The massive crater where Han Qingyu ultimately lay was situated roughly mid-field, slightly toward the front-left of the Great Spikes' line of advance across the battlefield. This area lay outside the main charging torrent, so there had been few Great Spikes here to begin with. Moreover, having just been scoured by the deluge of energy released when Puta'er blasted Han Qingyu out of the sky, it had become a temporary vacuum.
As the situation stood, Puta'er had figured things out and was heading in this direction; hundreds of surrounding Great Spikes were swarming forward; Wu Xu and his two companions were rushing desperately, cleaving through the Great Spikes barring their path, and were almost there; and above them in the sky, fighter craft CA117 had abruptly appeared, hurtling straight toward the air above the crater.
In terms of pure distance, a portion of the swarm of Great Spikes was undoubtedly the closest, followed by the Xiuxiu Hall trio who had already breached their ranks. However, taking speed and obstruction into account, the ones to arrive first might well be Puta'er, who was currently relatively far away, or Yang Qingbai and his CA117.
Between the latter two, Puta'er, possessing absolute power and confidence, had no need to push its speed to the limit just to seize first place on the scene. It was merely a slaughter. It already intended to halt the human fleet's escape, so it did not mind in the slightest if more high-tier human combatants arrived in time—so long as they ultimately failed to take anyone away.
CA117, on the other hand, was putting everything on the line.
Yang Qingbai had originally come to pick up Han Qingyu—if only he hadn't been wounded to this degree and were still able to move.
This was a battlefield maneuver the two of them had discussed, practiced, and executed long ago. It wasn't difficult. No matter how complicated the battlefield situation was, as long as Qingzi could still move, with the mutual attraction between him and the pillar swords, he could practically fly. In all likelihood, he could easily haul himself aboard CA117 as it streaked across the battlefield sky.
Unfortunately, Qingzi could do nothing now.
So Yang Qingbai prepared to ram.
The moment he saw that Puta'er might arrive before Wu Xu and the others and harm Qingzi, Yang Qingbai would pilot CA117 and slam into it with everything he had, buying time and an opening for Wu Xu and the rest.
To that end, he maintained a flight angle aligned straight at Puta'er, accelerating relentlessly.
The fastest human spacecraft accelerated past its limits with reckless abandon, its torrential source energy roaring through the air like a tidal wave.
Puta'er noticed.
Tilting its head to glance over, it seemed slightly puzzled or taken aback, but then casually snatched a pillar sword from the grasp of a nearby Great Spike, swung its arm, and launched it straight at the human vessel daring to charge at it.
The pillar sword streaked in from the distance.
The bow of CA117 swayed slightly, preparing to evade with minimal movement so as not to lose the only thing it could rely on for the maneuver ahead: speed.
Yet this turned out to be unnecessary.
For in Yang Qingbai's field of view, a human figure suddenly appeared, gripping a long sword in both hands. *Clang!* With a single slash, he swatted Puta'er's launched pillar sword aside, his own hurtling forward momentum unchecked.
This was no easy feat. In the Expeditionary Army—or across all of humanity—there were no more than five and a half people currently capable of pulling off such a maneuver.
He was...
"F***, XXXXXX!"
Pegmont, in his trademark style of cursing with an F-bomb as he slashed, swatted the pillar sword aside and brought down another strike tearing through the air. A full-force cleave, wide and sweeping, aimed straight at Puta'er's face.
Puta'er paused in its tracks and looked up, seemingly perplexed once more.
Having just surveyed the battlefield, it had already confirmed that the one it blasted down earlier was the core figure and strongest warrior of this human army. Why had another one suddenly appeared? And judging by his slash, his strength seemed comparable.
Never mind. Even if that were true, it merely meant a momentary distraction to deal with it. Puta'er planted its feet, raised the four-edged greatsword in its right hand, and did not bother exerting force to trade blows with Pegmont, merely holding the greatsword level before itself.
*Clang!* Pegmont's long sword struck the greatsword.
He couldn't budge it.
Yet the mere recoil of the block wasn't enough to fling him back entirely.
In that case, another strike! Pegmont surged his source energy to brace himself, preparing to use the momentum to rise and strike again...
*Bang!*
A muffled thud.
A massive, silver-armored fist—Puta'er's left fist—slammed straight into him at blinding speed.
The next second, Pegmont's entire body went flying.
Just like Han Qingyu, he was hurled away like an iron block struck out of midair. The only difference was that, due to the angle, he traced a high arc through the air, flying far, far away...
...until he finally crashed down at the rear of the Expeditionary Army's position.
Pink Peg lay flat on his back, motionless for the moment.
But he wasn't dead.
He wouldn't die—Han Qingyu had taken a noticeably heavier blow and hadn't died yet. Of course, after delivering that strike while already heavily wounded, Pegmont was in no condition to fight on.
Wen Jifei, Christine, and the others all understood the reason why.
...
During this time, thanks to the "successful" delay, more than half of the source energy craft within the Expeditionary Army's position had actually completed their start-up charge, ready at any moment to take off and climb.
This included the two space carriers, the *Doomsday Great Wall* and the *Mechanical Cradle*.
Yet none of these ships climbed. They had merely completed their takeoff maneuvers and lifted off the ground, remaining in a state where they could begin their ascent at any second, hovering, pausing, and waiting just above the ground.
This was not out of fear of being shot down by Puta'er's pillar swords upon ascent. In a situation where survival was already one in ten, no one feared such odds; besides, remaining on the ground was just as dangerous, if not more so.
They simply felt they could not leave, nor were they willing to leave.
Major Qing had not boarded yet—or at least, his corpse hadn't.
The Super-tier fighters had charged into battle.
Aside from them, countless others on the scene had abruptly changed their minds, choosing not to rush aboard.
How could they leave like this?
Even if they left, what meaning was there in such a flight? To bring back the news that the Mars Expeditionary Army had been wiped out, that Major Qing had fallen in battle, and that his body had been left behind on Mars?
They might as well appear in the very same casualty report.
There was no communication over the pilots' channel, yet every pilot took the exact same action.
"Board the ships! Get on board, all of you! Once we're surrounded, it'll be too late!"
Through the billowing dust kicked up by the vessels' source energy, General Yelgena, escorted by guards, was leading a contingent of command personnel from the *Doomsday Great Wall* toward the *Mechanical Cradle*.
This was his own command ship.
The journey home would be fraught with danger; the Expeditionary Army could not keep both commanders aboard the same vessel. Therefore, at the first opportunity, Yelgena and Wen Jifei had to separate.
"Climb! Go, get out of here! Fly your ships away!"
Running the whole way, roaring orders in agony under the crushing weight of this desperate plight—which could cost humanity both of its greatest hopes, Major Qing and Pegmont, along with the entire Expeditionary Army—the old General Yelgena was on the verge of breaking down.
Yet many still chose not to obey orders and board. Instead, they gripped their weapons tightly and stared unblinkingly at the battlefield. Nor did the ship pilots carry out the general's commands.
Among them was a pilot named Lubi Azha. At this moment, he was flying his lone small craft at near-ground altitude, carefully attempting to skirt the perimeter of the battlefield.
He was looking for a position—a position where he could ram Puta'er in a straight line just like CA117, or quietly ascend and suddenly plummet from the sky, crashing straight into the launch hatch atop that Great Spike dreadnought.
*Actually, my ship was captured during this mission. Only simple modifications were made to the flight control system, so from the outside, it looks almost identical to the Great Spike craft on the battlefield. I might even have a chance to slip in and pull this off.*
Lubi Azha didn't know if he would truly need to do this, or if he definitely would.
If things developed such that everyone could evacuate, he wanted to live, to keep on living.
But if the battlefield demanded it...
*I will.*
*This extra life of mine was given to me by Second Lieutenant Shen Yixiu. Even though she's probably long forgotten, if not for her, I would have died back in the City of Sin. So I've already lived on borrowed time for several years. I definitely have the courage.*
*I, Lubi Azha, was raised by Uncle Shiliang, one of humanity's top-tier combatants. I won't be a coward.*
*There's no one else aboard my ship. It may look small, but it's heavy—very heavy, packed full of source energy blocks and high-grade dead iron.*
Chapter 942