Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 1445 - 34: Clearing the Field

Chapter 1445: Chapter 34: Clearing the Field

The Beastmen’s various aerial combat arms continued to ascend into the sky, like disturbed flies, one group after another, densely obscuring the bright crescent moon.

The firepower from the anti-air positions erupted, as if the silent night was doused in boiling oil, resembling an erupting volcano, completely shaking everything up.

From the temporary airport to the human fortress, full speed meant nearly two minutes of travel, but this three kilometers was riddled with the thorns of death.

As soon as the Beastmen’s squadrons took off, Tang Zheng and the others received an infrared lock-on alarm on their radars. To support each other, several temporary airports were built close together, so even armed helicopters with relatively smaller combat areas entered each other’s attack range!

Although the Conquerors were skilled and brave, facing such enemy aircraft, sweat seeped from their palms.

"This is too much, isn’t it?" Xiaobai was somewhat parched, and while the Conquerors could operate all kinds of vehicles due to purchasing driving skills, except for geniuses like Tang Zheng and Mu Nianqi, most were not as practiced as seasoned drivers.

Without using their abilities, the Conquerors’ aerial combat techniques were average, and it was somewhat unrealistic to shoot down ace pilots.

Luckily, the survivors were fortunate, although the Imperial Defense Army had alerted the Beastmen, causing them to be affected too, the Natives had successfully drawn at least half of the enemy’s attention.

The fame of the interstellar warriors was well-known; naturally, the Beastmen saw them as the primary targets.

Whoosh, whoosh, the chasing squadrons fired missiles that exploded mid-air, like a series of spectacular fireworks blooming.

Suddenly there was chaos within the Conquerors’ squadron, each using their techniques to evade. Tang Zheng exerted his arm, pulling the control stick sharply, and the helicopter instantly climbed diagonally upwards, followed by a 360-degree flip in the sky, completely dodging the missiles.

Mu Nianqi and the gaming girl also made impressive tactical maneuvers, easily dodging the missiles. The others weren’t taken down either, but Xiaobai and Dong Zixuan were clearly struggling, barely evading the second wave of missiles and began calling for support.

"Xiaobai, Zixuan, Xin Lan, all of you retreat!" Tang Zheng called out, those remaining would not be of much use, and it would be big trouble if they were shot down.

Yue Jing also wanted to fly away first, but as the Group Leader, seeing Tang Zheng covering the retreat, he did not want to appear weak and leave an impression of incapability in the hearts of the Group Members.

"Forget it, you all leave. Queen Mu, do you dare to meet the enemy with me?" Before Tang Zheng even finished speaking, he had already flipped in the air, simultaneously firing a missile.

The Beastmen squadron immediately dodged, but still, two were hit and turned into fireballs plummeting down.

"The one with the fewest shoot-downs buys drinks!" The assertive Mu Nianqi, who never knew fear, employed a similar tactical movement, firing her missiles.

"Don’t be reckless!"

Hearing Tang Zheng’s intention to stay behind, everyone in the Communicator frantically shouted, urging him not to be rash.

"Somebody has to stay behind to fend off the enemy, otherwise we won’t even make it to the fortress’s anti-air zone." Xiaobai explained, secretly wishing Tang Zheng would die in the sky.

"Shut up."

"Why don’t you go eat shit!"

"Get lost!"

Xiaobai’s comments immediately provoked a torrent of curses from the Warhammer squad; if they weren’t so far apart, they would definitely beat him up until he couldn’t take care of himself.

Hearing the Group Members defend Tang Zheng, Yue Jing was incredibly envious. At that moment, he made an impulsive decision, actually turned back to stay and assist Tang Zheng.

"Silence, do as I say!" Tang Zheng roared, and suddenly there was silence in the Communicator, then in the sky, an unbelievable scene unfolded before Xiaobai’s eyes.

Qin Yan did not make any attempt to dissuade, but actions spoke louder than words—she performed a big flip with her armed helicopter, chasing after Tang Zheng.

Li Xinlan maneuvered the armed helicopter to turn and follow!

Xu Biyun turned and followed!

Lin Weiguo turned and followed!

Gu Xueqi turned and followed!

Xu Liangmao turned and followed!

"I’m sorry, Lin Jing, I must stay this time!" Lin Fachan apologized to the co-pilot and maneuvered his armed helicopter to turn and follow Tang Zheng!

"Do I seem like such an unreasonable woman?" Lin Jing rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, placing her thumb on the Gatling gun’s button.

Beneath the night sky, accompanied by the blooming flames of the missiles, the Conquerors’ armed helicopters traced beautiful and powerful arcs, following Tang Zheng to confront the Beastmen’s massive cluster.

"Damn, a bunch of lunatics!" Xiaobai cursed after seeing all the friendly armed helicopters turning back, hesitated for a moment, and then turned as well.

"What are you doing? All of you go back!" Tang Zheng, after shooting down two more helicopters and seeing his comrades catch up on the radar, felt both touched and irritated.

"Letting you go alone, we’re not at ease!" the Old Soldier said teasingly, with the Gatling gun’s thunderous roar.

"I’ve heard that taking down five enemy aircraft earns you the title of ace pilot; I can’t miss this opportunity." Xu Liangmao seldom spoke; he just didn’t want Tang Zheng to feel guilty.

Newbies huddled in the cabin, peering through the glass to see the scene unfolding behind them, their excitement palpable, aware that if Tang Zheng hadn’t stayed behind to confront the attackers, these Conquerors wouldn’t have cared a whit for their lives.

"What a bunch of fools," muttered Pang Meiqin under her breath, actually wishing she could fly back too, if she weren’t piloting the Landing Pod.

Because of physical reasons, Lu Fan wasn’t piloting the Helicopter and was currently beside Pang Meiqin, ceaselessly muttering prayers, hoping his uncle could return safely.

Though the Conquerors were brimming with morale, it couldn’t compensate for the number superiority they lacked, and during aerial combat, the abilities of most of them were rendered useless.

Lin Jing and Yu Deye were part of the Shooting series, and even though they operated the Helicopter’s fire-control system, they could bolster it with their abilities. That’s why their kill counts were actually on par with Tang Zheng and Queen Mu.

There were simply too many enemy Fighters, and with just Rocket shells alone, they created a lethal Barrage. Seeing the Landing Pod continuing its escape, it didn’t take a guess to know it housed many and held the most value, hence being the primary target of the onslaught.

The newbies watched the Missiles, trailing red Fireballs, streaking towards them, almost wetting themselves with fear as they prayed fervently to the heavens.

"They’ve really overestimated me!" growled Pang Meiqin through clenched teeth, pulling out all the stops to execute tactical evasions.

The Landing Pod became as agile as a Tuna, dodging and weaving through the barricading Sharks. Due to the evasive maneuvers, the newbies inside suffered greatly, having not buckled their seatbelts--they were knocked about, tumbling and crashing into the Cabin Walls, with some of them breaking their heads open.

Boom! The Landing Pod was inevitably hit, its tail struck, sending Metal Fragments scattering chaotically, piercing the bodies of the newbies nearby. Several were wounded, and three unfortunate souls had shards embed into their foreheads, instantly killed.

Pang Meiqin had already done her best. If it were any other Pilot, they would have been shot down by now.

The Shock Wave violently shook the craft, and as Pang Meiqin tried to restore balance, in that brief interval, several newbies fell out through the ruptured cabin opening.

The unlucky newbies screamed, then their voices abruptly ceased, smashed into meat sauce.

Shen Qingshuang’s Airborne Gunship wasn’t as Lucky as Pang Meiqin’s; his piloting skills were just average and couldn’t make up for the lack of the Mechanical Godfather’s Ability against the barrage of Missiles.

The Gunboat was hit, emitting black smoke and flames as it plummeted toward the ground. Shen Qingshuang’s forehead was drenched in sweat, unable to abandon the craft, he had no choice but to try and crash-land.

The high school student clutched his mount, watching the ground zoom towards him, despair setting in.

The twenty-some surviving newbies in the cabin grew pale, piled in disarray.

"That dumbass Xu Liangmao!" Li Huiwen cursed in the cabin, blaming the miserable guy. However, she soon began to speculate about how her husband’s behavior could bring her benefits.

In such a situation, Tang Zheng definitely wouldn’t die. If the miserable man were to die, given the Group Leader’s soft-hearted character, she could easily assume his position and propose some conditions.

Li Huiwen felt somewhat cruel, but thinking of her past sufferings and Old Xu’s incompetence, she steeled her heart.

"Shen Qingshuang crashed," Ruan Feifei exclaimed, startled.

"He’s on his own," said Pang Meiqin, who was already too spent to help anyone else. The only consolation was that the Landing Pod had entered the Fortress’s airspace and was not under attack.

"Terrible, I don’t even know who’s piloting that one!" Dantai stood atop the watchtower, surveying the sky through his Telescope, his heart sinking as he witnessed the crash.

The Special Agent knew that even if the newbies in those crafts could land safely, they were doomed—no one could cover the distance to the Fortress in time to assist their escape.

"You guys!" Tang Zheng emptied the Bullet Nest, his machine gun nearly out of Bullets, after all, the Helicopters were manned by Beastman Pilots who’d used the leftover ammunition from the afternoon, which wouldn’t be replenished until tomorrow’s attack on the Fortress.

Actually, with Tang Zheng’s skills, he could have easily escaped, but seeing so many comrades following him, he decided to change plans.

The crescent moon hung like a bow in the Night Sky when suddenly, a steel-colored Metal barrier descended, pushing apart the clouds and casting a vast Shadow.

Three fighters formed up, moving too fast, and collided with it, bursting into splendid Fireballs.

With a deafening mechanical sound, the pattern of the Steel Sky meshed together, and twenty giant metal Kirov Battleships descended abruptly.

Whizz, whizz, whizz—large Bombs, each with a piercing scream, dropped from the nests, sweeping over a kilometer radius like hail.

The Beastman swarms scrambled to evade, but some were still struck by the Bombs and detonated on impact.

Missiles from the Kirov racks targeted the swarms, firing indiscriminate volleys. It was too dense; there was simply no room to dodge.

Taking off slower, the Fighter aircraft now dared not approach the Battlefield, originally having used long-range Missiles to bombard, but now the orbitals of the Steel Sky began to fire.

A blue Light beam, like a military knife, tore through the sky, landing among the Fighter swarm, then plowing a terrifying trench in the terrain below.

The Soil itself was melted into a liquid, glass-like state by the high temperatures.

As if kicking off a fireworks party, the entire Night Sky exploded with the brightest lights of high summer!

Both the Beastmen and the Humans in the Fortress were watching the Battlefield, witnessing the entire squadrons obliterated, one side ashen-faced, the other delirious with joy.

......

PS: Had to take a trip today, got dizzy from the car ride, and the manuscript I’ve been saving up was all used up! (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to head to Qi Dian (qidian.com) and vote with recommendation or monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)