Chapter 446: Overture to War
The war beast units commanded by the Faceless Ones had just been completely annihilated. Before the Earth Alliance could celebrate for too long, and before they could even clear the battlefield or rescue the wounded, dense swarms of space fighters appeared with a roar above Titan, surging in like dark clouds.
In the blink of an eye, they charged towards the various positions of the Human Allied Forces. Instantly, firelight shot out across the sky, and countless high-power cluster missiles and energy pulse rounds directly bombarded the exposed artillery positions of the Earth Alliance.
This time, Thanos's Joint Fleet, composed of various civilizations, deployed at least thirty thousand space fighters. Each fighter carried approximately thirty cluster missiles and energy pulse rounds.
The spectacular scene of hundreds of thousands of missiles flying simultaneously caused even Kane and the others, who were accustomed to grand spectacles, to stop their chopsticks and watch the magnificent scene.
Huge firelight bloomed across Titan's surface. Even heavy tanks and battle vehicles were rocked back and forth by the explosion shockwave.
The so-called defensive works built by the Earth Alliance using reinforced concrete were like toys before these cluster missiles. The explosion shockwave was so powerful that it even blasted the soil layer beneath the reinforced concrete dozens of meters into the air.
Large amounts of wreckage and severed limbs were mixed in with the reinforced concrete, and even the soil was stained dark red by the blood water of the Human Soldiers.
The space fighters launched just one round of attack, and it nearly destroyed all of the Earth Alliance's exposed heavy artillery positions. Nearly thirty thousand Soldiers died in this bombing.
This is the cruelty of war!
It seemed that the military force humanity was so proud of was as weak as a newborn infant when facing a true alien civilization.
"Boss Kane! Should we take action now?"
Frank's eyes, stimulated by the war aura below, faintly glowed with golden-red light. He tightly gripped a dark gold great staff as thick as a bowl in his hand.
The Classic of Mountains and Seas, Western Mountains Classic, records: "Four hundred li further west is Mount Xiaoci. Its summit is rich in white jade, and its base in red copper. There is a beast there, shaped like an ape, with a white head and red feet. Its name is Zhu Yan. Its appearance signals great war!" The Zhu Yan is inherently a ferocious beast that presides over war. Although not as famous as the Lord of War, the war below stirred Frank's Zhu Yan bloodline, making it restless.
Besides, regardless of whether it was the same Universe or not, those being beaten below were humanity. He couldn't stand by and watch fellow Earthlings being bullied by aliens, seeing the Earth Alliance clearly on the verge of collapse.
Frank fidgeted as he looked at Kane.
"They're not in a hurry, why are you?" Kane's gaze fell upon the silent communicator on the table. "I gave the High-level Staff of the World Security Council a chance. If they really can't hold on, they'll naturally contact us! Don't worry, the Earth Alliance isn't as weak as you think!"
"Put your staff away. If you're really bored, put in a few more plates of lamb," Kane said, his chopsticks leaving afterimages as he picked the last piece of lamb from the hot pot and placed it on his plate.
The Old Demon Dragon's chopsticks came up empty. Annoyed, he scooped a lamb bone from the bottom of the pot, grabbed it directly with soup and water, and took large bites. His sharp teeth even swallowed the bone along with the meat.
"Still no movement from Mephisto?" Kane picked up a piece of lamb, swirled it in the dipping sauce bowl, and popped it directly into his mouth. Chewing the delicious lamb, Kane glanced at the Old Demon Dragon.
The Old Demon Dragon shook his head. "Beelzebub and I staked him out for two days. Mephisto, that Old Fox, must have sensed something was wrong. He's holed up in his lair and refuses to come out. Killing a few of his clones doesn't have much meaning!"
"But how did I hear that you two have been collecting ancient grimoires for breaking seals all over Earth recently!" Kane picked up a bottle of dark beer in front of him, gulped down more than half of it, and his gaze fiercely swept over the Old Demon Dragon, who was happily gnawing on a bone, and Beelzebub, who was leisurely dealing with the meat on his plate.
As soon as Kane spoke, Frank's hand, which was putting in sliced lamb, paused, then he nonchalantly continued adding sliced lamb to the boiling hot pot. However, his hair faintly glowed with firelight.
Deadpool Wade put down his chopsticks and quietly reached for the blades on his back. Johnny turned to look at Beelzebub beside him, his eyes revealing a scene of Hell burning with raging flames.
Facing Kane's questioning, Beelzebub took out a clean white handkerchief to wipe the corner of his mouth. He gently extended a finger, whose joints were twice as long as a normal person's, and tapped the tabletop.
He softly complained to Kane, "You see, Mr. Kane, you're really not being a good friend!"
"Since we chose to pledge allegiance to Boss Tang, we naturally wouldn't have second thoughts. We collected these magic books simply because we heard Boss Tang was interested in primordial magic forbidden spells and wanted to prepare a meeting gift for him. Do you suspect that we're doing this to escape Boss Tang's control? How could we possibly think that? Look, how can you suspect us like this after the deep friendship we share?"
Kane's figure flickered, drifting like The Spectre behind Beelzebub. His cold finger lightly traced across Beelzebub's neck.
Beelzebub's body stiffened. With his strength, he hadn't even seen how Kane had gotten behind him.
Kane's hand brushing past his neck felt like the claws of a primordial demonic beast gripping his neck! He, a Hell Lord, one of the Seven Lords of Hell, actually felt a fatal threat from a mere human.
"Then it seems I misunderstood you. My mistake. From now on, we are colleagues. I'll toast you both!"
Kane extended his hand. Frank, at the right moment, picked up a wine jar sealed with mud, poured out three cups of wine, and handed one to Kane.
The other two cups were placed in front of Beelzebub and the Old Demon Dragon respectively.
"Have a taste. This is seventy-year-aged Maotai fine wine! It was a gift from a **** when I went for negotiations!" Kane raised the wine glass in his hand, drained the wine in one gulp, and holding the empty glass, looked at the Old Demon Dragon and Beelzebub.
The Old Demon Dragon, who was sitting at the round table, stuffed the last bit of lamb bone in his hand into his mouth, chewed it thoroughly, swallowed the bone and bone marrow whole, and slowly stood up.
Frank's eyes flickered with strange golden-red radiance. He watched the guy wary, as if facing a formidable enemy. Under this pressure, his Zhu Yan was activated to the extreme, and his hair had turned fiery red.
The thick dark gold great staff had somehow reappeared in Frank's hand. It looked like if the Old Demon Dragon made the slightest move, his hundred-ton staff would definitely smash squarely onto his head.
The Old Demon Dragon, however, directly picked up the wine glass in front of him, tilted his head back, and drained it in one gulp. After drinking, he smacked his lips and commented, "The wine is good!"
Beelzebub glanced at the Old Demon Dragon, then somewhat reluctantly raised his wine glass and finished the toast.
Seeing the two "people" being so sensible, everyone present, except for Kane, felt relieved. After all, this wasn't their own Universe.
Without the Boss backing them up, facing two Hell Lords directly, even Frank felt a faint lack of confidence.
However, after the Old Demon Dragon and Beelzebub finished the wine in their cups, everyone gathered around again and began eating hot pot lively.
Frank handed the task of adding meat to Wade Wilson and ate heartily himself.
Deadpool Wade chewed jerky with a bulging mouth! At the same time, he used chopsticks to push freshly sliced lamb into the hot pot! On the empty ground nearby, plates of lamb were piled up like a small mountain, not a thousand, but several hundred kilograms. Of course, for the few people present, it was just a snack.
The crowd originally thought the matter was over, but unexpectedly, Kane used the serving chopsticks to pick up a piece of stewed lamb chop from the hot pot and placed it in front of the Old Demon Dragon.
"How is it? Have you found a method to remove the restriction formation on you?"
Blinking their eyes, the few people who had been talking all fell silent simultaneously and looked at the Old Demon Dragon.
The Old Demon Dragon tilted his head and looked at Kane, then turned his head and directly picked up the lamb chop in front of him with his hand and began gnawing on it heartily. "It's no use. Your Boss's seal isn't any known magic. I originally thought your Boss was an Easterner and used those so-called immortal methods from The East. I went to The East, but I still couldn't find a method to remove this restriction formation!"
Deadpool Wade looked at the Old Demon Dragon, then at Beelzebub, blinking his eyes, and asked in confusion:
"That's strange. If you didn't want to pledge allegiance to Tang, why did you come knocking? And since you chose to pledge allegiance, why are you thinking of betraying now!?"
Beelzebub rolled his eyes at Wade Wilson. "You don't know how fiercely the Blood Daoist is killing in the Abyss World. At least a dozen Abyssal Lord have fallen under that strange Blood Saber. That thing kills on contact. Unless you're willing to give up your Territory and hide in the depths of the endless Abyss, there's no choice but to surrender. The Old Demon Dragon and my Territories are closest to the expanding Blood Sea! The Blood Daoist is building some Netherworld in Hell, which just happens to encompass the Abyss we rule!"
Nodding lightly, the Old Demon Dragon spoke in a very candid tone:
"We never thought of betraying, but as Hell Demon God capable of contending with the King of the Gods, we merely demand treatment commensurate with our identity! Not being collared and treated like hunting hounds!" Kane listened intently to their complaints, then said, "I understand your thoughts, but you two should also be clear about your own identities. Without restraint, even you wouldn't trust two newly pledged enemies, let alone our Boss!"
"Believe me, after some time, when you truly realize the great power of our Boss, you will feel honored by your choice!"
Honored? The Old Demon Dragon and Beelzebub exchanged glances. They clearly didn't take Kane's words to heart. However, compared to their kindred whose souls were devoured by the Blood Saber and whose physical bodies were refined into so-called magic treasures, they were undoubtedly fortunate.
On Titan's Ground, just as Kane said, the Earth Alliance, after three months of preparation, was not truly so vulnerable.
Just as the space fighters thought they had destroyed the Earthlings' heavy firepower in one fell swoop, some true heavy firepower quietly emerged from the Bunkers on the High Ground.
Even the Red Skull during the WWII period could research energy weapons based on the Cosmic Cube. Humanity's technology had developed for nearly a hundred years, yet weapons still remained in the gunpowder research stage. This was clearly abnormal.
One should know that after WWII, the Cosmic Cube had always been kept within S.H.I.E.L.D.
When facing a desperate situation, the Federation and **'s backup plans were brought out one after another. **'s long-range railgun, codenamed "Houyi", was the first to fire. Nearly a thousand railguns on various High Grounds spewed out scorching alloy projectiles. These fist-sized alloy projectiles, boosted by the railguns, shot towards the aiming space fighters at speeds hundreds of times the speed of sound.
Although the space fighters' energy shields were raised one after another, huge firelight still exploded among the space fighter swarm.
At the same time, more energy beams from Bunkers in all directions attacked the sky-filling space fighters from every Corner. If Captain America Steve Rogers were here, he would find that these energy beams were extremely similar to the weapons the Red Skull had researched back then.
In the blink of an eye, the Battlefield situation underwent a shocking reversal. Countless beams of light seemed to surge from the Ground, overwhelming the space fighters, like meteors in broad daylight.
The space fighters that were hit caught fire and exploded one after another. In the blink of an eye, thousands of fighter jets were completely destroyed.
Although disoriented by the sudden attack, most of the undamaged space fighters quickly locked onto the Earth Alliance Bunkers that had fired the energy beams.
Over twenty thousand space fighters, like flocks of birds at dusk, split into hundreds of waves and swooped towards the human bunkers on the Ground. The energy weapons carried by those fighter jets rained down on the Bunkers.
"Gogogogogo——"
"Let's put on a fireworks show!"
"Urah!"
Just as these space fighters were performing low altitude dives, dense swarms of small fighter jets suddenly rose up near the Bunkers.
Strictly speaking, these small fighter jets, no longer than three meters, were more like iron pipes with propellers welded onto the outside, or even simplified artificial rockets – elongated gas cans filled with high-explosive TNT explosives, boosted by gunpowder.
Boosted by the flames at their tails, these fighter jets and rockets, each costing no more than ten thousand yuan, soared into the sky like a swarm of killer bees delivering death, sending fiery kisses towards the space fighters.
The sole purpose of these extremely simple drone fighters and rockets was to rush into the midst of the space fighters and detonate the bombs they carried.
Originally, with the speed of the space fighters, these crude drones couldn't catch up to them at all. But the Earth Alliance launched too many of these simple rockets and drones at once. Tens of millions of simple drones and rockets were launched simultaneously, performing self-destruct.
Violent explosions occurred. These extremely simple weapons possessed astonishing force, directly forming clusters of explosion shockwaves hundreds of kilometers wide in the air.
After the explosion shockwaves disappeared, at least ten thousand space fighter warships vanished without a trace.
"These simple weapons actually took down advanced space fighters!" On Yggdrasil, Frank watched, dumbfounded.
Kane was thoughtful. "It's somewhat like the methods used in the Middle East!"
"Don't underestimate these crude methods. Quantitative change leads to qualitative change. Judging by the force of these improvised rocket explosions, they must be filled with high-grade TNT. The combined force of tens of millions of improvised rockets is considerable. However, these improvised rockets have no accuracy and insufficient speed. They can only hit fixed targets and prey that comes right to them!"
The two of them commented with relish. As for the others, the Old Demon Dragon and Beelzebub were not very interested in this minor skirmish and focused on the sliced meat in the hot pot.
Deadpool Wade threw the task of adding meat to Johnny. He himself pulled out a fishing rod from who knows where and sat on the edge of a Yggdrasil leaf, pretending to fish.
On the bamboo fishing rod, which shimmered with a rich purple luster, one could faintly see exquisite bird-seal patterns carved into it. Even the fishing line was almost completely stealth, hanging down thousands of meters! "Hmm? This looks like the Boss's fishing rod?"
Kane inadvertently looked back, saw the fishing rod in Wade Wilson's hand, and was immediately startled.
Thanos's Joint Fleet's aerial attack was shattered by a wave of cheap wild punches from the Earth Alliance.
The cutting edge of the Zerg army's attack through the Frontal Passage leading to Titan was also suppressed.
In front of the Yggdrasil branches extending to Titan, over three thousand tanks, five thousand battle vehicles, and nearly two hundred thousand Fully Armed Soldier firmly blocked these insects outside of Titan.
"Hissing——"
The piercing hissing of the insects constantly echoed on the branches of the World. Countless insects, comparable in size to cars, launched an attack like a tide towards the human positions.
What greeted these insects was round after round of large-caliber heavy artillery bombing.
Russian-made 240mm Tulip Heavy Mortars, Katyusha Rocket Launchers, the Federation's Hellfire Rocket Launchers, **'s PLZ-05 Self-Propelled Howitzers of dozens of calibers – the roar of tens of thousands of heavy artillery pieces constantly echoed within Yggdrasil——**
The roaring sound of explosions continued for three hours. Within these three hours, the tide of insects was forcefully intercepted at the first Defense Line.
Only then did the Regent of the Faceless Civilization, watching this scene, realize that it wasn't that the Earthlings were too weak to resist their bio-war beasts, but rather that these Earthlings had set a death trap for them! "If Thanos hadn't forbidden the use of high-power planet-destroying weapons, how could we have failed?!"
The Faceless Ones Regent, beneath that bald face, let out an unwilling roar from his mouthparts filled with sharp teeth. He knew that with Thanos, failure was failure. He couldn't imagine what fate awaited his civilization.
How could the Faceless Ones know that this planet, serving as the Battlefield, was precisely Thanos's Hometown? Although he had personally brought destruction to his Homeworld, no one knew if seeing this planet evoked any memories for him.
Just as no one knew if Master Ancient One had chosen this planet as the Battlefield for this very reason.
The tide of insects swarmed down Yggdrasil, enduring the dense artillery fire bombing. But the moment their sharp insect legs touched the Ground, countless high-explosive landmines exploded beneath their feet.
As the remaining insects pushed forward, enduring the heavy artillery bombing and the landmine bombing underfoot, three thousand various heavy tanks formed a Defensive Zone ten kilometers wide and twenty kilometers deep in front. Within this Defensive Zone, the density of tanks reached its limit!
In the gaps between these tanks, over five thousand battle vehicles were positioned. These armored battle vehicles lined up, their heavy machine gun firepower ready to face the insects!
Before the insects could get close, the tanks' gun ports, accompanied by the battle vehicles' machine gun spray fire, instantly dismembered the insects into fragments.
And behind these battle vehicles were two hundred thousand Earth Alliance Warrior, using a stretch of rolling hills as a barrier to build positions and Bunkers! The front lines were filled with firearms that could be called anti-human. Hive-like Metal Storm weapon launchers were densely spread throughout the positions.
Vulcan Cannons, originally intended for Humvees and battle vehicles, could be seen almost every few dozen meters here. Many Human Soldiers were even holding new energy weapons.
In the Second Battlefield, managed by **, giant four-legged support robots codenamed "Chaos" had firepower output no less than Metal Storm. Hundreds of "Chaos" units, combined with two thousand two-legged support robots codenamed "Bai Qi" that fired Fuel-Air Explosive (FAE) bombs, even managed to control the Yggdrasil branch Passage, preventing the insects from advancing even a single step.
However, as time passed, the insects' long-range firepower arrived, and the scale of war, which humanity had originally dominated, slowly began to tip towards the insects.
(Freezing to death, minus ten-something degrees. If it weren't this cold, I'd have written 6000 words. Can't hold on anymore.)
(end of chapter)