Dragon Glory armor both originate from Hephestus; combined with Sui Meng's Spiritual Energy, they enable elephant‑size (massive) transformation and equip the DivineBody.

Roar!

"Boom!!"

One hears and sees the DivineBody swing a dragon blade that leaves after‑images, and before it emits a deafening whoosh (the insect's surface has a thin atmosphere), a faint dragon roar reverberates.

Then the dragon blade is engulfed by dark‑red flame, instantly harvesting tens of thousands of soldier insects, snake insects, and warrior insects.

Not only Sui Meng.

Also painted bright gold, Rog's DivineBody, a few kilometers away, wields a "nano rifle" forged jointly by Mother Nest and Raccoon City Arms, unleashing fire upon the endless insect‑sea tide.

"Boom!! Boom!!"

The cyan‑blue flashing nano‑cannon swarm erupts sequentially from the 7,000 mm caliber nano rifle, tracing arcs across the burning night sky.

The cannon swarm either lands in the core of the insect mound or strikes the hundred‑meter‑tall, mountain‑like Titan giant insects.

Most importantly, when the swarm hits a target, it does not explode violently as imagined, but rather splashes water like Rog's sidearm, spreading rapidly outward.

In the blink of an eye, the insect sea visited by the cannon swarm truly becomes a vast ocean…

It continuously emits cyan‑blue light, like a flowing liquid ocean.

Because the cannon swarm fired by Rog's DivineBody consists of countless nano‑bugs only 1 nm in size.

Once activated, they devour everything nearby as food, then self‑divide, continuously increasing in number.

Their "food list" includes trees, soil, metal, and naturally the Tai Luo Insect Race; thus millions to tens of millions of insects are directly converted into new nano‑bugs, continuing to spread outward.

Only those hundred‑meter‑tall, mountain‑like Titan giant insects, after deploying a bio‑shield that emits a faint purple glow, temporarily block and vaporize the first wave of cannon‑shaped nano‑bugs.

After all, the cannon swarm launched from the DivineBody's nano rifle is high‑speed, high‑energy, so the Tai Luo Insect Race's bio‑shield can generate effective defense.

But…

Not even ten seconds later, the nano‑bugs, now a cyan‑blue oceanic mass, slowly—at conventional speed—encase those Titan giant insects.

"Howl...! Howl..."

Accompanied by a roar that reverberates across the entire battlefield.

"Thud...! Thud...!"

And a collapse like a landslide, those Titan giant insects first lose limbs and balance, becoming immobile, then the nano‑bug sea completely envelops them.

Soon, the protruding, raised mounds gradually descend, indicating they have fully merged into the nano‑bug sea, providing ample nutrients to it.

Watching unrestrained breeding and replication, it threatens to sweep the entire battlefield, wiping out all insects, and even the rock, soil, and biological tissue of the insects themselves are devoured.

Conversely, the expeditionary forces are unaffected, as the nano‑bugs possess friend‑or‑foe identification.

However…

"Boom!!"

It seems to have sensed the nano‑bugs' "hazard", and the insect instantly released a high‑temperature blast reaching billions of degrees, finally eradicating the nano‑bug sea in one stroke.

However, this action caused the soldier insects and snake insects without bio‑shields in the affected area to be completely exterminated.

Although the expeditionary forces also suffered minor losses, all their gear and armor have energy shields, keeping their losses within controllable limits.

And the fleet anchored not far away continues to transport troops to the landing zone that has already been "cleaned up" by the land insects.

At the same time, a centurion of the Honor Guard and twenty Emperor‑class Titans detached from the fleet, using levitation at uniform speed to the landing zone, assisting the two DivineBodies to thoroughly stabilize the forward front line.

The predecessor of the Emperor‑class Titan is the hundred‑meter‑tall Speaker‑class Titan.

Although it shares the same name as the "clunky" Titans used by the Zero‑Three Empire, it is fundamentally a completely different weapon.

Today, the Titans employed by the Human Empire use a bio‑weaving technique that, compared with the DivineBody, is cheap yet more efficient, producing bodies whose hardness rivals or even exceeds that of α‑titanium alloy.

Because the Emperor‑class is one of the Human Empire's top weapons, and because vibranium has achieved a certain level of mass production, the Emperor‑class replaced the former Speaker‑class ship‑mounted α‑titanium alloy armor with vibranium armor.

Coupled with a nano‑flow layer that looks like a black bodysuit between the bio‑body and the vibranium armor, and an expensive yet very simple antimatter reactor…

In short, the Emperor‑class Titan is the only humanoid weapon in the Human Empire second only to the DivineBody, currently temporarily piloted by veteran members of each legion's Honor Guard.

Not only that.

The fleet also took advantage of the land insects' "friendly fire" window to deliver nearly a hundred thirty‑meter‑tall, "reserve‑box" Battle‑Dog‑class Titans from various battalions to the landing zone.

(The Speaker‑class has been completely destroyed; after all, such bio‑weapons require maintenance, but to compensate battalions that already possess Speaker‑class units, the Human Empire will grant them equivalent‑value ships or easily mass‑produced small‑scale Battle‑Dog‑class Titans, though they must queue.)

Thus.

The Expeditionary Force finally steadied its footing in the landing zone and prepared for a "bait‑and‑counterattack" with the Tai Luo Insect Race, aiming to draw as many insects as possible for the already flanking Shengjilesi and Holy Blood Angel.

Now observe the Tai Luo Insect Race side.

The land insects do not repent for mistakenly killing allies in the hundreds‑of‑millions; they have no such emotions, and moreover, they continue to surge toward the landing zone in endless waves of soldier insects, snake insects, warrior insects, and massive Titan beetles.

Therefore, the high‑temperature stance released earlier was, for the land insects and the entire Tai Luo Insect Race, merely a measure to clean out "fleas."

More importantly, after the Ark 002 and the Expeditionary Force's full‑scale offensive, the hive mind of the insects instantly sent a message to Expedition‑072 and to the entire Tai Luo Insect Race of the Zero‑Three Universe.

Consequently, Tai Luo fleets from neighboring star systems have already arrived at the land‑insect side, and more insect fleets will follow; their gravity‑navigation technology is also not constrained by the shielding stance released by the land insects.

Having long been isolated, the Expeditionary Force now faces an even more daunting situation.

But these are not the concerns that the earlier transport‑plane‑borne, trench‑breaker combat squads needed to worry about.

At this moment.

The front‑line area of the landing zone.

"Hmph, scum."

The platoon leader, whose helmet is painted red and adorned with a ghost‑mask, looks disdainfully at the sky‑filled Tai Luo insect swarm, attaches his plasma pistol to the outer armor of his left leg, readjusts his power sword, and makes the blade flicker with dark‑red lightning.

Then the platoon leader scans the thousand siege tanks gathered at the forefront, the nearly ten thousand hundred‑armed giants and cyclops mechs, as well as the Battle‑Dogs and Emperor‑class Titans, and…

Behind his OriginalBody's DivineBody, he swings his right hand, causing the power sword to trace a red‑light blade flower, and points the blade toward the insect swarm ten‑plus kilometers away, issuing a metallic‑sounding war‑cry:

"For father! For the Empire! And for humanity! Here, slaughter the alien scum to your heart's content!"

"Kill!"

All members of the combat platoon respond in unison with the briefest yet most resonant metallic war‑cry.

Not only this combat platoon, but also all nearby brothers and the auxiliary troops of the trench‑breaker battalions.

"Hahaha~!"

"These kids have spirit!"

"We must not fall behind!"

Conversely, Sangheli (Elite) Assault Master, who shares responsibility for this area with the trench‑breakers, laughs loudly with blunt words that they consider praise but are somewhat provocative.

Members of the trench‑breaker legion, including most auxiliary troops, average about twenty‑five years old, so in the eyes of these elites—who are themselves a hundred and fifty years old—they naturally appear as children.

Fortunately, the trench‑breakers are taciturn, and the company commander and battalion commander only issued the order, "Soon we'll open fire, don't let the old ghosts look down on us."

For a moment, the trench‑breakers felt the pre‑battle ease and "cooking‑the‑newbies" feeling of old, but quickly refocused on the imminent bait‑enemy battle; without a father's protection, even if rescue comes, the arrival time is unknown.

The atmosphere instantly grew much heavier.

Looking at the nearby elites, the trench‑breakers again saw those veterans unchanged, completely untouched by the aura of death, exuding an un‑fearful, proud confidence…

Only after undergoing a true blood‑soaked baptism will the trench‑breakers possibly grasp the true meaning behind it.

"Swish~! Swish~!"

At that moment, the fleet behind the platoon leader and his comrades also launched a "ten‑thousand‑launcher simultaneous fire."

Countless missiles carrying plasma, antimatter, and conventional fusion warheads streaked across the sky above the front line and fell behind the insect swarm.

Ri~——!

Boom—!! Boom—!!

Blue and white flashes erupted, mushroom clouds and shockwaves rose, and the clash between the Expeditionary Force and the insect swarm resumed.

The platoon leader wielding the power sword led a few brothers forward.

"Pfft!"

"Sizzle!"

Insect flesh exploded, tore, and sliced, echoing around the platoon leader.

"Boom‑rumble!!!"

"Hoo~——!"

Immediately, the missile explosions and shockwaves finally reverberated from behind the insect swarm.

"Roar!!"

Suddenly, a warrior insect standing at least ten meters tall, clad in the Tai Luo Insect Race's exoskeleton and wielding scythe‑like arms, blocked the platoon leader's and his brothers' charge.

(End of chapter)