Landing Interception

“Where are these flying from?”

Xia Jin could only see the aircraft approaching from the open sea through the eyes of her insects.

They were likely hundreds of kilometers away. She immediately ordered some scourges to ignore the slaughter on the battlefield and fly toward the horizon at full speed, attempting to locate the enemy's carriers.

However, this wave of the Empire's magic planes was far too numerous and incredibly agile. Complex magic arrays, powered by internal energy, significantly enhanced both the durability and maneuverability of the aircraft. Their internal bays opened to drop shells of immense destructive power.

When facing the Swarm in the air, these magic planes could actually fire armor-piercing rounds from their 30mm cannon muzzles.

The power of these armor-piercing rounds was enormous. Although their fire rate wasn't fast, their velocity after leaving the barrel was absurd, and they were imbued with faint magic tracking spells. Even though each muzzle only fired once every ten seconds or so, the accuracy was remarkably high.

Sometimes, even when it looked like a scourge had dodged, it was still struck by the projectile.

“They can actually fly in a curved trajectory?”

The technology tree of this magic civilization had certainly taken an unusual turn.

One thing was certain: the Empire hadn't managed to increase the fire rate yet.

Or perhaps they couldn't miniaturize weapons with a higher rate of fire.

Several Tier 8 mutalisks took to the sky.

Their destructive power was formidable; every glaive wurm they launched could down an enemy magic fighter, though they themselves were vulnerable to being killed in return.

After a battle that lasted over twenty minutes, the surviving magic planes left the coast and headed back.

Xia Jin immediately mobilized her air force to pursue, but they were soon met by a second wave of magic fighters.

The power of Tier 4 scourges was still a bit weak; many had to attack together just to breach the enemy's mechanical hulls.

Still, Xia Jin was somewhat satisfied with the results. At least these pre-upgrade creatures still possessed some combat capability.

As the enemy bombardment intensified and the third wave of aircraft arrived, the Swarm's ground forces finally began to collapse.

Xia Jin immediately diverted her naval fleet toward the area. In a few days, the fastest units should reach the coast of the Huiwei region.

Across the land, magic planes roared overhead. Occasionally, heavy shells dropped, exploding in the areas where the insects were running.

Although the insects could anticipate the strikes, the shells themselves would slightly adjust their course in mid-air, making them very difficult to evade.

With no other choice, the primal brain bug ordered most of the insects to burrow.

Having lost air superiority, the battle had become extremely disadvantageous for the Swarm.

Half a day later...

Dozens of giant flying vessels, resembling airships and measuring sixty to seventy meters in length, arrived at the coast. Ropes were lowered, and soldiers of the Dawn Empire began sliding down.

The scouting mosquitoes flying nearby witnessed the scene.

“They’re being that direct?”

Seeing this, Xia Jin massaged her temples.

Attacking was one thing, but they were actually landing ground troops.

Most importantly, at a glance, this ground legion was armed with weapons the size of machine guns, with calibers of at least 12mm.

The fire rate of these things wasn't fast either—one shot every five seconds. Every time they fired, smoke would billow out for those five seconds, accompanied by a cold mist. It seemed to be an effect produced by ice element magic cooling.

She had seen air-cooling and liquid-cooling before, but this was her first time witnessing magic cooling.

Given the high temperatures generated by each shot, it was a case of raw power over design.

These soldiers also carried sword-like weapons, making them versatile in both ranged and close-quarters combat.

“Fortunately, the main body of my Swarm has been upgraded. It’s just a pity for these unupgraded insects on the East Continent.”

This wave of tens of thousands of insects suffered heavy losses.

But...

Most could still launch ambushes by burrowing.

She wasn't afraid of their ground troops landing; she was only afraid of them doing nothing.

With Tier 6 strength, they could still kill Empire soldiers.

Even with drug-enhanced strength, it wasn't as if every single one of them was Tier 6 or higher. While ordinary soldiers could use their weapons to kill the insects, they would clearly die at the insects' hands as well.

As a force of roughly 3,000 men landed, the Swarm began engaging the enemy in urban warfare.

The brain bug even played dirty, actively leading the insects into crowded areas to force the Dawn Empire's warriors to hesitate. However, it soon realized it had overestimated the Empire's compassion. They didn't care about civilians at all, bombing the local commoners right along with the insects.

They truly were the most powerful nation.

Without international laws or any power capable of restraining them, the Dawn Empire really could act with total impunity.

...

At that moment, standing atop a 40,000-ton carrier, a general raised her monoculars. She watched several soldiers boarding aircraft and preparing for takeoff, then reached out to take a battle report from a nearby aide.

“We lost over seven hundred aircraft? Those are lives,” she whispered, then shook her head. “We still underestimated the enemy's strength. These old-model magic aircraft should be phased out as soon as possible if they can't even handle a bunch of bugs.”

“That's not up to us. Those Army big shots hog all the best gear for themselves and toss the obsolete trash to us.” An officer nearby, chewing on preserved plums, gave a tsk. “It’s the age of the ocean, yet they’re still obsessed with those damn infantrymen.”