247: King descended from the sky

Compared to the struggle on the ground, the battle on the space station was not as intense—most Marines chose cryosleep during their off-duty hours.

As the Slave Laborer cleared out compartments one by one with their weapons, they were surprised to find that most enemies were only equipped with basic self-defense weapons.

As a result, the insurgents on several orbital support platforms had gradually completed their occupation within an hour.

The reason it took so long to establish contact with the ground was that they were unfamiliar with the operating system installed by the Saint Blade Group and couldn't use the equipment on the support platforms.

It's worth noting that the Saint Blade Group had only three light destroyers deployed around this planet, and they weren't even aware of the uprising on the space station.

So, after the rebels had completely taken control of the space station, those destroyers were still lured in by a communication full of loopholes.

Then they were blasted into a scattered debris field.

"Strike zone is the Industrial Zone! With the Distribution Center as the core, a two-kilometer radius is set as a safe zone, and the remaining areas will undergo a round of incendiary bomb coverage!"

"Does anyone know how to pilot the Aerospace Fighters in the hangar?"

At this moment, in the commandeered command room, several leaders were adjusting parameters according to the operation manual while issuing commands.

"By the way, won't such a large-scale indiscriminate bombing harm innocent people?"

"Some people will always be held back and won't gather at the Distribution Center, and there will also be people present who didn't participate in this battle, right?"

Just a second before pressing the confirmation button, the operator hesitated. He looked up at the officer on the platform and asked,

But their officer merely looked up at him.

"This isn't a battle, this is war."

"The Distribution Center could be breached at any time, and the Planet Defense Force from other areas could reinforce at any moment. For the survival of the vast majority, indiscriminate bombing is the best method—"

"Remember, no sacrifice is too great to be unacceptable, unless those sacrifices are meaningless!"

"Now, press that button in your hand! If you still can't understand, then I'll do it!"

"Yes, sir!"

The operator lowered his head again, clenching his right fist and slamming it hard onto the bomb launch button.

Subsequently, precisely guided incendiary warheads shot out from the belly of the defense platform with a "whoosh," spewing hot flames from their tails as they rapidly flew downwards, leaving a long trail of white smoke.

As for the surface, all front-line Commanders of the troops received this news and began assigning tasks.

This included Qi Ruofeng, who had taken over as Commander of the East District No. 3 Distribution Zone position.

"Our allies have occupied the orbital space station! They will launch a round of bombardment against the outside defenders later!"

"Our mission is to coordinate with our allies after the bombardment to launch a general attack, charge up, and swiftly eliminate all Saint Blade Group soldiers there!"

"Understood?"

A fierce roar immediately came from below—

"Understood!"

"Good! Everyone! Prepare for battle!"

"Boom——————————"

"Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom!!!!"

"Boom boom boom—!!!"

"BOOOOM—!!!"

Deafening roars came from beyond the walls. Even through the thick concrete walls, everyone in the Distribution Center felt their internal organs violently trembling with the immense sound.

And this was merely the sound of incendiary bombs exploding.

Most people followed their officer's command, covering their ears and opening their mouths wide. Only a few unlucky ones thought they would be fine.

Then they were shaken so badly that blood flowed from their ears, and their faces contorted in agony.

These incendiary bombs were loaded onto the "Driftwood" guided missiles, nominally "jointly developed and produced" by the Saint Blade Group and the Giant Stone Group.

The greatest feature of these near-earth orbit attack missiles was that they were equipped with two guidance systems, capable of automatically identifying densely populated target areas and then flying there to explode.

Because these missiles were cheap, durable, and widely applicable, in addition to orbital defense platforms, many areas could install this type of missile, such as military bases, large bridges, and other important facilities.

However, due to their terrible name, the operators of these devices were often jokingly called "guys who launch their Driftwood to gain victory."

Gradually, the deafening bombing sound outside weakened, and the sensation of the ground shaking also faded. Seizing the opportunity, he lowered his hands from his ears, raised his electromagnetic rifle, and shouted loudly behind him:

"Everyone! Check your equipment! Prepare to attack!!!"

"Three! Two! One!"

"Charge!"

Immediately, he was the first to rush out of cover with his rifle.

Outside, it was already a scene from hell.

Flames like the "Red Lotus Karmic Fire" of mythology swayed in mid-air, and heaven and earth seemed to have merged into one.

Steel and flesh twisted and evaporated under high temperatures, turning into molten iron and coke; thick smoke covered half the sky, as if building a giant iron-gray wall.

Qi Ruofeng led all his subordinates out of the position—not just him, but everyone from the entire outer perimeter of the Distribution Center charged out directly.

They fired wildly at the fleeing Saint Blade Group soldiers, turning the few who had miraculously escaped into sieves in a single encounter.

"Report! Outer perimeter enemies have been cleared!"

Qi Ruofeng reported upwards through his communicator.

The incendiary bomb explosion range was about one kilometer from them, and the distance between the two sides' standoff was about eight hundred meters.

Most of the Saint Blade Group soldiers were not actually burned to death—they were mostly killed by the shockwave or choked by the thick smoke.

"Very good, reinforcements will arrive soon—maintain outer perimeter vigilance, clear combustibles, and construct firebreaks!"

"The rest of you, return to the Distribution Center with the wounded!"

"Understood!"

After the order was given, the outer perimeter rebels began to clean up the aftermath in an orderly fashion—like diligent worker bees.

Meanwhile, inside the Distribution Center, Wei Lai had already established contact with regional leaders from other areas, confirming battle results and communicating.

The uprising in his Industrial Zone was undoubtedly successful.

But other places were not as smooth as theirs:

Some Industrial Zones had their weapon depots discovered prematurely, and all the workers in those zones were brutally purged; in other areas, due to too few rebels, the uprising forces failed to achieve their predetermined objectives and were trapped in certain buildings.

"In the suburban sanatorium of the Tier 1 settlement, 'Liu Shi City,' there is a son of the Saint Blade Group chairman there."

"We have a colleague who pretended to be captured and tried to assassinate him, but there's no information yet, so it's likely he failed."

"If the branch in Liu Shi City has spare capacity, they can go check that sanatorium—that guy is a high-value target; it's best to capture him alive or kill him."

Wei Lai was in a conference call when a communicator rushed in—

"Report! Message from the Lagrange Point Space Station!"

"An unknown fleet has suddenly appeared! Two cruisers, thirty destroyers, one hundred thirty Frigates! Identification code: Saint Blade Group!"

"The enemy's reinforcements have arrived!"

Wei Lai's pupils suddenly contracted—

"How could the Group's reinforcements arrive so quickly!"

Damn it!!

...(Once my final exams in January are over, the update frequency will change to three chapters a day)

(I have too much to do right now, I still have over a thousand words of reading report to write by hand)

(Due tomorrow morning)