The tide of battle shifted, and the commander's heart sank with a growing sense of unease. However, this wasn't the first time the human army had clashed with elite doom, so the commander wasn't without a plan.
"Everyone, focus all attacks on the elite doom!"
The high towers also aimed their fire at the elite doom. This species of doom was much stronger than the regular ones, and if left unchecked, it could very well damage the electric fence.
But things unfolded in an unimaginable way. The elite doom creatures retreated, and the regular doom creatures swarmed forward, piling on top of each other to form a large wall in front. The gunfire and rockets killed these doom creatures, but the elite doom were still intact.
The premonition of disaster grew stronger and stronger in the commander's heart, who tried to reassure himself that this was just a coincidence. But the next action shattered the last glimmer of hope in the commander's mind, as the doom once again piled on top of each other to create a wall of doom, protecting the elite doom from the barrage.
"Everyone, put all your strength into killing the elite doom! Absolutely do not let them get close!"
The commander's voice was hoarse from shouting. The barrage of gunfire and explosions became even more intense, but at this point, the numerical advantage was so great that it brought despair to humanity. More and more doom corpses fell, but the distance to the fence grew shorter and shorter. Rockets were continuously launched to blow up the doom corpses, but the rate of fire couldn't keep up with the numbers. The first elite doom successfully reached the electric fence and rammed into it, causing the electricity to flicker and the smell of scorching to spread. The head of this elite doom died, but it had indeed lasted much longer against the high-voltage electricity and, at the same time, caused damage to the fence.
More and more elite doom creatures attacked the fence. Because the elite doom only revealed themselves when they got close to the fence, the firing squads didn't have enough time to kill them before they attacked the barrier. And they couldn't use large-scale weapons near the fence.
The commander's pupils constricted. Although he was a person who had experienced many different wars, his whole body couldn't help but tremble. In ten years of fighting with the doom, humanity had compiled detailed reports on their habits and behavior. Except for the doom lord and the war machine doom, humanity had never recorded any signs of intelligence in other doom species, not even the elite doom. These creatures were even less intelligent than insects, because even swarming insects with a social structure similar to the doom had habits and coordination between ordinary individuals. But these doom were completely different. A scientist had asserted that, with the exception of the doom lord, the individual doom, both elite and ordinary, had surpassed even instinct, reaching absolute purity. A pure desire to destroy and devour everything.
It was because of this that, even if humans set up traps and battle formations, the doom would still charge in regardless. There would be no situation where they would feel danger and stop; they would only stop when the last doom was eliminated. This was how humanity was able to hold its own against the doom for ten years and even reach a stalemate. Otherwise, with the terrifying reproductive ability of the doom lord and the frightening power of the doom army, humanity would have been devoured long ago.
However... with today's event, the balance was likely to be shattered. If the doom had begun to show signs of intelligence, its danger would at least be tenfold greater.
Bang!
The electric fence was torn open, followed by piles of doom creatures rushing through the gap, making the tear in the fence bigger and bigger.
"Everyone! Protect the high towers! Protect the high towers!"
If the doom could think, they would surely attack the high towers first, because that's where the large-scale weapons were located. Destroying the high towers would cost humanity at least 50% of its chance to win.
Just as the commander predicted, only a small portion of the doom rushed to the military camp, while the rest split into large groups to attack the locations of the high towers. A storm of bombs and bullets rained down furiously, but a large number of doom still flooded the high towers. The guards were all killed in an instant, and one after another, the defense towers collapsed. The army didn't have time to provide reinforcements and could only watch helplessly. Noid's face was filled with fear, and he almost dropped his gun.
The scene from yesterday replayed itself, a one-sided battle in favor of the doom. Even with the defensive fortifications in the military area, the front line was gradually shrinking. Even the commander, a man nearing fifty, had put on his armor and joined the battle to give orders. Even so, the collapse of the defensive line was only a matter of time.
Noid was in despair, tears and snot streaming down his face. All he could do was madly fire his gun at the black creatures that rushed close to him. The figures of the soldiers gradually disappeared. From a distance, Noid saw a head spinning in the air and then rolling to the ground. It was the commander's. His entire squad was slaughtered, and he himself was decapitated by an elite doom. Even at such a distance, Noid felt he could sense the commander's rage and pain before his death through his eyes.
Noid ran away.
Helplessness, rage, pain, regret, cowardice... he didn't know what emotions he was feeling at that moment. He just ran headfirst, like a lost person in the dark struggling to find light. He had been searching for ten years, but even in a different world, all he could see was an endless, inescapable night.
Noid collapsed. He had run all the way to the city center, where the remaining civilians were waiting to be evacuated.
When people nearby saw Noid fall, they were about to go help him, but he screamed.
"Run! They're coming! They're coming!"
As if to prove his words, an elite doom appeared in the street, only a hundred meters from the civilian gathering point. On its body were fresh blood from the soldiers and bullet holes in its exoskeleton.
The civilians panicked and began to flee, but how could the speed of ordinary people compete with that monster?
"No! No! Stop!"
Noid's desperate shouts couldn't change anything. The elite doom ignored him, lying battered on the side of the road. It just charged forward and began its massacre.
Chewed, trampled, cut, crushed, in the eyes of the doom creatures, humans were just like toys to be done with as they pleased. Noid saw a person being cut in half by an elite doom, their eyes filled with despair and pleading for help as they looked at him. The upper half of their body was then crushed by the doom's massive form.
A mother leading her son suddenly stopped. The mother's upper body was bitten off by the five-part mouth of the doom, crushed and twisted inside its mouth. The child stared blankly at the rest of his mother's body as it fell to the ground in front of him.
Everything seemed to freeze in Noid's sight. The child in front of him slowly overlapped with his younger self.
"No!!!!"
A powerful source of energy erupted from deep within him, allowing him to slam into the elite doom at an extremely fast speed. He pushed it off-balance and rolled away with the child.
"Run! Kid!"
He turned his back to the boy, gripping his gun and firing madly at the elite doom. A bony spike swept by and knocked the gun away. A forelimb hit the chest piece of his armor, shattering it. He was sent flying, but Noid seemed to have endless strength and bounced back up to fight again.
If this were a TV show and he was the protagonist, this would be the moment to turn the tide. But reality cruelly told him that Noid was just an ordinary person, and that was an elite doom, something that could wipe out an entire elite squad.
Slash! His left arm was hit and the armor was shredded. For the elite doom, the human body was too fragile. It cut off Noid's left arm like it was cutting tofu. The sharp point of a bony spike pierced through his helmet, blinding his right eye. If the helmet hadn't held it back, it might have destroyed part of his brain as well.
But surviving only meant living a little longer. He fell weakly, the strength in his body was gone, leaving only extreme pain.
"All that effort could only hold off this monster for ten seconds..."
Those were the thoughts that flashed through his mind. But what happened next made Noid's eyes widen, his punctured eye bleeding profusely.
That child, he hadn't run away. He was standing between Noid and the elite doom. Although his whole body was shaking uncontrollably, and his pants were soaked with urine, the child still stubbornly shielded him.
"Don't... don't... hurt... my... hero!"
The kid... sees him as a hero?
But he was just a coward! A deserter! A weakling!
He looked at that small back. Suddenly, he thought, if back then... if he had reported those who caused the shipwreck, if he had dared to stand up and face them... Would things have been different?
Tears streamed down Noid's face. They weren't the tears of fear from before, but tears of endless sorrow and regret. He desperately tried to get up, but his body was like a dead engine, refusing to move.
"Sorry for being late. You can rest now."
As the pleasant voice faded, a black figure pushed the elite doom away. With the little sight he had left, Noid could only see golden hair and the image of the elite doom being cut in half.