A cacophony of alarms blared.
Crimson light washed over faces, making it impossible to distinguish tension from excitement.
"Move!"
"Faster, faster, faster!"
Hard military boots clanged on the metallic gantries.
"4th Battalion, prepare for immediate launch!"
"11th Battalion, ditch your Type 61 longswords! You think you can take on Assault-class beasts with those?!"
"Everyone switch to Type 77 Heavy Cleavers! The 1st Battalion didn't die in vain, damn it!"
Tactical Surface Fighter Joint Operations Base Headquarters.
Located in the south-central region of the Mu Continent, this base housed the continent's most formidable armed force: 15-meter class Tactical Surface Fighters (TSFs). These were the product of upscaled armed automaton technology, capable of being directly controlled by armed automatons via "brain-link," or piloted by humans wearing "brainwave-sensitive" pressurized protective suits.
These were enhanced, mass-produced versions of the TSFs encountered in Australia.
Their main armaments consisted of 36mm electromagnetic machine cannons and 120mm thermonuclear grenade launchers (though not actual nuclear weapons). Multipurpose hardpoints on their shoulders carried 12 tactical missiles, as well as cutting-type weapons for close combat.
"Commander."
An armed automaton with feminine features approached the commander.
This time, the TSF pilots were predominantly human. The armed automatons were primarily responsible for "infantry-tank coordination," launching infiltration attacks against the Honkai Beast ground forces. The enemy's air power was too overwhelming; two TSF battalions had already been "flawlessly" eliminated by Honkai Beasts. The 3rd Battalion, fighting desperately on the southern front, had managed to "disassemble" "one" composite Honkai Beast at the cost of extremely heavy losses. The estimated time until their line was breached was a mere 360 seconds.
Of course.
The number of armed automatons with tactical expertise was still too low.
In this infiltration operation, 60% of the participants were human soldiers equipped with new-type half-cover exoskeletons.
Over 2,000 "Assaulter-type" hover tanks were already in position; they would act as cannon fodder to draw fire. 600 "Pacifier-type" anti-air/self-propelled grenade launchers would handle ultra-long-range fire support and low-altitude interception.
All of the above.
Were unmanned combat vehicles.
"The armed automatons are ready. We can depart at any time."
"Very good."
The busy base commander finally had a moment to pause his typically booming voice, a style starkly different from that of the "Mu Continent natives."
"The 5th, 7th, and 8th Battalions will coordinate with your operation."
"They will do everything in their power to intercept aerial fire. Those Ballista-class beasts, protected by Chariot-class and Honkai Emperors… we're counting on you for those."
"Understood!"
————
Whoosh!!
Eight white smoke trails streaked across the sky.
"VF-1 Valkyries?"
"What Valkyries? Those are VF-3 Raidens!"
"The models updated that quickly?"
"When you pour in that much funding, of course the speed won't be slow."
In the men's locker room, Jack, having just donned his protective suit, received a taunt and a slap on the glutes from his captain. He couldn't be blamed; though the Mu Continent was technologically advanced, its military numbers ranked near the bottom among the major powers.
The situation was indeed as the Mu Continent publicly proclaimed: quality over quantity. But when facing Honkai Beast legions attacking from four directions simultaneously, their already stretched forces had to resort to temporarily conscripting military academy cadets for battle.
Military academy cadets obviously wouldn't have access to the latest weapons intelligence.
Incidentally.
The Mu Continent itself possessed no navy (they only had research vessels, at best equipped with a limited amount of weaponry). Their military largely fought using TSFs in coordination with armed automatons. The vast majority of their territorial defense relied on joint operations with other powers.
So…
While the naval and air forces of Shenzhou and North America were fiercely engaged with the Honkai Beasts, the Mu Continent had redeployed all their forces to hold against the enemy's main thrust:
The southern continent.
As for the threat approaching from the west coast, which was also drawing near, they could only rely on the aid of the Soviet Union. In the global Honkai Beast invasion, the Soviets had suffered the least damage and could dispatch the most support troops.
On the Mu Continent.
The Soviet Union also maintained a permanently stationed experimental army unit, its numbers more than ten times that of the North American air wing.
Although armies were generally not considered as valuable, this unit was undeniably "premium" in terms of technological level.
Therefore.
Whether they felt secure about it or not, the Mu Continent could only concentrate all its main forces on the southern continent, desperately trying to deal with the Honkai Beast legion that had already broken through inland and was continuously advancing towards the central region (the Eye of the Abyss).
"Hurry!"
The sound of footsteps in the corridor outside grew more frequent.
The captain, his right hand already on the doorknob, shouted at Jack and the other dawdling team members:
"It's almost our turn to launch!"
————
J-20X, S-27X, F-22X.
Three TSF battalions, with model designations that were, for some reason, quite "coincidental" and "similar," had all departed the hangars and were in position on the launch catapults.
Gulp.
Jack swallowed hard.
During the assembly just moments ago, visual combat reports had finally arrived from the front lines. The commander, without hesitation, had broadcasted this intel to everyone:
Sci-fi-esque "ships" were rapidly approaching from the sky.
They formed an "8-9-8" formation: eight units were responsible for saturation strikes against ground targets at ultra-low altitudes, nine units in the mid-to-high altitude zone were tasked with engaging incoming enemy air forces, and eight units at ultra-high altitudes provided early warning and cover for their teammates in the mid-to-high zones.
This tactic was very conventional.
But against Honkai Beasts—considering their high flight speed relative to their size, their all-aspect three-dimensional attack envelope, and the large number of "carrier-borne beasts" that could both provide escort and charge in for suicide attacks—such tactical maneuvering forced the Mu Continent's side into a direct confrontation.
Simply put.
It meant trading the lives of precious pilots and pilot cadets for these "Temple-class Composite Beasts."
After all…
Once the enemy air force completed its ground sweep and the Ballista-class Honkai Beasts began their advance, the southern continent would likely be utterly consumed by a sea of fire.
"Hoo!"
Jack took a deep breath.
He tried hard to recall the captain's earlier instructions:
Between 3,500 and 1,000 meters, expend all missiles and grenades. From 1,000 meters to close quarters, empty eight magazines of cannon rounds, then draw the Type 77 Heavy Cleaver and charge in for the kill!
The Type 77 Heavy Cleaver.
It wasn't a common melee weapon used by other factions; it was a standard melee weapon for Shenzhou's self-developed 15-meter class humanoid mech unit, the "Gold-Clad Decimator." The blade's weight was concentrated more towards its tip, making its use more akin to "chopping" rather than "slicing," and it was a weapon that was relatively difficult to master.
But the advantages of this heavy cleaver were also very apparent.
At full power, the Type 77 could stagger the frontal defenses of a Chariot-class. While it couldn't breach a Temple-class's [Shield Bearing], its armor-piercing effect against a [Honkai Energy Crystal Wall] was… just right.
"What is that!?"
Just as the three TSF battalions were poised for launch, a crimson meteor, with unstoppable momentum, streaked directly towards the launch catapults!
Swoosh—
BOOM!!!