279: Suppressing the Beast Tide

The Mermaid King was instantly obliterated by the airship's high-energy laser cannon. That unparalleled scene of destruction not only terrified the humans but also completely crushed the will of the million-strong sea beast tide.

The originally orderly beast tide instantly fell into extreme chaos. Having lost their supreme Commander and continuously suffering from the high-intensity biological infrasound waves released by the airship, which interfered with biological magnetic fields and nervous systems, many sea beasts became disoriented, even beginning to attack and trample each other, causing their combat effectiveness to plummet.

At the very moment the beast swarm collapsed, a more heavy and dense roar came from the horizon. A formation composed of over twenty massive peacekeeper bombers, like a moving mountain range of death, flew over the battlefield at the opportune time.

Under unified dispatch, with the safe area where the Jiangcheng Fleet was located as the core, they began another round of ruthless carpet bombing on the vast river surface precisely at its periphery!

The hatches swung open, and hundreds of kilograms of high-explosive and incendiary bombs detached from their pylons like dumplings into boiling water, falling toward the crowded beast swarm below with a shrill whistle.

"Boom boom boom boom—!!!"

An explosion feast, even more spectacular and lasting than the previous missile cluster attack, began! Continuous fireballs bloomed on the river surface, and the soaring black smoke and water columns mixed together to form a forest of death. Shockwave after shockwave repeatedly tore and tossed the river water along with the flesh and blood within. Incendiary agents splashed out, forming raging seas of fire on the river surface covered with oil and debris, while the pungent smell of charred flesh and gunpowder filled the air.

In just a few minutes, the bomber group poured down over a hundred tons of aerial bombs! The scorching air currents generated by the explosions even caused the steel hulls of the Jiangcheng Fleet, which were still some distance from the epicenter, to begin to heat up slightly, with the hot air rushing toward them.

"Good heavens..." The Commander of the Jiangcheng Fleet held onto the slightly vibrating command console, looking at the apocalyptic bombing scene outside the porthole, his face filled with disbelief and deep envy. "Do these Red Alert Legion guys... fight like this? Missiles, aerial bombs... are they just worthless pebbles in their eyes?"

He couldn't help but think of the hardships of the National Government's army. Whether it was the five major main military regions or provincial military regions and border guards like them, which one of them didn't have to plan carefully, using every shell and every missile only where it was most needed? The pitiful ammunition inventory and production capacity inside the bases simply couldn't withstand the consumption of a large-scale war of attrition. Even if he heard that the Northern and Western Military Regions had initially restored military production, they would never dare to scour the ground with expensive missiles as if they were ordinary shells like this. The National Government's missiles were strategic weapons reserved for decapitating the Corpse King or striking high-value targets!

After another round of devastating bombing, the originally overwhelming million sea beasts had been blown to pieces. A thick layer of charred, broken remains and monsters that hadn't quite died yet, struggling and wailing, floated on the river surface. The bomber formation completed its mission and returned with their heavy fuselages.

"Now is the time!" The Jiangcheng Fleet Commander's eyes sharpened as he seized the opportunity. "Mecha Brigade, all out! This is a good opportunity for practical training; don't let our allies from the Red Alert Legion look down on the blood of the men of Jingchu! Pang Long, you and several other brothers of Tier 2 and above, go up and help clear out the remaining high-value targets!"

"Yes!"

One hundred "black great wall" mechas stationed on the decks of various ships or hidden in the cabins started simultaneously! The jetpacks on their backs spat out faint blue flames, emitting a low roar. These powerful-looking steel armors, painted in deep matte black, took off from the ships one by one and quickly assembled into formation above the river.

"All squads pay attention: operate in squads of 10 as preset, and follow your respective squad leaders' commands! Maintain formation, pay attention to mutual cover, and safety first!" The Mecha Brigade leader's voice sounded steadily over the internal communication channel.

"Squad 1 received!"

"Squad 2 received!"

..."Squad 10 ready!"

"Everyone in Squad 1, wake the hell up!" the Squad 1 leader roared over the channel. "This is our Mecha Brigade's first large-scale appearance in front of our allies, and more importantly, it's a practical test! If anyone screws up and loses face for our Jingchu soldiers, you'll go back and practice basic operations a hundred times on your own!"

"Understood!" A unified response rang out over the channel.

The ten mechas of Squad 1 quickly changed formation in the air, becoming an arrowhead. The members skillfully unslung the electromagnetic kinetic rifles hanging from their right arms, maintaining a stable hovering firing posture with the help of their jetpacks.

"Lock on the remaining beast swarm below, fire at will!" the leader ordered.

"Da da da da—!"

Ten electromagnetic rifles spat out scorching tongues of fire simultaneously! The 12.7mm high-explosive armor-piercing rounds flew out at supersonic speeds, forming a dense metal storm that accurately swept toward the sea beasts below that were dazed by the bombing.

"11 o'clock, one Tier 2 octopus monster, tentacles show signs of regeneration!" a member quickly reported.

"Unit 1, Unit 2, follow me and finish it off at close range! Others, maintain suppressive fire and clear out the surrounding trash!" the leader reacted quickly.

Three mechas immediately detached from the formation. The three mecha pilots stowed their electromagnetic rifles as the outer armor of the mechas' right arms slid open, popping out chainsaw swords with high-speed rotating serrations flashing with a cold light! Driven by high-power energy cores, the chainsaw swords emitted a heart-palpitating "buzzing" sound.

The three of them were like raptors hunting, diving from the air and precisely avoiding the thick tentacles waving wildly by the octopus monster. One on the left, one on the right, and one from above, they swung their chainsaw swords, completely severing those tentacles that had already been riddled with bullets like a hot knife through butter! Foul blood and slime splashed everywhere.

Having lost its primary means of attack, the octopus monster let out a silent wail, trying to spray ink and escape. But the leader had already anticipated this; the three mechas' chainsaw swords pierced into its massive head in a cross pattern, completely ending its life.

"Nice job!" The leader signaled his teammates to quickly pull away to avoid being caught in the death throes.

"Damn, captain, this chainsaw sword is really something! Controlling this mecha feels just like using my own limbs, it's awesome!" the Unit 2 pilot shouted excitedly over the channel; the smooth coordinated kill just now had his blood pumping.

"Less talk, stay alert! The battlefield hasn't been cleaned up yet!" Although the leader was also feeling gratified, he remained calm. "Continue clearing and move toward Squad 2!"

While the black great wall Mecha Brigade was efficiently cleaning the battlefield, more reinforcements joined in. The side hatches of the massive airship opened, and dozens of attack drones swarmed out like bees. They were small and agile, equipped with machine guns and small rockets, specifically responsible for picking off stragglers and small to medium-sized sea beasts.

Immediately after, more mecha silhouettes of various sizes appeared on the distant horizon! Hundreds of hero-class mechas such as the destroyer, blaze, and thunderbolt from the Red Alert Legion arrived at the battlefield at extreme speeds. Their coordination was even more seamless, and their firepower even fiercer. In the air, hind attack helicopters and apollo aerospace fighters also shuttled back and forth, providing precise fire support.

Under such a three-dimensional, multi-layered absolute firepower advantage, the remaining sea beasts completely lost the ability to resist and were quickly and cleanly eliminated.

The clamor of battle gradually subsided. Chen Hao, piloting his Tier 3 super mecha which had been reinforced many times, followed the guidance of the airship and found the Tier 3 high-grade Mermaid King crystal core, which emitted a deep, eerie blue light and contained surging, pure water-attribute energy, amidst a patch of floating charred remains. He carefully stowed it away.

When the last pocket of sporadic resistance was snuffed out, relative peace finally returned to the river. The smoke was slowly blown away by the river breeze, and sunlight pierced through the war haze generated by the engagement, spilling onto the shimmering river surface mixed with oil and debris. It also shone on the battle-scarred but still proudly standing Jiangcheng Fleet and the arriving ships of the Red Alert First Fleet, reflecting a dazzling metallic cold glow off the steel hulls of the ships.

Inside the Jiangcheng Military Port Command Center, Liu Yi and the Governor of Jingchu Province watched the final real-time images transmitted back to the large screen, showing the battle had completely ended and the two fleets were beginning to merge and sail toward the military port in formation. They were silent for a long time, their hearts racing.

Finally, Liu Yi slowly and deeply exhaled a breath of turbid air that had been suppressed for a long time, as if breathing out all the past pressure, doubts, and anxieties together. Using his fingers, he forcefully and completely extinguished the cigarette he had been holding between them, which he had long forgotten to smoke, in the already overflowing ashtray.

"Old Wan," his voice carried a hint of fatigue, but more of it was relief and determination, "prepare to welcome our brothers from the Red Alert Legion into the port. From now on... everyone in Jingchu will follow them." There was no longer any hesitation or reluctance in his words.

After witnessing that crushing power and the dreamlike technology of the airship's iron curtain field and high-energy matrix laser cannon, Liu Yi was sincerely impressed and full of expectation for merging into this powerful force.

Jiangcheng Military Port

When the flagship and several capital ships of the Red Alert First Fleet slowly docked, Liu Yi and the Governor of Jingchu Province, leading the high-ranking military and political officials of Jingchu, were already waiting in formation.

Liu Yi strode forward and firmly shook the hands of Chen Hao and Liu Jiang, who were the first to step off the gangway. His palms were still a bit damp from the excitement and earlier tension, but his grip was strong: "Commander Chen! Commander Liu! Words cannot express my gratitude! Thank you for the Red Alert Legion's timely arrival and for turning the tide! If not for you, these million soldiers and civilians of Jiangcheng might have been in grave danger today! I, Liu Yi, on behalf of all of Jingchu, thank you!" His words were earnest, and there was even a trace of lingering fear in his eyes.

Chen Hao laughed heartily, his voice like a great bell, as he shook Liu Yi's hand back: "General Liu, you overstate it! Jingchu is already a part of my Red Alert Legion's Xiang-Gan-E Joint Military Region, and we all serve under Commander-in-Chief Jiang. We are one family! Family members don't need to be polite; helping each other is only natural!" His boldness instantly lightened the slightly heavy post-war atmosphere.

Liu Jiang, on the other hand, appeared more calm and pragmatic. He let go of the hand, his gaze sweeping over the pier and the distant city skyline, his tone steady: "General Liu, let's skip the pleasantries. Please arrange for personnel to take over the large amount of supplies our army has brought as soon as possible. Additionally, the coordination for our soldiers' temporary station and command headquarters needs to be implemented quickly. The rescue and resettlement of the people of Jiangcheng is a matter of great urgency."

Liu Yi nodded repeatedly, greatly admiring Liu Jiang's vigorous and straightforward style that avoided empty talk, and also knowing well that now was not the time for bureaucratic pleasantries: "Commander Liu is absolutely right! Everything has been arranged, and the heads of various departments are on standby. The two Commanders and all our colleagues from the Red Alert Legion, please follow me to the Jiangcheng Command Center first so we can coordinate in detail and let everyone rest for a while."

"Good! We'll follow your lead, General Liu, please!" Chen Hao responded readily.