226: Chapter 233 Expeditionary Cavalry vs. the Seventh Generation Zerg!

A dense rain of bullets surged out from the dense forest.

The bullets were extremely powerful, causing damage to the Crossbowmen's armor even from a distance of 1 kilometer.

"They really can fire guns!!" Su Yang's eyes flickered.

These bugs were exactly as he had expected; after the Fusion with firearms, the entire Insect Swarm could launch full-scale attacks.

Moreover, their firepower was several times greater than that of human infantry, and the bullets, all encased in titanium-crystal shells, were immensely powerful.

"Flank the enemy, move in a circling formation!!" the squad leader ordered.

The Ranger Troops immediately turned, no longer facing the Insect Swarm head-on, but instead gradually approached from the flank in an arc formation.

Most importantly, they all leaned to the other side, using the bodies of the Improved Blazing Colts as cover.

The surging bullets struck the Improved Blazing Colts, splashing like ripples into water, creating waves of pale blue light.

This was the Deflection Shield of the Improved Blazing Colts, an energy shield maintained by electrical energy that hovered outside their steel armor.

The Ranger Troops' excellent response strategy allowed the Deflection Shield to absorb a significant amount of damage.

If not for this countermeasure of leaning to the side of the Blazing Colts, the Crossbowmen's armor alone would never have been able to withstand the titanium-crystal bullets.

"Fire!!"

After circling to the side of the Insect Swarm, the Ranger Troops squad leader ordered them to fire.

The Electromagnetic Crossbows finished charging, and in an instant, countless Magnetic Storm Arrows were unleashed.

Compared to the Insect Swarm, which fired from far away with wild shots that lacked precision.

The Ranger Troops' timing was significantly more professional, with every arrow within range achieving a hundred percent hit rate.

Bzzzzzt---

The Magnetic Storm Arrows poured into the dense forest like a rainstorm, the sound of electromagnetic surges ringing in their ears.

Soon, a situation that made Su Yang feel slightly relieved emerged.

That was, although the Insect Swarm had gained powerful long-range offensive capabilities, their defensive power had not significantly increased.

Amidst the rain of Magnetic Storm Arrows capable of destroying armor structures, a series of kill notifications popped up on Su Yang's panel.

[Killed Rank 17 Tyranid Titanium-Crystal Stinger Bug (Nature Race Fusion, Steel Variant), command points +255 (30% bonus)]

[Killed Rank 17 Tyranid Titanium-Crystal Stinger Bug (Nature Race Fusion, Steel Variant), command points +255 (30% bonus)]

[Killed Rank 18 Tyranid Titanium-Crystal Stinger Bug (Nature Race Fusion, Steel Variant), command points +270 (30% bonus)]

...

Meanwhile, the Scouts' detailed information on this variant was also displayed.

[Biological Scan Panel]

[Rank: 16]

[Xenomorphs: Tyranid Swarm]

[Species: Crystal Mineral Race (Nature Race Hybrid)]

[Generation: 7th Generation Swarm]

[Type: Assault Infantry Unit]

[Characteristics: A variant Tyranid Swarm that evolved to adapt to high-pressure environments, combining the advantages of the Crystal Mineral Race and the Nature Race, and mixing unit types from both.]

[On top of the hybrid nature, it also devoured certain steel materials, gaining symbiotic weapons and knowledge of weapon development.]

[Evaluation: This is a high-risk swarm; if not brought under control, it will grow into a Calamity-level swarm.]

Crystal Mineral Race and Nature Race hybrid, and it also possesses symbiotic weapons?

It seems Great Qin has indeed put quite a bit of pressure on the Insect Swarm.

After quickly reviewing the panel, Su Yang captured several key pieces of information in his mind.

First, the Stinger Bugs' Ranks had all reached 17 and 18, and the generation had advanced to the 7th.

This meant they had advanced by a full generation after fighting away from the Heart of the Hive.

Besides the generation, Su Yang discovered that the command points drop rate for Xenomorphs units had also increased.

These Fusion Insect Swarms had a 50% higher command points drop rate than the original single-species Insect Swarms.

For example, for an 18th Rank Stinger Bug unit, killing one from a normal swarm only dropped 180 command points, while the Fusion swarm dropped 270 command points.

This meant that the command points dropped by the Insect Swarm would be more than before, and the efficiency of farming command points would also further increase.

At a time when command points were needed for everything, this was great news for the army.

It seems leaving the Heart of the Hive wasn't entirely bad for the Insect Swarm, Su Yang's eyes flickered.

Using the resources of Poland and Ukraine to increase the Insect Swarm's drop rate, and then being responsible for harvesting them.

Is this the legendary "pig farming" strategy?

Besides the increased command points drop rate, Su Yang also noticed the word "Calamity" appearing in the information description.

Calamity-level refers to combat power capable of threatening the survival of the entire human race; this level had never appeared in the previous two rounds of the Forbidden Area Trial.

Su Yang thought of the Protoss he had encountered in the Wailing Mountains; what level of combat power did they count as?

Would other Calamity-level combat powers grow within the Forbidden Ground?

"Retreat and open up distance!!"

While Su Yang was reviewing the information and pondering, the Ranger Troops, under the command of the squad leader, quickly opened up distance from the Insect Swarm.

Opening up distance not only allowed the Electromagnetic Crossbows to recharge but also allowed the Blazing Colts' energy Deflection Shield to recover.

The energy Deflection Shield could recover quickly when out of combat, making it superior to standard armor in terms of sustained operations.

The tactic of disengaging from the Insect Swarm was also excellent, utilizing high mobility to kite the Insect Swarm, creating space for their own side to output damage and recover.

Bzzzzzt---

After allowing the crossbows and Deflection Shields to finish recharging, the Ranger Troops once again charged into the Insect Swarm's attack range.

Another round of Electromagnetic Crossbow volleys, kill notifications rang out, and another large wave of command points flooded into Su Yang's panel.

[Killed Rank 17 Tyranid Titanium-Crystal Stinger Bug (Nature Race Fusion, Steel Variant), command points +255 (30% bonus)]

[Killed Rank 18 Tyranid Titanium-Crystal Stinger Bug (Nature Race Fusion, Steel Variant), command points +270 (30% bonus)]

[Killed Rank 18 Tyranid Titanium-Crystal Stinger Bug (Nature Race Fusion, Steel Variant), command points +270 (30% bonus)]

...

After this round of killing, the Scout units discovered a batch of white dots on the detector that did not exist on the ground.

Based on past experience, they keenly realized that these were the Insect Swarm's aerial units.

"Aerial combat forces incoming from the front left, pay attention to evasion!"

The Scouts reported the location, and the Ranger Troops immediately changed direction, avoiding a series of acid bombs falling along their path of travel.

"Counterattack!!"

After dodging this wave of damage, the Ranger Troops immediately counterattacked the Insect Swarm's aerial units under the squad leader's command.

However, due to the obstruction of the gray fog, the Crossbowmen could not directly target the enemies with their naked eyes.

They could only fire roughly through the guidance of the Scout units, which greatly affected their shooting accuracy.

Moreover, unlike their first engagement with the Insect Swarm's aerial combat forces, this time the Insect Swarm's aerial units were flying in a higher area than before, almost exceeding the firing range of the crossbows.

Besides the aerial units, the Ranger Troops also had to face the harassing fire from the Stinger Bugs on the ground.

They had to dodge the aerial bombing while simultaneously controlling their bodies and travel routes to avoid being attacked by the Stinger Bugs' fire.

The combination of various factors caused the Crossbowmen's kill efficiency to further decrease, and their energy shields were bottoming out once again.

Facing the strengthened Insect Swarm, trying to take them down with just one Ranger Troops unit was still too difficult!!

However, the harvest this time was already enough.

"Reconnaissance mission complete, retreat!"

Su Yang ordered.