Chapter 51: Luring the Enemy
The gold coin fell, caught in Gray Gentleman's hand. Just as he was about to open his palm, golden threads spread across his fingers.
"Oh? You've killed more than five violators? That triggered Holy Light Paradise's protection mechanism. Too bad, I'll have to find another target."
Gray Gentleman put away the Fortune Coin, took out a contract, and crushed it. In an instant, Guangmu received a flood of notifications, and she realized that several of her most valuable items in her storage space had been taken as penalty for breach of contract and given to Gray Gentleman. She was so pained she almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.
"Guangmu, have you seen me?"
"No."
When Guangmu said this, her heart was conflicted. She never thought that one day she would be this thoroughly cowed. The old yinbi of Reincarnation Paradise lived up to their reputation.
"You won the game just now. I should occasionally keep my promises. You can go."
Gray Gentleman was still smiling, a smile that made people feel like a spring breeze.
"Never see you again."
Guangmu turned and ran, chasing after the contractors who had already walked far away.
Gray Gentleman just watched Guangmu's back. Make an enemy and then let them go? Gray Gentleman wouldn't do that. The reason he let Guangmu leave was simple. He took out a third contract.
...
In the offshore area of the Western Continent, a total of 135 steel warships were anchored here. These steel warships were all the naval vessels Su Xiao used for bombardment.
He didn't immediately start shelling the Western Continent because there weren't as many primitive people living in the outer areas of the Western Continent as imagined.
Since he had decided to go to war, there was no need to worry about anything. Either don't be hostile, or be ruthless to the extreme.
Not enough primitive people, i.e., parasitic insect warriors, in the outer areas of the Western Continent? No problem. First, request negotiations. This way, the enemy would inevitably gather in the outer areas.
What the negotiation was about didn't matter at all. Once the enemy's numbers reached a certain level, decisively launch the bombardment.
Despicable? What's despicable? This was to avenge the "dead" Kingsley. When it came to despicableness, Su Xiao felt he was far inferior to Emperor Tayatu.
"Sir, the enemy envoy's attitude is terrible. Can I shoot him?"
A Union second lieutenant stood at attention, one hand resting on the rifle slung across his back. This rifle was a full 1.3 meters long, the barrel reinforced multiple times. The overall weight of the weapon was at least 130 jin. Given the physique of the soldiers in this world, this weight was nothing.
This rifle's magazine could hold 7 bullets at a time, capable of semi-automatic fire. Its long-range accuracy was poor, but the bullets had strong power. These bullets were made of "Nasteel." Bullets made from other metals would turn into shot inside the barrel upon firing, making accuracy lamentable.
Using this standard-issue firearm, if one wasn't afraid of death, they could attach a magazine. 25 rounds in a burst. To fire a magazine, one had to overcome two things: first, not being pushed out of cover or the trench by the recoil; second, avoiding the gun exploding, a drawback of pursuing bullet power.
Without high-powered firearms, the Southern Union couldn't suppress the transcendent beings, and the Union military would become a decoration.
"Sir, can I?"
The second lieutenant emphasized again. He wanted to shoot the enemy envoy.
"No."
"Yes."
The second lieutenant was unhappy but chose to obey orders.
"You can use artillery shells to blast them."
As Su Xiao spoke, Baha swooped down and landed on his shoulder.
"How did the talks go?"
"Don't even mention it. We were just disgusting each other. I almost threw up."
Baha looked speechless.
"How many enemies have gathered?"
"Conservative estimate, over forty thousand. Negotiations need morale, right? But boss, I feel like these forty thousand parasitic insect warriors aren't that many for the Western Continent. The number of life auras on this island is terrifyingly high. Boss, I'll go cover those dozens of warriors who landed, get them into the alternate space. Just start shelling in 15 seconds."
Baha flew off. At the start of the war, Su Xiao wouldn't order shelling that included his own people. It wasn't that he couldn't be that ruthless; it would be too demoralizing.
"Signalman."
As soon as Su Xiao spoke, a signalman trotted up and handed him a field telephone connected by wires, already tuned to the right frequency.
"All captains, hear my command. Code 31119. All ships, commence indiscriminate bombardment on all targets within forward firing range. Execute immediately."
Su Xiao ordered the bombardment. Almost simultaneously, the captain of the Fury Cannon dropped the cigar from his lips. The burly, bearded man roared:
"Main battery, prepare!"
With a clang, a nearly 1-meter-long shell was rammed into the main gun. The main gun required eight soldiers to operate. As the shell was pushed into the breech, the barrel was lowered.
After a series of skilled and swift operations, seven gunners covered their ears and turned sideways. The last, a very sturdy gunner, stomped on the pressure valve, producing a crisp *kadeng* sound.
Boom!
The main gun fired. A blast of air expanded from the breech. On the sea surface in front of the steel warship line, a layer of water droplets bounced up from the vibration.
In the dense forest of the Western Continent's outer area, two groups were confronting each other. The leader of one side was a primitive man who looked like a chieftain. In his pupils, a thread-like worm swam in a circular pattern, making him look eerie and savage.
"Your side..."
A refined-looking man stood tall, his demeanor gentle but neither servile nor arrogant. This was their diplomat.
"Your side, my ass! Run!"
Baha, diving in, spread his wings, braked sharply, and opened an alternate space passage.
The diplomat and the dozens of soldiers behind him all turned and ran. The diplomat, knowing his frail physique, directly dove headfirst into the alternate space passage. The accompanying second lieutenant gave him a powerful kick to the butt, accelerating him mid-air.
This sudden change infuriated the parasitic insect warrior leader opposite. He pointed his index finger forward, took a deep breath, and the muscles on his right arm bulged.
Pfft.
A straight white thread shot from the parasitic insect warrior leader's index finger, heading straight for Baha's brow. Baha's feathers nearly stood on end. His perception was warning him; being hit by this move would mean more than just injury.
The taut thread passed through Baha's head, but he had already entered the alternate space, successfully evading the attack.
"Roar!"
The parasitic insect warriors surged forward. Not only them, but the contractors among them also used their own methods. This wasn't a negotiation at all; it was bait.
Guangmu, still unsettled, frowned. She didn't actually want to come, but to avoid Gray Gentleman, she had to grit her teeth and come here. She hoped Gray Gentleman wouldn't make a move in a place with so many people.
Just as the parasitic insect warriors were about to charge into the still-open alternate space passage, a whistling sound came from above.
"That whistling... it's artillery!"
The Tyrant stood still, clenching his fists, ready to withstand the bombardment.
"I..."
Guangmu, a refined lady, now wanted to curse. Today was her unlucky day.
Boom!
The shell landed and exploded. Fire and shockwaves surged in all directions. Trees around snapped and shattered. Mud was blasted into the air. In the shell's explosion, the flying mud was more conspicuous than the firelight.
Broken limbs flew everywhere. After this shell landed, dozens of parasitic insect warriors were killed, and many more were only injured. This showed how troublesome these guys were.
"Pfft, a bombardment like a tickle."
The Tyrant patted the dirt off his shoulders. A piercing whistle came from above. The Tyrant looked up. This time, his gaze held a bit more gravity. At least several hundred shells were incoming. The steel warships were unleashing a full salvo.
"You guys take care."
Water Brother's body exploded into transparent liquid, turning into steam and disappearing. The others hesitated. They had life-saving items to avoid the bombardment, but was it really worth it?
Thud.
The ground shook slightly. The Tyrant maintained a downward punching stance as he leaped into a hole below. Seeing this, Guangmu and the charm-type female contractor followed, along with the other three.
Boom, boom, boom...
Dense explosions occurred. Shells fell one after another. The fleet had formed a bombardment echelon, all ship guns firing in alternating sequence.
Shells whistled overhead. The saturation bombardment had officially begun. The parasitic insect warriors in the outer forest weren't mindless monsters. Without a commander, they also panicked. Soon, they were scattering and fleeing through the forest.
It was proven that under absolute firepower coverage, even with the speed of parasitic insect warriors, they couldn't escape the saturation zone.
A shell landed. The exploded casing fragments flew out. One shard cut through a parasitic insect warrior's neck. It clutched its spurting throat, trying to continue fleeing, but the explosion's flames swept over, scorching its body. The shockwave also passed through. The unique impact of Blue Gunpowder tore through its body. First, flesh was ripped open, then bones shattered.
"Roar!"
The parasitic insect warrior, now just a remnant, roared before being crushed by the shockwave. Several hair-thin threadworms flew out of the flesh, burned to ashes by the deflagrating flames of the Blue Gunpowder.
After a full ten minutes of bombardment, the entire forest was leveled. On the pockmarked, scorched earth, not a single tree could be seen.
Several hundred meters underground, the Tyrant, Guangmu, and the others were hiding. All were covered in dust and dirt. Originally, they had been hiding over a hundred meters underground, but the insane high-power bombardment had, in just two rounds, removed a deep layer of the ground, almost reaching the groundwater. They all realized that this damn bombardment was powered by some kind of transcendent substance.
"Has it stopped? That bastard named Bai Ye is definitely a psycho. Ten minutes, a full ten minutes of bombardment."
The charm-type female contractor gritted her teeth. The dense bombardment just now had indeed startled her. If she hadn't dodged in time, she would have been buried in the artillery fire.
"Everyone, talking behind someone's back brings retribution. See? Here comes the retribution."
Baha dropped an Apollo and then entered the alternate space.
In the offshore area, the bombardment paused. The smell of gunpowder smoke permeated the air. All the steel warships sailed along the coast, beginning a circumnavigation bombardment. Su Xiao had said earlier that he would bombard for five hours. He had to keep his word. Five hours, not a minute less.