Chapter 79

Chapter 79

The team made a brief stop to rest on the spot.

He took out the prototype left by Cheng Su from his storage ring, inserted the highly pure energy stone obtained back on the desolate planet, and activated it.

An invisible energy membrane rippled through the air, unfolding from the instrument as the center into a fifty-meter radius circle.

The surrounding advanced insectoids recoiled as if scalded, retracting their extended limbs abruptly and circling restlessly around, yet they dared not take a step closer.

Their tentacles waved in mid-air, exchanging information through their psychic powers.

Everyone was startled by this unusual occurrence.

If Milton and Yan Yan were here, they would probably find this scene all too familiar.

The energy stone was depleting rapidly; a piece as blue and pure as that, the size of half a head, was visibly dimming, developing cracks as the energy drained away.

Lin Fu provided mental comfort to everyone, keeping an eye on the consumption of the energy stone from the corner of his eye.

In less than ten minutes, the once luminous stone, now indistinguishable from an ordinary rock, crumbled into a pile of fine dust with a faint "crackling" sound.

He quickly replaced it with a new energy stone.

During this brief interlude, his mind wandered to the subterranean caverns of the barren planet, where veins of energy ore spread like a network of glowing blue vessels, converging into river-like formations.

Beneath the surface, numerous insectoids scurried back and forth, transporting the energy ore.

A vein of this scale and purity would likely rank within the top five within the empire's territories.

His heart skipped a beat; he turned to look at the shielding device, increasingly understanding why Cheng Jiu had chosen to deploy it on the desolate planet.

Only a vein like that could sustain this experiment.

His movements became faster, he tipped back his head to swallow a vial of nutrient solution, wiped the liquid from the corner of his mouth, and closed his eyes to rest.

Outside the mech, the wind howled, accompanied by the thick stench of blood and the shrill flapping of insect wings.

As the fifth energy stone was depleted, Lin Fu opened his eyes, gave the order to move out, and continued toward the Seifei region.

The further they left the inner city behind, the scarcer the higher-class insectoids seemed to become, visibly less dense to the naked eye.

Consequently, their pace quickened once again.

The team's detection and communication devices remained active, repeatedly attempting to make contact with the two squads in the Thorn Forest. Regrettably, there was no response from the other side.

Lin Fu's psychic tendrils diffused into the air.

Currently, his psychic tendrils, when used for scouting, could extend over a vast area, floating like willow catkins, emanating from him to form a colossal circle, capturing every slight movement in the surroundings.

An abundance of information flooded into his mind.

As he slaughtered the insectoids, he analyzed the collected data, speculating on the possible location of the teams within the Thorn Forest.

...They hadn't made it out, nearly three days had passed, and they were still within the confines of the Thorn Forest.

His expression turned grim.

Ahead, two writhing carapaces entangled.

The corpulent bodies of the fleshworms moved nimbly, their saw-toothed maws opening and closing, attempting to gnaw and damage the black mech before them.

Their psychic forces also lashed out aggressively, targeting the panther scurrying beneath their feet, a creature as tiny as an ant in comparison.

Lin Fu's brows knitted together, and with a forceful swing of his blade, he bisected both writhing carapaces at the waist.

A fountain of green, foul-smelling blood spurted high, drenching the mech completely.

The panther, nimble and agile, stepped on other insects, leaping to higher ground, disdainfully avoiding the splatter of their blood plasma.

Maintaining such a pace, they reached the Thorn Forest in the early hours of the third day.

The prolonged journey had exhausted everyone.

But their comrades were just ahead, awaiting their rescue; not a single person could suggest stopping to rest at this moment.

Lin Fu's throat itched, and he let out a dry cough before speaking hoarsely into the communicator with Putian Xiangri: "How are things on the A-class planet?"

Putian Xiangri's expression was grave: "Major General, the situation on the A-class planet is stable, with no crisis present. However, our detections indicate that over fifty percent of the insect tide is converging towards planet S177. This is highly abnormal, and I've already requested assistance from other major legions. Please be extremely cautious."

Lin Fu said, "I'm aware. After locating and clearing the squad, I'll immediately return to the inner city and adopt a defensive stance. This scale of an insect tide won't last long. Moreover, their repeated leaps haven't yielded any gains, so the duration should shorten further... This is the frantic backlash before the end. As soon as they realize there's no hope of victory, they'll naturally retreat."

He added, "Furthermore, Putian, don't forget to watch our back, especially now."

Putian Xiangri nodded, "Yes, Major General."

……

In the Empire, every legion is backed by one or several supporting families.

The strongest legion recognized at present is the Ninth Legion.

Its formidable combat strength is inseparable from the financial support of its family.

The annual expenditure of a legion is beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

The development and production of firearms, ammunition, and various thermal weapons; military ships, battleships, flyers, and all classes of starships; and most importantly, the production and maintenance of mechs issued to every soldier, as well as the energy stones that power them.

Lacking familial support, the Fourth Legion suffered such a severe decline.

Among the major families, the Qi family is low-key and inconspicuous.

Even when their secretly nurtured Cheng Jiu is active, the public first thinks of the Cheng family, with the Qi family, their in-laws, practically invisible.

Only the Qi family themselves truly know the extent of their wealth.

Due to the deaths of the two sentinels at the helm, the Havi family weakened and had to extend the delivery period of the mech manufacturing orders for the Ninth and Fourth Legions due to supply and production issues.

Upon learning this, the Qi family soon sent Qi Mingxi to the Imperial Capital Star to meet with the Havi family. Quietly investing billions of star coins, they forcibly acquired materials and expanded the production line externally, advancing the completion time of the mechs by an entire half-year.

Qi Mingxi's face, known to everyone in the Empire, made a high-profile appearance on the Imperial Capital Star, immediately drawing the attention of the royal family and the council.

The Qi family, as if laying their cards on the table, didn't mind letting people know about their deal with the Havi family.

Qi Mingxi stayed on the Imperial Capital Star for several months, waiting until the mech production was completed and entered the testing phase before returning to the Qi family on his private starship.

His arrival and departure, every move, went unchallenged by the council.

The royal family, on the other hand, sent people to probe secretly several times, harboring a grudge over the vast number of mechs in the Havi family's factory.

Witnessing the Fourth Legion, which was about to be dismantled, now showing signs of growing stronger, and coupled with the Ninth Legion, they squeezed the royal family's First Legion, leaving it with no status to speak of.

The freshly produced mechs were swiftly transported to the front lines.

……

Lin Fu and his team failed to locate the extermination squad in the Thorn Forest as they had hoped.

Even the diffusion of their psychic threads failed to uncover any traces; not a single corpse, nor a piece of mech scrap, was found.

They had no choice but to delve deeper.

After traversing the Thorn Forest for over a day, Lin Fu's heart suddenly began to beat erratically.

Clutching his chest to ease the strange sensation, he couldn't help but consult his system, "Why have I been experiencing palpitations recently?"

The system, busy tallying the energy from the number of people indirectly rescued to prepare for Lin Fu's physical repair, responded, "I conduct a daily check-up of your body, and it's in excellent condition."

After a moment's thought, it added, "Of course, I'm only referring to your physical body. If it's something like a sixth sense, that's beyond my control."

As it spoke, it startled itself, "Could it be some kind of battlefield crisis warning? No, that doesn't make sense. According to the data model I calculated, even if the entire insect tide targets Planet S177, it shouldn't pose any danger to you."

Lin Fu pressed his lips together, a nameless emotion settling in his dark pupils.

He was reminded of that dream.

In the dream, he had forgotten the child's features, except for those pale, light eyes.

...If something happened to him, would Cheng Jiu cry?

He was momentarily distracted.

When he snapped back to reality, his psychic thread suddenly detected a faint disturbance.

He abruptly looked up, the thrusters at full power, propelling him towards the direction of the sensation.

The others immediately followed suit.

After roughly half an hour, Lin Fu finally found the two squads.

They had regrouped and were now fleeing in panic towards Lin Fu and his team's direction.

Lin Fu scanned the area and noticed that seven or eight people were missing.

His expression darkened instantly upon spotting a group of higher-tier insectoids in pursuit.

More specifically, they were a swarm of crawling armors.

Surprisingly, two of them at the forefront were level nine, an uncommon occurrence of cross-level insectoids.

Four of the pursued mechs were severely damaged, their operators staggering forward with unsteady steps.

The thrusters under the mechs roared softly, and a black mech, spattered with mottled green blood, vanished from its spot in an instant. It charged past the fleeing squad, confronting the leading level-nine crawling armor. The tang dao sword whistled through the air with a piercing blast.

Blade facing downward, the tip of the sword flicked upward, bisecting the arrogantly postured crawling armor from bottom to top. The momentum of the bisected behemoth couldn't be halted; it tumbled countless times, flattening a vast thicket of dark thorns into a deep pit.

A speck of green clung to the sword tip, trickling down the gleaming blade before rolling off its edge.

The other level-nine crawling armor shrieked sharply, a sound that seemed a call for help or a venting of rage. Its psychic energy surged towards Lin Fu.

Such an act was futile against Lin Fu.

A black panther leaped from within his mech, its front paw fiercely clamping down on the crawling armor's hide, claws digging deep into its tough flesh.

The psychic energy, like the flesh, was firmly trapped by the black panther, rendered incapable of mounting an attack.

Its compound eyes whirred, helplessly watching the cold gleam of the sword's tip descend upon it. A "pfft" sound signaled the easy breach of its strongest shield.

The psychic energy attached to the sword radiated an intense killing intent.

It collapsed, like its comrade, tumbling and crushing swathes of divine-colored forests, exposing the red-brown soil beneath and leaking copious amounts of thick green fluid.

Lin Fu moved too swiftly, opting for a quick battle and a quick resolution. He rapidly turned back to lead his team, his psychic energy instantly expanding to envelop every member, activating a simulation shield while simultaneously providing mental solace.

He issued orders quickly: "Those with damaged mechs, retract them and rest inside a teammate's mech. No lingering fights. Retreat to the inner city with utmost speed!"

Under the simulated cover of psychic energy, they swiftly executed Lin Fu's orders, taking refuge within others' mechs to avoid slowing the team down.

Lin Fu's heart raced, his psychic sea suddenly throbbing painfully, as if stimulated by something.

This sensation was somewhat familiar to him; before the manifestation of his psychic form, his psychic sea would undergo similar tumultuous pain upon being stimulated.

The difference was, back then, the stimulating psychic energy was warm and harmless, inadvertently triggered during his moments of agony.

The psychic energy he encountered now was icy and viscous, slithering close like a snake flicking its tongue, causing his usually calm psychic sea to bristle with stinging pain.

Cold sweat soaked his brow in an instant.

The normally spirited black panther whined in discomfort, retreating into the frame of the mech. It nuzzled Lin Fu's hand resting on the link console, its fur bristling and puffing up, a stormy mood swirling around.

Lin Fu gritted his teeth and said, "Go back."

The black panther nuzzled him again before returning to the psychic sea.

Lin Fu paused briefly, daringly opening the cockpit from inside the mech and leaping out, "Albert! Catch!"

His movements were so swift that Albert, caught off guard, hurriedly opened his cockpit and reached out to catch the device.

Lin Fu returned to the cockpit and ordered curtly, "From now on, Albert takes the lead. The goal is to return to the inner city as quickly as possible. Activate the shield if necessary."

Albert, clutching the shield device, said, "Major, you..."

Lin Fu urgently interrupted, "There's a troublesome bug behind us. You'll only hold me back if you stay! Go, now!"

Albert called out to him, "Lin Fu!" Since Lin Fu had been promoted to Major and became the commander of the fourth army, Albert rarely addressed him by his name in the presence of others.

Lin Fu knew what he was about to say and softened his anxious tone slightly, "I never do anything I'm not sure of. Once this one is dealt with, the other insectoids pose no threat to me. Trust me, and hurry back."

Tang Qian urged Albert, "Go, quickly!"