Xyrin Empire
Chapter 598: A Brutal Battle

Chapter 598: Chapter 598: A Brutal Battle

This was the last position still in the enemy’s hands; the Gusta Invading Army had consolidated all their ground forces around a crystallized quartz extraction station and were stubbornly holding out there—of course, don’t think that these armies from diverse worlds were fighting to the death for something like national honor. They had taken hundreds of miners as hostages, who hadn’t managed to escape from the extraction station, and had filled the Crystal Rift behind the station with fusion bombs. Should those bombs be detonated, the special yet fragile crust of Crystal Peak would likely crack horrendously and become unstable deep below, rendering a third of the planet’s mines unsafe for future exploitation. It might even be said that, compared to the few hundred miners, those countless fusion bombs crammed into the Rift were the real "hostages," and the purpose of the Invading Army taking these hostages was simply to escape.

The Church Army’s demand was for a transport ship large enough to take everyone away, allowing them to flee back within the borders of their own country. Each of the fusion bombs was equipped with a differently encrypted detonator, which could be triggered remotely. The remaining troops in the mines firmly believed that as long as the remote control was in their own hands, they would be able to return safely, at least until the fierce and unfamiliar Federation Army could crack the activation codes for each fusion bomb, enabling them to undergo a Super Space-Time Jump and arrive back within the safety of Gusta territory.

No one chose to surrender, not because of bravery, for one, there was no concept of treating prisoners well in this world, surrendering at any time did not mean you would get to peacefully enjoy prisoner treatment, second, the doctrine of Gusta seemed to include provisions that never permitted surrendering to heretics, but amusingly, their doctrine did allow fleeing the battlefield, and thirdly, it pertained to us...

The ruthless manner of combat executed by the Federation Army truly served to establish their dominance, completing the destruction of space defenses, neutralizing ground anti-air firepower, landing and securing most of the planet all in two hours, without any mercy, as unstoppable as a meat grinder. Such combat power and blitzkrieg tactics would definitely catch the attention of the entire Western Sky Zone to this newly emergent fleet. However, for those Church Army soldiers already bunkered down in the mines, all of the above only proved that the "New Eden Federation Government Army," from top to bottom, upheld a policy of obliteration. And our final phase bombardment of the whole planet from orbit only solidified their conviction that surrendering now would mean being beheaded and used as a banner the very next moment.

So, they all chose to fight to the death rather than surrender, even if we broadcast "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" on all frequencies, that intense thing wouldn’t make them surrender.

The enemy numbered around five thousand, possessing heavy armored vehicles and numerous fortified artillery. They were extremely tense, fully vigilant, and had blockaded all entrances and exits to the mines. Moreover, after a dozen of their strongholds had been "reaped by invisible ghosts," these troops had become aware of some unprecedentedly powerful invisible units within the Federation Army. To counter such units, they had equipped the mine’s passageways with floating ion clouds and full-spectrum sensor radars. Although primitive, these were highly effective—any breach of the ion cloud would immediately trigger a saturated bombardment—good heavens, one Dark Templar was outright sent flying by an oncoming Siege Cannon shell.

The sky was gradually darkening, the forty-eight-hour-long daytime of the Crystal Peak East Hemisphere was coming to an end, and now approaching was another forty-eight hours of cold night. Without the retention of an atmosphere, the sun’s light in the sky receded unusually quickly, turning the once brilliantly shining Crystal Canyon into a place full of mottled refracted light spots. The last rays of sunlight fell on the rugged crystal peaks, scattering and refracting to fill the entire canyon with bizarre and chaotic light.

Wearing black one-piece space combat suits, with a red "Σ" symbol woven on the chest, the Gusta Guards seemed even more tense. Such a chaotic and complex lighting environment was extremely unfavorable for shooting handheld weapons. Moreover, the arrival of night signaled that the temperatures would soon leave this atmosphere-lacking mining area. All the energy lines outside had already been cut off, meaning that the thermal radiation devices used to protect the outdoor equipment at the mine were unable to start up. The soldiers, who had to guard outside, would rely on the already very limited energy of their space combat suits to endure forty-eight hours of ultra-low temperatures. Unless they wanted to turn into ice statues in the final hour before dawn, they had to maintain the temperature of their combat suits near the warning line throughout the night. It was going to be a cold night—one that the surviving fighters of the Church Army would never forget.

Some even envied the miners who they had taken as hostages. Although having guns pointed at their heads, at least the miners could stay in the relatively warm ground stations—a thought that some already half-frozen sentries couldn’t help but entertain as they quietly discussed this topic over the radio. They needed to find something to focus on, or they really would freeze to death.

They had no idea that their radio communications had long been exposed to the much more advanced spy devices of the Federation Army. Not only conversations but even the slightest gasp was now being overheard by at least a company of intelligence personnel at the rear. Thus, the locations of the camps holding hostages and who held the fusion bomb controller were broadcasted out, prompting the commencement of a special forces operation.

"Seventy-seven, seventy-seven, was there something that just flitted by just now?"

A Gusta Warrior hunkered down with a gun inside an outpost suddenly stood up, nervously watching the direction he was guarding, where a road intersection was blocked by war chariot wreckage. Although completely blocked, more than a dozen outposts had sent back intelligence before being completely slaughtered, and such simple barricades could not stop those "ghosts," whose physical abilities probably exceeded human capabilities by more than a dozen times.

"Seventy-eight, you’re muddled from the cold," muttered the soldier assigned to the same outpost as he stood up and glanced at the road intersection before shaking his head, "The sensor radar isn’t picking up anything... Damn, it’s really cold. Why do I feel like ice is forming inside my combat suit, and the surrounding temperature is abnormally low too? We better change guard soon. Who knows if they will agree to our terms tomorrow. Bloody hell, do they really need to exterminate us all?"

"It should be no problem, right? Gaining a mining star that makes the entire Sky Zone jealous and releasing a few thousand infantrymen who have already lost their combat effectiveness—do we even need to calculate this? Right now, it’s just our leader wearing down the opposition with talk. Damn, and I thought this time we’d really make a difference. Where the hell did those ruthless Federation Army forces come from?" While continually muttering complaints, the soldier, who had seen his share of life and death on countless battlefields, bore little sadness at the prospect of complete annihilation. In this universe, almost all armies considered themselves mercenaries; as long as they survived, they held little camaraderie for those battle companions from who knows where. If there was any, it existed only within the structurally stable Ace Armies.

Sentry number seventy-eight observed the luminous floating ion cloud at the intersection for a moment and finally determined it was an illusion. His body rigid, he stamped his foot and crouched down again.

Sentry number seventy-seven was curled up against the wall of the outpost, seemingly asleep. Next to the "sleeping" sentry seventy-seven, stood a cleverly designed, adorable three-foot-tall doll, blinking its eyes at him.

"A doll?" Sentry seventy-eight paused, his stiff brain not immediately grasping the strangeness of the situation. He just stared at the doll with its large head, big eyes, and tiny body, dressed in a strange gray-white "long" robe that made it look quite cute. He slowly broke into a smile, "Does the Free Kingdom really rely on such juvenile and fragile things to stave off loneliness, even for the miners on the border?"

The three-foot-tall doll also cracked a smile, then drew its light saber with skilled precision typically found in textbooks, and thrust it into the sentry’s throat, severing his brainstem. Sentry seventy-seven fell down, convulsing and curling up just like sentry seventy-eight.

"Jedi Mercury Lamp Number Six reporting, outpost three has been cleared. Chiruno Mercury Lamp, please maintain ultra-low temperatures, Jedi Mercury Lamp is moving on!"

Silent infiltration had already begun.

The "Cute Army" of three-foot-tall dolls, with an average height of only 60 centimeters, were equipped with air disturbance streamline devices that virtually left no air turbulence while moving at high speed. Moreover, these dolls could turn off their body’s temperature simulation at any time, making themselves as cold as the surrounding environment in thermal imaging, plus ... their mixed-arms combat skills made their fighting capabilities genuinely formidable.

As controllers, the battle awareness of the Sister Misakas was beyond question. Although they were now living normal student lives, the combat skills forcibly instilled at their creation remained. Coupled with their participation in bloody experiments, they held no fear in battle. And just look at the Imperial Military Academy curriculum—from such a school, if you can’t take down two or three Iron Blood warriors barehanded, you’d be embarrassed to even show your student ID.

Even if the Sister Misakas weren’t very familiar with their new weapons, isn’t this the best place to train?

Thus, as the night gradually fell, the outer outposts of the lingering Gusta remnants fell silent one by one. The three-foot soldiers harvested the sentries’ lives with astonishing efficiency and expertise that even regular army personnel would find hard to comprehend (mainly the contrast their appearances created), swiftly turning them into the most potent infiltration unit, precisely because the Imperial Armored Scorpions couldn’t appear on this battlefield.

Who could have suspected this?

But it was impossible to wipe out the entire mining site’s enemy forces unnoticed. The sheer number of dolls acting and the lost contact with the border outposts finally made the enemy commanders realize what was happening. Countless temporarily installed searchlights cast stark white beams of light, illuminating the entire mining site as if it were daytime, although the chaotic reflections affected shooting accuracy somewhat. At last, the remaining Gusta sentries could see the enemy’s trails.

Then, they were shocked.

The entire mine was filled with dolls!

Fully armed, the dolls were killing enemies with astonishing efficiency.

"Retreat to cover! Fire!"

The Gusta commander made a snap decision, regardless of how bizarre the enemies before him were; combat was still combat. The somewhat stunned soldiers also quickly came to their senses, hastily found places to hide, and, relying on the advantageous terrain, they launched a counterattack. They thought they had a good plan: although these dolls were very peculiar, their combat skills surely must not be that great. The losses they had suffered earlier were just because they were caught off guard by a surprise attack.

When the battle began, everyone realized they were wrong.

The dolls’ combat skills were ferociously incredible. Those cute, clumsy little guys wielding light sabers could easily tear through a half-meter thick steel barrier, those with carbine guns, lying on the ground only showing a big head, could penetrate a whole alloy bunker with one shot. And those wearing boxing gloves, dressed like fighters, one Rising Dragon Strike sent a main battle tank’s turret flying, although its large head hit the tank’s armor in the process, the ghastly strength in their arms had already shocked—and actually killed—the tank drivers.

Their attack capability was formidable, but the dolls’ defensive abilities were even more peculiar; ordinary bullets seemed completely ineffective against them, each doll seemed to have something similar to a starship shield on them, capable of resisting physical attacks. What’s more, heavy artillery bombardment would be blocked when several of them united in defense. Gods of Gusta above! You wouldn’t believe the scene when a dozen dolls hugged together and took a crouching defensive posture, then the incoming shell would be repelled by a gigantic shield!

"Hostages! The barracks where the miners were detained have been opened! Everyone inside is gone!"

In the midst of the chaos, someone finally realized the real intent behind the dolls’ actions—they were creating chaos, and heaven knows by what means they managed to rescue all the hostages!

Truthfully, when the miners saw a whole row of three-headed dolls carrying strange tools walking into the barracks and then assembling a teleportation gate to allow them to escape, their shock and confusion were no less than that of the Gusta invading army at that moment.

It wasn’t just the hostages that had been rescued—this was the serious issue some Gusta officers discovered immediately afterward. The fusion bombs hidden deep within the Crystal Rift had disappeared from the remote control; they had all been dismantled!

This was the victory of the Crystal Saint Mother. A girl named Makoto Sakura, who had been bored for several days, finally ignored the guards’ attempts to stop her and personally joined the battle. A powerful information barrier enveloped the mining site, and not to mention remote controls—even Unicom Mobile at this moment just wouldn’t work for you —isn’t Unicom Mobile pathetically weak now?

It was over. When they realized that their two life-saving trumps had been quietly dealt with, all the Gusta invading army—now a remnant force—realized this problem. Meanwhile, the three-headed ones in the battlefield also started to retreat, bouncing and hopping, their little short legs moving back and forth like whirlwinds. Despite looking clumsy, the combat dolls’ mobility was excellent; in the blink of an eye, they had completely fled. The invading army looked at each other in dismay, then felt the ground slowly trembling.

An unprecedentedly massive shadow suddenly emerged from behind a small hillside at the edge of the mining site. The functional searchlights in the mine immediately focused their beams on it, and thus, a gigantic doll over one hundred meters tall appeared in the night sky, and on top of the giant doll’s head stood a little girl who seemed like 92.3cm tall, apparently the commander of the toy army—that face had appeared countless times tonight.

Under the little girl’s command, the giant doll opened its mouth, and from inside began to drop micro three-headed bodies wrapped all over with detonators, wearing headbands and with the words "Hot Blood" written on their faces. As the first explosion created a rising mushroom cloud, the giant doll’s eyes also began to gather sparkling energetic sparks.

"Fuck #@￥#@%￥#%@..." That was the last roar of anger from the Gusta Commander over the radio.

The fierce battle had ended just like that.

The dawn’s radiance spilled over the crystal-clear land of Crystal Peak Star, making the world brilliant. Amid the dark universe backdrop hovered a dense formation of warships, with the massive Light of El surrounded like a second sun by the fleet, adding a unique sight to the typically dim and dull sky of the planet. The army had already assembled and was ready to board the ships for the return journey. This planet was now ours—well, Fina’s to be precise.

But everyone knew that in every sense, what was Fina’s was ours.

"This was a beautiful battle, a perfect victory straight out of a textbook!"

Standing on a crystal platform several meters off the ground, Lilina, who served as the deputy commander of the landing operation, was passionately exclaiming,

"The fact once again proved that only the Life Goddess is the True God! All heretics are just paper tigers! So everyone should join the church! Convert to the teachings of the Life Goddess, here you have a Bible that evolves with the times, changing every month; a church system where you can pick your own titles, relaxed and enjoyable; and the Holy Land Garden where, with a lifetime of service to the Pope, you can acquire a house, all for just 998! Act on your impulses, just for... woah!"

I didn’t push her; the girl fell down herself in her excitement...

Under the morning sun, the land of Crystal Peak was gathered with neatly arranged Marine Corps Soldiers and Templars, and though sparse in numbers, the heroic spirit formation was grand. But what really grabbed everyone’s attention were the ten thousand three-headed beings right in front of me.

Eighty percent of the on-site attention was focused on them, with Marine Corps Soldiers speculating whether there was a problem with the Imperial Capital, or whether Bubbles, the Xyrin Host, had finally succeeded in usurping the throne.

And of course, the most noticeable thing was that hundred-meter-tall Titan Mercury Lamp... I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. Though of little practical combat value overall, what truly terrorized the Gusta Invading Army in the end was this super-sized dame. I even suspect that the battle images we deliberately released—featuring this gigantic doll—might just become the future symbol of the Federation Army in the Western Sky Zone.

In this battle, including the space troops, the casualty rate of the Gusta Invading Army reached an astonishing 95%. You could say they were completely wiped out, and the remaining 5% were purposefully let go by us. Believe that having seen the Federation Army’s power on the frontlines, they would make very good free publicists, shifting all of Gusta’s attention away from the Free Kingdom to the Federation. We had already reported this great victory to Fina and had also informed the Red Giant Base, with attacks on Shepherd Supervision Teams across the universe starting in twenty-four hours.

The Federation Army here also needed to reorganize its forces, preparing to combat the chaotic forces in the Western Sky Zone and to completely stabilize this area as soon as possible, making it the Imperial Army’s main rear in this universe.

"Boss," as I was contemplating the next step, a sudden deep and soft voice from behind interrupted my thoughts. Sister Misaka was standing there, looking strikingly valiant, "Something seems off with Sakura. Could you please check on her personally?" (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to vote or support it on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)