252: The final madness

"Signal from No. 224 has vanished."

Just like the hundreds of reports before it, a cold mechanical voice echoed through the ground control tower, announcing the fall of yet another fighter jet.

But the Pilots still flying in the sky knew exactly what was happening before their eyes:

Debris and wreckage formed an ever-expanding ring under the shockwave; orange, silver-gray, purple-red... a kaleidoscope of colors merged together, possessing a beauty beyond words—

But the cost was the lives of their comrades.

Since surface-to-ground weapons were useless in low Earth orbit, the Pilots, who had embraced the certainty of death before takeoff, had already made arrangements with the ground crews:

They had replaced all empty payload bays with unstable metallic hydrogen.

At that moment, the frigate that had been rammed suddenly emitted a brilliant flash once more, followed by a massive fireball emerging from its interior, expanding until it swallowed the previously erupted ring—

It appeared a secondary explosion had occurred.

"Enemy frigate destroyed. Repeat, enemy frigate destroyed."

After receiving the footage from their onboard cameras and confirming that not a shred of the rammed frigate remained, the nearby Pilots quickly turned their flight direction and completed their reports.

In the control tower, hearing the news from the Pilots, Tactical Commander Lu 700 shifted his gaze away from the battlefield projection he had been staring at intensely.

He let out a long sigh, then slumped back into his chair, muttering quietly,

"It's over... it was worth it..."

For just that one frigate, they had lost nearly two-thirds of their fighter jets.

Moreover, this was only because the enemy hadn't coordinated an anti-air network, and they had concentrated every single aerospace fighter on the planet.

Even with everything they had, was victory still impossible?

A bitter smile played on Lu 700's lips. At least they let those bastards know the price, didn't they?

He sat up straight again and spoke calmly into the command platform:

"Attention everyone, this is the final order."

"The enemy ships in our siege zone have been destroyed. The nearest enemy Warship is beyond your range—it wouldn't even be enough for a one-way trip."

"Your mission... is complete."

"Next, please find the nearest undamaged airfield to land and resupply. Try to bring your aircraft into shelters and prepare for planetary landing operations following the orbital bombardment."

"Repeat, return to the nearest base for resupply and hide your aircraft."

After speaking, he stood there, quietly watching the aviation command console. As he watched, he suddenly began to laugh:

"Tell me, should I be like you, piloting a fighter to charge the enemy?"

"What 'reinforcements'? You were lying to us, weren't you?"

"Hahaha... The higher-ups said they hit Void Turbulence, so how could they possibly come back?"

"Reinforcements that will never arrive..."

"Since when did we need that kind of method to stabilize morale?!!! Huh?!!!"

"Haha... No, I can't do it anymore. You had it easy, kid, dying in battle."

"Then let me be the one to live—your responsibility is mine now!"

As he laughed, his expression slowly shifted from wild to solemn. He stood up, grabbed the communicator left aside, tuned it to the command channel, and shouted:

"Attention everyone! The enemy won't let us die so easily!"

"They want to crush our morale! Then treat us as slaves to be gifted to outsiders!"

"In that case! We'll let them know what it means to have bones of steel that cannot be broken!"

"I am Lu 700, the new person-in-charge of Sea Witch Constellation V22.78! Wei Lai has fallen in battle! I am assuming supreme command!"

"All personnel! Latest orders! Stay alive!"

After speaking, he tucked the communicator into his chest rig and walked with heavy steps toward the aviation bridge exit—there was an entrance to an airfield's anti-air fortification there.

That was his next battlefield.

BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The moment he entered the fortification, a thunderous roar echoed from the horizon.

Lu 700 felt every cell in his body resonate with that roar—even though it was still far away.

But he had no time to adjust to the discomfort—

"Sir! Please hurry! The first wave of enemy orbital bombardment has begun to land. If you stay on the upper levels, the shockwaves will kill you!"

Seeing that he seemed dazed by the blast, the guard beside him unhesitatingly grabbed his arms and dragged him toward the deeper underground.

Meanwhile, at the Sanatorium on the outskirts of Liu Shi City,

the ground was already soaked in blood, littered with corpses.

Even with air support from two formations of over ten aerospace fighters, they still hadn't managed to take this easily defended Sanatorium—

Hidden bunkers, tunnels, and countless automated firing points had turned this place into an iron fortress, especially since the attacking rebel army didn't even have proper armored forces.

Inside the Sanatorium's bunker, the core guard squad leader nodded occasionally as he listened to the reports on the battle situation.

Suddenly, a continuous series of distant explosions made him pause, followed by a sense of relief.

He looked at the trembling Kraken and said,

"Young Master, that's the sound of orbital bombardment. The fleet the Chairman sent to rescue you has arrived."

To ease his nerves, Kraken had just taken another hit of something and was currently in a trance.

Upon hearing the word 'Chairman', he shouted dizzily,

"What? The old man flew here?"

"He dares to bomb me? What is he thinking? Tell him to get over here and apologize!"

The guard quickly interrupted him in an urgent tone:

"No, Young Master, the Chairman didn't send that old captain this time. A young Commander has come instead."

"He's not bombing you; he's bombing the rebels. What I mean is, you're safe."

Kraken shuddered, seemingly remembering what he had just said, and changed his tune:

"Oh, oh, so the old captain didn't come?"

Then, he tried to get his nearly hollowed-out brain working—

His rescuers were here, he was safe, so he could be reckless again.

"Good, good, good!!! Finally!!!"

He clapped his hands and shouted with delight.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Kraken grabbed the guard captain's arm and asked:

"Right—is that little bitch who tried to assassinate me still around?"

"Reporting, she is still alive and remains conscious," the guard captain replied after checking the monitor of a certain dark room.

"Furthermore, while she was entertaining your pets, she was still insulting you, saying nonsense about how they will eventually defeat you."

"Still alive?" Kraken stood up abruptly, a wave of dizziness rushing to his brain. "That's wonderful!!!"

His pets were grotesque things; some were even covered in barbs!

It was great that she was alive to experience it all!

And based on what she said... it seemed she had accomplices?

Could it be those rioting peasants outside?

Hahahahahahaha!!!!!

A better way to play suddenly occurred to Kraken.

He looked at the guard captain again and asked:

"Right—you guys haven't done much to that bitch's face yet, have you?"

"No, Young Master."

"Hahahahaha!" Kraken was shocked by his own ingenuity—it was perfect!

"Excellent!"

"Now, dislocate her jaw! Bring a video camera!"

"Hahahahahaha!!! I want all the Traitors on this planet to see this! Hahahahaha!!!"

"And... those Warships... they're dropping incendiary bombs, right? They definitely are!"

"Hahahahaha! Record the footage of those Traitors struggling in the flames too!!!"

"I want them to know!!! The consequences of opposing me!!!"

"Hahahahahaha!!!!!"

Seeing the crazed look on Kraken's face, the guard captain didn't know what to say. He simply struck his chest with his right fist and replied softly,

"Understood!"

"Then get it done for me, now!!!!!"

"Hahahahahaha!!!!!"

The twisted laughter, mingled with a twisted aura, filled the entire room, bringing this gloomy bunker infinitely closer to hell...