Chapter 45: A Barrage of Rockets

From the city wall, which towered over a hundred meters high, one could see the horizon more than thirty kilometers away. Through the high-definition cameras, even the fierce faces of the monsters at the front of the horde were clearly visible.

Just as Jarvis had predicted, as the distance closed, the formation of the beast horde became increasingly dense. Though they had yet to press shoulder to shoulder, they were now well within the optimal range for the destructive power of large-scale weapons.

Gazing at the approaching beasts, Jiang Chen gave the order without hesitation, “Fire the rockets! Five volleys to start!”

Thanks to the enormous spatial ring borrowed from “Hong,” Jiang Chen had brought not only ample ammunition but also a sizable number of rocket launch turrets—fifty in total. Each turret could fire twenty-four rockets simultaneously before needing to be reloaded. With the SCVs handling the reloading, it took less than two minutes to prepare for the next volley.

This meant that with one round, 1,200 rockets would launch; five rounds would expend 6,000 rockets in under ten minutes.

“Calculating optimal targets… adjusting firing angles… commencing fire!” Jarvis’s voice sounded crisply.

On the outer walls of the base, dazzling flames erupted from the turrets as rockets soared into the sky, fanning out in a thousand graceful arcs before falling among the beast horde.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Countless explosions rang out in succession. With Jarvis’s precise calculations, each rocket landed exactly where it would inflict maximum casualties. Shrapnel, propelled by high pressure, tore through the bodies of the monsters.

Against anything below planetary class, hot weapons still held devastating power. These beast soldiers and lieutenants stood no chance against the shrapnel; a hit meant serious injury at best, instant death at worst if struck in a vital spot.

The first volley alone killed at least ten thousand monsters on the spot, with many more wounded.

“Well done!” Watching the scene unfold on the monitors, Jiang Chen couldn’t help but pump his fist in satisfaction. This opening strike was truly a strong start.

Had they fired from hundreds of kilometers away, the beast horde would not have been so densely packed, and the rockets’ accuracy would have suffered, diminishing their killing efficiency.

On the walls, the SCVs worked tirelessly, swiftly ejecting spent shells, reloading fresh ammunition, and preparing for the next assault.

The intense bombardment lasted a full ten minutes before subsiding.

What had once been a beast tide stretching for dozens of kilometers—a black torrent from above—now had a broad, empty swath at the front, nearly a tenth of its mass obliterated. Shredded flesh and blood mingled on the crimson earth, indistinguishable from one another.

A chorus of roars echoed from the rear of the horde, calming the beasts unsettled by the bombardment and driving them to charge faster toward the base.

These were the commands of high-tier monsters.

Within every horde, rank was absolute. If a high-tier beast ordered the lesser ones to die, they dared not disobey and could only carry out the command. The horde was always accompanied by numerous high-tier monsters, who drove the low-tier cannon fodder forward, using their lives to wear down human weaponry.

Once the humans’ explosive weaponry was depleted and the battle devolved into close quarters, the tide’s sheer numbers would become their greatest advantage.

But if the horde’s cannon fodder was exhausted too soon, the monsters themselves would fall into disadvantage.

This was a lesson learned through countless wars between humans and monsters since the Great Cataclysm.

“Master, the horde is advancing rapidly. I must initiate another bombardment at once,” Jarvis announced, not waiting for Jiang Chen’s reply before directing the SCVs to reload and continue bombarding the densest parts of the beast horde.

Meanwhile, squads of battle mechs had already taken positions atop the wall, weapons raised and ready.

The theoretical range of the Ripper exceeded ten kilometers, but for accuracy’s sake, the effective range was between three and five thousand meters, adjusting for conditions. Luckily, today’s weather was favorable—Jarvis calculated that within four thousand meters, accuracy would remain high.

Even the weakest monsters in the horde were equivalent to trained human warriors, and they advanced swiftly. Though the vanguard had been devastated by the rocket bombardment, a few survivors pressed on under the high-tier monsters’ orders, reaching the outskirts of the base within minutes.

Of course, this was partly because Jarvis had ignored these scattered “vanguard forces” during subsequent bombardments.

A few monsters reaching the base posed little threat—battle mechs could handle them easily. Only if their numbers grew too great for the mechs to contain would Jarvis consider using rockets to eliminate those that had come too close.

With limited manpower, and facing a horde of this scale, killing efficiency was paramount above all else.

“Raise the shield, but leave the front open,” Jiang Chen ordered, heading outside.

Though no king-class monsters had appeared, the horde was close enough to the base that Jiang Chen no longer wished to simply observe from his room. He intended to reach the front lines early, in case of any unexpected developments.

Stepping out of the villa, Jiang Chen glanced up to see a hemispherical black shield rising over the base.

Though not as thick as the city wall, the shield was more than sufficient to repel attacks from lower-tier monsters. Anything below lord-class would find it nearly impossible to break through.

This way, even with relatively few battle mechs, there would be enough forces to mount a defense.

If they left the base entirely unprotected, and the horde spread out to attack from all sides, the under-two-hundred mechs would be woefully outnumbered and overwhelmed.

Stepping onto a shield device, Jiang Chen quickly soared to the city wall’s front lines.

There, a row of Boxer mechs stood in neat formation, several meters apart. At each one’s feet rested a large crate filled with pre-loaded magazines, with a contingent of SCVs ready to resupply them at any moment.

Jarvis had meticulously accounted for every detail of the battlefield, leaving nothing to chance. Most of this data came from countless wild battles fought by the mech squads in the past; through these skirmishes, Jarvis had gathered a wealth of information to refine his database.

Casting a glance at the rocket launch turrets still firing in the distance, Jiang Chen turned his gaze to the faraway plains.