A vast formation of aircraft was already approaching.
The power of the Rotor-class and Acid-class alone was insufficient to pose a threat to them—the bombers and their fighter escorts were flying at an altitude beyond the maximum range of these two types of ranged Honkai Beasts.
Even the Floater-class's [Honkai Lance Projection] struggled to reach.
Simultaneously, as ranged fire continued to pour in from the west, a dense chorus of whistling sounds erupted overhead.
Carpet bombing from the bombers commenced. This method of level bombing couldn't guarantee precision, but against a Honkai Beast legion of such high density, anything dropped was bound to hit something.
Assuming, of course...
The Honkai Beasts just stood there waiting to be bombed.
Crack!
[Azure Beast]
A variant of the Temple-class Honkai Beast.
Unlike Lu Xing's subordinates, all of whom were Knight-class with ice attributes, Temple-class Honkai Beasts were not numerous to begin with, and only a little over ten possessed ice attributes. These variants were more like an honor guard for the legion leader, "Frost Lightning."
As the bombs whistled down, these honor guards simultaneously performed an identical maneuver:
Shields raised high, lances held straight.
Temple-class beasts varied greatly in size. These [Azure Beasts], being large-type Temple-class, generally exceeded 15 meters in height, giving them a formidable presence... a deterrent to the enemy, and a source of security for their allies.
[Hold Shield]
The Temple-class executed a standard [Hold Shield] opening move.
However, their next action instantly refreshed Lu Xing's understanding—this battle hadn't been raging for long, yet Lu Xing's comprehension of Honkai Beasts had already been overturned several times. A large number of Ranger-class Honkai Beasts, each about a meter long, all "stuck" themselves to the Temple-class beasts!
In a flash, nearly a quarter of the Ranger-class beasts in the legion had completed their union with the [Azure Beasts].
Though it looked much like add-on armor, it was, in fact, the Temple-class's method of protecting the Ranger-class... no, it was their way of leading the Ranger-class into a charge!
Hum!
Above the Ranger-class, surrounding the Temple-class.
Vast, shimmering Honkai energy halos made the figures of the deep cyan, heavily armored soldiers appear incredibly sacred.
Temple-class beasts possessed the ability to fly.
The problem was, while their speed wasn't slow, their immense mass made it difficult for them to perform agile evasive maneuvers in the air.
Now, bolstered by the Ranger-class's "anti-gravity" support, the Temple-class's speed and reaction capabilities had more than doubled.
The next instant—
Swoosh!!
Shields formed a protective barrier.
The Temple-class beasts, braving the sky full of bombs, launched a fearless charge towards the heavens!
Boom! xN!!!
Swathes of bombs were detonated.
The threat from the sky above was directly scattered by the Temple-class's charge!
However...
The bombs meticulously prepared by humans were not mere fireworks. This first wave of bombing, upon which high hopes were pinned (as there might not be a chance for a second), concealed quite a few heavy hitters. As the local military, although they couldn't just toss nuclear weapons around like those self-proclaimed 'Beacon People' from the Pretty Country—whose unofficial motto might as well be, 'You can laugh at our human rights record, but we'll laugh right back because you clearly don't understand American power.' When it came to other types of ordnance... well, anything was fair game.
BOOM!!!
The sky suddenly blazed with light.
The legion was directly below; the Temple-class, serving as the legion's shield, would not evade!
Their fully powered [Hold Shield] ability staunchly blocked all threats within the sky. For this, the Temple-class honor guard charging into the heavens suffered a loss of seven units.
However, this sacrifice was not in vain.
After confirming all bombs had been successfully intercepted, the remaining [Azure Beasts], less than a handful and still carrying their Ranger-class passengers, mercilessly launched their offensive—
Swoosh!
The colossal figures vanished into thin air.
The next moment, an [Azure Beast] whose figure was captured had already closed the distance with the aircraft formation by several hundred meters.
Simple and unadorned.
This was the spatial ability possessed by the Temple-class:
[Teleport]
As elites among the Temple-class, the [Azure Beasts]' [Teleport] not only had a greater range and shorter cooldown, but most importantly, they could teleport other units along with them.
Although doing so consumed a vast amount of energy, the [Azure Beasts] themselves were not the primary offensive force against the aircraft. The true killing blow—
Swoosh!
The explosions had yet to dissipate from the sky.
The [Azure Beasts] had already reached the combat airspace.
While they drew the attention of the escorting fighter jets, the numerous Ranger-class beasts attached to them shot out like celestial maidens scattering blossoms!
In an instant, the sky bloomed with countless captivating fireworks.
The battle in the sky continued.
On the ground, there was no sign of cessation either.
Besides the ranged fire support from the air, the humans' direct ground fire was also not to be underestimated. A cluster of tanks on the western flank had already appeared at the edge of their vision.
Accompanied by sharp, air-tearing shrieks, the flames erupting from the muzzles of the 120mm main cannons almost formed a continuous line in the distance!
Swoosh! xN
But it was useless!
The attack indeed came from the rear of the Honkai Beast legion.
However, in this position, figures standing like a city wall provided the most solid protection for the legion:
Emperor Guard · Warlord-class!
Thud—
A massive arm-hammer slammed into the ground.
At the tip of its lattice-like arm beside the shoulder pauldron, active Honkai energy flared skyward like fire!
Before the dense volley of armor-piercing shells could hit their targets—
—Thump!!
Azure, deep violet, dark brown.
A wall interwoven with these three colors (energies) rose from the earth, standing like the majestic Great Wall between the artillery shells and the Honkai Beasts!
BOOM!!!
Not a single step beyond this inviolable line would be tolerated.
The wall, roughly fifteen meters high and of a length that stretched beyond sight, provided the legion with the most stable rear defense.
Ground, sky.
All offensives had been halted.
Nothing more could impede the legion's advance. If it came to a direct confrontation, no matter how many troops humanity still had hidden on the eastern flank, a simple "crushing" would suffice to annihilate them all!
"Chariot-class—"
Cheche's voice echoed in Lu Xing's consciousness.
It hadn't used "point-to-point encrypted communication" but had instead directly conveyed its thoughts to all Honkai Beasts by "roaring"!
"—Advance!"
Thump!
Thump!
From slow to fast.
Except for the Warlord-class holding the rear, and a small number of Servants left behind by the Temple-class for support, all other Honkai Beasts closely followed the Chariot-class's pace. And the Chariot-class, with Cheche at its tip, began a reckless, headlong charge in a triangular formation!
Whipping up sandstorms.
Smashing through low hills.
Flattening the wasteland.
As long as their cores were not shattered, no matter how dense the hail of bullets ahead, it would not make the Chariot-class pause for even a moment!
Thump!!
From village to city.
Left on this path, aside from scattered ruins, there were no living things.
The instant they approached the city—without needing Lu Xing's reminder, Cheche could also sense the ambush within.
The western forces were not the main force to intercept the legion; after all, further to their west, another Honkai Beast cluster was already confronting them.
The legion's true opponent...