Age of Cosmic Exploration Chapter 153

Ying, Ebon and Ren Tao exhaled in relief when they saw the arrival of back-up. The Space Armor Prototype 1’s capability was beyond their wildest expectations. It enabled them to basically lord over the battlefield.

However, it was also incredibly draining. Unlike during training or drills, they were out of breath after a mere 10 minutes on the battlefield. Another 10 minutes and they would be lying exhausted on the floor, and another 15 minutes after that, they would find themselves staring at death!

Therefore, when the backup arrived, relief swept through the 3 of them. Before they could rejoice though, 2 transport shuttles exploded before their eyes. Ying and Ebon gritted their teeth in anger while Ren Tao hung his head in despair.

These worm-like creatures managed to genetically engineer Gaussian weaponry out of their bodies? This was an impossible feat of engineering.

Then again, the giant spaceship on Moon 2 contained polymerized reactors. This was in and of itself a biological impossibility because no natural cells would be able to withstand the high heat created by the reactors… However, the reality was that the giant organism did contain reactors. Not only that, it could even dispense creator’s particles! These were not organic products!

Ren Tao despaired because their enemies not only were endless but also had access to 4th revolution technology. At the same time, the Hope’s greatest fighting force, the Black Star Troopers, were wiped out with 1 shot. Under such circumstances… the only chance for survival the Hope had was to warp in spite of the gravitational influence between the binary stars and from the planet itself. Then pray that mankind would survive the warp. This was an unwinnable battle; in fact, they should consider themselves lucky if they could manage to escape.

The main objective was to defend the opening that led to the Hope. If the tunnel fell into enemy hands, the Hope would either have to warp immediately or wait for a massacre. To complete said objective, they needed the Black Star Troopers to help secure the perimeter around the tunnel so that the defense unit could set up a temporary base around the area. With the opening cleared, the Hope could lift up and warp without fear… but the Black Star Troopers were already gone.

In other words, the defense unit wouldn’t be able to follow up. The only thing that awaited them should they appear would be death! After that it would be the death of humanity!

His sister, she’ll die too. Like how their parents had died on that night… "No!"

Suddenly, a 3-meter-tall person walked out of the shuttle’s smoldering debris. As the smoke dispersed, more silhouettes appeared behind him. Other than a little char on their space armor, they seemed to suffer no damage. Incidentally, the armor’s electromagnetic shields had saved them from the bullets. Ren Tao sighed in relief. The lack of investment into the transport shuttle, meaning it wasn’t equipped with energy reactors, had saved the troopers’ lives. Chain explosions were prevented.

Guang Zhen shook himself awake as he found the energy to stand up. He then ordered, "Start fighting! Spread out with 3 in a team! It’s time for combat!"

However, no one outside of a 1 meter radius from Guang Zhen heard his order. Furthermore, many were still dazed from the explosion. After all, many of the troopers were new army recruits, and the new Homo Evolutis were normal civilians just months ago.

Guang Zhen saw the troopers still immobile, so he changed tack, yelling at the few people around him, "Stick close to me and follow my orders closely."

The few around him were all Survivors. They were still in a state of disorientation. It wasn't until Guang Zhen repeated himself in a roar that their months-long training kicked in. They replied, "Yes, Sir!"

Guang Zhen started running. Even though he was not a Homo Evolutis, as the leader of an elite force, his physical ability was already miles ahead of normal soldiers. The space armor improved his stride as he circled around the ruins of the 2 shuttles. He yelled at every soldier that he stumbled across to get into battle. After a loop around the shuttles, about 50 people rushed into the fray, brandishing their sawblades. Most of the brave souls were Homo Evolutis from the first batch. The remaining troopers either stood around vacantly or they copied the previous 5 Survivors and unloaded their bullets into the ground around where they stood.

Guang Zhen’s eyes simmered with lethal intent. Without hesitation, he walked to the 5 Survivors. Gripping the handle of his sawblade, he ordered, "Soldiers! Take up arms and get into the battlefield! Follow the lead of your leaders and charge!"

"…"

The 5 Survivors of course knew the Hope’s acting captain. Guang Zhen was also Yao Yuan’s named successor. Their faces blanched the moment they heard his orders. 2 among them even doubled over. It appeared they had vomited in their combat suit.

"But there are so many aliens…"

They said hesitantly. One of them, who looked to be the eldest, finally confessed, "There are way too many of them. It’ll be a waste of time and energy even if we go in. I’m not leaving…"

Guang Zhen’s temper flared. He pulled out his blade and sawed through the man’s waist. There then an uncomfortable sound of metal grinding on metal. Tough as the space armor might be, it fell under the sawblade’s might.

"Soldier! This is a battlefield and those are your orders! Violating them makes you a deserter and that gives me the permission to perform your execution under military law!"

Guang Zhen wore a murderous countenance. His armor was painted crimson with the soldier’s blood. The man screamed murder as blood oozed out of the gaping wound on his waist. Because his armor had been split open, his violent screams were carried by the air through the battlefield.

Those inanimate troopers turned their heads towards the source of the scream. The picture they saw couldn’t even factor in their minds. Their acting captain was standing coldly over a fellow soldier who was sawed in half, his blade dripping with blood.

The 4 other Survivors were shocked and dismayed. Their protective instinct ushered them to lift up their weapons at Guang Zhen as he took deliberate steps towards them. Overwhelmed by his force, they involuntarily took steps back as Guang Zhen neared. Their fingers froze over the gun triggers.

"Pull out your sawblades and charge into combat or I’ll have the 4 of you executed as deserters! Your death notice will say that you died from cowardice and shame!" Guang Zhen yelled before lifting his arm that was not holding his sawblade upwards. The soldiers that had been following him snapped into attention and trained their guns at the 4 Survivors.

There was a veteran soldier among them that wailed, "Think about what you’re doing! Drop your weapons! Do you really want to desert? Drop your weapons!"

The 4 Survivors were startled by the veteran soldier and dropped their rifles instantly. "Major, we’re not deserters, we’ll obey your orders!" a Survivor said hurriedly. He then lifted his sawblade and ran into combat.

The other 3 followed.

Guang Zhen whipped his head around and his eyes were as cold as a grave. The Survivors who had been following him felt a chill instantly. They too rushed into battle, led by the veteran soldier.

The other troopers who had gathered around the shuttle ruins were also shocked into action. A dark green group cut through the mass of aliens like an arrow slicing through air. Their numbers were small, but their opponents presented 0 resistance.

Guang Zhen sighed heavily. His little run around the battlefield was costing him his life. He wondered how others could manage to wear the space armor for so long. Suddenly, a trooper materialized near him. Guang Zhen yelled instinctually, "Charge, soldier!"

"Alright, I hear ya. Don’t need to yell."

The person was Ren Tao. He dragged his tired body to Guang Zhen’s side. "Such vigor. No wonder Yao Yuan picked you as his successor… Don’t worry, we have this battle in the bag. You just got here, so you haven’t understood the full extent of the Black Star Troopers’ power. Now that everyone’s here, this first battle…

"Is ours."

Chapter end