Age of Cosmic Exploration

Chapter 170: Lift Off! The Hope!
Chapter 170: Lift Off! The Hope!

Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After the group of combat jets flew into the sky, the temporary base was on high alert.

However, things appeared to be different this time because even after some time, no monsters appeared. It wasn’t until the troopers came back with damaged jets that the monster army materialized in the sky.

”A skydive assault? They think we don’t have anti-air weapons? What a bunch of idiots.”

Guang Zhen lifted his head and laughed contemptuously, he then asked the soldier beside him, ”Are the anti-airs ready?”

”Yes, Sir. We are at full capacity; we could fire at any time,” the soldier replied after he scanned the chart he had on his hand.

”Then… fire them all in 15 seconds. Let these filths know that airstrikes have become obsolete due to 4th revolution technology.” Guang Zhen lifted his head once more and smiled chillingly.

Indeed, with the arrival of the 4th revolution, the position of air forces had become increasingly awkward.

The key factor was the invention of Gaussian weapons and electromagnetic shields. They pushed out the usage of traditional firearms. Due to carriage issues, the air force didn’t have the ability to carry around reactors in flight. As consequence, they could only support lesser weapons and weaker electromagnetic shields, so they had the obvious disadvantage.

Simultaneously, with the arrival of artillery with high initial speed, air forces’ original advantage of speed and height became useless. No matter how high or fast you fly, it won’t be faster than a Gaussian bullet that could reach its target in less than a second.

Therefore, after the 4th revolution, war was fought in space or on the planet’s surface. On the other hand, because Gaussian bullets traveled so fast, they were weak in long-ranged combat. The incredible air resistance over long distances made it incredibly easy for one to miss one’s target.

As the number of black dots increased in the sky, Guang Zhen said into the communicator, ”Don’t panic, wait for them to come closer, and then we’ll strike…”

”…5, 4, 3, 2, 1…”

”Fire!”

With Guang Zhen’s command, all of the Gaussian anti-airs, like Gatling guns, cannons of varying sizes, and even a Gaussian electromagnetic rail cannon borrowed from the Hope, as well as the rifles of 3,000 plus soldiers, started firing in unison.

The bullets formed a gigantic stream, one that was made of bullets!

The black cloud above the base started dispersing and monster parts started falling from the sky. The parts that contained metallic substances bounced off the soldiers’ electromagnetic shields, nullifying this unique form of hazard.

The monsters’ blood fell like rain, washing the floor green. Enclosed within their spacesuits, the soldiers ignored the blood and kept their sights on the sky with determination in their eyes.

Fire, reload, recharge, and then fire…

This lasted for 6 minutes until there was not even a black spot left in the sky. The base was swamped in a sea of guts and blood. Even after they were washed out with the sewer system, there was still an indescribable, fleshy feeling when one walked on the soil in the base.

After losing half of their numbers, the monsters dropped and collected themselves on the ground far away from the base. They formed an army and marched towards the base.

Guang Zhen observed the army through the binoculars and frowned.

The army had decreased in numbers, but the remaining monsters still posed a threat. There were the scorpion monsters in droves, and among them were the electromagnetic shield generating monsters.

However, the scariest was a 150-meter-tall monster. It was covered in a black metallic shell, stood on 4 elephant-sized legs, and had an 80-meter-long bone blade instead of a trunk. Sparks kept flying over the blade, and there was more than 10 of these monsters!

”Battalion B! Prepare your long ranged weapon! Fire when the enemies are in range! Take down the 10 giant monsters first!” Guang Zhen yelled.

Very quickly, the many Gaussian weapons attached to the turret started charging. After the computer locked down to the target monsters, they fired off instantly. The air shook with the hail of bullets and the air was roiling with dust.

Guang Zhen was pessimistic. He didn’t take his eyes off the binoculars, but everywhere he looked, he only saw dust.

”Damn the creator’s particles!” Guang Zhen swore vehemently. If there was no creator’s particle, all of the surveillance devices would come back online and they could triangulate these monsters from space. That would allow them to strike them from space and remove the need to face them head on.

Suddenly, the ground started to tremble. From the cloud of dust, a monster appeared. It was the giant monster!

The giant monster had around it a layer of sparks that suggested the presence of an electromagnetic shield. Even though it was blinking out, it had survived the weapons’ focus fire due to its incredible size since it could store more power to charge the shield. It was still 10 kilometers away from the base, but it exuded an intimidating pressure.

”Fire! Soldiers, don’t stop firing!” Guang Zhen yelled and fired him own rifle at the monster.

The other soldiers followed.

Everyone knew if they allowed such a creature to break into the base, the defense would fail immediately. That would in turn lead to lots of death!

Therefore, at that moment, even the most coward of the soldiers unloaded their bullets at the monster!

It exhausted the focus fire of more than 1.000 rifles and the cannons to take down the one giant monster. Its shield died out about 2,000 meters away from the base.

Before the base could sigh in relief though, the ground shook once more. There were 1, 2, 3 no, 5 more giant monsters coming through!

Everyone stared blankly at the monsters with hopelessness in their eyes… The thought was ”5 150 meters tall monsters that have electromagnetic shields; is this war even winnable?”

”Fire! Don’t stop!” Guang Zhen yelled at the top of his lungs.

But as the monsters got closer, some of the soldiers started to put down their weapons and involuntarily looking back at the hole. It was obvious that they were thinking about deserting. This intention spread like the plague with more soldiers putting down their arms.

3 soldiers who stopped firing fell to Guang Zhen’s rifle. He wailed coarsely, ”Deserter shall die from shame! Fire, keep on firing! I will kill any deserters that I see!”

Everyone else was shocked and scared into motion. They took up their rifles and started firing again at the monsters.

1 minute later, the last monster fell. Guang Zhen sighed in relief. This last monster was closest to the base, and it was only several hundred meters away. Guang Zhen would have gone into close combat if it had gotten any closer.

There was no time for a breather, because another meat blob appeared in the sky. It vomited more monsters to the ground.

About 300 giant monsters appeared down the horizon, and everyone’s hearts were chilled. Even Guang Zhen’s sawblade fell helplessly to the floor.

”For humanity!”

Suddenly, someone deep within the base yelled in english. It pierced through the eerie quiet of the base. However, more people resonated in return, and the same message was repeated again and again in a multitude of languages. It was a call of both desperation and hope. Without Guang Zhen’s urging, they lifted their rifles and continued firing…

At the same time, underneath the ground, the excavation crew had returned to the Hope. This was because the excavation project was reaching its end. With another contained explosion, the Hope would be able to lift off.

”Checking external anti-gravitational system… Checking complete, found no problem.”

”Checking particle flux accelerators… Checking complete, found no problem.”

”Checking creator’s particle vibrator and isolator… Checking complete, found no problem.”

”Checking the Hope’s ECS system… Checking complete, found no problem.”

The person lording over the command central was… Bo Li. She was designated by Yao Yuan to be the acting captain if both Yao Yuan and Guang Zhen weren’t there.

Bo Li scanned through the checking report that appeared on screen and she ordered in a clear voice, ”Activate the external anti-gravitational and ECS systems. Tune up the electromagnetic shield to its maximum power.”

Beside her, a middle-aged man repeated, ”Captain’s orders. Activate the external anti-gravitational and ECS systems. Tune up the electromagnetic shield to its maximum power.”

”Yes, Sir! Activating the external anti-gravitational and ECS systems and tuning up the electromagnetic shield to its maximum power!”

With one last explosion, the final thin layer of rocks that covered the top of the Hope crumbled away, revealing portion of the blue sky above.

”Lift the Hope up to 5,000 meters above sea level and activate all optical detectors.”

”Captain’s orders. Lift the Hope up to 5,000 meters above sea level and activate all optical detectors.”

Following a series of commands, the Hope gradually disengaged itself from its position. With both particle flux accelerator and anti-gravitational units working alongside one another, in just 30 minutes, the Hope had reached its intended location. The ECS system was in action, so the Hope was hidden from the monsters’ detection.

”Aim all Gaussian cannons at the ground level monsters. Operate a strafe fire. The cannons need to recharge every 3 seconds, so alternate the shots systematically. Charge our main cannon…

”Then fire the Supermagnetic Planet Annihilating Rail-Cannon!”