Chapter 1593
Chapter 1593 - 1589 Frontline
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7 min read
"....A group of Scouts were airdropped into Aus; the Australian continent has already become a human purgatory, there might still be survivors, but there’s no chance of rescue."
"The wars on the Southern Islands are escalating....It is said that the figures of Easterners have been spotted on the battlefields over there. Some say it’s our military forces, others say it’s just mercenaries, but what can be verified is that we’ve definitely intervened."
"I heard, it seems like the coast guards are involved, right? I also heard that our officials have requested the Sakura Kingdom and the Peninsula to send support troops, at least to fuel the Archipelago Alliance and give them a boost, but all were rejected....Do they really not fear being the first to suffer when the defensive line collapses?"
"In their eyes, isn’t the Eastern Country taking the brunt? They are all counting on us to take the lead....Moreover, their coastal areas are also having problems, they might not even have the capacity to send out legions."
News from the frontline, like flakes of snow, kept falling incessantly.
Most of it is bad news, the invaders turned out to be much stronger than expected....At first, when only Aus was conquered, many people were still holding onto hope, since in this world, the people of Aus are indeed quite subpar in all aspects.
Even on another timeline in Lu Ping’an’s memory, the military force of Australia was completely unreliable, and given that development in this world’s Australia were even weaker....They didn’t face any external pressure that required a response; they just had to maintain public order, and due to the predominance of the company system, most of their forces were actually various "corporate security."
Unlike the "armed security" in Cyberpunk Worlds infused with various futuristic technologies, the reality of corporate security relies on whatever is sufficient, with outdated equipment as their main force, after all, their primary opponents are poorly equipped wasteland bandits and refugees.
Moreover, most of the companies’ main efforts were in the colonization of the Otherworldly realms; the homeland with little value was already forsaken...Despite Australia’s large size, its total military forces are truly pitiable.
As the weakest point, it’s normal that it was conquered, but the unfortunate truth is that more than 90% of the population up there is already confirmed gone.
"....The identified entities are from at least six races, belonging to a minimum of three different factions."
One primary force is an old acquaintance of Lu Ping’an, the Octopus Forces that can be encountered in worlds with oceans; their ranks mainly consist of Fishmen, but the assortment of sea creatures could fill a museum.
The second one is composed of various giant creatures, ’Giant Kingdom’...Giant Soldier Race, this is the preliminary nickname since even the relatively small warriors among them are over four meters tall, and there are many Giants over ten meters.
Their appearance is a bit horrifying, humanoid but with four arms and two support limbs...Those support limbs seem like modular attachments, with wings, fins, wheels, and even Tentacles, functioning as some sort of Swiss army limb.
Their faces have six eyes, but are noseless with no apparent sinuses, and have several breathing holes on the sides of the cheeks; they also seem to be a race that requires an atmosphere to survive.....That blank faceplate looks terrifying, just like something out of a horror movie.
Their unique appearances and obvious terrestrial nature separate them off from the natural alliance with the Octopus Forces.
In terms of strength.....It’s said that the weakest one, even when not fully adapted to the environment, possesses at least a Second-tier Battle-profession combat power, and the larger seven to eight-meter ones can be considered specialized defense-oriented Decree War Professionals.
The larger they are, there seems to be a strange force field present. They are not utterly impervious to weapons, but it’s true that ordinary quasi-contamination weapons can’t break their defense, and the biggest issue is that their skin is really thick and they are huge; sword injuries appear as ineffective as pinpricks.
Originally, in this war, such life forms weren’t supposed to pose a major threat.
After all, no matter how strong their hand-to-hand combat is or how troublesome their support limbs are, they can’t cross the sea...Leaving their planet and arriving in a new Foreign Domain, developing new tools of war isn’t something that can be done in the blink of an eye.
The problem lies with the Third Force, and it has become the main trouble for various countries, including the Eastern Country.
"Phantom Rays are here again? This time the Sakura Kingdom got bombed? Serves them right, that’s what you get for only looking after your own snow... "
"Our side invited rays too, so stop laughing at them... But we only got some Fishmen, likely Scout sentries gathering intelligence, while it seems like two major cities in the Sakura Kingdom have been eradicated by Giant Soldiers, indicating they were the main targets."
Phantom Rays look like thin, black shadows... Their appearance, floating in the sky, brings to mind rays, thus earning them this fitting name.
They may not be creatures of the material world, and their observed form in the main material realm is likely not their true nature, but it’s known they contain a "Shadow Space" within, a small world akin to the Secret Realm.
How powerful are they? There’s basically no record of direct confrontation, and in fact, they seem somewhat reluctant to involve humans in their Shadow Space.
But as bombers, especially strategic bombers that traverse hundreds or thousands of kilometers, their capabilities are up to standard.
Now they are stirring up trouble worldwide, frequently air-dropping all kinds of chaos... Sometimes it’s bait, sometimes it’s the main assault, and those Giant Soldiers, like colossal statues, have caused significant losses.
Massive ground forces (Octopus Forces), high-quality advanced war weapons (Giant Soldiers), and highly mobile strategic transportation tools (Phantom Rays), the combination of these three races is clearly not by chance; their complementarity and adaptability are quite strong.
Besides, there are at least three more mixed races, but their threat to humanity is not as direct, so the official Eastern Country response has not specifically categorized them.
Yet these strategic bombers continue to achieve victories...
"The Sakura Kingdom suffered a sudden attack, its capital region was trampled by an air-dropped Giant Soldier, the iconic huge TV tower has become ruins, the invaders have attacked the power grid and the thermal power plants (nuclear-free in this world), causing a massive blackout throughout the capital region; panic and attacks have resulted in at least three thousand people missing, with estimated fatalities over twenty thousand... "
Lu Ping’an has heard such war reports countless times, but this time it’s different.
"...Have they started notifying the public?"
In the small noodle stall by the road, Lu Ping’an watched the television, while the news anchor detailed the situation in Sakura Island.
At the same time, similar attacks struck the First Island Chain... The invaders seem to be probing, looking for the best direction to break through.
Lu Ping’an pondered, while the other patrons of the noodle stall stared at the TV, utterly absorbed... Their tense faces and panic-stricken eyes suggested they were pondering the possibility of an attack on their own turf.
In fact, after the anchor finished the report on the attacks in other areas, survival knowledge began to be broadcast on site.
Such as what supplies to purchase and stock up on, what to do in case of an air-dropped attack, how to start small generators during a major power outage... Various strategic goods were also being distributed, with the most basic set accessible with just an ID card.
Flares, flashlights, small handguns, these are probably going to sell like crazy... Indeed, firearms regulations have been relaxed, and in fact, official target practice training has begun.
Finally, with the escalating conflict, the Easterners in the "rear" have also begun to smell the scent of war and gunpowder.
— End of Chapter 1593 —