Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

Ruo Manni led her team straight out of the city. She extended her lightsaber to its maximum length of twenty meters. With a single sweeping motion, she could kill two or three locust beasts. At the same time, she launched missiles, one to the left and one to the right, quickly clearing a path.

Meanwhile, Tamaki Kazia and Sheila could only extend their lightsabers to a maximum of eight meters. While they couldn’t match Ruo Manni’s level, they were still able to wield their lightsabers while simultaneously firing missiles, achieving double kills with ease.

After all, both of them were mid-level Level 4 telekineticists, so multitasking and “locking onto” the vital points of the locust beasts was within their ability.

The nine Level 5 mech warriors dared only to wield five-meter-long lightsabers, following closely behind the three of them, killing one locust beast at a time. In dangerous moments, they would fire missiles to block the beasts. While they couldn’t hit the vital points to kill the locust beasts, they were able to delay their attack.

“Tamaki, you and Sheila split into two groups, one left, one right. Lead the others to clear the locust beasts absorbing energy on the defense shield. Be careful and look out for your teammates. Don’t go off alone, and make sure not to attack the shield. I’ll stay on the outer perimeter, killing the locust beasts,” Ruo Manni commanded.

The others followed the orders without hesitation. With no one else in the way, Ruo Manni could fully unleash her power to kill. The locust beasts were so densely packed that with every swing of her lightsaber, she could kill four or five of them.

While it was satisfying, it also consumed a great deal of her telekinetic energy, so she didn’t dare to fully unleash her power.

Ruo Manni switched the missile system on her mech to the laser cannon system. Missiles required ammo and telekinetic energy to “lock on,” but lasers could be fired as long as there was energy. At such close range, hitting the locust beasts with lasers would severely injure them, if not kill them, rendering them useless in combat.

However, the advantage came with a disadvantage: a single laser shot cost ten times as much as a missile. Although others’ mechs were equipped with the same system, they were reserved for life-or-death situations.

Missiles were limited in number, with only ten on each mech, but as mech warriors, it was common to carry extra supplies.

Furthermore, when Ruo Manni had led them out for this rescue mission, in case of an emergency, as the squad leader, she generously provided each of them with one thousand rounds of cannon ammo.

Therefore, everyone that Ruo Manni brought with her had enough missiles to use. Even the members of the small team who followed her were each given five hundred missiles.

In order to kill more locust beasts quickly, Ruo Manni used her telekinesis to slightly “aim,” ensuring that almost every shot from her laser cannon hit a locust beast. As a result, a gap would quickly open up around her.

She moved around the outer perimeter of the shield, killing locust beasts left and right. Tamaki Kazia and Sheila, along with the eleven mech warriors, found their pressure greatly reduced and were able to focus on eliminating the locust beasts that were clinging to the shield to absorb energy.

As the temporary leader of the combat team, Ruo Manni immediately communicated this effective tactic to the other three teams.

The leaders of the three teams, all of whom Ruo Manni had brought with her, quickly changed their tactics upon hearing her instructions. The Level 6 mech warriors stayed on the outer perimeter to kill the locust beasts, while the Level 5 mech warriors focused on dealing with the locust beasts on the shield.

With the added support of the city’s laser cannons, the dense swarm of locust beasts on the shield began to thin out, and the number of dead locust beasts on the ground continued to rise.

After receiving the alarm, the citizens of Gaoping City hid in their rooms, too afraid to go outside, only watching the battle through their holographic screens.

At first, when they saw the swarms of these insect beasts attacking the city’s shield, they were frightened. Everyone could imagine what would happen to them if the shield were breached.

In their panic, the people began asking each other about these creatures, but no one knew what they were. It quickly became clear that these creatures had never been seen on Topaz Star before.

Due to the locust beasts’ attack, external communications were sporadic, but some skilled individuals managed to connect to the global network and shared information about the creatures. The public learned that these insect beasts were called “locust beasts.”

However, although the general public had low cultivation levels, they could still see that these locust beasts were different from those in the records. They were obviously mutated.

The appearance of these locust beasts on Topaz Star, with their large size and powerful attacks, put immense pressure on the citizens. They muttered anxiously, “Why haven’t the reinforcements arrived yet? It’s been half an hour. The closest bases, the Fifth and Sixth Divisions, should have been able to get here by now.”

At this time, only the military and the mayor knew that, aside from the young lady who had arrived earlier to assist them, no more reinforcements were coming.

Watching the battle outside the shield, the citizens had to be grateful that the Sixth Division had requested help earlier. Given the uncertain situation, the commander-in-chief had sent the most powerful person, the young lady, to their aid.

Otherwise, if they had waited longer, the young lady and her team definitely wouldn’t have come here. They would have gone to the Second or Third Division, which were closer to them, and those areas were now also under attack by locust beasts.

With only the remaining less than half of the Fifth Division’s Level 5 mech warriors, the Sixth Division wouldn’t have been able to hold Gaoping City.

“I thought this young lady was just a pawn raised by Lin Changfeng to increase his own bargaining power, but I didn’t expect she actually has real ability,” said a proud, young man in the mayor’s office.

Many people in the hall stared straight at the screens, but their expressions were somewhat twisted.

Because the person was of high status, they didn’t dare to make fun of him, but if it weren’t for that, they would have definitely scoffed at him and asked where he got the audacity to speak so casually about the young lady, when he, a mere Level 5 warrior, dared to comment on her like that.

What does he have that compares to the young lady? Even if his family is the wealthiest in Gaoping City, it doesn’t compare to the wealth of the Imperial Capital, right?

Not to mention, the young lady is personally leading the troops outside, fighting valiantly. Meanwhile, he’s a Level 5 mech warrior, hiding here, barking orders, when he’s not even worthy to clean her toenails, and yet he still dares to talk like that.

They had access to the screens that showed the whole city, so everyone could see just how strong the young lady’s combat skills were. And it wasn’t just her—she had brought seven others who were also extremely strong.

“Regardless, this young lady deserves all the praise. She could have stayed in the luxurious life of the Imperial Capital, but she chose to come back to this small place. If it weren’t for her training these people, Gaoping City would have had no hope. Now, at least we have a little bit of hope,” the mayor of Gaoping City said.

The mayor often flattered this young man, hoping his family would invest more in Gaoping City, but he couldn’t dishonestly agree with his words. He couldn’t criticize the young lady.

“She graduated from the elite class of the Xuan Gu Military Academy. How could an ordinary person compare to her? Even the two young men following her, though they’ve only just come of age, are already at the late Level 5 level, just a little weaker than our Vice Commander of the Sixth Division. Without their support, this city probably wouldn’t have survived much longer,” said the commander of the City Defense Army without hesitation.

What a joke! How dare he speak so disrespectfully of the young lady? He almost wanted to punch him in the face.

Ruo Manni, unaware that people were commenting on her while she was fighting for her life against the locust beasts, continued her battle.

As Ruo Manni continued to fight, she suddenly noticed that the locust beasts, which had initially surrounded her and were aggressively attacking, began to retreat after a large number of them were killed. Empty spaces appeared around her, and as she charged forward, killing a few more, the locust beasts continued to pull back.

Although the locust beasts were avoiding her, their movements were slow, making it easy for her to catch up and kill them. However, when she charged forward again towards the swarm, she suddenly became alert. It seemed as though the locust beasts were trying to lure her deeper into their ranks.

Damn, these locust beasts are surprisingly intelligent, but their attack pattern doesn’t seem to reflect that.

Nevertheless, charging into battle alone was a big risk. Realizing the danger, Ruo Manni immediately pulled back, focusing on clearing out the locust beasts around her allies instead.

It seemed the locust beasts realized they couldn’t draw her into the swarm, so they suddenly surged toward her. Thousands of them quickly surrounded her, closing in as if they were willing to do anything to trap and kill her.

While Ruo Manni could fly upwards to escape the encirclement, this large group of locust beasts would likely push toward Tamaki Kazia and Sheila. Although Tamaki Kazia and Sheila were fine, the other nine mecha warriors might not be able to escape in time. Ruo Manni decided to take the blow herself.

From the perspective of the City Defense Army’s platoon leader, it seemed as though thousands of locust beasts had organized themselves and surrounded the young lady, quickly overwhelming her.

The platoon leader’s expression grew tense as he nearly pressed his face to the screen, with everyone else also anxiously holding their breath. Even the young man appeared nervous.

Anyone with experience could guess that the young lady was the strongest fighter on Topaz Star. If she couldn’t hold her ground and something happened to her, it would be even harder for the others to resist the locust beasts’ siege.

Fortunately, just two or three seconds later, the glow of a lightsaber appeared within the encirclement of locust beasts. Everyone could see the young lady’s mecha spinning rapidly, with lightsabers in both hands, spinning like propellers. Wherever the blades passed, everything was shredded. She quickly cleared the overwhelming locust beasts around her.

Tamaki Kazia and Sheila, seeing the dangerous situation Ruo Manni was in, immediately rushed to her aid without waiting for orders. However, the locust beasts were too numerous, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t get close enough to her.

As they were growing desperate, Ruo Manni unleashed a powerful move to break free. Even in the midst of danger, Sheila was stunned: “Is that the Xuanwu Thirty-Eight Chain Slashes? I didn’t know it could be used like this.”

“The commander’s physical strength and psychic energy are both strong enough to sustain her continuous attacks, which is why her strikes have such great destructive power. Be careful…” Tamaki Kazia warned.

Ruo Manni had used her ultimate technique to resolve the deadly crisis. However, the Xuanwu Thirty-Eight Chain Slashes consumed a lot of both physical strength and psychic energy. Once the immediate danger had passed, she stopped and resumed her previous fighting style to continue killing the locust beasts.

As she fought, Ruo Manni slowly moved closer, positioning herself with Sheila and Tamaki Kazia to form a triangular attack formation. This way, they wouldn’t have to worry about being surrounded and unable to move by the locust beasts.

The three of them unleashed both their lightsabers and missiles, but even so, there was still a constant feeling that they could be overwhelmed by the swarm of locust beasts at any moment.

The other nine mecha warriors, let alone going to support the three of them, were struggling to protect themselves. Fortunately, they had quickly followed Ruo Manni’s instructions earlier, grouping together to resist the swarm of locust beasts, just barely holding their ground.

With the city’s laser cannons nearly depleted and no longer providing suppression, the locust beasts became even more aggressive, forcing the mecha warriors outside into a desperate situation, fighting alone.

This constant sense of impending doom, where it seemed like they could be wiped out at any moment, wasn’t something only Ruo Manni’s team was facing. The other three teams were encountering it as well. In fact, because some people got separated and didn’t have Ruo Manni’s strength to break out, they were “overrun” and couldn’t return. Watching the battle unfold, the citizens of Gaoping City were filled with an overwhelming sense of dread.

The people watching from inside Gaoping City held their breath, anxiously watching the mecha warriors caught in desperate battles, praying for them to hold on.

At this point, the more observant citizens began to notice through the skyNet that many other cities had also been attacked by locust beasts.

This realization caused a wave of panic among some foresighted citizens. The fact that other cities were under attack meant they might not receive reinforcements in time. In fact, the locust beasts had been besieging them for over an hour, and the fact that reinforcements hadn’t arrived yet was telling.

Now, the forty-odd mecha warriors fighting outside were the strongest forces that the Sixth Garrison Regiment could muster. If they failed, it would mean the end for Gaoping City.

This grim perspective quickly spread throughout the citizens of Gaoping City. As they watched the forty mecha warriors outside, their anxiety turned into deep concern.

“The Sixth Garrison Regiment has over a thousand soldiers, so why are there only forty mecha warriors? Why didn’t they send more people out to deal with the locust beasts?” Some people complained online.

“When the locust beasts first attacked, didn’t the City Defense Army issue a call to assemble Level 5 warriors? The mecha warriors outside are all above Level 5, and it’s probably only these higher-level mecha warriors who can kill the locust beasts.”

“That’s true. All the mecha warriors outside are Level 5, but each team leader is a Level 6 mecha master. That dark red mecha probably isn’t just Level 6…”

“Is it not Level 6, but Level 7? Everyone knows Topaz Star only has one Level 7 mecha master. Are you saying that the one piloting the dark red mecha is our young lady…?”

“Impossible! The young lady is at Garrison Regiment One, thousands of kilometers away. How could she possibly be here…?”

Most people still didn’t believe that the one piloting the dark red mecha was the legendary young lady, but because of this speculation, more and more eyes turned toward the dark red mecha.

The dark red mecha was surrounded by the thickest swarm of locust beasts, but the lightsaber in its hand, nearly three times longer than the mecha itself, spun like a wheel of light, crushing all the locust beasts that came near.

At the same time, the dark red mecha was also firing laser cannons, each shot hitting the locust beasts’ vital points with pinpoint accuracy.

Even those who weren’t particularly observant could tell that the combat power of this dark red mecha was several times stronger than any of the other forty mechas.

At this moment, a video suddenly appeared on Gaoping City’s Skynet. People clicked to watch it and saw that the dark red mecha, which had just been “overwhelmed” by the locust beasts, didn’t disappear like the other mechas. Instead, it broke out in a jaw-dropping display of power.

“Ahhh… what an amazing mecha master! I’ve never seen anything so impressive…”

“If it’s not the young lady, who else on Topaz Star has this kind of ability?”

After watching the video, the citizens who hadn’t seen the scene for themselves immediately changed their minds. Just like what was said in the video, if this wasn’t the young lady, who else on Topaz Star could possibly have this kind of capability?