Snipers on the Ridge

Deep beneath the pitch-black Pacific Ocean, undercurrents pushed through the heavy seawater as the fourteen submarines of Azure's primary command system dispersed in motion. In particular, the submarine *Typhoon*, carrying Xin Yaoqiao and her colleagues, had temporarily severed all external communications after transmitting its relevant situation report. Under the current conditions of the battlefield, it was impossible for them to truly abandon the surrounding waters, and even less possible to maintain radio silence indefinitely. Yet even if relocating was nothing more than a gamble, Azure had no choice but to take it. Because of Daie's "warning," no one knew whether it would truly happen—whether the alien forces, and that creature in particular, could actually track them down. Inside the *Typhoon*'s cabin, the linguistics researchers, abruptly deprived of their work, sat in collective silence. As crucial researchers for Azure, many among them were feeling death draw so terrifyingly close for the first time in their lives. At the same time, the suffocating oppression of traveling alone through the deep ocean constantly gnawed at their frayed nerves... "Excuse me," Major Xin of Huaxia, clad in a combat uniform, suddenly called out as she raised her hand in the quiet, stifling compartment. The researchers looked up, turning a sea of helpless, frightened eyes toward her. "Excuse me," Xin Yaoqiao met their gazes with an awkward smile. "Has anyone here ever been on a blind date? If so, could someone tell me about it?" Everyone went dead silent. Gradually, someone began to chuckle—a laugh tinged with helplessness, caught between tears and amusement. "Please tell me. I want to know what it's like, and what a girl should do if she meets someone she likes on a blind date." "...Well, dear God, I suppose that really is a wonderful topic," someone said with a laugh. Everyone assumed Major Xin was deliberately trying to lighten the mood, and she truly seemed to have succeeded. The conversation unfolded. As Major Xin listened, she took diligent notes on her deduction paper. The solitary submarine continued moving aimlessly through the pitch-black depths of the sea... In this battle, the submarine fleet could not afford to waste precious elite combat assets, which meant they lacked real protection. Of course, if Daie truly arrived, almost any defense would be meaningless anyway. Meanwhile, across the surface of the Pacific, both far and near, the tens of thousands of vessels Azure deployed to evacuate civilians were dispersing at high speed while underway. If the swarm of Great Spikes suddenly chose to strike those ships first, Azure would have no power to stop them. Therefore, to minimize casualties, dispersing over a broader area—including dispersing their destinations—had become imperative. Originally, all of these vessels had been bound for Africa. Because of its relatively vast land and sparse population, making self-defense difficult, Africa and Oceania had always been the primary regions garrisoned by forces directly under Azure Headquarters. Azure had already set up deployments and fortifications in Africa, stockpiling ample supplies to receive the migrating residents of Oceania. Yet now, those ships had to be dispersed. Some would continue toward Africa, while others headed for southern, eastern, or even northern Asia; some sailed for Europa, some for North America, and still others... "South America won't work. It may not be far, but most of our defense forces have already withdrawn from there, and it's very likely to face an assault from the Great Spike forces coming from Antarctica..." A heated debate raged inside the flagship's command center. "South America? It's fine there." An abrupt voice crackled from a desktop communicator as Admiral Bochen joined the discussion remotely. "Do not underestimate the fighting capability of the City of Sin, and do not doubt their sincerity this time." "...I agree." After a brief silence, Siglo made the final call. Orders were swiftly issued, and a portion of the ships evacuating from the eastern coast of Oceania began dispersing toward South America. Afterward, General Bochen's voice came through again. The dispersal of surface evacuation vessels had not been his reason for joining the call; he had merely overheard it and offered his opinion in passing. He continued: "Listen to me. We cannot keep going like this. We have to make a major play, or everything will be ground down to nothing." "How about the Hughenden area? Have all the scattered units in the vicinity converge there, and bring the Great Spikes along with them. My fifty thousand soldiers and I will arrive to wait there shortly." "That will inevitably draw the attention of the Great Spike command, won't it? ...Let us stage our first large-scale battle right there in Hughenden. Let me do it." What General Bochen meant was that Azure's current tactical situation demanded a massive focal point to draw away the bulk of the Great Spikes' attention and active forces. That way, time could be bought, and the spatial pressure on other sectors would be alleviated. Only then could the evacuation of the remaining civilians be made slightly less perilous, and only then could the assembly and preparations of Azure's follow-up forces be completed according to plan. He had decided to take that burden upon himself. "But..." "You should not underestimate the person speaking to you—ranked third on the Dome Leaderboard." Admiral Bochen, ordinarily mild-tempered, cut short the doubtful voices with that single statement. As someone standing at the pinnacle of humanity, he knew Chen Buer's condition. Thus, at this moment, he was Azure's strongest combat asset on this battlefield. Still, this was a momentous strategic decision, and the command vessel could not provide an immediate answer. "Fine, discuss it among yourselves first," General Bochen said from the other end of the line. "My soldiers and I will begin advancing toward that area and await further orders." "However, please decide as quickly as possible... Above all, complete it before Daie arrives." Those were General Bochen's parting words before he severed the transmission. *** Decisions made by high command often determined the fate and survival of warriors on the front lines, yet more often than not, soldiers in the thick of battle had neither the time nor the mind to dwell on them. All they could do was execute orders, fix their eyes on the enemy in front of them, and watch the backs of the comrades beside them. South of Moorabool. The members of Squad 1777 rose to their feet in excitement, gazing toward the mountain pass... There, drenched in a rain of blood, Zhao Erzhu came sprinting toward them. "Fierce or what?! Give me some damn noise, you bastards! How about it, convinced this time? Haha!" The fellow was strutting with unbearable swagger, utterly oblivious to the rimmed, red eyes of his teammates. "Convinced!" "Fierce!" "Erzhu is a beast!" "..." His squadmates from 1777, who normally loved nothing more than roasting Zhao Erzhu, along with the soldiers from Squad 1426 and the Armenian Squad nearby, all cheered and clapped for him at this moment. As he drew close, they crowded around him in high excitement. Outside the gathering, Lao Jian turned his back to surreptitiously wipe away tears before turning around and pushing his way through the crowd. "Erzhu, Erzhu... Bloody well done!" Lao Jian reached out, spun Zhao Erzhu around, and pulled him into a fierce embrace before shoving him back. Clamping his hands onto the man's shoulders, he looked into his eyes and asked, "But how did you break out? You..." "Cut my way out, of course! I chopped down a whole swathe of them, hacked open a breach, and took off like a bat out of hell. Bastards couldn't catch me at all—left them eating my dust!" Zhao Erzhu bragged proudly while medical personnel dressed his wounds. "Did anyone help you? For example..." Lao Jian asked with lingering anticipation. "No one," Zhao Erzhu answered blankly. "...Then did you hear any gunshots? A sniper rifle, perhaps?" "Nope," Zhao Erzhu said with certainty. "...All right, then." Lao Jian felt a faint twinge of disappointment, though joy and excitement quickly overshadowed it. He patted Zhao Erzhu's shoulder. "Fall in." With their mission complete and Zhao Erzhu back safely, they now needed to regroup with the 3rd Battalion. The distance seemed considerable. Lao Jian and the other two squad captains studied the map, planning their route. The valley ahead had to be avoided; at least thirty-five shuttle craft had just touched down there. It would be best to advance away from it, and then... *Beep, beep!* The communicator suddenly chimed. A Rejecter cut into the channel, speaking urgently: "Is anyone south of Moorabool? Longitude 142°41′ E, latitude 26°25′ S—are there any friendly units operating nearby? *Sssh, crackle...*" Simultaneously, broadcasts in both Huaxia and English crackled through the communicators of the other two captains. The three captains slowly looked up from the map toward the distant valley. "Four thousand civilians and three of our Azure squads are trapped and in mortal peril..." At that moment, everyone around Lao Jian realized why so many shuttle craft had landed there all at once. Those Great Spikes were there to intercept. Not to intercept them, but to cut off those four thousand civilians and the three Azure squads. Lao Jian's group was in no immediate danger. They had just watched a comrade claw his way back from the jaws of death, and their racing hearts had not yet settled from the lingering terror, excitement, and relief... "Great Spike numbers currently stand under ten, but reinforcements are deploying to cut off escape. All three of our squads have sustained severe casualties..." the voice over the communicator continued. "I am here. CA 3rd Battalion—Squad 1777, Squad 1426, and the Armenian Squad are operating in this sector," Lao Jian requested an open channel to reply, reporting their status. "We can probably buy some time." They were only three squads. Excluding the wounded, they fielded fewer than one hundred combatants. Thus, all they could hope to do was buy a little time. Lao Jian turned, exchanged looks with the other two captains, and turned back toward the valley ahead. He waved his hand. "Move out." *** Surging with source energy, the three squads swiftly closed in on the valley. There they were. They dropped prone behind a low reverse slope. Spread across the wide valley were roughly seventy-odd Black Armors and a handful of blue-sheened Great Spikes. All had finished ejecting from their craft and assembling. Right now, their backs were turned to Lao Jian's group. "Huh? They didn't spot us even like this?!" Zhao Erzhu muttered under his breath, his tone faintly disdainful of the Great Spikes. No one paid him any attention; the hero of a moment ago was promptly ignored. Most of the others understood that according to the Rejecters' intelligence, the Great Spikes were arrayed this way because they were about to march out and reinforce the other battlefield. "What do we do?" the captain of Squad 1426 asked in a raspy voice. They still had a choice: abandon the mission and turn back, or use fewer than one hundred people to take on eighty Great Spikes. The latter was virtually suicidal. "Charge them and draw them off," Lao Jian reached behind his back and gripped his hilt. "Then turn and run like hell." It was the only option available. Furthermore, the majority of them had to join the charge; past experience had shown that if the Great Spikes deemed a threat negligible, they would readily split their forces. "Understood!" "Let's do it!" Voices grit through clenched teeth in agreement. Then, every warrior across the three squads gripped their blades. They stood. A portion of the wounded and exhausted were ordered to peel away in the opposite direction first. The remaining forty-five drew their blades together. *Clang—shing!* "For all that breathes... kill!" Fewer than fifty warriors burst into a charge, deliberately making as much racket as possible as they stormed toward the valley ahead. In front of them, the swarm of Great Spikes that had just started running came to an abrupt halt and spun around... *Tick, tock.* After a split-second pause, the valley erupted with a *boom!* The swarm made its choice. All eighty-plus Great Spikes surged at full speed in a head-on countercharge... The charging humans felt a fleeting spark of triumph, immediately followed by dread and mounting tension. *Skrrrt!* Combat boots ground violently against the terrain, kicking up a storm of dirt and gravel as all forty-five braked hard and spun around. Then—*whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!* Accelerating to full burst. "Run!" Lao Jian roared. Outside the valley, the forty-five warriors fled for their lives. Behind them, the swarm of Great Spikes tore after them in ferocious pursuit. Comparing their speeds, Lao Jian and his people would likely be caught before long... "Run, run for your lives!" Ahead stood a mountain, with three paths branching out beneath it. "Prepare to split up!" Maintaining his straight sprint, Lao Jian signaled with his hands to disperse down the two flanking forks. The straight path was inevitably the most dangerous. None of the members of Squad 1777 made any move to turn; they stayed locked right on his tail. "Stick close to me later, hear me?" Zhao Erzhu said beside Lao Jian as he ran. "I'll protect you. My sister-in-law and niece are still waiting for you to come home." *Protect me?! And why a niece?!* Lao Jian suffered a helpless, exasperated lapse in focus before bellowing, "Look out for yourself!" "Can't do that. I've gotta look out for you, and for everyone else," Zhao Erzhu insisted bluntly. Lao Jian shot him a sidelong glance. "You can't handle it." "If anyone..." *If anyone makes it back alive,* Lao Jian wanted to shout. *Bang!* A sudden gunshot cracked through the air. Then—*bang!* *Bang, bang!* *Bang!* Gunshots. Sniper fire. The distinct sound of Plague Chicken's sniper rifle. Except there seemed to be two of them. Behind them came the thud of Great Spikes crashing to the earth and the scrape of iron armor skidding across rock. Mid-sprint for their lives, everyone looked up. Even those preparing to peel off toward the flanking paths froze in their tracks and raised their heads... Plague Chicken—Second Lieutenant Wen Jifei! And Milla—that gorgeous foreign former captain, or rather, vice-captain! High up on the mountain path ahead, two familiar silhouettes from Squad 1777 stood clad in black combat gear. They walked steadily out from around the bend and took up positions to the left and right, raising their rifles. One bore an embroidered red moth on his chest. The other bore a pink one. Two people, each wielding a source energy sniper rifle... *Bang!* *Bang!* *...*