The mighty marching column suddenly stopped like a snake being stepped on its throat. There were roars of insects and roars of guns everywhere. The screams of the moment were drowned by the explosions in the blink of an eye.【.
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A squadron of low-flying Banshee bombers was preparing to provide fire support when a fleet of Protoss Phoenix fighter jets descended from the clouds.
The Viking fighters escorting the bombers had disappeared at this moment, and the Banshees had completely become a living target for the Phoenix. The Phoenix fighters were much faster than the Banshees, and easily put these bombers within the range of the ion cannon.
.
A Banshee was hit, and a large plume of black smoke was seen coming out of its longitudinal balance wing. Then the right wing lost balance and fell out of the air a thousand feet in an uncontrollable spin.
It fluttered to the ground like a big bird with broken wings, landing not far from Istres.
What really caught the empire off guard were these protoss. They were once loyal allies of the Tyranid Empire, but now they were used by Amon to deal with the surviving protoss and the humans of the Koprulu sector.
Easter still had a little time to figure out what happened. The train traveling from west to east along the track had come to a complete stop. It was not clear what kind of force could stop such a behemoth.
.
They got off the train on the right side, and a group of zerg emerging from the Nydus Worms were rushing towards them from the north. There were quite a few of them, and the sounds of carapace collisions and low roars were very dense. Maybe
There are hundreds of them, and there will be more soon.
Wormholes usually mean the beginning of a larger-scale attack.
The experience of escaping from death several times on the battlefield has kept Istel calm. There is a train between them and the zerg. Although it is not as strong as a bunker, it is enough to provide a buffer and cover.
Easter and his soldiers are not alone. They are in the middle of the march of the 3rd Brigade of the 7th Marine Infantry Division. Next to them is the siege tank column of the 143rd Armored Brigade, a powerful armored force.
Able to quickly break through the encirclement and come to support.
Companies and platoons from other carriages of the train also broke open the unruly doors and windows and came out. They were all wearing CMC-400 powered armor. The Marauder's armor was heavier and stronger. Even if the train capsized, it would not cause any serious damage.
hinder.
When Istor gathered his warriors, the familiar rustling of the insect swarm as it moved seemed to be getting closer and closer, like the souls urging death.
The soldiers who got off the train on the other side opened fire, and the sounds of electromagnetic rifles, grenade guns and various weapons rang out one after another. The timing of these soldiers getting off the train was very poor, and their position was also very bad. They were right in the attack route of the protoss and zerg.
In the meantime, they were quickly knocked down by swarms of insects, and their terrifying screams were frightening.
"Here they come!"
A springtail with a pair of sails growing on its back jumped onto the roof of the train. Its dark purple carapace shone like a metal in the sun, and its long and thin wings flapped gently, making a rustling sound.
The sound was like a rattlesnake in the desert.
This was a signal to attack. With heavy crashing sounds, springtails jumped onto the roof of the car one after another, their long knife-like claws piercing deeply into the steel, as easily as if
It's just a piece of tofu.
The fangs and claws of the zerg are as good as the hardest materials in nature, and even the largest springtails in the swarm can easily disembowel them.
Since the first contact between humans and Zerg, not only human military technology has advanced by leaps and bounds, but the Zerg swarm has also been absorbing the genes of advanced species, strengthening usable traits, discarding useless traits, and constantly evolving.
Nowadays, the genes of springtails, hydralisks and thunder beasts that make up the huge insect group have also undergone earth-shaking changes. They have acquired sharper claws, stronger carapace and bone shield, and even more efficient muscles and organs.
Even the appearance is very different from the past.
The modern insect swarm is very different from the insect swarm faced by Emperor Augustus in his time. This is why the empire obviously has better battleships, better powered armor and weapons, and it is still at an absolute disadvantage today.
disadvantage.
The most effective method to deal with the zerg is fire. In addition, the Tyranid Empire also possesses a deterrent weapon that can turn the tide of the war, and that is the Xel'Naga artifact.
But even though they were undoubtedly heading towards defeat, the Empire still had no plans to use the artifact. No one knew why. If the artifact could still be used normally, Korhal would definitely use it on the frontal battlefield to reduce the pressure on the Imperial army.
pressure.
This made people worry whether the artifact had been damaged long ago, but Kohal did not announce it in order to stabilize the morale of the military.
For a moment, these springtails just stood on a high place, taking in everything with their glowing red eyes. Ister's soldiers opened fire, and the ferocious firepower immediately swept down these springtails.
Monsters. In the torrent of bullets, they were riddled with holes in the blink of an eye, and fell from the top of the train like dead grasshoppers.
These were just a few waves in the ocean of insects. Just like in the past, several times or even ten times more springtails soon appeared from behind the corpses of their dead species.
These savage little monsters are basically the same in Ister's eyes. Their genetic code is extremely easy for the insect swarm to copy. One larvae can mutate into two springtails, and a group of springtails can destroy a group of springtails.
The Marines were killed and their armor was left behind.
The firepower of Easter's platoon quickly focused forward and swept the springtails on the roof of the car to the ground. Some of them successfully jumped to the ground, but the Marauder's Punisher grenade immediately killed these "lucky ones"
It was beaten into a pile of debris composed of insect limbs.
Their weapons are equipped with self-charging supercapacitors to shorten the reloading time, in other words, more bullets can be fired in the same time.
But there were so many springtails that they kept popping up from the other side of the train, emerging from the open doors, windows and roofs of the trains, and swarmed up.
Their corpses gradually piled up in front of Ister. The number recording the ammunition capacity on the HUD display in front of his eyes was jumping crazily at 110-0. During this period, hundreds of spiked bullets were fired.
Killed several springtails.
Several Reapers flew over from the other side to join the battle. While using the P-45 Gauss pistol in their hands to beat the springtails that emerged, they dropped the cluster bombs in their hands to create explosions and chaos.
The flames spewed from their jump packs allowed them to move flexibly around the battlefield at astonishing speeds.
Easter knew those scouts. They were good players who came out of the Ice Cave Reaper training camp. Although most of them had bad records before joining the army, their performance on the battlefield was never bad.
At this time, amidst the heartbreaking sound of metal tearing, a huge Hydra Hydralisk easily opened the door with its terrifying sickle-shaped claws. Its powerful snake-shaped body was covered with dense and hard
The armor is reminiscent of the mythical Hydra monster.
A burst of poisonous spines capable of penetrating fine steel hit Ister like a storm, as fast as a bullet. One of them almost flew past the side of his mask, with its jagged sharp edges and smooth
The arc is comparable to mankind's deadliest dagger.
"Kill it!"
The Marauder strode forward from the right rear of Ister, letting the spines jingle against his heavy armor. A Punisher grenade was loaded into the launcher and hit there accurately.
The most vulnerable part of the Hydralisk's chest was hit, causing it to scream repeatedly.
Countless bullets were poured on the bloody body of the giant snake at this time, and finally it fell forward to the ground with a threatening roar and stopped moving.
Before Ister's men could cheer and celebrate, several banelings rushed out from the swarm of springtails and hit the carriage in front of Ister. The earth-shattering explosion immediately destroyed the car.
The carriage exploded into the sky, and the splash of dark green acid corroded the ground into black holes.
This brought greater chaos, as more and more springtails and Hydra Hydralisks rushed out of this gap.
A dense burst of spines swept away Daniel, Ernest and Aldous. Their life support index immediately dropped below 30% on Ister's helmet display, and a terrifying scream was immediately heard on the channel.
cry.
"help me!"
"They're coming towards me!"
"Medic!"
Ados's body, which fell on his back, was covered with spines, and he died shortly after falling to the ground.
There was a terrible gap in Daniel's abdomen, and a long spine was completely embedded in the armor. He groaned for a while, but soon became silent.
Ernest had two spinal needles inserted into his thighs. He was sitting sideways on the ground, shooting with the Gauss rifle in his hand, yelling, and moving backwards with difficulty.
This scares a pack of vicious dogs, but not a few tigers. Springtails are like velociraptors on Earth, moving in groups, cunning and cruel.
Swarms of springtails were running towards Ernest, eager to tear him apart.
His two comrades immediately ran over to help him, but there were already seven or eight Hydra Hydralisks crossing the wreckage of the train, and the stormy spines made it impossible for them to move forward.
Middlebrook rushed forward again, dragging Ernest's arm before he was knocked to the ground after only a few steps.
"Requesting fire support." Ister's helmet display showed that the siege tanks of the 143rd Brigade had been set up and the fire strike group was coming online, so he immediately uploaded the coordinates.
"We can't help him, damn it, stand back!"
As he spoke, another person was knocked down, and Ister's warriors fell one after another. They were retreating, but the swarm of insects was getting closer and closer.
Ernest fell behind. After a few desperate cries, he was knocked down by a swarm of zerg in the blink of an eye and torn into pieces alive. The remains of his limbs were thrown everywhere, leaving Ernest
Terre thought of wolves eating young deer.
Far more terrifying than that.
Only the most determined and ruthless warriors can be calm here, but even that is too difficult for Ister.
Several more people fell down, and more than a dozen springtails surrounded the plunderer William, quickly dismembering him.
Misfortunes never come singly, the rattling sound of digging claws suddenly sounded, and a large number of cockroaches appeared from their left wing. The two squads of another company were instantly overwhelmed, and now they are heading straight here.
"Use armor-piercing bullets! Sting bullets are useless against them, they are just scratching an itch." Ister immediately mobilized his manpower to resist the cockroaches, but now they were even less able to stop the enemy in front.
Although most of Ister's men were experienced soldiers who knew what to do, others left them stunned and only remembered to shoot mechanically based on instinct.
Artillery support finally arrived. An explosion exploded not far in front of Ister. Hundreds of hot tungsten shell shrapnel splashed outward from the impact point, emitting a dazzling bright light. Large areas of springtails and hydralisks were covered by
It exploded into pieces, minced meat and broken carapace continued to fall from the sky, and bright red blood covered the ground, as thick as oil.
Their pressure was greatly reduced immediately. Ister ordered to concentrate fire on the cockroaches on the left wing, and the medical soldiers immediately seized the opportunity to rush to save people.
On the battlefield, medics working with Marines are high-risk jobs. Experienced Zerg and Protoss troops will prioritize killing them, just like they would prioritize killing Banelings and Mechanical Sentinels.
The fine traditions of the Earth people have been inherited to some extent. Most of the medical soldiers in the Imperial Army are women. This is probably the most correct thing done by the Marine Corps Headquarters.
Ister still had time to confirm the casualties. What made him heartbroken was that in just a few minutes, they lost one-third of their men, and most of them were caused by the spines of the hydrali snakes.
They left their hometown and traveled hundreds of light years just to die here.
Even if they can make it to the end alive, the war will leave an eternal mark on these people. Many retired soldiers still remain alert to fight at any time, and the insect swarm lingers like a nightmare.
When Istor's troops return to the rear to rest, the personnel will be replenished, and then there will be more new faces under his men, many of whom will die like today.
again and again.
"Sir, I can continue to fight." Although Lin said this, he was sobbing in pain. I am afraid that he could no longer continue to fight in one of his hunched arms. There were frighteningly five or six spines inserted in it.
, some even almost penetrate through.
"I think he has to be amputated." A medic who was opening the nano medical kit said to Istel.
"We can find a better one for him," Easter said immediately. He whispered that Easter liked this girl, but she didn't buy it.
For Lin, the war is over. He will be sent to Haven or Terrador to receive better treatment and stay away from this nightmare battlefield.
As soon as he finished speaking, a cannonball landed not far away, and the soil surged up and fell like a pillar.
"Keep the target in mind, you blind fool!" the medical soldier said while busy with the work at hand.
Sometimes medics are loving mothers, sometimes they are violent lions, and sometimes they are somewhere in between.
"Be careful, the tunnel worms are approaching!" Someone suddenly shouted in the channel.
Easter immediately followed the sound and saw a strange insect with its head covered with metal emerging from the ground: "No, it's our tunnel worm."
Groups of semi-mechanical Cybros zerg appeared and immediately fought against the Jörmungandr swarm. The formation of these zerg was very organized in comparison, just like an army in formation.
It is obvious that the Lord of Cerberus is watching here.