The following day, the first wave of the Dawn Empire's offensive struck.
Thousands of magic planes, built entirely by the Dawn Empire, soared overhead, dropping super bombs weighing hundreds of kilograms.
An elf bug running through the city witnessed it firsthand. An area larger than a football field was instantly engulfed in explosions, leaving only rising, expanding clouds of thick smoke.
“Absurd,” the elf bug muttered.
Of course, at this moment, the bug was being controlled by Xia Jin.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—
The rocket bug launch vehicles on this side began pouring their fire toward the distance.
A total of twenty vehicles continuously unleashed their fury.
Soldiers standing nearby covered their ears, watching the scene in silence.
Each of them visualized the shells raining down on the target.
However, before they could see the results, the earth trembled again.
The Dawn Empire's counter-battery fire had arrived.
Dozens of explosions rocked the area within a one-kilometer radius.
Further away, the number of impacts reached over a hundred.
Several rocket bug launch vehicles were directly hit.
The power of one blast was simply absurd, bringing down a nearby building. The collapsing wall crushed several vehicles beneath it.
“Quick, get the rocket bugs out of there!” a commander shouted.
Several soldiers dashed through the thick smoke to begin the rescue.
Soon, the bugs were pulled from the wreckage.
“They didn't even explode under that pressure.”
The bugs were immediately transferred to a nearby vehicle and loaded.
For the Zerg, the ammunition on these rocket bug launch vehicles was considered long-range fire.
Positioned only ten kilometers from the front lines, these artillery units primarily targeted important facilities in the enemy's rear or high-density troop concentrations.
Targeting data was provided by the ubiquitous scout bugs.
Ants, flies, beetles, and mosquitoes.
Ants were no longer used for this; they were too small and crawled too slowly.
Beetles were used to scout their own territory, while flying bugs were sent to distant areas.
Once a scouting mosquito discovered an enemy position, it would quickly perform the calculations and mark the target.
If a large-scale strike was required, they would immediately contact the rocket bugs. The elf bugs stationed nearby would then direct the human soldiers to execute the orders.
Sometimes, they would directly order the heavy cannon bugs to fire.
For precision strikes, they utilized missile bugs.
Different targets and distances required different types of attacks, but all were managed through real-time communication.
It could be said that they had achieved information-based warfare through biological means.
As expected, once the battle began, the Dawn Empire was bewildered to find itself subjected to several waves of precision strikes.
Not only was their artillery fire suppressed, but many of their launch vehicles were hit by a rain of Zerg rockets the moment they arrived at their positions.
After a period of high-intensity saturation bombardment, only a few functional vehicles remained on their lines.
However, generally speaking, the Empire's rocket artillery was relatively dispersed, with different battalions having their own dedicated artillery units.
To increase the speed of troop movement, many of the gun-towing vehicles also pulled specialized passenger carriages, granting the infantry rapid mobility.
The two sides hammered each other with fire before even making physical contact.
Once the bombardment subsided, the frontline legions began to clash.
A group of Gexilu soldiers at the forward positions saw warriors dressed in the black military uniforms of the Empire.
Their equipment was no longer the heavy steel armor of the past, as it was no longer necessary. Instead, they wore rune-inscribed clothes.
Two soldiers ran to the edge of a trench and set up a 16mm automatic firearm.
A massive ammunition box was snapped into place from the side.
More individual soldiers leaped in behind them, aiming toward the lower ground in the distance.
In their sight, the battlefield was torn to shreds by the previous explosions.
The ground had changed hands several times. To seize this territory, the Gexilu United Kingdom had used twenty thousand men to launch three waves of counter-charges. After repelling the Swarm for the last time, they had dug trenches on the spot.
Sandbags and baffles were set up in front of some trenches to act as barriers and buffers.
While the Gexilu soldiers watched these Dawn Empire troops in confusion, two more men arrived behind them carrying a heavy device.
“What is that?” their squad leader asked.
“A mortar. It's a high-angle fire weapon used for fire support and attacking creatures behind enemy cover.”
As they spoke, the meter-long barrel was already set up.
A small crate containing eight 120mm shells was placed nearby.
“They're coming!”
Someone shouted as dozens of fireballs suddenly streaked from the distance, falling toward them.
Countless zerglings swarmed out of the ruins, and hydralisks poked their heads out, launching several volleys of spines toward the position.
Boom! Boom!
The sound of explosions drowned out everything else.
Dust rained down everywhere. Some explosions created terrifying shockwaves and sent chitin shell fragments flying.
“Quick, fire the shells!”
The mortar crew immediately loaded a round.
Thump!
The shell launched, followed quickly by a second.
At the same time, the automatic firearms at the front began to spit fury, rat-tat-tat.
The soldiers operated the weapons, beginning a brutal massacre of the Swarm.
Many zerglings were hit by several consecutive rounds, their blood and pulp flying in every direction.
The power was staggering. Each shot left a gaping hole, and the rounds even tore through the bodies of some zerglings, ripping them in two.
But as dozens of zerglings charged across the hundred-meter zone, countless locusts also appeared.
Rate on N.U.
