"Thanks." Perhaps swept up in Lao Jian's mood, Han Qingyu spoke quietly to Cao Min running beside him as they jogged over to assemble with Long Blade Squad.
"What are you thanking me for?" Cao Min turned his head with a grin. "It's only because we kept quiet about your name and your return. Otherwise, those foreign elite squads probably would've fought tooth and nail to grab you. Don't forget, you're a guy with a bounty on your head in the City of Iniquity."
He paused, then lowered his voice and added, "If things go sideways later, lend a hand if you can... but if you really can't help, don't hesitate. Protect your people and pull out."
Having said his piece, he seemed a bit embarrassed. Without waiting for a reply, he put his head down and sped ahead.
This was a war the likes of which Azure had never experienced before. Even the elite squads felt out of their depth, harboring their own share of panic and unease.
At the staging point, a brief and clear briefing on the combat phases was quickly concluded. Lu Chengzhong invited the other ten squad leaders to a pre-battle briefing, allowing time for the distribution of source energy—two blocks per person—as well as giving the squads in the group time to familiarize themselves with one another.
Thus, the pre-battle mobilization and preparations lasted over three hours. It wasn't until past five in the afternoon that Operation Voice officially commenced.
Under the surging infusion of source energy, going without a meal or two would not leave a soldier hungry. Ending the battle at night, according to preliminary intelligence, would make withdrawal easier for the troops.
Squad 1777 did not witness the super combat powers making their moves. Six thousand soldiers were simply too many. After infiltrating the battlefield, they lay prone on the reverse slope of the snow valley, awaiting their orders to strike.
In the vast snow valley, roughly a hundred and twenty Great Spikes were severed from the broader battlefield and encircled.
Strictly speaking, that averaged out to less than one per squad. For this historic first clash, Azure had massed overwhelmingly superior forces.
The problem lay in how to carve the Great Spikes apart.
Six thousand against a hundred and twenty could not be treated simply as fifty to one. If the enemies remained clustered together, the blades of six thousand men could never strike effectively all at once, nor could Azure's formations properly deploy.
"It's our turn! Forward!"
*Shhh, shhh, shhh, shhh...*
Up ahead, the forty-plus members of Long Blade Squad unleashed their source energy simultaneously, sending ice and snow scattering underfoot. Splitting into five columns, they charged straight into the fray, plunging hundreds of meters forward in a direct spearhead.
Then, shifting from columns to lines, they cut outward in right-angle turns.
There were fifteen elite squads executing the exact same maneuver as Long Blade.
Across the snow valley battlefield, battle cries erupted as localized melee pockets rapidly formed. Viewed from above, it was the spitting image of a chaotic ancient warzone.
War had truly arrived!
"Move in!"
Having completed their cut, Long Blade converged into an arrowhead formation, herding two blue-sheened Great Spikes away from the center of the battlefield.
From behind, the ordinary squads already positioned to advance surged forward, picking the closest targets along their vectors.
*Shhh, shhh, shhh...* Thousands of apparatus bursts resonated as thousands of blades swung forward.
During the charge, Wen Jifei found his firing position, dropping behind a boulder and shouldering his rifle to wait for an opening. Meanwhile, Squad 1777 plunged into the battle in a formation unlike any other squad's, spearheaded by their three core combat powers.
Targets ahead:
Two.
One.
Four.
One cluster of Great Spikes hadn't been fully broken apart—a group of four, packed tightly together.
Captain Fang Zhong of the Sixth Army's Squad 472, who was positioned along the shortest line to this group, cursed his terrible luck. Glancing back at his squad members, his eyes turned bloodshot. "Give it everything we've got!"
On a battlefield like this, if one squad shrank back, neighboring squads could be forced to take on more Great Spikes simultaneously or even get caught in a pincer attack, sparking a domino effect across the entire valley.
The Great Spikes wouldn't just stand there like statues.
It was impossible for Squad 472 to bring down four grouped Great Spikes; even pinning them down would cost lives and desperate sacrifice. But according to the tactical plan, this was their assignment. At the very least, they had to pin down these four until someone arrived to help cut them apart and draw two of them away.
Captain Fang Zhong could only steel himself and lead his team forward in a desperate charge.
"Swap positions!" Han Qingyu spoke up abruptly.
Beside him, Lao Jian gave him a look, nodded, and roared toward the front:
"Squad 1777 is taking over!"
Fang Zhong whipped his head around.
The two captains locked eyes. There was no time for questions, polite thanks, or sentimental fuss. Their formations crisscrossed as Squad 472 and Squad 1777 traded positions—Squad 472 took on one Great Spike, while Squad 1777 took on four.
Stepping onto this battlefield, Han Qingyu had no intention of playing the hero or savior, nor was he trying to show off. But four Great Spikes were something Squad 1777 could handle... He merely wanted to make the greatest contribution within his power.
*Boom!* A thunderous crash erupted up ahead. Rusty Sister, fully integrating her armor and combat power, blasted one Great Spike straight out of the melee before lunging at it again.
The carving phase, the deadliest bottleneck for any ordinary squad, was no great challenge for Squad 1777 as they were now.
"Help her."
As Han Qingyu's words fell, the Binggu Spear in Wu Xu's hands thrust directly toward the Great Spike clashing with Shen Yixiu.
Meanwhile, Han Qingyu alone drove back another Great Spike. If he tapped into his metal blocks and bone source, he could probably solo-kill it in three to five minutes, but there was no need.
Squad 1777's first and second ranks were no mere window dressing anymore either.
The remaining two Great Spikes were promptly divided and encircled under the command of Lao Jian and Qin Guowen.
The slaughter began.
Over in Long Blade's formation, several fighters who had felt uneasy about their imperfect cut breathed sighs of relief at the sight.
"That squad is fierce!"
"Sure is."
"Those three would be core fighters even in our squad."
With that, they turned back, sweeping their blades at the blue-sheened foes before them. Taking on two blue-sheened Great Spikes at the same time was no walk in the park for them either.
Not far from the battlefield, at the temporary forward command post:
Liu Yiwu, Jackson, Nitesh, along with generals from participating nations, Alliance observers, and interpreters stood together on an elevated knoll, watching the battle through binoculars.
"So far, everything seems to be going smoothly."
"Mm. There have been a few flaws, but they were quickly corrected."
"We still don't know the population of the Great Spike civilization, or how large their invasion forces really are... but if the numbers keep comparing like this, Azure can fight this."
"Good! Taking down two blue-sheened ones so fast—that Venezuelan squad exceeded expectations."
"That's Mérida! They have a third-year S-grade!"
War inevitably demanded sacrifice, but as things stood, the overall situation looked promising.
Time ticked by...
At least thirty-odd Great Spikes had already fallen on the battlefield.
The rest were all surrounded and under siege.
The outlook was exceptionally bright.
Suddenly, *Wuuu-ommm...*
A deep, massive drone, like the foghorn of a steamship, resounded abruptly, echoing endlessly across the mountain valley.
Startled, people turned their heads or looked up.
At the mountain summit, the giant Great Spike spacecraft suddenly flared with blue light from stem to stern.
The sound came from the dreadnought!
"Something's wrong!" Liu Yiwu swept his binoculars across the expanse. Across the mountains and slopes, hundreds of Great Spikes were charging from all directions toward the snow valley battlefield!
"Something's wrong!" Across the battlefield, panic spread among the squads as the encircled Great Spikes suddenly began breaking out en masse, bursting through the valley from every angle and running toward their reinforcements.
Azure had observed and analyzed Great Spike behavior for a long time. They always landed, got surrounded, and self-destructed when near death. Their intelligence had always appeared low, like braindead monsters from sci-fi cartoons capable of nothing but destruction.
This mindset had persisted for far too long...
Now the situation abruptly changed. Aside from those already dead, which still self-destructed, all surviving wounded Great Spikes began retreating. This explosive, coordinated withdrawal fed on itself, making it almost impossible to stop.
Meanwhile, their reinforcements were converging at high speed.
They had a command structure!
"More than just command," a female Alliance observer said, watching through her binoculars as the shadows crept down the high snow peak. Gripped by a terror so overwhelming it sounded eerie and calm, she said, "They... seem to have a regeneration system."
About twenty minutes ago, a heavily wounded blue-sheened Great Spike had fled the battlefield. Because Azure hadn't expected complete annihilation in the first place, they hadn't paid it much mind, aiming only to eliminate the bulk of the Great Spikes in the valley before pulling out.
As long as this tactic proved viable, they could replicate it again and again until they nibbled away the entire Great Spike force.
But now, it had returned!
The female observer clearly remembered a specific breach in that blue-sheened Great Spike's iron armor. The armor hadn't been repaired, yet in terms of overall vitality, it was completely invigorated and fighting-fit once more.
This meant: any wounded Great Spike could disengage... go back... rapidly recover, and then return to slaughter again!
"Retreat!" Nitesh ordered urgently.
A massive audio signal for withdrawal rang out.
"Fall back!" Lao Jian roared, glancing behind him.
Following the prearranged operational phases, the retreat commenced. The ordinary Azure squads pulled out from the battlefield immediately.
Yet the vast majority of these ordinary soldiers could not outrun Great Spikes. If overtaken during a retreat, it would turn into a massacre.
Therefore, the elite squads did not pull back right away. They quickly rendezvoused with two super combat powers to establish defensive lines on both sides of the snow valley, temporarily halting the charge of hundreds of oncoming Great Spikes...
Of course, they weren't staying to fight to the death.
After holding them off briefly, they would withdraw in echelons. Their speed was high enough that they didn't fear being overtaken. Anyone truly unable to pull back in time would hold out atop several cliffs preselected before the battle, digging in to await relief.
The charge of hundreds of Great Spikes shook the mountain, filling the air with dread and despair. Han Qingyu looked up; Wen Jifei had already vacated his position.
The entirety of Squad 1777 rapidly disengaged from the battlefield.
"Anyone missing?!" Qin Guowen yelled as they ran.
"Is anyone missing?!" Lao Jian barked.
"Report... Liu Shiheng is gone."
"..."
"Fuck!" Han Qingyu halted and turned around, checking the metal blocks and bone source on his person. "Wu Xu, Rusty Sister, you two lead everyone and keep running."
"What about you?"
"I'm going back to check."
"You—"
"Don't worry, I won't do anything stupid. Look over there." Han Qingyu gestured with his chin. The Great Spikes across the mountain were being lured diagonally upward by the super combat powers and some elite squads; only a scattering of stragglers remained in the rear and flanks.
"Besides, I run faster than Great Spikes—did you forget?! I'm off. Don't worry."
Having said that, Han Qingyu turned and darted back, crouching low as he neared the battlefield.
"Qingzi?!"
A faint voice called out from not far to his side.
Han Qingyu looked back.
Found him! That was fast!
Liu Shiheng poked half of his face out of a snow hole, looking guilt-ridden. "You... Qingzi, you came back for me?!"
Han Qingyu had been furious, but now he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "What the hell happened to you?!"
"I was shaking so hard from fear that I tripped, so I just crawled in here."
"You dig holes this fast? Faster than running with the squad?!"
"It was naturally hollowed out. A few quick scrapes and it was good."
"..." Han Qingyu stared blankly. "And that works?"
"It works," Liu Shiheng said. "Two of them just ran right past me—one in front and one right over my head—and neither noticed me."
"Is that so..." Han Qingyu's original plan had been to grab Liu Shiheng and get out of there immediately. But now, with the Great Spikes lured away, across the rolling snow slopes behind them, shuttle craft after shuttle craft simply sat there out in the open... without a single Great Spike in sight.
"Come on, Shiheng, get out here."
"Okay." Liu Shiheng crawled out, completely relieved. Touched by Han Qingyu coming back for him, he was just about to say something meaningful. "Hey! Qingzi, Qingzi, what are you doing?!"
"A downhill slope—it's been packed into a track. Look." Han Qingyu pointed ahead for Liu Shiheng to see.
Ahead lay a snow track trampled by the retreating squads, forming a long, steep chute.
Liu Shiheng vaguely caught on. "No way, Qingzi. You wouldn't."
"Yes way! Why not?! Come on, don't hold the blade, give it to me. Engage your apparatus defense, protect your head, and hold tight." Han Qingyu grabbed Liu Shiheng, laid him flat on his back on the snow, and lined him up. "Relax, I've got plenty of strength... Ready, and off you go!"
*Whoosh!*
Like a curling stone launched across ice, Liu Shiheng slid rocketing down the mountain.
With the three-dimensional apparatus active, Liu Shiheng wouldn't suffer serious injury even if he tumbled. Watching him vanish into the distance, Han Qingyu dusted his hands off, turned around, crouched low, and hurried toward the opposite snow slope.
Chapter 249