515: A grueling battle

"Damn it, these damned things are so hard to kill!"

On the front line, an Imperial Soldier spat fiercely, opening his helmet visor. Sweat mixed with grime streamed down his forehead. He tightly gripped his energy gun, aimed at a creature pouncing from the distance, and pulled the trigger.

"Zzzzz—"

A scorching laser beam tore through the air, accurately hitting the creature's carapace, but only blasting open a small charred patch, leaving a fist-sized wound.

Viscous green blood gushed from the wound, dripping onto the ground, instantly corroding small, sizzling pits. A pungent, fishy smell filled the air.

The Soldier's pupils contracted. He knew the power of this laser gun all too well; it could easily penetrate ordinary materials. Yet, against these insect-like monsters, it could only cause this much damage?

"Left side! Finish it off!"

His comrade beside him roared, firing. Two laser beams simultaneously struck the creature's compound eye.

The monster let out a sharp shriek, stumbled, and fell, twitching a few times before becoming completely still.

Just as the few of them breathed a sigh of relief, over a dozen more of the same creatures clambered over their comrades' corpses, pouncing forward. Their dense tentacles and sharp claws glinted coldly in the sunlight, like a black wave pressing down on the front line.

"It takes at least three people to focus fire on one! How can we possibly hold them off?"

Fortunately, the heavy weapon positions roared to life just in time, as the blue light of the ion cannon tore through the swarm, instantly blasting a vacuum.

Further out on the Star System orbit, a frigate's ship cannons continuously boomed, dense artillery fire weaving a net of flames across the sky, constantly harvesting the creatures that slipped through.

Relying on heavy firepower and air support, the defense line temporarily stabilized.

But the Soldiers' expressions grew increasingly grim. The energy reserve display's values were dropping at a visible rate, the ion cannon's charging interval grew longer and longer, and the frigate's main cannon also began to limit its firing frequency.

"Energy is almost depleted!"

The ammo carrier held the last box of energy blocks, his voice trembling.

"If there's no resupply, this position won't last two hours!"

The hum of the energy guns gradually thinned out. The Soldiers gripped their weapons, looking at the swarm of creatures still pouring out of the crack in the distance, and fell silent.

They all knew that once the energy ran out, this defense line, built with flesh and steel, could be completely swallowed by the black tide at any moment... In the temporary Command Room, the blue light of the holographic map reflected everyone's grave faces.

The Captain clutched the communicator, his knuckles white from the force, his voice filled with barely suppressed anxiety.

"Is there still no news of support from the Guard Division? If we keep this up, we'll eventually be unable to resist."

The Commander, a major, frowned deeply, his fingertips rapidly sliding across the tactical panel. On the Star System map he brought up, red lights representing crises flickered all over the Huanlong Galaxy.

He took a deep breath, his voice hoarse.

"Just received an encrypted communication from Guard Division headquarters. It's not just us; the entire Huanlong Galaxy has experienced an invasion of these mysterious creatures, from the core Star System to the fringe Star System, they're everywhere. The Guard Division's main force is bogged down in several major disaster areas and simply can't spare any troops to support us."

"Damn it!"

The Captain slammed his fist onto the edge of the control console. The metal surface emitted a dull thud.

Because this unit was merely a routine patrol force of the Huanlong Galaxy Guard Division, with three starships and around ten thousand Soldiers, they only carried basic heavy weaponry and were fundamentally incapable of sustaining large-scale, prolonged combat.

On the holographic map, the light points representing their side were being squeezed by the continuously surging swarm of creatures, and the defensive perimeter was shrinking.

A communications Soldier suddenly looked up, his face pale.

"Report! Point A position on Planet Three has been breached!"

The major's pupils contracted sharply.

"Dispatch one starship for immediate support! Stabilize the defense line first!"

The air in the Command Room seemed to solidify. Only the alarm sounds from the light screen and the roar of guns from the communicator intertwined, grating on everyone's nerves.

No one had expected that a routine patrol mission would suddenly turn into a life-and-death struggle.

"Don't worry, the Speaker has already sent an emergency signal to the Longlan Star Cluster administration, requesting support from the border defense fleet."

The major's voice carried a deliberately suppressed calm.

"Our only goal now is to grit our teeth and hold on, to wait for the arrival of rescue forces before this Star System is completely overrun."

"But Commander, the latest inventory from all positions shows only 30% of energy block reserves remaining, and ammunition shortages exceed half. Unless we include the basic energy for retreat, it will be very difficult to hold out..."

The Captain said slowly.

Hearing this, the major's face darkened, and his knuckles turned white from the effort.

The lights in the Command Room flickered, and the green bar representing resources on the holographic screen was visibly dropping.

He remained silent for a full ten seconds, his gaze sweeping over the real-time information displayed on the light screen.

"I understand."

His voice suddenly deepened, carrying a nearly cold calm.

"Transmit my order: all positions are to implement a resource rationing system, maintaining firepower only enough to prevent a breakthrough."

He paused, then looked at the displayed wreckage of cities swallowed by the swarm on the light screen, his Adam's apple bobbing, and continued.

"Furthermore, if resources are completely depleted, and support still hasn't arrived..."

He paused again, every word like ice.

"Order a full evacuation. Return to the starship and launch a devastating strike on these planets. Rather than let them become a nest for those monsters, it's better to reset everything to zero."

The Command Room fell silent, only the alarm stubbornly screaming.

Everyone understood the weight of this decision. This Star System was the central area of the Huanlong Galaxy; the ecosystems on those planets, hundreds of thousands of years of achievements, and all the supplies that couldn't be taken... But compared to being completely swallowed by the monsters and becoming a breeding ground for them, this was the most decisive loss-cutting measure.

The major closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, only determination remained.

"This is the final order. Execute it."

...