"Zzz-zz!"
Particle beams from fifty Golden Age standard bit drones converged into an absolute high-energy singularity, pressing directly against the gaps in the head armor of the Megastructure on the left.
Under the high-energy wash, matter rapidly disintegrated.
The specialized bone chitin, designed to absorb radar waves and light, finally reached its thermal capacity limit under the continuous injection of energy.
Crack.
A crisp snap echoed through the entire trading zone.
The biological magnetic field generator in the giant structure's head overloaded, and the force field maintaining its internal structure dissolved instantly.
This colossal creature, kilometers in length, lost its grip on the C伦比克 (Columbic) dome. Gravity took over.
It began to slide.
Tens of millions of tons of bone and biological tissue slid along the sloped arc of the metal dome, plunging toward the ground.
On the ground, the Rhaes infantry forces were pressing the line against the Dusk during close-quarters street fighting, capitalizing on the cover of darkness overhead.
Given their biological senses, they had no way to anticipate that the "sky" above—which had provided shelter all along—would suddenly collapse.
BOOM!!!
The giant entity hit the ground.
The entire foundation of Columbic shuddered.
The heavy mass of the Megastructure slammed straight into the dense cluster of buildings.
Several thousand Rhaes warriors located directly beneath the impact zone were turned into Rhaes paste before they could even scream.
Sunlight poured in.
Harsh ultraviolet rays streamed through the massive gap in the dome, washing over the streets.
Skin began to smoke on the Rhaes exposed to the light, their epidermal tissues rapidly necrotizing and peeling away.
Their once tight offensive line collapsed in an instant.
"Good opportunity," Six murmured, standing on the command platform, her pupils contracting slightly.
She did not order an attack on the second megastructure still perched on the dome, nor did she attempt to deliver a finishing blow to the fallen one.
As a shrewd warlord, she understood clearly what the optimal move was right now.
Strike while the iron is hot.
"All bit drones, pivot downward for suppression."
"Infantry, counterattack across all lines. Clean up those sun-dazed bugs."
The order was issued.
Fifty bit drones traced golden arcs through the air, diving rapidly.
"Zzz-zzz-zzz-zzz-zzz—"
Dense particle beams began sweeping the streets in a carpet-bombing pattern.
Lacking shadow cover and suffering continuous burns from the sunlight, the Rhaes fell in swathes under the precise targeting of the drones.
The situation inverted completely—it became a one-sided slaughter.
Even as the other Megastructure struggled to maintain darkness over half the region, the outcome was irreversible.
The Rhaes' morale had not broken, but their physiological functions had.
---
In the core district of Columbic, on the top floor of an office building.
Reagan Lazarus lay flat on the roof, holding a communicator in one hand and binoculars in the other, his mouth hanging wide open.
"Boss—Boss, did you see that?"
Reagan's voice was trembling—not from fear, but from excitement.
"This—this is too surreal!"
"On one side, high-tech Golden Age bit drones doing precision snipes with pew-pew-pew."
"On the other, primitive xenomorphs holding bone scythes getting smoked by the sun."
"And in the middle, a multi-kilometer-long giant centipede is just lying there—"
"I haven't seen a fight this absurd in my entire life!"
---
Far away at Horisenburg, Andy sat in his workshop, watching the real-time feed of the battlefield.
The footage jittered slightly, but the clarity was sufficient.
"Indeed... pretty absurd," Andy remarked.
Scenes of high technology clashing with primitive organisms were not uncommon in the Warhammer universe.
Still, such a raw clash of visual styles retained a sense of absurd realism.
He had been wondering what kind of treasure Six had dug up on the Western Front that made her willing to clash head-on with the Odin Fortress.
Now the mystery was solved: standard bit drones!
Legitimate Golden Age craftsmanship.
While far from a world-ending relic back in that era, it was more than overpowered by current standards.
In particular, its energy lenses—recorded in the STC database—were crafted using a metamaterial called "Resonance Crystal." Their efficiency in energy dispersion and conversion was extraordinary, allowing simple particle streams to achieve remarkable effects.
Not to mention, the interior was undoubtedly packed with super-semiconductors long extinct in the present day, of which even the Tech-Priests had recovered very few.
Considering the extreme level of packaging technology, dismantling one meant it likely couldn't be reassembled.
Even so, that didn't stop him from coveting the hardware. Just thinking about the build quality and design brought a grin to his face.
"?" Andy suddenly pointed at the screen. "Are they trying to run?"
Just as Andy spoke, a shrill, ear-piercing biological screech rang out across the entire battlefield.
A retreat signal!
The surviving Rhaes on the ground instantly stopped their suicidal charge.
Without hesitation, they turned and fled.
Rather than scattering wildly, they moved with a clear objective.
,The Megastructure remaining on the dome began its descent, sliding open several large bone plates on its abdomen to reveal deep chamber entrances.
Meanwhile, the giant centipede that had fallen to the ground—though severely injured—was far from dead.
Its abdominal hatches opened as well.
Countless Rhaes warriors and laborers filed into the bellies of the two colossal beasts.
Despite taking fire from the bit drones, their retreat remained orderly, free of panic or trampling.
A few minutes later, all the Rhaes had vanished.
Wuuu—
The megastructure on the dome released its grip and descended slowly to the ground, reuniting with its injured counterpart.
The two giant entities activated their biological propulsion systems, their abdominal limbs paddling rapidly.
Smashing through the ruins in their path, they moved quickly toward the northeast, soon disappearing into the shadows on the outskirts of Columbic.
Wuuu-1!!
The Dusk sounded a deep, drawn-out horn blast.
It was a declaration of victory and an assertion of sovereignty over the trading zone.
---
Inside the bridge control room, Six pulled off her black beret and tossed it onto the console.
She displayed no victorious smile. Instead, she leaned heavily back into her chair, pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
That battle had been a close call.
Had the megastructure not been brought down, she likely would have lost once her bit drones ran out of energy.
Moreover, Six knew full well she hadn't truly won.
Though the two Megastructures were injured, their cores remained intact.
While more than half of the thousands of Rhaes warriors were dead, their main force survived.
Once they rested and repaired, they could return at any time.
"This grudge runs deep," Six muttered under her breath.
She glanced at the two large red dots moving away on the radar screen.
"Adjutant."
"Here."
"Have the Yaoguang follow them."
Six issued her command.
"Maintain a distance of over twenty kilometers. Use passive radar tracking only. Do not engage, and do not reveal yourselves."
"I want to know where their nest is and what they plan to do next."
"The remaining units will hold position and recover."
"This happens to be Columbic, so facilities are complete. Have the engineering team begin emergency repairs on damaged vehicles immediately and reconnect all supply lines."
---
On the roof of the office building, Reagan swallowed hard as he watched the receding backs of the two giant beasts.
He picked up the communicator again.
"Boss—"
"They're gone."
"They're heading northeast. Straight northeast."
---
In the Horisenburg workshop, Andy didn't reply right away.
He shifted his gaze to the holographic map before him.
"Northeast..."
Andy's finger traced a red line across the map.
Starting from Columbic, the line extended all the way northeast, pointing straight at—
Horisenburg.
Andy immediately pulled up the scanning data regarding the ecosystem inside the launch shaft from their previous reconnaissance mission.
Back then, they had discovered a Rhaes society inside the shaft with a population of several thousand and a complete industrial system.
Andy hadn't moved against them at the time, feeling that as long as they didn't come up to cause trouble, he couldn't be bothered to clear them out.
After all, that was their main lair—easy to defend and hard to attack. It would be better handled once he had mechs ready.
Now, things were turning sour.
Why was that battered Rhaes force fleeing northeast?
To escape?
In that wasteland, any direction was an escape route. Why not turn back to their own domain?
Why specifically northeast?
Unless... there was a force waiting to receive them.
Andy's logic core began constructing an unsettling model.
The Rhaes were not a scattered mass of primitive beasts; they had a society and hierarchy. Why couldn't they have inter-tribal connections?
For instance, the group at the dune veins might be a "mining clan," while the one inside the launch shaft was an "industrial clan."
They knew each other—perhaps they even held an alliance.
Now that their brothers outside had been beaten and their home wrecked, their first instinct was to seek refuge with their kin.
These remnants intended to take those two giant centipedes and squeeze into the launch shaft to regroup!
This was bad news.
If it were just a few thousand infantry coming over, it wouldn't matter much.
Besides, the Rhaes lacked the capability for a long-distance march on foot.
The issue lay with those two giant centipedes—kilometers long and massive as mountain ranges.
If creatures of that scale forced their way into Horisenburg...
How many of Andy's building complexes would they crush in the process?!
Worse still, letting them inside meant a consolidation of forces.
With the two factions merging and strategic units like the giant centipedes joining them, the strength of the Rhaes beneath the launch shaft would explode overnight.
Relying on that underground fortress, they would establish a sturdier defensive line—or even use it as a springboard to counterattack the surface.
When that happened, the launch shaft would no longer be Andy's intended "future starship factory."
It would be a powder keg right beside his pillow, ready to detonate at any moment!
How could he let others sleep beside his bed?!
Andy had simply wanted to watch the show—letting Six fight the xenos so he could enjoy peace and quiet, even if he didn't profit from it.
And now?
The flames of war had been brought right to his doorstep!
If they successfully joined forces and recovered, who would those xenos attack next?
It would undoubtedly be Deep Space Industries, the closest target!
This was no longer a question of tolerance.
Horisenburg was a Golden Age legacy; Andy would never allow the Rhaes to turn it into their backyard!
The red arrows on the map continued their slow march, drawing closer to Horisenburg's alert perimeter.
Andy took a deep breath as his lingering hopes vanished.
There was no dodging this!
He had to intercept those massive creatures before they squeezed into Horisenburg!
Andy couldn't help cursing out loud: "Dammit, do I have to fight too?!"