Boom. Boom—!
The night sky above the capital city was filled with thunderous explosions as meteors continued to rain down, each impact resounding with deafening roars.
Hiss—!
It wasn't just the sound of meteors crashing into the ground and buildings. The hissing roars of warrior bugs and tiger bugs echoed through the city, as if heralding the official start of the invasion.
From a bird's-eye view, the streets and buildings of the city were scarred by the impacts. Smoke billowed, flames erupted, and chaos reigned.
Every time a meteor struck the ground, it left devastation in its wake.
Moments later, swarms of bugs poured out from the impact sites like a relentless tide, surging toward the defensive positions that had been set up in advance, rapidly advancing on the locations where armed units were stationed.
Ri~ Vrr—Vrr—!
The remnants of the fleet stationed in the skies above the city weren't idle either. As soon as the "meteor shower" entered their range, their anti-aircraft artillery arrays lit up, unleashing a dense barrage to intercept the incoming projectiles.
However, against the massive biological fleet of over 100,000 space transport bugs and plasma bugs, the fleet's anti-air firepower was a mere drop in the ocean, woefully inadequate.
It didn't take long for this biological fleet to deploy tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of bugs onto the surface of the capital city.
The streets were soon overwhelmed by a surging tide of bugs, an endless black wave expanding outward, devouring everything in its path.
Meanwhile, the mercenaries, police officers, special forces, militia, mobile infantry, and assault troops who had long been standing by were far from idle as the bug tide approached. They refused to sit back and let the swarm overrun them.
In fact, even before Leon issued his orders, they had already entered combat mode. Through wireless communications, they maintained real-time contact with one another to ensure the defensive lines remained secure.
Rat-a-tat—tat-tat—!
The sound of gunfire surged like waves, accompanied by the blinding flashes of explosions, echoing through every street of the capital city.
Armed units stationed within the buildings unleashed relentless firepower against the endless tide of bugs.
The warrior bugs and tiger bugs, serving as the vanguard of the invasion, found the urban environment far less advantageous than the open plains where their numerical superiority could be fully exploited.
Pfft—Splat—!
Gunfire and artillery tore through the bug swarms. Some rounds pierced and destroyed the bugs' neural centers, causing them to collapse instantly. Others shredded their limbs and bodies, splattering green blood across the streets, staining them in grotesque shades of green.
Despite their low individual intelligence, the bugs let out piercing, guttural screams of pain as they suffered lethal blows. Their cries echoed through every corner of the city.
The first wave of bugs that managed to break through the fleet's anti-air defenses and land successfully suffered catastrophic losses.
After all, the armed units stationed across the capital city, as well as the local Campbell civilians capable of wielding weapons, had been waiting for this very moment.
At the eastern defensive line, thousands of mobile infantry soldiers gripped their weapons with steely resolve. Their trigger fingers were relentless as they unleashed a storm of firepower upon the oncoming tide of bugs.
The bugs crowding the streets had no room to maneuver, let alone retreat.
Moreover, their habit of attacking in tightly packed swarms meant they failed to grasp the importance of cover and tactics in urban combat.
Because of this, the first wave of bugs suffered devastating casualties. Warrior bugs and tiger bugs fell in rows.
The complex terrain and narrow alleyways of the city severely limited the bugs' ability to exploit their numerical advantage.
The mobile infantry maintained a continuous barrage of firepower. Even soldiers with poor marksmanship could hit their targets with ease, simply by blindly firing out of windows.
As bug after bug fell, the morale of the defenders soared. The crushing pressure that had mounted before the battle transformed into a fiery determination to fight.
Spent casings clattered to the ground, while dust and smoke filled the air.
The tempo of the battle quickened. Every gunshot and explosion seemed to herald the arrival of an even greater challenge.
Yet, despite the defenders' efforts, the Arachi Swarm's relentless deployment of bugs meant that the capital city was being flooded with countless creatures at an alarming rate.
Among them were the colossal tank bugs. While their numbers were far fewer than the "mass-produced" warrior bugs and tiger bugs, their immense firepower and destructive capabilities posed an unprecedented threat to all armed units.
Tank bugs, belonging to the category of behemoth-class organisms, could unleash high-temperature flames capable of inflicting devastating damage on the city's limited supply of main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles.
Their fiery jets could even pierce through the walls of massive skyscrapers, endangering the soldiers stationed inside and putting the entire city's defensive line at risk of collapse.
Boom—Boom—!
The dire situation was further exacerbated by the plasma bugs lurking in near-Earth orbit. They rained down plasma projectiles upon the capital city like an unrelenting storm.
Although the plasma's destructive power was somewhat diminished as it passed through the atmosphere, it still turned vast swathes of the city into a blazing inferno, resembling a scene from hell itself.
Armored units stationed at critical intersections suffered heavy losses against the combined onslaught of tank bugs, plasma bugs, and the ever-encroaching bug tide.
No matter how thick the armor, it couldn't withstand high-temperature plasma, flames, or the razor-sharp claws capable of tearing through steel.
For the mobile infantry and assault troops, venturing out onto the streets under such circumstances was akin to walking into a death trap. Taking cover in buildings was their only chance of survival.
In just over ten minutes, the size of the bug swarm had grown from tens of thousands to millions.
This escalation occurred despite the armed units firing nonstop, their fingers never leaving the triggers, and their barrels overheating and wearing down as they continuously poured out ammunition.
Without their relentless resistance, the capital city would have been overrun by tens of millions of bugs in no time.
Faced with such overwhelming odds, the defenders abandoned any illusions of hope. Their morale plummeted.
Initially, they had believed, "The bugs aren't that tough." But now, every soldier felt a profound sense of powerlessness.
Despite their best efforts, they could not stop the tide of bugs from spreading and multiplying.
What made the situation even more despairing was the mounting casualties among their comrades and the dwindling supply of ammunition. The communication channels were filled with cries for help, desperate pleas for reinforcements, and requests for evacuation. In such an atmosphere, morale took a steep dive.
It had to be acknowledged that, despite being labeled the "weakest swarm" in the Starship Troopers universe, the Arachi Swarm was still a formidable force capable of interstellar travel and galactic conquest.
The warrior bugs, spearheading the charge, had razor-sharp claws capable of tearing through steel and hard shells resistant to small-arms fire.
Their critical control centers—their brains—were heavily protected to ensure they could continue receiving commands and coordinating the swarm's movements.
The tiger bugs, though fewer in number than the warrior bugs, posed an even greater threat to the mobile infantry. These creatures were essentially upgraded versions of the warrior bugs.
Their reinforced exoskeletons could withstand heavy weaponry, and their mobility was nearly on par with the warrior bugs.
The Morita firearms used by ordinary mobile infantry required an absurd amount of ammunition to bring down a single tiger bug. Killing one was an arduous and often unrewarding task.
Only the assault troops, equipped with AMWS (Advanced Modular Weapon System) firearms, could effectively combat the tiger bugs. Utilizing their auxiliary targeting systems, powered exoskeletons, and high-explosive armor-piercing rounds, the assault troops could precisely target the tiger bugs' neural centers, rendering them lifeless with surgical precision.
Then there were the tank bugs, which were the nemesis of the Federation's armored units. These behemoths were not only offensively devastating but also incredibly difficult to kill.
Their high-temperature flames had a considerable range. If the Federation's armored units failed to eliminate them quickly, they risked being engulfed and destroyed by the flames.
As a result, the tank bugs' presence highlighted the fragility of the Federation's main battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and Campbell's riot control vehicles in the face of the swarm.
Without the support of the 2,000 assault troops, the 30,000 mobile infantry soldiers alone wouldn't have been able to hold the defensive line for even ten minutes against the Arachi Swarm's relentless waves.
Yet, the eastern defensive line of the capital city held firm.
This was largely thanks to its commanding officer: Maggie Shaw, a superhuman.
——
Boom. Boom—Boom!
Deafening explosions from plasma projectiles echoed throughout the eastern front, shaking the very ground beneath the soldiers' feet.
The resulting shockwaves and shrapnel illuminated the determined yet tense faces of the defenders.
Rat-a-tat—tat-tat!
"Die! Just die already!"
"F**k you! Want a bullet? Here, have another!"
"Hold the line! Hold it! Wear these bastards down!"
Stationed in apartment complexes, office buildings, and other structures, the soldiers, mercenaries, and police officers roared like wild beasts. Their voices were hoarse from screaming, and they poured their ammunition into the endless tide of bugs outside, unleashing their anger and fear.
Pfft! Splat—!
With each burst of gunfire, the bug swarm took heavy losses. Bugs collapsed in droves under the relentless barrage, their green blood flowing like a polluted river, soaking the streets with a nauseating stench.
Severed limbs and shattered exoskeletons were scattered across every corner, painting a gruesome and horrifying "masterpiece" of carnage.
At the corners of various buildings, piles of bug corpses began to accumulate, forming makeshift mounds and "ladders" ranging from five to ten meters high, offering their surviving kin an effective platform to advance.
Hiss—!
The fearless bugs continued to screech, climbing over the corpses of their fallen comrades as they launched assaults on the middle and upper levels of the buildings.
The soldiers defending these positions, relying on the structures as their cover and fortifications, found themselves under immense pressure.
Just as a group of over a dozen tiger bugs prepared to use the corpse piles to storm the seventh-floor fire point of an office building—
Pfft—Crash—!
With a violent crash, the tiger bugs were suddenly obliterated by a streak of movement so fast it seemed like a blur.
The dozen tiger bugs were instantly smashed to pieces, their severed limbs and claws scattering like rain, while green blood splattered through the air, staining the surrounding walls in a grotesque shade of green.
The mobile infantry and assault troops stationed at the seventh-floor fire point finally realized that the blur was none other than their battlefield commander, Maggie Shaw.
"It's Captain Shaw!"
"Woohoo! We're saved!"
"Hahaha! Apes! Keep suppressing those bugs!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The soldiers' morale skyrocketed upon seeing Maggie appear in their defensive zone.
Although some of the troops were puzzled by how Maggie had suddenly become "superhuman," and a few of the more observant officers began to suspect that Maggie might be an operative from the Human Empire, none of that mattered in the face of the overwhelming enemy. At this critical moment, Maggie's godlike speed and strength were nothing short of a miracle.
No one cared about political scheming right now. Maggie's ability to obliterate the tiger bugs in a single, decisive strike displayed her peak superhuman combat capability, giving the troops the confidence that "we can hold the line!"
Maggie was like a firefighter rushing from one blaze to another. Whenever a unit reported needing reinforcements, Maggie would arrive with incredible speed and strength to support them.
However, her current appearance shocked those who saw her.
Her combat uniform and armor were in tatters, riddled with gashes and holes that told the story of brutal hand-to-hand combat. Her entire body was stained green with the blood of the tiger bugs she had slain.
What had once been pristine equipment now looked like the remnants of a battlefield survivor. Even spots of her own blood dotted her gear, a testament to the fact that, despite her superhuman physique, she could not emerge unscathed from the unending waves of bugs.
"Huff..."
Exhausted from the intense combat, Maggie took a moment to catch her breath. She then spoke over the communications channel, her voice calm yet commanding:
"Group 044, hold your ground and keep track of your remaining ammunition. I don't want to hear that you've resorted to hand-to-hand combat with the bugs before the Human Empire reinforcements arrive."
"Yes, Captain!" the sergeant in charge of Group 044 responded loudly.
"Good."
Maggie didn't waste any more words. She glanced at the seemingly endless bug tide swarming through the streets below. Determined, she prepared to carve another bloody path through the horde with her bare strength.
Swoosh—!
With a single step, Maggie took off, the sound barrier breaking as she moved. The resulting sonic boom echoed through the battlefield as she once again became a blur, tearing through the bug tide as though they weren't even there.
No bug, not even the massive tiger bugs, could stop her relentless advance with brute strength alone.
However, just as she reached her next target, a series of plasma projectiles silently descended toward her path.
It appeared that even the bugs understood how to call in orbital strikes. In the chaos of the battlefield, the cacophony of noise masked the incoming plasma strikes, leaving Maggie unaware of the imminent threat.
But then—
Whoosh—!!
Boom—!!
A roaring gust of intense flames surged forward, colliding directly with the incoming plasma projectiles. The fiery inferno neutralized the plasma strikes, creating a sudden shockwave that rattled the surroundings.
The abrupt intervention stunned everyone who witnessed it. The soldiers defending the eastern front, still locked in fierce combat, couldn't help but glance toward the source of the firestorm.
What they saw left them in awe.
Descending from the sky, enveloped in an aura of blazing flames, was a massive, winged figure—a humanoid clad in brilliant armor that reflected the inferno surrounding them. The figure's wings were ablaze, their fiery glow cutting through the darkness of the battlefield like a beacon of hope.
It was unmistakable: an angel of the Human Empire had arrived.
The bugs that had been relentlessly swarming the eastern front momentarily hesitated, their primal instincts recognizing the overwhelming power that had just entered the battlefield.
Maggie, who had been bracing herself for the plasma strikes, looked up in surprise. Her exhausted expression softened slightly, replaced by a faint sense of relief.
The angel landed with a force that cracked the ground beneath them. As they stood, the flames around their body intensified, turning the immediate area into a blazing inferno. With a single sweep of their fiery blade, they incinerated an entire wave of bugs, leaving nothing but charred remains in their wake.
The defenders, inspired by the angel's arrival, erupted into cheers.
"It's an Imperial Angel!"
"We're saved!"
"Push them back! For humanity!"
Morale, which had been teetering on the brink of collapse, surged back to life with the angel's presence. The soldiers doubled down on their efforts, unleashing renewed firepower against the bug tide.
Maggie quickly activated her comms, speaking directly to Leon.
"Major Kennedy, the Empire's reinforcements have arrived. An Imperial Angel is engaging on the eastern front."
On the other end of the comms, Leon, standing at the southern frontlines, couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief upon hearing the news. His voice carried a rare hint of optimism as he replied,
"Understood. Hold the line, Captain Shaw. With the Empire here, we might just make it through this."
The battlefield, once dominated by despair, was now ablaze with hope—both figuratively and literally. As the flames of the angel spread across the eastern front, they not only incinerated the bugs but also reignited the defenders' will to fight.
This was no longer just a battle for survival. It had become a rallying cry for humanity's indomitable spirit.
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! Only $5 per novel or $15 for all!!] [[email protected]/Mutter]
[+50 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[+5 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]